Category: Food & Drink (Page 54 of 82)

Drink of the Week: The Brown University

August 3, 2012 /

Regular readers may have sensed that I like to keep things very simple. Life can be awfully complicated and stressful sometimes, and I myself tend to see the world as not a black and white matter but one of endless shades of gray. Still, where ever we can keep things simple, I think, we probably kind of should. Why make life harder than it has to be?

Cocktails don’t get that much simpler than the Brown University. It also seemed a good fit for yet another really great bottle of whiskey to mysteriously turn up here at Drink of the Week manor.

Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, which is another worthwhile spirit under the Jim Beam Small Batch umbrella, has a taste that’s gentler than most bourbons, which makes sense as it’s mere 80 proof, not the 88-100 (or more) proof we bourbonistas are used to. It’s sweet in the way of a good bourbon, and it’s certainly not harsh, yet it’s far from boring and has plenty of the right kind of complexity. I’ve been joking for a while that I was getting to the point where merely 80 proof liquor was starting to bore me. Basil Hayden’s reminds me that I really am joking when I say that.

Anyhow, time to try the stuff in a unfairly obscure cocktail classic, Brown University.

Brown University

1 1/2 ounces bourbon
1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Stir for a good long time or, if you’re using a less sublime bourbon than the brand I found myself using, consider shaking…perhaps.  With this drink the anti-shaking traditionalists may be right on the money. Definitely strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

If you like, you may toast Rhode Island’s Ivy League school and, maybe, you can find out for me what the connection is between the drink and the college, because I haven’t a freaking clue.

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The Brown University may be simple with it’s equal parts of bourbon and white vermouth, but it’s as sophisticated as cocktails get. It seems to contain a spice rack full of flavors. In fact, an even simpler version of this drink that’s made without bitters is called a Rosemary, and that seems appropriate. Of course, some of that savory spice might have been the influence of Basil Hayden’s and I didn’t have a chance to try this one with another brand, though I surely will. Whatever brand you end up with, you definitely want to stick with one of the mellower bourbons for this one, I think.

And now we close with a musical interlude provided by some the talented young ladies of Brown University.  I hope they all get to try the beverage that bears their alma mater’s name sometime.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Drink of the Week: The Red Hook

July 27, 2012 /

the Red Hook So, Drink of the Week Central has about completed its cross So-Cal move northward from far-away Anaheim and through the Orange Curtain to Van Nuys, gateway to Reseda and Studio City. I’ve also recently completed my boozeriffic Comic-Con special assignment.

At last, it is time to resume business as usual here at DOTW. We return with a drink that feels classic but is actually a rank newcomer from this still very young century.

First, however, let me say that this week’s column is brought to you by whoever was kind enough to send me a bottle of Knob Creek‘s brand spanking new rye. I know Knob Creek’s bourbon, which I like but also fear for its fire. If anything, I have to say I like their rye a lot better. Much as I love my standby 100 proof Rittenhouse Rye, the similarly potent Knob Creek does bring an extra touch of class and drinkability to the game. On its own, it’s about as sippable as I can imagine a 100 proof rye being, though records were made to be broken and all that.

Of course, give me a bottle of booze and I’ll start looking for cocktails to make with it. And so we come to a beverage that was named one of the best cocktails of this century’s first decade and is credited to bartender Enzo Errico. When a Manhattan just won’t quite do the job, it’s time to head for Brooklyn and today’s drink.

The Red Hook

2 ounces rye whiskey
1/2 ounce Punt e Mes
1/4 ounce maraschino liqueur
1 maraschino cherry (optional garnish)

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with lots of ice. Stir for a good long time — most say about thirty seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail class. Add maraschino cherry if you’ve got one. (I didn’t.) Sip and toast new beginnings. (It might actually be a small improvement, if heretical in some quarters, to shake this drink, but I was feeling traditional this week.)

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While my attempts certainly turned out well using the new Knob Creek Rye, I imagine this could also work very nicely with the aformentioned Rittenhouse or, for those seeking mellower refreshment, 80 proof Old Overholt or Pikesville might well be terrific and perhaps have a less bitter edge.

