Rum Cola Fizz

RUM COLA FIZZ

A good and a summery evening to y'all! Tonight I present you with a cocktail that makes good use of the classic version of the Ramos Gin Fizz. I picked up the recipe from a cocktail community I currently belong to and extra went to the local shop today to get a few ingredients I was short of! So here it is, the Rum Cola Fizz.

• 4 cl dark rum
• 2 cl lime juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• 2 cl heavy cream
• 1 egg white (as fresh as possible)
• 1 dash angostura bitters
• cola to top

Except with the cola, add everything in a cocktail shaker, dryshake firmly first, then add ice and shake again very vigorously until super cold. Strain into a tumbler and top the drink with cola. No garnish needed.

The taste was quite funky indeed! The cola addition had a slight nostalgic touch to it making the whole drink remind me of those childhood cola-popsicles.

Moscow Mule

MOSCOW MULE

No cupper mug, but still has the kick!

Hello everyone and welcome back! Today I came to realize that in the past years I still had not made the Moscow Mule. Given, it's a well known drink and when done properly, tastes a-mazing during the summer time.

As you already see, I did not use the traditional Moscow Mule cup (I don't have one), so any good sized tumbler will do. What you'll need is:

• ½ of a lime + 1 lime wheel
• 5 cl vodka
• ginger beer, not ale. BEER.

The reason I have to stress the importance of using ginger BEER is that it is a completely different product than the ale one. Ginger ale, in all its fairness is just carbonated water with ginger flavoring, but ginger beer uses real ginger, has that spicy kick and just overall tastes about...I don't know, a thousand times better.

So what you want to do is the following: Squeeze the juice of the ½ lime into your tumbler, you can drop the shell in the glass as well. Add 5 cl of vodka and fill the glass with cracked ice (not blocks nor totally crushed). Add your ginger beer and garnish with a lime wheel. Serve.

Extremely refreshing during the summer periods, if you ever get a hold on to some ginger beer, try this cocktail!

Tonic water tasting, s'il vous plaît!

TONIC WATER TASTING, S'IL VOUS PLAÎT!

An arrangement of tonic waters

It's time for another (heartwarming) tasting! I admit, conducting events like these are my sweet spots. I love the idea of taking a group of x and sampling them with friends and along the way find those little things that matter. Be it cognac, vodka, rum, bourbon or whatever, today I took quite a different approach.

Everyone knows the famous Gin & Tonic. But in the last years (if not decade) the amount of different styles of gins and tonics has skyrocketed. People want more. People want different. For many, the good o' "London dry + the only tonic available + lemon slice" does not suffice anymore. A good example is the rise of Hendrick's Gin with not only a cucumber twist but a "high-tier" tonic. Another one, I've noticed how Gin Mare (a Spanish gin) has bubbled up to the surface and as far as I'm concerned, trying to be the next big thing in the G&T business. Not to mention a mediterranean tonic on the side. This is the present day, my dear readers!

So what better way do I have but to sample some of these exclusive tonics with a few more common on the side with two of my friends? Exactly. My tonic set was built from seven different tonics, two of which from the same manufacturer but different in style. These tonics were:

1. Aqua Monaco tonic (in German) - German  (n/a/100ml)
2. Aqua Monaco Extra Dry (in German) - German (21kcal/100ml)
3. Fever Tree Indian tonic - British (38kcal/100ml)
4. Hartwall tonic - Finnish (38kcal/100ml)
5. Fentiman's tonic - British (34kcal/100ml)
6. Schweppes Indian tonic (in Finnish) - Danish (made in Finland under a license) (37kcal/100ml)
7. Rainbow tonic (in Finnish) - Estonian (36kcal/100ml)

The reason why I put the "kcal/100ml" in the end is for a reason; tonic water has sugar in it and not just a little but quite a lot of what would think. Surprisingly, most of these had a distinctive smell of Sprite! The citrus aroma combined with sugars was just like that soft drink. Of course taste-wise the quinine made it completely different.

#2 was the driest of them all and it showed. You had that bitter palate and with less carbon dioxide it was for the "more adult taste", if you please. Its companion, #1, was like bitter sprite but its mouthfeel was better.

