Liquid Persuasion

Think Pink! Four Favorite Pink Cocktails - FOOD RIOT

heidenkind — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:30:48 -0600

Think Pink! Four Favorite Pink Cocktails - FOOD RIOT:

Play with your food

What are your favorite pink cocktails? Let me know on Food Riot!

What's Your Poison?

heidenkind — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:30:49 -0600

I was reading one of my cocktail books a few weeks ago, where the author was talking about how alcohol is “literally a poison,” his exact words. This took me aback as I’d never heard alcohol was poisonous. I’d heard of alcohol poisoning, of course, but not that drinking in moderation might slowly kill you. It seems odd that something humans have been doing since literally the dawn of civilization (the first known recipe for beer dates from 7000 BCE—bonus, you can buy beer made from the recipe!) is actually poisonous. Sure, the Romans drank from led cups, BUT THEN THEY STOPPED THAT. We’re not still drinking from led cups.

Despite my doubts, however, I found myself concerned that I was actually poisoning myself. So I decided to do some research. It turns out that The Science is not in agreement with this idea that alcohol is poison, and calls the statement “misleading at best.” Technically anything can be poisonous in the right amounts, but that does not make it a classified poison. And hundreds of studies have shown that moderate drinkers actually live longer than teetotalers. Even heavy drinkers live longer than teetotalers, actually, by a margin of 3%.

The idea that alcohol was a poison began during Prohibition, started by the Anti-Saloon League. Then the government decided to use it to keep people from drinking, but not just as a propaganda campaign—they LITERALLY poisoned industrial alcohol, killing about 10,000 people before the 18th Amendment was repealed in 1933.

Governments and other anti-alcohol organizations continue to promote the idea that alcohol is a poison. For example, Scotland recently released the Drinking Mirror app, designed to show how drinking will age women (it’s killing you AND your skin cells!) in an effort to “appeal to their vanity” and get them to stop drinking. Hey, doesn’t the sun and mortgages and driving to work every day and having kids and basically being alive also age you? We should get PSAs for that as well. The creators of the app also claim that they’re targeting only heavy drinkers, but the app itself only has options for low- to moderate-drinking as defined by the medical community, and is thus targeting average drinkers (to be fair, heavy drinkers probably wouldn’t stop drinking just because an app told them to).

From what I’ve gathered through these articles, alcohol is only a poison if you overindulge in it or lived during Prohibition. The more you know!

Further Reading:

Imperial fizz Ingredients: 2 oz blended whiskey, 1 oz lemon...

heidenkind — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 18:30:49 -0600

Imperial fizz

Ingredients: 2 oz blended whiskey, 1 oz lemon juice, 1/2 tsp superfine sugar. Shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled glass; top with soda water.

Source: cocktails.about.com

Kind of a basic fizz, which I was really disappointed in for some reason. I don’t think winter is a good time for fizzes.

Golden friendship Ingredients: 1 oz each light rum, sweet...

heidenkind — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 18:30:29 -0600

Golden friendship

Ingredients: 1 oz each light rum, sweet vermouth, and amaretto. Combine in a glass filled with ice and stir, then top with ginger ale.

Source: Mr. Boston

This was delicious! This would make a great punch for a party. Highly recommended.

Manhasset Ingredients: 1 1/2 bourbon, 3/4 oz dry vermouth,...

heidenkind — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:30:52 -0600

Manhasset

Ingredients: 1 1/2 bourbon, 3/4 oz dry vermouth, 3/4 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

Manhasset is a neighborhood on Long Island. I found that out on Google. Anywhoooo, this was an interesting twist on the manhattan. If you’re out of bitters and want a perfect manhattan, this could be the recipe for you!

El presidente no. 2 Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 3/4 oz...

heidenkind — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 18:30:31 -0600

El presidente no. 2

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 3/4 oz dry vermouth, 1 dash Angostura bitters. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

According to legend, this cocktail is named el presidente because Cuban president Carmen Menocal tried to serve it to President Calvin Coolidge during a state visit once. But since this was during Prohibition, Coolidge reportedly declined, making him possibly the only person who didn’t drink during Prohibition.

Anywho… I kind of liked this cocktail. It looked very elegant and it tasted surprisingly complex considering there aren’t many ingredients. I recommend it!

Irresistible Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 1/2 oz sweet...

heidenkind — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 18:30:29 -0600

Irresistible

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/4 oz Benedictine, 1/4 oz lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Source: Mr. Boston

I have to say, the irresistible cocktail was not irresistible. And now I have that song by Beyonce stuck in my head.

Mariposa Ingredients: 1 oz light rum, 1/2 oz brandy, 1/2 oz...

heidenkind — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 18:30:48 -0600

Mariposa

Ingredients: 1 oz light rum, 1/2 oz brandy, 1/2 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz orange juice, 1 dash grenadine. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

This is a cute-looking lady drink. Unfortunately, the orange juice did not work for me in this. It just tasted off.

MarTEAni no. 2 Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Earl Grey-infused gin,...

heidenkind — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 18:30:46 -0600

MarTEAni no. 2

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz Earl Grey-infused gin, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, dash of lemon juice. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

I decided to use the leftover Early Grey gin to make a more a traditional martini than the original recipe. It worked really well! It wasn’t too tannin-y and the flavor of the tea and vermouth really worked well together.

Brandy gump Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz brandy, 3/4 oz lemon...

heidenkind — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 18:30:36 -0600

Brandy gump

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz brandy, 3/4 oz lemon juice, 1/4 oz grenadine. Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

Is it just me, or do you want this a bandy grump? Anyway, it’s kind of like a sidecar, but with grenadine instead of triple-sec. I think I’d rather just have a sidecar.

