Gloomy Martini + How to upgrade your drink

 

“Ok, I understand how to make simple cocktails at home with 2 or 3 ingredients. Now how can I easily upgrade these cocktails, besides swapping ingredients for other brands ?”

Adding a few drops of cocktail bitters does miracles. Cocktail bitters are the salt and pepper of the bartender. Angostura bitters and Orange Bitters should be standard in any (home)bar, since they are mandatory ingredients in lots of classic cocktails. But there are so many different bitters on the market, absolutely worth a try. On this blog you will also find a few recipes for homemade bitters. It’s easier than it sounds.

Most cocktails have a sweet ingredient which is mostly a syrup, cordial or liqueur. There are endless possibilities in playing with flavours in either one of these. Adding a little bit of flavoured syrup can change your entire drink. Always be careful, don’t use too much because it will ruin your drink.

My favourite : Adding a herbal and/or anise flavour to your drink. I like to use a good quality Absinthe, but you can also use Pastis, Pernod, Anisette, Ouzo, Raki, …
And you can do this in many ways :

• A rinse : Add a tiny bit of anise liqueur to your glass and swirl it around to add a thin layer to the inside of glass. Remove the rest.
• A coating in ‘Double Strainger’ style : The same as a rinse, but I don’t remove the precious high quality liqueur. Never use too much or it will alter your recipe.
• A mist or spray : Use a small spray bottle to add a mist of herbal flavours over your cocktail.
• A float : Add a very thin layer of spirit on top of your drink. When the cocktail is already in your glass, add the extra layer by carefully pouring it over the backside of a barspoon. This method is also used for adding a float of heavily peated whisky on top of a sour (e.g. Penicillin)

As an example, I’ll share this delicious recipe for an upgraded Martini :

 

Gloomy Martini

 

Ingredients

5 cl Beefeater Gin

2 cl Forest Dry Vermouth

½ bs Grenadine

Absinthe float

 

Method

Bring the gin, vermouth and grenadine together in a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir for 20 seconds and strain in a Martini glass. Add the absinthe float on top over the back of your barspoon. Enjoy !

 

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.

Frozen Peach & Orange Margarita (Low Alcohol)

 

Most of the cocktails on this blog have a “healthy dose” of alcohol. Some days I’m in the mood for a tasty aperitif, but I don’t want too much alcohol. That should always be an option.

Today I’m sharing a very tasty low alcohol Margarita. I know it doesn’t look very sexy on photo, but it’s delicious !!! It looks like a smoothie, perfect disguise 😉 

It still has the Tequila and lime juice, but the Cointreau is swapped for orange juice.

Frozen Peach & Orange Margarita (Low Alcohol)

Ingredients
3 cl Tequila Silver
1 cup Frozen peaches
0,75 cup Orange juice
0,5 cup ice cubes
Juice of ½ lime
1 tsp honey

(1 Cup = 236,58 ml or 128 gram)

Method
Put everything in a blender. Blend until silky and smooth. Serve in Margarita glasses. No garnish needed. You could do a salt rim on the glass if you like.

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.

Talisker Hot Chocolate

 

Spring is in the air, but nights still can be very cold. Thinking about the coming months and which herbs and flowers I might use in my drinks. And at the same time my thoughts wonder off to the foraging walk and Talisker event in Cadzand a few months ago.

Yesterday evening was probably the perfect moment for that last hot chocolate of this season. Spiked with some whisky of course 😉 

Talisker Hot Chocolate

Ingredients
3 cl Talisker whisky 10y
1 cl Amaro Montenegro
1 cl Sugar syrup
15 cl Whole milk
28 gr Cocoa powder
3 cl water

Method
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat until simmering, while stirring away any lumps from the cocoa powder. Pour into a mug.
If you like toasted marshmallows, go for it !

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.

Corpse Reviver 2

 

Another great recipe to try at home is the Corpse Reviver. A very tasty recipe on which you can swap ingredients to make it your own cocktail. The first recipe in old cocktailbooks was based on brandy, the second version was based on gin. The vermouth was originally Kina Lillet, which isn’t on sale anymore (Yes, that’s the vermouth which was also in the original Vesper!).

