B-52

B-52

If you look closely, you can see the blue fire.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm back with my wife from Germany, where we spent Christmas with my sister, my brother and his family. It was a good holiday, no, it was an amazing holiday for us. Now that the celebrations are "over", it's time to start a the upcoming New Year's with a blazing shooter! I introduce you to the well-known B-52!

• 1/3 shot Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Gran Marnier (triple sec)
• (matches and fire safety)

Layer the ingredients as mentioned (coffee, cream, triple sec) and optionally light the shooter on fire. You can either use a short straw or just blow out the fire and then shoot!

Regrettably, this cocktail...has really more hype than flavor. I...just couldn't get much out of this! It's a pretty shooter nonetheless and if you're feel like blazing up a few drinks, consider this OR the Kiki.

Hot Toddy

HOT TODDY

Our episodes of warm drinks continues! Now with a Hot Toddy! This is a very versatile drink, easily modified to suit one's needs. This recipe I pulled off from Liquor.com, but adjusted it to my taste. Hot Toddies are excellent winter drinks and with a little tweaking you can make one helluva drink. What you need is:

• 4 to 6 cloves
• a lemon twist
• 0.75 cl lemon juice
• 2 tea spoons of demerara (or brown) sugar
• hot water
• 5 cl aged rum

Now you can easily use whiskey, cognac or any spirit you find best to your taste. The "original" recipe called for a 12yo single malt but instead I used an aged rum from Venezuela, which ended up being superb!

First pour boiling water in your mug and let it stand (for the mug to warm up nicely). While it sits, cut a lemon twist and stick your cloves through it. Now pour out your water and add new boiling water into your mug. Add your sugar, stir to dissolve, your lemon twist, stir once again and thirdly your lemon juice. Finally add your choice of spirit and stir for the final time.

You'll end up with one good Hot Toddy. You're welcome :)

The cognac brand tasting, part I

THE COGNAC BRAND TASTING

PART I

random picture from the interwubs

Greetings again. This post I consider an "intro" to something that will happen perhaps (hopefully) during February, 2014. It's the continuum to my previous tastings (I've grown so fond of these!), namely the vodka blind tasting and the herbal liqueur blind tasting. It's the cognac (known brand) tasting.

What this means is that instead of doing the usual blind tasting like I did before (no bottles shown, one person at a time and so forth), I'll invite a small group friends over to my place, we'll taste four different cognacs and people actually see what they're tasting. Moreover, I'll find out some known facts/information from the brands being tasted so we can later discuss them. I will act as the master of ceremonies and also make something small to nibble on (I've been thinking of chocolate truffles among others since we're dealing with cognacs here) and finally I'll make one cognac based cocktail to each guest. We'll take notes (like before) and of course I'll compile them to everyone to see later on.

As the cherry on top of the cake I have ~20 cognac glasses I got from my work place (they are not in use there anymore) so after the tasting each guest can have a set of four of these glasses to take home with them! It's a total win-win situation!

So in our first tasting we had herbal liqueurs (albeit just a tiny sample). In the second tasting we had vodkas. Now we're dealing with cognacs. Taking a sneak&peek at my bar cabinet I noticed the my VSOP collection consists of:

• Baron Otard
• Courvoisier
• Hennessy
• Meukow
• Rémy Martin

Out of these five I can only choose four...which end up in the tasting (to be honest, which one will be left out would be more correctly said), that is still left to see.

Personally, I don't have too many expectations how this'll turn out think this'll turn out amazing and astonishing and marvelous in every aspect known to man! Really, it might be a challenging tasting since different cognacs might taste all the same to us (?). Then again, maybe they don't. But what I do know that it'll be an awesome evening with friends, food&drinks and a jolly good time; that's what matters.

BB Cocoa

BB COCOA

On the 3rd day of vacation my bar cabinet brought to me...A BB Cocoa! Continuing our successful line of warm drinks, here's another cocktail that I remembered from the list of drinks at our bar. The "BB" stands for "Brandy&Butterscotch". At the bar we use the traditional Jaloviina, alas I did not have it so I had to trust in my other "brandy-pals":

• 2 cl brandy
• 2 cl butterscotch liqueur
• hot cocoa
• (fresh cream float)

The hot cocoa I prepared just like I did with the Minttukaakao, but now I used only 1.5 dl (a tad more than ½ a cup) milk and only 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Having prepared my glass with hot water beforehand, I poured the alcohols first, then the cocoa and as usual, a good thick float of fresh cream.

