School Blues Smash

This could be one of my weirdest articles, posted on the Double Strainger cocktail blog. I was challenged to turn a book into a cocktail, taking lots of different aspects of the book into account. The book is “School Blues” by Daniel Pennac. I have read the book in English, but it’s actually a translation from the French original “Chagrin d’école”. The book talks about the life of Daniel as a teacher and more specific, about how he paid special attention to the dunces in his classroom. Daniel started out as a dunce himself, so he knows that every pupil can thrive when given the right care and attention. 

The reason why a pupil is a dunce could be anything from a range of reasons. Some pupils have trouble understanding what’s taught and need extra instruction. Others might be challenged by stuff going on at home, or might even be bullied at school. And let’s not forget gifted children, who are often overlooked and bored out. 

Daniel invests the time needed to pick up those children. I also have to invest time to create a tasty cocktail. I have to plan my actions to make sure the drink I serve to my guests or spouse will be delicious. For this “School Blues” drink, I want to work with a base of London Dry Gin. And when this idea was thrown in my lap, I knew from the first second that this drink had to be a smash. I need to smash something as a metaphor, to show that this ingredient will still add its flavours to the result. Even more, a smashed ingredient adds much more flavour.

Because of the title of this book, I add a slight bit of Blue Curacao, which is a liqueur based on orange peels. I also add a tiny splash of absinthe, to honour the French origin of the book and make a link to mental health. Absinthe, in the past, was linked to hallucinations and other mental issues. Pennac talks about mental issues and how he worked with pupils to make them escape from their zeros. 

School Blues Smash

Ingredients
50 ml London Dry Gin
30 ml Lemon juice
10 ml Simple Syrup
10 ml Blue Curacao
Rinse of absinthe.
Fresh mint leaves

Method
Add 6 to 10 mint leaves (depending on size) to a shaker, together with the lemon juice.

Muddle to extract more flavour. Add the rest of the ingredients (except the Absinthe). Add ice and give it a good shake. Give your cocktail glass a rinse with absinthe and add fresh ice. Fine strain your drink into your cocktail glass. Garnish with a few mint leaves. 

P.S. You could also serve this drink on shaved ice. Have a look at the reel I posted on Instagram, you’ll see how I made some fresh shaved ice with my new KitchenAid Ice Shaver. 

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.

New York Sour - The Capian Edition

The New York Sour is a semi-classic variation on the Whisky Sour (or Bourbon Sour). It’s basically a normal whisky sour with egg white foam, with an extra float of red wine which settles more or less below the foam layer. 

I have tried several New York Sour recipes in the past years, but often for me, it’s slightly too bitter. That of course depends on the red wine used for the float. When my friends at PresentDa launched a campaign for Château Prieuré Sainte Anne, I was immediately intrigued. Could this 90% Merlot wine be the perfect wine for my New York Sour float? 

Château Prieuré Sainte Anne is full of red fruits, the 10% Cabernet Sauvignon grapes add more tannins and a slight smokiness. The wine had aged for a year in oak barrels to add that slight note of wood. Château Prieuré Sainte Anne is served at several Michelin star restaurants. 

New York Sour – The Capian Edition

Ingredients

50 ml Whisky / Bourbon

30 ml Lemon juice

10 ml Honey Syrup

Egg white (or aquafaba)

Château Prieuré Sainte Anne (Merlot wine)

Method

Add the egg white, whisky, lemon juice and syrup to a shaker without ice. I recommend adding the spring of a hawthorn strainer (it works like a whisk). Give it a good shake for 10 seconds. Open the shaker and add a few ice cubes. Shake again for 12 to 14 seconds. Strain over fresh ice in a tumbler. Hold your barspoon just above the foam layer and carefully add some red wine. Garnish with dehydrated 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.

Sea you after dinner

Most herbal liqueurs and Amari will help your digestion. Probably this will also be the case for liqueurs based on sea buckthorn. Clinical studies state that the oils of sea buckthorn “may improve digestion”, so let’s work with that. 

Our friends at Seaberry Liqueurs have sent us a bottle of Duno liqueur, together with a jar of seaberry marmalade. This screams for a nice after-dinner serving. And as it happens to be, my 11y old daughter just baked some fresh cupcakes today…

Sea you after dinner

Ingredients
30 ml Duno Liqueur
30 ml Campari
30 ml London Dry Gin

Method
Add all ingredients to your tumbler with ice. Stir for 15 seconds. Garnish with dehydrated orange. 

Serve with a fresh-baked cupcake, halved and spread with Duno sea buckthorn marmalade. This is sooooooooo good… 

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.

Play that Cello

My wife has Italian roots. That means she also inherited all the typical Italian characteristics. What does that mean? A lot of cursing behind the wheel, lots of black coffee, she loves to cook and... each year she brews her own limoncello and arancello.

So, whenever I have to test any kind of ‘cello’, she is always interested and in the end she always decides her old family recipe, handed down from generation to generation is the best. That last part is certainly true. It’s fantastic.

Now, how about these three bottles I received for a test last week. Limoncello based on lemons from Sorrento (Amalfi coast), orancello (In Italy they normally call this arancello?) made from organic South-African oranges. And last but not least, something I had never tasted before, Anguriacello. Same kind of product, but made from watermelon. The Naturals is a Belgian brand owned by Albatross Liqueurs. 

First things first, a neat sip. Flavours are certainly present, alcohol is less than what I’m used to at home. This might be tricky when I start mixing. The first thing I tried was a shot of ‘cello’ topped with good quality Prosecco. Nope, this didn’t work. I either need more alcohol or much more ‘cello’. Let’s try something completely different…. And yes, this was a hit. 

Play that Cello

Ingredients
60 ml Natural ‘Cello’ of your choice
30 ml Vodka
15 ml Fresh lemon juice
10 ml simple syrup

Method
Add everything to a shaker with lots of ice. Give it a good shake and strain over fresh ice in a tumbler. Garnish with citrus.

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.

Duno Cosmo

It’s always interesting to discover variations on old recipes, that really add something new and exciting. Let’s talk about the Cosmopolitan, the pink drink that became extremely popular due to the SATC sitcom on TV. How can we improve this drink. I’ve already done some variations with other juices, but this time I’ve tasted something interesting.

Duno liqueur is a brand new Belgian product, a liqueur made from 100% organic seaberries. Duno contains 25% of alcohol and is very easy to mix. You could also have a shot as a digestif after your meal. Let’s put this liqueur in the spotlight of a new style of Cosmo. 

In this recipe I have used Triple Sec from Social Club, you really need to check their webshop for great apero boxes. 

Duno Cosmo

Ingredients
30 ml Duno liqueur
20 ml vodka
20 ml Triple sec
30 ml cranberry juice
20 ml Lime juice

Method
Add everything to a shaker with ice. Shake for 10 seconds, strain into a nice coupe. Garnish with a lime zest or 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. 

Cherry Corn

Some days I just scan through my leftovers and try to find a combination that might work. This time I discovered a jar with a bottom of moonshine in the back of my homebar. You could also use a young bourbon for this recipe. It’s an unusual and very fruity combination, but the result was pretty tasty. 

Cherry Corn

Ingredients
50 ml Ole Smoky Moonshine
10 ml Cherry syrup
1 dash of piment bitters

Method
Add everything to a tumbler with ice. Stir for 10 seconds and add a cocktail cherry and a slice 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.