21) Eagle Pear

1.5 oz. Eagle Rare 10 Bourbon
.5 oz. Absolute Pear Vodka
.5 oz. Lemon Juice
1/4 oz. Cointreau
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup

Add all ingredients in a shaker full of cracked ice. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Oh Vodka, why must you be so pervasive? Do you enjoy taking up all that precious shelf space on so many back bars? I know you're not going away anytime soon, so we shall use you. Bend you to our will and give you purpose!

Ok - So, normally we if we wanted to impart some pear flavor to a drink we'd just muddle some pears, but where's the challenge in that?

In the first go around Ed and I omitted the Cointreau and simple syrup. Our initial estimate was that the Eagle Rare needed to fairly outweigh the Vodka as it is a fairly sweet concoction and could easily overwhelm the Bourbon. The outcome was ok with the pear flavor working in the background to compliment Eagle Rare's vanilla and caramel notes nicely. The acidity from the lemon juice helped to lift the drink a bit, but there was something just a bit off that neither Ed nor I could pin down.

One of Ed's favorite pieces of advice that Ed got from Gary Regan when he attended his Cocktails in the Country seminar was that if one is feeling that a drink is missing something that one can't put their finger on, give it bit of Cointreau. This advice certainly was well placed in this drink as the Cointreau hit the spot and helped to really elevate and merge the flavors better.

While, as mentioned above, I would be more inclined to muddle pears rather than use an infused Vodka I have to admit that the Vodka did add a positive sort of dilution to the overall drink. I'm certainly going to try this again with a home pear infused Vodka and imagine it will be improved a fair bit for it.

Repeal Day - The Wreckoning Pt. 2

As I left The Ambassador I knew in my heart it was time to go to the first church of booze - My good and kindly friend Absinthe. As I sat on the train I was flipping through their extensive cocktail list in my mind (I might have it memorized, you wanna make something of it?). Upon arrival I was horrified to find the place was packed. Nary a seat was to be had for my disheartened ass. There was nothing left for me to do but to shuffle onward. As I trudged up Market St. I figured I would go ahead and hit the next place I had on my list. But wait, what's that shimmering glow in the distance? Good lord, how could I have forgot?

Orbit Room - The Orbit Room is a bar that seems to have the knack of almost continually being off my radar for some reason. It's a shame, as the place in which the infamous Alberta Straub once plied her excellent craft continues to make good, intriguing drinks. Looking over the menu I saw numerous drinks that peaked my interest (must keep orbit room on my radar!), however I was stopped in my tracks when I spotted the Express Jet. Described as a Gimlet with St. Germain and Green Chartreuse it was as though somebody had delved into my soul and extracted exactly the sort of cocktail I wanted. The herbal spice of the Chartreuse blended well with the floral sweetness of the St. Germain making for a very lovely Gimlet variation indeed.

As I left Orbit Room I began to see cracks showing in my master plan. Mainly, I was starting to get drunk. This, it occurred to me, was the perfect time to take a break from the cocktails and get back in touch with my white trash roots.

Thieves Tavern - So, I'll admit I'm totally biased when it comes to this place as it's my regular non-cocktail joint, and I know far too many of the employees for my own good. No celebration of Repeal Day would be complete without a stop here for some shitty beer and a shot of Jameson. As you can see from the picture, I was able to get some other folks in on the Repeal Day celebration via forced shot consumption. As I was sipping my beer, the bartender, who once spent a few years working in New Orleans, decided that I absolutely had to have a Sazerac. Not wanting to appear disagreeable I consented. The bar (sadly and for some strange reason) lacks Absinth and any substitutes so once again Green Chartreuse appears in my evening. It was absolutely perfect, everything a Sazerac should be. The use of the Chartreuse added an interesting change as the more herbal notes merged quite finely with the Rye. Upon finishing the drink there was no doubt in my mind that I had to go. There was so much to do after all!

Elixir - How could I not drop by the scene which gave birth to this very blog? Also, Ed (having not been able to join me) was there, and meeting up to continue the celebration seemed like a fine idea. Right about the time I arrived I realized that the drunk meter was starting to red line. I, however, was undeterred. It seemed like the time was right to go for one of my favorite drinks of all time, the Old Fashioned. Ben was working behind the bar and quickly served me up a perfect example of this damn fine drink. I took a few sips and had a moment of perfect clarity. Shit!, I thought I really need to get the hell out of here. I drank my drink a wee bit faster than advisable given my growing condition and bade my companion a hasty farewell.

As I headed towards the train that would take me home I still had conviction that my night wasn't over. I had it all figured out - Once back in my neighborhood I'd pop into Finnegan's Wake for a Beezer, then down the road to Alembic for some sort of tasty nightcap. It was perfect. It was flawless. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Then I got off the train. As it pulled away I looked down the street at Finnegan's and hesitated. My liver was asking me to please just stop, and my eyes had decided that regardless of what I wanted to do they were going to go ahead and go to sleep. Powerless against the wretched betrayal by own organs I acquiesced and headed home, silently cursing their weakness.

Thus did my Repeal Day end. Not with a whimper, but with a turkey sandwich and a bottle of diet Pepsi.

If you want to share your own Repeal Day celebrations fire up a comment or send us an e-mail at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

Repeal Day - The Wreckoning Pt. 1

As many (I hope) of you know, yesterday was Repeal Day (thanks to the most awesome Jeffrey Morganthaler!), the best drinking holiday ever. Repeal Day celebrates the ratifying if the 21st amendment which affirmed our right to drink delicious, delicious booze, and paved the way for America's youth to surreptitiously get wasted on malt liquor behind the local 7-11. Something I never did. Hi mom! So how does a young, hip, and strikingly handsome man in San Francisco celebrate such a grand moment in our history? I don't know what he did, but I went on a cocktail crawl (I'll be here all night folks).

It was a somewhat last second sort of thing as I had previously decided that given my current fiscal situation and the need to get up in the morning to engage in cubical and cubical related activities, I would just stick to a couple of drinks after work. As the end of the day approached I decided, to be blunt, to fuck it, and go out in style. I put together an ambitious (overly so it would turn out) list of places I wanted to go, and when the whistle blew I was off.