The smell is amazing. The fudge-like aromas invaded my nose and then the brandy's "kick" came in second. A delightful mixture, where all ingredients fit perfectly; brandy, butterscotch and hot chocolate.

A solid alcoholic hot chocolate drink for those "special" occasions!

Minttukaakao

MINTTUKAAKAO

Greetings! Continuing our episodes of "warm drinks", there's one particular I want to bring forth; the Minttukaakao. No, there is no such thing as "Mint Hot Chocolate", no sir! It is and will always be "Minttukaakao". 

This is one of those warm cocktails at least us Finns order in massive amounts. They make this into a thermos, go "skiing" (among other things) and drink this. The Minttukaakao has become, as far as I know, a some sort of ideal. Winter and Minttukaakaos go hand-in-hand  with each other. That said, I wanted to prepare myself one of these. (Gosh I can't remember the last time I've had one)

In order to make a proper Minttukaakao, keep in mind that this is not a light drink. Quite the opposite to be exact! I remember my colleague say one evening that one of the customers asked for a "Minttukaakao without the cream float; I'm on a diet." O tempora, o mores! :D

• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (such as Van Houten)
• 1-1½ teaspoons of sugar
• ~2 dl (a tad less than a cup) of whole milk (regular milk is okay too, avoid skimmed/low-fat)
• fresh cream for the float (optional, especially if preparing for a thermos)
• 4 cl Minttu (but any white peppermint schnapps will do)

In a small pan mix the cocoa powder, sugar and milk. Heat it up until almost boiling. In a cup (remember to warm it beforehand) pour in the minttu and add the cocoa. With the help of a spoon float the cream on top.

I must say. It did its job! I believe this is best enjoyed with friends when it's freezing outside...and you guys are inside :)

Monte Cristo Coffee

MONTE CRISTO COFFEE

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

- Dr. Seuss

Hello again dear readers!

My thoughts of coffee cocktails has been brewing (tee-hee) for a long time now. I've read about them a lot as well as any alcoholic beverage that is enjoyed warm/hot. The promo pictures are so delicious looking I've always wanted to make one myself (here's a good example of one). The only problem I've found with these kind of drinks is that 90% of the time they look exactly the same; it's black/brown and a float of loosely whipped cream on top. Maybe some chocolate sprinkles or powdered cocoa on top. So making a dozen of different flavored coffee cocktails wouldn't make sense per se; I'd have a dozen similar looking pictures. 

So the only thing where I can make an actual difference is

1. Choose a different kind of glass
2. Choose "unorthodox" garnishes (that still apply for the drink overall)

At work we make various warm cocktails. During the holiday season we sell plenty of glögi, both with and without alcohol. Irish coffees and peppermint hot chocolates and all of those are ordered on a rather regular basis as well. Figures since it's cold outside and people like to drink warm drinks (coffee) in Finland, so why not combine both?

Anyhow, one of the more known coffee cocktails is the Monte Cristo coffee. I actually saw a colleague of mine do this in a wine goblet and it really hit me; "Why not?" Having had a rough weekend at work (long hours in consecutive days) I really wanted to do this and see how it goes down as a coffee drink:

• 2.5 cl Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 2.5 cl Cointreau (triple sec)
• hot coffee
• loosely whipped cream

First warm up the glass. Pour in the liquors, add the coffee and finally with the help of a spoon gently pour the loosely whipped cream on top to create a float. Serve.

In our bar we use 2:2cl respectively (regulations) and some recipes in the wonderland we call internet call for 3 cl kahluá/1.5 cl cointreau (gran marnier) for a more coffee-tasting experience. Given, that would've probably worked a tad better; although this cocktail tasted great, the orange flavors did overwhelm the coffee aromas a little bit.

Either way, I've really warmed up (tee-hee) for these kind of drinks! Coffee cocktails, I salute you!

