The Dark and Stormy

Tags

Cocktail, Dark 'N' Stormy, Ginger beer, New Year, New year resolution, Rum

The New Year

So, it’s now 2012 and it’s a time for New Year’s Eve resolutions.

I’ve come up with a few of my own:

1)      To stop being so unruly when intoxicated

2)      To read one of the five following books, which I’ve been attempting to read since 1998

1. Lolita
2. Les Miserables
3. Don Quixote
4. Anna Karenina
5. Divine Comedy

3)      To average 1 blog post per week (hopefully every Tuesday at 5:00 pm)

4)      To stop ignoring my bar except to get really drunk. (I must dust the bar every time I use it.)

5)      To get out of my law school bubble. After visiting Michael and I’s families over Christmas, I have definitely entered a law school bubble where that is the only thing that I can talk about. I once was an interesting person. I should find that person again.

So those are my Resolutions for 2012.

Looking back at my Resolutions for 2011:

1)      Vegan Cocktails. I totally lost sight of that goal. I should probably get back into it because I think there’s an important need there for the vegan community that is not being met.

2)      International Cocktails: My “Indian Food and Indian Cocktails” and “Argentinian Sangria” are two of my most reviewed blog posts. I really should find some more of these. I wonder if there are any good Kenyan cocktails.

3)      Cocktails with food pairings. I never did do this, but I really wanted to. Michael and I should start pairing. I think we would have a good time playing cook and bartender together. Cocktails and food pairings should be the next frontier the way that food and wine have been paired together.

4)      Garnishes. I did do one blog about this last year.

5)      Updating more. I updated a lot more this year. I actually increased the number of page views by almost 5,500 in 2011. I know this is probably not a lot for some of the more popular websites, but considering I had 47 page views in 2010, I’ll take it.

6)      The ones I did not post in my blogs include: get into law school and graduate school. I definitely did that in spades.

So, those are my current New Year’s Resolution and a review of my New Year’s Resolutions from last year.  As I said earlier, I really enjoyed 2011 and am looking forward to 2012.

However, I’m going to create a resolution for some of the drinker’s last night. Can we start drinking well again? Can we get over our obsession with rum and coke and vodka tonics and mature some? We are now in our 20s and 30s, we are no longer 19. We can drink good drinks. We have the taste for them. We have the bank accounts for them. Can we please start?

So, to evolve.

The Dark and Stormy

2 oz. Dark Rum

4 oz. Ginger Beer

1 slice of lime.

Add ice to a glass. Pour dark rum and ginger beer over ice. Stir. Squeeze the lime slice.

Evaluation

I thought dark rum was awful, and I never understand the point of it until I had this drink. It’s an incredibly complicated and herbal beverage that challenges the taste buds. The ginger beer and the dark rum create a pleasant and surprising combination. The drink is surprisingly good for winter, instead of most other rum drinks which can only be consumed in the summer and the warm parts of fall and spring. I was really surprised at how complicated the flavors were. I am a big fan of the Dark and Stormy.

Michael liked the Dark and Stormy, however, he thought the lime juice distracted from the flavor as opposed to adding to it. I’m not sure I would agree, however, I liked it both ways.

Mary hated this drink, but, Mary general hates all dark liquors. I will never understand this and often feel like she is depriving herself of the deliciousness of half of the liquor family. For Mary, it’s really only vodkas, gins, light rums, and silver tequila, although she has finally opened herself up to whiskey.

Cost

750 mL bottle of Dark Rum: $20

4 12 oz. bottles of Ginger Beer: $5

Total cost: $25

I know it’s more than rum and coke by about $3, but can we step up our game and start drinking better? As a New Year’s Resolution, can we agree to throw away the rum and cokes and start drinking like the adults we are?

Until next time, happy and safe drinking.

Advertisement

Sloe Gin Fizz

Tags

Carbonated water, Cocktail, Drink, Gin, Syrup

So, I’m slowly recovering my cold that I wrote about on Monday. The cold is almost gone, but Michael is apparently germy. I recommend staying away from the Kaplan Kids because we’re 3 for 4 with this cold.

I really hate being sick. I just sit in my house, watch movies, and don’t talk to anyone. Not that I had any big plans or anything, but I’ve been quarantined in my bedroom for most of the last 48 hours. It’s best not to speak to me when I’m sick. I’m liable to bite your head off. Or whine you into doing something for me.

