Don't Try This at Home

Sometimes things just don't work out. You come up with an idea that seems to make sense (say, sending a gerbil to the moon), may even be easy to implement (ie buy homemade rocket kit; stick gerbil in homemade rocket; light rocket), but the results just aren't what you were hoping for (ie flaming gerbil is imbedded in neighbor's roof, which is now also on fire). Thus was my experiment with coming up with a cocktail that would utilize the blueberry infused bourbon I made a couple of weeks ago.

Inspired by a recipe for blueberry infused bourbon and associated drink I saw in Imbibe magazine (I didn't have all of the ingredients for the drink in the magazine - anyone have a bottle of Benedictine just sitting around?), I had made a Blueberry Manhattan when my friend Ana came over for drinks and dinner the other night. I thought that was very good, but it was a little sweet, and the blueberry flavor didn't really come through. So I wanted to make something that would showcase the blueberry taste (otherwise why make the stuff in the first place, right?) and also add a little complexity to the flavor.

Looking through my cocktail books, I came across a recipe for a drink called a Rattlesnake. A bourbon based drink, but it added some lemon juice, egg white, and a dash of Pernod. Sweet, sour, bitter, creamy - sounded like the complex flavor profile I was looking for, and the blueberry / lemon / anise flavor I thought would be really nice complements for one another. I didn't have Pernod (sounds like I need to go shopping), so instead I planned to use some Le Tourment Absinthe (especially since it just called for a dash).

I placed all of the necessary ingredients in a Boston shaker, shook it vigorously, and strained into a rocks glass over ice, garnishing with a slice of lemon rind. Looked really promising - nice froth from the egg white, and the color was a really pretty bluish pink. Smelled good too, although more lemon came through than anything. So then the taste, and.....eh. None of the blueberry flavor, nor even the bourbon flavor, came through. The lemon was very up front, and the absinthe just made the whole thing taste "off." Figuring I needed to adjust the proportions, I made two other versions, increasing the bourbon content and lowering the lemon and ansinthe proportions. Still not all that good. At this point, having consumed three strong cocktails, I was in no condition to be doing unbiased critical evaluations of anything, so I bagged it.

Maybe I'll try the cocktail with the Benedictine in it (I think my father-in-law has a bottle). But as far trying to craft my own unique cocktail recipes, I think I'll hold off, make cocktails from "proven" recipes, and just work on creating some sort of fire retardant suit for a gerbil. R.I.P. AstroGerb v.1.0 - never forget :'(

Blueberry Infused Bourbon

1/2 pint of washed, whole blueberries
bourbon (amount will depend on size of the infusion container)

Place whole blueberries in a container which can be sealed air tight. Fill container with bourbon to at least completely cover the blueberries. Let sit in a cool place for approximately three weeks. Then drain bourbon through a coffee filter into as serving container, discarding the fruit. Keeps for 2 to 3 weeks.

Blueberry Rattlesnake

1 1/2 measures of blueberry-infused bourbon
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp simple syrup
1 egg white
few drops Pernod (I used Le Tourment Absinthe)

Put all ingredients into a cocktail shaker and shake very well. Strain into a rocks glass and add more ice.

Portonic

Food magazines are so hit and miss. I used to get Gourmet, Bon Appetit, Food and Wine, and I think a couple of other food magazines, and in any given month, I might be able to pull two recipes from all of them combined that looked worth trying. Of those recipes, I would put, at most, one in my folder of "keeper" recipes every 6 months. But every few years one of those magazines would be stuffed with awesome recipes or food / drink ideas from fonrt to back. The June 06 Food and Wine is an issue like that - tons of great grilling suggestions, recipes, and wine picks. In their grilling section, I found a recipe for this refreshing cocktail - the Portonic.

Named probably because it's easy to describe if you're several barbeques into a long Memorial Day weekend ["ummmmm.....that drink with the port....and tonic....ummm...you looking at my hotdog funny? You want a piece of thi..." (cue sound of drunk man falling into a kid's sandbox)], it's a great party drink because it's so easy to whip up as many as you need. White port is harder to find than regular port, but it's worth seeking out. Not as overly sweet nor as strong as a regular ruby or tawny port, it's great for mixing. In this cocktail, the bitterness of the tonic water cuts that sweetness even more, making for a very drinkable cocktail that's right at home at an upscale cocktail party or a backyard gathering of drunken pickle vendors.