The Great Vodka Blind Taste

THE GREAT VODKA BLIND TASTE

Before we really start this off, we all know how in a rather...tipsy-ish state each and every vodka might (or might not) taste alike. We can't really tell a difference between a vodka that has been branded as a premium product (such as Grey Goose or Belvedere) or a vodka that is considered to be a rail-vodka. Well okay, the difference between the best and worst can probably be noted but real differences usually not. This is why I thought of pulling off this blind tasting.

I present you with a special kind of blog post. You might remember my herbal-liqueur blind tasting from some five months ago, where I tested three different liqueurs with five friends of mine. Inspired about the results back then I wrote (and quote myself)

"All in all, this blind tasting experiment was a great success and I would like to do it again, with different products of course."

And I did. With Vodkas. да! Having learnt from my earlier test regarding the process that was involved in this kind of experiment I do admit that right after my first tester the blind taste "evolved". Meaning, I tweaked/tuned it making it more compatible/reliable for the next testers and so forth. But the basics stayed the same (again quote from my earlier test with modifications written in italics):

I figured out how to maximize the most "realistic" results:

1. The subjects tasted these vodkas by themselves (to minimize the influence of others' opinions) whereas I wrote down whatever they said
2. The subjects never saw any of the bottles used (to minimize the influence and associations of the bottle/label)
3. Only 1-2 cl (roughly ½ fl. oz.) / vodka
4. The order for each product was not random (randomness makes no difference and helped me with the paperwork)
5. The subjects were to review smell (nose) taste and mouthfeel
6. The subjects gave points to each vodka from 0-100 where taste was worth 50% and mouthfeel 50%. Smell has no points value but comments are still written down.

Moreover, instead of five test subjects I had eight and instead of three different products I had six. I also included one joker, which in the end was not count towards the "official" ranking table and one "booze", which itself isn't a vodka per se. More of that later.

Again, this was no competition and the test subjects were told about this. Just like with the earlier blind tasting, there are no winners, no wrongs or rights. Just a fun blind taste to see how (or if at all) different vodkas differ from another.

We do have to keep in mind that albeit this is a qualitative test, there are still many many many factors that all affect it; what a person has/n't eaten before, if a person smokes (does affect sensors) and of course; personal taste. Disregard all that science stuff  and we'll have a proper experiment at hand! :)

THE VODKAS

(from left to right)

1. Stolichnaya vodka (Russia, bottled in Latvia)

2. Finlandia 50% (100 proof) (Finland)

3. Russian Standard (Russia)

4. Koskenkorva Viina (Finland)

5. Smirnoff Vodka (Russia, bottled in the UK)

6. Marskin Ryyppy (Finland)

Two, no, three points here. 

1. Finlandia 50% (100 proof) has a higher alcohol content by volume (compared to e.g. Stolichnaya, which has 38% (76 proof)

2. Koskenkorva Viina is not a vodka per se. It's booze. I still told people we're dealing with vodkas here.

3. Marskin Ryyppy is actually a flavored product. My intentions were to see what people thought of it (when the assumption was "flavorless" vodkas only)

It took me roughly 2½ months to complete this test. Below you can see the points that were given to each vodka! I highlighted the scores that were the highest/lowest from each participant separately for both entries. You can see how I highlighted Marskin Ryyppy yellow; I wrote down the points but they were not included in the final scoring due to it not being a flavorless vodka.

...*drum fill* And the winner is, (was indeed a close battle!) SMIRNOFF VODKA! With only a 8 point (!) difference it beat Stolichnaya!

1. Smirnoff vodka 485

2. Stolichnaya vodka 477

3. Koskenkorva viina 464

4. Russian Standard 445

5. Finlandia 50% 403

(Marskin Ryyppy 590)

What's really surprising that the point-range is only a mere 82 points between the lowest/highest ranking vodka. So overall this was a tough competition! What we can see from the statistics already is that Stolichnaya had the best taste but Smirnoff had clearly the best mouthfeel. Also an interesting point how Finlandia 50% received rather horrible scores from mouthfeel; given it is a way stronger vodka than the rest; people noticed it...and didn't like it.

Many did notice the flavored vodka (a wolf among sheep if you may) and the strong alcohol content from Finlandia. Finally I compiled all of the notes/comments of different vodkas into easily read papers. The comments are not in any specific order; if you read them carefully you might notice similarities in some vodkas from different test subjects.

