Virtanen (Koskenkorva-energydrink)

VIRTANEN

The classic in the snow

Hey! Happy weekend everyone! Here's a Finnish classic from waaaaaay back, I introduce you to the Virtanen! Virtanen is the most common surname in Finland, it is said that every 250th Finn is a "Virtanen". The drink essentially is Koskenkorva mixed with energy drink (most famously with Battery).

• 4 cl Koskenkorva viina (or any local "neutral grain spirit")
• energy drink (Battery)

Fill a glass with ice, add your spirit and top it off with energy drink. Add a straw, gently stir and enjoy!

I did make second version using vodka (Finlandia in this case). The difference was noticeable as well but positively speaking, even with Koskenkorva you could clearly taste the spirit in it, though "faintly". Moreover, if one were to use vodka in this, my 2 cents is

1. Don't use the most expensive luxury vodka
2. Don't settle for the cheapest spirit either

And you'll do good :)

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 Passionate Benedict

THE PASSIONATE BENEDICT

Hello again! Here is a cocktail requested by my wife I personally ended up liking a lot. I call it the Passionate Benedict. I had to make her something new and on the sweeter side. Thanks to my good friend, who brought me a bottle of Passoã, I realized now was my chance. This version seen in the picture was my first try and with a small tweak here are the ingredients:

• 4 cl Passoa
• 1 cl D.O.M Benedictine herbal liquor
• 1 cl peach schnapps
• 6 cl orange/mango/passion juice
• lime wedge for garnish

The first time I had the ingredient amounts as follows: 4/2/2/8 but it ended up being a bit too much for the glass.

Simply fantastic. Even with only 1 cl of D.O.M, the herbal notes are still clearly tastable. The peach schnapps and Passoã give a nice exotic taste and the orange juice (in the picture it was a mix of orange/mango juice) lengthens the cocktail well. Not to mention how beautiful this cocktail is!

Although I say this from a cocktail I created on the spur of the moment, this was an excellent cocktail indeed!

Singapore Sling

THE SINGAPORE SLING 

This is the Singapore Sling. One of the "legendary" cocktails, which according to history books, was invented  at the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel in Singapore around 1915.

Personally, I had many expectations regarding this drink. Not only did this cocktail have many ingredients to work with but just figuring out how it would taste like...was totally worth it.

Ingredients as follows:

• 40ml (8 parts) Gin
• 20ml (4 parts) Heering Cherry Liqueur (cherry brandy)
• 5ml (1 part) Cointreau
• 5ml (1 part) DOM Bénédictine
• 10ml (2 parts) Grenadine
• 80ml (16 parts) Pineapple juice
• 30ml (6 parts) Fresh lemon juice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

I slipped a few times. I used De Kuyper Cherry Liquer instead of Heering's. Also, I didn't have a hurricane glass at my disposal (I don't feel I need them for a long time; there are only a few drinks that employ it, otherwise they're just more (useless) glassware at home) so I used one of my bigger high ball glasses and I must admit it fit just perfectly. Thirdly, I didn't want to buy a whole pineapple so I decorated the drink with a good slice of lemon and of course the maraschino cherry.

Tastewise, it was amazing. Extremely fruity, a bit cherry candy-ish; I could hardly taste the alcohol in this one. Would I make this one again? Totally. Would I order this at a bar? No. Mainly because the price would be so horribly expensive in places they know how to actually make one of these.