A.M.F drink

A.M.F DRINK

(ALPHA MIKE FOXTROT)

ALPHA! MIKE! FOXTROT! OR

ADIOS MOTHERFUCKER!

Here's a big-ass drink. I mean really. Belongs to the series with Irish Trash Can or Long Island Iced Teas, the A.M.F - drink is "oh one of THOSE!" - styled cocktails, which I would recommend making at home if at all. With a beautiful and tropical color, this drink is very very deceitful! Let's take a look:

• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl rum (white)
• 1.5 cl tequila (100% de agave)
• 1.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl blue curacao
• 6 cl sweet & sour mix (I just used 3 cl each fresh lemon juice and simple syrup mixed together)
• 6 cl (or to top) sprite/7-Up lemonade
• Orange/lemon/lime/cocktail cherry garnish

Super easy to make! With a big glass filled roughly half-way with ice, just pour in everything, give it a little stir and top it with lemonade. BOOM! Done! I did make two variations to it, using regular sprite and the now-only-available -30% less sugar sprite and I have to say, the latter tasted better. The first version was overly sweet, which isn't really surprising if you look at the list, three of them being sugary products (curacao, sugar syrup, lemonade). Otherwise, as my friend noted, it's the "alco-pop of spirits" :D Easy to down and gets you drunk fast. Which, in accordance to this cocktail's name is quite right.

Sierra! Echo! November! Delta!

November! Uniform! Delta! Echo! Sierra!

:D

Paloma

PALOMA

"La Paloma" or "little dove"

Greetings again long time no see! Busy with life & work but thankfully my vacation starts after this week! To kick-start our week here's a Mexican specialty, the Paloma. Super famous over there, I've had two of these already and can admittedly say this is going to be my this summer's next favorite!

• 6 cl 100% de agave tequila
• ½ lime (juice)
• a pinch of salt
• grapefruit soda
• lime wheel garnish/etc.

Build into a high ball glass, add the lime juice, tequila and mixer, drop a little bit of salt in the drink and stir gently. Garnish and serve.

Wow, just nice. Fresh, smooth, balanced with a very nice after taste to it, I frigging loved this! Note to self though, "use high quality tequila and careful with the salt!"

I used Jose Cuervo's Tradicional tequila, which IMHO is super smooth and balanced by itself! A sipping tequila! As for the grapefruit soda, I didn't use the "traditional" ones, instead our Finnish brand Jaffa Greippi, which did its job just as planned.

This drink...I have to share with my friends, they deserve it!

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).

Veracruzana

Veracruzana

Hello again and good evening! It's been quite a while since my last post, but have no fear, another great cocktail is here! I present to you the Veracruzana!

I start by saying this drink has tequila in it. Personally I'm not the greatest fan of said alcohol and quite frankly, I don't think the Margarita is really that good of a cocktail. Of course the tequila brand will make a difference and those that aren't 100% agave = shit. So if you happen to make a tequila cocktail out of "blue agave" or "fresh agave", but it isn't 100% agave, don't be surprised if that drink didn't taste as good as you might've expected.

Anyhow, for the Veracruzana I did have 100% agave and with fresh fruit in the drink...what could go wrong?

• 60 ml tequila (100% agave)
• 22.5 ml agave syrup
• 30 ml lime juice (fresh)
• 4 chunks of pineapple
• 2 basil leaves
• pineapple/basil for garnish

First, muddle the pineapple and basil leaves in the cocktail shaker. Add the rest and shake with plenty of ice. Strain into your tumbler and garnish with a pineapple slice/basil sprig.

This was a very pleasant surprise for me! Fresh in both taste and aroma (the wonderful basil aroma coming up your nose when you take a sip from the drink), it's also visually aesthetic. I got to say, it's a very refreshing summer-ish cocktail that gets my approval, 4½/5!

Sampling the unknown

SAMPLING THE UNKNOWN

What could these be?

Hello again and welcome! It's been quite a while since my last post and I do apologize for that. With our now 6-month-old daughter and my wife having a two-week work shift I haven't really had much time to taste new products, make new cocktails (I don't even have ice in the fridge at the moment!) or explore the vast world of alcoholic beverages in general.

Today that changed. But first let us rewind a bit and ie. one week. A tasting was held at work but alas, I could not attend. It's not that didn't want to but I couldn't because on the following day I had my blood tested and that meant no alcohol for the previous 48 hours. So I bought these little sample bottles that hold 3.5cl (35ml so a healthy measure) from a drug store and brought them earlier to my workplace so I could later sample them. From what I heard one of them was going to be the last of the legendary Valhalla series, Odin. So a colleague of mine was kind enough (<3 !) to fill these bottles for me but never told me which bottle had which product! That meant, I had five samples and no idea (not even the type [whisky, rum, cognac etc.]) what they were. A true blind tasting that is. 

A sample bottle labeled "=)"

So what I had was five (5) different products. Each were labeled differently and only my colleague knew what was in each one. When I started pouring the products in the glasses I realized how much even ~30 ml was! So going with approximately 20 ml each, I ended up with a nice row of products:

The tasting was a great success! Just nosing them made me think two of them were whiskies, one a dark rum and one I just couldn't figure out but it was on the tip of my tongue. I actually thought the first one was a whisky too but after I wrote down my tasting notes and rated them, my colleague sent me pictures of what I had but not in any particular order. Using the power of deduction I then managed to collect the last pieces of the puzzle and finish the job!

1. Tres Generaciones Añejo tequila (the peppery notes, just astonishing!)
2. Highland Park Odin (cask strength, bitter chocolate notes)
3. No3 London Dry Gin (this had lemon peel notes in it making me believe it was some sort of triple sec first, I "almost had it right")
4. Brugal VX dark rum (sweet aroma but taste-wise much robust)
5. Glenrothes 2001 (a very "pure" single malt, extremely fast finish)

All in all, these were great products. Especially the tequila left me with an extremely positive impression proving once again that there are good tequilas out there but only the shittiest ones are exported abroad and the good ones are really effing expensive to begin with. Also the gin was very palatable and worked as itself quite nicely.