Speaking of a bitter edge, I should add that this is also DOTW’s first use of Punt e Mes. It’s a more high-endish vermouth with a nice bite. It comes across as almost a more restrained, less syrupy variant of Campari and it’s delicious on its own. It’s also the reason today’s beverage doesn’t require any bitters, though some recipes call for them. I tried the Red Hook with a dash of Angostura and Regan’s Orange Bitters. Too much bitter, I thought.

I also started out with a recipe calling for equal parts Punt e Mes and maraschino. Too maraschiny. Mr. Errico’s version is better.

I should also emphasize, once again, that maraschino liqueur should in no way be confused with the syrup in which those inexpensive preserved cherries in your supermarket are packaged. Confusing the issue slightly is the fact that maraschino brand Luxardo markets its own brand of maraschino cherries. They’re anything but cheap but also quite tasty and I’m sure would be marvelous in a Red Hook, though I actually have nothing against the bright red supermarket sweetness bombs most of us grew up with.

In fact, the more I write about this, the more I wish I’d actually had a bottle of those lovely cheap cherries to complete my Red Hook on hand. Next time.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

The Drinks of Comic-Con 2012

July 24, 2012 /

We all know what Comic-Con is supposed to be: Cannes for Geeks. Still, aside from the fetishization of all things genre-related and the increasingly Hollywood-ized atmosphere, there’s something else it’s about: drinking! But one can grab a $12.00 martini or a $3.00 shot anytime in an upscale yet funky city like San Diego. It takes a Comic-Con for the dipsomanical masses to be able to slurp their way to oblivion with a Captain America, a Spicy Hulk, or drinks saluting the warring dynasties from George R.R. Martin’s “Game of Thrones.”

Which is not to say that the search for the great themed cocktails to be found in Comic-Con’s backyard was an easy one. At times I and my photographing buddy, Rodney Reynaldo, feared we might not have enough drinks to really make this piece sing but, as we trudged through what seemed like every bar in San Diego’s downtown Gaslamp district, we found plenty. Admittedly, we sometimes found ourselves making the news as much as we reported on it; some of these drinks are on the spot creations from some of the area’s more spontaneous mixologists. Still, most of these were created with plenty of forethought, most of them tasted good, and some were downright terrific.

The Captain America

I have to admit that I pretty much knew somebody would come up with an extremely sweet red, white and blue themed salute to good ol’ Cap. I never imagined it would induce near terminal brain freeze while tasting far better than this cocktail snob would have ever expected.

The Captain America, as crafted by Andrea of the Hard Rock Cafe on 4th Avenue, is actually three drinks. The blue is a pina colada featuring Blue Curacao; the red is a raspberry pina colada featuring Bacardi rum; and the white, and possibly the best tasting of the three, was an exceedingly sweet frozen daiquiri made with Bacardi’s Dragon Berry Rum. A million miles away from a classic daiquiri like I’d make, but what would I expect from a red, white and blue cocktail?

The Dark Knight

The Tivoli, which proclaims itself the oldest bar in San Diego, sticks to its old school image by an affinity with a certain reactionary-leaning caped crusader. The Dark Knight, crafted by the bar’s redoubtable Rosie (pictured uptop), was as dark as any black knight but it’s flavor might have pleased a fruit bat with it’s surprisingly refreshing combination of vodka, blue curacao, raspberry liqueur, and a splash of Rumple Minze 100 proof peppermint schnapps.

The Spicy Hulk

There are any number of green drinks named in honor of Bruce Banner’s ill-tempered alter-ego. Yet, it’s hard to imagine any would ever be tastier than this concoction. Whipped up on the spot by the very skilled Oscar Avila of El Vitral, the Spicy Hulk reflected our location just a few miles from the Mexican border with healthy dashes of cucumber, cilantro, serrano peppers, tomatillo, lime juice, agave nectar and, of course, blanco tequila. Nothing puny about this one.

The Marble Room Trilogy

We came to the Gaslamp in search of themed cocktails. We found our first themed bartender in Harlo Stompro of the brothel-esque 5th Avenue watering hole and restaurant. The man might be a joker, but he certainly took the time to come up an assortment of con-friendly libations.

