American Belle

AMERICAN BELLE

2013

2018, using Heering as the cherry liqueur instead of DK

Let's continue with some shooters! When it comes to shooters, layered ones are always the most fun ones. Not only do you get a visually astonishing "drink", the true beauty is that when gulping down one, you actually get to taste every flavor in it (at least usually)! The American Belle is a minor exception to this:

• 1.25 cl (or 1.5 cl if your shot glass is large enough) cherry liqueur
• 1.25 (1.5) cl amaretto
• 1.25 (1.5) cl bourbon whiskey

Layer in the given order in a shot glass or alternative build over some ice in a small-ish tumbler. I made a shooter out of this one (very obvious, isn't it?).

Sweet cherry, hardly any almondy flavor and finally the bourbon. The combination is the whiskey (I used Jim Beam) and cherry is actually a very interesting one, sadly the flavors of amaretto were completely hidden.

Not a classic drink, not a five-star shooter either, but visually a good one and tastewise...well, was okay, I guess...

!EDIT 2018!

So I made this one again, now using Heering Cherry liqueur instead of a pink bright (cheaper) cherry version and the results were completely different. Much more balanced and distinctively better tasting as it was five years ago!

The Perfect Day To Get Drunk

THE PERFECT DAY TO GET DRUNK

without the cola...

...and with it

Today I'm completing a friend challenge! A co-worker of mine challenged me (after I introduced her to my blog). This is what she wrote and quote:

"Alrighty then! So I want a cocktail called "The Perfect Day To Get Drunk. It has to have coca-cola in it (unless I have a killer idea that doesn't involve it) and this cocktail is drunk from a wine glass. Not many other requirements, although as a guideline, I like caipiroskas, strawberry margaritas etc. I don't prefer whisky, beer, cognac etc. Oh and it needs to be fresh! Oh and bring me the recipe in Finnish at work, because I'm too lazy to read English :D"

Too bad, I don't work anymore and this is ALL in English! So my brain started working. I definitely wanted to have some sort of fruit in it, muddled. Then it struck me...peaches! Almonds! Lime! Cola! And they all work together just dandy! So I came up with the following (first edition) recipe:

• 3/4 of a peach, skin peeled and fruit chopped
• 4 cl amaretto
• 2 cl peach schnapps
• 1 cl vodka
• the juice of one lime wedge
• (a dash of cola)

First, peel the peach and cut three quarters of it into semi-small chunks and put it in the mixing glass. You can muddle them at this point, if you please. Add the amaretto, peach schnapps and vodka (for that little kick) and squeeze the juice from the lime wedge. Add ice (or muddle the fruit pieces now, if you haven't already) and shake vigorously.

Now take you chilled wine glass (I used a white wine glass, a bit smaller in size) and without straining pour the mixture in the glass. The result as seen in the first picture. Alternatively, you can top the drink with cola and finally, add a lime wedge for decoration and a couple of straws. Enjoy!

Now to the review. So I used some peach schnapps to compliment the flavor of peaches, the vodka to actually put some strength into this drink and as my main ingredient amaretto. After tasting this I've come to the following conclusion, tweaking the recipe as follows:

• 3/4 of a peach
• 3 cl Amaretto
• 3 cl peach schnapps
• 1 cl vodka
• 2 cl fresh lime juice
• (dash of cola)

The original cocktail tasted good, but the amaretto was a bit too overpowering. After some of the ice has melted the peach flavors come in. With the tweaked recipe, it has less almondy flavor, a bit more peachiness and also more sourness that balances the sweetness from the amaretto/peaches. It is truly a perfect day to get drunk!

Tiki cocktail

TIKI COCKTAIL

Hola! Wow did I excel myself today! Not only did I sent a job application to a store close-by, I celebrated this by finally making a Tiki Cocktail. I figured out this cocktail was a mixture of a Mai Tai and a Zombie Cocktail and a Planter's Punch. One of the craziest things I've done regarding cocktails. A lot of work, a lot of sweat but the result...Hoo-rah!

First things first. You need a pineapple. I used a large pineapple that could hold more than a pint of liquid inside. I used this as a guideline since I didn't have a pineapple corer. Then, in a mixing glass I had:

• 4 cl white rum
• 4 cl aged dark rum
• 2 cl cointreau
• 2 cl cognac
• 3 tablespoons of pineapple pulp
• juice of ½ a lime

Added crushed ice and shook it. Before straining the content in my now hollow pineapple, I added some crushed ice inside it. Strained my mixture into the pineapple, then added

• 8 cl orange juice (quality)
• 8 cl pineapple juice (quality)
• 3 dashes of angostura bitters on top
• a pineapple leaf (yeah I know the top looked kinda bad)
• a cocktail cherry

Stirred the whole thing a bit, added straws and enjoyed.

