Currently browsing Bitters
What a load of Cobblers
Originally a drink that made use of two products very new to drinks of the eighteenth century – ice and straws – the Cobbler has undergone many iterations since the first recipes, changing base spirits and gaining ingredients. Here we look at three Cobblers from the original sherry-based recipe to a very modern interpretation.
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Bob’s Bitters
A look at Bob’s Bitters, a range of bitters as used at The Dorchester Bar and The Connaught Bar. Taking a single flavour approach, rather than the complex mixture of spices and botanicals found in more traditional bitters, Bob’s Bitters offer a different perspective on how bitters should be made and used.
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MxMO – Spice
Mixology Monday this month is on the theme of spice. Since first trying it last year Pimm’s Winter Cup has been a favourite spicy winter drink when warmed up and combined with apple juice and cinnamon. Here a comparison of Pimm’s Winter and Austin’s Winter Drink, plus the Winter Sidecar cocktail.
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Abelha Cachaça
A first look at Abelha Cachaça, a new cachaça that has recently hit the British shores. Organically produced and available in unaged silver and 3 year old gold varieties, how does it taste, and what cocktails beyond the Caipirinha does it work well in?
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Abrakadabra, Alabazam!
Despite trying my best to keep track of cocktails I want to try I only ever get around to making a small fraction of the ones I would like to. However, it’s all worth it for the drinks that turn out to be real magic. Witness the great disappearing bitters trick as I say abrakadabra and try the Alabazam.
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Repeal Bitters
The “noble experiment” that was Prohibition had a far reaching and highly damaging impact on the world of the cocktail, and arguably one of the biggest casualties was cocktail bitters. The Bitter Truth celebrates the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment with a new limited-edition Repeal Bitters, reviewed here.
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Beefeater 24
Big fancy launch parties are all very well and good but ultimately what matters to me about Beefeater’s new gin, 24, is the liquor inside the bottle. With the party over and the product now available in the shops does it live up the hype, or is it simply an exercise of style over substance?
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Coronation Cocktail
I love a good, strong Martini or Manhattan as much as the next lush, but there are occasions where such a strong drink may not be the best course of action. When I find this is the case I often reach for a cocktail based on sherry, a fortified wine that packs plenty of flavour but not so much punch.
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Playing favourites
When people first learn I have a passion for mixology they often ask me what my favourite cocktail is, a question I’m never quite sure how to answer. On certain evenings though, under certain circumstances, I do have a temporary favourite. Tonight that drink is a Manhattan variation that for one day at least, is my favourite cocktail.
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Part of the club
One of the highlights of my trip to Berlin last month was the chance to try so many great new cocktails I hadn’t gotten around to drinking previously. Here I look at the love-child of the Pegu Club and Pendennis Club, a creation by Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro called the Juniper Club Cocktail.
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Don’t say the V word
For me the very best cocktails are those that take their ingredients and manage to combine them to create something you would never expect. During Bar Convent Berlin I came across a drink that does this magnificently, and what’s more does it with an ingredient you really wouldn’t expect. Sometimes it pays to keep an open mind.
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MxMO – 19th Century
This month Mixology Monday looks back in time to 19th century cocktails, a topic already very familiar here on Oh Gosh!. After some searching around the classic cocktail books I settled upon The Delicious Sour, a mixture of applejack and peach liqueur taken from “The Only William” Schmidt’s 1892 book The Flowing Bowl.
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Mud Puddle Books
Making classic cocktails can become an expensive hobby, and aside from exotic aged spirits one of the most pricey luxuries is the classic cocktail book. Regularly reaching many hundreds of dollars on eBay, these classic volumes are now being released to a brand new audience thanks to Mud Puddle Books.