This has been an amazing experience overall. Just...wow! The amount of raw data (and vodka) I had to deal with was massive but this time I had my shit coordinated (like always :D). Who knows...maybe I'll make another blind taste with...chuckle, different products next time?

A big thanks to everyone participating. If you have any comments/questions regarding this I am more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

KC Tea

KC TEA

2013 version

2016 version

Hello again boys and girls!

It's been quite a while since my last update but have no fear, another cocktail is here! Easy to make, this cocktail has an interesting combo that'll work! Before we go to the specifics, I have to say that this recipe was "given" to me by a customer at my work. To be honest, I first didn't quite catch the name of the drink but after he told me what comes in it, I quickly google'd down the ingredients and bam!

Introducing the KC Tea.

• 5-6 cl (2 fl oz. or a double shot) of Hennessy VS (many recipes specifically call of VS, albeit I used VSOP since I didn't have the VS brand)
• Sprite
• a lemon wedge

In a tumbler build the drink; add the ice, the cognac and top it off with sprite. Squeeze the lemon wedge onto the drink and drop it in as well.

If I had used a highball - glass, this drink would've been much more "diluted". With the tumbler...wow. A strong, yet pleasant drink to have! The cognac gives its kick + the citrus aromas from the sprite are well noted. But next time I would probably make this in a bigger glass. Probably.

2016 Edit*

So yes, I made this one, pretty much (!) three years later in a bigger glass! A G&T - goblet! Using the same amount of liquor I was now able to add more soda which made this drink deviously pleasant! I can hardly taste the alcohol in this one! :D

Watermelon Whip

WATERMELON WHIP

(Two versions of it)

Good evening again! Here is a cocktail I quickly summed up for my wife, is easy to make and tastes delicious! I call it the Watermelon Whip.

• 2-3 lime wedges
• 2 cl cointreau OR aged rum
• 2 cl watermelon liqueur
• pineapple juice

First squeeze in the lime wedges, add some ice and add the alcohols. As you can see in the pictures, on the right version I poured the watermelon liqueur last. Apparently it didn't sink and mix with the juice (which was nice). Top it off with some pineapple juice, add a few straws and if wanted a lime wheel/wedge as a garnish. Done!

This was an excellent drink. I used a smaller glass on purpose; if you have a bigger glass, just double the ingredients and you should be fine. The watermelon liqueur (which I haven't used before) worked well with the rest of the ingredients and even when I substituted the cointreau with aged rum, the drink didn't lose its initial "touch". The rum + pineapple did work together quite nicely!

Tears of happiness & Life as a bartender

EXPERIENCING THE CONCEPT
"AFTER WORK"

Let the Dude dance!

I believe the following experience I had deserves its own segment I like to call Tears of happiness & Life as a bartender.

First though I need to back up a few months. Roughly 1½ months ago I officially started my career as a bartender. Following the co-determination at my old work place I realized I would never advance in my career working there. Not to mention the love for cocktails and customer service, I also realized that now would be my time to look for another job.

At this today I work at Restaurant Teerenpeli; 

"Teerenpeli restaurants offer a large selection of home-brewed and imported beers and ciders. Beers and ciders brewed by Teerenpeli Brewery are famous around Finland and have won several prizes in different competitions."

Their flagship product, the Single Malt 8 Year Old whisky

Having literally no previous work experience from restaurant/catering business, I admit my previous self-learnt know-how regarding alcohol (legislation) and so forth has helped me...a lot. Nonetheless, I still have so much more to learn and when it comes down to alcoholic beverages, the business is a never-ending school.

I enjoy...no, I love my work. Fair enough, it could be (probably is) my honeymoon phase in the business. 

But back to my initial story. What happened yesterday was something so extraordinary and amazing! (I can hear people who have worked in restaurants for years sigh now) Let's break it down:

Yesterday, on the second of Nov...Movember, I woke up at 10:00am. Actually my alarm clock rang at 10 o'clock, but I set it on snooze for another 30 minutes.

