Upcoming TDN: DOM – B&B and Benedictine

B&B and Benedictine are classic and elegant ingredients used in a host of cocktails from the Singapore Sling (ok, *some* versions) to the Widow’s Kiss to whatever you decide to make at this Thursday’s TDN. THIS week’s special feature will be a LIVE! broadcast of the goings-on at the Monkey Hut where Craig, Blair, Rick, and special guest star Jeffrey Morgenthaler will be mixing and waxing poetic the whole evening. As always, festivities begin at 7pm EST in the Mixoloseum Bar.

TDN Vermouth Wrap-up

It was going to be tough to follow TDN: Mata Hari what with its awesome live action at the Tabard Inn and mocking of Oklahoma and sinking of such glorious failures of drinks as the Cannibal Curse (1.5oz Batavia Arrack, I rest my case) but TDN Vermouth came close. Vermouth, in many ways, gave birth to the modern cocktail and opened up endless possibilities beyond the simple “spirit, sugar, bitters, and water” make-up of the earliest cocktail form. The Manhattan, Martinez, and, in turn, the Martini, of course, being the primary examples of the explosion that happened after vermouth was introduced and popularized in the U.S. Whether our contributions will reach that same level of global appreciation and ubiquity remains to be seen, but at least it wasn’t for lack of trying:

Winning Drink

If I had no shame I would award it to my own drink, The Right Stuff, because the use of Pisco and how it came together was really sexy. However, the Financial District was a widely-tried and very well-regarded drink submitted by drink-well of LA who needs to get ahold of me to pass along his information to get his prize to him. Congrats, sir¹ .

Financial District

• 1.75oz Bourbon
• .75oz dry vermouth
• .25oz coffee liqueur
• dash orange bitters
• dash peychaud

Stir, strain, and garnish with a lemon twist

Other drinks you should try:

By beautiful wonderful, me.

The Right Stuff

• 2oz pisco
• 1oz bianco
• .5oz grapefruit juice
• .25 simple
• .25 curacao (used Grand Marnier)
• 2dash old fashioned bitters

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Submitted by Paul who warns, sharply, do NOT use McClelland’s Islay single malt for this drink, gabe.

Ex

• 1.5 oz sweet vermouth
• .5 oz cask-strength rye
• .5 oz Campari

Stir & strain in glass rinsed with Islay single malt

Offered up by Rick who will claim it’s the greatest drink ever made, and is dead wrong. But it is awfully damned good.

Jaynestown

• 2oz Firefly sweet tea vodka
• 1oz Dolin blanc
• 2 dashes lemon bitters

Stir and strain over ice

R.W. APPLE’S ORCHARD

• 1.5 oz apple brandy
• 1.5 oz Dolin blanc²
• dash peach bitters
• dash Decanter bitters³

Stir/strain and garnish with a lemon twist

Offered, presumably with affection, by Rick and Craig.

Tiki Antica

• 1.5oz Carpano Antica
• 1oz Appleton Extra
• .5oz dark Jamaican rum (used Coruba)
• 1oz Licor 43
• .5oz lime
• .25oz falernum
• float 1oz ginger beer and .5oz Blackstrap Rum

Kick Rick and Craig’s collective asses with a swizzle stick for throwing in the kitchen sink where it’s not likely needed, and then make think and probably enjoy it.

Submitted by John, a surprisingly good drink that I would cut back on the orgeat with if made again.

Well Stocked Bar

• 2oz gin
• 1oz lillet
• .5oz cynar
• .5oz dry vermouth
• .75oz orgeat
• 1oz lime
• 1 egg white
• 2 oz soda

Shake, strain, top w/ soda

NOTE: In the future, TDN judging will be handled in a new and exciting way. YOU can be part of selecting the winning cocktail each week. The host(s) will select a group of 4-5 cocktails they feel are worthy of consideration and post them on Friday in a poll on the Mixoloseum blog. Then, over the next few days, try the drinks and vote on your favorite and it will be declared in Tuesday’s wrap-up. Viva la Democracy!!

Original Vermouth Recipes: TDN Vermouth is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. or ma’am, you never can be sure
2. I used Cinzano Bianco
3. I used Fee’s Old Fashioned

I've found this drink documented in two places; 'New Classic Cocktails' and 'The Joy of Mixology', both by Gary Regan, and the first coauthored by his wife, Mardee Haidin Regan. However, the guides give two very slightly different recipes with, for me, drastically different results. In 'New Classic Cocktails' they explain that the Tart Gin Cooler was inspired by Britain's "bitter lemon" drink that is a mix of lemon juice and tonic water. While doing research for a Food & Wine magazine article, Mardee and Gary discovered that grapefruit juice was a natural fit with tonic water, and with the addition of Peychaud's bitters it was a cocktail worth noting. I'm always looking for an excuse to use bitters in a drink and grapefruit juice is something I've only used with limited success (the Blinker for example) and been wanting to incorporate more often. Let's see how the 'New Classic Cocktails' version holds up first:

Tart Gin Cooler ver. 1¹

• 2 oz London dry gin (be sure to use London dry)
• 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• 3 oz tonic water
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Build the drink in the order given in a collins glass filled 2/3rds with ice. Stir and serve immediately.

This version, for me, was overly bitter. The drink smells strongly of grapefruit, which is nice, and it is refreshing but the bitter finish of the drink was just so damned long I couldn't get past it. I sort of had to go back to the drink quickly to cleanse out the bitter aftertaste which made a tall long drink a fairly short and unenjoyable experience. However, based on giving the drink's other version another shot I think the qualities and character of the grapefruit you use will have everything to do with how this drink turns out. Feeling that something had gone amiss in this experience I bought another grapefruit, remembered the drink was also in 'The Joy of Mixology', and upon finding the recipe slightly different went ahead.

Tart Gin Cooler ver. 2

• 2 oz gin
• 2 oz fresh grapefruit juice
• 2 oz tonic water
• Peychaud's bitters to taste

Build in a collins glass filled with ice and serve. 

A revelation! This is a great drink. I put a good sight more Peychaud's bitters in the drink than in the first version (4-5 dashes) and I believe the reduction in tonic water serves the drink very well. The finish of the drink was much cleaner and crisper and the whole experience was improved from top to bottom of the glass. I still used London Dry gin even though it doesn't specify it to keep the comparison as even as possible. The additional bitters also provides an additional pink hue to the drink that makes it more attractive (Peychaud's is a deep rose color). It was also extremely refreshing and perfectly suited to a hot August dusk under the Magnolia.

Both of the drinks strongly feature bitter flavor profiles and if it's not your thing I don't recommend this. However, the second does a wonderful job of balancing bitter and tart with just a hint of sweet in the background from the grapefruit and a touch of herbals from the bitters. I think, at least with the cheap tonic water available here, the reduction in tonic water in the second is a great boon to the drink's character and you should be sure the grapefruit you use for this one has a little give on the outside indicating it's well into ripened (and sweeter) territory. And, I would definitely keep the bitters 'to taste' even if you use version 1. I mean, truly, aren't you looking for an excuse to really taste those obscure bitters in your drinks after all?

Tart Gin Cooler ver. 1 Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Tart Gin Cooler ver. 2 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

So, when the heat is on, hats off to you Glenn Frey, this is going into my Summer rotation for sure. Prosit!

Last night's dogbite: Tart Gin Cooler is a post from: cocktailnerd

1. one of these days I will get a functional camera to take worthy pictures of these things, I promise