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!

The Sazerac

THE SAZERAC

Evening everyone! Today...it finally happened. I made the Sazerac. This has been one of the cocktails on my forever "to-do" list because of one ingredient that is extremely hard to acquire. Oh yes...yes indeed, and I'm talking about the Peychaud's Bitters. Halleluja that one friend-colleague of mine managed to fetch me one bottle so the time had come to make this beauty.

This version is the IBA one. This drink's history is rather intriguing and to make a long story short, you could make this two ways by choosing your main ingredient; cognac or rye (whiskey). I tried it with cognac (it being the "original" one before rye came along):

The recipe is quite straightforward and follows the IBA instructions:

• 5 cl cognac (I used Meukow VSOP)
• 2 ds Peychaud's bitters
• 1 sugar cube (okay I used 1 tsp of simple syrup because I didn't have a single (!) cube at home)
• ~1 cl absinthe (quality-wise not a big difference, read further why)
• a lemon peel (just the oils)
• a frozen (small) OF glass

Start by having your glass extremely cold ie. in the freezer. Give the three first ingredients a good long stir. Before straining it though, rinse the inside of your now cold glass with a small amount of absinthe. Then, discard the liquid (absinthe). Now strain your drink into your OF glass. Press the lemon zest oils over the drink but don't garnish it. Serve.

With a fresh nose to it, the Sazerac is sophisticated, strong, herbal, sweet-ish and just damn delicious! Can't wait to try it with the rye and see which one reigns supreme!

I got to say, this drink doesn't look like much but you know how they say, less is more? My initial opinion of this drink is that it kicks ass, big time.

Merhaba Istanbul!

MERHABA ISTANBUL!

Drinking in Turkey in a nutshell

Merhaba everyone! I've come back from a one-week holiday in Istanbul, Turkey with my family! I'll start off by saying that this blog post is not really going to be about drinking or moreover, cocktails. Since such culture does not really exist in Turkey (with a few exceptions). Sure, you have your kiosks that have the culmination of western liquors ie. Jack Daniels, Chivas, J&B, Johnnie Walker (red), Jim Beam...the stuff you can get from everywhere. My safe assumption is that this stuff is for the tourists.

Then you have your raki. Like the link says, "it is an unsweetened, anise-flavored Turkish alcoholic drink that is popular in Turkey..." Since I was travelling with my wife & kid, I only had one raki (offered by our mutual friend who lives in Istanbul), a local beer Efes and a local Turkish wine Buzbaḡ with our everyday grape varieties öküzgözü and boğazkere. Gotta admit though, it was a good wine! I did buy the above-seen raki bottle; it's a small one + a bit more local than any of the commercially available/exported ones at the airport/retailers. Fair enough, I saw a 1L bottles of the same stuff at the duty free when we were leaving, but I just didn't want to get a big bottle.

Hard to pronounce, easy to drink.

But most importantly, there's çay. 

It's more than just "tea".

Çay for the Turkish people is not only tea, it is a social construction. It is drunk everywhere and anytime; part of bargaining when at a bazaar, after meals, at cafés, when socializing with people, while working...I don't think there is a situation when çay isn't appropriate! It seemed like a national pastime, sitting with people and enjoying a hot cup of strong tea from clear and small glasses with optional sugar added. This was one also one of the great things I admired in Istanbul (or Turkey in general). Not to mention the tea was good tasting!

Then there's Ayran, but I only had it a few times. I understand its meaning though, during the hot summer days it is refreshing indeed!

I didn't see nor even actively look for any cocktail place. Although alcohol is not banned per se, strick regulations (especially in the Asian side) makes is hard to find any proper bar. I've read articles about a mysterious / quite legendary cocktail bar in the Europe side, where the owner is titled as the alchemist (that's cool), but honestly speaking, I had no intention to go there during my family holiday.

Food was good, many street bars serve kebab is numerous ways with restaurants that have that western-twist to them, if any. Mostly local stuff nonetheless!

lamb kebab, ayran, ҫay

meze and aubergine with chicken inside.

cakes, cakes, cakes!!

