Espresso Martini

ESPRESSO MARTINI

Energy boost in a glass

Hello again everyone. Let me introduce you to something quite modern but still wonderful, the Espresso Martini.

It'll sweep your socks right off your feet, even if you don't have any! I was lucky enough to get some espresso from work...and the rest is history!

• 5 cl vodka
• 2.5 cl Kahlúa
• 2.5 cl espresso
• (.5 cl sugar syrup, to taste)

Shake the ingredients with ice, strain and serve.

Highly coffee-flavored, both in the nose and flavor, this cocktail is potent. As vodka is pretty much "tasteless", it only enhances the profile of both Kahlùa and espresso, making the Espresso Martini one helluva coffee cocktail! Smooth in taste, I'm glad I made this!

Stinger

STINGER

IBA cocktail. Despite the weird combination...this stuff works!

Hi everyone! Here's an IBA cocktail, that I decided to make. Two ingredients, simple enough, right? But when you take a closer look to what they are you might think "aaww hell naow!" Okay, let's see what a Stinger has in it:

• 5 cl cognac
• 2 cl créme de menthe (white)
• (mint sprig garnish)

Stir the alcohols with ice and strain into either a cocktail glass or on ice into a tumbler. If you want to, garnish with a sprig of mint. I suggest garnishing especially if using a tumbler glass.

So how does cognac and peppermint liqueur work together? I must (to my surprise) say, wonderfully! The Stinger is fresh, smooth and balanced. And it is devious, as its name suggests; this stuff goes to your head fast.

PS. If you don't have white créme de menthe and instead use green, the Stinger is called a Green Hornet.

Jallumustikkatini

Jallumustikkatini

As the fourth update of the week, I present you with a good Finnish take with Jaloviina. I give you the Jalomustikkatini. I know, it's a crappy name but that's the best I could come up with in such a short notice!

Basically, what I wanted to do was to use jaloviina and make a cocktail that has a true Finnish twist to it. So when you add blueberries, can you go wrong? This cocktail is short, sweet-ish, has that cognac-y taste to it and will definitely appeal to anyone who enjoys jaloviina. I also tried to keep it simple enough so it could be made at home. Let's have a look:

• 4 bar (tea) spoons of blueberries
• 2 cl coldpressed blueberry juice
• 2 cl blueberry liqueur (dekuyper)
• 5 cl Jaloviina (*)

Muddle the blueberries in the glass. Add the rest of the ingredients, add ice and shake it baby! Definitely double strain. No garnish needed.

I loved the dark color of this cocktail. Also the strong blueberry-ish taste adds a nice flavor profile to this cocktail and with the more dominant jaloviina taste in the end...nice. Just nice.

Jägerita

JÄGERITA

Damn you Jeffrey Morgenthaler! Damn you to hell! This is so delicious! :D

The video from where it all started from:

Wow. So...using Jägermeister in a margarita style of cocktail? Who would've thought of that?! Just watch the clip and enjoy :D

I decided to make this drink as well. Most people don't like Jägermeister for its...nature, but those in doubt, try this one out!

• 4 cl Jägermeister
• 2 cl cointreau
• 2 cl lime juice
• 1 cl 2:1 simple syrup (two parts sugar, one part water)

Shake with ice, strain and garnish with a lime wheel.

I had my doubts as well, but this cocktail proved me wrong. It is absolutely dandy like candy. In the future, if someone comes to me and says "Eww jägermeister, gross!" I'll say to them "FUCK YOU TRY A JÄGERITA AND YOU'LL LOVE THIS SHIT!"

...this cocktail is that good. You can count on that.

French Martini

FRENCH MARTINI

Oui!

Bonjour! A modern classic, the French Martini.

I remember the first time I had this cocktail. In 2014, Watchbar near the Bremen railway station had a small add on their tables (as I had a few drinks with my wife) and dauym, I decided to order this. IT was awesome!

Fast forward to early...2016...? My best friend got a bottle of Chambord. Wait...there's a little receipt book with the packaging? And it has the French Martini on it? IT was awesome!

