I may have to make some changes as we run low on ingredients, but here’s the intended cocktail menu for our final two weeks, including three new additions. This will go into effect tomorrow:
Aquavit Hot Toddy – Krogstad aquavit, Swedish punsch, lemon, star anise $8
Antigua Old-Fashioned – English Harbour rum, coffee-orange bitters, sugar $8
Smoky Margarita – Herradura reposado tequila, Cointreau, lime, lapsang souchong syrup $8
Portland Stinger – Branca Menta, bourbon, brandy, lemon, grenadine $9
Thyme in a Bottle — Bombay Sapphire, Farigoule thyme liqueur, lemon, maraschino $9
Erica’s Impulse –Brandy, allspice liqueur, lemon, simple syrup, orange bitters $8
H’ronmeer’s Flame – Rye whiskey, sweet vermouth, Ramazzotti, flamed orange zest $9
Witty Flip – Brandy, J. Witty chamomile liqueur, lemon, orange bitters, egg, nutmeg $10
Horatio – Krogstad aquavit, Cointreau, Fernet-Branca, orange bitters $9
Curse of Scotland — Ardbeg 10 year single malt Scotch, Drambuie, maraschino, lemon $10
Queen Bee – Vodka, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, lemon, honey syrup, sparkling wine. $9
On a Whim – Trust your bartender to make you something good
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After a one-month hiatus, Mixology Monday returns with the theme of “Money Drinks.” As our host Beers in the Shower explains, this theme is open to multiple interpretations. One of the ones he offers is this:
I feel a “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved. Come up with a drink or a list based on spirits about drinks that would appeal to anyone. example: turning someone onto a Corpse Reviver #2 when they like lemon drops.
The drink I’m posting today meets that definition. It also brings in the money, thanks to the strategic use of pyrotechnics. Here’s the H’ronmeer’s Flame,* one of the newest additions to Carlyle’s cocktail menu:
2 oz rye whiskey
.75 oz Ramazzotti
.75 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
Stir all of the above, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and flame an orange zest over the surface of the drink. (To flame an orange zest: Take a large swath of zest, toast with a lit match, and squeeze the oils through the flame.)
Creatively speaking, this is not the most inventive cocktail in the world. Call it a variation on a Manhattan or Boulevardier. But the cinnamon notes of Ramazzotti make it a perfect amaro for winter cocktails and the ignited oils from the orange zest give the drink appealing aromatics. Almost as importantly, the light show that results from spraying citrus oils through a flame is a great conversation starter that inspires other customers to order the drink. When you want to bring in the money, fire is your friend.
*Yes, I sneaked a Martian Manhunter reference onto my cocktail menu. And yes, this makes me happier than it rightfully should.
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It’s Mixology Monday! Er, Tuesday in my case. But it’s still Monday one time zone over, which is close enough for bartender time. Vidiot at Cocktailians hosts this month, choosing the theme of vermouth:
[...] if your sole experience is of vermouth from dusty, warm half-empty bottles that have moldered away on a back bar since the Carter Administration, you aren’t going to like vermouth very much. One can even buy ridiculous products to atomize it in your drink. But that’s not necessary, and if you go down that road, you’re missing out on a great ingredient. [...]
So: your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to present a delectable vermouth cocktail for us all to drool over. Sweet/Italian or dry/French vermouth are fair game of course, as are quinquina, aperitif wines like Pineau des Charentes, or for that matter any fortified, aromatized wine such as Lillet (red or white), or Dubonnet (ditto.) Have fun, and leave the link in the comments to this post by midnight PDT (no, not this PDT) (3am EDT) Tuesday, October 27th. In other words, you have a little over a week to get it done, and as long as you submit it sometime by Monday, you’ll get in under the wire. I look forward to the results!
My drink for this month is no great shakes for originality, but it’s a tasty little number adapted from the classic Boulevardier as described in Ted Haigh’s indispensable Vintage Cocktails and Forgotten Spirits:
1.5 oz rye
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth, preferably Carpano Antica
Stir over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. The drink is traditionally made with bourbon. I prefer the added spiciness of rye in this drink, so that’s how we serve it at Carlyle. Here it’s garnished with a rye-soaked cherry, a jar of which I set aside while they were in season this summer.
One nice thing about this drink is that the ingredients are totally accessible. Not every bar will have them, and not every bar will be taking care of its vermouth, but in an above average place the bartender should be able to make a Boulevardier with no problem. If you like Negronis and like whiskey, I recommend giving this one a try.
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This month’s Mixology Monday is hosted by blog pal Rumdood, one of the small handful of cocktail bloggers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting in person. (And it’s going to remain a small handful a little while longer: I learned last week that, contrary to my initial plans, I won’t be able to attend Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans next month.) Rumdood’s chosen theme is ginger.
For the ginger contribution to the drink I’m using Domaine de Canton, an excellent liqueur made with ginger and Cognac. I’m also using two spirits I’ve come to appreciate much more since getting back behind the bar in Portland, rye whiskey and Fernet-Branca. Or maybe this is just a sign I spend too much time at 50 Plates. Hence the Shift Drink:
1.5 oz rye whiskey
.75 oz Domaine de Canton
.5 oz Fernet-Branca
.75 oz lemon juice*
Shake all of the above with ice and strain into a cocktail glass, garnishing with a twist of lemon.
Ginger and Fernet pair very well and the whole drink comes together nicely. If you have a taste for cocktails with a strong bitter component, this is one to try in the summer months.
*Updated 9/1/09: Since publishing this I’ve been upping the amount of lemon juice used, a change now reflected in the recipe above.
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Jacob Grier is a freelance writer, barista, mixologist, and magician in Portland, OR. He writes, eats, and drinks a lot. His articles have appeared in The Washington Post, Reason Online, The Oregonian, and other publications.
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