I went to work as normal at 19:00 accompanied by my wife. At our restaurant we have regular Burlesque shows ~once/month and thanks to Halloween we had a horror/halloween themed - show tonight. My wife went to watch the show (with a friend of ours) whereas I worked behind the counter in the cellar (where the show was held).

I worked until 3am. Or it could've been anything between 3:30-4:00, I can't really remember. After all of the customers had left and we got our the place cleaned up we had to "poison" the tap tubes/pipes from the cellar. This meant we poured the remaining content from the tap into jugs. 

Me and four of the workers remained inside for the After work drinks.

(picture somewhat related)

The feeling when us guys sat around a table around candle light in an otherwise completely dark restaurant, drinking beer/cider and just...talking the night away. For me it was indeed a very special situation since I have never been in these "After work" - situations (figures knowing how short a time I've worked now). I had a warm, fuzzy feeling inside me, something I have difficulties better to describe!

Better yet, we talked until the morning sun started shining over the city. The cleaner-dude had already come around 8am and right before 9am we left...but not home. We went to the pub opposite to ours and had a few drinks more + breakfast + continued our talking.

I finally headed home at 10:30, having been awake for 24 hours now. I do acknowledge that in the restaurant business that is not a "extreme" time to be awake non-stop and truth to be told, not once did I feel

1. tired

2. drunk

I was back at home at 11am. Okay, then I got a bit tired.

Overall, I feel super happy. I had an amazing 24 hour. 

Brain Hemorrhage

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

Well met once again! It's been quite the pause since my last update (okay, two weeks) so I thought "now it's time to make a cocktail again!" 

Fair enough, this is more of a shooter and if you look closely, you might note the similarities with a shooter I made back in the days (or this)! Instead of going all "alien", I present the Brain Hemorrhage. (the US Halloween is knocking at our doors so I found this fit for any Halloween party whatsoever)

It's very simple to make. All you need is (love):

• ½ shot peach schnapps
• ½ shot Irish cream (or any cream liqueur)
• ~a tsp of grenadine

First pour in the peach schnapps, then carefully layer the Irish cream on top and finally with a tea spoon drop the grenadine the in the middle. The effect should look somewhat as in the picture above.

Taste-wise semi-good. During the middle part, where the Irish cream has "curdled" a bit has a rather yucky feel in the mouth but that's a diminutive detail.

Happy capitalistic Halloween everyone!

The Margarita Cocktail

THE MARGARITA

(Like a tequila based Sidecar)

Good evening again ladies and gentlemen! It's time for this week's cocktail!

The Margarita. This is the cocktail everyone's heard if not in the actual world, then in numerous movies to say the least. Essentially a Sidecar with tequila instead of brandy, I've always had a rather love-hate relationship regarding this drink. The love being, I mean, it's a Margarita. I've hardly ever made one in my life and it's one of those cocktails you just got to make or at least drink once in your life time.

The hate that the few time's I've made it, they've turned out crappy. Or maybe because I'm not the greatest fan of tequila, or the tequila brand I've used is poor (you wouldn't know how rare it is to find quality tequila in Finland) or that the frigging salt rim ruins everything for me.

I've decided to meet my demons by creating two variations of the classic Margarita; the one on the left is a home-based cocktail and the one on the right is the one (usually) served in Finland (alcohol-regulations).

First, the home based variation:

• 4.5 cl quality tequila (read this if you want to know more about tequilas)
• 2 cl triple sec (I used cointreau)
• 4.5 cl fresh sour mix (1:1 ratio fresh lime juice and simple syrup ie. ~2 cl both)

CHECK THE UPDATED VERSION FROM BELOW!

The second is the more common (Finnish) version:

• 2 cl blanco tequila
• 2 cl triple sec (usually cointreau though)
• 2 cl lime/lemon juice

Both recipes, shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass or if at home, you can use a tumbler with ice. Garnish with a lime wheel and of course if you prefer, the salt rim; I let the video do the talking for me (it's really educational as well!)

Since I'm more of the sugar-tooth type, I totally liked the home based more. I think the whole existence of that horrible salt rim has given me great traumas over the Margarita. Should I ever make a Margarita to my friends (at home)...I would totally go with the first version. Hands down. If you prefer a more zingy/sourer version, go with the second.