Fast forward to 2016 summer. I finally get my shit together and buy some pineapple juice. I make the French Martini. IT was awesome!

• 2 cl Chambord
• 4 cl vodka
• 6 cl pineapple juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish and serve. (traditionally with blackberries or raspberries, I had neither so I dropped a few blueberries into the drink :D)

Even with its more "lady"-like atmosphere to it, this is genuinely a very nice cocktail. No wonder it's considered a modern classic. You can taste the exotic bouquet of the chambord and combined with the pineapple juice they make an excellent pair! In some recipes the ratios may (and will) vary. I consider this a solid one, nonetheless. 

Basilowski

BASILOWSKI

Hoya everyone! It's been almost a month since my last update, but this time I got FOUR (4) new updates, in a row! (wow-za!)

If we turn back time a bit, I spent a week in Bremen with my sister (4th July - 11th July). On Friday we went to Lemon Lounge (@ Am Wall 164 like I did in 2015 with my two good friends and 2014 with my oldest brother :D) and asked for my good friend's Tomasz Gutowski for a(ny) signature drink the cocktail bar has. He introduced me with his concoction, the Basilowski. He was kind enough to share the recipe with me and gave the last drops of their peach bitters this cocktail needs. COOL!

So as I got back from Germany (still enjoying my last weekend of summer vacation), I made his drink. Here's how to do it:

• 2 cl lime juice
• 2 cl mango pureé
• 4-6 basil leaves
• 2 ds peach bitters
• 5 cl grasowka/zubrowka
• soda water

Smash the basil leaves in your palm and add them in your glass. Add the rest ingredients (over ice), give it a good stir and top with soda water. Garnish with a beautiful basil bunch and serve.

This cocktail is fresh and seriously, you can hardly taste the alcohol :D On a warm summer's day...deceitful I say, deceitful! The aftertaste is a bit sour-ish, which compliments this fruity cocktail's overall taste just fine.

Thanks Tomasz!

Summer update 2016

SUMMER UPDATE 2016

Spruce sprouts, my every summer quest for glory

Hello everyone and summery greetings from Keminmaa! I am currently...well truth to be told, my final paternity leave day I got for my baby girl ends tonight but fear not! My four (4) weeks of paid summer vacation starts right away :D

I haven't made many cocktails since we left (me & my family) in the very beginning of June thus I haven't updated any new drinks on this blog either. But I have continued my epic spruce sprout syrup/vodka factory! 

Each summer I intend to make a batch of wonderful spruce sprout vodka; infused for one year and then strained. My #2015 batch was awesome so why not continue the tradition? Exactly my thoughts too.

Like last year, this year I made a big'o batch of sprout syrup. Pine-y, sweet and exquisite in taste, it's an all-around hit, especially during the winter season! Pancakes and vanilla ice cream, beware! Moreover, I've started to implement this syrup into some cocktails and speaking of which, I recently sent an article (spruce sprouts and their use in Finnish cocktail culture) for a cocktail-related magazine, perhaps they'll publish it! I have my fingers crossed. 

Anyhow, my June is pretty much spent among mosquitoes, family, food, Scrabble and of course the European soccer Championship! Also, I realized I got the fine opportunity (if my memory serves me right) to watch the finals in Bremen, where I will be heading in the beginning of July with my sister! Nice!

What else? My YouTube - channel is in good standing, I've made many drinks, got a sweet ass 250+ subscribers (oooh yeah baby!) and roughly 1½ - months ago I even celebrated the 1-year-anniversary :D Yay me! I appreciate how people have found my channel outside my so-called "circles". With the amount of positive feedback (I don't know many if any active Finnish cocktail-blogs in YouTube) I've received, I tip my hat in the audiences' direction! Thank you!

In other news, my family is doing well and I have a strong belief this summer is going to be just A-okay! Cheers to summer!