I must say though that #3 was a big disappointment! I would've thought that a brand like Fever Tree could produce a top-tier tonic but no, it was quite bland in the end! For me it was quite a shocker. Especially when you look at a price for one bottle (at least in Finland), one could say it's an outrage. Aroma-wise, #5 was truly exceptional! No wonder, since they used juniper/kaffir lime leaves in the production. One could smell the difference. Bubble-wise, this tonic was almost flat.

#4 and #6 made solid results. Sure, they're not hipster tonics hand-crafted in micro breweries but neither are they noticeably bad. They're tonics that have a lot of potential; they're not unique and suit just about everyone. #7 on the other hand, just didn't quite cut it into the big boys' league. Mediocre at best, a tonic good for big(ger) party where you don't want to pay ridiculously for just a 200ml bottle if making more than one G&T...

In the end it was quite fun trying new products and albeit we didn't try (all of) these with gin, just learning and understanding that there are different tonics out there and it is not just a marketing trick that gins make interesting combinations depending on the tonic used. Quite the tasting!

BREMEN TOUR (part 3)

BREMEN TOUR (part 3)

"Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!"

Another heart-warming welcome and greetings from Bremen! It had been almost exactly one (1) year since my last expedition to this wonderful city and this time instead of my wife I had two close friends to tag along! Our excursion included longs walks on the beach, romantic candle light dinners drinking, food and a bit of culture on the side! As I've "seen the city" before, I wanted to show my friends the local cocktail bars and a couple of "must-see" places, otherwise I was okay with whatever decisions they made. Blog-wise, I will probably go off tracks more than often here (which, I guess isn't too bad) but I try to take a more in-depth look regarding Bremen as a cocktail city. Of course on both trips (now and last year) my opinions consider all of this from a week-day POV, I can make a safe assumption that on a weekend everything goes bigger and louder. That said, let's get this excursion started! By the way, never mind the random pics along this post, they're for your entertainment, I swear!

Bremen on a Sunday night in a nutshell

We arrived on Sunday evening and naturally wanted to go for a drink. The problem is, on a Sunday...pretty much everything is closed. We did find a few places eventually, which was nice.

Pink Gin & Tonics

We stumbled upon a place called "Im Lu". A very lounge-style bar, I ordered a set of Pink Gin&Tonics (G&Ts with dashes of bitters). At first the bartender wasn't quite sure what I meant when I asked for Angostura Bitters, but caught my drift eventually. The funniest part being that instead of coating the glass with bitters (and then building the G&T), he came with the drinks, put the bitters bottle on the table in front of us and said "There you go pals, put as much as you need!" and left the bottle there for us to use!

Pink Gin&Tonic in a close-up

The thing I love the most with these smaller joints is that the bartenders are always so openly friendly and the whole atmosphere is amazingly relaxed. At least they've been both times I've visited Bremen! In the smaller hours of Sunday, strolling in the empty, rain-coated streets of Bremen (read: we got lost) we finally found our way back to our hostel to get some well deserved rest.

No love allowed!

In the two days of cocktailing, I can only be reassured of the points I made last year (see #5). I could redefine them a bit, though. When looking strictly from a cocktail-POV (price-quality/general specialization), there are actually three different kinds of cocktail bars in Bremen, as follows:

1. Happy Hour - tier
2. Middle-EarthGround - tier
3. Quality - tier

Funny how reading my post from last year, things haven't really changed with the exception of a little tweak. So this is how it works. You have your 4.5€/cocktail happy hour - places where consistency varies the most. Or what would you say about the Manhattan I had last year and this year from the same bar?

A Manhattan...I guess?

Also, from the same bar the bartender didn't know how to make a Japanese Slipper because "It wasn't on the list." I do understand that things are tend to change in a year's time (different workers/experience/etc.), but here is a classic example of "consistency gone awry".

Then you have the Middle-Ground - tier. These are places where consistency stays pretty much the same but it is "odorless". Per cocktail you probably pay 2-3 euros more and they don't let you down but there's that little "oompf" missing. In my experience, most bars in Bremen fall into this category. Usually located in places where you can eat as well, since people want to go wine&dining outside (Schlachte *cough*) and have a few drinks in the process.