Visually, well, heh, you can't really beat that. The cocktail wasn't as sweet, the opposite, a bit sour. The cognac's smoothness could be distinguished and overall it had gentle fruitiness. This is a strong cocktail, don't let it fool you. Or maybe my pineapple was just that large...go figure. :)

Melon Ball cocktail

MELON BALL COCKTAIL

Prepping for summer! Another Midori based cocktail at your hands! Fair enough, this isn't quite the "wow-amazing" - type of cocktail. But let's see how it's made:

• 2.5 cl Midori
• 2.5 cl vodka
• orange juice / pineapplejuice
• honeydew melon for garnish

Build in a highball glass with ice, give it a gentle stir and garnish. Finally I could use my melon baller for this! About the OJ/pineapple juice. According to some ancient recipes, it was always made with OJ but somehow during the years it had been substituted with pineapple juice. Or vice versa. Anyhow, I used OJ. 

Not a superb cocktail. Nothing special in this one. The color was a yellow-ish with a slight green hue at the bottom. Tastewise, kind of meh. Had I used pineapple juice instead, I could've notched this cocktail up a bit, even using a different glass might've helped. I mean, shaking the ingredients and straining into a martini glass could've made a difference...we will...never know....

Summa summarum, a slight disappointment this one was.

El Presidente

EL PRESIDENTE

Today we're going presidential style! Straight from Cuba, I introduce you the El Presidente! I realized a while back that "hey, I actually have the ingredients to make this!" so I gave it a try. But unlike the "original" recipe, I slightly modified it making it an excellent cocktail:

• 4.5 cl white rum (I used aged rum)
• 1.5 cl triple sec
• 2 cl dry vermouth
• dash of grenadine
• orange/lemon twist for decoration

Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Decorate and serve.

Two points. One, a beautiful amber-ish color in this one. Really impressive. Secondly, the taste. Since I didn't use white rum (even aged one) but instead I used a rum a good bro brought me, Aniversario Pampero, an aged dark rum. This combined with the others gave this cocktail its much deserved complexity. Its first taste has a tad of super sweetness but quickly evolves into spices and a pleasant orangy zang. The rum compliments the overall taste. The cocktail finishes slightly bitter strong. 

In its essence, the Presidente does not fail me. It's a complex cocktail. It's a good cocktail.

Midori Splice

MIDORI SPLICE

Booaaaah!! Luxury at hand! Well, almost, but fair enough, let's get busy with the Midori Splice! History goes Splice was some sort of ice-cream-brand in Down Under (mate) so yeah, let's just make an alcoholic version of it! Before getting into the details, though, I must say I now understand why the Piña Colada is totally famous. Pineapples + cream = profit! But enough of that, let's break down the Midori Splice!

• 3 cl Midori (melon liquer)
• 3 cl Malibu (I used coconut rum from DeKuyper)
• 9 cl Pineapple juice
• 3 cl fresh cream
• a maraschino cherry

In a tall, ice filled high ball glass, build the cocktail in the given order and finally layer the cream on top. Add the cherry and enjoy.

A few words I will say about this cocktail. First of all, a truly fruity drink, the creamy-pineapple mixture was yum, so good! As I got further down the drink, the pure alcoholic content was a tad strong and not quite appealing per se. A straw or a bit of stirring would be recommended for an overall more pleasant drink. Now it felt like drinking mixers first, then the alcohol. To be honest, the first time after I drank the first two layers, I mixed the alcohols together and then added another layer of pineapple juice + cream just to enjoy this again :)

The Midori Splice, I like it!

The Bramble

THE BRAMBLE

Today we're making something rather British. At least that's my opinion about it. The Bramble is a somewhat known cocktail and said to be extremely refreshing during the summer. Moreover, now that I finally have a bottle of Creme de Mûre (blackberry liquer) at my disposal (thank you UK!), I wanted to find out more of this.

• 5 cl gin
• 2.5 cl fresh lemon juice
• ~1.5 cl simple syryp
• a little creme de mûre
• a lemon slice (and a blackberry, if in season)

Add the gin, lemon juice and simple syrup in a tumbler, add crushed ice and give it a slight stir. Top up with more crushed ice and gently drizzle the creme de mûre on top. Originally a waving effect should occur but as you can see mine didn't quite work out as intended. Anyhow, add the lemon slice (and blackberries), two straws and enjoy.

They were right, this cocktail is extremely refreshing! I really liked the sweet taste of the blackberry liquor + overall this cocktail didn't even taste strong given the amount of gin. A bit on the sour side it was, but in a good way.

The Bramble is a good cocktail. If you ever get your hands to creme de mûre, don't hesitate!

