zondag 28 mei 2023
Pineapple Tamboo
zaterdag 13 mei 2023
The Forbidden Sour
During the exciting 'Roaring 20s' era, hidden bars called speakeasies became very popular. Bartenders would add juices to illegally made moonshine to hide its poor quality. This clever trick made mixed drinks more enjoyable and led to the creation of many classic cocktails that are still popular today. Now, let's focus on a refreshing fruity drink that is best enjoyed on a hot day.
maandag 1 mei 2023
Bourbon, Rye and Tacos in Bruges
- Vieux Carré (Woodford Rye, Remy Martin Cognac, Martini Rubino, Benedictine, bitters)
- Heartbreaker (Woodford Rye, Martini Rubino, Lemon, Cherry Soda)
- Blinker (Woodford Rye, Grapefruit juice, pomegranate)
- St. Lawrence (Woodford Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Lemon)
- Woodford Bourbon, Eucalyptus, Lillet, frozen.
- Woodford Rye, Roasted Coconut, Cold Brew Milky Oolong, draft.
- Woodford Bourbon, Jalapeño, Pickle Juice, Ginger-Ale.
- Sazerac (Remy Martin VSOP Cognac, Woodford Rye, Sugar, Bitters, Absinthe)
zondag 23 april 2023
Shanghai Mist
maandag 17 april 2023
Prepare for the old and rare – My visit to the Spirits Inn Beringen festival (6th edition)
Something to look forward to, year after year. The small but cosy spirits festival at CC Casino, in the heart of the “coal history” area of Beringen. A festival organised by the local whisky club and famous for the old and rare bottlings that are always present, open and ready for tasting.
donderdag 6 april 2023
Best of two worlds
I often get inspired by things I spot online or read in books and newspapers, but always try to do my own thing. This recipe is adapted from a couple of drinks I saw online. This drink is a combination of American Rye and Japanese Blended whisky. I wanted to keep it in the Old Fashioned style but picked very fresh citrussy bitters of kalamansi and grapefruit. The result is a very Japanese style of Old Fashioned, but with the spicy notes of the rye whiskey.
maandag 3 april 2023
Easter Mimosa
woensdag 29 maart 2023
Spring Break
donderdag 23 maart 2023
Southern aperitivo
Spring has finally arrived and admit it, you automatically start dreaming of summer holidays and southern aperitivo moments. That thought was enough to start exploring flavours.
I mixed up a fantastic Negroni-style drink and together with my wife I've put together a great aperitivo plate with pickled vegetables by Camps, sardines in olive oil and a delicious homemade mayonnaise.
"Bourbon forward" Boulevardier
Ingredients
50 ml Bourbon
30 ml Red Italian vermouth
30 ml Red Italian bitter
Method
Add the ingredients to a tumbler with ice. Stir for 15 seconds. Garnish with blood orange.
Balsamic-Parmesan Mayonnaise
Ingredients
2 egg yolks
300 ml Olive oil
1 table spoon lime juice
1 teaspoon mustard
2 table spoons grated parmesan cheese
1 rasped clove of Garlick
5 anchovies
Cayenne pepper
Pepper and salt
Method
Mix a mayonnaise with the egg yolks, lime juice, mustard and olive oil. We used the emersion blender. We use a small high container, add everything and mix it from bottom to top until the mayonnaise is nice and thick.
Add the extra ingredients, mix again until completely blended. Season with pepper, salt and a tiny bit of cayenne pepper.
You can find the recipe in Dutch at Tineke's Cucina.
Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito 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.
dinsdag 14 maart 2023
Mister Campbell
The Manhattan is a classic recipe that really invited us to experiment. In the Peaky Blinders cocktail book, I discovered another delicious beauty. In this case flavours of absinthe and Benedictine are added to the core recipe. I decided to pick an American Rye whiskey for my drink, which has slightly more sweetness.
Mister Campbell
Ingredients
2 dashes of Angostura aromatic bitters
2 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
20 ml Red Italian vermouth
30 ml Bénédictine
40 ml Knob Creek Rye whiskey
Absinthe for a rinse
Method
For this recipe, you need a Martini glass or coupe. Rinse the glass with a little bit of absinthe (or spray it, which often works better) and cool the glass with ice.
Add all other ingredients to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir with a barspoon for 15 seconds. Remove the ice from your glass and strain your drink into the glass. If you have a spray bottle with absinthe, finish with another spray of absinthe over the glass.
Disclaimer: All pictures and texts are copyrighted by Geert Conard and Esito 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.
dinsdag 7 maart 2023
Brooklyn
Angostura aromatic bitters are probably among the very first bitters that were ever used to prepare mixed drinks. And even today they still seem to be the salt and pepper used to season drinks by any bartender around the world. While you have a choice in hundreds of different bitters today, the original Angostura aromatical bitters are still the preferred bitters for a wide array of drinks.
zondag 29 januari 2023
Monkey Gland
zondag 22 januari 2023
Angel
dinsdag 17 januari 2023
Classy drinks from Babylon, the movie
This year (and maybe even longer because I absolutely love it…) Double Strainger will focus on the ‘roaring 20s’. I will spotlight and create prohibition and speakeasy-style drinks and think about how drinks were mixed and served in that specific period in time.
