Mixing Scotch or: How to Play Well with Others

There's a stigma involved with the mixing of Scotch in cocktails.  The idea is that it's just too good to adulterate with anything else.  Now, I'm as much a fan of Scotch as the next guy, if not more so.  However, I think you miss out on some fantastic possibilities if you don't let your Scotch play with its other friends in the liquor cabinet.  So, in the spirit of playing well with others, I experimented with mixing one of my favorite whiskeys with a great Scotch.

I chose a nice blended Scotch that wasn't too peaty and a bold, spicy, Rye that would be strong enough to dance with the Scotch without being overwhelmed.  A little cinnamon syrup and coffee bitters round out the drink.  A twist of orange as a garnish lights up the cocktail and adds aromatics.

This is certainly not something that you can only do with these two drinks.  Pairing different whisk(e)y is an art form.  Some distilleries have mastered it, or at least gotten pretty darn good at it.  For some examples, check out these blends:

http://www.corsairartisan.com/triple_smoke.html

http://www.highwest.com/spirits/new-campfire/

"An Unwritten Life"

1 oz. High West Rendezvous Rye

1 oz. Great King St.

1/4 oz. Cinnamon Simple Syrup (see previous posts)

1-3 dsh. Coffee Bitters (see previous posts)

Apple Manhattan (or: What to Do with a Lot of Bad Bourbon)

I've recently had a lot of bad bourbon on my hands.  As I've hinted at in previous posts, I'm working on barrel aging cocktails.  For this to happen, I had to prime the barrels - one with bourbon and one with port.  Being the poor grad student that I am, I'm not dropping a ton of $ on bourbon just for the sake of flavoring a barrel.  So, I got 2.5 liters of Very Old Barton and 2.5 liters of that very cheap port that they make somewhere in the US (hence not Porto) that's generally reserved for cooking.  After two weeks in my adorable charred oak barrels, I now have an overabundance of both.

Now, if you know me well you know that having a lot of an ingredient that kinda of sucks is a de facto challenge of my culinary/drink making skills.  So, Very Old Barton, CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.

There are a number of cocktails that are essentially pillars of the drinking community and that serve as the basis for a number of variations.  The Old Fashioned, the Martini, the Negroni, the Daiquiri, and of course, the Manhattan.  So, sticking with something tried and true, I decided to channel the regal Manhattan.  I started with 1.5 oz of the Very Old Barton, .5 oz of sweet vermouth (not pictured for some reason), and bitters.  Coffee bitters were my first choice and worked pretty well, though Angostura is also a natural pairing with the apple.  Peychaud's wasn't bad, either, but the other two were better. Next, I went for an apple because I had a bunch in my fridge.  I'm nothing if not economical (read as: lazy).  I took half the apple, cut it up sans skin, and muddled it in a shaker.  At this point I thought I'd throw in some simple syrup to maybe mask the nastiness of the bourbon.  I used a cinnamon* variety I made recently, about .25 ounce.  I then added the other ingredients and shook with ice.  Double strained (hawthorne and tea strainers) into a martini glass.  Finally, garnished with a slice of apple because this is a classy establishment.  At least on Tuesdays.

1.5 bourbon (Can be scaled up)

.5 oz sweet vermouth

1/2 a small(ish) apple, muddled (I'd recommend a sweeter apple like Golden Delicious to go with the vermouth)

.25 oz cinnamon simple syrup

Garnish with apple slice

OPTIONAL: dash of Cognac.  I've tried it with it and without it and it honestly wasn't too different.  Slightly smoother.  I think a half and half of Cognac and bourbon would be great here, but I'm trying to burn the bad bourbon, not the Cognac.

I was pleasantly surprised how well this turned out.  Very fresh, very smooth.  You get a lot of apple and a lot of spice.  Not overly sweet at all.  Fresh apple juice from muddling the fruit does wonders over using a processed substitute.  Perfect seasonal drink that costs a pittance to make.  Tastes even better with Aziz Ansari in the background.

*To make your own cinnamon simple syrup, just make a 1::1 simple syrup and simmer it with some cinnamon sticks in it for 30 minutes.  It lasts longer if you add a splash of rum or vodka.

P.S.  Barrel Aged Cocktails are coming soon.

Sterling's Gold

In honor of one of the greatest TV characters of all time, my boy Roger Sterling, I made a martini (ish thing) to go with my dinner.

Yes, the martini, one of the most abused and bastardized beverages in the world of booze.  These days it seems anything in a martini glass will be called a martini no matter how much blue curacao or sour apple schnapps you dump in it.  Even when you get closer to the heart of the drink, there is still dispute.      There's a segment of the drinking world that gets offended if you call a vodka martini a martini instead of a kangaroo.  I'm not that picky.  If it's got a few ounces of gin or vodka (maybe both, Mr. Bond), a little vermouth, and maybe a dash of bitters, I'm a happy camper.  Tonight I was feeling feisty, though, so I went a little crazy.  Okay, not too crazy, but definitely something a little different.

 I started with my go-to vodka, 42 Below.  Yeah, there's better stuff out there like Tito's, but for the price point and as low on the alcohol chain as vodka is for me, 42 Below is perfect.  For my vermouth, I added Cocchi Americano.  It's technically a fortified wine, but it acts like a vermouth.  It's also on the sweeter side and I normally stick with dry vermouth for a vodka martini.  However, like I said, feeling feisty.  My last ingredient was a few dashes of some black peppercorn bitters I recently made (see previous posts for a general bitters recipe).  Combine, stir with ice, and pour into a chilled martini glass.  Finished with a garnish of jalapeno pepper slices.

I hope Roger, would be proud.  Yeah, yeah, it's not exactly gold in the picture, but it does have a gold tint in real life, my phone's camera just sucks.  I also had to go with a clear spirits because that's how Roger roles.

3 oz Vodka

1/4 oz Cocchi Americano

3 dashes peppercorn bitters

Garnish with jalapeno slices

The pepper really comes out strong with this one.  It plays really well with the Cocchi in a way that I didn't exactly expect.  The mild sweetness of the vermouth is subtle and melts into the peppery bite at the end.  Not a bad way to enjoy a Braves game.