Tools of the trade

TOOLS OF THE TRADE

"Creating cocktails is like an artisan at work;

Where poor tools shackle you, proper ones open the world for you."

- Celestino

All this time when I've created cocktails for your entertainment (and perhaps inspiration) you've only seen the result of the finished product. But this time I would take the time and show you the tools of my trade. Some of them are a must acquisition and some are more rarely used. Nonetheless, every tool plays an important role when its time comes. One should never neglect one piece of equipment just because one hasn't used it in a long time.

Anyhow, let's have a better look at these:

Starting from the left:

• a fine strainer.
• the Boston/3-piece-shaker
• the liquor measures
• a lime presser
• a hawthorne strainer
• a zest grater
• a saw-edged knife
• a channel knife
• another saw-edged knife, sharp edge
• a bar spoon
• a peeler
• a liquor pourer

and my newest collection from England

Starting from the left:

• a drop bottle
• UK liquor measures
• a melon baller
• a julep strainer
• a fine strainer
• a microplane
• (missing from this picture is another Finnish 4 cl CE-certified liquor measure, given by my dear friends!)

The drop bottles I can use for dashes/tiny amounts of bitters/equivalent measures of liquids. The melon baller makes perfect...well, balls from fruit I can use for decorations, the julep strainer is my newest catch from UK. For straining cocktails that have only spirits, this is the tool. Another fine strainer for double straining and a big thanks to my friends in the UK who gave me a microplane. Finally I can grate nutmegs straight onto the cocktail without using the massive shredder I have!

The jiggers or spirit measures. In this picture the far most left is a "foreign" measure, counting 1 3/4 fluid ounces and 7/8 fluid ounces (I got this from South Africa). The rest three are standard Finnish ones, with 20ml and 40ml centiliters (half and single). The UK measures in the previous pictures go at 25ml and 50ml (for single and double)

The Boston shaker (left) and the 3-piece-shaker (right). The 3-piece-one is more user-friendly to begin with but with the Boston Shaker I've become better friends. Especially when pouring liquids in the glass part (not having any ice in it) I can see what I'm doing whereas with the other one it's all hidden inside the tin.

The 3-piece-shaker has an in-built strainer whereas with the Boston shaker you need a separate strainer. What baffles many people with the Boston one is how to open the shaker after shaking it? Since the metal (and due to thermodynamics) freezes itself to the glass part. It's really simple once you learn it. Below is a picture of the shaker. See that little gap where the glass part starts to open up? You only need a gentle tap to that part and the shaker will open.

Let's continue...

The strainer is one of the more useful tools. Everytime I double strain, I use one of these babies. That way I ensure no little ice shards reach the cocktail, making the drink smooth as fu*k. The lime presser is a very handy device to squeeze the juice of half a lime in no time. Due to its small-ish size, only limes can be used.

Here is the other cocktail strainer, the Hawthorne strainer. Used for most cocktails where the rim stops the ice cubes for falling in the drink + most of the pulp of fruits (if any). Underneath it is one of my babies. The item I value. Introducing the cocktail spoon. I got this from a cocktail bar that was active some years ago. The swizzling motive on the shaft enables stirring of the spoon with great ease when creating cocktails that need...well, stirring. The "hammer" end is for muddling various items such as limes/sugar/mint leaves etc. 

Here are my "decorative" tools. The channel knife makes proper twists, the two saw-edged ones cut fruit like there's no tomorrow, the peeler for fruit peels and the small grater for those that little zest grating that might be needed. Given, that is one of my more rarely used items.

Like any artisan, I've spent quite a time gathering my tools. And they have served me well. Well, indeed! I know I'm stilling missing a proper mixing glass but I will get that some day, promised!

With the help of these tools I can create magnificent, marvelous and otherwise amazing cocktails.

What do you think? Am I missing something crucial from my repertoire? Let me know and I will get back to you!

Mimosa

MIMOSA

Good morning everyone! I've had a small-ish break from cocktail creating but after the Finnish May Day celebration I believe it is more than correct to post a hair of the dog - style cocktail for each and everyone to enjoy. I give you the Mimosa (a close relative of the Buck's Fizz):

• one part orange juice (only use premium quality!)
• one part champagne (brut sparkling wine)

First pour in the OJ, then top it off with your choice of sparkling wine. Stirring is recommended, for the sake of this picture it wasn't stirred.

Fruity, dry-ish, refreshing! I don't think this cocktail even needs any garnish, given it is created after a party, so fiddling with fruits isn't necessary at all! Then again, at brunch a strawberry would compliment this drink wonderfully.

As I mentioned earlier about the relationship with the Buck's Fizz. Where this one is equal amounts of OJ and sparkling wine, the Buck's Fizz is two parts OJ to one part sparkling wine, making an even more lighter drink. Either way, excellency guaranteed with this one.