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vrijdag 31 januari 2020

Tournée Minérale : Sober Sour

 
Sober October, Dry January, Tournée Minérale, … I’m not a big fan of these temporary prohibition periods, which also involve some peer pressure. I think it’s always better (and healthier!) to use some common sense and enjoy quality drinks responsibly all year long. Does that mean I never drink non-alcoholic drinks as an aperitif ? Of course not. My daughter has a lot of “after school activities” and just like any other parent I often have to be her personal taxi-driver. On those days I mostly enjoy non-alcohol or low-alcohol drinks.

Until a few years ago this meant having to settle for a softdrink or juice. This had changed. For those of you who are looking for a real alternative to popular spirits, in the last two years a whole new range of NA spirits appeared on the Belgian market.
For me a mocktail is never a mix of juices. For me a mocktail is exactly what it says, a drink that looks and tastes like a real cocktail. If I don’t tell you it’s a mocktail, you would probably think there is alcohol in it.


In earlier articles we already created drinks with NA spirits from Seedlip, Nona, Nudo, The Bitter Note, … brands you really should give a try. I often hear remarks about ‘high priced flavoured water’, but if you take into account that these products contain several separate distillates and oils which are pretty expensive to produce, you might reconsider that thought. In my opinion gin is also often overpriced, because it doesn’t need to be aged like whisky. But the production process of gin and these NA spirits seem to be equally expensive. Just to be complete, just like not all gins are high quality, also not all NA spirits are high quality. I have tasted NA spirits which are basically water with a slight hint of lemon.

 
Today I combined two premium NA brands to create a sour-style cocktail.


Sober Sour

Ingredients
5 cl Nona June (NA Spirit with a taste similar to gin)
2 cl The Bitter Note (NA amaro)
3 cl fresh squeezed lemonjuice
2 cl vanilla syrup


Method
Add everything to a shaker with ice. Shake for 15 seconds. Fine-strain into a coupe. Some dried melon completes the picture.


Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

woensdag 29 januari 2020

Amaretto Adriatico

 
We all know amaretto, the sweet Italian liqueur. But have you ever tasted white amaretto ? When I saw this product being used in an Instagram post, I replied that I had never seen this before. Shortly after I had a conversation with Amaretto Adriatico and learned this was indeed a brand new and unique product. Two bottles were delivered to our office for test. 
It took a few experiments to learn how to balance the flavour and strength, but it worked out pretty good. These amaretti are low in alcohol, but packed with flavour of the handpicked almonds from Puglia. I’ll share some cocktails with both bottles :

  • Amaretto Adriatico Bianco – Crushed almonds (16% alcohol)
  • Amaretto Adriatico Natural – Roasted almonds (28% alcohol)
Amaretto is a very versatile product to use in drinks. You can serve it neat, on the rocks or even add some ginger ale or ginger beer for a refreshing highball.
Why not try a sour with some lemon juice and egg white ? Or why not add some bourbon or whisky to that sour ? Why not add some amaretto to your coffee ? It all works.
 
But what I really wanted to do was make a few variations on the Godfather cocktail. Traditionally this is a very easy to prepare 50/50 drink with whisky and amaretto.
 
I’ll make you a cocktail you can’t refuse
 
Ingredients
2 cl Santa Teresa rum
2 cl RCS High proof rum
4 cl Amaretto Adriatico Roasted almonds
 
Method
For this drink we wanted a rum which is low on the typical chocolate flavours, but with slightly more vegetal flavours. Santa Teresa is just perfect for this. We also added high proof rum to boost the base of the cocktail.
 
Stir together for 15 seconds in a large glass with ice. Strain in an Old Fashioned glass with a large block of ice. Add a dried lemonwheel.
 
 

La Madrina

Ingredients
5 cl Filliers Genever (unaged) – You can also use a good quality vodka instead
4 cl Amaretto Adriatico Bianco


Method
Amaretto Adriatico Bianco is a very low ABV liqueur. You can easily sip it with ice in a tumbler.


We added some genever to boost it up a little. It remains an easy-sipping and very refreshing cocktail.

Stir together for no longer than 10 seconds in a large glass with ice (or stir in the glass – your choice). Serve in a tumbler with a large block of clear ice. No garnish needed.


Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

vrijdag 24 januari 2020

4 Years of Double Strainger - The People

Today marks the 4th birthday of Double Strainger, the blog, Facebook- and Instagram on cocktails and spirits. What an incredible journey it has been. So much more than I would have ever imagined.

Some drinksblogs are run by bartenders or ex-bartenders, but I haven’t been behind a bar other than 5 months in the early 90s. Some bloggers have the advantage of their young age and interact with the youth of this world. I’m 51 and only mix drinks for me, my wife and the occasional visitor in our home.

So I never could have imagined that more than 32000 people would follow my journey. I could never have imagined that distillers from all around the world would get in touch to have me test their products.

This year I decided to switch to English as the main language on all channels, to broaden the horizon. So far this seems to be the right decision. This year I hope to bring you more and maybe even better articles on drinks, spirits and visits to special drinksevents.
It has always been my mission to grow the interest for cocktails by the general public. Make them at home or enjoy them in quality bars. Double Strainger targets those families who already enjoy a nice Gin & Tonic before dinner, and want to push them to the next step… a delicious cocktail.


In these four years I have learned a lot. As a drinksblogger you constantly build your knowledge and train your palate. This adventure would be impossible without the continuous support from distillers, producers, distributors, P.R. agencies and bar owners. Thank you very much to make this possible !


PEOPLE


The biggest advantage of this amazing adventure ? The many friendships I grew and the fantastic people I met in the global hospitality industry.

I had the incredible advantage to meet industry-icons like Antonio Flores and Richard Paterson, two of the very best blenders/distillers in the world.

I have also met founders of premium spirit brands like Fred Laing or Tom Bulleit.

I have spent time with top bartenders such as Salvatore Calabrese, Peter Dorelli, Luca Picchi, Marian Beke, Remy Savage and many more.

I have grown friendships with Belgian bartenders and bar owners like Jan, Hannah, Ran, Max, Jurgen, Stef, Didier, Kasper, Manuel and many more. I even got to meet chefs like Pepe, Nick, Syrco, Dominique, Bart, … people who have an incredible passion for taste and flavour.

Thank you for allowing me to stroll inside your industry. I hope to discover many more tastes and flavours and share them in my articles.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

maandag 20 januari 2020

Blue Monday 2020

 
Today is not only my wife’s birthday, it’s also ‘Blue Monday’, the most depressing day of the year. Just to be clear, both occasions are not linked 😉

If you need a boost later today, you might try this slightly updated version of the Blue Monday cocktail.

Blue Monday

Ingredients
4,5 cl Belroy’s Vodka
1,5 cl Dry Curaçao
1 barspoon Blue Curaçao

Method
Stir together in a large glass with lots of ice. This is a pretty strong cocktail, so it won’t hurt to get a bit of dilution. Strain in a Martini glass and add a twist of orange.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

zaterdag 18 januari 2020

High proof Rum : Ron Colón Salvadoreño

 
The most fun part of being a drinksblogger ? These things happen once in a while : I received a big box, unannounced, no sender on the box, two bottles and some fancy bartools inside. Intrigued.

Two bottles of rum from El Salvador : Ron Colón Salvadoreño
. Much higher proof than average (111 Proof – 55,5°). On the website it says that this brand is born from the idea that all you really need in life is some simple things: true friends, good coffee and a perfect high proof rum.

RCS seems to be a collaboration between several people from the bar industry :
Thurman Wise @ThurmanWise / Pepijn Janssens AKA @HighProofHeadShot / Felicity Gransden AKA @Fliss_On_Tour / Chris Rehberger and his Berlin based team at @DoubleStandardsAgency / Andres Trigueros and his family at @JagsHeadsCoffee / Tobias Jegenstam from @BartendersBible and 46social


High proof rum was originally invented to make it easier to transport the barrels or rum on a boat. By diluting the rum on arrival they could transport much more rum in each shipment. But of course bartenders started playing with it and noticed that the higher proof is an extra tool to balance your cocktail. This much stronger base softens the punch from citrus and sugar. It also holds its base much better against really strong flavours such as coffee.

 
Which brings us back to these two bottles, because one of the bottles is a coffee infused rum. Now I’m even more intrigued. This one will definitely be tested first. This rum certainly packs a punch. The higher proof does it’s thing. The coffee-aroma is also intense, but only shows up in the aftertaste. Beautiful spirit. Each sip takes you on a journey through rum and chocolate… and ends which coffee.

