Hail Columbia!

This is part of Ben Paris Cocktails Vol I.  These were some of the drinks on our opening menu almost a year ago.  I just had my workaversary with Columbia Hospitality and though this first drink I created for Ben Paris would be a good place to start.

In 1798, Joseph Hopkinson rearranged and wrote new lyrics to "The Presidents March", itself written and performed at George Washington's inauguration, for the song Hail Columbia!  Hail Columbia was one of the unofficial national anthems of America until "The Star-Spangled Banner" was named so in 1931. Hail Columbia is still played upon the entrance of the Vice President of these United States.  

This one is for Uncle Joe.  

Buzzing with local Rosemary infused vodka, this sour unifies locally made Italian Amaro and limoncello and tangles it all up with Oregon Iris liqueur till you are floating on a cloud tufted with Seattle's own Sun Liquor Rhubarb bitters.  All Hail Columbia!

Vodka, Rosemary, Citrus, Iris, Limoncello, egg white 

2 oz Oola Rosemary Vodka

.75 oz Iris liqueur

.5 oz Letterpress Limoncello

.5 oz Amaro Amarino

.75 oz lemon juice

1 egg white

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with Rhubarb bitters

Andromeda

Bunny in all her glory

Far and away our most popular cocktail at Compere Lapin is the Andromeda.  When Ricky set our bar in motion he was determined to have an egg white cocktail be our vodka cocktail.  I will admit.  I was skeptical at first.  After three years in the French Quarter, I lost some of the fight in me to challenge guests to go outside their comfort zone.  But a Vodka cocktail is inherently approachable and that is in my wheelhouse.  So we set to work on a vodka egg white cocktail.  The first one, delicious Fontanarosa, had beet juice too!  Talk about throwing uneasy vodka drinkers under the bus! 

The next one used the new bartender ketchup, Gifford's Pamplemousse Rose (Grapefruit), El Guapo Rose Cordial, honey syrup and a near split base of Pisco and St George Green Chili Vodka.  I love that sometimes when you create a complex drink, it has very simple origins.  This, to me, is essentially a pisco sour variation.  But it is so much more.  The 50/50 sugar/salt rim mixed with the green chili makes it reminiscent of a margarita.  The rose and grapefruit are unique and all the flavors come together to be a sum even greater than its parts.

And when Ricky carved out that rabbit stencil, all bets are off.  This cocktail is a showstopper.

Now we have to have back up quarts of egg whites to get through a night of service.  Andromedas go flying out all night long.  My pisco guy loves me.

Oh and the name?  Andromeda is the galaxy closest to our own and is known for bumping into other galaxies so look out!  It is also the only name I wanted to change mine to when I was a child.  I was really obsessed with Clash of the Titans at the time.  Harry Hamlin.  Still would.

Andromeda

1 oz Pisco
3/4 oz St George Green Chili Vodka
1/2 oz Gifford Pamplemousse Rose
1/2 oz El Guapo Rose Cordial
1/4 oz Honey syrup (2:1)
3/4 oz lime
1/2 oz egg white

Stake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a 50/50 sugar salt half rim
top with Peychauds bitters.

The #1 most searched cocktail...

Apparently its the White Russian.  The Dude would approve.  This gave me the perfect opportunity to discuss my homage to my favorite drink when I was 21 years old, the White Russian.  Read here for more about my take on this classic, the Dude Abides.

Baby Dude!!

The Dude Abides

1 1/2 oz Cathead Pecan Vodka
3/4 oz Averna cream
1/2 oz Luxardo espresso liqueur
Splash of cream

1. Shake hard and strain into a large old fashioned glass with a few fresh cubes of ice. Top with freshly grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

Very Edible (and workable) Manhattan

The King Bee (Photos: Gabi Porter, Metromix)

In this week of Snowpocalypse 2.2, I was lucky enough to have two gigs in Manhattan. Its nice to have a reasonable commute by the glorious MTA and to leave my car buried under feet of snow with parking rules suspended. Double yhay.

My wonderful boss was kind enough to ask me to help him at the Edible Manhattan Good Spirits event at Le Poisson Rouge this past Tuesday. I love working these events because I get to see so many friends all in one place and I get to try so many delicious pairings of food and cocktails. Well I try...its hard when you are pumping out over 500 cocktails in less than 3 hours.