Here's a Margarita that I made today, a good ~2½ years later! I will still stress the fact when making these drinks (or ordering at a bar) that

• FORGET any pre-mix stuff! It is SHIT.
• Make sure the tequila is 100% de agave! Otherwise you are stuck with SHIT.
• The drink is as good as its worst ingredient!

When we have these on the table, here's a solid recipe, it's a bit tweaked since the first time I made it:

1. 6 cl 100% de agave blanco tequila
2. 2 cl cointreau
3. 2 cl fresh lime juice
4. (1 cl agave syrup)

Agave syrup rounds up the drink nicely + smoothens its. I used it in this version and I will say it worked just nicely! But it is up to you if you prefer a more zzziinggg in your Margarita!

Hop Toad Cocktail

HOP TOAD COCKTAIL

It's a day off so why not have a cocktail? Exactly! 

Today I'm doing a Hop Toad Cocktail using this as my inspiration. The result? Read for yourself.

• 4.5 cl aged rum
• 1.5 cl apricot liquor (I used dekuyper's apricot brandy)
• juice from ½ a lime
• a few dashes angostura bitters

Add everything in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake! doublestrain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

This is actually a rather sour drink, having no apparent (duh) sweetening agent,. My first sip and I immediately notice the sourness, then the apricot's sweetness and finally the rum that kicks last, but not least. I must say as much as this looks like a Daquiri I've made and feels like one (perhaps the aged rum - lime combo), this has nothing to do with it.

Not a super cocktail, but if you like sour things, you will love this one.

Bloody Mary

BLOODY MARY

Today's "episode" is a rather special one! In honor of my 20th time donating blood I decided to make up just a perfect cocktail for the event, the Bloody Mary! Everyone's heard of it, some have tried it. I have one memory of drinking this some years back. Today I'm about to tackle this drink the second time.

I made some studies before getting really into this drink. As some might know, the base for any Bloody Mary consists of:

• vodka (some might use gin and I see no objections to this)
• tomato juice (salt free!)
• lemon juice
• Worcester sauce
• tabasco
• (white/black) pepper
• celery salt
• a traditional decoration; a celery stalk / lemon wedge

Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Nonetheless, that's the base. After that you can easily make your own little mini-meal buffet and add ingredients that you find interesting, worthwhile or otherwise awesome. I looked up a few different recipes and found out that many use horseradish in the mix.

Nonetheless, here's the recipe I used:

• 6 cl vodka
• 12 cl tomato juice
• juice from one lemon wedge
• 2 dashes tabasco
• 2 dashes Worcester sauce
• a pinch celery salt
• a pinch dried dill
• a pinch ground white pepper
• a teaspoon prepared horseradish

Poured everything in my mixing glass and rolled it. Meaning, I poured the content in my tin cup and then poured it back in the mixing glass. Repeated this a few time. This way I got all of the ingredients properly mixed without getting too much dilution. If you have a pint glass, pour your mixture in there (I used my mixing glass). Decorate with a celery stalk and/or lemon wedge. Optionally you can use a lime wedge and even a strip of fried bacon is okay (sounds amazingly good!)

I...just...can't say I'm a big fan of this drink. I don't know what it is, but in my opinion this drink is too heavy for cocktail consumption. But we all like different things. Perhaps you like this or perhaps you don't. Like the Laphroaig whiskey, you either like it or you don't. There's no in between.

Guion Cocktail

GUION COCKTAIL

Well met again. It has been a (long) while since my last post, but hush now child, it's time for a new cocktail! I introduce you to the Guion Cocktail.

Full of flavor and complexity, this is definitely a pre-dinner cocktail. Let's have a look at it:

• 4.5 cl gin
• 4.5 cl sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 1 bar spoon of D.O.M. Benedictine ("float")

Stir the first three ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Finally pour the Benedictine over the drink. It won't float though, so don't worry about it sinking.

First things first. This is a beautiful cocktail. Its color is vibrant and very captivating. I could easily smell herbs from both the (dominating) Benedictine and the vermouth. Taste-wise, iiiinteresting. To be honest, for an all-alcoholic cocktail this sure doesn't taste like one! But then again, this is not a "simple" drink to just enjoy in a hurry. 

