Horse's Neck

HORSE'S NECK

Hello again! Today I'm introducing you to a cocktail which (after a little bit of research) apparently has two major variations. The classic cocktail Horse's Neck. On one thing we can both agree; you need ginger ale and a long lemon twist. But are you "supposed" to use brandy or whiskey in it? In my dearest opinion, it doesn't quite matter since both work in their favor and both are recognized as a key ingredient. Of course you get a completely different taste profile from those mentioned above so if serving one of these it won't hurt asking "brandy or bourbon?"

• 5 cl brandy or whiskey (bourbon)
• ginger ale
• a long lemon twist
• (angostura bitters)

Using a high ball glass, fill it half-way with ice. Then cut a long strip of lemon twist so part of it will hang from outside the glass. Add your choice of liquor and top it off with ginger ale. Some put a few dashes of angostura bitters on top of the drink; this is purely a matter of opinion/taste. You can also add a straw or two if you please.

In my version I used bourbon. The result was quite delightful indeed! I got a massive amount of citrus - notes and the bourbon totally works with ginger ale. At this point I must say I would have used a better quality mixer instead of Schweppes but in Finland it's hard to get anything else than that. If you do happen to bump into anything more rare, the price for one bottle is beyond outrageous. 

Nonetheless, this is a good cocktail and if you prefer a more of a sweeter version, use brandy instead.

The Forgotten Pearl

THE FORGOTTEN PEARL

"These pearls make you forget the troubles of yesterday."

A cheesy-ass quote I just made up starts my newest post! Welcome aboard gents and hold fast, it's going to be a long ride to the unknown...

...just kidding. The story behind this cocktail goes somewhat like this: I go to the grocery store with my wife and her sister I see some passion fruits and I decide I want to make a cocktail using them. In addition, the coaster you see (has a bit of an "earthy" feel to it and fits absolutely perfectly with the kitchen table) was given to me by a good friend of mine. "It has to have rum in it" I thought. Also some exotic fruit of some kind (besides the passion fruit). The Forgotten Pearl was born:

• 2 cl aged rum
• 2 cl gran marnier
• 2 cl martini bianco (sweet clear vermouth)
• 4 cl pineapple juice
• 4 cl orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)
• 1-2 dashes angostura bitters
• 2 passion fruits (for the actual cocktail only 1½ is used, the rest ½ is used for garnish)
• 1 bar spoon D.O.M benedictine "float"

First spoon pearls from the 1½ passion fruit in the shaker. Add the juices and alcohols except for the benedictine. Add ice and shake vigorously. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish by scooping the ½ passion fruit left over. Finally add a bar spoon of your herbal liqueur onto the drink. Enjoy.

Quite the drink I say! It has a velvety smooth texture, it is plenty of notes of citrus, the "roundness" from the rum and the complexity from the vermouth/gran marnier. Especially towards the end I could experience an ocean of herbal-like tastes, which made this cocktail...just wonderful.

The Pegu Club Cocktail

THE PEGU CLUB COCKTAIL

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I actually should've posted this some days ago but laziness got into me so I kind of postponed this until the dark hours some call "midnight". Nonetheless, here is a very interesting cocktail based on gin but tastes just like grapefruit. I introduce you to the Pegu Club Cocktail. I could link all kinds of wiki articles regarding the history of this cocktail, but apparently this is a very traditional/well-known cocktail in...Latin America was it? Moreover, there's one rather "special" ingredient that you might look for in order to make it:

• 5 cl gin
• 2 cl triple sec
• 1 cl fresh lime juice
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 1 dash angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I wanted to use my rather less-used tulip-glass (just for fun's sake) but a small coupe would've done the trick more nicely. As for the garnish, the "traditional" garnish is a peel grapefruit or so (to implement the taste of it) but a lime slice/wedge will do the trick.

But I got to say, it does taste like grapefruit! It's a rather interesting mixture this Pegu Club Cocktail. Also for those not fond of gin, I doubt you would have problems drinking this. I give it a solid +1!

The 2014 New Year's Resolution

THE 2014 NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION

I know it's...two days late, but I've come up with the single most best and awesomest New Year's resolution for the year 2014. It's not a promise per se, but more of a challenge (accepted).