Our Famous Deviled Eggs

But oh, what a cocktail it was! St John came up with the delightful King Bee, a tasty mix of Comb Vodka infused with Darjeeling tea, lemon, benedictine and topped with sparkling wine. Comb Vodka is made locally up in Port Chester, NY from pure honeycomb. The "vodka" title is a bit of a misnomer being that it is only distilled twice and the honey flavor really comes through nicely.

Check out some great pictures of the event by my neighbor Gabi Porter from Metromix here!

Me and the Bossman

You can see we look exhausted after this event...so we stumbled over to Peels (which is like Fort Defiance on Manhattan steroids) for a staff meeting. It was so crowded when we came in and I noticed a large table in the back being occupied by only two gentlemen. I mockingly chastised them for hogging the whole table and they smiled but suddenly I noticed why they had the table to themselves...it was Marc Jacobs and his boyfriend. Yikes! Maybe I am not ready for Manhattan. I am not so good with the VIPs.

Radioactive Cocktail

Today my Mom goes into isolation for her own radioactive cocktail to beat out the last of a cancerous thyroid. Our dear friend Maria Knight suggested a Radioactive cocktail with a glow stick so we could all sip in solidarity. This seems like the perfect cocktail for those iridescent "club spirits" you find on the shelf. I myself am particular to Hynotiq. It glows blue and my Cocktail Daddy and I first discovered it years ago at a bar in Greenwich, Connecticut. Cocktail Daddy did a fine re-creation of the drink and called it the Blue Gator in my honor. So here is the Radioactive Blue Gator.

I am back to Florida this week to check up on Radioactive Mom. I can't wait til she bites me and I have Super Mom Powers. I am already talking to Julie Taymor and Bono about a Broadway Musical. Its gonna be huge!

The Radioactive Blue Gator

1 oz Vodka
1 oz Hypnotiq
1 oz white cranberry juice

Garnish with a blue glow stick

The Crash of 1929

I am working a wedding tomorrow and have created the cocktail list for the happy couple. The theme of their gathering is 1929. Not as terrible as you might think. One half of the couple is European, so Prohibition was not really a factor. And while we may be suffering through a terrible economic crisis, why not remember the free wheeling days right before the crash?

The list features some twists on the classics and a new cocktail created just for the happy pairing!

The Floradora was named after the first Broadway musical hit in the 1900's, which originated in London (where the engagement took place). I first enjoyed this drink at the gifted hands of my friend Meliz, who was working at Brooklyn's Sample on Smith st at the time.

Floradora
1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz framboise liqueur
ginger ale
lime wedge for garnish

The Twentieth Century cocktail seemed like an obvious choice since I have access to loads of chocolate mint. It will make a pretty cocktail with bits of mint floating on the glass like all the money pissed away in the last decade of war and financial decadence.

The Twentieth Century
1 1/2 oz Saaga Vodka
1/2 oz white creme de cacao
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/4 oz fresh lemon juice


The Pegu Club Cocktail is a classic cocktail from the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. This is a rare shaken gin drink, so in honor of the frostbite my hands will be getting tomorrow, I have substituted Cointreau with Blue curacao and orange flower syrup for a more festive look.

The Blue Pegu
2 oz gin
3/4 oz Blue Curacao
1/2 oz lime juice
2 dashes Grapefruit bitters
lime wedge or peel for garnish
Orange flower Simple syrup to taste

This drink was created for the couple. It is simple and elegant and very delicious.

Baritarian Rose Cocktail

2oz Saaga Vodka
1/2oz Crème de Violette
Drops of rose water
Lavender syrup
Top with soda water or sparkling wine

There will also be a French 75 punch. And myself in a flapper dress. And Walker in white hot pants and moustache, I hope!

Ahh..good times!

The Come From Behind

Today my beloved softball team, The Magnetic Fielders, had an amazing come from behind victory. After giving up 9 runs in the first inning, we came back a won 13-12 in extra innings. I was so jazzed up and totally ready to celebrate despite coming off of 4 days in New Orleans and beer pong and a Mets game yesterday. But the game took a lot out of me and I was thirsty! And I guess I was still feeling creative from the Tales adventure in NOLA and I had the lovely Noelle make up a new beer cocktail.

