Can't touch this cocktail

[StriperGuy]

Can't touch this cocktail

4 oz. cheap but clean 5X distilled Svedka Vodka

Fresh zest of 1 tangerine, 1 grapefruit, 1 sour orange

Soak zest in vodka for three days

Ice and shake 1 oz

pour

dust with chiltepin chile dust

[Alcachofa]

It's Hammer time.

[StriperGuy]

Si, si amigo mio

But you have to create the "Hammer time cocktail."

Pass the cocktail recipe along.

[ultramagnetic]

A cold glass of citrus infused vodka?

[StriperGuy]

Just good spirited fun, got something better, post it.

[StriperGuy]

If Alcachofa won't take the bait, maybe I'll call this one Hammer Time, a nice variation on a Daiquiri:

Juice of 4 Key Limes

1TBSP simple syrup

1 oz. Lemon Hart Demerara Rum
(I have a chowhound posting on the Boston board that got me thinking about this rum again, what a great product.)

1 oz. light rum

Shake and strain.

[Alcachofa]

I took the bait, just need to chew on the hook for while!

[Cinnamon]

Thank you. I have about 5 key limes that I've been trying to figure out what to make with.

[StriperGuy]

Heck you could toss in a slight dash of the bitters of your choice and then it would officially be a "cocktail." I've got orange, angostura, and peychaud's at home right now. A dash of the highly concentrated citrus infused vodka I made recently had the same effect.

[Cinnamon]

Say, I've been meaning to ask... can you describe the different uses for the different bitters? I've tried orange bitters but only own Angostura. Dearly love the Angostura, so I'm wondering in what instances I might want to try some other bitters.

Also, just ran across this which sounded like an interesting riff on the bitters concept (different ways to create a bitter edge in cocktails, occasionally through 'bitter sugars'):
http://www.chow.com/stories/10029

[StriperGuy]

Peychaud's is in a "Sazerac." Classic old school New Orleans cocktail.

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Beverage/SazeracCocktail.htm

Angostura is the all around cocktail helper to give a libation a little depth and bite. The first drink that comes to mind for me is a Manhattan. I make mine with Jim Beam and switch it up a bit on what Vermouth I use.

Orange bitters (there are several decent makers) are also a real cocktail utility item. You can toss a light dash into a Manhattan to brighten it up, put a bit in a Gin Rickey, or even a generous dash or two in a daiquiri get a little added depth.

I am starting to really experiment in terms of home made additions.

Recently steeped some anis, fennel, and other spices in some ethanol and water (read vodka) and got a very nice herbal that was somewhere between a bitters and an anisette.

Not a real believer that there are harsh lines between bitters, liqueur, cocktail, drink, etc. When the spring cherries are here I plan on soaking some in Spanish brandy to serve in an Aviation cocktail. An old school drink currently experiencing a rebirth in beantown and duly inspired, in my own kitchen.

I add a a bit more lemon juice, a teaspoon of simple syrup and serve this version on the rocks. Very nice on a hot day.

http://lunarpolicy.net/2008/02/the-av...

[Cinnamon]

I'll invest in some orange bitters, then. Thanks.

Just ordered the book Artisanal Cocktails, which has a good section on making simple syrup infused with toasted Chinese Five Spice ingredients including pepper.

[StriperGuy]

Kiss my ass Gran Marnier

1/2 oz Same citrus infused vodka.

Scant 1 Tsp lemon juice

1/2 oz Jeam Beam

tiny drop angostura bitters

Shake and serve straight up or on the rocks

I like it with a cherry

[StriperGuy]

gotta say this is an amazing drink

[Alcachofa]

Well, I can't really call this a Hammer Time cocktail (working on that still) because it doesn't have much punch. But it was good:

The Edouard:
2 parts Campari
1/2 part St Germain (more or less to taste)
2 parts soda

Build over ice in a highball glass in the order presented. Garnish with orange wedge.

Easy-drinkin' drink, suitable for afternoons on the patio.

[StriperGuy]

Whew, glad you finally cooked up a winner.

Last day or two I have been gaining a newfound appreciation for the classic Gin Rickey:

Juice of 1/2 lime
2 oz gin
Good splash of soda
served on the rocks

Yum

[isadorasmama]

I'm a bartending virgin so measurements are eyeballed.

In a highball glass:
Fill up halfway with cubed ice
a long splash of light rum
juice of one lime
fill up to the top with pomegranate soda (i use izze's)

i stir but i bet it would be ever more hammer-ish shaken. i don't have the gear for it, though.
it's the kind of bev you can guzzle or sip. delightfully fruity. yum.