House of Shields - House of Shields was my first stop partly because it's the only kick-ass bar within radius of my office, but mostly because it was built in 1908. What better place to begin a celebration of the death of repeal day? Fortunately for us, when the new owners bought the bar several years ago they left the bar unchanged allowing all to tipple in turn of the century splendor (though I have to admit I wish they had kept the trough at the bar for urinating, but that's just me I guess).

When prohibition hit, the owner converted the bar to a restaurant, and the large basement area into a speakeasy - The best part? There were tunnels which ran from the speakeasy under Montgomery St. to the famous Palace Hotel allowing patrons to discreetly move from one place to the other. A rather persistent bit of historical apocrypha about the place I particularly enjoy says that Warren Harding, staying at the Palace Hotel in 1923 during a trip to the West Coast, died not in his suite at the Palace, but in the House of Shields. Not wanting the post-mortem scandal that would arise from a President dying in a speakeasy, his body was smuggled through the tunnels and back to his room.

Oh, but I do go on in my old age don't I? Sitting in those turn of the century digs I decided to start my night off simply with a glass of Glenlivet 12 year. This was the first Scotch I ever had, and while I've had many Scotches since that first glass which I would say are better, the Glen (we're friends like that) will always have a special place in my heart.

After this, things took a bit of a turn for the worse. I headed up to my beloved Cantina only to find it was closed for a private party. Blast and damnation! I was beginning to get thirsty so started trolling about my brain for someplace in the area I could get me some booze. Where did I end up?

Rye - I've been here a few times, and while the space is well done (they kind of go for a hip-dive feel) I have never really felt comfortable while there. To their credit, and the reason I went, is that they make some excellent cocktails. On the menu they had a classic prohibition cocktail that pretty much demanded I order it - The Jack Rose. It was quite tasty, though not something that really knocked my socks off. I was a bit worried that the pomegranate would dominate the flavors, but it actually did an excellent job of mellowing the rougher edges of the Applejack and tied in well to the citrus of the lime. Overall it was just one of those drinks where I felt like something was missing that I couldn't put my finger on. Still, it was an excellent way to really get the Repeal Day ball rolling. As I finished my drink I thought about heading across the street for my next stop, and that's just what I did.

The Ambassador - This place is nothing but mixed feelings for me. It's one of the most gorgeous bar spaces in the city, they have quite tasty food (if a bit overpriced), and they make a damn fine drink. On the downside they have, hands down, the single most insouciant group of bartenders I have ever encountered. In my entire life. When you're the only person in the entire place, and your bartender is just sort of staring at the walls, texting people, and even fluffing the bowl of matches (not that kind of fluffing you perv!) one is easily given the impression that they would just as soon you not be there in the first place - But I digress. Looking at their menu I was drawn to a drink called the Passion Batida made with Cachaça, muddled limes, sugar, and passion fruit juice. It looked gorgeous, but the flavor just didn't live up to the looks. It pretty much came down to the passion fruit. Perhaps it's my taste or the bartender went overboard on proportions, but the flavor just left me felling bleh. The passion fruit really wanted to muscle the Cachaça out of the way, and the citrus seemed to just sit there like in much the same way the bartender was.

Coming tomorrow - Will our hero be able to get a seat at Absinth? If not what shall he do? How much more can he drink before he decides to call it a night? All this and much more in part 2!

As always feel free to leave a comment or send us an e-mail at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

20) Winter's Kiss

2 oz. Sailor Jerry Rum
.5 oz. Velvet Falernum
1/4 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp. Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp. Simple Syrup
1/4 of a Granny Smith apple cut up into large chunks

Place the apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, and simple syrup in a pint glass. Using a muddler, smash the hell out of the apple until it loses full consciousness. Add the rest of the ingredients, ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a slice of apple.

As San Francisco's late summer comes to a close I start to get the urge to drink more of the brown boozes. You know, how they're scientifically proven to keep one warm and all? I thought it was about time Ed and I did a little something with Rum again since it's been a while, and it's not really something we use enough of anyway. It seemed like some wintery fruits would be just the thing, and it was Ed who immediately went for the apples.

I kept going on about wanting to give it a bit of spice - I was thinking an herbal sort of spice, but Ed was clearly thinking differently as he bounded up with a grater, cinnamon, and nutmeg. It wasn't what I was thinking, but it immediately struck me as a much better idea. As I had been eyeing a bottle of Velvet Falernum (a sugar cane based liqueur infused with lime and botanicals) for weeks, and knowing the wonderful way it works with Rum I was insistent that we use the damn stuff.

The final result was good, not outstanding, but very tasty and satisfying as the cold kept trying to invade the bar. The apple was very subtle but not wholly overwhelmed by the Falernum which, as I thought it would, really played well with the Rum. The hint of cinnamon and nutmeg really let the drink a very Christmas-like feel. Ed and I felt that there was a little something missing, but just couldn't put our fingers on what it was. This is one we'll definitely be revisiting as the long winter days march on.

As always feel free to leave a comment or send us an e-mail at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

Holiday Schedule

Ahoy! You may have noticed a bit of dust gathering around here, and I just wanted to let you in on a terrible secret - The holidays make a mess out of everything! There's like families, and traveling, and friends who actually want to see you all of a sudden, and then somebody has to go off and get married! Anyway, things will probably be a bit sporadic for the next month, but we shall think about you with urgent longing as we are away.

I'm hoping to be able to get some things up on the non-drink making front to try and keep you all entertained, so all is not lost.

Speaking of non-drink making, for the love of God don't forget that December 5th is Repeal Day! Celebrate this most awesome of days with a tasty drink at your favorite watering hole, and meditate on how much more unattractive and less funny we would all be were it not for the 21st Amendment.