Luckily, I have some cocktails on reserve to write about. Today I’m going to write about the Sloe Gin Fizz. It’s a classic cocktail that’s become unfashionable. For those of you who have never had a Sloe Gin Fizz, you are missing out. Trust. Sloe gin is an amazing liqueur that somehow got relegated to bad drinks. Choose from some of the following titles of awfulness: “Violent Fuck,” “Tie Me to the Bedpost, Baby,” “Panty Dropper,” “Black Orgasm,” or “Sex in the Red Zone.” Awful, awful names.

The drink names are more appropriate for serial rapists than your standard drinker. I know I would never want to order a “Tie Me to the Bedpost, Baby” regardless of how attractive I found the bartender. It’s a sad state of this delicious liqueur. Let’s reclaim it one drink at a time with:

A Sloe Gin Fizz

1 oz Sloe Gin

1 oz Gin

Juice of half a lemon

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Club Soda

Fill a tumbler with ice. Place Gin, Sloe Gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a glass. Top with Club Soda. Add more simple syrup if necessary.

Evaluation:

I make this drink differently from other recipes that I have seen. Normally people just use 2 oz of Sloe Gin and do not use Gin. I personally need/want more of a kick. Because Sloe Gin is such a strong flavor, decreasing the Sloe gin and adding Gin doesn’t detract from the cocktail, but instead, keeps it delicious and becomes more potent.

Replacing the lemon juice with lime juice makes the drink taste like an alcoholic Cherry Limeade from Sonic.

This is a great drink for those of you who invite your friends over and hang out on your porch during the middle of the day. I love the Sloe Gin Fizz.

Cost:

1 750 mL Bottle of Sloe Gin: $10.00

1 750 mL Bottle of Gin: $12.00

1 L club Soda: $1.00

1 Lemon: $0.50

Simple Syrup: Free!

Total Cost: $22.00

Cost per drink

Sloe Gin: $0.40

Gin: $0.48

Lemon: $0.40

Club Soda: $0.12

Total Cost: $1.40

As always, happy and safe drinking.

Indian Food and Indian Cocktails

As I talked about in my New Year’s Resolutions Post, I wanted to start looking at Vegan Cocktails and International Cocktails, so this post hits two out of the four.

About a month ago now, Michael made Indian food at my request. It’s amazing what taking the LSAT will make your husband do for you. I’m considering taken that exam often, so I can have my way. Mwhahaha.

Anyway, so clearly, after taking the LSAT, I wanted a big girl drink. The problem with things like Indian food is that culturally, their country does not really drink and frowns on it. There are few cocktails to play around with. As I started searching and drifting through the obnoxious wine and beer recommendations, I finally found an interesting conversation here.

After getting through the multiple recommendations for gin and tonics, which I just thought was offensive, boring, and way to representative of British imperialism, I finally found the cocktail which I’ll discuss below.

But, while searching I started thinking about how afraid of liquor we are in this country. If you want a wine or beer pairing in this country, it’s almost too easy. If you want to know what cocktail, you should pair with what food, good luck and godspeed. It’s ridiculous. Our culture clearly has a fear of booze, which is so unfortunate, because the cocktail was invented in the United States.

If we think we about things being “as American as Apple Pie and Baseball,” we need to add cocktails to that list. The tradition of bartending and making mixology an art that has become recognized the world over was invented here. For the most part, Americans have been some of the leading cocktail creators of history. Instead of relishing in that tradition and pushing forward, Americans cooks and gastronomists have abandoned that tradition and forgot about it. A good vermouth is just as important in cooking as in a cocktail.

One of the things that I hope to do in my blog, which I have talked about in my last post, is start thinking about creating cocktails that fit well with food. Sometimes, you just need a drink and wine and beer don’t cut it the way that spirits do. Not only should we recognize that, we should celebrate it. Cocktails are a part of the culture that we live in, and if we’re not willing to serve someone a salad that doesn’t compliment the entree, why are we willing to serve drinks that harm the culinary experience? It’s frustrating, and offensive. If we want to create a pleasurable meal, liquor needs to come back to the forefront of our thoughts. Instead of shying away from it like a  coquettish maiden, we need to become brazen prostitutes who confront head on and ask if they want to dance.

