Tag: Drink
Sidecar
Wow.
This cocktail was amazing. One of the best of the ones I made so far.
I read that the choice of cognac was important so I opted for a semi expensive Courvoisier VSOP. It was a good choice.
The Sidecar reminded me a little bit of sour candy. It starts of with the sweetness of the sugar on the rim of the glass, then the sourness of the lemon and some sweetness from the triple sec and kind of finishes with the warmth of the cognac to make it a grown up elegant cocktail.
Since cognacs of course vary in style it’s hard to give exact measurements. I read that if you use a drier bottling like Hennessy you have to use more triple sec and a bit more lemon juice to make a balanced cocktail. I think the measurements below worked really well with the Courvoisier, which is a rather fruity cognac.
This recipe is enough for one martini glass.
Ingredients for the Sidecar:
45 ml cognac (I used Courvoisier VSOP)
30 ml triple sec (I used Cointreau)
15 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
Superfine caster sugar
Lemon twist for garnish
How to make the Sidecar:
Put the Martini glass in the freezer for a bit to make it cold. Meanwhile put some caster sugar in a pester and mortar and grind it finely. Put the sugar on a flat saucer for dipping the glass in later. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice and add the cognac, then the Cointreau, then the lemon juice. Shake well.
Dip the chilled Martini glass in the fine sugar to coat the rim with sugar.
Fine strain the Sidecar into the glass.
Garnish with the lemon twist.
Martinez
My cocktail adventures continues with the Martinez. It was probably invented in the 1880s and the recipe I used was adapted from Jerry Thomas’s 1887 book The Bar-Tender’s Guide.
The drink came after the Manhattan (basically change the whiskey to gin) and is the father or so to the Dry Gin Martini.
So what about the taste? Wow… quite powerful!
Having this drink on a balmy early autumn night in London was not quite right. This cocktail reminds me of the cold of winter and more especially Christmas. Quite smooth at first but then something of a spice explosion from the gin, vermouth and bitter with the Luxardo rounding of the flavors somewhat.
Think orange, molasses, Christmas cake…
However, at the right time (coming in after a long winter walk and sitting in front of the fire) I suspect this would be a very nice cocktail indeed. I will have to wait until Christmas to try it again and see if I am right.
Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
60 ml Gin (I used Plymouth)
30 ml Martini Rosso
8 (or so) ml Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
Dashes of Angostura bitter to taste
How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill a large glass (or your shaker) with ice and add all the spirits to this glass. Stir slowly (stirring fast will “bruise” the spirits and make your cocktail cloudy) with a bar spoon for around 20 seconds. Discard the ice from the Martini glass, rub the edge of the glass with the cut end of an lemon peel then strain your Martinez into the glass.
Garnish the edge of the glass with a twisted lemon peel.
Manhattan
I’ve always been a big fan of Manhattan. So far my experiences have been limited to Manhattan being served in bars (the late Polka Bar in Soho, London did a particularly good one) and quick Manhattans made with bourbon and Martini Rosso.
So, I decided to do some research around the web and finally decided to do my Manhattan with American rye whiskey, 50/50 red and white vermouth, a dash of Angostura bitter and two dashes of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur.
Why the liqueur? Well, I’ve never been a huge fan of the cherry in the bottom of the Manhattan glass, so substitute the cherry for Maraschino cherry liqueur and problem solved.
So this is almost the original Manhattan recipe.
The result was quite surprising. Much more subtle than a lot of the Manhattans I’ve had to date. I think this is because of the Rye whiskey which is a lot more subtle than bourbon.
Very interesting though, and delicious! Next time I will try making it with only Rosso instead of a Perfect Manhattan with equal parts Rosso and Bianco. I think Perfect Manhattan works better with bourbon.
Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
100 ml Rye whiskey (I used Rittenhouse Straight Rye Whisky)
25 ml Martini Rosso
25 ml Martini Bianco
One dash of Angostura (or more than one dash if you want your Manhattan more bitter)
Two dashes of Luxardo Maraschino liqueur
How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill a large glass with ice and add all the spirits to this glass. Stir slowly (stirring fast will “bruise” the spirits and make your Manhattan cloudy) for around 20 seconds. Discard the ice from the Martini glass, rub the edge of the glass with the cut end of an orange peel then strain your Manhattan into the glass. Garnish the edge of the glass with a twisted orange peel.
UPDATE:
I recently made Manhattan with Woodford Reserve bourbon. I used the same recipe as above but with a few dashes of Angostura Orange bitters instead of the normal Angostura bitters. It was very nice and smooth.
The Aviation (Modern)
Inspired by the great Ruhlman I decided to mix up The Aviation after a wonderful dinner at home. I loved this cocktail, perfect mix between the sour lemon juice, the vegetable notes from the gin and the sweetness of the Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. I omitted the Creme de Violette so it was actually a Modern The Aviation.
Ingredients for two Martini glasses:
120 ml gin (I used Hendrick’s)
30 ml Luxardo Maraschino
30 ml lemon juice (about 2 small lemons)
How to make it:
Fill your Martini glasses with ice. Fill your cocktail shaker with ice as well and add the spirits and lemon juice.
Shake well and strain into the glasses (discard the ice in the glasses first). Garnish with a bit of lemon peel if you want.
UPDATE:
Since this post I also tried Modern The Aviation with Plymouth London Dry Gin. Personally I think Hendrick’s Gin makes a smoother Aviation less heavy on the typical gin flavours. Some people would say the total opposite though, that the smooth subtle flavors of the Hendrick’s get lost in a cocktail like this. It doesn’t really make sense that Hendrick’s would work in a The Aviation since the makers of Hendrick’s themselves advocate using a slice of cucumber for a Hendrick’s G&T instead of the ubiquitous wedge of lime but there you go.
In the end it’s like so many things in life – totally up to personal preference. When I get a bottle of Tanqueray No 10 I will try the Aviation again with this gin.