19) Sour Cherry Rye

1.5 oz. Jim Beam Rye
.5 oz. Cherry Heering
.5 Lemon juice
2-3 dashes Peychaud's Bitters

combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for 30 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

I started cooking when I was around 12, and so often times think of cocktails in culinary terms. Such thinking had me wanting to experiment around with a wine cocktail in which I had hoped to create something reminiscent of the flavors of a baked pear. Unfortunately I steered Ed and I down a path that was ill chosen, and after a couple of attempts we decided to move on to something else lest we risk killing each other in a fit of mutual frustration.

I was still thinking in culinary imagery when I spotted a bottle of Cherry Heering, a fantastic cherry liqueur most famous as an ingredient in the Singapore Sling, and the thought of a drink with sour cherry characteristics popped into my tiny little mind. For the base spirit I wanted to avoid something I thought would be obvious, like Vodka or Gin, and began looking at the Whiskey's. The sad yellow label of Jim Beam Rye got me to wondering if I could make a little something that might make it a little bit more palatable (sorry Beam Rye lovers!). The rest pretty much fell into place.

Initially we didn't add bitters, and the first taste was somewhat odd. It took a couple of sips for me to realize what was odd about it. The flavors of the drink were coming in two distinct (almost separate) waves - The first was the Rye, which quickly faded then the sour cherry element hit. It wasn't necessarily bad, but it wasn't great, and the tongue confusion was definitely unsettling. Ed suggested a few dashes of Peychaud's to see if that helped, and it was just what the drink needed.

The result was a new sort of flavor profile for me so it's a bit hard to describe as well as I'd like. The bitters melded the flavor spikes leaving a much more complex combination of the hard edges of the Rye which mingled surprisingly well the Cherry and bite of the lemon juice. I was afraid that the lemon and cherry would be to pronounced making the drink more of a Jolly Rancher type of abomination, yet I found that the sour and cherry were spread out well amongst the Rye threading together well.

I would very much like to try this again using a better Rye as I think that would very much enhance the overall quality. Michter's seems like it would be a perfect fit. If anybody out there gives this a try with a good Rye drop us a comment or an e-mail at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com and let us know how it comes out.

19) The Foo

2 oz. Maker's Mark
.5 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
Three dashes Regan's Orange Bitters #6
Green Chartreuse

Rinse a cocktail glass with the Chartruse and set aside. Shake the rest of the ingredients with ice and strain into the cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

I promised a friend of mine that I would make a tasty cocktail to celebrate her birthday. The only requirement was that it should have Maker's as the base spirit as that is her booze of choice. So as I was on my way to Elixir I was thinking Ok, so - Maker's Mark, aaaaaaannnnd? Pretty much all that was swirling in my mind Manhattan and Old Fashioned, two drinks that have, you know, already been done. My next step was think of things I like to use these days. Of course the first thing I thought of was St. Germain. After mentally punching myself in the crotch for even letting that thought creep into my head the radiant glow of Luxardo overtook me.

I realized that I wasn't aware of any cocktails that used Luxardo that had Whiskey as a base (of course that's because I'm just an ignorant hick) so felt somewhat confident that we would have at least a good experiment on our hands. I had recently had an Aviation in which the glass had been rinsed with Green Chartreuse and absolutely loved it, and thought that doing the same would add a nice kick of herbaciousness to the drink. I knew bitters were going to be in there cause I love me some bitters. At first I had thought that peach bitters would be a nice touch, but it turned out that the bar was out of those. Fortunately Ed came to the rescue by suggesting orange bitters which turned out to be a nice, subtle boost to the Maraschino.

When I got to the bar and told Ed what I wanted to use for the drink he promptly asked me in what proportions. "I don't know," I said "that's your job. I'm just drinking this here beer!" Fortunately I've got a great me wrangler who puts up with me just spitting out ingredients and making them actually work. The drink was quite good, with the Maker's well tempered by the Luxardo and given an excellent backbone from the rinse of Chartreuse. Not a bad birthday drink if I do say so myself.

Comments always welcome, or if you prefer the e-mail fire away at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

18) Georgia

1.5 oz. Square One Vodka
.5 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
.75 oz. Peach puree
1 Tbsp. lemon juice

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This one was done pretty much on the fly by Ed for a regular who was looking for something refreshing, and wanted to be surprised. The peach puree had just recently come into the bar, and the St. Germain was because that is what we seem to use for everything these days. I know I said we'd stop it, but it's not my fault! Blame Ed. Take that Ed!

As you might have noticed by now, I'm not a big fan of Vodka. While I don't think it's entirely useless I do think it's the least useful of the basic spirits due to it's lack of flavor. One of the things I do think it's good for however, is allowing certain ingredients to shine without having to use them in quantities that would be overwhelming. After giving this cocktail a taste, I thought it was a perfect example of that. I can't believe we hadn't thought of pairing peach and St. Germain before - The floral qualities of the St. Germain and the smooth, voluptuous flavor of peach is a match made in heaven.

Using Vodka allowed for that flavor to come out unencumbered by other flavors that would have come into play had we used something like Gin (though I'm sure Ed and I will be experimenting with a Gin variation on this quite soon). The small amount of lemon juice added just a hint of citrus bite and helped had a bright note that opened up the drink.

Comments always welcome, or if you prefer the e-mail fire away at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

17) The Tiramisu

1.5 oz. Macallan Amber
1.5 oz. Godiva White Chocolate Liquer

Fill and Old Fashioned Glass halfway with ice, add ingredients and stir briefly. Garnish with a light dusting of either coco powder or nutmeg.

This one came about as a sort of follow up to our Elixir Cafe I had spied a bottle of Macallan Amber (a sort of whiskey Liquer with a maple infusion) and remembered having tried it a while back at a whiskey show. It's really quite a fantastic product and having remembered the excellent results that we got in combining the Nevan and Coffee Liquer I knew that was what I wanted to use. Ed felt that the Godiva would make for a good compliment to the strong vanilla flavor and, as always, he was right.

The final cocktail was very much more than the sum of its two parts. It had a much more vanilla flavor rather than maple with the chocolate elements very smooth and subtle. It's a simple drink with complex results, which is one of our favorite kinds of drinks.