With those thoughts, I give you a good, interesting, and complicated set of flavors, that I, unfortunately, can take no credit for except in the wading of internet resources for the finding.

The Tamarind Martini

20ml Tamarind syrup
30ml Dry vermouth
5ml Sweet vermouth
35ml Gin
30ml Lemon juice

• Add ice to a martini shaker.
• Add all ingredients.
• Shake dramatically.
• Pour and enjoy!

Evaluation:

This drink was really tasty. I had tamarind syrup on hand, because I had purchased it at the Lebanese market a few weeks before I made it. It really complimented the flavors of the Indian food and helped cleanse the pallet. Not only does it add to a specific type of cuisine, but it is also (so far as I know) a vegan cocktail as well, which is great, since so much of Indian food is, or easily could be, vegan. It may seem a little bitter, but the Tamarind syrup definitely sweetens it up.

Cost:

Tamarind syrup:              $4
30ml Dry vermouth       $5
5ml Sweet vermouth      $5
35ml Gin                               $10
30ml Lemon juice             $1

Total cost:                           $25

If you don’t have any of the ingredients on hand, it’s not a terribly expensive cocktail to make, especially if you’re considering adding this drink for an Indian food dinner.  The most expensive part if the gin, which if you have on hand, drops the cost of the drink by $10.

Upcoming:

I’m working on doing a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory themed cocktails for April. Also, here soon, I’ll start working on Valentine’s Day Cocktails, and start blogging about the beauty of sustainability with cocktails.

Until next time and as always, happy, and safe, drinking.

Metropolitan Doubts

Hello, Gentle readers. I’m hoping this will be way less of a sabbatical than my last one, which was more unintentional than intentional.

I can’t believe it’s been six months since I’ve last updated. It doesn’t feel that long, but I suppose a lot has happened since then.

I got promoted in May. I got downsized on Wednesday. I’m currently back in Kansas. This is my second trip this year, which is weird. I’m planning my wedding for sometime next summer in Raleigh. I’m applying to grad school and law school. Right now, I’m licking my wounds in the great state of Kansas in the incredibly confusing city of Manhattan. Whenever I say I’m from Manhattan in Raleigh, people always assume I mean New York, and I have to correct them. I need to just start saying I’m from Kansas, but that’s not how I think about myself.

But today, I’m here. In Manhattan, KS. It’s the first day that I’ve really felt like I should be at work, since Wednesday. It’s weird.

It’s the little things that are slowly hitting me. My key chain being half the weight. Feeling like I should be in my office in Chapel Hill instead of in a coffee shop in Manhattan, KS. I’m still checking my work email. I’m not responding, but I’m glancing at it, which seems weird. I just probably stop doing that. Like when I tell my friends they need to stop checking their ex’s Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace. A clean break. Amputation as a theory for break-ups, and apparently for jobs.

I’ve been working 50 to 60 hours a week since January between the call center and the test prep company, and then just the test prep company. To go from that, to nothing, terrifies me.

I’m just so uncertain now. I needed to recenter, so I ran away. At least, that’s what it felt like. But I was so scared I was just going to stop functioning in Raleigh. That I would be 19 again and start sleeping the day away. Pretend like grad school and personal statements didn’t exist and just watch Netflix or play video games. Otherwise known as things that don’t allow me to be a functioning adult. Which are all things I’ve done before.

I just don’t know where to start. I’ve just wrapped myself up so completely in work. Friends that I saw every week, I started seeing once a month or less. Acquaintances I saw once a month, I started seeing every six. As you know, I stopped writing my blog. In fact, I stopped all cocktail creation, and just went with what I know when I made drinks. I lost myself in work. It swallowed me up. The hunter has opened the wolf’s belly, and I’ve escaped.

But, now what? I don’t know how to fill this hole that is appearing inside of me. Or the time. I also know that I need to spend this time working on my grad school applications, law school applications, and studying for the LSAT. It’s about moving forward. But finding the energy or motivation for that is just difficult right now. How do you write a personal statement and convince people to let you into their program and give you money, when you’re not convinced of it yourself.

I’m finding myself with a lot of doubts. I know it will get better. However, it’s the time from now until then that I’m having trouble with. For now, there are Metropolitans.

Metropolitan:

2 oz Brandy

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

1/2 oz Simple Syrup

• Add ice to a martini shaker.
• Add all ingredients.
• Shake dramatically.
• Pour and enjoy!