Today when I was biking to work I realized how I many different whiskies/other alcohol products we have and how few of those I have tasted. 

My 2014 New Year's Resolution as follows:

"In the year 2014 I will/have taste/d every alcohol product (most importantly the whiskies) we sell at our bar."

This means especially the whiskies; today at work I borrowed a notebook and listed every alcohol product available. And I will taste, assess and appreciate each and everyone of those with the exception of:

• flavored liqueurs such as our Volare brand
• seasonal products (such as some wines/beers on tap and so forth)
• (bottled beers/ciders) I'm still on the fence here

Since our bar stands heavily on whiskies, I believe it's important for me to really know what I'm selling. Here's my opportunity.

The rules:

1. Each product will be tasted, assessed and appreciated neat (with whiskies/appropiate I allow a splash of water as well).
2. Either 4 cl (~1.5 fl oz.) or 2 cl (2/3 fl oz.) depending on the product (and price, if a larger measure is too "expensive")
   2.1. If a brand has series of whiskies (e.g. the Bowmore or Laphroaig), the lesser amount is used
3. Products I have at home and are sold in the bar can be included in this.
4. Use this badass mofo glass everytime when applicable.

*Rules' edit*

• I decided to drop the amount to 2 cl (2/3 fl oz) / 1 cl ( 1/3 fl oz) depending on the product. Most liqueurs are hard to drink neat at larger amounts + a series of whiskies is more suitable with a lesser amount. Less is more, they say :)

So what got was:

• 73 different whiskies
• 46 other products (rums, brandies, schnapps and so forth)
• bottled beers/ciders not included (rough estimate from the top of my head: ~25)

So about a hundred and a few more in a year's time. No biggies, right? Also, as I go, I try to write down a few words/comments for each product and then probably rate it from either 1-5 stars or just 0-100 points.

It'll be awesome.

Batiste

BATISTE

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you've all had a great (last) year. I must say the year 2013 has been a life changing one. Not only did I get a job from the restaurant business in September, among other things I got to visit my brother & his family in Germany and spend Christmas there. 

But without further ado, the first cocktail for the year 2014 shall be a Batiste! The recipe varies just a teeny bit depending on your source:

• 2 parts rum (blanco or aged)
• 1 part gran marnier

I used aged rum in this one, I believe it gives a more complex flavor overall. My measures were 4/2 cl respectively. Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. No garnish needed. Apparently adding juice from ½ a lime makes this a Prince George.

Taste-wise, not a magnificent cocktail. Having tried the Batiste, I really would like make this again with the lime juice. The cocktail is complex but it's missing that oompf. I didn't get a "wow!" sensation from it. Nonetheless, it's a really easy one to make.

B-52

B-52

If you look closely, you can see the blue fire.

Merry Christmas everyone! I'm back with my wife from Germany, where we spent Christmas with my sister, my brother and his family. It was a good holiday, no, it was an amazing holiday for us. Now that the celebrations are "over", it's time to start a the upcoming New Year's with a blazing shooter! I introduce you to the well-known B-52!

• 1/3 shot Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Baileys (cream liqueur)
• 1/3 shot Gran Marnier (triple sec)
• (matches and fire safety)

Layer the ingredients as mentioned (coffee, cream, triple sec) and optionally light the shooter on fire. You can either use a short straw or just blow out the fire and then shoot!

Regrettably, this cocktail...has really more hype than flavor. I...just couldn't get much out of this! It's a pretty shooter nonetheless and if you're feel like blazing up a few drinks, consider this OR the Kiki.

Hot Toddy

HOT TODDY

Our episodes of warm drinks continues! Now with a Hot Toddy! This is a very versatile drink, easily modified to suit one's needs. This recipe I pulled off from Liquor.com, but adjusted it to my taste. Hot Toddies are excellent winter drinks and with a little tweaking you can make one helluva drink. What you need is:

• 4 to 6 cloves
• a lemon twist
• 0.75 cl lemon juice
• 2 tea spoons of demerara (or brown) sugar
• hot water
• 5 cl aged rum

Now you can easily use whiskey, cognac or any spirit you find best to your taste. The "original" recipe called for a 12yo single malt but instead I used an aged rum from Venezuela, which ended up being superb!

