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.

Pocono Love Potion

<p>&lt;p&gt;It can get a little lonely coming home at 4am to an empty house, empty bed and empty cuppard. I don't usually drink when I get home, but with a day off (finally) and a cold looming, I thought a knightcap was needed. A knight was too difficult to find at this hour.

I have not been to the store in days so a fresh citrus drink is out of the question. I doubt I have fresh vermouth, so no Martinis Manhattans, negronis, etc... An Old Fashioned is the perfect cocktail for the bare bones bar.  Bitters, sugar, spirit, water.  I have a beautiful new cognac from Pierre Ferrand based on an original 1840 bottle that is suitable for Jerry Thomas to mix up. I threw in some Creole and Jerry Thomas (speak of the devil) bitters and a touch a maple syrup. Add a kicky glass and suddenly I feel better. Raise your spirits when you raise your glass!

Cherokee Rose

Chef Julian says I am speaking his language with this one. I was fooling around with a Bartender's Choice for a dear regular, Matt and was inspired to make this twist on a La Rosita. Matt and Julian, and most people I know actually, are partial to a nice Rye. So I subbed out the tequila, added a touch of Benedictine and orange bitters in addition to the Jerry Thomas old fashioned bitters. The name came from last nights episode of The Walking Dead, a conversation started for myself and Matt tonight. Man, I love talking smart tv with smart tv people who like rye.

Cherokee Rose
1 1/2 Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 sweet vermouth
1/2 dry vermouth
1/4 Benedictine
1/4 Campari
Dash Bitter Truth Orange Bitters
Dash Jerry Thomas Bitters

Stir all ingredients over ice and serve in a rocks glass with fresh ice.

Garnish Lemon twist

Marconi Wireless

Carl Nesensohn/Associated Press

Norman Corwin died this week at the age of 101.  He was a pioneer during the golden age of radio and used this new medium to reach the heights of expression and wonder and make the audience a part of the storytelling.  He reported on the front-lines of wars telling the real human stories that made us close to the action, and thus personally invested in the fight for freedom, the real thing, not some souped up idea.  Later, the corporate "Man" took away his freedoms and radio fell down the path of "vulgarity, venality and even cowardice that, in later years, was to blight the medium.” 


To celebrate his fine mustache, please donate to the Clover Club Team for Mustaches for a Cure.


To celebrate Mr. Corwin, enjoy a Marconi Wireless, a classic autumn twist on the Manhattan made with apple brandy.


Marconi Wireless
1 1/2 oz Apple Brandy
3/4 oz Carpano
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
Dash of Creole Bitters

The Sloe Flight South or the Pan Am

Yesterday I competed in the Macchu Pisco competition with wonderful people and wonderful drinks.  I didn't come out on top, but I think all the drinks were really good so it must have been tough for the judges.  We were in the secret hideaway in the Hells Kitchen Pio Pio..what a neat space!  Thomas Waugh from Death & Co took the top prize (a trip to Peru) with a Peachy Pisco Sour, but I went a different route with a pisco swizzle with no egg whites at all.  Maybe that wasn't the way to go here.  I was also pretty sure I would not be in the running when one of the judges decided to take a bathroom break during my presentation.  Oh well...

I had been playing around with a cross between an Aviation and a Southside and then adding a Sloeberry Bluegin float.  With careful construction this drink is quite a beauty and refreshing too!  I have made it with gin, white rum and now pisco.  If you use the right spirits it come out red white and blue with flecks of green mint.  A drink Steagle Cobeagle the Eagle can love!  

Let The Eagle Soar!

The Sloe Flight South or the Pan Am

2 oz Pisco

1/2 oz The Bitter Truth Violet Liquor

3/4 oz lemon syrup

1 oz lime juice

mint

1/2 oz The Bitter Truth SloeBerry Blue Gin

Shake all but the Sloe gin in a shaker and strain into a highball glass filled with fine crushed ice.  Make a snow cone-like mound of ice on top and drizzle the Sloegin on top.  Add fresh mint sprig for garnish.