Looking a place to wine&dine

Piña Colada, Mai Tai and a Lady Killer, note the same garnish in each one

Finally, you have your cocktail bars. Fair enough, on both times I've visited I haven't had the opportunity to experience most of the bars but there are two that shine like a diamond and need special mention.

General Gin Fizz @ Blauer Fasan. With roasted herbs in it, every sip from the straw was also an explosion of aromas in the nose!

Blauer Fasan is one of them. In comparison with the one I'll discuss later is that in my opinion Blauer Fasan is more inclined into molecular cocktails. I could be wrong, but looking at the drink menu just gave off that wibe. Twists from old classics, spicy Bloody Maries (with wasabi) and so forth. Price-wise, again a 1-3 euro bump higher from the Middle - tier, fluxuating around 10€ ±1€.

Me and my homies at the Blauer Fasan

I got to say, consistency and overall rating was top-tier just like from last year but I have to put on a negative mark as well. The place is quite small and with only one smoker huffing and puffing...The place smells, pardon my French, like shit. As a non-smoker, being drenched in cigarette smoke...not cool. 

 

The face of disappointment

I found the winning lyrics of the Eurovision 2016 contest from the hostel!

Finally, you have The Lemon Lounge. Hands down, in my sincerest opinion, it is the best cocktail bar found in Bremen. I wasn't disappointed last year and heck, wasn't disappointed this year either! Here you have the ~same price range that of Blauer Fasan, with their drinks listed in yearly order! That means, starting from the...1920's all the way to the 2000's.

What's important is to see the ingredients list of Zombie and specifically the first two words; "A lot of rum...and top that with overproof rum..." Made me chuckle. Well played.

Secretly and subconsciously this was the place I wanted to show my friends the most because in the Lemon Lounge the true essence of cocktails can be seen and tasted. Not to mention the barkeep, who effing remembered me from my last visit! I was sincerely and heart-warmingly surprised by this!

Three Old Fashioneds, s'il vous plaît!

The Chef at work

"The Making of a Mint Julep"

Voilá!

And the result

Mai Tai

How can you not love a place like this? With all the love and amazing-ness the Lemon Lounge has, it has two flaws, of which one is a "permanent", as it is not the easiest place to find. I remember from last year how I entered this place via the "back" without realizing I walked past the front door the first time. This year I was prepared though and we found it much easier. Secondly, their bathroom tap sprouted water like a badass mofo but yeah, that can be fixed :D

Espresso Martini

Aftermath

Bremen has a lot to offer when it comes to drinking and cocktails. Not to mention (like last time) Becks, which you will get from every bar, even the ones mentioned here! It also offers a lot of culture and a place worth seeing is the Schnoor with its narrow streets, handcrafts and restaurants, a few to mention.

Did I mention the narrow streets?

Where to next? (spoiler: the wind mill cafe)

At the town hall cellar enjoying a drink (and I had dessert!)

5/5 would visit again

Mother's Day Special / Green Goblet / Orange Fury

MOTHER'S DAY SPECIAL

Mother's Day Special for...you know...

The weekend is here and I am perfectly late for this Mother's Day Special! Then again, this cocktail needn't to be for any specific occasion as long as we're celebrating!

Last Sunday was our national Mother's Day and I wanted to make a drink for my wife. In addition to the cake I baked (and card I made), I wanted to make a cocktail that is both luxurious and sweet enough (she prefers sweeter drinks over sour/bitter ones). Well sparkling wine is thus an easy component. For the others I decided to go red and hence:

• 2.5 cl wild strawberry liqueur
• 2.5 cl creme de cassis
• 1 small-ish strawberry muddled
• (dash lime juice)
• sparkling wine
• orange zest for garnish

What I did was put the four first ingredients in a small cup and let them "soak" for ~ day. Truth to be told, this I could've left out and I doubt it would've made such a huge difference. Stir them quickly with ice and strain into a champagne flute. With the sparkling wine be careful since it reacts with sugary components thus foaming a lot. Finally garnish with a orange zest and give to your loved ones.

GREEN GOBLET

Just experi...I knew what I was doing, trust me!

