The Chronosphere

The Chronosphere

"We have also earnt the right to be the first to test the newest addition to our arsenal, the Chronosphere."

-Gunter von Esling introducing the Chronosphere

Legends say, Albert Einstein built this phenomenal device in 1946 to help the Allies against Stalin's forces. In 2012, Celestino built this phenomenal shooter to help people chronoshift into bars or if used too rapidly, to the bathroom.

I introduce you to the Chronosphere!

To create this mind blowing (freezing) experience, you need to do some preparations. All ingredients, including the glass should be frozen cold. 

• 2 cl Sambuca
• 2 cl Blue curacao
• a small lime wedge

Fill a shot glass with crushed ice, half-way fill it with sambuca and carefully pour in the curacao. Remember that the curacao will freeze solid if held too long in the freezer. What I did was put it in the fridge first and in the freezer only for about 1½ hours so the liquod became thicker but wasn't completely frozen. Add a lime wedge (you can press the juices on top of the drink), stick a small straw in the glass and with one sip finish your drink!

Phoooie!

Sambuca's anise-flavors combined with the citrus from the curacao make an interesting combination. A few variations of the Chronosphere will be made, one with peppermint schnapps and one made in a tumbler, for a "longer" drink.

Red Corona

RED CORONA

"Opened up another vial, started drinking more beer
So I could wake up next to Heather Locklear"

 - Nine Coronas by Weird Al Yankovic

Today we're making a beer "cocktail"! Tuning up the original Corona to make a Red Corona you need:

• 1 bottle of Corona Extra
• a slice of lime
• 2.5 cl vodka (1 shot)
• a dash of grenadine

I used a British shot measure, 4 cl of vodka (using the Finnish standard) could be implied but I want to stay loyal to the original recipe so to speak.

What you need to do is the following. Open the corona and take a few sips until the beer level is around the bottle neck. Add the vodka, grenadine and squeeze in the lime wedge. Now using your thumb (or any finger that'll fit and make the bottle airtight), stick in inside the bottle and slowly turn the bottle upside down so the ingredients mix up properly.

That's it!

I couldn't taste the vodka at all! Then again it is no big surprise since as I have stated many previous times, grenadine has a nasty habit of overwhelming most flavors with great ease. In this case too, it tasted slightly like beer, more like fizzy grenadine with a little bite. I could imagine having a bunch of these with good friends. Actually, a Red Corona would be perfect with friends. Since this drink still has that deviously  hidden vodka kick, just watch not to have too many. Drink responsibly!

Blood and Sand

BLOOD AND SAND

This cocktail's history goes all the way back to the 1920's. It was named for Rudolph Valentino's 1922 bullfighter movie Blood and Sand (wiki'ed it, deal with it). I've heard some wild rumors of this cocktail and according to different sources the ingredients/measures vary a bit too. Maybe it's one of those "find the best proportions yourself" - kind of things, but this is how I rolled this cocktail:

• 3 cl Scotch
• 3 cl Blood orange juice
• 2 cl Sweet Red Vermouth
• 2 cl Cherry brandy (the original recipe calls for Cherry Heering, which I don't have, so I used De Kuyper Cherry brandy instead)
• a flamed orange zest

Add all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, fill it with ice and shake it! Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and flame up an orange zest, go around the glass's rims with it (having released the essential oils in the drink) and drop it in the drink. 

 This drink was...okay. Using scotch in a mixed drink wasn't really something I've used to do, and the cherry brandy's taste did overwhelm this cocktail a little bit. Also, the blood orange juice was well hidden. Overall, a slight disappointment as far as I am concerned. Next time I definitely have to use Cherry Heering or as some recipes mention, orange juice instead of blood orange juice. Go figure.

Americano

AMERICANO

Americano, 2012

Americano, 2013

Unlike Yolanda Be Cool and producer DCUP, today we do speak Americano! This is one of the more famous aperitifs so I had to give it a go. As I have mentioned earlier that I am not a big fan of bitter cocktails, especially those with Campari, but I just had to try this one and see if it lived up to its name.

First of all, what you need is:

• 3 cl Campari
• 3 cl Sweet Red Vermouth (Martini Rosso)
• Club soda
• An orange slice for garnish

Fill a tumbler (on-the-rocks-glass) with ice, pour both the campari and vermouth in the glass and top it off with club soda. Add a slice of orange for garnish.

That's it! As for the taste, I was a bit on the fence on this one. The club soda took most of the campari's edge off so it wasn't too bitter for my taste. The vermouth's sweetness gave this definite pre-dinner cocktail a nice touch, I admit. Just like the Campari Orange Passion I made a little while back, this cocktail had that sweetness which in my opinion helped a lot in making me like this drink. They're also super easy to make for a larger group of people, say as a beginning of an evening meal so I give the Americano a big thumbs up!

Some say Campari at its finest, I say close, but no cigar.

Sidecar

SIDECAR

In the course of my cocktail endeavours I have stumbled upon many different types of drinks. But in the end I can clearly see why some are just...better than the others. It goes without saying (although I am going to say it now) that those labelled as "traditional" truly live up to their names!

I present you with the Sidecar:

• 2 cl cognac (I used Meukow VSOP)
• 2 cl triple sec (Cointreau)
• 2 cl lemon juice

Or simply, 1 part each. There are several variations of the measures given but I used the ones mentioned above. I also used double measures because of my largish cocktail glass. This drink also reminded me of the Japanese Slipper cocktail I made some time ago, given the melon liquor is now replaced with cognac.

Firstly, use a lemon wedge to coat the rim of the glass and cover it in sugar. Put the glass in the fridge some time before you prepare your cocktail; add all ingredients in a cocktail shaker, add plenty of ice, shake vigorously and strain in your now chilled cocktail glass. Add an orange wedge on the side of the drink. Enjoy.

Just...wow. I can understand the popularity of this cocktail! I blew my mind away! The lemon juice's sourness and Cointreau's sweetness combined with the cognac's mellowness...It was a trip I didn't want to end.

This is a 5/5 cocktail hands down.