Science Of Drink

Linstead Cocktail

40 ml scotch
40 ml sweetened pineapple juice
1 dash Pastis
Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. Zest with a lemon peel.

It is no secret that I prefer bitter-sweet cocktail. And now, after the great S.I.P. #2, which was devoted to one of the world-famous sour – the Sidecar, I am enthusiastic with bitter cocktail too. But I have not enough realy bitter ingredient in my bar – two bottle of fernet, one amaro and Campari. Two cocktails bitters are no object. Thus I remember that I have Dubonnet – one of the famous quinquina in the world. This bottle was unopened over one year. I open this bottle. It emerged that Dubonnet has no bitter taste. The Dubonnet Rouge has so sweet and spicy taste of muscat fortified wine with microscopic bitter feeling in the finish. But it no stopped me try this stuff in a cocktails.

First probe of mixing with Dubonnet is signature Dubonnet Cocktail. The recipe I found in the Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg.

Dubonnet Cocktail

35 ml Dubonnet
35 ml gin
Stir well with a lot of ice. Strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Dubonnet Cocktail is too similar to Old Great Martini Cocktail with Dubonnet instead sweet vermouth. Not dry but very pleasant and palatable gin drink. It has main palate of gin botanicals with great little bitter finish with sweet muscat notes. I tested few my gins in this cocktail – Befeater, Bombay Sapphire and Broker’s. IMHO the best result give us Befeater – it has so clear and crisp taste. Also you may zest your Dubonnet Cocktail with lemon for best results or add dash of bitters as Robert Schnakenberg advice in his great book Old Man Drinks (Quirk Books, 2010).

Actually my soul and taste bud wait some different pleasure. And I prepare the Dubonnet Royal Cocktail that was found in Cocktails and Mixed Drinks by Anthony Hogg in next line.

Dubonnet Royal

40 ml Dubonnet
20 gin
2 dash Angostura bitters
2 dash curacao
1 dash pastis
Mix well with ice all ingredients except pastis. Strain into cocktail glass and add one dash pastis on the top. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

Wow! It is great cocktail. It has magnificent taste – rich and complex. This cocktail seems as tastes firework. It is superb cocktail.

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The MxMo is back! Great! And the scomorokh is back too :) Actually the topic of MxMo August: Brown, Bitter and Stirred is very interesting fo me. This MxMo hosted by Lindsey Johnson from Brown, Bitter and Stirred and thanks for great topic, Lindsey! This about true cocktail (and it is my choice now!) – the mix of aged spirit, bitter and stirred, not shaken! The Connoisseur’s Choice.

I dream about this coctail during long, very long time. But rye is absolutely unavailable in the Ukraine also Peychaud’s bitters. Thanks for God in my way I meet some great people who present me a bottle of great rye – Wild Turkey Rye 101 proof and a bottle of Peychaud`s. Thanks, companeros!

And now I prepare one of my dream-cocktail – the Sazerac. This cocktail was creaded on the 1850-s in the New Orleans. The creation of this cocktail associate with New-Orleans`s pharmacist (and Freemason!) – Antoine Peychaud – the creator of famous bitter. This cocktail is great thing – it include so rare and aromatic ingredients, it has unusual ritual of preparation and it has interesting story.

Sazerac

1 sugar cube
1-2 dash Peychaud`s bitter
1 tsp. water
50 ml rye whiskey
1 bsp. Pernod
Take two rocks glasses. Fill one with ice and soda for chill. In the second glass place sugar cube than add bitter and water. Muddle the sugar and mix all together for dissolving. Than add some cubes of ice and whiskey. Stir. First chiled glass coat with dash of Pernod. Strain the cocktail into this coated with Pernod glass. Serve without ice! Garnish with a lemon peel.

The Sazerac Cocktail has strong and complex flavor and taste. Actually is great strong cocktail with great compose palate and nose.

The theme of MxMo XLVI (February 2010), which hosted at Thinking of Drinking (actually it is a great blog with great name, the name of this blog is (realy!) the description of my life), is Absinthe. Great choice, Sonja!

The absinthe is one of the great alcohol beverage in the world. It has interesting and dramatic story, mystic way and cloud of pseuds. I do not have real absinthe in my bar, actually. Now I has one of the popular imitation of absinthe – italian liqueur caled XENTA Abseta (with real wormwood contetnt as specified) and historic substitute of absinthe – Pernod. Pernod is one of my favorite liquors, some cocktails with Pernod, like Monkey Gland or Gloom Riser are my favorite cocktails.

Usually absithe consumed with a lump of sugar and ice-cold water (Absinthe drip). In this way also consumes Pernod and pastis (for pastis like Ricard sugar is optional).

For this MxMo I prepared two interesting old cocktails with Pernod. First cocktail is famous Chrysanthemum Cocktail, which was found at CocktailDB:

Chrysanthemum Cocktail

30 ml dry vermouth
30 ml Benedictine
15 ml Pernod
Stir. Cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange peel.

The Chrysanthemum Cocktail has unique taste. In the palate are sweet notes, a lot of herbs notes, mint, light honey, star anise… It is awesome cocktail. Actually I was fascinated by Chrysanthemum Cocktail with my first sip.

Also I use in this cocktail XENTA Absenta. The result is not so great, but an interesting too.

If you don`t have the Benedectine in your liquor cabinet you may use in the Chrysanthemum Cocktail sweet vermouth instead Benedictine. The Chrysanthemum Cocktail turn into Duchess Cocktail in this way.

Duchess Cocktail

30 ml sweet vermouth
30 ml dry vermouth
15 ml Pernod
Stir. Cocktail glass.

The Duchess Cocktail has sweet, herbal and anise flavor similar to Chrysanthemum Cocktail. The palate of the Duchess Cocktail is not so rich as Chrysanthemum but so interesting.

The source of this interesting version of famous Zombie Cocktail is Bartender’s Guide by Trader Vic, 1947. It contain one of my favorite spirit – Pernod – strong anise flavored liqueur from France. The Zombie is one of my favorite tiki-cocktail.

Zombie (Trader Vic`s, 1947)

30 ml dark rum
60 ml Puerto Rican light rum
30 ml orange curacao
30 ml fresh orange juice
30 ml fresh lemon juice
15 ml grenadine
1 dash Pernod
15 ml 151-proof Demerara rum
Mix in a mixing glass with a large piece of ice, stir well and pour over cracked ice in a14 oz. chimney glass. Serve with straw.

I use four rum – dark and heavy rum from Trinidad – Angostura 1919, dark Demerara rum El Dorado Dark, light cuban rum – Havana Club Anejo 3 Anos and 140-proof Demerara Rum El Dorado. I increase amount of Pernod up to 1 tsp for excellent results. Also I use BOLS Dry Orange liqueur, commercial grenadine and fresh juices. I shake this cocktail and serve in my new ceramic mug, garnish with a traditional flag.

The Zombie Cocktail is great drink. Admirable, very booze and very funny cocktail. The Zombie is a Damn Strong Rum Punch! :)