First pour boiling water in your mug and let it stand (for the mug to warm up nicely). While it sits, cut a lemon twist and stick your cloves through it. Now pour out your water and add new boiling water into your mug. Add your sugar, stir to dissolve, your lemon twist, stir once again and thirdly your lemon juice. Finally add your choice of spirit and stir for the final time.

You'll end up with one good Hot Toddy. You're welcome :)

The cognac brand tasting, part I

THE COGNAC BRAND TASTING

PART I

random picture from the interwubs

Greetings again. This post I consider an "intro" to something that will happen perhaps (hopefully) during February, 2014. It's the continuum to my previous tastings (I've grown so fond of these!), namely the vodka blind tasting and the herbal liqueur blind tasting. It's the cognac (known brand) tasting.

What this means is that instead of doing the usual blind tasting like I did before (no bottles shown, one person at a time and so forth), I'll invite a small group friends over to my place, we'll taste four different cognacs and people actually see what they're tasting. Moreover, I'll find out some known facts/information from the brands being tasted so we can later discuss them. I will act as the master of ceremonies and also make something small to nibble on (I've been thinking of chocolate truffles among others since we're dealing with cognacs here) and finally I'll make one cognac based cocktail to each guest. We'll take notes (like before) and of course I'll compile them to everyone to see later on.

As the cherry on top of the cake I have ~20 cognac glasses I got from my work place (they are not in use there anymore) so after the tasting each guest can have a set of four of these glasses to take home with them! It's a total win-win situation!

So in our first tasting we had herbal liqueurs (albeit just a tiny sample). In the second tasting we had vodkas. Now we're dealing with cognacs. Taking a sneak&peek at my bar cabinet I noticed the my VSOP collection consists of:

• Baron Otard
• Courvoisier
• Hennessy
• Meukow
• Rémy Martin

Out of these five I can only choose four...which end up in the tasting (to be honest, which one will be left out would be more correctly said), that is still left to see.

Personally, I don't have too many expectations how this'll turn out think this'll turn out amazing and astonishing and marvelous in every aspect known to man! Really, it might be a challenging tasting since different cognacs might taste all the same to us (?). Then again, maybe they don't. But what I do know that it'll be an awesome evening with friends, food&drinks and a jolly good time; that's what matters.

BB Cocoa

BB COCOA

On the 3rd day of vacation my bar cabinet brought to me...A BB Cocoa! Continuing our successful line of warm drinks, here's another cocktail that I remembered from the list of drinks at our bar. The "BB" stands for "Brandy&Butterscotch". At the bar we use the traditional Jaloviina, alas I did not have it so I had to trust in my other "brandy-pals":

• 2 cl brandy
• 2 cl butterscotch liqueur
• hot cocoa
• (fresh cream float)

The hot cocoa I prepared just like I did with the Minttukaakao, but now I used only 1.5 dl (a tad more than ½ a cup) milk and only 1 teaspoon of sugar.

Having prepared my glass with hot water beforehand, I poured the alcohols first, then the cocoa and as usual, a good thick float of fresh cream.

The smell is amazing. The fudge-like aromas invaded my nose and then the brandy's "kick" came in second. A delightful mixture, where all ingredients fit perfectly; brandy, butterscotch and hot chocolate.

A solid alcoholic hot chocolate drink for those "special" occasions!

Minttukaakao

MINTTUKAAKAO

Greetings! Continuing our episodes of "warm drinks", there's one particular I want to bring forth; the Minttukaakao. No, there is no such thing as "Mint Hot Chocolate", no sir! It is and will always be "Minttukaakao". 

