Category Archives: Cocktails

Drink of the Week: Penicillin

Posted on January 23, 2015 | 1 comment

Robbie Burns Day is January 25. I am not Scottish, and you won’t find me partying on Sunday, but I may raise a glass of Laphroaig Quarter Cask to Scottish poet and famous ladies’ man Robert Burns. The single malt scotch whisky, aged in smaller “quarter” casks said to provide the spirit 30 percent greater contact with the barrel wood (and thus intensify the maturation process), is full-bodied and smoky, with a subtle sweetness. It’s lovely on its own but as with most spirits, I prefer mine in a cocktail.

Enter the Penicillin. Although its name is medicinal, this cocktail is anything but antiseptic. It is, however, liquid therapy. The roundness of the blended scotch and the sweet, smoky, peaty flavour of the Laphroaig combine with tart lemon and spicy ginger to make a cocktail that Robbie Burns himself might’ve penned an ode to.

A little shot of this and you'll be ready to party like Robbie Burns!

A little shot of this and you’ll be ready to party like Robbie Burns, Scotland’s favourite son. 

Penicillin

  • 2 oz blended scotch, Teacher’s (I used Ancient Clan)
  • 1/4 oz Laphroaig Quarter Cask
  • 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 oz honey-ginger syrup
  • Garnish: candied ginger

Method: Combine ingredients and shake with ice. Strain into a rocks glass, preferably one with a large ice cube. Garnish with candied ginger.

— Recipe by mixologist Sam Ross of Milk & Honey, Little Branch, New York, NY

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Elderflower Pear Margarita

Posted on January 16, 2015 | 2 comments

Who knew George Clooney makes tequila? Well, he’s not the actual master distiller, but he’s one of the power names behind Casamigos Tequila, along with Rande Gerbe and Mike Meldman. Clooney’s signature is even on the bottle.

George Clooney is a co-owner of Casamigos Tequila.

George Clooney is a co-owner of Casamigos Tequila.

Celebs and their rock star cousins have been throwing a bit of their fortunes into spirits for awhile now (remember Cabo Wabo tequila, courtesy of Sammy Hagar?). Dan Aykroyd brings us Crystal Head Vodka, Kenny Chesney has a line of made-in-Barbados rums, and Justin Timberlake is behind 901 Tequila. So it’s not surprising tequila-lover Clooney would get in on the game with a premium blanco and reposado tequila (an anejo will be added to the Casamigos collection some time this year).

The Casamigos website lists some great-sounding recipes from bars across North America. Los Pollos Hermanos sounds amazing — who knew you could put chicken stock in a cocktail? I was sent a bottle of the blanco to sample and since I don’t have any “clarified chicken stock” on hand, I decided to try the product in a margarita. I usually prefer a reposado in my margs, but I thought the blanco worked well in an Elderflower Pear Margarita.

The Casamigos blanco is smooth, no burn at all going down and with nice floral aromas and a taste of sweet agave. I felt the blanco would pair well with St-Germaine and its sweet, floral, not-quite-pear-nor-citrus taste, so I subbed that liqueur for Cointreau in my margarita twist. I also had an overripe pear on hand and decided to see how that would taste muddled into the mix. It added a subtle pear flavour and that, along with the St-Germaine, made the drink stand out. (I’m not sure I’d make it again though as it was a bit laborious straining the pear out!)

Elderflower Pear Margarita

This margarita twist features St-Germaine and the soft, sweet flavour of muddled pear to offset the tequila and lime. Note Clooney’s signature on the bottle!

Elderflower Pear Margarita

  • 1.5 oz Casamigos blanco tequila
  • 1 oz St-Germaine
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • 1 barspoon agave syrup
  • 1/4 ripe pear
  • Garnish: pear wedge

Method: Rim a rocks glass with salt and fill with crushed ice. In the bottom of a cocktail shaker muddle ripe pear with lime juice and agave syrup. Add Casamigos blanco, St-Germaine and ice and shake. Fine strain into the rocks glass and garnish with a pear wedge.

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Drink of the Week: Hashtag Boom (redux)

Posted on January 9, 2015 | Leave a comment

I first wrote about this cocktail two years ago after it won a Beam Global competition at Vine Arts. Its creator, Matt LaRocque, formerly of Taste, moved over to Charcut and brought this drink with him. In the intervening years he’s played with the recipe a bit and I got to sample the updated Hashtag Boom at an event at Charcut last night.

LaRocque has switched bourbons to Bulleit, added a half ounce of New Deal Ginger liqueur and traded Fentiman’s for Grizzly Paw ginger beer. Most significantly, the drink is now served in a tall glass instead of a short one and tastes longer on the ginger beer and less spirit-forward on the bourbon. I could taste the bourbon, it just wasn’t all-powerful. The gastrique adds a nice spicy, sightly vinegar-y taste that’s subtle but still noticeable. Best of all, the drink was delicious paired with Charcut’s famous charcuterie (love the mortadella!).

This strong and spicy cocktail complements Charcut's charcuterie.

The Hashtag Boom, a strong, long and spicy cocktail, complements Charcut’s delicious charcuterie.

The evening was hosted by Maui tourism folks, so we talked a lot about the island, food and cocktail culture, and one of its upcoming food and wine festivals, Ka’anapali Fresh. I easily pictured myself on a lanai drinking a Hashtag Boom, which happens to be the exact colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

This warming, ginger-imbued winter sip is the colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

This warming, ginger-imbued winter sip is the colour of a Hawaiian sunset.

Hashtag Boom

  • 1.5 oz Bulleit bourbon
  • .5 oz New Deal Ginger
  • 1 oz red pepper gastrique
  • 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
  • 2 dashes peach bitters
  • Top Grizzly Paw ginger beer
  • Garnish: lemon twist

Method: Shake all ingredients except ginger beer with ice. Strain into a tall glass over fresh ice.

— Recipe courtesy Charcut

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