[StriperGuy]

Try adding a squeeze of fresh lime. Sounds tasty!

[JMF]

I don't think I would called citrus zest infused vodka a cocktail. Maybe that's why you can't touch it. Because it isn't?

[StriperGuy]

Instead of being a snark, why don't you create a better one and add it to the thread?

[JMF]

I'm not being snarky, just honest. It isn't a cocktail. It's just infused vodka, a form of limocello but infused with multiple types of citrus instead of just lemon.

A cocktail is a drink composed of a base spirit and one or more modifiers. In this case all you have is a base spirit, citrus infused vodka. If you added sugar to it, then you would have a liqueur, but not a cocktail. To make it a cocktail it would need another modifier. Juice, bitters, vermouth, soda water, etc.

[StriperGuy]

Getting a wee tad technical now... still chime in, add a cocktail of your own making.

[barleywino]

perhaps not the technical definition but I would consider anything that requires labor, time and love to be a cocktail, and this would appear to qualify....

[StriperGuy]

Merci mon ami...

I agree barleywino, if you ask any bloke on the street I would say common usage of the word is "any mixed drink" thus, Jameson on the rocks does not really qualify, but a Rum and Coke (shudder) probably would.

[Cinnamon]

Because of the swine flu news, and feeling a little under the weather...

1 tsp. (purported antiviral) elderberry syrup, some St. Germain, some Tru organic vodka, juice of 1/2 blood orange (muddle in bottom of glass), demerera sugar syrup to taste, ice. Stir with thermometer. Serve horizontal.

Citrus bitters might be nice.

The elderberry syrup: http://www.gaiaherbs.com/product.php?...

Optional, if I had to do over again (I may): crushed Ricola-lozenge rim

But in support of the OP, I may have to try a vindaloo cocktail of some description next time.

[isadorasmama]

That's great!
Wonder if I could swab some on my 1-yr old son's sore gums?! ;)

[StriperGuy]

Awesome... but you have to name it...

[Cinnamon]

I'll mull this over the next day or so and get back to you. Early attempts include the "Swino."

[Cinnamon]

OK, I'm settling on naming the cocktail the Gargoyle.

I like that name better than a few others, such as H1N1-kicker or the Chupacabra since it contains nothing like tequila, Southern Comfort or Tabasco.

Gargoyles are meant to ward away bad things, and like plenty of those on medieval cathedrals comprised of different animals, this one is a chimera with the elder flower and the berry. Fitting in the face of a chimeric flu maybe (which I do not mean to make light of at all).

But I'm alternating this cocktail with caipirinhas to ward off scurvy too.

[StriperGuy]

There you go, the gargoyle it is...

[Cinnamon]

:) It's a little silly and overdone as a name, but ah well.

[StriperGuy]

"Silly and overdone" is the whole point of it...

[StriperGuy]

Just invented a new one:

El Toro Suave

1 oz Tequila
1 oz Sotol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sotol
1 Tsp Meyer lemon juice
1 Tsp lime juice
1 Tsp spiced cherry syrup
Garnish with a cherry.

[barleywino]

haven't had sotol, but...since we're talking cherry (this being the season), there's always the following version of a bing cherry mojito: muddle 8 bing cherries, add 2 oz rum, 1 oz Averna, 2 tbspn 100% maple syrup, mint, shake over ice and strain...i suspect Nardini Amaro would work even better (more mint overtones) if you can find it

[StriperGuy]

Sounds tasty. I'd lose the maple syrup though. I like the idea of a fresh cherry mojito though.

[barleywino]

i think the maple syrup takes the place of simple syrup which would ordinarily go into a mojito...a friend of mine once tried making it w/o the maple syrup and found it too bitter...but feel free to experiment!

[StriperGuy]

I would use simple syrup, just don't want the maple taste, which I otherwise like.

[davis_sq_pro]

I tried this recently (found the recipe from last time it was posted here) and found it to be a bit too sweet for my taste, and not especially refreshing. I don't think it's fair to call this a Mojito variant, as it lacks sourness. I do like the combination of Averna and cherry, and might try again with 1/2 oz Averna, 1/2 oz lime, and the rest as listed. I think the Averna and cherry alone should have enough sweetness to balance the lime.

[barleywino]

i agree that the lime would add more sourness. I find lime tends to overpower drinks but that's just my personal taste ;). of course a true mojito is all about the lime...