This is one of those warm cocktails at least us Finns order in massive amounts. They make this into a thermos, go "skiing" (among other things) and drink this. The Minttukaakao has become, as far as I know, a some sort of ideal. Winter and Minttukaakaos go hand-in-hand  with each other. That said, I wanted to prepare myself one of these. (Gosh I can't remember the last time I've had one)

In order to make a proper Minttukaakao, keep in mind that this is not a light drink. Quite the opposite to be exact! I remember my colleague say one evening that one of the customers asked for a "Minttukaakao without the cream float; I'm on a diet." O tempora, o mores! :D

• 1 teaspoon of cocoa powder (such as Van Houten)
• 1-1½ teaspoons of sugar
• ~2 dl (a tad less than a cup) of whole milk (regular milk is okay too, avoid skimmed/low-fat)
• fresh cream for the float (optional, especially if preparing for a thermos)
• 4 cl Minttu (but any white peppermint schnapps will do)

In a small pan mix the cocoa powder, sugar and milk. Heat it up until almost boiling. In a cup (remember to warm it beforehand) pour in the minttu and add the cocoa. With the help of a spoon float the cream on top.

I must say. It did its job! I believe this is best enjoyed with friends when it's freezing outside...and you guys are inside :)

Monte Cristo Coffee

MONTE CRISTO COFFEE

“Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.”

- Dr. Seuss

Hello again dear readers!

My thoughts of coffee cocktails has been brewing (tee-hee) for a long time now. I've read about them a lot as well as any alcoholic beverage that is enjoyed warm/hot. The promo pictures are so delicious looking I've always wanted to make one myself (here's a good example of one). The only problem I've found with these kind of drinks is that 90% of the time they look exactly the same; it's black/brown and a float of loosely whipped cream on top. Maybe some chocolate sprinkles or powdered cocoa on top. So making a dozen of different flavored coffee cocktails wouldn't make sense per se; I'd have a dozen similar looking pictures. 

So the only thing where I can make an actual difference is

1. Choose a different kind of glass
2. Choose "unorthodox" garnishes (that still apply for the drink overall)

At work we make various warm cocktails. During the holiday season we sell plenty of glögi, both with and without alcohol. Irish coffees and peppermint hot chocolates and all of those are ordered on a rather regular basis as well. Figures since it's cold outside and people like to drink warm drinks (coffee) in Finland, so why not combine both?

Anyhow, one of the more known coffee cocktails is the Monte Cristo coffee. I actually saw a colleague of mine do this in a wine goblet and it really hit me; "Why not?" Having had a rough weekend at work (long hours in consecutive days) I really wanted to do this and see how it goes down as a coffee drink:

• 2.5 cl Kahluá (coffee liqueur)
• 2.5 cl Cointreau (triple sec)
• hot coffee
• loosely whipped cream

First warm up the glass. Pour in the liquors, add the coffee and finally with the help of a spoon gently pour the loosely whipped cream on top to create a float. Serve.

In our bar we use 2:2cl respectively (regulations) and some recipes in the wonderland we call internet call for 3 cl kahluá/1.5 cl cointreau (gran marnier) for a more coffee-tasting experience. Given, that would've probably worked a tad better; although this cocktail tasted great, the orange flavors did overwhelm the coffee aromas a little bit.

Either way, I've really warmed up (tee-hee) for these kind of drinks! Coffee cocktails, I salute you!

The Great Vodka Blind Taste

THE GREAT VODKA BLIND TASTE

Before we really start this off, we all know how in a rather...tipsy-ish state each and every vodka might (or might not) taste alike. We can't really tell a difference between a vodka that has been branded as a premium product (such as Grey Goose or Belvedere) or a vodka that is considered to be a rail-vodka. Well okay, the difference between the best and worst can probably be noted but real differences usually not. This is why I thought of pulling off this blind tasting.

I present you with a special kind of blog post. You might remember my herbal-liqueur blind tasting from some five months ago, where I tested three different liqueurs with five friends of mine. Inspired about the results back then I wrote (and quote myself)

"All in all, this blind tasting experiment was a great success and I would like to do it again, with different products of course."

