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!

Punch in the face

PUNCH IN THE FACE

Three punch ideas for a par-tayh

Good evening everyone. With my wife one (1!) day due from "labor" (these are interesting times, my dear readers), a good friend of mine gave me a challenge!

Last Saturday I bumped into him at my work. He had a friend who was organizing a big party and needed a good punch for it. So my friend challenged me to come up with a few ideas and preferably have a tasting at my place. Since I'm rather short on time (our first born should pop any given day now), I managed to make the tasting happen today.

I was given one restriction; the punch can't be overly sweet.

So as I rode my bike on Sat. (technically Sun.) night home, I came up with three ideas, of which I actualized two. I didn't know the "theme" for the party, so I made a range of different styles of punches which would work and if needed, could be tweaked easily.

For a punch, a few reminders. The most important part; garbage in, garbage out. Using crap products gives you a said result; crap. That said, it is vital to recognize we're building a punch here. So there's no reason to buy champagne when you can use sparkling wine. Well there's one obvious reason. You don't spend so much money with the latter. BUT say one uses juices for their punch. Getting the cheapest carton of concentrated stuff can and will make a big difference.

In addition, always work in parts. It is way easier making a big bowl of punch when you can easily e.g. ten-fold your amount of liquid poured in and still have the same consistency with each batch.

Lastly, freeze a carton of juice instead of a big chunk of ice for each batch. This way as the block melts it gives more flavor than just regular ice/water.

So let's get down to business. The three ideas I had were:

Grasovka-pear and the citron-peach, respectively.

• Grasovka (bison grass vodka)
• Xanté
• Cloudy apple juice (premium)
• Sparkling wine

• Citron vodka (in this case Absolut)
• Peach liqueur
• Orange juice (premium/"squeezed")
• Sparkling wine
• (twist, explained later)

And the last (which was not made since I didn't have the material)

• Bacardi Razz/Forest fruit vodka/Nordic berries vodka
• Cassis/raspberry/relevant liqueur
• Forest fruit juice
• Sparkling rose wine

With the first, I thought of a "wintery apple pie/pear punch" with cinnamon sticks/apple slices as a decoration. The consensus was this would work as a drink but was too heavy for a punch. The second one I made (two versions actually) was a solid candidate. The fact I squeezed the juice for the glass made it (surprise, surprise) very fresh and easily enjoyed! I made another version where I substituted the peach liqueur with apricot brandy and a Fanta and the difference was huge, in favor for the first version.

The last idea was something "forest fruity", merely to give options for a different kind of punch.

Whatever they decide to go with in the end, I really felt that this was a fun assignment to have as we also discussed total punch amounts + pretty much covered everything related to the party, punch and garnishes in general.

The Heart Eater

THE HEART EATER

This is a story about a young man that ventured in the Great Plains of North America on a cold December night, 1841, in hopes of great adventure and fortune. It is purely fictional.

"To travel is to live."

- Hans Christian Andersen, 1805-1875

The winter breeze was strong tonight. Like any other night, Jedediah was walking in the woods with his companion, Jasper, in the middle of practically nowhere, finding shelter from the incoming storm. They had traveled for some time already and with the help of the North Star he was hoping to find Cheyenne, their next stop.

Hours after hours but still no sign of civilization. Jedediah was calm in mind. Their rations were close on ending but he was strong of will, and ammo. And no matter what they said, tonight he would hunt his very first bison.

Finally a glimpse of light in the horizon. A glimpse of hope for both of the travelers. They climbed the foothill and it felt like the highest mountain they've ever climbed so far. Jasper was getting weary. Jedediah on the other hand felt like a victor. 

They opened the front door, that made a heavy cracking sound. They were welcomed with a warmth that radiated from the interior. But not a single soul could be seen. They both quickly closed the door shut and gasped silently; here they could rest for a while, albeit Jedediah knew he would soon go out again.