[davis_sq_pro]

I kept playing w/ the cherry+Averna idea and came up with:

8-10 Rainier cherries (depending on size)
1 oz Averna
1 1/2 oz gin (I've been using Hendricks)
1/4 oz St Germain
1/4 oz Strega
1/4 oz lime juice

Muddle cherries to release juice. Add the rest of the ingredients, shake hard with crushed ice, then tight strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a 4-carat emerald-cut diamond set in a yellow gold pendant, or just skip the garnish and sip the cocktail.

[barleywino]

nice-- will have to try this!

[barleywino]

Misty at Drink (Boston) did a rye, Averna, Amarena cherries muddled with black pepper, galliano, Angostura bitters, double strained into a rocks glass, which was quite nice

[StriperGuy]

Came up with another winner. Because it is basically an adapted Aviation I will call it an Amelia Earhart (the strawberries are a bit girly):

Amelia Earhart Cocktail

2 oz fresh local strawberry puree (I blended some with the gin)
2 oz gin
2 Tsp marascino liquer
1 Tsp creme de violette
2 Tsp simple syrup
Juice and zest of 1/2 meyer lemon
Shake and serve on the rocks, or straight, or whatever

Really, really tasty.

[isadorasmama]

We were in CT this past weekend and dined/drank at 116 Crown in New Haven. I had what they called a Belmont - bluecoat american dry gin, st. germain elderflower liqueur, rothman & winter creme de violette, soda - served on the rocks. It was DELICIOUS. I have no idea what the ratios are or where I'd find the ingredients locally. Off to google...

[invinotheresverde]

That's a funky take on the Aviation, sans Marashino, sub St. Germain.

[StriperGuy]

El Omnipotente Cocktail

2 Oz Cruzan 2 year aged rum
2 oz pineapple orange juice
1/4 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon julienned fresh ginger
Dash of grated nutmeg
Slice of lime

Muddle ginger with rum
Shake and serve on the rocks
drizzle molasses over top
squeeze lime
dust a bit of nutmeg powder on top and serve

[barleywino]

sounds great-- maybe even add a tbsp of tart citrus marmalade to the muddle?

[StriperGuy]

It was pretty sweet...

[StriperGuy]

Heck, I grew up in upper Manhattan so...

Upper Manhattan Cocktail

2 oz Jim Beam
1/2 Tsp Ginger Bitters (I made mine)
2 Tsp sweet vermouth
1 home made spiced cherry
1/2 Tsp spiced cherry juice

I like it on the rocks, stirred vigorously.

Dang good cocktail.

[StriperGuy]

Made up a new one last night:

Sort of like a kinder gentler dark and stormy:

Light and Breezy

2 oz Brugal Anejo Rum
1/4 Tsp ginger bitters (I make my own)

Shake and serve straight up or on the rocks.

The ginger compliments the delicate floral notes of the brugal in a wonderful way.

[StriperGuy]

Heck, just came up with another one:

Upper Manhattan Cocktail

2 oz Jim Beam (I tried Jim Beam Black and it was too oomphy)

1 Tsp Pedro Ximenez sherry (this is a type of very sweet dessert sherry, not a particular brand)

2 dashes angostura bitters (I used my home made, but angostura is pretty close)

Shake and serve straight up, or on the rocks

Garnish with a cherry (I used home made spiced cherries)

Explanation of the name: I grew up in Upper Manhattan. The use of sherry in lieu of sweet vermouth add a certain latin touch. Upper Manhattan is very latin, so there.

[rlh]

Have to add my new favorite first cocktail of the night, or after dinner choice (with credit for most of the recipe but not the proportions going to Peche in Austin, TX):

Paris Manhattan

2 oz cognac (I use Pierre Ferrand Ambre)
1 oz sweet vermouth (Antica is my current pick, Vya was in the original incarnation)
1/2 oz. St. Germain (overused, I know, but really good in this case)
2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters (the original had some awesome housemade cherry vanilla bitters reportedly from the Absinthe, SF restaurant cookbook that I cannot locate anywhere online or in print)

Stir well and strain into cocktail glass, garnish with brandied cherry or Luxardo marasca.

[barleywino]

have you checked Liquor World in Porter square (cambridge MA) for the cherry bitters?

[rlh]

No, but now I will - thanks!

[barleywino]

perhaps an even better alternative to the cherry bitters: Amarena liqueur (Brix on Broad st, Boston)

[StriperGuy]

My my my... what a nice Maitai

1.5 oz Cruzan dark
1 oz Lemon Hart Demarara Rum
.5 oz Ziyad almond syrup
.5 oz Luxardo amaretto
Juice of one lime
1 Tsp of juice from my home made brandied cherries (so sad the cherries are gone)
Shake well
I like mine on the rocks
Top with 1 Fabbri cherry

Note: my next adventure is whipping up some of my own Falernum