 
I would never think of using coffee or a coffee liqueur in a Daiquiri.
But how about this coffee infused rum ? It works and it inspires for more experiments !


RCS Coffee Daiquiri

Ingredients
5 cl RCS coffee infused rum
3 cl Fresh limejuice
1,5 cl Sugarsyrup


Method
Shake with ice, strain in a tumbler with a big block of clear ice. Add a dried orangewheel.



So, what would happen if we lift up the coffee taste with some coffee liqueur ? Wow, that was a pretty good outcome, but of course you do need to love coffee for this one !


The recipe might seem a bit sweet, but the high proof rum takes care of that. Very nice drink, I’ll make this one again for sure.


R&C Negroni

Ingredients
2,5 cl RCS Coffee infused rum
2,5 cl Conker Cold Brew liqueur
2,5 cl Amaro Montenegro
2,5 cl Sweet vermouth


Method
Stir together in a mixing glass with ice. Strain in a tumbler with a big block of ice. Add a dried orangewheel.



The second bottle was the high proof rum. I think we can soften the punch by creating a variation on Velvet old Fashioned with it, and make it a bit more interesting by adding some amaro.

Tipsy Velvet

Ingredients
5 cl RSC High proof rum
2 cl Amaro di Angostura
1,5 cl Gonzalez Byass Nectar (PX Sherry)
2 dashes Angostura Orange bitters


Method
Stir together in a mixing glass with ice. Strain in a tumbler with a big block of ice. Add a cocktail cherry.


Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

vrijdag 10 januari 2020

Caipirinha de Jerez

 
I received a bottle of Pitú cachaça, which is what you could call an “industrial” cachaça, produced in large quantities, to be sold in supermarkets worldwide. You can’t really compare it with the premium cachaça brands we tested earlier on this blog, just like you can’t compare Johnnie Walker Red Label with a Dalmore King Alexander III.

So I started thinking about a cocktail in which I could use this cachaça with the best possible result. After all, the mission of this blog is to enable you to make each cocktail at home with easy to find ingredients.

Two years ago I was in Jerez de la Frontera (Spain) for Sherry Master 2018. On my first evening in the hotel, I went to the pool bar and ordered a Caipirinha. To my surprise it wasn’t the classic recipe with cachaça, sugar and lime. Instead they used a mix of cachaça and rum, which was absolutely delicious.

This version of the Caipirinha can be placed in between the classic Caipirinha and the Daiquiri, a combination of the more vegetal cachaça flavours with the chocolate sweetness of the rum.

This inspired me for this quick and easy version.

Caipirinha de Jerez


Ingredients
3 cl Pitú Cachaça
3 cl Infamous Rum
3 cl lime juice
1,5 cl sugar syrup


Method
Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously during 15 seconds. Strain in a tumbler or the typical Mojito-glass. Add two quarters of a lime and ice. I’m not a big fan of crushed ice, so I selected a nice bar of clear ice.


As said, this was the quick and easy version, which also looks good on photo. The classic way is to cut a lime in 8 parts, add to the glass, add cane sugar, muddle, add crushed ice, add rum and Cachaça. More or less the way you would make a Mojito, but it does look a bit messy on photo 😉. 


Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

woensdag 8 januari 2020

Bulleit BLT

 
Some combinations are very simple but nevertheless tasty. In the old days people often drank ‘Scotch and soda’, buy today people are used to a bit more flavour, so there might be a new trend starting.

The BLT sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato is already world famous, the BLT drink could do the same. It’s a very refreshing longdrink all year long, but can also be served as a stylish adult drink.

BLT stands for Bourbon, lemon and tonic.

Bulleit BLT

Ingredients
4,5 cl Bulleit Bourbon
Wedge of fresh lemon
12 cl Tonic for a longdrink, much less if you choose a tumbler.

Method
Fill an Old Fashioned or Collins glass with ice. I prefer a tumbler with a big block of clear ice, but feel free to use a highball with ice cubes if you want.
Add the bourbon, top up with tonic. Give it just ONE gentle stir. Garnish with a fresh wedge of lemon. Don’t use a dried slice, you need the fresh lemon to add to this cocktail.