Corpse Reviver 2

Ingredients
A few dashes of Absinthe (Don’t have Absinthe? Try Pernod, Raki, Ouzo or another anise liqueur)
2 cl Bombay Sapphire Gin
2 cl Cointreau
2 cl Forest vermouth white
2 cl fresh lemon juice

Method
Give the inside or your glass a nice coating with Absinthe. Don’t use too much so you don’t have to discard it. Such a shame to throw away good spirits. Did you notice how I called it a coating instead of a rinse 😉
 
Add all ingredients (except the absinthe) to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 20 seconds. Double strain in a nice coupe or antique wineglass. The original recipe asks for a neat serve in a prechilled coupe, but I also like to serve it in a wineglass with a large iceball. Add a dried limewheel. Don’t use fresh lime because it will be too dominant.

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.

Kamikaze

 

If you really like cocktails, I bet you might also have seen the movie ‘Cocktail’ (1988) with Tom Cruise and Bryan Brown. Halfway through the movie, they are bartending in the very posh ‘Cell Block’ club when Brian Flanagan (played by Tom Cruise) jumps on top of the bar to recite the “Last Barman” poem : 

“I am the last barman poet
I see America drinking the fabulous cocktails I make
Americans getting stinky on something I stir or shake
The sex on the beach
The schnapps made from peach
The velvet hammer
The Alabama slammer
I make things with juice and froth
The pink squirrel
The three-toed sloth
I make drinks so sweet and snazzy
The iced tea
The kamikaze
The orgasm
The death spasm
The Singapore sling
The dingaling
America you've just been devoted to every flavour I’ve got
But if you want to get loaded
Why don't you just order a shot?”

I thought it would be a good idea to reshake one of the cocktails mentioned in this poem. I chose a vodka-based cocktail which I could describe as the macho version of a Cosmopolitan. Just take away the pink cranberry juice from the Cosmo and if needed, balance the sour of the lime with a bit of sugar. The official recipe is an even-parts cocktail with vodka, Triple Sec and lime juice. I’m going to do it just a little bit different.

Kamikaze

Ingredients
4,5 cl Vodka
2,5 cl Triple Sec or Cointreau
2,5 cl Fresh Lime juice
Optional : ½ bs sugarsyrup

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Shake during 20 to 30 seconds.
Double Strain in a Martini-glass or a fancy wineglass. Add a dried lime slice. 

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.

Easy Sloppy Joe

 

Sometimes people tell me they think it's really hard making cocktails at home, using more than two ingredients. They refer to difficult recipes they see in bars, using special syrups, cordials, shrubs etc.

Well, there is absolutely no reason to be afraid because there are lots of easy recipes around, which will enable the home bartender to prepare some delicious cocktails. No special syrups or whatever… only ingredients you can find in any store. Let's try it !

Easy Sloppy Joe

Ingredients
22,5 ml Bacardi Rum Carta Blanca (white rum)
22,5 ml Forest Dry Vermouth
7,5 ml Cointreau
7,5 ml Grenadine
30 ml fresh lime juice

Method
Bring everything together in a shaker with lots of ice. Shake for 30 seconds and double strain in your glass. Most people love coupes for this cocktail, but I like my Sloppy Joe's in a tumbler with a big chunk of ice. Add a dried orange slice and enjoy !

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.

Blood Drop Cocktails

 

Each year I buy a bunch of blood oranges, to make some home-made dehydrated slices for my cocktails. When I have a few extra, I squeeze them for the delicious bloody red orange juice.

When juice of blood oranges is used in cocktails, they often use too much. I like cocktails with max. 15 ml of this juice in them. I call them ‘Blood Drop cocktails’. They work best in sour style cocktails.

Blood Drop Margarita

Ingredients
5 cl Tequila silver
1,5 cl Lime juice
1,5 cl Blood orange juice
3 cl Cointreau Blood Orange
Optional : ½ bsp Agave syrup

Method
Shake with lots of ice. Double strain in a Margarita glass. Add a cocktail cherry.

Blood Drop Sour

Ingredients
5 cl Deanston 15y whisky
1,5 cl Lemon juice
1,5 cl Blood orange juice
1,5 cl Honey syrup
1 dash Blood orange bitters

Method
Shake with lots of ice. Double strain in a tumbler with a big block of ice.
Add a dehydrated slice of blood 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.