Cakes or pasta, were incredibly cheap and delicious. These people know how to make their sweet stuff! Turkish delights, baklava and all those things just demand to be put in our pie holes! I did also have a cup of Turkish coffee, surprisingly only once. 

Less is more

We visited the Grand Bazaar once and after one hour I said "yup, that's pretty much it", although some say you could spend days strolling through the place some call a big maze. The concept of bargaining and shopkeepers trying to sell you literally anything...well, as an experience it was unique and you can't go around that. 

Traffic regulations...or their lack of. Just go with the flow, they said, it'll be fun they said! Just read here for more information about it. With the pram it sometimes lead to really...mildly put, interesting situations! 

I won't be bothering you with endless amount of pictures of what I saw and experienced there, but as a whole the experience was great. Sure, the kiddo made the whole trip different, but not in a bad way!

How the F%$k are you supposed to go through there?! Even my daughter is baffled.

So summa summarum, if I really try to squeeze in all of the information of our one-week trip to Istanbul, what could I say more? Don't except to find great cocktails in Istanbul from every corner bar (if you even find a bar :D). Istanbul is more about food, culture, the people, simits, çay, kebabs, shopping and a whole lot of traffic.

A single picture that could sum the whole thing up.

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”

- Augustine of Hippo

Pear Delight

PEAR DELIGHT
I can't even think of new names anymore :D

Hey everyone! A few days back I ended up making a cocktail with some wintery-notes in it! I introduce you the Pear Delight. As some might know, soon after creating this drink I realized how silly I've been, using the same "delight" suffix in an earlier cocktail back in the summer! But that got me thinking (finally). Back then I used Absolut's flavored vodka, this time I used one also so I might as well call any cocktail with Absolut's [insert flavor here] a "X Delight" :D :D

So what's this drink all about? Winter. Apples, pears, cinnamon and love:

• 2 cl Absolut Pears
• 2 cl Xanté
• 1 cl cinnamon syrup
• 4 cl premium apple juice
• 1 star anise, burned

I managed to get a hold on to some organic apple & pear juice, which in my opinion would well enhance the flavor profile of this cocktail. It cost me a small fortune but what the heck!

Shake everything except the star anise in a shaker, strain into a chilled coupe. Take a star anise and burn it with a torch for a few seconds, smother the flame and drop it on the drink.

This cocktail was smooth in texture, full-bodied and tasted great with that hint of liquorice coming from the garnish. Of course using a clear apple juice will result in a clear(er) drink, but I recommend any high quality apple juice for this one

Irish Flag Shot

IRISH FLAG SHOT

Good evening everyone! Although it is not close to St. Patrick's Day, I might as well present you with probably the most well-known shot during that time, the Irish Flag Shot. It is a layered drink, similar to the B-52, Sprinbokkie, Brain Hemorrhage or so and most likely being drunk, as mentioned before, on St. Paddy's.

If you check the ingredients below, you'll notice it almost 100% identical to the B-52 version with two "twists":

• 1/3 part cremè de menthe (green)
• 1/3 part baileys
• 1/3 part gran marnier

Layer in the given order but don't light it up (like you would a B-52). Shoot! As for the visual part, looks like the Irish Flag sideways. Taste-wise? Well the biggest problem with layered shots in general is that they tend to taste to whatever is the last liqueur in the glass. These shots have that visual aspect to them and that's pretty much it. For instance, this shot tastes pretty much like green peppermint liqueur with a hint of baileys and orange-cognac. Of course, on the correct theme day these are naturally more fun to drink. Not necessarily better tasting, just more fun :)

Smoky Rum Old Fashioned

SMOKY RUM OLD FASHIONED

As per Waldo Smit

A good weekend to everyone! Today I've "exited" my comfort area to make something completely different. I introduce you the Smoky Rum Old Fashioned.

I stumbled upon this recipe (or video to be honest) by accident. I checked it out, fancied it and thought to myself "I might as well give it a go!" I pretty much had everything except for the lapsang souchong tea needed. Yesterday I found a store that had it and I immediately bought a pack. Let's get ready to business!