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.

vrijdag 3 januari 2020

Mise-en-place : Making clear ice at home


As you may have noticed in my photos, during the last year I have started to make my own clear ice. There are a couple of very good reasons why you should try it :
  • Clear ice is much sexier on photo and it will absolutely impress your guests.
  • Clear ice doesn’t change the color of your cocktail. Even more, it will be almost invisible in your cocktail. 
  • Clear ice melts much slower, because there are no air bubbles inside. 
  • Clear ice won’t attract strange smells from other stuff in your freezer.
  • Clear ice won’t make your soda foam like crazy.
First, why isn’t all ice clear?
When water freezes from all directions towards the middle of the ice cube, all tiny air-bubbles and impurities are pushed to the middle where it gets locked in as a pretty much white substance. We are used to it and it won’t bother most people. It doesn’t even matter when you are using small cubes or pebbles. But when you serve a beautiful classic cocktail like an Old Fashioned or a Negroni, you really want a large cube of ice. Using a cube of clear ice will absolutely lift your cocktail to the next level.
 
You can buy clear ice in specialized wholesale stores, but is it hard to make your own clear ice at home ? Actually it isn’t, but it does take a little bit of practice.
 
Making your own clear ice by directional freezing
 
What do you need to make clear ice at home ?
  • A small insulated coolbox. Probably the smallest size you can find in your local camping store. Often blue with a white top. It has to be small enough to fit in your freezer. Most people have a very small maximum height in their freezer, so measure up before you go to the store. I bought my coolbox at AS Adventure. Probably the first time ever I went to a camping store voluntarily 😉
  • A breadknife
  • A rubber hammer. You can find them in the same camping store or in any DIY shop.
  • A large cutting board
The first thing you need to do is remove the lid of the coolbox. You won’t need it anymore. The next part is the hardest part. It will probably take a few badges before you’re 100% sure of the timing. Fill the box with tab water and put it in the freezer (without the lid!). Now let it freeze until it’s more or less 70% frozen. Yes, this is definitely the hardest part and it’s different with every freezer. The trick is to remove the ice before it’s completely frozen. This way the air and impurities won’t be frozen, but remain in the water which you can easily remove.
 
I asked my #drinkstagram-buddies and got totally different answers, with freezing times between 24 and 36 hours. Try freezing for 24 hours and have a look at the result. Adjust accordingly.
 
What happens ? Because you let the lid off and all other sides of the box are insulated, the freezing goes directional and starts at the (open) top, freezing downward to the bottom of the box. If you let it freeze too long, everything will be frozen to a solid block, freezing the impurities into an unclear part near the bottom.
 
Of course I also “forgot” my block a couple of times and let it freeze for several days. No worries, you’ll just have a harder time cutting off the “unclear piece” of the ice block. This will be more or less half of the block.
 
If you get it right, you take the box out of your freezer when it’s only frozen for ±70%. You put the box upside down on your cutting board and wait a few minutes until the big block of ice slides out of the box. Put the box to the side. The ice block is now upside down on your board.
 
You’ll notice that the bottom half is actually a large block of sexy clear ice. The top half still has a big air bubble in it, filled with water. With the knife you can easily cut off the top part, only keeping the solid bottom. This wasn’t my best batch ever, I have had blocks with a smaller air/water bubble. It’s normal that your remaining block is more or less half of the total block.
 
How do you cut such a big block of ice ? Make a first cut with your breadknife. When you can put the knife steady in the cut, give it a blow with the rubber hammer, it will splice the block. If you own a meat-axe, it will also get the job done and it can handle the blows from the hammer a bit better.
 
I always cut the block into cubes, pack them in freezer bags to keep them clean and store them in the freezer, inside my open coolbox. Whenever I want to make a cocktail, I get a cube from the box and cut it to the right shape to match the size of the glass.
 
 
For cutting the cube into the right size for the glass I use an old, but still sharp steak knife. Remember, I’m talking about HOME use. Bartenders use specialized tools like I already talked about in an earlier article. They use (expensive!) ice-saws in different sizes, ice tridents and several types of knives.

Impress your guests and try it out for yourself. It can be done pretty cheap and it’s really not that hard to do. You just need a bit of practice to get it right 😉

Disclaimer : All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito Management & Communications unless stated otherwise in the article. While some items might have been gifted by the producer or distributor, these are in no way paid promotions or recommendations.