The name? Well, that came about when one of the bar's regulars gave it a try and said it tasted like Tiramisu. I didn't really see the comparison, but since I enjoy naming drinks about as much as I enjoy getting punched in the crotch it was a done deal.

Comments always welcome, or if you prefer the e-mail fire away at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

Well I'll Be Damned

I assumed it was going to be just another post work cocktail at Cantina (yes, I do go to other bars) but was a bit surprised when I was informed that there would be a guest bartender for the evening. I was a bit confused at first, but quickly became delighted upon finding out that the guest bartender was Nick Mautone. He was there advocating on behalf of Grey Goose Orange - When he asked me if I wanted to give a Vodka drink a try there was no way I was going to say no.

"So, do you like ginger?"
Except to that.
"Uh, not really. No."

Fortunately Mr. Mautone is twenty pounds of awesome in a ten pound sack. He began grilling me on the sorts of spirits and flavors I'm fond of, and in no time at all had whipped up a damn fine drink, and given my general dislike of Vodka that's saying something. About half way through the drink I noticed the owner, Duggan, had begun making a drink. Nothing to write home about, until he pulled out the egg.

See, I'm one of those sorts that is thoroughly skeeved out by the very idea of raw eggs. There are many things in this world which are to be consumed only after the through application of heat. Eggs are right up there on the top of the list. So it was that I watched Duggan make the drink, thinking all the while, I wonder what poor bastard is going to have to choke that down.

Somewhere between the completion of the drink, and it being set in front of me, I realized I was the poor bastard that was going to have to choke it down. Having roundly rejected ginger I suppose I could have looked at the drink and said something like, "Sir, are you trying to kill me? Take from me this vile beverage then fetch my top hat and monocle lest I give you a good thrashing!", but that just didn't seem like the thing to do at the time. So, with the restrained dedication of a child being forced to take their medicine I took a small sip.

And it was goddamned delicious.

The egg white provided a fantastic silky, creamy, foamy texture that I had never encountered in a cocktail before, yet had no discernable effect on the flavor of the drink. It was a delicious revelation and I am sure to be having many more in the near future. If, like me, you have been wary of drinks containing egg whites do yourself a favor and give one a try.

I'm still not ever going anywhere near a Flip though.

16) Green Machine

1.5 oz. Damrak Gin
.5 Cointreau
.5 oz. Green Chartreuse

Add all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.

Ed and I came up with this one for a Damrak competition that was being held in town last week (he ended up not being able to make it). I have been playing around with Chartreuse a lot lately as I'm finding it a rather fascinating ingredient so I was pretty keen to see if we couldn't match the Gin with that. In our first attempt we use .5 oz of lime just instead of the Cointreau. Ed and I had the same reaction upon the first sip - There was a lot going on there. Unfortunately it also seemed as though the lime juice was a bit too much (though I'm beginning to think my palate has started rebelling against citrus for some reason).

Ed and I thought replacing it with Cointreau would provide a bit of brightness to help pull together the Gin and Chartreuse. What a difference that made. The flavor profile changed dramatically with the Chartreuse coming way up front but smoothed out by both the Gin and the Cointreau.

We were pretty happy with how it turned out, though one which we will probably revisit in the near future to see if we can't tweak it just a wee bit. For people not too fond of anise flavors it may not be the best drink to win them over with, though the original recipe might do the trick. Probably with a little less lime.

If you try this out let us know what you think, or if you give it a tweak leave us a comment or send us one of those e-mail deals to drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com will ya?

This is not a cocktail

It is known by many things - "swamped", "in the weeds", "sweet mother of God will somebody please stop this endless march of thirsty bastards" - This weekend Ed was all of those and more. So it is with a heavy heart I regret to inform you that we are sans drink for this week. Rest assured that the hot sting of shame burns brightly up our respective cheeks, and we will labor in earnest to prevent this from happening again.

Speaking of shame, I was recently poking around a variety of web sites for local restaurants and came across the digital home for a relatively new restaurant naught but a stones throw from my office. My eye was immediately caught by the "Drinks" link in their menu, uh, menu and clicked away with perhaps a wee bit of glee. As I read through the menu I was not so much impressed as saddened. Sure, you could call them cocktails, but they were so uninspired and rife with drinks relying on Vodka which to me is not a good indication. Even so, imagine my horror when I saw their description for their Blood Orange Old Fashioned (emphasis mine) - "Fresh blood oranges, brandied cherries and sugar muddled together with bourbon and a splash of soda. A dash of orange bitters is added and you’ve got a refreshing classic in your hands."

No, what you will have in your hands is a fizzy glass of ass. When a restaurant puts its cocktail menu on its site, that is an indication that they look upon their cocktail program with the same dedication to quality that they have towards their food. With that in mind I have to admit that it takes some pretty serious balls to unleash unto the public at large the fact that nobody in your establishment has any fucking idea how to make one of the most classic cocktails in human history.

In spite of the fact that I sound like nothing other than a pompous harpy, I assure you that I don't really care if one wishes to drink an Old Fashioned with soda water or if that's what I bartender wants to put on their drink menu. Just call it what it is - Not an Old Fashioned. Call it a Whiskey Highball or even an Old Fashioned Fizz for all I care, but when any drink is altered far beyond the realm of reason (I'm looking at you martini!) yet not renamed it promulgates the falsehood to ridiculous levels.

Look, all I want is to be able to walk into a bar and be able to order and Old Fashioned confident that I’m going to get a goddamned Old Fashioned. There. I said it.

Hey look, content!

Would you like to tell me what a pedantic prick I am? Leave a comment or send us one of those e-mail deals to drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

Link Mania!

Since I was so lazy last week in the posting arena I thought I'd dazzle you all with even more content. In the form of links! Content with me not having to actually work! Also, exclamation marks!

The Old Fashioned - Robert Hess has been doing a great series of videos about all cocktails for a while now, and his most recent video was about the Old Fashioned. This is one of my favorite drinks, and other than the Martini it's one of the most abused drinks I know of. Robert gives a great little history of the drink then shows how to do it right. Just to reiterate cause it's my biggest pet peeve - Soda water should even be in the same room as an Old Fashioned.