                                                    

A man shows up from a room close to the counter. He smiles at Jedediah and Jasper and greets them; "Welcome, kinsmen. What brings you two here? Rest? Food? I can provide you with both. Then again, the storm is closing in on us, please, have a seat." The men sat down and dropped their gear on the ground. "You're hunters, aren't you?" He continued.

"Yes. And the night is not over yet." Jedediah replied with great confidence.

"Oh really? I know the wilds is flourishing with small game, I'm just not sure whether you should go out now when the breeze is getting stronger by the minute." The man said.

"Yes, really. I'm going to hunt us a bison." Jedediah said and looked the man straight in the eyes.

The man went silent. He then turned and walked towards the counter, grabbed two mugs and poured a honey-smelling liquid from a small-ish barrel on the wall. He sighed: "I don't think that's a good idea. Be assured though, if you ever do kill a bison, make sure to bring me its heart and I will make you a dish you shall never forget. Bring me its soul and I will make you a champion." The man said, brought the mugs to Jedediah and Jasper and lowered his hand on Jedediah's shoulder.

"I promise you that." He continued.

Jasper gulped down the drink and told Jedediah that he would get some rest. Jedediah nodded back with respect and started to clean his rifle. The man watched him closely throughout the operation. After a small while, Jedediah grabbed his gear again, thanked the man for the drink, grabbed his rifle and said:

"Don't you worry. I will be back in a little while."

Jedediah was not to be seen until the following morning.

The morning was perfectly clear. The storm never reached the lodge that was hidden among the trees. Jasper was worried that his companion would not return. The owner of the lodge told him that he saw a fiery passion for hunting in Jedediah's eyes when he said he would go after that bison.

"Don't you worry. He will be back in a little while." The man said.

And Jedediah did. The door opened and inside walked a man with blood on his hands. He laid his rifle on the wall and walked straight to the owner. He then opened his knapsack and inside some linen wraps he presented him the heart of a bison.

"Here, as requested. I complied your deed, now fill our need." Jedediah said following a big smile. The man took the heart and went in the kitchen. The preparation took him a decent amount of time. But what he presented Jedediah with was to be the most extraordinary experience he ever encountered:

Jedediah drank the concoction and immediately felt stronger inside. This is what he needed. This was it. In the afternoon, Jedediah and Jasper left. But before they reached the door, Jedediah turned to the man and said:

"By the way, what is your name?"

"They call me Hendrick's". The man replied with a smile.

The Heart Eater

• 3 cl Hendrick's Gin (1 fl. oz)
• 1.5 cl Zubrowka Bison Grass Vodka (0.5 fl. oz)
• 4.5 cl grapefruit juice (1.5 fl. oz)
• 1.5 cl simple syrup (0.5 fl. oz)
• 1 cl Blue Curacao (1/3 fl. oz)
• a cocktail cherry

Shake the first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice, doublestrain into a ice-cold cocktail glass (put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes or so), then gently pour the blue curacao in the middle of the drink and finally drop a cherry in the middle.

Sour Bison

SOUR BISON

Hello again! Today I made a rather sour-y cocktail from the ingredients (read: left overs) I had in my fridge. Also, at my disposal I had a new bottle of Zubrowka (thanks, sis!) so I wanted to try it out.

What ended up happening? I pressed the juices from 1 grapefruit and 1½ lemons, mixing them together. Then as follows:

• 4 cl Zubrowka
• 2 cl Peach schnapps
• a few dashes of angostura bitters
• 12 cl of the grapefruit-lemon juice mix

Added the bison grass vodka and peach schnapps in a cocktail mixer along with the few dashes of bitters and juice-mix. Give it some ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a high ball glass. Decorate as pleased.

Zubrowka's unique taste blends well with this all-together refreshing cocktail. In addition, the peach schnapps + bitters give this drink roundness and smoothness it well deserves.

This drink would be best at a hot summer day.