So I had almost half a pint of freshly squeezed orange juice at my disposal. I really wanted to make a few cocktails using said stuff so I went to my liquor cabinet and randomly with extreme precision and knowledge picked a few extra bottles to whip up this Green Goblet (name courtesy by my co-worker! :D)

• 6 cl freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 cl absolut pears
• 2 cl melon liqueur
• 1 cl maliby
• 2 maraschino cherries for garnish

Shake all except the cherries with ice, double strain and drop the cherries last. The Green Goblet works as a good dessert drink. It is soft, has a distinctive melon-pear bite to it with coconut flavors following to the end.

ORANGE FURY

Another wild exp-, cocktail made with determination

Here we have the second one, called Orange Fury (again, name courtesy by my co-worker!) Let's face it, two green drinks would be such a shame. Using the miniature bottle(s) I found, this is more suitable as an aperitif:

• 6 cl freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 cl absolut ruby red (grapefruit vodka)
• 2 cl maraschino liqueur
• bitters for garnish + orange zest (flamed)

Shake the three first ingredients with ice, strain into a coupe, drop a few dashes of bitters on top of the drink and garnish with a flamed orange zest. Serve.

This cocktail is quite different than its green counterpart, Similarly soft but much more bitter, it has more "oompf" to it. The essential oils from the orange peel work wonderfully in this drink. Also, I liked the bitters floating on top giving this Fury its kick.

 

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 Art of Whisky

THE ART OF WHISKY

A fine collection of different styles of whiskies

A good evening to each and everyone. I've been thinking about this upcoming blog post for quite some time now, trying to "plan" it to the best of my ability. I want it to be a bit more detailed and comprehensive than my usual "let's make a drink!" because the issue in hand needs to be explained better. Well, to be more exact I want to share this with you dear readers.

So where do I start??

Well, first of all, almost a year back I started taking proper notes regarding whiskies with the intention of self-quote "Not only do I find it interesting to take notes aka micromanaging with these kinds of products, I want to learn." This has been not only fun but also something very helpful and interesting. Moreover, last year I held my New Year's Resolution 2014 and pulled off the roughly ~70 whiskies (and other products in the process), learning more of the Art of Whisky. 

I'm no longer a 20-year-old lad. The liqueurs and other stuff (I could afford) have been put aside. My taste buds have matured with me and I can now afford the more expensive stuff as well! Don't get me wrong, I still love the creation and drinking of cocktails but in the past years they're turned from fruity and fancy long drinks into short(er) ones that have a bit of an oompf to it.

Also, with age and experience I've started to take a bigger and better liking to stronger alcohols i.e. cognacs and rums, but mostly whiskies. My collection has started to grow and I like it!

So why whiskies? The answer is quite simple. Of all the different types of alcohols in the world (rums, tequilas, vodkas, cognacs etc.), whisky is the only one which flavor spectrum varies so much depending on where you make it! Vodkas get smoother, cognacs/rums softer and fruitier but whiskies? Take any land where whisky is being made and you have a completely unique product at hand. Not to mention Scotland alone and its various types of different blends/single malts! You have the Islands, Lowlands, Highlands and Speyside and they're all so different. North American (bourbon), Japanese whiskies and in the last decades the rest of Europe has started to get some well-deserved recognition as well.

And I don't want to miss out on those flavors.

In September 2013 when I started my (first ever) bartending job at Teerenpeli I remember my boss ask me at the time "Would you be interested in becoming a whisky ambassador for Teerenpeli at some point?" I agreed with an open heart knowing this would be an excellent opportunity for me to learn more. To become more.

Teerenpeli Lahti restaurant & distillery

So in February, 2015, it happened. The Teerenpeli Whisky Ambassador course 2 was organized. I applied immediately, trying to summarize in the application my last two years of learning whiskies into four lines. I was accepted.

Three days ago I went to Lahti where the training was held. An intense two days of learning about our whisky and everything from the single grain of barley to the distillation process until you have a glass of whisky in front of your nose. We also visited the malting facility and the well where the whisky gets its ground water from.

Keep in mind that I am not any kind of ambassador at the moment. The training is still in progress but I shall keep you updated as soon as possible.