• 6 cl spicy rum
• 1.5 cl smoky simple syrup
• 4d orange bitters
• cinnamon + star anise + grated nutmeg
• a glass jar
• an orange wheel + star anise for the garnish
• a kitchen blowtorch

The video will pretty much explain the whole process how to make it and I won't be going through it namely because it would take a small life time to explain the same thing the original author did in a tad over 1 minute 30 seconds. So I'll just skip ahead and review the cocktail. Before that though, I would consider this cocktail a somewhat "special occasion" drink, since...

First of all, effort. This cocktail takes some. Secondly, the effort is rewarded in the end by its flavor profile. Thirdly, but not lastly, choosing a good rum will work wonders here. I noticed the author used Sailor Jerry, I instead went for El Dorado 15yo. For me (+ the 4d's of orange bitters), it was a bit too fruity. Could also be that I didn't smoke the dried spices enough. The cocktail itself was still complex as f**k and when the opportunity arises, I shall make another one of these beauties! 

Vanilla Daisy

VANILLA DAISY

Heeeyoo! Roughly a week back I made a bourbon based cocktail called Vanilla Daisy. The recipe was found from the "Classic Cocktail Bible" I own. In all fairness, when looking at the ingredients list, I can't help but think it's a twist to a "Whisky Sour". Nonetheless, it's a twist well worth making! Or is it...? Let's give it a look.

• 5 cl bourbon
• 2.5 cl lemon juice
• 2.5 cl vanilla syrup
• 1 tsp grenadine
• 2-3 maraschino cherries as garnish

Shake the first three ingredients with ice, strain into a tumbler, "drizzle" the grenadine over the drink and finally garnish the cocktail with the maraschino cherries. 

How was the drink then? My initial fear was that it would turn out waaaay to sweet (coffee flavoring syrups tend to be overly sweet in themselves), but luckily the lemon juice cut the sugariness just enough. As I used Buffalo Trace bourbon for this, overall the drink was decent-ok but didn't quite manage to stand out at any point. I would even go as far and claim that the choice of bourbon makes this drink in the end. With a good mouthfeel to it (double strain for the win!), I rate this cocktail 3½+ out of five (the + for visual).

Paranoid

PARANOID

Hello everyone! Today (actually almost a week ago) I had the pleasure to make a cocktail called Paranoid. Its history goes back to 2004 to a cocktail bar called Shaker, in Jyväskylä, Finland. I had previously seen a video of the drink being made by their staff and a BIG SHOUT OUT goes to Karl Lojander for inventing this drink! Story goes they wanted to make a kick-ass gin-based cocktail after their opening in 2003 and what do you know? They made this, which roared success on the first try! *cue slow clap right here ladies and gents*

I've personally heard of this drink before as well but now I had the opportunity to make it myself! The recipe as follows:

• 3 cl lemon juice
• 2 cl DeKuyper blueberry liqueur
• 2 cl dry gin
• 1 cl lingonberry syrup
• dash soda water

I made the lingonberry syrup myself by using 2dl frozen lingonberries, 0.5dl water, 1dl sugar and 0.5dl household syrup (for future reference that last one is option IMHO). Boil the berries with water, strain the mash, add sugar and heat to dissolve. Yeah...kinda like that :D

As for the drink, shake everything except the soda water and strain (no double straining needed here) into a glass. Top it off with soda and garnish with an orange slice. There you go!

It's a lively-colored cocktail, fresh, has that "zinggg!" to it and tastes extremely good which makes give it a 4 out of 5!

Here's a clip of it when I made it (in Finnish!)

Tom Collins

TOM COLLINS

Hey everyone! A few days back I made probably one of the most well-known cocktails of all time, the Tom Collins. This drink goes back a few centuries, wikiquote

"First memorialized in writing in 1876 by "the father of American mixology" Jerry Thomas, this "gin and sparkling lemonade" drink typically is served in a Collins glass over ice."

I decided to give it a go.

• 5 cl Tanqueray dry gin
• 2.5 cl lemon juice
• 2.5 cl simple syrup 1:1
• dash soda water
• lemon slice/maraschino cherry as a garnish

Since I don't have a soda streamer at home, I find "soda-based" cocktails rather difficult to make. I usually substitute it (soda water) with mineral water (which isn't the same) but it gets the job done. This time I actually had a bottle of "Fever Tree soda water", which in my opinion is totally overpriced and overrated. But the heck with it, I shook up this cocktails, strained into a glass filled with ice and topped it off with soda. Garnished it with a lemon slice and one home-made maraschino cherry.