And I did. With Vodkas. да! Having learnt from my earlier test regarding the process that was involved in this kind of experiment I do admit that right after my first tester the blind taste "evolved". Meaning, I tweaked/tuned it making it more compatible/reliable for the next testers and so forth. But the basics stayed the same (again quote from my earlier test with modifications written in italics):

I figured out how to maximize the most "realistic" results:

1. The subjects tasted these vodkas by themselves (to minimize the influence of others' opinions) whereas I wrote down whatever they said
2. The subjects never saw any of the bottles used (to minimize the influence and associations of the bottle/label)
3. Only 1-2 cl (roughly ½ fl. oz.) / vodka
4. The order for each product was not random (randomness makes no difference and helped me with the paperwork)
5. The subjects were to review smell (nose) taste and mouthfeel
6. The subjects gave points to each vodka from 0-100 where taste was worth 50% and mouthfeel 50%. Smell has no points value but comments are still written down.

Moreover, instead of five test subjects I had eight and instead of three different products I had six. I also included one joker, which in the end was not count towards the "official" ranking table and one "booze", which itself isn't a vodka per se. More of that later.

Again, this was no competition and the test subjects were told about this. Just like with the earlier blind tasting, there are no winners, no wrongs or rights. Just a fun blind taste to see how (or if at all) different vodkas differ from another.

We do have to keep in mind that albeit this is a qualitative test, there are still many many many factors that all affect it; what a person has/n't eaten before, if a person smokes (does affect sensors) and of course; personal taste. Disregard all that science stuff  and we'll have a proper experiment at hand! :)

THE VODKAS

(from left to right)

1. Stolichnaya vodka (Russia, bottled in Latvia)

2. Finlandia 50% (100 proof) (Finland)

3. Russian Standard (Russia)

4. Koskenkorva Viina (Finland)

5. Smirnoff Vodka (Russia, bottled in the UK)

6. Marskin Ryyppy (Finland)

Two, no, three points here. 

1. Finlandia 50% (100 proof) has a higher alcohol content by volume (compared to e.g. Stolichnaya, which has 38% (76 proof)

2. Koskenkorva Viina is not a vodka per se. It's booze. I still told people we're dealing with vodkas here.

3. Marskin Ryyppy is actually a flavored product. My intentions were to see what people thought of it (when the assumption was "flavorless" vodkas only)

It took me roughly 2½ months to complete this test. Below you can see the points that were given to each vodka! I highlighted the scores that were the highest/lowest from each participant separately for both entries. You can see how I highlighted Marskin Ryyppy yellow; I wrote down the points but they were not included in the final scoring due to it not being a flavorless vodka.

...*drum fill* And the winner is, (was indeed a close battle!) SMIRNOFF VODKA! With only a 8 point (!) difference it beat Stolichnaya!

1. Smirnoff vodka 485

2. Stolichnaya vodka 477

3. Koskenkorva viina 464

4. Russian Standard 445

5. Finlandia 50% 403

(Marskin Ryyppy 590)

What's really surprising that the point-range is only a mere 82 points between the lowest/highest ranking vodka. So overall this was a tough competition! What we can see from the statistics already is that Stolichnaya had the best taste but Smirnoff had clearly the best mouthfeel. Also an interesting point how Finlandia 50% received rather horrible scores from mouthfeel; given it is a way stronger vodka than the rest; people noticed it...and didn't like it.

Many did notice the flavored vodka (a wolf among sheep if you may) and the strong alcohol content from Finlandia. Finally I compiled all of the notes/comments of different vodkas into easily read papers. The comments are not in any specific order; if you read them carefully you might notice similarities in some vodkas from different test subjects.

This has been an amazing experience overall. Just...wow! The amount of raw data (and vodka) I had to deal with was massive but this time I had my shit coordinated (like always :D). Who knows...maybe I'll make another blind taste with...chuckle, different products next time?

A big thanks to everyone participating. If you have any comments/questions regarding this I am more than happy to answer them to the best of my ability.

KC Tea

KC TEA

2013 version

2016 version

Hello again boys and girls!

It's been quite a while since my last update but have no fear, another cocktail is here! Easy to make, this cocktail has an interesting combo that'll work! Before we go to the specifics, I have to say that this recipe was "given" to me by a customer at my work. To be honest, I first didn't quite catch the name of the drink but after he told me what comes in it, I quickly google'd down the ingredients and bam!

Introducing the KC Tea.