Not only am I sincerely happy for all of this to happen to me, but I feel confident about this too. I believe in our products and I can easily recommend our whiskies to people, especially to those who are living far away.

So if I were to summarize my feelings at the moment...Pride and moreover, a journey to a land of flavors that never end. Starting from our very own distillery in Lahti.

Random Access Cocktails (RAC)

RANDOM ACCESS COCKTAILS

A good Monday evening to everyone! Last night I had a little game with a friend of mine after some heavy duty Dungeons&Dragons. He had brought a bottle of sour apple schnapps so I thought "Why not randomly decide two other liqueurs and whip up a drink of them?" What a splendid idea!

Three "rules":

1. 2 cl of sour apple included
2. one lime wedge squeezed in
3. 4 cl of apple juice included

So we headed to my bar cabinet and rolled a d20 to decide which Dekuyper liqueurs we would use! We both rolled once and with 20 bottles available we got the following combinations:

• peach & blueberry
• amaretto & watermelon

#1

sour apple, peach, blueberry, apple juice, lime wedge

So here's the first one. With a fresh aroma, you couldn't really notice the peach flavor. The blueberry on the other hand dominated most of the drink leaving only a crisp, US-candy-ish (jelly bean) aftertaste to it!

#2

sour apple, amaretto, water melon, apple juice, lime wedge

The second one was a peculiar mixture! You have that distinct almond aroma, tastes like amaretto and then changes to the watermelony flavors! The apple part has completely disappeared!

In its essence, both cocktails weren't "super delicious". Sure, one goes (for the ladies) but they both had a problem of being very sugary (like candy), synthetic and something youngsters would appreciate. All of this was culminated in our discussion:

Me: "Try having six of these!"

Friend: " :D "

Angostura 1919 / El Dorado 15yo Old Fashioned

Angostura 1919 / El Dorado 15yo 

Old Fashioned

Angostura 1919 version

El Dorado 15yo version

A fine evening to each and all! Tonight I created a cocktail courtesy of Charlotte Voisey and her Flor de Caña Old Fashioned. Since I didn't have the original ingredients at hand I made a little adjustments/twists to suit my needs. In the end, it turned out alright!

As we know, an Old Fashioned can easily be modified by changing the base spirit. Bourbon is the traditional one but with little tweaks you can make it appeal to people who might not like the taste of bourbon (if such people exist :D). What I did was two versions because quite frankly, the first one did not catch the essence of what I was looking for. Let's break down what I did here:

• 6 cl aged rum (Angostura 1919/El Dorado 15yo this time)
• 2 bs brown sugar syrup
• 3-4 dashes orange bitters
• 2 orange zest + 1 for garnish

Put all the ingredients in the mixing glass, press the orange zest for their essential oils and drop them in as well. Give it a good stir with ice and strain into your glass. Flame one orange zest over the drink and use it as a garnish. Serve.

As it is no mystery that different rums taste differently, the way the worked in this particular cocktail was astonishing. With the Angostura 1919 version it was a bold, spicy cocktail. Elegant, but strong. I did not quite got the fruity aromas I was hoping for so later this evening I made a second one using El Dorado 15yo rum. Now the cocktail had a much more "aromatic" sense to it, making it a better drink overall.

Quite the cocktail, I say!

Grasshopper

GRASSHOPPER

Good evening y'all! Tonight's cocktail is a true classic! A colleague of mine once said and quote:

"This is just a Marianne made with cream!"

No. A Marianne is a Grasshopper made with milk! Done properly, this cocktail is a rather sweet and super pepperminty/fresh (!) pre - or after dinner drink. Not to mention how easily it is done. What you need is to remember the simple 1:1:1 ratio;

• 1 part crème de menthe (green peppermint liqueur)
• 1 part crème de cacao (white!)
• 1 part fresh cream

Don't use non-fat/low-fat cream.

So shake these up with plenty of ice, double strain into your chilled cocktail glass/coupe. Optionally grind some fresh nutmeg on top and serve. This is a really delicious drink. Like its Finnish counterpart Marianne (2 cl peppermint liqueur, 2 cl crème de cacao [brown] and milk built in a tall glass), the Grasshopper is just a much more richer cocktail in general. Not drunk too many a night, they make excellent cocktails for everyone to enjoy.