Captain Kidd

CAPTAIN KIDD

Strong, tasty, the Kidd

Hey everyone! Today I present you with a (slightly crooked :D) after dinner - style cocktail called the Captain Kidd. I found out there are numerous different recipes under the same name and this one I picked up from this book shown below:

The more I sipped this drink, the more I started to like it! Here's how to do it:

• 25 ml creme de cacao (dark)
• 25 ml dark rum (I used havana 8 años)
• 37.5 ml cognac (1½ British measure, I used a VSOP one)
• ½ orange slice for garnish (editor's note; a twist + its essential oils would've been even greater)

Instead of shaking this drink (as the recipe calls for), I stirred it (due to only alcoholic ingredients) and poured into a chilled coupe before garnishing.

But even with the original garnish (the ½ orange slice), its aroma combined with the strong cocoa was very nice indeed. The Kidd isn't as sweet as I would've thought, but instead an intense, spicy, cognac-y after flavored sipping cocktail. If I really tried, hints of a full-bodied sherry/port are noticeable!

I give this drink a 3.5/5. It's solid, it's strong, it's a fine cocktail.

Cucumber-basil-sour

CUCUMBER-BASIL-SOUR

Summer in a glass

Good day y'all! Today I present you with a very summer-y drink called the Cucumber-basil-sour! It is a gin based cocktail but even for those who don't like the taste profile of gin, the sourness and flavors from both the cucumber and basil will work wonders! It's also a very refreshing drink! What you'll need:

• 4 cl gin (prefer a lighter one)
• 2 cl lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• 1 egg white (smaller)
• 3 slices of cucumber
• 5 leaves of basil

As we have egg white in this drink, dryshake before adding ice and shaking again. Moreover, you can gently muddle the cucumber/basil before shaking to extract as much flavor as possible.

I love how cucumber is such a great ingredient in cocktails giving them tons of flavor to it. With the herbal notes in this one and the texture given by the egg, it's a summer's "must try this one!" drink! I approve!

Tequila Old Fashioned

TEQUILA OLD FASHIONED

Hoi everyone!

Here's an approach to the good o' Old Fashioned, with a twist; using tequila as our base spirit! I stumbled upon some recipes regarding such drink and thought to myself "why not?" In addition, I wanted to find out whether this cocktails is something worth drinking since for most people even the word "tequila" gives them a sour feel. By using a proper sweetener and some good bitters (including our tequila naturally), the Tequila Old Fashioned is actually a very tasty drink!

• 6 cl 100% de agave tequila
• 1.5 cl agavesyrup
• 2 ds orange bitters
• 2 ds angostura bitters
• lemon rind for garnish

Stir the ingredients with ice, strain into an OF - glass and garnish.

I used a blanco tequila (I don't have others) so I reckon using añejo or reposado tequila will yield even better results. Nonetheless, this version was quite good! Smooth, not too sweet and with proper agave notes in taste. With a slight bitterness on the side, this is a cocktail worth mentioning. Especially to those who aren't big fans of tequila (because they've drunk only crappy ones).

A GRAND CHOCOLATE TASTING

THE GRAND (BLIND)
CHOCOLATE TASTING

That's a lot of chocolate!

Hello everyone! Last Sunday I managed to pull off (in a week's notice so that's cool!) a grand blind chocolate tasting with my friends! I'm still baffled how quickly we actually managed to organize this but hey, everything counts, right?

Nonetheless, let's discuss the matter at hand. What did we do, how did we do it and how it all went? I also made some neat excel sheets of the final results as well.

Luckily I realized to cut them into small pieces before hand :D

The idea was quite simple. Get a bunch of people over at my place, make them taste ("blind") pieces of regular market brand chocolates (so none of the fancy/overly expensive/weirdly flavored ones) in two rounds (so the first answer needn't be one's "final answer"), guess (or know) which chocolate they had and finally give the chocolate a score between 1-10. Also had three dark chocolate brands in this test to see if everyone would recognize them among the milk chocolates.

Please don't mix these, please don't mix these!!!

