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Brooklyn
During my trip to the States in July I sampled many a cocktail, but the Brooklyn really stood out amongst the others. A variation on the Manhattan that introduces Amer Picon and Maraschino to make things a little more interesting, I enjoyed it so much that while I only ever had one it has become the cocktail that reminds me most of my tours around the bars of New York.
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Créme de Pêche
Though you may expect a liqueur with the word créme in it to contain cream, it infact means that the liqueur has a single dominant flavour, usually a fruit. Créme de pêche is one of the more unusual fruit liqueurs, but along with its cousin créme de pêche de vigne it can make some wonderful cocktails.
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MxMO – Bourbon
Hosted by the guys at Scofflaw’s Den, this months Mixology Monday takes a look at Bourbon, one of my favourite spirits. Eager to find a new discovery I take a look at the Frisco Sour, an interesting mixture of Bourbon and Bénédictine that uses plenty of citrus resulting in a drink definitely deserving its sour name.
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It’s Pimm’s O’Clock!
The English summer means the return of one of my favourite long drinks, the Pimm’s Cup. A firm favourite here, it may just be the perfect drink for a hot afternoon. Pimm’s isn’t the only fruit cup around though, so how does it compare with the competition, and just what fruit and mixers should go in to the perfect Pimm’s cup?
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Revisiting the Cosmopolitan
Carrie Bradshaw’s consumption of the Cosmopolitan introduced a brand new generation to the world of mixed drinks, but ultimately its popularity became its downfall. On the launch of the Sex and the City movie, a look back at the cocktail it made famous, and whether the Cosmo was deserving of the popularity it received.
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Margarita
The Margarita may well be the most popular cocktail in the world, but it is also one of the most abused. Most bars feature it on their menu, but the chances of getting anything resembling a true Margarita are slim-to-none. Learn the right way to make the drink, and find out what you’ve been missing.
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MxMO – Limit One
Mixology Monday this month looks at the incredibly strong drinks that some bars will only serve a guest one of to protect their sobriety. My drink is a delicious Old Fashioned cocktail made with barrel-proof George T. Stagg Bourbon and various bitters including The Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas’ Own Decanter bitters.
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Campari, take four
It’s fair to say cocktails can be something of an acquired taste, but thankfully I’ve never had much trouble enjoying classic drinks. Campari, however, has always proved troublesome. In the fourth instalment of my continuing quest to find a cocktail using Campari that I enjoy, a look at The Boulevardier and the classic Negroni.
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Bitterholics Anonymous
They say admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, so I’m just going to say it… my name is Jay Hepburn and I am a bitterholic. Today I got hold of the brand new The Bitter Truth Celery bitters, the first celery bitters to be commercially available for many decades. But what exactly do celery bitters taste like?
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The Leap Year Cocktail
Given that the 29th February only comes around once every four years (give or take), it seems like as good a day as any to celebrate with a cocktail. A bit of digging around turned up the Leap Year Cocktail, a drink created by Harry Craddock for the leap year celebrations at the Savoy Hotel [...]
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Cuarenta Y Tres
Licor 43, or Cuarenta Y Tres, is a liqueur produced in Spain that uses a recipe claimed to be over a thousand years old. This recipe uses 43 separate ingredients to produce a rather distinctive taste, with a strong vanilla flavour backed with, amongst others, orange citrus and Christmas spices. It is a fairly sweet [...]
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Perfectly lovely?
Parfait Amour is a purple liqueur that used to be a popular ladies drink in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. For a reason I’m not exactly sure of I always assumed Parfait Amour had a flavour similar to Crème de Violette, but although they both have a violet element to their taste they are [...]
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RotLC – Apricot Brandy
The third round of Raiders of the Lost Cocktail, the semi-regular event that aims to find lost cocktails made with forgotten ingredients, draws to a close tomorrow. Paul picked apricot brandy as the chosen ingredient, which gave me a great excuse to go out and buy a spirit I had previously neglected. Armed with a [...]