I’m incredibly thankful that I had the opportunity to work with Paramount Pictures for the Belgian release of their new movie “Babylon”, starring Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie.
More info on the movie is below the recipes.
In this post and the linked socials, I’m spotlighting three iconic classic cocktails starring in this film. I had lots of fun mixing and sipping them. I hope you’ll enjoy them too. Make sure you don’t miss the fun reel on Instagram, where you’ll see me in action, shaking these beauties.
From the official list of cocktails linked to this movie, I selected three drinks that really represent this era of class and taste: The Classic Martini, The Corpse Reviver and The Orange Blossom.
The Classic Martini is THE iconic drink of this period. The origin of the recipe is a bit unclear, as is the case for most cocktails. This drink was probably served first to John B. Rockefeller in 1911, by a bartender at the Knickerbocker hotel. It’s questionable because Jerry Thomas already mixed Sloe Gin with vermouth and bitters around the 1880s.
The classic Martini is also one of the favourite base recipes for bartenders to experiment on. It was the original base from which many other modern classics have been developed, like e.g. The Espresso Martini, The Breakfast Martini, The Cosmopolitan, … even the Manhattan and Rob Roy are very similar recipes.
The gin-based Corpse Reviver (also known as the Corpse Reviver II) is one of the better-known cocktails published in the Savoy Cocktail book, one of the classic references for mixed drinks.
The Orange Blossom, at last, was one of the more trendy party drinks during the roaring 20s. Good quality spirits were hard to find and bartenders often mixed questionable spirits with juices and fortified wines to hide the poor taste of the badly produced spirits.
The Classic Martini
Ingredients
60 ml Dry Gin
30 ml Dry Vermouth
1 dash of orange bitters
Method
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir well to chill and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a piece of lemon peel as a garnish or toss in an olive on a spear.
vrijdag 13 januari 2023
About next week... Babylon The Movie
About
next week…
At the start of this year, I already announced that Double Strainger would now focus
on the “roaring 20s”, with speakeasy and prohibition-style drinks.
Guess
what???
Next
Wednesday (January 18) a new Paramount movie is hitting the big white screens
in Belgium. From Damien Chazelle, BABYLON is an original epic set in
1920s Los Angeles led by Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Diego Calva, with an
ensemble cast including Jovan Adepo, Li Jun Li and Jean Smart. A tale of
outsized ambition and outrageous excess, it traces the rise and fall of
multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early
Hollywood.
The story fits my blog like a silk white glove, holding a delicate coupe of expensive Champagne. So yes, I’m extremely happy to announce that next week I’ll be working with Paramount Pictures to showcase some of the delicious and classy drinks that appear in this movie. Keep an eye on our blog and socials… you really don’t want to miss this.
donderdag 12 januari 2023
Birmingham Sour
If you visit cocktailbars once in a while, the New York Sour won’t be a complete stranger to you. It’s a perfectly crafted whisky sour with a float of bold red wine. It takes some skill and experience to serve this drink Instagrammable. You need a good layer of egg whites (or a substitute) and the red wine can’t mix too much with the rest of the drink.
vrijdag 6 januari 2023
Vendetta
When mixing a drink from a recipe in a book, always analyse the recipe first. The Vendetta seems a sweet(er) variation on The Godfather (=even parts mix of whisky and amaretto). Maraschino liqueur adds a sweet cherry flavour, but in my opinion this drink gets a bit too sweet and sticky. Let’s see how I would handle this.
I guess spirits were different during the prohibition and the roaring 20s. Whisky was often no whisky at all, but unaged (or very young aged) moonshine with a high alcohol level. A higher alcohol level will balance much better with half a recipe of sweetness. Also, Rye whiskey would add much more flavour to this drink than any other type of whisky. I have searched through my bottles for a Rye whiskey with a higher alcohol level. I’m also comparing bottles of amaretto to pick the best one for this job, slightly less sweet and much more flavour.
P.S. I have noticed that several recipes from this book limit the base spirit to 40ml? I think it’s a pretty good idea for bars to put a cap on the amount of alcohol in each drink. It also connects with the trend to have several “unit” drinks on the menu.
Vendetta
Ingredients
40 ml Rye Whiskey (I used Pikesville Straight Rye Whiskey, 110 Proof)
20 ml Amaretto
20 ml Maraschino liqueur
Method
Add everything to a mixing glass with lots of ice. Stir cold and strain into a Martini glass. Garnish with a brandied 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.