January 4th Tasting

So as we approach the long stretch of the rest of the Winter I figured it might very well be the time for some fireplace cocktails. What is a fireplace cocktail? Well for me it’s something heavy, it’s a sipper, it’s intellectual and simplistic.

1806 Old Fashioned

This is the original “Old Fashioned”. Pre-prohibition and the soda water, muddled cherry and orange old fashioned.

3 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey

1 Sugar Cube

2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

2 Dashes of Fee Bros West Indian Bitters

Splash of water

-Soak sugar cube with bitters and water and muddle

-Add booze and stir

-Add ice and stir

Garnish with orange oil

Martinez

2 oz Beefeater Gin

1 oz Vya Sweet Vermouth

Bar spoon of Luxardo Maraschino

2 Dashes Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

-Combine and stir

-Strain into a coupe and garnish with lemon oil

December 7th Tasting, “Holiday Traditions!”

I don’t know about you, but my Christmas Tree is up. WROR and Oldies 103.3 have been playing 24 hour Christmas music since Halloween. This is my FAVORITE season. Granted I love my Mai Tais that I get at the Jewel Box, but God damn, throw a Hot Buttered Rum at me and you might as well be my hero.

So let’s talk in brief about what we have to come…Hot Whiskey Toddy, Hot Buttered Rum, and Sherry Egg Nog.

So the Toddy, if you pick up either of Dale Degroff’s cocktail books in our Library section, you will find many different variations…The Chai Toddy, Blackcurrant Toddy, and the Apple Toddy. All are must makes, and The Craft of the Cocktail as well as The Essential Cocktail are must reads and perfect gifts! If we look old school though, we will see that the Toddy itself is this: hot or cold, a spirit of some sort, sugar or sweetener, and water. Now as this evolved you will see the Toddy come into medicine as a “cure” of winter ails. The addition of herbs, teas, citrus juice and peel becomes common. For our tasting I’m going to keep it simple…Hot black chai tea, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Brown Sugar, and a garnish of Lemon Peel.

2 oz Jameson

2 oz Simmering water

Bar spoon of brown sugar

Black tea bag

-Combine and garnish with a lemon peel

On to the Rum…I always drink rum, I embrace it no matter the weather and soon you will have the right rum and recipe to do so as well. We’ll be using some creamy butter, Sonoma Cinnamon Syrup, and Don Q Anejo Rum.

2 oz Don q anejo

.5 oz Sonoma cinnamon syrup

Heaping bar spoon of cinnamon spiced whipped butter

2 oz Simmering whole milk

-Combine and whisk

Finally a little Sherry Egg Nog…Nice sweeter style of oxidized sherry, one might call Olorosso, farm fresh egg, whole milk, vanilla bean simple syrup and a little nutmeg.

1 Whole egg

2.5 oz Olorosso or Cream Sherry

.5 oz Whole milk

.5 oz Sonoma vanilla bean simple syrup

2 Dashes Fee bros chocolate bitters

-Combine and shake with out ice

-Add ice, shake, strain through a hawthorne and fine strainer

Get ready, this is going to be good.