Grant's granting Grant's!

GRANT'S GRANTING GRANT'S!

(oh the puns)

Hello everyone! It is time for another grand tasting! Today's tasting include a set of three blended whiskies from the same manufacturer! I present you the Grant's tasting evening! (applause)

A brief summary first. As the shipment from Germany arrived bringing all kinds of liquid goods, my good friend (who is a big fan of Grant's blend) wanted to know whether their two special blends are worth their money. That is, if they're good. "Well let's give it a go then!" I said (not really but for the story's sake just play along) and within short notice managed to ask a colleague from work to join us as well. Alas, one friend (couple) couldn't make it after all so it was up to us three to objectively assess and evaluate the goods.

If you didn't know, Grant's is one of the biggest owner's in the whisky business, owning e.g. Glenfiddich. This evening's samples included:

1. Grant's Family reserve blended Scotch whisky
2. Grant's Ale Cask reserve (a blend finished in ale casks)
3. Grant's Sherry Cask reserve (a blend finished in oak casks that previously held Oloroso sherry)

As far as I know, the "regular" blend is widely available in pretty much anywhere but the special blends might be harder to come by. Then again I didn't know Grant's had a set of 12, 18 and 25yo as well so...who am I to decide?

Before we really get down to business, I must I just must stop you right there. I will interrupt the Grant's session with an outsider I just had to try before the official set!

This bourbon is the shit!

To the nose, an explosion of bourbon-vanilla and in the mouth starts strong and followed by a sweet toastiness. The following video explains the quality of this bourbon:

Okay! Let's get back to business.

Courtesy of Minttu Virolainen

We had a 4 cl measure of each and (if wanted) water to the side (to add). The "regular" Grant's smells like it (any household whisky) should; a bit stingy. In the mouth it has a very light peatiness and adding a drop of water verifies this. The Ale Cask had a softer nose to it and tasted softer as well. But the finish wasn't as pleasant as with the regular one, even slightly bitter! The true surprise was with the Sherry Cask blend! Smooth as fudge, light smokiness, peat and sherry notes (duh) really gave this blend an edge!

Out of the three the Sherry cask was a clear winner. The regular blend came in second and the Ale cask came in third. Price-wise the special blends cost pretty much the same as the regular one albeit having 0.3L less in volume.

Whisky tasting, serious business!

The event ended up being a great success! If not after the three full measures of whisky (my colleague had a G&T before), another bourbon glass and the last Glenfiddich 12yo, I enjoyed my time sampling these products! I can't wait for the next time a similar event is being organized!

Gin Sour

GIN SOUR

Hello again! Today we explore a truly classic cocktail, which in fact is one if not the easiest to make in its category. The Gin Sour. To simplify what a sour is, basically it comes down to

1. Choice of liquor
2. Fresh lemon juice
3. Simple syrup

The ratio might vary from bar to bar or even recipe-wise, but a solid 2:1:1 works just fine. So what liquor to use? That's the beauty of this drink! You could pretty much use anything you want and still have an amazing cocktail. Or an interesting one. A vodka sour, whisky sour, tequila sour, campari sour, midori sour and so forth. Only keep in mind if using a very sweet alcohol base, to cut back with the sugar syrup. You want the cocktail to be fresh and crisp, not overly sweet.

Let's get back to this one. Easy to make, solid in taste (love the pun).

• 4 cl gin of choice
• 2 cl fresh lemon juice
• 2 cl simple syrup
• (optional) garnish

Since gins have very different flavors nowadays, the choice of garnish is relevant. With Hendrick's gin I definitely would've used cucumber to garnish my drink. But since I used Schwartzwald dry gin, which is a very citrusy gin, the classic "lemon+cherry" worked out fine.

Pour ingredients in a shaker, add ice, shake, rattle and roll. Strain, garnish and serve. There you go!

I liked it. It is all a rather "manly" drink, but has that nice citrusy note to it. Also it wasn't too sweet but just enough to be...well, sour :D To be honest though, I could've used 5 cl gin instead of 4 cl but that's alright. The drink tasted excellent!