The state of the state of cocktails - A fantastic treatise on not only the scourge of Vodka, but the overall state of the American tradition of the cocktail.

Gin rules! - From the same author of the above comes an elegant explanation as to not only why Martini's should always be made with Gin, but also why Vodka should have a minimal role in the world of cocktails.

Beer liqueur - Jamie Boudreau is the mad genius (well, I don't know if he's actually mad) at Seattle's famed Vessel. His blog is a must read, but his recent post about his home made beer liqueur was particularly intriguing. If I'm not careful I'm going to end up with a closet full of beer liqueurs.

DIY Gin - Jeffrey is currently tending bar in my home town of Eugene, Or. Per the city charter I am forced to believe therefore that he is surrounded by a radioactive cloud of awesome (I am also obliged to love the Ducks, complain loudly about urbanization, and insist that anything less than a monsoon-like downpour is "picnic weather"). Fortunately his blog is clear evidence that he is surrounded by a radioactive cloud of awesome (and makes it ever more imperative that I get home for a visit) so I don't have to fake it.

He recently took the saying that Gin is just an infused Vodka to the test by infusing his own Vodka in an attempt to make his own Gin sans distilling. I'll just add that to the list with beer liqueur on it. It'll be right after "add more shelf space".

Wanna get in touch with us? Leave a comment or send us one of those e-mail deals to drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

15) La Flor

1 oz. Partida Blanco Tequila
1 oz. St. Germain
.5 oz. Strawberry Cointreau

Add all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

I know, I know - We're really going to the well too many times. We can't help it, our obsessions have become nearly solipsistic. We'll be breaking out of the rut next week. I promise. Besides, you're getting two for one this week cause I was lazy last week. How great is that? I know! It's Awesome!

This one came when we were sitting around trying to figure out what to use, and H. told Ed that there was a cocktail contest happening the next evening for Partida Tequila so we decided to see if we could do something with that. Our aforementioned St. Germaine fetish kicked into overdrive, and Ed had recently refreshed the supply of strawberry Cointreau so we figured what the hell. We went fairly heavy on the St. Germaine as we wanted it to have a bold presence in the drink and also stand up against the Tequila.

In the initial run we also added .5 oz. of lime juice, something to balance against the Cointreau. It was ok, but I felt the lime juice was too much, and overpowered the more delicate notes of the drink. I told Ed that I thought we were going to have to make up another one and omit the lime juice to see how that went. He was skeptical but indulged me (thanks Ed!). The removal of the lime was a definite improvement. The floralness of the St. Germaine played well against the strength of the Blanco but neither one was too up front. The loss of the lime also let the Cointreau play a role in some subtle spicy/fruity notes as well.

Wanna get in touch with us? Leave a comment or send us one of those e-mail deals to drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

14) The Aviator

1 oz. Beefeater Gin
1 oz. St. Germain
.5 oz. Maraschino Liqueur
.5 oz. Lemon juice

Add all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass.

So, uh, guess it's been a bit since I got a drink up here. We were still cranking them out, I just seem to have not written anything. I'm claiming a coma. Yeah, that's a good one.

I recently had, for the first time, a cocktail called the Last Word which I liked a great deal and thought it would be an interesting drink to use as a platform for a drink. I wanted to replace the Maraschino with St. Germain (I know, it's always St. Germain with me) but Ed was more keen on replacing the Chartreuse with St. Germain. The argument was short lived mostly cause the bar was out of Chartreuse.

So it was that we were more in the realm of a sort of variation on a Aviation. Sort of. We went a bit heavy with the St. Germain as we wanted it to really be the dominant player, but weren't will to make the sacrifice of using vodka to pull that off. The result was a very pleasant combination of the floral components of the St. Germain with the botanicals of the Gin. The Maraschino was very subtle, but definitely something that one would notice were it not in the cocktail.

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13) The Tickle and Slap

1 oz. Tezon Blanco Tequila
.5 oz. Mango Juice
One thin slice jabenero pepper

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into a shot glass. Top with a light sprinkle of cayenne pepper.

For some time now Ed has been wanting to do a shot. I wasn't sure why, but who am I to judge such a nice young man? We never really seemed to get around to it though. Probably cuase I’m such a wet blanket. Well, I was recently (once again) at my beloved Cantina, and had the opportunity to try a drink they were making which was shaken with a slice of pepper as part of the spicy kick it had. It was an interesting idea and the final drink was rather tasty. As I was heading home, and continued to think about it more, I wondered if I could drink an entire cocktail with those spicy flavors without my palate getting tired.

Enter the idea of a shot! It seemed like it would be a fun experiment, and having made a shot Ed could die happy (as of this writing Ed is neither dead nor happy).

When I presented him with the idea, he was a little skeptical. I insisted that it would be great, and he relented to my overwhelming charms. Also, he had been slammed for many hours prior to my arrival and was too tired to put up a fight. Since I am lazy and prefer the obvious I was all, "let's just make, like, a Margarita shot with pepper". Since Ed knows what he's doing he was all, "you're lazy and prefer the obvious. We're not doing that, though I like using Tequila". He quickly spotted a bottle of mango juice behind the bar and we were off to the races.

The shot was surprisingly bracing without being to overwhelming. The notes of the Tequila and juice hit the palate first and as they fade, the spiciness from the pepper begins to burn through (pun intended) without being to much. And the name? Oh you know that's all Ed.

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12) A&E Manhattan

1.5 oz. Rittenhouse 100 Rye
.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth
.5 oz. Strawberry Cointreau

Sunday afternoon as I was enjoying a bit of coffee and wondering why the sun was trying to kill me with it's heat, I received a somewhat cryptic text message from Ed - "Strawberry Cointreau" was all it said. You may recall, as I did, that we recently made a Strawberry Margarita using strawberries macerated in Cointreau. Still I wasn't entirely sure what Ed meant by his message. When I arrived at the bar, he triumphantly exclaimed that he had found the container of strawberries, once thought lost to the grasping hands of the cooler. I cracked open the container and was hit by an awesome aroma of orangeberry goodness. Trying some of the long strawberry infused liquor I knew then what Ed's message meant, "We are bound by the laws of the very universe itself to use this in a cocktail".