To sum this cocktail up...I could say if you like herbal flavors and something to really think about, the Guion Cocktail is for you!

The cocktail hobby - and you (part I)

THE COCKTAIL HOBBY - AND YOU!

(part I)

Well met again! A friend of mine told me some days ago I should write a comprehensive "beginner's guide" for any aspiring cocktail hobbyist; what cocktails one should definitely know how to make, what to have in one's personal bar cabinet and so forth.

Since this is going to be my 100th post (a sort of a landmark, yippee), I thought "why the heck not?" So where do we begin? Roughly three months ago I wrote about the tools of the trade, I won't babble about them again. Instead, I shall use them as a great reference along the way. Practice makes perfect they say…

The first part focuses more on tools and products in your very own bar. The second part is going to discuss the techniques and "must-know" cocktails.

Before we get to the fun part though (the alcohols) we need proper tools. Without them cocktail mixing is rather useless. The list below is what I think you should prioritize in the "to-get-list" when you want to start mixing cocktails.

•  A boston shaker. Forget the 3-piece-shaker, the boston version is way better in many aspects. 
• A jigger. Great cocktails mean precise measures. The measure list isn't there just for fun you know…(fair enough, with simple liquor+mixer cocktails it doesn't matter that much but when it comes down to more complex cocktails it does.)
• A bar spoon, preferably with twists in the shaft and a "hammer" end for muddling. A must have for stirring Manhattans and so forth.
• A good knife for cutting fruit/garnishes. Self-explanatory.
•  A tea-strainer. For that double-straining. The difference between a single and double strain can be huge (unlike the Xbox)
•  A peeling knife. For fruit peels. But a good knife as listen above can do the trick, if needed. 

After these you can start thinking of getting other tools that you might or might not need in your repertoire. Before you do think of something, think hard if you really really need that after all. As you've seen from my "Tools of the trade", there are a lot of items I personally rarely use (cough the zest grater cough), but there might just be that one occasion it's usable. But the seven items listed above are the tools for any starting mixologist. Then again, I would say a mixing glass is crucial too, but the glass-part of the boston shaker works just fine for that too.

Now that we're clear with the tools…the bar cabinet. What should one have in one's pride and joy? I've given this a lot of thought. I mean, a lot. The answer is not simple nor a no-brainer. But I think I've gotten it pretty close. Again, a list to help out any beginner. I'm still going to set up the list before we really get down to business.

Cocktail making in its essence is about using classic/basic products with a twist. Usually this means hard/medium liquors (with a mixer) implemented in a very curious and mysterious way. Fair enough, a Screwdriver is just vodka & OJ, but we must go deeper like Leonardo DiCaprio. What comes to vodka though, nowadays there are countless different styles of vodkas. These styles of products can make totally different cocktails! (Speaking of which I am starting a new blind taste regarding vodkas!) Try making a "Rum&Coke" with light rums, spiced rums, dark rums or even premium rums, there is a difference.

So if you check the internet for "what should I have in my bar cabinet" or so, you probably get numerous sites that all list their "top-have". Not going different there. So here we go. This is a list I think is the order of products you should get. Again neglecting personal preference, but hey, this is just my opinion man…

1. Cointreau (or triple sec)
2. Vodka
3. Whisky (bourbon > scotch blended > Irish blended > others)
4. Rum
5. Gin
6. Cognac (brandy)
7. Tequila
8. Others (vermouth, cremé de cacao and so forth)

EXTRA: Bitters, simple syrup

You might think "Why in Heaven's name is Cointreau on the top of the list???" The answer is simple; it's one of the most used / versatile liqueurs in the cocktail business! After that the list is pretty straight-forward. Vodka (not booze), whisky (bourbon for cocktails, single malts for sipping and enjoyed as they are), rum (light rum is good for cocktail mixing, aged ones give more complexity), gin, cognac and as our very last product tequila. Quite frankly, I've used tequila rarely. Mostly for the reason that the tequila I had was shitty quality so the only cocktail I could make decent out of it was a Tequila Sunrise. I know there are way better ones than Sauza, but tequila just isn't my thing.