Its a variation on the Sweet Leaf at the Bell House, a sweet concoction of muddled lemon, sweet tea vodka and club soda. I decided to skip the soda and top it with a Presidente instead. Noelle added some lime too and with the beer back on the side I felt this was a drink ready to quench my victorious thirst. I love drinks that give you a bit extra on the side, like the Makers 8 at Floyd. I also like that the drink can change over time and you have some control over how the drink mixes. It might also be nice with a salted rim, if you want to cut the sweetness.

Sparky called it the El President Te. But in honor of our victory today, Colonel Boyd suggested The Come From Behind. As he says,"It can work on many levels..."

Either way, this drink can come up and surprise you!

The Come From Behind
3oz Sweet Tea Vodka
Lemon
Lime
Beer

Muddle lemon and lime in a pint glass, add ice and vodka and shake well. Top with more ice and a lightish beer like Presidente.

Orange you glad...

This past weekend I worked the NY Bar show pouring Orange V vodka. To me a flavored vodka is just a chance to bring a nice infusion to the masses. And I am all for whatever gets the masses to drink better.

It seems like everyone in the 'oughts came out with flavored vodkas that make for great mixin' in some unusual cocktails. I love my grapefruit Bloody Mary's. But straight, the taste could be chemically bad and not at all like the flavor it was supposed to be.

But Orange V is different. The Idaho distilled, Florida orange filled vodka is an American Spirit we can be proud of. The triple blend of Valencia, Mandarin and Tangerine oranges gave the spirit a juicy mouthfeel and a sweet taste. They use the skins and all so you have that nice orange oil, blossom water sort of taste too.

It mixed great and so easy... just with some lime and white cranberry, the flavor comes through crisp and refreshing. I would use this powerful Orange V in place of triple sec or cointreau in my margaritas. And at 76 proof, that is some pop in that margarita! Yum!

Another Way to Die

"A dry martini," he said. "One. In a deep champagne goblet."

"Oui, monsieur."

"Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?"

"Certainly, monsieur." The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

"Gosh, that's certainly a drink," said Leiter.

Bond laughed. "When I'm . . . er . . . concentrating," he explained, "I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I can think of a good name."

-Ian Fleming, Casino Royale

That, my dears, is a Vesper. And this, my darlings is the new James Bond song from Jack White and Alicia Keys. It inspired me to make another version of the Vesper, one that should be sipped while taking in sounds of this awesome new song. I use Millers Gin instead because the idea of Iceland and the UK working together to create a clean fresh Gin is ripe for an international incident. I tend to prefer Ketel One Vodka, but the Russians always made the best baddies on film (Recent Indy movie is a horrific exception) so I am gonna have to go with Stolichnaya here.

There is a reason why the Raconteurs are one of my favorite bands. Mr. White has the dirty sound I love to have in my ears. Daniel Craig is sure easy on the eyes. Lets hope you enjoy this Vesper in your mouth.

Another Way To Vesper

3 Parts Millers

1 Part Stolichnaya

½ Part Lillet Blanc (Kina is no more)

Dash of Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters (Sometimes the Truth IS Bitter)

Go on and shake it to the music while you do a sexy silhouetted dance.

Blending into Summer

The Times today did a piece on summer blender drinks and quoted my own dear Duggan McDonnell of San Francisco. Duggan was the gracious and entertaining host of the Square Off Cocktail showdown I participated in last year. After party drinks, I was told, were at, “Duggan’s Place”, which I took to be the name of the bar and ended up hopelessly lost, despondent and cocktail-free in San Francisco…Oh well. Next time I am in SF I will have to check out the very cool Cantina (Duggan’s actual bar!)

The technique for a proper blender drink is well documented in the article, but I also feel the blender and the blades make a big difference. They just don’t make them that great anymore, at least not in my price point. But my little Kitchen Aid at home is well suited for flash blending, my preferred technique for the Watermelon Cooler.

I have recently noticed a snubbing of Vodka at the local haughty cocktail joints such as Death & Co. But this drink reminds me of the vodka lemonades that kept me in good spirits during a summer gig in sunny Santa Monica the summer I turned 22. Refreshing, reviving and easy to pick up at the local supermarket.

This drink is a bit more filling and deceiving than the Vodka Lemonade, but that is just the nature of blender drinks. Flash blending not only keeps the drink nice and chunky, it prevents the mint from being pulverized, turning the drink into a gray slush. So be careful with that pulse button. Strain into cocktail glass for an elegant touch, or serve unstrained with one of those straws with a spoon at the end for that kiddie flair. Guess which way I prefer?