We initially thought we would honor national bourbon appreciation month using, you know, bourbon. Ed whipped out the good ol Jim Beam and we went to work making a sort of Manhattan kind of thing. We went pretty easy on the Strawberry Cointreau wanting to make sure we didn't go overboard and added a little sweet vermouth for spice. The finished product was not bad, but not great. The Beam really didn't measure up to the Cointreau and Vermouth, so we decided to screw national bourbon appreciation month, and bring out the heavy guns - Rye.

We used Rittenhouse 100 cause we wanted something that would stand up and be front and center against the Cointreau and Vermouth. The final product was exactly what we were looking for. The Rye was most certainly the dominant flavor (as you might imagine what with Rye being the delicious, ham-fisted brother of bourbon), but the power was tamed by the Vermouth while the subtler flavors were brightened by the Cointreau. As the Rye faded hints of strawberry and orange lingered on the tongue.

11) Pisco Pom

1.5 oz. Pisco
.5 oz. Cointreau
.5 oz. fresh lemon juice
.5 oz. Pomegranate juice
.5 oz. simple syrup

Add all ingredients into an old fashioned glass with ice. Stir briefly and garnish with a twist of lemon.

It began as it does almost every week. Ed and I staring forlornly at the rows of bottles.

"So, what do you want to use today?"
"I don't know. What do you want to use?"

In short order Ed was holding up a bottle of Pisco (a liquor distilled from grapes in Peru and Chile). It's been seeing somewhat of a resurgence recently and is a sprit I myself have only recently had experience with. Having only had it in cocktails, Ed and I decided to take a taste, and boy howdy is it a potent brew. It had, however, a rather pleasant finish of grape that had us intrigued. In thinking about what we might use to foil the Pisco I recalled that the bar had recently got some pomegranate juice recently and figured it would at least be an interesting attempt.

We knew that we were going to have to go fairly light on the pomegranate juice as it is a potent flavor which could easily overwhelm the Pisco. The Cointreau and lemon juice came out of me somewhat at random. Well, the Cointreau was there to brighten the overall drink, but really I was just kind of blurting. Our first pass was sans the simple syrup, and the finished product was seriously chalky. The tartness of the pomegranate was really overwhelming. Ed being the calm voice of reason blithely suggested a little bit of simple syrup and we were set.

The Pomegranate was, of course, front and center but the syrup toned down its power. The Cointreau brightened the drink overall, and there was a nice, subtle finish of both grape and lemon.

Got any favorite Pisco recipies? Leave a comment. Or you can send us an e-mail at drinkaweek [at] gmail [dot] com.

Where has the day gone?

Sorry folks - Haven't had so much as a speck of a moment to post this weeks drink. If I'm not able to get to it later this evening I'll get it up tomorrow. Promise!

10) Cantina

1.5 oz. Tanqueray Gin
1 oz. Limoncello
.25 oz. lime juice
2 dashes orange bitters
Brandy

In a shaker add the all the ingredients except the brandy. Shake briefly, just to mix the ingredients then strain into a Collins glass full of ice. Add a brandy float on top and garnish with a cherry.

This came about from a drink that Aaron, one of the fantastic bartenders at the fantastic Cantina, recently made for Ed. He was in the mood for a Pegu Cocktail (a delightful drink made with gin, Cointreau, lime juice, orange and Angostura bitters), but Aaron was feeling a little experimental and asked Ed if he minded replacing the Cointreau with Limoncello. Ed, always up for an experiment, consented. The result was quite tasty with the tartness of the Limoncello was an interesting compliment to the Gin. Both Ed and I immediately thought that the result, over ice with some soda water, would make for a fairly refreshing libation.

We were not so right.

We tried mixing up another sans soda at first, and it really didn't taste at all the same. Aaron, that rapscallion, must have done some other doctoring in secret to keep us on our toes. We added a small amount of soda hoping that it would brighten up the drink, but it just left the flavors flat and lifeless. Except for the bite of the gin. That wasn't going anywhere. Stupid gin. We decided to scale back on the gin and remove the Angostura bitters. Then I yelped, "Oh! We should add a brandy float!" I have no idea why I said that, but sometimes it best not to question such things.

The results were delightful. The Limoncello cut the bite of the Gin, but left the botanicals on the forefront. The citrus and subtle hints of the Brandy sat nicely on the palate as the initial blast of the botanicals faded. The best part was that the drink aged very well. As the ice melted into the cocktail it opened up the Gin and caused subtle changes to the character causing the flavors to pop even more.

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9) Strawberry Margarita

1.5 oz. Corralejo Reposado Tequila
.5 oz lime
Two large strawberries hulled, halved, and macerated in Cointreau overnight

In a lowball glass muddle the strawberries then fill the glass with ice. In a shaker add the Tequila and lime juice. Shake well then strain into the glass. Garnish with a strawberry.

Remember last week when I said we were going to have two cocktails for you? Yeah, those were good times. It turns out that what I meant to say was that I was going to put it off until this week.

This was an easy one that was an easy one that came about from an idea I had a while ago which was macerating strawberries in Cointreau and using them for, well, something. We finally got around to the macerating, and when it came time to make the drink both Ed and I pretty much immediately thought Margarita. The strawberries had absorbed just enough Cointreau to keep us from having to add any, and the strawberries added an nice rounding out of the Tequila deliciousness.

8) The Wry Jack

1 oz. Michter's Rye
1 oz. Applejack
.5 oz. Sweet Vermouth
1-2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Add all ingredients in a shaker filled wit ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cherry.

