Cocktails

tvham said:
Yeah, Terroir is my go to, felt like I needed to try something different! Another SF based gin I like is No. 209.
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Terroir is utterly magnificent, but I find a lot of drinks cannot really hold up to it flavor-wise. Plymouth is my general go-to unless the recipe is gin-forward and seems like it would benefit from the bay laurel.

Terroir remains the only gin I can happily enjoy neat.
 
I'm having a couple close friends over for dinner on Saturday and wanted to brighten up the drink menu with more Tropical fair, what with it being the beginnings of the Winter Doldrums here in Michigan. So, of course, I had to have a taste-test for myself last night. I planned on only having a couple drinks each night, but ended up making and drinking all 5. That's the way of the Drunkard.

First up was a Painkiller.

Made with Fresh squeezed Orange Juice, Coconut Cream, Pineapple Juice and some Dark Rum. Shave a little fresh nutmeg on top and you've got one of the best Pina Colada-type drinks I've ever had. All the flavor, none of that chemically, syrupy flavor from tourist traps and chain restaurants.
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Next up was a Cuba Libre.

Basically a Rum & Coke with extra steps. This was my least favorite of the night, but I can understand why it is a popular drink in Cuba. I believe you really need to be hot to enjoy this properly. It was refreshing, but maybe a little too much lime. I'll tone that back a little on Saturday.

Made with Lime, Gin (I used Hendrick's because that's what I had, but the recipe calls for a London Dry. Could be why the drink wasn't my favorite), some Light Rum and topped with that real sugar Mexican Coke. Refreshing, but a little too much of that bitter lime tartness, and not enough booze or Coca Cola flavor.
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After that I moved on to the first of 2 different Mai Tai. The original Traditional Mai Tai.

A little bit of Orgeat, a little bit of Curacao (or in my case some cheap-ass Triple Sec), some Dark Rum and Lime. Top with a hunk of spent lime and some Mint leaves. So simple, yet so so fucking delicious. I've never had a Mai Tai this way, but holy hell it's entered the Pantheon of MY FAVORITE DRINKS OF ALL TIME right up there with Room Key and Old Fashioned.
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Then it was time for Part 2 of the Mai Tai Double Feature. What I dubbed as the Vacation Mai Tai.

This is the version you're going to get from the swim-up bar at your resort. This is the Mai Tai that gets people arrested on Spring Break. Made with Pineapple Juice, Fresh squeezed orange juice, Coconut Rum and Spiced Rum. Shake the shit out of it and drizzle some Grenadine until it sinks to the bottom and makes a Sunset Scene that wouldn't be out of place on the cover of a Retro Synthwave Album. I could garnish this with something, but I didn't have anything flowery enough looking on hand. Maybe a little umbrella to really give it the "I've been out here all day and haven't re-applied my sunscreen" character. This drink was so ridiculously dangerous and delicious. Ridangericious!
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Last, and 100% not least, was a Hurricane.

I made this with the real deal Fassionola. Had to order it from a seller on Ebay, since Wine & Bottle Shops don't seem to carry it anywhere. It's basically a Passion Fruit syrup with lots of other little fruity ingredients. I made it with that Fassionola, some Lime Juice, Orange Juice, Dark Rum and Light Rum. I did not put a Bacardi 151 floater on top for a couple reasons. Number 1- I didn't have any. Number 2- I was already four stiff drinks in on the night. When I had this drink in New Orleans it had a very specific bubble gum or Banana-esque flavor, which this version lacked. I'm guessing it's because of the Rum I had on hand, so I'm going to do a little research into what Rum I can substitute to get those flavors and remake it in the next few days. Still very good, but not exactly what I remembered. Work in progress.
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my distillery, Bully Boy Distillers, recently released our second amaro, a Rabarbaro style that uses rhubarb root as the primary bitter component (Sfumato and Zucca are two traditional rabarbaro-amari you may be familiar with).

here I built myself a simple 2:1 Manhattan variation using our American Straight Whiskey and the Rabarbaro in place of vermouth.


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and last night I received an unexpected and slightly buzzed call from a dear friend...she was two martinis in and fixing a third and decided she wanted company, so I fixed a close approximation to the classic Vesper and threw on some classy tunes


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riffing on some long-lost classics from the Savoy Hotel

Oom Paul
2oz Calvados (sub Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy)
2oz Capertif (sub and approximation, 3/4 Lillet Blanc, 1/4 Bully Boy Amaro)
Dash Angostura Bitters


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