Metropole Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz brandy, 1 1/2 oz dry...

heidenkind — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 18:30:51 -0600

Metropole

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz brandy, 1 1/2 oz dry vermouth, 2 dashes orange bitters, 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled glass; garnish with a cherry.

Source: Mr. Boston

Kind of like a dry metropolitan, but with fancy bitters and a cherry. Did really do much for me, and the cherry added nothing.

White lion Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 1 oz lemon...

heidenkind — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:30:32 -0600

White lion

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 1 oz lemon juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 1 tsp grenadine, 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

I’m not sure why this is called a white lion when it’s so pink. Perhaps it was named after a club. Honestly, this drink did not stand out to me from my Pink Drink Phase. I suppose it was okay.

Night and Day Ingredients: 3/4 oz each of rye, sweet vermouth,...

heidenkind — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 18:30:33 -0600

Night and Day

Ingredients: 3/4 oz each of rye, sweet vermouth, and brandy, 1/2 oz maple syrup, 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters and 1 dash Angostura bitters. Stir with ice and strain into a glass over ice.

Source: Mr. Boston

Honestly, I don’t remember anything about this cocktail. But considering I switched out most of the ingredients for something else, maybe I don’t have the right to judge it anyway. I have a feeling it was probably too strong for me.

Three miller cocktail Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 3/4...

heidenkind — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 18:30:48 -0600

Three miller cocktail

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz light rum, 3/4 oz brandy, 1/4 oz grenadine, 1/4 oz lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

Think pink! Think pink, it’s the latest style you knowwwww…

Limestone cocktail Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz bourbon, 1 oz...

heidenkind — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 18:30:37 -0600

Limestone cocktail

Ingredients: 1 1/2 oz bourbon, 1 oz fresh lemon juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup. Add all ingredients to an ice-filled glass, stir, then top with soda water.

Source: Mr. Boston

Basically a Tom Collins but with bourbon, right? For me the flavor of the bourbon wasn’t balanced out enough (but I’m not a big bourbon fan), and the soda water made it taste odd for some reason. Not really a winner.

Saratoga cocktail (Jerry Thomas) Ingredients: Equal parts...

heidenkind — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 18:30:29 -0600

Saratoga cocktail (Jerry Thomas)

Ingredients: Equal parts brandy, rye whiskey, and dry vermouth, plus 2 dashes Angostura bitters. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Source: Mr. Boston

There are actually two Saratoga cocktails: one named after Saratoga, NY, and invented by Harry Johnson; the other named after Saratoga Springs and invented by Jerry Thomas. I’m not sure why this cocktail turned out so red-colored, but it tasted like a combination of a manhattan and a metropolitan.

Chocolate Crab Apple Bitters Ingredients: 1 cup vodka, 3-4 crab...

heidenkind — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 18:30:30 -0600

Chocolate Crab Apple Bitters

Ingredients: 1 cup vodka, 3-4 crab apples, 2 juniper berries, about 1 oz chocolate. Infuse in an airtight jar for about 2 weeks, shaking every day. Then strain out the solids and steep in hot water. Let water cool, then strain out solids again and add the water to the bitters.

So I set out to make my own bitters, and I really wanted to use stuff from my yard (hence the crab apples and juniper berries). I honestly had NO IDEA what I was doing or how this would turn out.

The bitters actually turned out pretty good, until I decided to add sugar to the water mixture. Then all of sudden it looked and smelled disgusting. So I don’t recommend doing that.

I also used them in a cocktail and they tasted okay, but a little odd. Not the most successful experiment, but it turned out better than I thought it would.

Gingersnap ‘skinny’ cocktail Ingredients: 2 oz gin, 3 oz ginger...

heidenkind — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 18:30:50 -0600

Gingersnap ‘skinny’ cocktail

Ingredients: 2 oz gin, 3 oz ginger ale, splash lime juice, dash of nutmeg. Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled glass.

Source: Skinnytinis by Teresa Marie Howes

I had major issues with this cocktail. First of all, who shakes carbonated beverages? That makes no sense. Second of all, it was gross. I think this might be the most foul cocktail I’ve ever made. The gin and ginger ale combo… ew. The smell of the nutmeg helped a little, but it would have made more sense to sprinkle it on top of the cocktail rather than shaking it with the other ingredients. Do not recommend.

A van vleet Ingredients: 3 oz light rum, 1 oz maple syrup, 1 oz...

heidenkind — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 18:30:32 -0600

A van vleet

Ingredients: 3 oz light rum, 1 oz maple syrup, 1 oz fresh lemon juice. Shake with ice and strain into a glass with ice.

Source: Mr. Boston

For some reason I expected this cocktail to be gross. It wasn’t—it was delicious! A perfect fall cocktail that I would definitely recommend.

Strawberry daiquiri Ingredients: In a shaker, muddle 2 chopped...

heidenkind — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 18:30:40 -0600

Strawberry daiquiri

Ingredients: In a shaker, muddle 2 chopped strawberries, 1 oz lime juice, 1/2 oz simple syrup. Add 1 oz light rum and shake everything with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

I do love strawberry daiquiris, and this one was really easy to make and tasted of summer. Yum. The only issue I had was that the strawberry seeds were a bit annoying. I also recommend making sure you have all the strawberry pieces out of your shaker before you put it in the dishwasher, because that stuff doesn’t come off.