Result? Refreshing & fabulous.

I like to use a 2:1:1 ratio when making this drink (at work/home), getting a little bit more volume, consistency and not such a sour drink. Essentially, this is the sour of all sour drinks truth to be told.

Recommendations? During the summer as far as I'm concerned!

What is up, Cocktail Nyymi?

What is up, Cocktail Nyymi?

My New Year's drink 2016

Hello everyone!

It's been a too long a while since my last post. The reason for this is that I've put more effort on my youtube channel (that's right :D) than on this blog. So what's the story behind it?

Last year, around May I posted my very first cocktail VIDEO. I can always claim it was due to people demanding one, but it seemed like a natural progression ever since my more or less successful forums threads since 2014. The reason for my face not showing (in the first video!) was due to a level of "anonymity", but ever since I realized "why the FUCK should I care?" and gotten ever wiser after that, followed by videos not trying to disguise myself in any matter.

What does this mean? Firstly, I do it 95% in Finnish. The main reason for this that most of those people on the forum(s) are Finns and secondly, I want to bring home bartending closer than just reading forum threads. Meaning that just pictures of finished cocktails hardly every tell the whole story. By using "everyday Joe" - methods (at least that's what I'm going for) I want people not working in the cocktail/restaurant business to get their share of good drinks.

You could say I'm the Finn counterpart of the Common Man Cocktails - guy.

The reception has been overwhelmingly positive and I am grateful for that.

Thus my blogging here has taken some hiatus in the last few months and for that I am sorry. Basically I'm working on three projects right now (this blog, my youtube channel and family/real life) where the level of importance goes as follows:

1. Family
2. Youtube channel
3. This blog

In the past six months I've taken a lot of interest in buying my liquor form Germany, which gives me a great advantage. I have bought many liquors/liqueurs that aren't really commercially available in Finland thus being able to make those cocktails I've so wanted to make a long time ago!

I still want to keep a "classic/modern" touch to it. Ever since May, 2015, there has been roughly 40+ videos; shots, shaken, stirred, built etc. But my idea is to make the "truly classic" ones first before digging through those cocktails that are created in the 21st century, so to speak. Also, I want to keep an eye on making drinks that hopefully don't need a very obscure ingredient so that as many home bartenders could make them at home! Because nowadays when you look at great cocktail clips you sigh as they call for one ingredient that is so obscure you ditch the whole idea of making it! It shouldn't be like that! Unfortunately, here in Finland we have this thing called "fuck reasonable cocktail/restaurant culture and fuck things up by fucked up legislation." so yeah, I rather get my booze from Germany 50% off at best!!

So as said, my youtube channel Cocktail Nyymi has taken my time in the cocktail business. Not to mention my daughter who turned 1-year-old a few months back. Juggling between family, cocktail making and work is a rough business. But I don't mind it a bit.

Cocktailnyymi out.

Reader's Challenge: Sangreal Cocktail

THE SANGREAL COCKTAIL

A wannabe Sangria drink!

Let's keep up posting like there's no tomorrow! I recently received a Reader's Challenge (!!!) I was asked to make a Sangreal Cocktail and quote:

Have you ever tried the Sangreal cocktail? I first tested it at a cocktail bar three years ago and attempted it on my own. Here's how I did it: "Pour 4 cl Licor 43 in a highball glass, add two chunks of grapefruit and two chunks of lemon. Muddle most juice from out the chunks. Add two-three ice cubes and the red grenadine. Pour roughly half of the Ginger Ale and stir from the bottom so that the chunks won't stick there. Add still one or two ice cubes and fill up with Ginger Ale." This drink is a long one, somewhat mild, nicely reddish and exceptionally refreshing on hot summer evenings. Sang Real, or sangreal, comes from both French and Spanish and means the words Holy and Grail or Holy Royal. Thus, the name relates to something very old. Additionally the name relates to its colour, which should be close to what is known as "veriappelsiinivehnäolut" in Finnish. And as I first got the hint for this cocktail fr om a Swedish person, this challenge includes four nationalities :-)

I had no Licor 43 at home so I bought a sample bottle of it, also got pretty much everything else from the store except for the grenadine, which I already had.