Watermelon Cooler
Vodka
Chunk Watermelon
Ice
Limoncello
Lemon juice
A few leaves of mint

Garnish with lemon wheel.

[NY Times]

Ludachristmas Cocktails

Sorry so late getting this post up. This year the holidaze were kinda shite. There was no full out party this year at mi casa, but I was commissioned to do the cocktails at my office xmas party. There is a wide variety of people I work with so I tried to please everyone. The Christmas Sparkler and Under the Mistletoe was a great success, especially in Kent's trademarked Green and Red pitchers. Thanks Kenton!

I also had a private tasting with my foodie boss where I introduced him to my classic Ginger Old Fashioned and my new twist on the EO Ginger Smash.

Christmas Sparkler
Cranberry juice
Pomegranate juice
Lime juice
Vodka
Sparkling cider or wine
Pomegranate seeds

Under The Mistletoe
Midori Liquor
White Rum
Pineapple juice
Soda Water

Ginger Smash
Fresh cranberries
Apple Cider
Calvados
Fresh Ginger Good Gin (Beefeater Wet, Millers)

Ginger Old Fashioned
Ginger infused Bourbon
Orange bitters
Old fashioned bitters
Oranges
Cherries
Soda Water

Flanagan’s Wake Libations

I am in a play running off Broadway called Flanagan's Wake. Its a fun interacting comedy playing in a bar in downtown Manhattan. Alas, my character does not drink.

The producer was kind enough to allow the cocktailier side of me to create some special cocktails for the event. so if you are in NYC, please come to the Soho Playhouse and cry tears of laughter into these fabulous libations!

Flanagan’s Wake Libations

The Long Black Veil
Guinness
Sparkling wine
Sugar cube
Bitters

The Corpse Reviver no 33
Irish whisky
Irish mist
Grand Marnier
Orange bitters
Flamed orange peel garnish

Fiona’s Tears
Vodka
Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice
Maraschino liquor
Cherry

Chow Square Off Challenge Cocktails

There has been some requests for the drinks I made at the Cocktail Throwdown in San Francisco. There is also some links to the press and photos of the event at the end of the post.

The Duet of Pears-tini

Ripe juicy pears (juiced or muddled)
Prickly pears (Peeled and puréed)
1 Bar spoon of honey (I used local Eucalyptus Almond Honey)
Vanilla Bean
1/2 teaspoon Lavender (ground in a mortar and pestle)
2 oz Square One Organic Vodka
1 oz Lillet
Hard Caramel Rim *

Muddle together diced pears, prickly purée, ¼ of a split vanilla bean, honey and lavender blossoms. Add ice, Lillet and Square One Organic Vodka and shake well.

*To make the rim, heat some natural cane sugar in a small saucepan (DO NOT USE NON STICK PANS) over a low heat. When caramelized, let cool slightly and dip non-chilled glass in the pan to coat the rim. Chilling the glass before hand may cause the glass to break.

The Concord Fizz

Bunch of Concord Grapes
1/2 oz Maraschino Liquor (made from cherry pits)
Lemon Basil (our secret ingredient)
Dash of lemon bitters
2 oz Square One Organic Vodka
1 ½ oz Organic sparking wine (or club soda)

Muddle the grapes, Maraschino and bitters. Add ice, vodka and shake vigorously. Pour into cocktail glass and top with wine or soda. Add a sprig of lemon basil and a speared grapeThis one reminded me of summers at my grandma and grandpa’s farm. I love the grapey taste on Concords and the basil added and very pleasant herby flavor. The color is gorgeous! If you don’t have lemon basil; Thai basil, lemon thyme or lemon Verbena are also great in this drink.

http://www.chow.com/contests/squareoff
http://laurafrofro.typepad.com/the_fro_fro_blogfinally/2007/09/fro-fros-week-i.html
http://yumsugar.com/661604
http://flickr.com/photos/dinah/1440657108/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bradlauster/1448002025/

Farmer’s Market Cocktails

Believe it or not, completely independent of this week’s episode of Top Chef, I also went shopping at the Union Square Greenmarket. Adam and I didn’t even fire up the DVR to watch Top Chef until we had already consumed many of the cocktails listed below. My goal was not a chicken dinner, but fresh cocktails, natch! Using ingredients local, seasonal and unusual, I did a trial run of what my day in San Francisco will be like next week. Below are the literal fruits of my labor.