The Alien Secretion contains vodka, both Rose’s Lime Juice and fresh lime, and triple sec. The bright green Romulan Ale might please Trek fans with a yen for another slight twist on a Kamikaze with blue curacao, vodka and fresh lime.  The Darth Vader is an homage to a Long Island Ice Tea with vodka, gin, rum, sour mix, and Chambord sitting in for the traditional triple sec. Since I kind of hate Long Islands, I found the taste appropriately evil.

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Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Drink of the Week: The Palmetto (Sweet Farewell to OC Version)

July 6, 2012 /

The PalmettoThere are, it appears, several Palmettos. All versions contain rum and vermouth in some proportion. However, some contain light rum and dry vermouth; some contain dark rum and sweet vermouth; some contain dark or aged rum and dry vermouth. Today, as I ready for the big move of Drink of the Week Central from Orange County, California to make the San Fernando Valley my home, we’ll be taking the sweet with the bitter on this light cocktail classic. One of these days, I’ll get around to one of the drier versions.

Today’s drink, by the way, comes courtesy of by far my favorite OC watering hole and grubbery, the outstanding Memphis, with two equally terrific locations in Costa Mesa and downtown Santa Ana. At the latter spot, you might see the occasional political or journalistic notable enjoying remarkably good booze and grub at a reasonable price — well, much more so during happy hour, which is when I was honored to enjoy this drink made by a soon to be departing barkeep whose name I failed to write down. He made a mean drink, whoever he was.

The Palmetto (sweet version)

2 ounces dark rum
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
Orange twist (garnish)

Combine rum, vermouth, and bitters in cocktail shaker with plenty of ice. Shake and pour into our old best friend in the world, a chilled cocktail glass. Sip and plan your next big move.

***
Now, if you really want to do this one up right, you should do as they at Memphis (the restaurant, not the city). Start with Zaya Grand Reserva Rum, a brand I admit is new to me. For your vermouth, you’ll want Carpano Antica, which really just might be the king of sweet vermouths and is delicious all on its own. This will render you a really amazing beverage.

However, I’m a cheapskate. Moreover, I had some booze to get rid of before my move. So, I used the remainder of my very decent Whalers dark rum and was forced — forced, I tell you — to buy a new bottle of Martini & Rossi red on the quick but also fortunately on the cheap. (BevMo taketh away my beloved red Noilly Pratt and they giveth a great price of $4.99 a bottle for the Martini.) When I put together my el cheapo version, the result was just fine, if considerably short of the delightful grandeur of the bottle I enjoyed on ____’s last night on the job.

Feel free to put together your own version based on what you’ve got sitting around…or invest in the Zaya Grand and Carpano. I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

And now we come to the end of an era. When next you’ll be reading this here blog, I’ll have moved some 50 miles north to a place that Mr. Bing Crosby rhapsodized about long before I — let alone you — was even born. See you on the other side.

Food & Drink, Lifestyle, Vices

Stars and Stripes and Tequila on this Fourth of July

July 4, 2012 /

Hopefully you have some great plans for today’s holiday with friends and family. We’d like to offer up a suggestion from our friends at Hornitos Premium Tequila for some refreshing drinks to add to your cookout or gathering. These Stars and Stripes cocktails were created by mixologist Laura Cruz from New York.

Stars:
1.5 parts Hornitos® Anejo Tequila
½ part Agave Nectar
½ part Lime Juice
6-8 Blueberries

Directions:
Muddle blueberries and lime juice in a glass. Add tequila and agave nectar. Add ice and shake vigorously. Strain into shot glass.

Stripes:
2 parts Hornitos® Reposado Tequila
1.5 parts Bloody Mary Mix
½ part lime juice

Directions:
Shake and serve in shot glass half rimmed with a salt, pepper and cayenne mixture.

As you can see from the photo above, the drinks can look very cool and would be a great edition to your holiday festivities. Now be careful with those fireworks . . .

Food & Drink, Lifestyle

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