• 5-6 cl (2 fl oz. or a double shot) of Hennessy VS (many recipes specifically call of VS, albeit I used VSOP since I didn't have the VS brand)
• Sprite
• a lemon wedge

In a tumbler build the drink; add the ice, the cognac and top it off with sprite. Squeeze the lemon wedge onto the drink and drop it in as well.

If I had used a highball - glass, this drink would've been much more "diluted". With the tumbler...wow. A strong, yet pleasant drink to have! The cognac gives its kick + the citrus aromas from the sprite are well noted. But next time I would probably make this in a bigger glass. Probably.

2016 Edit*

So yes, I made this one, pretty much (!) three years later in a bigger glass! A G&T - goblet! Using the same amount of liquor I was now able to add more soda which made this drink deviously pleasant! I can hardly taste the alcohol in this one! :D

Watermelon Whip

WATERMELON WHIP

(Two versions of it)

Good evening again! Here is a cocktail I quickly summed up for my wife, is easy to make and tastes delicious! I call it the Watermelon Whip.

• 2-3 lime wedges
• 2 cl cointreau OR aged rum
• 2 cl watermelon liqueur
• pineapple juice

First squeeze in the lime wedges, add some ice and add the alcohols. As you can see in the pictures, on the right version I poured the watermelon liqueur last. Apparently it didn't sink and mix with the juice (which was nice). Top it off with some pineapple juice, add a few straws and if wanted a lime wheel/wedge as a garnish. Done!

This was an excellent drink. I used a smaller glass on purpose; if you have a bigger glass, just double the ingredients and you should be fine. The watermelon liqueur (which I haven't used before) worked well with the rest of the ingredients and even when I substituted the cointreau with aged rum, the drink didn't lose its initial "touch". The rum + pineapple did work together quite nicely!

Tears of happiness & Life as a bartender

EXPERIENCING THE CONCEPT
"AFTER WORK"

Let the Dude dance!

I believe the following experience I had deserves its own segment I like to call Tears of happiness & Life as a bartender.

First though I need to back up a few months. Roughly 1½ months ago I officially started my career as a bartender. Following the co-determination at my old work place I realized I would never advance in my career working there. Not to mention the love for cocktails and customer service, I also realized that now would be my time to look for another job.

At this today I work at Restaurant Teerenpeli; 

"Teerenpeli restaurants offer a large selection of home-brewed and imported beers and ciders. Beers and ciders brewed by Teerenpeli Brewery are famous around Finland and have won several prizes in different competitions."

Their flagship product, the Single Malt 8 Year Old whisky

Having literally no previous work experience from restaurant/catering business, I admit my previous self-learnt know-how regarding alcohol (legislation) and so forth has helped me...a lot. Nonetheless, I still have so much more to learn and when it comes down to alcoholic beverages, the business is a never-ending school.

I enjoy...no, I love my work. Fair enough, it could be (probably is) my honeymoon phase in the business. 

But back to my initial story. What happened yesterday was something so extraordinary and amazing! (I can hear people who have worked in restaurants for years sigh now) Let's break it down:

Yesterday, on the second of Nov...Movember, I woke up at 10:00am. Actually my alarm clock rang at 10 o'clock, but I set it on snooze for another 30 minutes.

I went to work as normal at 19:00 accompanied by my wife. At our restaurant we have regular Burlesque shows ~once/month and thanks to Halloween we had a horror/halloween themed - show tonight. My wife went to watch the show (with a friend of ours) whereas I worked behind the counter in the cellar (where the show was held).

I worked until 3am. Or it could've been anything between 3:30-4:00, I can't really remember. After all of the customers had left and we got our the place cleaned up we had to "poison" the tap tubes/pipes from the cellar. This meant we poured the remaining content from the tap into jugs. 

Me and four of the workers remained inside for the After work drinks.

(picture somewhat related)

The feeling when us guys sat around a table around candle light in an otherwise completely dark restaurant, drinking beer/cider and just...talking the night away. For me it was indeed a very special situation since I have never been in these "After work" - situations (figures knowing how short a time I've worked now). I had a warm, fuzzy feeling inside me, something I have difficulties better to describe!