I was feeling an itch to do something with Rye as I feel it's rather ignored, and unjustly so. As Ed and I were decided which Rye to use he casually mentioned that he'd like to do something with Applejack some day. "Well", I said "why not do something with Rye and Applejack?" We chose Michter's for its smooth yet complex flavor, and then it was deciding what to do with our ingredients. I began thinking about variations that we might be able to do on a classic and suggested either a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned. I pushed for the Manhattan as it is my favorite cocktail, and I thought the orange component of the Old Fashioned might be a bit too much.

We went fairly light on the vermouth as we were wary of overpowering the subtle apple flavors of the Applejack, and it turned out to be a good choice. The final cocktail was very well balanced with the vermouth adding just a slight spicy note without overwhelming the two liquors. There was just the slightest hint of the apple which turned out to compliment the Michter's well.

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7) Aperol Martini

1.5 oz. Junípero Gin
.5 Aperol
3 dashes peach bitters

Sorry for running a litte late on getting this week's drink up. As a bonus we'll have another one for y'all later this week.

Place all three ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously till ice cold and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

This one came pretty easy, thanks to Ed. The first cocktail we tried was my idea - I had wanted to use Hendrick's gin and Pimm's in a sort of super abstract Pimm's Cup sort of thing. It looked fantastic, but somehow we stumbled upon some sort of unholy alchemical algorithm which created a drink that tasted almost exactly like water (I was convinced that if one were to drink the entire cocktail they would see visions of their own demise). We spent a fair bit of time saying things like "what the fuck happened?", and "shouldn't some sort of flavor be coming through?" before we decided to try a different angle.

Undaunted (and trying to shake me from the pondering of my own mortality) Ed decided to veer into the world of Aperol. Aperol is a new favorite of Ed's - It's an orange flavored Italian apéritif which is frequently compared to Campari, but is not quite as bitter. He chucked the bottle of Hendrick's noting that it is a wee bit on the light side to stand up to something like Aperol. To provide a sturdier base we chose Junípero Gin, a fantastic Gin made by Anchor Brewing here in San Francisco. We weren't sure about the peach bitters, but found that they added a very subtle note that didn't present itself much, but we felt would be noticed without it.

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6) Strawberry Mojito

.75 oz. Sailor Jerry rum
.75 oz. Neisson white rhum
.5 oz. agave nectar
.5 oz. fresh lime juice
2 strawberries
8 mint leaves

In a hiball glass muddle the strawberries and mint with the agave nectar. Add the rest of the ingredients, ice, then top with soda. Garnish with a mint leaf and strawberry.

Our initial idea was to pair the rum with blueberries (frankly, I think it was just because Ed wanted to name the drink sailor berry). We started with the base by muddling a handful of blueberries with the Sailor Jerry. It tasted great, and we figured all we needed were a few touches to round out the flavors and we'd be set. Unfortunately the blueberries turned out to be a rather intractable foe.

We tried many things and each time we lost both the notes of the berries and the rum. It was about that time that H. dropped by the bar and we quickly fell upon him for some advice. He (very politely) agreed that our drinks were...Lacking and began rattling off numerous suggestions for ways in which we could punch things up*. We quickly seized upon the suggestion of Neisson white rhum (made with pure sugar cane rather than the more ubiquitous molasses).

It was Ed's idea to pull back a little and make a variation on a classic cocktail - the Mojito. After a flurry of mint, blueberries, and booze we were ready to call it a day with another drink of the week done. Except for the part that the drink sucked. The blueberries were doing nothing but mocking us with their useless, broken bodies. Riding on the hopes that they would be more flavorful, we decided to give strawberries a try. Fortunately for our sanity, the strawberries were perfect. They help up well to the rums and made and excellent compliment to the mint and lime juice while none of the said elements overwhelmed the flavors of the rums.

*Talking to H. about cocktails is like talking to Schrödinger about his cat.

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5) Elixir Café

1 oz. Maker's Mark
3/4 oz. Starbucks coffee liqueur
.5 oz. Navan vanilla cognac
1 tbs. cream

Add all the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for thirty seconds. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with a dollop of whipped cream and a light dusting of coco powder.

It's a two for one this week - we're on fire!

Ed and I were still on a bit of a whiskey kick after the Rusty Bullet so wanted to do another whiskey based cocktail. My eye was drawn to a bottle of Starbucks coffee liqueur sitting on the back bar. As a long time fan of the combination of coffee and whiskey it seemed like a good way to start a cocktail. I was feeling a bit sassy so thought that the addition of a vanilla flavor would be nice as well. I suggested vanilla vodka - Ed looked a bit skeptical then pulled out a bottle and said, "Check this out."

It was Navan vanilla cognac, something I had not seen before. The flavors of both vanilla and alcohol were mild, but pleasant - Not thing sort of thing I'd drink on its own, but seemed like a good fit for the other ingredients. For the whiskey we chose Maker's Mark as it tends to be an excellent all purpose whiskey.

In our initial run we used one ounce of the coffee liqueur, a half ounce of Maker's and a half ounce of the cognac. I liked it, but Ed thought the whiskey was totally buried by the coffee liqueur. After several more sips I found I had to agree (damn you Ed!). Ed thought ramping up the whiskey while slightly cutting the liqueur would solve the problem. We also found during our initial tweaking that mixing in the whipped cream added a nice roundness to the overall flavor so decided on adding just a touch of cream to the final cocktail as well.

The final product was substantially improved. The whiskey was clearly front and center, but well tempered by the coffee and vanilla notes. It pretty much tasted like an iced vanilla latte that had been spiked with a generous shot of delicious, delicious whiskey. Took me back to my late morning college class days I tell ya.

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4) Rusty Bullet

1.5 oz. Bulleit Bourbon
.5 oz. Drambuie

Fill a rocks glass half way with ice, add the Bulleit and Drambuie, and stir. Garish with a twist of lemon.

Make sure that the twist is fresh, and that you hold the lemon over the drink as you pull the twist off the fruit. It may sound a bit nitpicky, but the essential oils released into the cocktail from the lemon add an extra dimension to the overall flavor. As has been said by more talented people than I, it's like salt in cooking. You don't really notice it when it's there, but you sure as hell notice it when it's gone (I don't think they say "hell", but Ed and I? We're rebels).