Apple Pie-tini

Sweet juicy tart Wine Sap apples
Vodka
Calvados (a bit of a cheat since I will probably have none in SF)
Dash of lemon juice
¼ of a vanilla bean
cinnamon
agave syrup
Caramel sugar rim. *that was Adam’s favorite part

Muddle the heck out of the chopped apple with the vanilla bean, lemon, cinnamon and agave. Add cracked ice, vodka and calavados. Pour into cocktail glass, with caramel rim*. You might not need the lemon, I just always liked my mom’s lemony apple pie and this tasted just like it, minus her fabulous crust..hmm…maybe THAT should be the rim?

*to make the rim, heat some natural cane sugar in a small saucepan over a low heat. When caramelized, let cool slightly and dip non-chilled glass in the pan to coat the rim. Chilling the glass before hand may cause the glass to break.

The Concord Fizz

Bunch of Concord Grapes
Cane Sugar
Lemon Verbena
Dash of lemon bitters
Vodka
Club Soda or sparking wine (pref from NY State)

Muddle the grapes, sugar and bitters. Add ice, vodka and shake vigorously. Pour into cocktail glass and top with wine or soda. Add a sprig of lemon verbena speared with a grape

This one reminded me of summers at my grandma and grandpa’s farm. I love the grapey taste on Concords and the verbena added and very pleasant herby flavor. The color is gorgeous! This was Adam’s favorite of the night.

The Black and Blue

Blackberries
Blueberries
Lemon Basil
Thai Basil
Vodka
Maraschino Liquor
Honey to taste


Muddle together the two berries and the two basils (I went a little muddle mad last night) with the Maraschino. Add ice and vodka, shake and strain though a fine mesh strainer into a cocktail glass (you want avoid those blackberry seeds, as we learned on Top Chef this season). Add honey to taste if its too tart, but I like my drinks tart. Garnish with a sprig from one of the basils, I used the Thai because it is purple like the drink. Again, gorgeous color with this drink!

The Green Monster

Ogen melon - the “internets” say this melon is from Israel, perfect for Yon Kippur I guess!
Lemon Thyme – pick the leaves off
Lemon Basil - pick the leaves off
Vodka
St Germain Elderflower liquor

Blend all ingredients in a blender and you get a frothy, tasty treat. The fresh smoothie quality makes it seems like its good for you! The color is bright green, however.

The Sweet Tart!

So every once in a while, mistakes are made. I will get suckered in by some cool packaging, a nifty ad campaign or a good sale and end up buying a mistake. Vermouth, mixers, liquors clutter up my 2nd cocktail cart and gather dust in their dark cave of uselessness.

But rather than admit defeat, I look for ways to use, abuse or re-create the mistake into a tasty cocktail concoction.

Last night, as I was making Adam his nightly cocktail, inspiration struck. I had this bottle of vodka mixed with calvados. Sounds like it would be good? Not really. But I pour a hefty amount in the shaker anyway. What could I mix it with to make it more palatable? Apple cider first came to mind. The weather has had an unseasonable chilly and fall drinks have been on my mind. But that would require a 1am trip to he deli, and I wasn’t in the mood. Besides, that would be too easy. I like the challenge of making something out of whatever we have on hand. Looking down at our bar cart, I see the small bottle of family made bootleg Calvados from France that Adam received from his last employer.

Just a dash of that goes in the shaker. Its like moonshine and too good to waste if the drink is a dud. The fumes rising from the shaker tell me its is strong enough, now to round out the flavors. Some Grand Marnier goes in, as does the juice of one lemon. Wow! That is tart! Ok…some sweetness is in order. I was about to reach for the agave, when I saw another mistake in the fridge.

V8 Tropical Twister should have been easy to pass on, the color alone looks like nothing in nature. But it was purchased during the humid spell we had last week and I was craving juice to quench my endless thirst. It was too sweet to drink straight, but it just might do the trick for this drink. In the shaker it goes...

The result? A perfect Sweet Tart! Poured into my vintage champagne coups it looked like a beautiful late summer rose. The flavor was bright and strong. Even Adam declared it a success!

Mistakes can be magic!