Pop Up Art

So if you have been watching Top Chef this season you know that Pop Up restaurants are all the rage. They are a temporary concept for a restaurant that is bare bones and a bit more fun since they are not tied to permanent idea. The boys form Fatty Crab and Fatty 'Cue decided to do just that with their former Cabrito space in the West Village and open Fatty Johnsons. They also have had the brilliant ideas to get the city's talented bartenders in on the fun. Guest bartending is a lot of hard work but it is also a neat opportunity to show off some of your own drinks and just play in someone else's sandbox.

Tonight Ivy Mix and I are popping up behind the stick at Fatty's. Here is a sneak preview of our menu. Hope to see you all in my old neighborhood!

La Dulce Vida
1.5 oz Chairman's Reserve Rum
3/4 oz Vida Mezcal
3/4 oz lime
3/4 oz Spiced Syrup (Abby's Mix)

Shake serve up in coup with grated cinnamon

Morton Street
1 oz Bourbon
1 oz Wild Turkey Rye
2 oz Fresh Grapefruit
3/4 oz rosemary infused Maple Syrup
Club Soda

Shake, serve on the rocks in a collins glass, top with soda and garnish with a sprig of fresh rosemary

7 Steps to Hell
1.5 oz Compass Box Oak Cross
1/2 oz Maraschino liqueur
1/2 oz Cynar
Barspoon of Peat Monster
dash each of Jerry Thomas Own Decanter and Creole Bitters

Stir serve up in a glass spritzed with Peat Monster and lemon twist

Jezebel

1.5 hendricks
1 banks rum
.5 cocchi americano
.5 dolin dry
dash of angostura orange bitters
stir, coupe/martini/up, lemon twist

Collo Rosso

1 appleton VX
3/4 old forester 101
3/4 carpano antica
1/2 campari
stir, dbl rocks, rocks, orange twist

La Sonámula

1.5 jalapeño infused jimador blanco tequila
1 lemon juice
3/4 chamomile syrup
2 dash peychaud
shake, coupe/martini/up, thyme sprig garnish (optional)

St Lucian Tonic

I came home in the most lovely little blizzard last night. The streets were coated in a white sheen of quiet clean. Pal and I raced thought the snow covered sidewalks and I couldn't wait to take him for a walk to the park in the morning. He has the cutest puffy orange vest for playing in the snow. He looks like those hot guys in High School I always had a crush on..in their puffy vests and cowboys hats. LeSigh.

Pal playing in his sexy vest with a friend

I only make the dog where the vest when we are going to be out in the snow playing all day. Otherwise he just gets so sad wearing those silly things.

Anyway.... Four hours later I got up to move the car and it was rain and ice and and winter hellscape!!! We went back inside and I slept half the day away feeling like I had a cold and never wanting to leave the house again. One pot of homemade soup (with dandelion...the biggest ones I have ever seen!!) and a low fat grilled cheese sandwich (not as bad as it sounds...when dipped in ketchup) and one truly awful IQ lowering movie (too embarrassed to say) followed by a hernia inducing viewing of the Ricky Gervais Show and I am ready to go out again!

Maybe a drink first.... Something warm right? Yes! But something to chase away this hint of a dull ache in my bones that could turn into a cold...so something with vitamin C!

Blood Oranges are in season and they a not only gorgeous, they have a lovely tart taste that is perfect in some cocktails. I have been using them a lot with gin, but today I am going for some rum. Spiced rum. Who know what tropical St Lucian herbs and spices might lead to some healing powers? And then who better that The Bitter Truth to make a spicy herbaceous tonic to heal my runny nose?

I better have a big mug.

St Lucian Tonic
2 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced
3/4 oz The Bitter Truth Pimento Dram
4 oz hot cider
2 oz fresh squeezed blood orange

Heat the cider and pour over the other ingredients and a clove studded slice of blood orange.

I just got back from a walk in that mess and I was humming along happily due to this tonic...see? It works!