This one went quite smoothly for us, and is a good illustration of the idea that sometimes the simplest drink can be the most rewarding. I pretty much wanted to do a Bulleit/Drambuie cocktail cause I had fallen in love with the idea of having a drink call a Rusty Bullet. Why are you looking at me like that?

Ed picked out the proportions, and I thought the idea of garnishing it with a bruised mint leaf would put a unique twist on it. Ed didn't agree with me, because he's a killjoy - I'm not just saying that because he's better at this than I am either. He was lemon all the way, so of course we made one of each (oh the horror of having to try several versions of our drinks! It's not easy, but we do it cause we love you). We tried the mint version first and found it less than striking. The mint was hardly present at all, and left the overall drink flat. Also, having a sad, solitary mint leaf floating around in the drink like Joe Gillis was somewhat aesthetically displeasing.

Fortunately the lemon version was a straight up glass o' happiness. You could smell the lemon and Drambuie even before the glass got to your nose, but it wasn't at all overpowering. The drink itself was at a perfect balance - Bulleit has a somewhat higher amount of rye than other bourbons which creates somewhat of a sweet mouth feel which provided an excellent compliment to the herbal notes of the Drambuie, the two being tied well together by the slight hint of citrus.

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3) The Day After

2 oz. Jameson Irish Whiskey
3-5 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
7-Up

Fill a pint glass with ice.
Add the Jameson and bitters (I'm a more the better kind of guy myself when it comes to the bitters).
Fill the rest of the glass with the 7-Up.
Try and remember exactly where it was you found that much soy sauce at 3AM.

This simple curative nostrum was a no-brainer. It pretty much came about partly because our first experiment was a sad, vile tasting failure, and Ed was a little too busy to try and tweak it (though God only knows how we could have made anything remotely drinkable out of such a wretched, boozy chimera). It was also partly due to the fact that it was my birthday, and it was almost certain that I would need some sort of restorative the next day.

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2) The Saint

1.5 oz. Square One vodka
.5 oz St. Germain Elderflower liqueur
Three dashes peach bitters
.5 oz Cointreau Splash of Oronoco rum
Squeeze of lemon
Squeeze of lime
One strawberry

In a shaker, muddle the strawberry with the bitters.
Add ice, then the rest of the ingredients.
Shake for several mins - You want to get the drink as cold as possible. Ideally you'll get a nice sort of vodka ice sheen when you pour the drink.
Strain into a martini glass and garnish the rim with another strawberry.

Ultimately this was a bit of a tough one. As you'll see by the rather diverse set of ingredients, there was a lot of tweaking. We decided on vodka as the base spirit, and thought a bit about a flavored one, but ultimately chose plain old vodka to give us a neutral place to start. I had recently had a cocktail using St. Germain and had that ingredient in mind - A little taste and smell and I was set on making that the primary flavor. Ed voted for a splash of peach bitters and a strawberry garnish and we were off to the races.

Our first attempt was ok - It smelled fantastic, especially as the strawberry scent came across - but it was pretty flat overall. The top notes were there, but it was missing a floor to compliment it. Ed went for the Cointreau (a true savior, but we gotta get away from it soon) and I went for a few more dashes of bitters. That helped, but we were still missing something. In a fit of desperation I smooshed up a bit of the strawberry and tossed it in (a technique, by the way, which is highly scientific and sanitary). That too helped, but we were still missing a bottom to compliment the top.

Fortunately J. (another excellent bartender) was there to help out.
"Well," He said. "When you're using St. Germain your best bet is to go tropical." Woo hoo! I thought. Woo hoo cause this was my chance to get him to some Oronoco rum for which I have an unnatural (but beautiful!) love for. Ed thought it would also be worthwhile to muddle the strawberry as well to get that smooshed fruit mojo. The final product was excellent. The Oronoco provided the perfect balance to the St. Germain, and the strawberry added a nice hit of fruity sweetness overall.

Told you it was a complicated one.

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1) Jade Monkey

1 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1 oz. green chartreuse
Three dashes orange bitters
Squeeze of lime
Splash of Cointreau

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice, shake for 30 seconds, strain into a high-ball glass filled with ice, then top off with soda. Garnish with a cherry and some lime zest.

Here it is, our inaugural cocktail. I was the one crazy enough to think we should do something with chartreuse, and Ed had the bright idea of liqueur because, you know, it smelled good. Given that foundation I'm surprised it came out so well.

Our first attempt was ok, but not great. The flavor was a bit flat, and our initial ratio of 1 oz of the liqueur to a half oz of chartreuse was definitely a bit low. We had also used some sweet vermouth, and while not a negative flavoring it didn't really do much for the drink and created a somewhat off-putting color.

For our next run we decided to pull out the drink makers secret weapon - Cointreau. With the addition of that, the removal of the vermouth, and the addition of more chartreuse we hit the jackpot. It had an excellent green color, with the liqueur and chartreuse playing off one another beautifully, not too herbal and the cherry coming through just enough. The Cointreau opened up the drink overall perfectly.

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And this would be?

With a blog titled "Drink A Week", you're probably thinking that this is the place for all your octothorpe information needs. Well you'd be wrong! This is a bold new future, with bold new creamy ranch flavors!

But I digress.

My friend Ed (surprise, he's a bartender) had the good fortune to attend Gary Regan's cocktail class in New York, and returned a cocktail advocate of almost annoying proportions. Of course, when I recently went to New York myself I had him give me a list of places to go. After visiting places such as Pegu, Bemelmans at the Carlyle, and Employees Only I returned a cocktail fiend myself.

Upon my return and visiting Ed at work we decided to see if we could whip up our own cocktail. The result was a rousing success and a blast to create. It didn't take long before we decided that I would come by on Sunday's that we might work on our own cocktail creations. With a couple of cocktails under our gullets it seemed to me that the fun we were having creating these - picking apart the ingredients, figuring out what worked and what was missing - might be of interest to two or three others out there.

I will shortly be posting our initial creations along with notes on our process. Following that I should have a new entry each week.

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Enjoy!