The chocolates were (in alphabetical order); also seen as the first picture here

1. Bellarom milk chocolate
2. Fazer milk chocolate (blue label)
3. Fazer dark chocolate (brown label)
4. Fazer light milk chocolate (red label)
5. Fin Carré dark chocolate
6. Fin Carré milk chocolate
7. Marabou milk chocolate
8. Milka milk chocolate
9. Panda milk chocolate
10. Panda dark chocolate (in Finnish dark = tumma thus comes after "m")

The setting

I deduced that Milka, Fazer (blue label) and/or Marabou (market leaders) would probably be the "easiest" to recognize so the only way to "mess" with the participants is to modify the order to confuse them. You'll see the final order when I show you the results

Carefully placing a piece in a cup

Chocolate tasting, SERIOUS BUSINESS

I even went so far to place a little "lid" on each cup and asked everyone to just chug the piece of chocolate in their mouths. Because pretty much each brand has its name carved on an individual piece and one could easily figure out the brand by just looking at it as well. So participant honesty was asked and well received! :)

Hey, no chocolate in there!!

After the first round, we had a small break, ate something salty and prepared ourselves for the next and final round. If anyone had doubts, they could now fix it. 

Notice the #8, a little doubt goes a long way

As the tasting was finally over and people were feeling doozy of all the chocolate they ate (even with a small amount it felt like a lot), I brewed some well-deserved coffee, scrambled the answer sheets and gave each one someone else's paper. I then proceeded in telling everyone the correct order and people graded the papers accordingly.

I'm guessing he knows the correct answer?

and the final results were...

*drum fill*

Marjukka 7/10!

Mikko, Tuomas, Hennariikka 6/10

Antti 5/10

Markus, Karoliina 3/10

Winner (Marjukka) and a joint 2nd place (Tuomas, Hennariikka & Mikko)

The winner takes it all!

As life is full of surprises, Marjukka was awarded with a Kinder egg! :D :D :D

THE COMPLETE RESULTS

I'm not even mad that this picture kind of breaks from the side. It was all part of my grand scheme! So let's break down the numbers and I'll also try to explain how to "read" the charts. Should be quite straightforward, though. After the name you'll see their answer and regarding its color you'll notice if it was correct or not. The score column next to the chocolate mentioned before (1-10), meaning one brand could receive a maximum of 70 points. The competition was actually quite tight! A joint winner was nonetheless found! 

Fazer (blue label) & Bellarom milk with a whopping 55/70 points! Moreover, not so impressively, Fin Carré dark was the only chocolate to receive less than 40 points and lost the competition with a meager 37 points. But when comparing the other brands they are all withing ~15 points with no "big" exception in point division.

People knew their dark chocolates. Markus & Tuomas were the only ones confusing Fin Carré's dark with Panda's dark and everyone knew Fazer's dark (brown label) and I am glad of that! Surprisingly though, Marabou was only known by two (Marjukka & Tuomas) and Fazer (blue label) (Finland's #1 sold chocolate) by less than half of the participants!

But if anyone else has found their own points of interests, do ellaborate! I found this tasting to be extremely fun and just pure awesome! Do enjoy the final gallery!

GALLERY

(quite a small one :D)

Lady

LADY

Hey everyone!

A few days back ago I whipped up a cocktail a fellow (home)bartender made. It's a gin based drink and regardless of what the name "Lady" implies, this is not a lady-like cocktail! Let's have a closer look:

• 4 cl gin
• 2 cl peach schnapps
• 2 cl lemon juice
• 1 egg white

The "original" recipe called for one tsp of egg white, but I like to go with one whole; gives more body, texture and volume. I also came to realize that the use of gin makes quite the difference. If you use a light(er) gin (or floral) instead of a robust one, it'll affect the tasting notes quite a lot. I went for Monkey 47 for its citrusy - taste. If someone has more gins at home, I'd suggest trying out with different ones to see which one works out for the best.

So dryshake everything, then add your ice and shake again. Strain into a cocktail glass and as you can see, I garnished it with a cocktail cherry. I like the contrast between creamy, frothy white and bright red. Visually, quite the look :)

Velvety texture, clearly got the gin out of this with peach in the background. This cocktail also had that good tartness to it which makes it more than suitable for any person enjoying gin in different forms.

Why Whisky Sampling is so damn fun!

WHISKY SAMPLING &

THE BEAUTY OF IT

Glenfarclas 15yo (got a sample in exchange for another!)

