Old Fashioned

For a few years, I would order Old Fashioneds at restaurants, taverns, and bars, to gauge whether the bartenders were any good or not. It's not a complicated cohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifcktail, but that's exactly why it was a good determiner of whether the bar was any good or not. Screw up an Old Fashioned, and it made me wonder whether they were good at making anything.

Anyway, my favorite "in the field" Old Fashioned came from the Gemini Bistro, a really great little place on Lincoln Avenue that happens to serve wonderful food, as well. Nice atmosphere, great food, great service, and a great bar. Great great great!

Their "Velvety Old Fashioned" was easily the best one I'd had, so I set about trying to match it. The ingredients: Maker's Mark, Cointreau, Angostura Bitters. Plus the requisite maraschino cherries and the orange slice.

The challenge, of course, is the proportions. I think I have it sussed out:

Velvety Old Fashioned

1 jigger of Cointreau
2 jiggers of Maker's Mark
1 jigger of Simple Syrup
2-3 dashes of Bitters

Mix and serve in an Old Fashioned glass, garnished with two cherries and a slice of orange, over ice.

The above produces an Old Fashioned that is very, very close to the exemplary one they make at the Gemini Bistro. I think the bit of simple syrup is the key -- the sweetness of it anchors the spirits, making it strong-yet-smooth, always a good quality in a cocktail.

Of course, you're more than encouraged to drop by the Gemini to try it for yourself. It's a marvelous cocktail, and the Gemini Bistro is a marvelous little place!

Stinking Vicar

Oh, I'm pleased that my cocktail of old, the Stinking Vicar, has been rediscovered. I recommend RC as the cola of choice...

Subject: New: Stinking Vicar
From: Daibh
Posted: Mon Jan 9. 2006, 17:19 UTC

Stinking Vicar

* one collins glass (coffee mug will work, too)
* plenty of crushed ice
* two or three jiggers of orange curacao
* three dashes of bitters
* one diet soda (cola)
* garnish with a maraschino cherry (red)

Pour the orange curacao and the bitters over the ice, then add the soda.
Stir. Drink. And be merry.

First we drink Manhattans, then we take Berlin!

Stumblefoot

I was playing around with Calvados today, came up with a tasty, toasty concoction...


Stumblefoot

1 ounce dry sherry
1 ounce Calvados
5 dashes of bitters
3 ounces of apple cider

Serve in an apothecary glass, over ice. Add sherry, then the Calvados, then the bitters, then fill the glass with cider. Enjoy. Garnish with a green and a red maraschino cherry, if you like.

Mumbo Jumbo Bumbo

I've lately taken to making Bumbo. Something about the season, I dunno, it just suits me. I have crafted my own recipe (below), after kind of playing with the ingredients. Bumbo recipes don't tend to use ice, but I like'em with ice, personally. Your call on that. Play with the proportions until you get a tan-hued beverage where the citrus blends with the rum with hints of the spices in the taste. I tend to eyeball these ingredients, myself. You'll know when you've gotten it right. Hell I just made myself one while working on this entry. Bottoms up, me hearties!

Mumbo Jumbo Bumbo

Pint Glass

2 ounces spiced rum
5 dashes bitters
3 ounces of icewater
1 dash ground cinnamon
1 dash ground nutmeg
2 tsp. of sugar
orange juice
random garnish*

Start with the rum and the bitters. Add the water, cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar. Stir until nicely mixed. Then add some crushed ice and the orange juice to fill the glass, giving it a quick stir.

*Garnish with a cinnamon stick, a red maraschino cherry, a twist of orange peel, or an orange wedge, if you like.