Mount Gay Rum Experience

 

Wednesday evening I drove to the Indigo Hotel in Brussels to discover rums of a brand I hadn’t really tasted before. Maybe in a cocktail, but no proper tasting. Mount Gay is a distillery based on Barbados, a tiny island in the east of the Caribbean. It’s not just an average rum brand, it’s actually the oldest rum brand. The oldest rum on Barbados? No, it’s actually the oldest rum brand on this planet. Documents prove the distillery already existed in 1703. It’s probably much older, but these documents are the oldest legal proof of existence and there is no other rum distillery that old. It’s also the oldest distillery in the world (of any spirit!) which has produced spirit continuously until today. Most other distilleries have closed and re-opened a few times.

All the way from Barbados, brand ambassador Miguel Smith welcomed us to his Mount Gay Rum Experience in a bar filled with journalists, bartenders and industry professionals. We tasted four different bottles : Black Barrel, XO, 1703 and a very special pot still rum bottling which kicks a stronger punch.
 
This was certainly not my first rum tasting, but I learned a few new things which really separate this rum from others. We started with the Black Barrel, looking at the rum and nosing it. We were instructed to put our noses deep into the glasses and inhale strongly. Whaaaaat ? Doesn’t that block your smell for the rest of the evening by such a kick in the face from the alcohol. Actually it didn’t. Miguel wanted us to experience this difference. The rum is so well balanced that the alcohol doesn’t hurt your senses. He taught us the perfect way to taste and sample rums, step by step adjusting your body to the spirit.

A couple of tips on tasting rum :

• Step 1 is looking at the rum, step 2 is nosing. Please notice that the nose of the rum will probably change when it’s longer in contact with oxygen. Step 3 is sipping the rum. 
• Always start with a small sip to adjust your body. When you’re ready, take a second sip to really explore the flavours.
• Never swirl your glass. You will create a small cloud of alcohol on top of your rum, masking everything else. Don’t panic, just blow it away if you did. 
• Don’t suck air with rum in your mouth. This is rum, not wine.
  I’d like to add that the same applies for tasting whisky. Keep your mouth shut and you’ll be able to handle the alcohol much better, while still tasting all the rest.

 

In all Mount Gay rums you will discover fresh vanilla (from the ex-bourbon casks), almond, banana and dark chocolate. The rums are slightly spicy, but not spiced. They are produced with an excellent quality of spring water, pumped up from deep below the surface of the distillery. No solera aging, no sugar added, no artificial flavouring. Aged in the tropical climate of Barbados. Made from fermented molasses. They distill in column and pot stills, were the rum of the column stills is more flavourful, while the rum from the pot stills is more aggressive and kicks a punch.

 

Our tasting

 

Mount Gay Black Barrel (Double Cask Blend) 

Woody and buttery notes. Great balance of dried fruit and spices, a sophisticated spirit with notes of gingerbread, lychee and toffee. Matured in ex-American whiskey barrels and finished in heavily charred ex-bourbon casks. Dry spirit with medium to long persistence. Perfect for mixing in cocktails.

 

Mount Gay XO (Triple cask blend) 

Small batch blend of selected mature rums. Aged between 5 and 17 years in American whiskey barrels, bourbon and Cognac casks.

Vanilla, oaky notes, dry spice, sweet caramel, fig and plum, dark chocolate.

Rounder, smoother and creamier than the Black Barrel. Complex and balanced with long persistence.

 

Mount Gay 1703 (Master Select) 

Delicate rum with sweet caramel, ripe banana, notes of oak and citrus. A mouthful of toffee, cherry, butterscotch and roasted nuts with oaky undertones. Long and delicate finish.
 

This is a limited yearly release with 10 to 30 year old rums distilled in both column and pot stills. Matured in charred ex-American whiskey barrels and deeply charred ex-bourbon casks.
 

This release counts 4663 numbered bottles at 43% ABV. This was my personal favourite of the four rums we tasted.

 

Mount Gay Pot Still Rum (Exclusive limited edition) 
A spicy kick, followed by dried fruits, dark chocolate and oak. Delicate, silky texture.
Warm butterscotch interlaced with rich mocha and toffee with underlying notes of plum.
Pot Still rum at 48% ABV. Best to sip neat or over a large rock of ice.
Limited release of 4920 bottles.
 