Better yet, we talked until the morning sun started shining over the city. The cleaner-dude had already come around 8am and right before 9am we left...but not home. We went to the pub opposite to ours and had a few drinks more + breakfast + continued our talking.

I finally headed home at 10:30, having been awake for 24 hours now. I do acknowledge that in the restaurant business that is not a "extreme" time to be awake non-stop and truth to be told, not once did I feel

1. tired

2. drunk

I was back at home at 11am. Okay, then I got a bit tired.

Overall, I feel super happy. I had an amazing 24 hour. 

Brain Hemorrhage

BRAIN HEMORRHAGE

Well met once again! It's been quite the pause since my last update (okay, two weeks) so I thought "now it's time to make a cocktail again!" 

Fair enough, this is more of a shooter and if you look closely, you might note the similarities with a shooter I made back in the days (or this)! Instead of going all "alien", I present the Brain Hemorrhage. (the US Halloween is knocking at our doors so I found this fit for any Halloween party whatsoever)

It's very simple to make. All you need is (love):

• ½ shot peach schnapps
• ½ shot Irish cream (or any cream liqueur)
• ~a tsp of grenadine

First pour in the peach schnapps, then carefully layer the Irish cream on top and finally with a tea spoon drop the grenadine the in the middle. The effect should look somewhat as in the picture above.

Taste-wise semi-good. During the middle part, where the Irish cream has "curdled" a bit has a rather yucky feel in the mouth but that's a diminutive detail.

Happy capitalistic Halloween everyone!

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!

Hop Toad Cocktail

HOP TOAD COCKTAIL

It's a day off so why not have a cocktail? Exactly! 

Today I'm doing a Hop Toad Cocktail using this as my inspiration. The result? Read for yourself.

• 4.5 cl aged rum
• 1.5 cl apricot liquor (I used dekuyper's apricot brandy)
• juice from ½ a lime
• a few dashes angostura bitters

Add everything in a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake! doublestrain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge.

This is actually a rather sour drink, having no apparent (duh) sweetening agent,. My first sip and I immediately notice the sourness, then the apricot's sweetness and finally the rum that kicks last, but not least. I must say as much as this looks like a Daquiri I've made and feels like one (perhaps the aged rum - lime combo), this has nothing to do with it.

Not a super cocktail, but if you like sour things, you will love this one.

Bloody Mary

BLOODY MARY

Today's "episode" is a rather special one! In honor of my 20th time donating blood I decided to make up just a perfect cocktail for the event, the Bloody Mary! Everyone's heard of it, some have tried it. I have one memory of drinking this some years back. Today I'm about to tackle this drink the second time.

I made some studies before getting really into this drink. As some might know, the base for any Bloody Mary consists of:

• vodka (some might use gin and I see no objections to this)
• tomato juice (salt free!)
• lemon juice
• Worcester sauce
• tabasco
• (white/black) pepper
• celery salt
• a traditional decoration; a celery stalk / lemon wedge

Wow, that's a lot of stuff. Nonetheless, that's the base. After that you can easily make your own little mini-meal buffet and add ingredients that you find interesting, worthwhile or otherwise awesome. I looked up a few different recipes and found out that many use horseradish in the mix.

Nonetheless, here's the recipe I used:

• 6 cl vodka
• 12 cl tomato juice
• juice from one lemon wedge
• 2 dashes tabasco
• 2 dashes Worcester sauce
• a pinch celery salt
• a pinch dried dill
• a pinch ground white pepper
• a teaspoon prepared horseradish

Poured everything in my mixing glass and rolled it. Meaning, I poured the content in my tin cup and then poured it back in the mixing glass. Repeated this a few time. This way I got all of the ingredients properly mixed without getting too much dilution. If you have a pint glass, pour your mixture in there (I used my mixing glass). Decorate with a celery stalk and/or lemon wedge. Optionally you can use a lime wedge and even a strip of fried bacon is okay (sounds amazingly good!)

I...just...can't say I'm a big fan of this drink. I don't know what it is, but in my opinion this drink is too heavy for cocktail consumption. But we all like different things. Perhaps you like this or perhaps you don't. Like the Laphroaig whiskey, you either like it or you don't. There's no in between.