After the "basics" you can start collecting other stuff. Keep in mind the usage of those products. Don't get a bottle of Chambord (raspberry liqueur) just because the bottle is super cool looking and would make your cabinet so beautiful and compliment all of the other bottles you have…if you don't use it at all. Given, many liqueurs especially are not used so often so give it some consideration before getting a rare "sage-mint-peach-flavored" liqueur; fact being after that one cocktail you'll never use it again.

Vermouths (sweet & dry) are a good choice, cremé de cacao (both white & dark), coffee liqueur and so forth…the world (and budget) is your oyster! 

I noted as EXTRAS two things one should have as extras. (Angostura) bitters and simple syrup. Both are often used in cocktails and are totally worth having. One bitters bottle will last for a (short) life time and simple syrup is easy to make at home; just bring to boil equal amounts of caster sugar and water and let it cool. Bottle and store in the fridge. Will last easily for a month!

I...think I've covered it all, at least most of it.

The Godmother

THE GODMOTHER

As promised, here's the close relative of our earlier cocktail, the Godfather. I give you, the Godmother. I wanted to put my "photoshop" skills to use and gave this drink some deserved style it totally deserved. Just like the fatherly version, you can play with the ratio. Be it 1:1, 2:1 or even 3:1 (like here) or vice versa, go right ahead! Just a friendly reminder though, the amount of vodka is usually superior to our almondy liqueur but hey, whatever floats your boat!

• 4.5 cl quality vodka
• 1.5 cl Amaretto Disaronno

Take a tumbler, fill it with ice and pour in your ingredients. As seen here, I used the 3:1 ratio and I must add, that the vodka I used was Russian Standard and boy was this vodka smooooooth as can be! I really enjoyed this drink. Albeit, the Godmother is like a "buffed" Amaretto on ice but the brand of vodka can really make a difference. Don't get stingy here!

So if you want to man-up your Amaretto, choose the Godmother. If you want more complexity, choose the Godfather. Either way, both are good choices.

Bellini

BELLINI

sorry about the foam part, I have an excuse explanation for that

A little while back I had my opened bottle of Prosecco at my disposal. In addition, I've always wanted to make a Bellini cocktail. An Italian classic, one might say. Rather simple (according to the recipe) to make, but practice was something...different.

• 5 cl peach pyrée
• sparkling wine (traditionally, Prosecco is used)

First put the pyrée in the glass and then gently pour in the wine. I had difficulties with the massive amount of foaming that occurred. Given, the sugar makes sparkling wine foam but this went totally berserk. I had difficulties (or lack of skill) getting a gentle pour and without my gentle pour that Bellini went cray-zayh! But after struggling I finally got it...somewhat right.

I finally gave this drink a gentle stir and set it aside for this picture. I must say though, this cocktail is not as good as I thought it would be. Somehow it tasted...stuffy. The berry cocktail before was totally more refreshing than this one.

Berries and bubbles

BERRIES AND BUBBLES

A summery greeting to you all! Albeit we're already going on August, it doesn't matter, the sun is shining, it's ridiculously warm outside so why not grab a perfect summery cocktail? Called the Berries and bubbles, I picked this up from a website (Smallscreen Network) and thanks to my wife who picked up some fresh raspberries I had the ingredients to pull one off. Note that any seasonal berry will do just fine. If you like strawberries or blueberries, go straight ahead! This cocktail is not specifically made for raspberries!

• depending on size, 8-10 large or 15-25 smaller raspberries
• 4.5 cl quality vodka
• 2 cl fresh lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• a good sparkling wine/champagne
• raspberries for decoration

In a mixing glass, add in the raspberries, vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup. Add plenty of ice, shake and (double)strain (for a clearer cocktail) into either a coupe or a flute. Top it off with your choice of sparkling wine and add a few raspberries (you can freeze a few if you wish) for the garnish.

Wouzaa! A sweet drink with a strong taste and aroma of raspberries. Especially towards the end it got even stronger; as you can see the sparkling wine (I used Prosecco) floated on top of the rest of the ingredients but nonetheless, a super refreshing and summery cocktail!

I could easily imagined this being done with blueberries, that would probably make one helluva cocktail as well...or any berry, for that matter!

Since I opened the bottle of Prosecco...I think it's time for the long waited Bellini...