I read the challenge a few times to get the jist. I realized I would need a large enough glass to make it and as I soon found out how large the grapefruit chunks were, I'm glad I picked up the bigger highball glass in the first place:

• 4 cl Licor 43
• two chunks grapefruit
• two chunks lemon
• 2 bs grenadine (I figured 2 bs would suffice)
• ginger ale, to top

Everything worked out fine until I added the grenadine. A few times now I've witnessed bad quality syrups and as you can see from the picture, the grenadine didn't give as much deep color as I was hoping for. Also, the camera didn't really give justice to the drink; with added orange slices (for the heck of it) it was a nice looking drink overall; its taste was just too sweet for me. I blame the grenadine; one didn't give enough color and two went overboard especially since Licor 43 itself is a sweet liqueur as well!

Let's be honest here (as if I weren't normally :D). This cocktail wasn't a top-tier one. But what really warmed my heart was indeed how I got to make this cocktail, by a random dude's challenge on my blog! Cheers to that!

Islay Sour

ISLAY SOUR

What would Ron Swanson do?

Heya guys! It's been a long time since my last update! So why not continue by making an interesting cocktail that uses one ingredient that most people would find horrifying if used in a mixed drink! I present you the Islay Sour!

The story so far; I found out about this in a portfolio made by Diageo. In its "perfect serve" there was this peculiar one there. A typical sour, yes, but with Laga-fucking-vulin 16yo? It had to be done...so I made it by using their recipe and here's how YOU can do it at home:

• 4 cl Lagavulin 16yo
• 3 cl lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup (1:1)
• 2 dashes angostura bitters
• 1 egg white (fresh!)

Although the recipe calls for ice shaking all right away, I would still dry-shake first, then add ice and finally shake again. Double straining as usual.

The looks is great, a beautiful peachy color and velvety texture. Taste-wise, the citrus dominated a bit and I was hoping for more "oompf" from the whisky, the Lagavulin did give a nice kick in the end though with its sweet peatiness. What I would nonetheless do, is alter the recipe just a tad should I ever do it again:

• 5 cl Lagavulin 16yo
• 2 cl lemon
• 2 cl syrup
• 2 dashed bitters
• 1 egg white

In its essence, give the drink more its need power and lessen the citrus-y notes.

The cocktail itself was quite the experiment and in my opinion, one of those drinks you can really try if feeling courageous :) 

Here's the same drink made on video (in Finnish!)

White Lady

WHITE LADY

Hello everyone! It's Cocktail Monday (I just made that one up, but it seemed fitting at the moment :D) and two weeks left of my mammoth nine weeks of combined summer/paternity holiday. It's always fun to make classic drinks and this one belongs to the family. I present you the White Lady. Now, different sources will give you different ratios of how much ingredients you should have in this cocktail (not to mention IBA's "official" ratios). In addition to that, the Finnish alcohol laws prohibit using more than 4 cl of raw alcohol per drink (with exceptions), so what we'll have is two following ratios. The Finnish bar ratio and the one I used (for that little extra oompf and love):

• 1:1:1 ratio = 2 cl gin, cointreau, lemon juice (Finnish version) AND this version

• 4.5 cl gin
• 2 cl cointreau
• 2 cl lemon juice

Some sources will also imply the use of egg white, but it is not necessary. Should you use it, remember to dry shake before adding ice.

So what you want to do is add the ingredients to the shaker, add ice and shake it like you mean it! Strain into your (at this point it is safe to assume the cocktail ware is well chilled before use) cocktail glass and garnish. You could either use a lemon twist or a stemmed cocktail cherry; it adds nice aesthetics (albeit not being opposite colors). Serve.

I liked it! With the (more added) gin it wasn't as sweet, had that bite to it and of course the beauty of it, using your favorite gin this cocktail has a lot of potential to suit one's taste!

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!