Evaluation:

I really like this drink. But I like Brandy, and for my martinis to be vermouth-y as I’m sure you’re all aware by now. Much like a good Manhattan, this drink is smooth. By adding the simple syrup, you reduce a lot of the bitterness that one would find. A lot of my friends don’t drink Metros or Manhattans, so be weary if you don’t like liquor on liquor. If you already know you like Brandy, or you just want to give it a try, definitely give this a try, especially since it’s so inexpensive.

Cost:

750 mL bottle of Brandy:       $10

750 mL bottle of Vermouth: $5

Box of Sugar:                                 $3

Water:                                               $0 (unless you pay for water)

Total cost: $18 (assuming you don’t have sugar in your cabinet.)

Alright, I’ve written for you, I need you guys to do me a favor, gentle readers. I’ve been uninspired recently when it comes to drinks. What drinks do you like? What flavors? Every thought of a good drink, but never got it just right? Leave your comments below.

And, as always, happy, and safe, drinking.

The Return

Hello WordPress Blog.

Also, Hello to you, Gentle Reader.

It’s been a while. I make my humble apologies. I have no (good) excuses, but I’ll try them out anyway.

I’ve been really struggling with trying to find my voice for my blog. Do I write about cocktails I’ve found in books? In restaurants? Just drinks I’ve made up? I’ve been going through this existential crisis about my blog. And I’m aware it’s ridiculous to have a crisis about your blog.

It’s just that every time I go to write I want it to be perfect. I imagine all the stars aligning, me with something brilliant to say that means something about the existence of us, me, all of us together in the universe. I imagine this blog with perfect photos taken every time, of drinks that are so fantastic you would be amazed you’ve never heard of them before. You would wonder how fate would conspire in your favor to lead you to my blog about this meaningful cocktail that you must have.

Instead I would start writing. I have five blog posts started, here, and ten more in my head. February was going to be the month of Valentine’s Day cocktails. Followed by March with cocktails relating to Women’s History Month followed by a rousing essay about feminism and cocktails. Instead in lives in limbo where it was birthed — holding onto dear life, waiting to either die or entire the world into a full existence. But, now, it’s living a half life. Somewhere between creativity and failure. Between extraordinary and ordinary.

Unfortunately, I am not so luck to have the stars align into such brilliant perfection. If it wasn’t for the fact that I had a slice of brilliance back in October and wrote about Creme de Cacao and lactose, I might have stopped. But that little stroke has continued to give me hits even as I have descended into a world away from wordpress but not from cocktails.

Cocktails are one of the few things I do well. Me, and no one else I know. (No offense to any bartender friends.) But I love knowing how a vodka martini sort of, fits together, and becomes the drink. I love knowing how it evolved and became what it was. Especially as I have continued to get feedback at my call center job and applied for other jobs and being friends with brilliant, witty, and wealthy in Raleigh, it sometimes seems like it’s the only thing I have to offer. It’s what I’m good at. It’s unique. Maybe writing a bad blog post would represent some sort of failure.

Or maybe I’ve just had really bad writer’s block.

I’m not sure. But I’m back, and I’ve explained myself. I suppose you can take my two and a half month hiatus as abandonment, writer’s block, or fear. I suppose, at least for tonight, when I can’t sleep, I’m reaching out to you instead of to Jane Austen, Agatha Christie, or one of my fraternity brothers, dear readers.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a 1,000 times. If you can’t be terrific, at least by prolific. On to the drink!

The Old Fashioned

6 or 8 oz Rocks Glass

2 oz Whiskey

The Juice of Half a Lemon

1 tbsp of sugar/1 tbsp of simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

2 oz Club Soda

Ice

• Fill completely with Ice
• Pour in Whiskey and Lemon Juice
• Measure in simple syrup or sugar
• Top with 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Fill with club soda (the club soda should be fill less than half the glass.)
• Stir with a bar spoon

Evaluation

I really like this drink. But I also really like liquor and to taste my booze. I know many people who think I drink things too strong or too bitter. I think they’re tasty. Recommendation, I think that this drink is made easier with simple syrup than sugar, because sugar is difficult to stir and incorporate fully into a drink. As a liquid the simple syrup is easier to mix in and you don’t end up with the sugar sludge.  I like it; but sometimes I feel like the last of a dying breed and I am be the only one.