Portonic

2 oz white port
2 oz tonic water
1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Fill white wine glass with ice. Add port and lime juice, and then add tonic water. Garnish with a lime peel on a toothpick, or with a sprig of mint.

Frozen Banana Daiquiri

Exotic, tropical drinks always seemed very intimidating to me (not to drink, of course - drinking them is painfully easy.) Between the combinations of fruit, fruit juices, somewhat exotic liquors, and having to know whether the garnish was an umbrella, a chunk of fruit, or a shrunken monkey head, it all seemed like just too much info to bother processing just to make a drink. Zombies, Stingers, Blue Hawaiians, Daiquiris - more than happy to drink them if someone else was making them (and REALLY more than happy if someone else was buying), but I wasn't going to fool around with all that fussy stuff.

A daiquiri is the OPPOSITE of fussy - in fact, it's so simple, the only really fussy thing about it is its name. Created in Cuba at the end of the 19th century, and made fashionable in the US during the 1940's when rum was much easier to come by than gin, vodka, or whiskey (because of open trade policies with Latin America), a daiquiri is white rum, lime juice, and sugar. Period. It really doesn't get to much simpler than that. For my version, I just happened to have two bananas that were about to go south, so I threw those in as well for some extra flair and made a frozen version. This is a super easy drink to make and, given its simplicity, a really easy drink recipe to remember (which is probably why it became so popular - most drunks can remember how to put three ingredients together in a glass regardless of how many drinks they've had prior.) The non-frozen, non-banana version is shaken with plenty of ice and strained into a cocktail flute - the frozen version is blended with plenty of ice and poured into a margarita glass.

Frozen Banana Daiquiri

2 oz white rum (I didn't have any, so I used Appleton Estate)
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz simple syrup
1 ripe banana

Put all ingredients in a blender. Add ice to blender (to half full for one drink.) Blend until smooth. Poor into a margarita glass and garnish with a lime slice.

Ginger Peach Martini

One of the things I like about making cocktails (and making beer for that matter) is that essentially all you're doing is cooking - you have the latitude to determine the recipe, the quality of the ingredients, the proportions. And nothing dictates the quality of your ingredients better than if you make those ingredients yourself. For this cocktail, I took inspiration from a great ginger martini they make at the Oval Room in DC (right near the White House), and from the bottle of peach infused vodka I had decided to whip up last week (and didn't know when I was going to use).

Despite the fancy sounding name - and even the two home produced ingredients - this is incredibly simple to make. And the resulting cocktail is gorgeous - that pink color in the drink is solely from the peach skins coloring the vodka during the infusion process.

Ginger Peach Martini

3 measures peach infused vodka (see recipe below)
1 measure ginger syrup (see recipe below)
1/2 tsp of fresh lime juice

Pour vodka, syrup, and lime juice into a pint glass. The add a handful of cracked ice cubes to the glass (important to add ice only when you are ready to start making the drink). With a bar spoon, stir the drink evenly for about 30 seconds (the volume of ice should be reduced by about a quarter as it melts off). Strain into a cold martini glass, garnish with a lime twist.

Peach Infused Vodka

375ml (roughly) of vodka (Stoli)
one slightly under ripe peach, sliced

In a container which can be sealed air tight (even better if it's a pretty bottle or decanter) and which will hold roughly 375 ml of liquid, place the peach slices in the container. Pour vodka over peaches, making sure that all the peach slices are covered with the alcohol, and seal. Make sure to use an almost, but not quite, ripe peach, as a ripe peach will deteriorate faster in the vodka and won't infuse its flavors as well. Place in a cool spot not hit by direct sunlight for about a week, or until the peach slices start to look a little bit darker than when they went into the container. Strain out the vodka through an unbleached paper towel. This can be done either into the serving container, or, if you want to use the container the vodka was being infused in, remove and discard the peaches, quickly rinse the inside with water, and pour the vodka back in. Vodka should last at least a month.

