Campari-OJ

CAMPARI-OJ

A classic

Hello and a HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE 2017! Another year has passed (right under our noses! :D) and to Celebrate this I thought of making one of the great classics of all time, the Campari-OJ!

Just as the Screwdriver, since this cocktail only has two ingredients the mixer does matter. Quality quality quality!

• 4 cl Campari
• OJ (quality)
• orange slice/wedge/twist as garnish

Or simply 1:2 ratios (Campari & OJ)

Build in a short tumbler filled with ice, garnish and serve. For me...I mean, the more I drink this the more I like it! Campari is not an entry-level liqueur due to its bitter taste but the OJ works magic here. One could argue "acquired taste" when it comes to this drink, but even now, as the ice melts a little and the Campari mixes in with the OJ, this cocktail becomes tight!

I wish everyone a happy New Year 2017! May it be filled with excellent cocktails, love and joy!

Screwdriver p.2

SCREWDRIVER

The IBA version

Evening!

I present you with probably one of the most entry-level classics of all time, the Screwdriver. A fancy name for a "vodka-orange juice" or "vodka-OJ", there's a lot more to it than what you would think! First, ratios. Don't make an "Orange juice - vodka". The drink is not supposed to be a mug with a dash of vodka and filled with OJ. Secondly, use quality orange juice! I can not stress this fact enough! IF you use a cheap OJ, your Screwdriver will turn out shit. I mean, the OJ makes two-thirds of the drink, so why not use the best money can buy?

So, how to make a proper Screwdriver as per IBA:

• 5 cl vodka (don't bother using the most expensive but don't settle for the cheapest)
• 10 cl quality orange juice
• orange slice/wedge/twist to garnish

Build in a small tumbler filled with ice, garnish and serve. Now, as I don't require people to measure their orange juice exactly to be 10cl, a healthy ratio 1:2 (vodka/OJ) or even 1:1 is good. Moreover, if you insist on making this a bigger ("longer) drink, at least invest in quality orange juice :)

Actually, now that I think of it, I made this one before!! Wait...it's true! Check

this

one out.

See? In 2012 I made this using 1:3 ratios. I've gotten a lot wiser since that but still, even four years back I insisted on quality juice :D

Well played, me, well played.

Flaming Sambuca

FLAMING SAMBUCA

FEUER FREI!

Evening everyone! Since my wife & kid has been away the whole week and I've had a morning shift every day of the week (until 18:00)...man the amount of drinks I've had in the past few days :D

But enough of that. Still have one week of work, then it is my Xmas holiday! Wo-hoo! So tonight's speciality is a Flaming Sambuca. One of those shots you've heard about but never actually had one.

Here's how to make one:

• 4 cl sambuca
• three coffee beans
• a snifter
• a tumbler
• (a napkin, through which a straw is pierced)

Put the sambuca and coffee beans in the snifter, add the sambuca and place the snifter as in the picture above. With fire light the drink up (remember work safety!!) and roll the glass a little while, let the fires burn like a thousand suns. You might ask "why three coffee beans?" Well, the traditional serving is with three coffee beans, each representing health, happiness and prosperity (I wiki'ed it, boom!)

After it has been burning for a while, smother the flames by pouring the drink in the tumbler and covering it with the snifter. Now at this point you could do one of the following:

1. Drink the now-warm sambuca
2. Quickly put the snifter on top of the straw (as it has gathered sambuca fumes), shoot the liqueur and inhale the fumes through the straw

Honestly speaking. I recommend the first one. Don't ruin this drink by trying to be "awesome" and inhaling alcohol fumes. No. Don't do it.

The shot itself was quite pleasant and warm (duh) :D But yeah, leave the fumes and just ignore them!

Momentum

MOMENTUM

Hey everyone and a pleasant Sunday to y'all! It's been a rough weekend at work (Xmas season) so why not spend one's free day enjoying a good cocktail?

Fair enough, I made this a few days back but nonetheless, the Momentum is a surprisingly tasty concoction. This drink is part of the "Let's make a drink from a magazine" - series i.e. the national cocktail-magazine Shaker (in Finnish). Just like the earlier shot I made, this one includes cognac in it. Let's take a look:

• 3 cl cognac (VSOP)
• 1 cl sambuca
• espresso/coffee beans (about 1 tsp or ~10)
• lemon twist garnish

Stir the ingredients except for the lemon garnish in a snifter with ice and garnish. Serve. With a very lemony and pleasant aroma to it, this cocktail has a pleasant balance to it! A liquorice-cognac taste with one drawback; the coffee beans are constantly getting in the way :D

After my glass had sit for a while, you get those coffee-flavors to it (coffee beans). In total, a 3-/5. It's quite a short drink, so use a smaller snifter if able.