Hey everyone! So in the last few days I got myself involved in some whisky sample switching. Holy moley has this been so much fun!! So the whole thing started ~a week ago when I had a discussion at a whisky-based forum. I had recently opened the Macallan Amber (first open) for Easter. Some were also talking about the Glenfarclas 15yo and how its quality wasn't "as good as expected". 

Then, a person recognized the picture wall panels (from my cocktail videos I assume) and asked whether I wanted to have a sample of the before-mentioned scotch. I happen to have about a dozen of sample bottles that fit a nice 3.5 - 4 cl of liquid inside them so of course I complied. I wanted to try out myself the big fuzz of this whisky. For the trade I decided to give one of my own single malts for the person to rate themselves. I wasn't going to tell them what it was so you could say it was a blind tasting for that matter.

A few days later the switch happened (at work). He got my sample, I got some Glenfarclas 15yo as seen above.

#singlemalt #surprisemotherfucker

Without going into too much detail of these single malts, he had some Dalmore 12yo in his glass, which I revealed to him after the review/guessing. I got to admit, he knew his shit; knew the ex-oloroso maturing and 40% ABV (not to mention his review, which was 5/5 altogether :D)

Anyhow, I told him to bring back the empty sample bottle whenever he's done (not that I was in a big hurry I have plenty of these at home still), but for my surprising he filled it up with another mystery scotch!! I actually first thought it was my colleague's doings, but then realized she gave her bottle back ages ago.

So the ball was now thrown back to me! There it is, I want to say it is cask strength. Has to be according to its taste. As I am not a whisky expert per se, I quote "uncertainty is the only certainty there is..." In my sincerest opinion, people should do more of this! What could go possibly wrong? :D

A mystery sample.

Hemingway Daiquiri

HEMINGWAY DAIQUIRI

"I drink to make other people interesting"

- Ernest Hemingway, 1899 - 1961 

Hello everyone! Today's cocktail is more or less of a classic. It's a daiquiri popularized (or coined) by Ernest Hemingway who spent a part of his life in Cuba. According to the internet (it never lies by the way), he used to have many of these in a bar called "El Floridita". Also, the internet states that since Hemingway was a diabetic, he preferred a different kind of daiquiri (a less sugary one); legend has it that he loved this version so much that he always ordered a double, lending the cocktail its nickname of Papa Doble.

In its essence, the Hemingway Daiquiri is a more robust, dry version of the regular cocktail. If feeling manly enough, give this one a go and see for yourself!

• 6 cl white rum (prefer Cuban, e.g. Havana 3 años)
• 2 cl lime juice
• 1.5 cl maraschino liqueur (the sweetness to this cocktail derives from this ingredient)
• 1.5 cl grapefruit juice
• lime wheel (or maraschino cherry) as a garnish

Shake all ingredients except for the garnish with ice, strain, garnish and serve.

US citizens can't really use Havana rums because of the trade embargo that prohibits the selling of Cuban rum, but luckily for the rest of us, there is still hope :D But any good quality white rum will suffice.

For me, it had that oompf. Since my experience of daiquiris have always been sweeter, it was nice to experience the "other side" of this classic cocktail group. Moreover, there are so many different variations of the daiquiris out there, having a few different recipes in your back pocket doesn't hurt you at all. I give this cocktail a 3.5/5. Those who like their daiquiris dry and strong, it's a solid 5/5.

A Glassful of BBQ

A GLASSFUL OF BBQ

Hardy's stand

Hello everyone! Last Wednesday I got to be part of something completely unique! Before explaining where I was and what I experienced, let's roll the tape a few weeks back. We don't want to make this story a short one. 

So ~two weeks ago, as I was in Istanbul with my family, I got an email (yeah who reads their emails during vacations?!) from a lady who asked if I was interested in this "Glassful goes BBQ" - event on the 16th (March). While I had no idea what it was all about, I inquired some more information of said event while asking my boss if I could get the day off.