After the tasting, a small break and a few snacks, we could also sample Mount Gay Rum used as a base for two delicious cocktails, created by bartenders Tim Devriendt (The Cobbler, Gent) and Ruben Patoor (Café Theatre, Gent).

Thanks for the invitation. It certainly sparked my interest to experiment with this rum.

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.

Tennessee Eagle

 

The real fans of this page probably know I’m also a long time collector of Jack Daniel's memorabilia. People often ask me why I don’t use more of Jack Daniel’s in my cocktails…
Let’s do another one, this is a variation on the Brooklyn Eagle.

Tennessee Eagle

Ingredients
6 cl Jack Daniel’s Old Nr. 7
3 cl Punt e Mes Sweet vermouth
15 ml Cointreau
15 ml fresh lime juice

Method
Add everything to a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously during 20 seconds. Fine strain in a tumbler with a nice block of ice.

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.

Yellow Rose Whiskey Tasting

 

When I mention “Yellow Rose of Texas”, you probably think I’m talking about the song. But did you know it’s also the brand name of a small Houston based whiskey-distillery?
Just one mash tun, just one pot still, but they do have their own very specific ideas about their products. They are actually the first Houston based legal distillery, launched in 2010.

Last Thursday I was invited by Jan Visser to the Single Malt Whisky Shop in Geel to discover three different whiskey varieties of this brand, presented by Brand Ambassador Jason Macal.

It seems in Texas whiskey-laws are stretched a bit to get as creative as possible with their spirits. We really enjoyed the talk about the history of the brand and their products. We got to taste three whiskeys, which will be the range launching in Europe right now. In the future they will probably also add single barrels, special cask finishes etc.

Yellow Rose Premium American Whiskey
(80 Proof)
We started the tasting with this blended whiskey, a mix of bourbon and light whiskey (=single grain, produced in a continuous still). In the USA you are actually allowed to add whatever alcohol to your blended whiskey, like unaged new make whiskey, vodka or even gin. Yellow Rose American Whiskey contains 100% whiskey.

This American Whiskey seems a bit sweeter than most whiskeys I have tasted before. Flavours of banana and caramel. This blended whiskey is often served with a mixer, which can be Coke or even (suggestion from Jason!) pineapple juice. It’s also a nice ‘first step’ whiskey to learn to appreciate whiskey.

Yellow Rose Rye Whiskey
(90 proof)
This whiskey is made with 95% rye and 5% malted barley and aged in new American oak barrels for 3 years.
Nose of green apples, pine, spearmint, cedar wood. You do get the spiciness which is typical for rye whiskey. Works very well for classic spirit forward cocktails such as an Old Fashioned. This was probably my least favourite of the three bottles, but don’t let that hold you back.

Yellow Rose Outlaw Bourbon Whiskey
(92 Proof)
The mashbill on this whiskey surprised me the most. This whiskey is made from 100% corn. Not just “at least 51%” as stated in the law, but the full 100%.
Aged in small barrels with an alligator char (this is the Nr.4 Char – 55 seconds burn, which is the deepest char used in the whiskey industry), double pot distillation.

The spirit that goes into the barrels can be maximum 125 proof by law. A lot of producers try to get as high as possible, but it leaves a lot of bitterness. Yellow Rose fills its barrels at 114 proof which brings out more typical oak flavours like honey, vanilla, caramel.

At the warehouse in Houston (without climate control!) it gets 35 to 40° Celsius during the day at a 90 to 100% humidity. The climate is totally different from Kentucky, Tennessee or Scotland. The barrels constantly expand and shrink with an extreme high Angel’s Share, 15% yearly for each barrel. In Scotland this is only 3 to 5%. The barrels are stored upright on pallets, 4 to 5 levels high. The main reason is the lack of space. As mentioned above, it’s a small company.

At the end of the tasting we also got served a refreshing Horse’s Neck cocktail, based on the Outlaw Bourbon. And we also got to put our teeth in real Texas style hamburgers.

Thanks for the invitation. It was a very nice introduction to this brand. The bourbon is definitely a premium product which is quite unique at 100% corn. The American Whiskey is much sweeter than most whiskeys, which just might balance out other strong flavours in a cocktail. Could be interesting to try in a Manhattan or even a Boulevardier?

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.