Ginger Syrup

2 cups organic milled cane sugar
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups of fresh ginger root, sliced (no need to peel)

Bring all ingredients to a boil, and then reduce hit to simmer until liquid is reduced by a third, about 45 minutes. Take liquid off heat and allow to cool to room temp. Strain into a sealable container, discarding ginger. Refrigerate. Syrup will keep for about three weeks.

Margarita

A margarita is the party-throwers best friend. People have all kinds of preferences when it comes to drinks - "I don't like bourbon." "sweet drinks really make me gag," "you put an umbrella in my drink and I'll punch you in the face," and on and on. But a margarita - I don't think I have ever heard anyone say they didn't like a margarita. And it's an added bonus that they are super simple to make (although surprisingly easy to screw up.)

In my estimation, there are really just three rules to making a very good margarita: DON'T use a mix; use the best quality ingredients you can afford; and make it COLD. Do all three of these things in unison, and the only thing holding you back from a perfect drink is the wrong proportions.

Proportions are relatively flexible with this drink - some prefer some more tequila taste, some prefer more lime. My preference is to have a one to one ratio of tequila to triple sec, and then about 3/4 of lime juice. Like I said - quality ingredients make a difference. Triple sec is good - Cointreau is better. Jose Cuervo is OK if you're in a bind - a 100% agave tequila like Patron Anejo is WAY better. And lime juice better be from a lime - a bottle of Rose's Lime Juice should never come within 100 feet of a margarita.

And as for cold - as the Boston Shaker explains in his demonstration on How2Heroes ( http://how2heroes.com/newsletters/05.21.09_grilling/ ) - you shake a margarita until the shaker gets so cold your hand hurts - and then you shake it some more.

Margarita

2 measures tequila (100% pure agave anejo)
2 measures Cointreau
1 1/2 measures fresh lime juice

Prepare margarita glasses by rubbing a lime wedge on half the outside rim of the glass. Roll the wet side of the glass in kosher salt (don't get salt in the glass or on the actual rim . Place ice in a shaker. Pour ingredients over the ice and shake vigorously until extremely cold (about 30 seconds). Strain into prepared glass, garnish with a lime slice.

Pisco Sour - v.Dos

So having failed (relatively speaking) at my first attempt at making a Pisco Sour, I decided to try the Wikipedia version of the recipe, which called for limes, egg whites, bitters, and simple syrup in addition to the pisco. I utilized the agave nectar in place of the simple syrup because I was just too lazy to make some real simple syrup (and I had a couple of beers after work, so I wasn't in the prepping mood). Knowing I had the right ingredients, I tried again at making a decent example of this drink.

This time I think I succeeded. The egg white was the real difference - without that, I don't think you have a drink anywhere near as good. I had never really used egg whites in drinks before - both because of a concern about killing myself (highly over dramatized - if you have fresh eggs, there is almost no chance of any type of botulism issue), and because I wasn't really looking to mix up cocktails that called for eggs most of the time anyway. But the egg white not only gives you a nice frothy head on the drink, but it gives the drink a creamy, velvety texture definitely not present without it. It's a texture really foreign to citrusy cocktails normally, and that makes it even better. The key is to really shake the hell out of it - straining it into the glass brings the froth level down some, so you want to be sure to build up a lot in the shaker to ensure a good amount makes it into the final product.

Pisco Sour

2 parts pisco
1 part lime juice
1 part simple syrup (agave nectar)
1 egg white
bitters (Angostura, or home made)

Add ice to a Boston shaker. Add pisco, lime juice, agave nectar, and egg white. Shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Strain into an old fashioned glass. Add two to three drops of bitters to top.

Juice King

Check my awesome juicer - rightfully named the Juice King. Suz bought this years ago at a thrift store (I think) and it has gotten sporadic use over the years. But I use it a lot now, and it really does get every available drop of juice from everything from key limes to grapefruit. Perfect design - completely functional, does exactly what it is designed to do, and does it flawlessly. Not sure why these things aren't still in production.