Now what happened next was deeply touching. She replied that a mixologist called Kim Rantanen suggested that I could be interested in this thing. Now those who don't know who he is, this guy was the restaurant manager at Tampere's literally only cocktail bar and now works for Stolichnaya vodka. He knows his shit. So getting "a recommendation" from this guy, that's a Biggie, with a capital B. Moreover, I was invited to be there as a blogger, which totally blew my mind :D 

That moment was one of those...moments when I thought to myself "man isn't this nice! I'm getting somewhere :D" 

Bushmills and Kraken rum

So heck yeah did I go there! As for the event and its name "Glassful goes BBQ", as much as it was pointed to our national alcohol retailer's staff (new wines/products for the upcoming summer), I didn't mind that at all. It was nice having professional ambassadors for [insert wine/product here] to tell about their newest articles that hit the shops within the few months (or those which already are there).

Rosé wines

I was overly excited. I even brought the system camera with me just to realize it was going to be too bulky for taking pictures (and sipping wines while at it), so I ended up taking pictures with my phone. I'll let it slide this time.

So what was the concept of this event? As summer is knocking its way to Finland, the BBQ season starts as well. Testing different types of wines with different types of BBQ - foods and especially trying wines (be it red or white) that isn't necessarily thought to "match". A classy example, red meat pairs with red, so why not try a (matching) white instead? So-called "leaving our comfort zone" for that matter and trying new wild things.

More wine

The event lasted four hours, in which I got to sample a whole range of reds, whites, sparkling ones, dessert wines and of course different types of food that are the next big thing in the summer season.

A very asian-themed BBQ setting

Mix & match

Beef, sweet potato chips, chicken, halloumi cheese, coleslaw (with wasabi, was PRISTINE) and a few different dips/sauces with a combination of wines was indeed a truly good learning experience. Not to mention the dessert!

(salty) liquorice and white wine

Now this was a fun little combo right there! Pairing liquorice with a sweet-ish white wine, absolutely amazing and honestly, never would've thought of that.

As the evening went on, after a few hours they opened the "bar". A mixologist showed us the "new" trends for this summer; pitcher drinks and how to make good ones. Fresh flavors and a whole lot of it! E.g. Stoli Lemonade (stoli vodka, strawberry flavored syrup for the soda streamer, fresh lime juice and simple syrup), a Kraken Storm (A cocktail I've also made ~8 months ago :D), a Bushmills Sour (Bushmills, vanilla syrup, lime juice and topped with non-alcoholic wheat beer; reminded me slightly of the Vanilla Daisy I made awhile back!) and also sampling Stoli Vanilla and Stoli Elit (smoooooth as can be)

Working his magic

Pitcher drinks

I got to say, I loved the small milk glasses in which he made the Kraken Storms!

Pardon the poor picture quality, but the drink looks just like it should!

Around 22:00 the event came to an end. I personally thanked the lady who sent me the invitation (was also one of the wine presenters (Hardy's)) and explained how extremely glad I was to be there.

It was a satisfying evening altogether! And I'm not talking only about the food/drink but overall: the people, presenters, atmosphere and being there as a blogger and how I ended up in there in the first place. Just a wild story for me to gladly reminisce later on.

Kaukokaipuu (Wanderlust)

KAUKOKAIPUU (WANDERLUST)

reader request, awesomeness ensured!

A good Saturday to you all! Here's a cocktail I made based on a reader request! Its base ingredient is quite different that what you would expect and its name "Kaukokaipuu" (Wanderlust) derives from and I quote

"You can make this with rather cheap ingredients. While drinking this at cold winter nights watching Madventures one can ponder, what it be like to jump out of the rat race into far away lands."

Roughly so :D So what do you need to make this?

• 2 cl blanco rum
• 1 cl malibu
• 1 cl gin (prefer a floral, "light" gin)
• 1 bs almond syrup
• 6 cl Alpro coconut-rice milk
• some roasted almond chips on top (optional garnish)

Shake everything with ice and strain into a smaller, chilled cocktail glass. Garnish optional (an edible flower would be awesome I realized).

With a good coconut-aroma to it, it also has that surprisingly good combination of rum & gin. The slight sweet-bitter almond-y notes are also there easily to be found.

In my opinion, it was a very fun experiment and this cocktail is an all-around drink. I give it a solid 4 out of 5!