Bitter Southerner no 4

Years ago I was honored by the Bitter Southerner, an on line Southern literary magazine, to create a cocktail that was variations on a theme, like a the Corpse Reviver series.  I created the Bitter Southerner no. 4 to be a bitter rum drink that had the look and feel of a Sazerac with strong Sicilian and Italian roots.

There were beautiful prints made of these cocktails based on the even more beautiful photographs by Pableaux Johnson.  And I used my Grandma Gullo's glassware that day so they are extra special representations of my craft.  Unfortunately, they sold out before I could get one.  Please, Bitter Southerner!  You didn't even pay me for my intellectual property!  Could you please send me a print of my work?  And one for Pableaux too?!?

Happy Canada Day!

Ok so this post is a bit belated..but I am old and this technology is new. Don't worry. I'll catch up. I learn fast. Just look at my mad leaps in my Mixology skills over the last year or so! Then again, I always had the talent..and you are just born with that, Darlings!

Speaking of Darling, I had the pleasure of spending happy hour on friday in the lovely abode of Mr and Mrs Cocktail Daddy. Inspired as we were to play with acid phosphate, my final cocktail came from the Great White North. It was Canada Day afterall, and I love using maple syrup in cocktails. So I made a Sazerac, eh? Straight up delicious. 'Bout time.

Sazerac, Eh?
2 oz Rye (Canadian,natch)
Barspoon pure maple syrup
4 dash Creole Bitters
3 dash ango bitters
Absinthe rinse
Lemon twist

Chill an old fashioned glass in the freezer.
Mix rye, bittters, and maple syrup in a glass with cracked ice. Rinse frozen old fashioned glass with absinthe while you name all ten provinces and three territories of Canada. Strain cocktail into glass. Express the oils of a lemon peel, dip the peel in the glass and then discard. Sazerac, eh?

Happy Fat Tuesday!

I have a Brit in the house currently, so I had to start Shrove Tuesday with some Pancakes. Strawberry pancakes with coconut. Yum. And then I cooked up a huge pot of Jambalaya.

This is almost how big my pot was...

Jambalaya is a big Cajun pot of rice vegetables, spices and meat. The veggies have to contain the Cajun holy trinity of celery, onions and bell peppers. I like the red style that has tomatoes in it. I added some plum tomatoes, hot sauce and Cajun barbecue from New Orleans to spice it up too. For the meat. I used sausage, chicken and shrimp. Brown the chicken and sausage in a pan with some herbs like thyme and rosemary. Remove the meat when browned and leave the drippings in the pan. Add the trinity of veggies to the pan of drippings and soften using more oil if necessary salting and spicing as you cook. Then add 1 part rice and 2 parts of stock and cook over a simmer stirring frequently. While that mixture is cooking, steam the shrimp with some wine and old bar seasoning. When the rice is cooked, add meat and shrimp to the mixture with hot sauce, tomatoes. Stir all together and you have an amazing pot of New Orleans goodness!

Make sure you make a Sazerac to eat with your bowl of Jambalaya! The Sazerac cocktail was named by John Schiller in 1859 upon the opening of his Sazerac Coffee House in New Orleans. Both most likely derive their name from a popular brand of Cognac, Sazerac-de-Forge et Fils. But these days it is more common to make it with rye. And you know that is how RyeGirl likes it. Having a Sazerac at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans is one of my favoriet things to do and its a tradition repeated every time I am in that wonderful city.

My sister cocktailier, Drinks With Mindy who I met in NOLA, has a perfect Barlesque name that notes her fine figure, SassyRack! This is her take on the classic:

SassyRack's Sazerac
2 oz Rye
7 dashes Peychaud bitters
1 barspoon Turbinado simple syrup Herbsainte rinse

Have a rocks glass chilled with ice. In another glass mix together rye, syrup and bitters. Dump ice and rinse with herbsainte. Discard the herbsainte and shout "Sassy Rack!" to the nearest lovely lady. Serve with a smile and a wink.

My Sazerac at the Roosevelt Hotel at last years Tales of the Cocktail