Inspired and motivated of all of this, I've gotten myself another 10 sample bottles so I can share some of my different spirits with friends in the future! Not to mention should I ever open up another whisky bottle for the first time, I can take a measure of it and store it in a separate container. This way, after a long period of time I can always "return" to the original product and see if the flavor has developed, if at all.

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!

Long Island Ice Tea

LONG ISLAND ICE TEA

Here we have one of those "epic" cocktails (such as the Singapore Sling). The famous Long Island Ice Tea. I made one of these back in the days with poor(er) success than now. I've gotten wiser from those years. And my equipment has gotten better. To be honest, this cocktail isn't really that hard to pull of, the amount of liquors might just scare some before anything has happened yet! So let's begin:

• 1.5 cl tequila
• 1.5 cl vodka
• 1.5 cl rum (white)
• 1.5 cl cointreau
• 1.5 cl gin
• 2.5 cl lemon juice
• 3.0 cl simple syrup
• cola

Except for the cola, add everything in your cocktail shaker, put some ice in it and shake vigorously. Strain into a tom collins (high ball) glass filled with ice and top it off with cola. A lemon wedge/slice for garnish + a few straws do the rest. As you can see from the picture, the alcohols are on the bottom, the cola on top of it and the general color is similar that of a ice tea (peach).

I can't remember much from my early years, but this one knocks my socks right off my feet! Albeit being a potent mixture, I can barely taste the alcohol in this one. In addition, it does taste like ice tea!

If you feel like doing something special with the items in your bar cabinet, this is definitely the one.

Firebird

FIREBIRD

Continuing our cocktail experiences, I present you with the Firebird:

•  2 cl tequila (white)
•  2 cl créme de bananes
•  2 cl lemon juice
•  4 cl lemonade (sprite/7up)

Shake the first three ingredients with plenty of ice, strain into a tumbler filled with a few ice cubes and add the lemonade. No garnish needed!

All in all, this cocktail tasted kind of funky. The combination of banana liquor and tequila does work! The fizzyness of the lemonade gave this drink a nice mouth-feel as well.

If you haven't had one of these birds before, go ahead and try one! NOW!

Pineapple Tequila

PINEAPPLE TEQUILA

As promised, the Pineapple Tequila! I had a little "accident" with my first bottle, that is when I put it (=forgot) in the oven for a disinfection I ended up with a melt cap as seen in the picture:

Yeah, that sucked majorly and to add insult to injury, this happened during Easter so I couldn't even get myself another bottle! After the holidays I got TWO bottles and instead of using the oven I just washed them in hot water and let to cool off.

After this procedure I used a coffee filter to strain the excess vanilla seeds off the liquid...

...and double strained it afterwards to get a clearer product.

What do you know, it turned out OKAY!

Here I let my inspiration flow freely; silver tequila is usually drunk with lemon + salt, golden tequila with orange + cinnamon so how could one have this? I got an idea...

...a slice of grapefruit + vanilla sugar!

It was awesome. Scent was extremely pineapple-y and taste-wise I could clearly taste the flavors of this fruit. Combined with the sweet/sourness from the grapefruit and sugar...

'Nuff said.

Creating Pineapple Tequila part 2

THE PRODUCT

Here it is, the product in its making! It's been three days now since I bottled up my pineapple tequila! Next weekend (at least when I have a day off) I'll strain the tequila into a sterilized glass bottle and use the pineapples in a dessert with bourbon vanilla ice cream. I might even heat up the fruit just to show I care.

I'll report more when the "product" is bottled and ready to serve!

Creating Pineapple Tequila part 1

THE PLAN

The title might give away the fact that today I'm making my own Pineapple tequila! I got the recipe from a cocktail book I own but as for getting the ingredients it was rather iffy for a long time;

• 1 liter of silver tequila (I'm using 0.7 liters)
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 large pineapple
• 1 vanilla pod

 Sterilise a big jar by rinsing it first and then putting it in the over (about 100ᴼ celsius/~212F) for some 20 minutes. Let it cool off completely. Meanwhile, prepare the pineapple (cut into chunks and so on). 

In a jug mix the tequila with the brown sugar until it has dissolved. Pour it in the jar with the vanilla pod (which you have cut in half and scraped the vanilla seeds), add the pineapple chunks and let it agitate for about a week. Later on you can use the pineapple chunks for a warm dessert or so!

Keep in mind I need about a week before I can give you any results how I succeeded with this task. Don't worry, I'll post pictures and describe you with all of the valuable information you need as soon as possible!

Stay strong!

¡Ándele!

Tequila Sunrise

TEQUILA SUNRISE

Here is one of my all time favorite cocktails (made at home), the Tequila Sunrise! Easy to make yet and tastes amazing!

• 4cl silver tequila
• 12cl orange juice
• lemon juice from a wedge
• a few dashes of grenadine

Of course, prefer only the highest quality orange juice wherever possible. This way you get the best result. So here it is done. In a cocktail shaker pour in the tequila, orange juice and squeeze in the lemon juice from the wedge. Shake vigorously with plenty of ice and strain in a high ball glass filled with (crushed) ice. Then gently pour a few dashes of grenadine to create the sunrise-y effect as shown in the picture. You can garnish with a slice of lemon if you like. Add a straw and enjoy.

I don't usually order these at bars since they can't make them right (mainly because the orange juice I've seen at bars are not of great quality read the cheapest stock kind).

 A magnificent drink at any occasion...okay, during summer.