Cost

I enjoy Jack Daniels or Crown Royal for this drink, so:

Whiskey: $25 for a 750 mL bottle

Club Soda: $1.00

Lemon: $1.00

Sugar: Practically Free

Ice: Practically Free

Total: $27.00 or so

As always, happy, and safe, drinking

The Revolutionized Appletini

Many of us think of appletinis as a girly drink. The traditional combination of 1/2 vodka, 1/2 apple liqueur. I don’t know if we can subscribe a gender role to this cocktail, but we can definitely subscribe judgment to this drink: Terrible. I hate this combination. Why anyone would want to drink apple flavored, watered down vodka is completely beyond me.

Personally, I think we need to have An Appletini Revolution: Anniversary: 12-9-2009. Something that actually retains the flavor of an apple but is also concentrated and gets you cocktailed.

I started by making the traditional version and had to pour it out. Then, because I knew I hated the original drink I got to play. I’m never sure whether or not I’m happy that I get to work on making a cocktail when the original recipe is unworthy of being remade.

I tried playing with all the liqueurs. Brandy, rum, whiskey. I was smart enough to avoid gin from the onset though. Apple flavored pine trees? Gross. I was dissatisfied until I discovered Applejack and used it to make a version of the appletini. But something was still missing. It wasn’t sweet enough. So I added:

Simple Syrup

I will keep instructing on how to make simple syrup. If you know how to make it, just skip it. For those of you who don’t, this has the potential of being a very necessary ingredient. Many bartender books include this as a necessary ingredient. It’s so simple to make if you don’t have it, friends and lovers have a right to forever scorn you if you ever complain about how difficult it is or how long it takes.

Boil 1 cup of sugar into 1 cup of water. Bring to a rolling boil for a few minutes. Remove from heat. Let cool. Voila, simple syrup.

You don’t even have to stir it.  Easy peasy. And it becomes the ingredient to bring the Apple Jack together with the Apple Pucker in the

The Revolutionary Appletini

2 parts Apple Jack (or Apple Brandy)

2 parts Apple Pucker (or Apple Liqueur)

1 part Simple Syrup

• Add ice to a martini shaker.
• Add all ingredients.
• Shake dramatically.
• Pour and enjoy!

Evaluation:

I think this drink is much better than the original. It’s not as potent as a traditional appletini (but not by much). I think it has a better flavor because you can taste the apple well, rather than have it play a poor second fiddle to the vodka. It’s a delightful surprise really. But this drink is cheap, so taste it and tell me yourself.

Cost:

1 750 mL bottle of Apple Jack (Apple Brandy): $18.90

1 750 mL bottle of Aristocrat Tangy Sour Apple Schnapps: $7.50

Simple Syrup: Practically free

Total: 26.40

As always, happy and safe drinking!

Kamikaze

Tags

Cocktails, Kamikaze, Mixology

I needed a little bit of tropical weather to keep me warm as the temperature drops down into the 40s and 50s in North Carolina. Oh, gentle readers for those of you in Kansas, where it is dipping in the 30s, this might keep you even warmer. Or at least make you hope for a vacation.

Unlike the French martini, it looks like there is a definitive recipe for this drink, and this is the one that I made:

KAMIKAZE FOR 1

1 oz. Vodka

1 oz. Lime Juice

1 oz Triple Sec

• Fresh squeeze a lime. About half of a lime is equal to about an ounce of juice. At least with my juicer.

• Combine the Vodka, Lime Juice, and Triple Sec in the shaker

• Shake until ice forms on the outside of the martini shaker.

• Enjoy!

If you half the recipe, this can be a shot you take instead of martini.

Personal Evaluation

This is a really good cocktail for what it is. I’m not a fan of a strong lime flavor in my drinks. I want it to be more subtle, like what you would taste in a lime cheesecake. If you enjoy a strong taste of lime, like my friend Zach whose idea of a gin and tonic is a splash of gin, a splash of tonic, and eight limes, this could definitely be a drink for you. Although, Zach, you might really enjoy a gimlet.

The Cost

Gin: $20 for a 750 mL

Triple Sec: $3.50 for a 750 mL

Limes:  $4 for a bag

Total: $27.50 or so

Next drink: The Negroni