Best Bars in America

And don't you forget it!

http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/americas-best-bars

LeSigh.. I wish all my photos were GIFs of me at the Beagle...

Creole Commando

One of my favorite drinks I learned during my time at The Beagle in NYC was the Commando.  Its a variation of the Sidecar, another favorite classic of mine.  And here at SoBou, when people ask for an off menu drink, I often guide them to the Commando.  Its refreshing and citrusy but has a nice Bourbon kick.  And the Absinthe rinse is pure New Orleans.  

The Commando was such a hit with a customer last night, that he asked for further variations of THAT drink!  Well, easily done as Creole Shubb makes an interesting, more Nola alternative to Cointreau and this blog is called RyeGirl, after all.  So I present the Creole Commando!  Reminds me of all my New Orleans friends who spent the recent hurricane with pistols and automatic weapons strapped to their sides (yikes!).





Creole Commando
1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 oz Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb
1/2 oz Lemon juice

Rinse coupe with Absinthe. Shake, strain up, no garnish.

Commando 

1/2 oz lemon,
1 oz Cointreau,
1 1/2 Elijah Craig 12yr.

Rinse coupe with Absinthe. Shake, strain up, no garnish.

Sidecar

3/4 oz Lemon

3/4 oz Cointreau

1 1/2 oz Brandy or Cognac (Lairds apple brandy is good!)

rim glass with lemon juice and sugar rim, shake, strain up. 

Ch ch ch ch Cherry Bomb!

Beautiful Cherries came in to my bodega today. They are in season somewhere! I love the variety of fresh fruit and veg we get here in NYC. I feel I may have become spoiled.

This drink is a light aperitif drink for this sunny winter's day. I wanted to play more with a sweeter Bianco vermouth, a hard to find but worthwhile ingredient. Its used with great success in a few drinks at The Beagle.

Cherry Bomb
1/2 Maraschino liqueur
3/4 Lemon juice
3/4 Cizano Bianco
1 1/2 Bitter Truth Sloeberry Bluegin
Dash Bitter Truth Lemon bitters
Fresh Cherries

Muddle fresh pitted cherries (2-3) with bitters and maraschino.  Add rest of ingredients and ice. Shake and pour entire contents in old fashioned glass. Top with fresh cherry.

Fall Cocktails

A chill has fallen over New York City and I am looking for ways to warm up my insides.  Good thing I love good booze.


With Oktoberfest right around he corner, I am enjoying more beer cocktails.  My colleague at The Beagle, Tom, has created a refreshing cocktail called the Hop Over.  Its a refreshing mix of IPA, lemon, Genever and Velvet Falernum, or rather Velour Falernum since Dan has begun making his own.Falernum is a spiced liqueur from the cariibean flavers with clove and lime zest.


On the seasonal front, its apple time here in New York State and I made my own appletini with the last of the fresh raspberries, apple brandy, lemon, honey and ginger. Grate cinnamon over a red apple slice fan and you have a real fall beauty.


Apple Brandy is a wonderful introduction to Fall cocktails.  At Fort Defiance we have the Marconi Wireless, a Manhattan variation with Lairds mixed with two kinds of sweet vermouth.  How can you go wrong with a Manhattan variation?


And this is my favorite time of year here in NYC.  The weather is spectacular so why not celebrate the change of seasons with my favorite drink, a Manhattan?  As long as your vermouth is fresh and your cherries aren't radioactive, a well made Manhattan should be easy.  Try cutting the vermouth with a rich amaro like Averna or a bitter one like Campari for a different twist on a Manhattan.  Or how about half bourbon half rye?  Its is Bourbon Heritage Month after all...


Indian Summer
2 oz Apple Brandy
1/2 oz honey syrup
1/2 oz ginger syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
Fresh raspberries


Muddle raspberries with ginger and honey syrup. Shake with brandy and lemon juice and strain over fresh ice into an old fashioned glass.  Garnish with a fan of sliced apple and fresh grated cinnamon.

Barrel Aged Cocktails at The Beagle

Pal resting by some Tuthilltown Barrels

I had my doubts about barrel aging.  First of all, what is the point is there in putting barrel aged cocktails back in a barrel, hence the wealth of aged negroni's.  Second of all, make a mistake and its an expensive experiment gone awry, hence the wealth once again of aged negroni's.  


But I now have first hand knowledge on how delicious these cocktails can be.  Dan and Matt from The Beagle have introduced some cocktails that have been aged downstairs in our own little solara barrel system.  I am only at the bar on Sundays, and we sell thru them rather quickly but I have been lucky enough to taste all three.  We started with a Tuxedo no. 2, then a White dog Manhattan and now have a Rosalind Russell.  All three are quite different, but have a certain thread that holds them together; they are excellent!  The barrel blends the flavors together and gives it a spicy bite.  The corn-y-ness of the white dog gets a boost from the aging that is exactly what barrel aged cocktails are all about.  And it is a very different cocktail then the original, a truly unique cocktail in the right hands.  I am hoping to do my own, a Diamondback with Pisco and white dog rye.

Guardian of the Booze!

Think you want to try your own?  The Wall Street Journal has step by step instructions in this article here.


In the meantime, come down to The Beagle and see what we are pulling out of the barrels this week!


"Barrel-Aged Drinks: Mix, Store, Pour"
[WSJ]