Authors: Andrew Schloss
Tags: #liquor, #cofee, #home cocktails, #cocktails, #liqueurs, #popular liqueurs, #spirits, #creamy, #kahlua, #unsweetened infused, #flavored alcohol, #bar recipes, #sweetners, #distilled, #herbal, #nutty, #creative coctails, #flowery, #infused spirits, #clones, #flavorings, #margarita, #home bar, #recipes, #cointreau, #cocktail recipes, #alcohol, #caramel, #homemade liqueurs, #fruity, #flavoring alcohol
Homemade Liqueurs and Infused Spirits: Innovative Flavor Combinations, Plus Homemade Versions of Kahlúa, Cointreau, and Other Popular Liqueurs (27 page)
Compared to the caramel silkiness of many bourbons and Scotches, rye whiskey is downright coarse. Slightly bitter, with its flavors not quite integrated, to my palate rye comes off chewy, more like food than drink. Adding a hint of orange seems to smooth everything out. The infusion of citrus makes this rye a natural in an Old-Fashioned.
Makes 1 pint
- 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) rye whiskey (80 proof) - 1
1
⁄
2
cups finely grated fresh orange zest - 1
⁄
4
cup
Simple Syrup
- 1.
Combine the rye and orange peel in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the peel. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of orange, 2 to 3 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Stir in the simple syrup. - 5.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Skål!
Looking for something different? Try a B-52 (
page 239
), an Apertivo (
page 245
), or a Prunelle Martini (
page 248
).
All gins are flavored with aromatic herbs, spices, and vegetables. The Dutch style enhances the effect of those aromatics by adding more of them in an extra distillation. This last pass through the still boosts the flavor profile considerably, creating gins with overtly floral or vegetal aromas. One of the most delightful of these flavors is cucumber. Hendrick’s, a very flavorful Dutch-style gin, is known for its cucumbery profile. This infused spirit is a tribute to that refreshing Hendrick’s persona.
Makes 3 cups
- 2 medium English cucumbers, coarsely shredded
- 1
⁄
2
teaspoon coarse sea salt - 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) Dutch-style gin (80 proof) - 1
⁄
4
cup dry vermouth (18% ABV)
- 1.
Mix the cucumber and salt in a small bowl and squeeze with your hands for a few minutes. Once the cucumber has released a good amount of liquid, combine the mixture with the gin and vermouth in a half-gallon jar. - 2.
Seal the jar and shake briefly. Put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of cucumber, 2 to 3 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer lined with several layers of dampened cheesecloth into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Bottoms Up!
Amazing Gimlet — naturally. Cucumber Martini I (
page 247
) — absolutely brilliant!
Vanilla selflessly donates its quiet sophistication to whatever it touches. Innocently sweet in a custardy eggnog, it can also be exotic, lending a jungle floral fragrance to mango or coconut liqueur, or it can soothe and modulate the harsh notes of dark-roast coffee. This all-purpose flavored vodka is the perfect vehicle for all of that and more.
Makes about 1 quart
- 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) vodka (80–100 proof) - 2 vanilla beans (Madagascar or Bourbon), halved and split
- 1
⁄
4
cup
Simple Syrup
- 1.
Combine the vodka and vanilla in a half-gallon jar and stir. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of vanilla, 2 to 3 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Stir in the simple syrup. - 5.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
Cheers!
The ultimate vodka for a White Russian.
Of all the coconut-rum mixtures in this book (this one brings the total to an even half dozen) this is the simplest, cleanest, and most versatile. It packs unadulterated coconut flavor. Coconut comes in several forms: fresh, dried shredded, and dried flaked. Although flaked coconut is the most processed, it yields the fullest coconut flavor to liqueurs. Because it is already sweetened, no added sugar syrup is necessary.
Makes 1 pint
- 1 fifth (750 ml/3
1
⁄
4
cups) light rum (80 proof) - 3 cups lightly packed sweetened flaked coconut
- 1.
Combine the rum and coconut in a half-gallon jar. Stir to moisten the coconut flakes. - 2.
Seal the jar and put it in a cool, dark cabinet until the liquid smells and tastes strongly of coconut, 2 to 3 days. - 3.
Strain the mixture with a mesh strainer into a clean quart jar. Do not push on the solids to extract more liquid. - 4.
Seal and store in a cool, dark cabinet. Use within 1 year.
L’chaim!
Makes a patently delicious Daiquiri.
Cocktail Hour
Clockwise from left:
Angelica (Copycat Chartreuse)
,
Lemon Drop (Copycat Limoncello)
,
Summer Cantaloupe
,
New-Fashioned Old-Fashioned
,
Pomegranate Negroni
,
Chocolate Xander
It wasn’t until the beginning of the nineteenth century that the practice of mixing spirits into cocktails became popular in Europe and the Americas. Before then wine, beer, and spirits were consumed regularly, but almost never in combination with other ingredients and rarely adorned with anything more elaborate than ice. To my mind, that is still the best way to appreciate the true nature of finely made alcohol, but it’s not the only way.
As the author of
The Bar-Tender’s Guide
(also known as
How to Mix Drinks
or
The Bon-Vivant’s Companion
), Jerry Thomas (1830–1885) is considered the father of mixology. His book, the first of its kind published in the United States, codified cocktail recipes. Here he mixes his signature concoction, the Blue Blazer.
Cocktails by their very nature are frippery — serious fun whose sole purpose is to delight and entertain — but the practice of mixing cocktails is anything but flippant. There are standard methods that almost all cocktails adhere to, and they have not changed since the dawn of mixology.
The original cocktail, described first in 1806, was a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. This simple combination became known as an Old-Fashioned, to differentiate it from the more complex newfangled concoctions that came into vogue at the end of the nineteenth century.
Today, cocktail websites list a mindboggling assortment of mixed drinks, often without rhyme or reason. The field can seem unnavigable, but except for a few dozen outliers, five basic cocktail templates encompass all those thousands (more or less). These basic types can be endlessly modified with any number of garnishes and additional ingredients, as well as techniques such as blending and layering, or even eye-popping special effects, like flaming.
Spirits + Sugar + Flavoring:
Old-Fashioned, Mint Julep, Sazerac
Spirits + Vermouth or Liqueur + (Optional Flavoring):
Martini, Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, Negroni, Rusty Nail, Stinger, White Lady, Tuxedo, Black Russian, French Connection, Godfather/Godmother, Kir
Spirits + Sour + Sugar + (Optional Flavoring)
Sidecar, Margarita, Daiquiri, Mojito, Caipirinha, Whiskey Sour, Mai Tai, Long Island Iced Tea, Kamikaze
Spirits + Beverage (juice, soda, coffee, beer, wine) + Flavoring:
Bloody Mary, Screwdriver, Gin and Tonic, Gin Fizz, John Collins, Planter’s Punch, Cuba Libre, Mimosa, Piña Colada, Moscow Mule, French 75, Harvey Wallbanger, Horse’s Neck, Singapore Sling, Tequila Sunrise, Irish Coffee
Spirits + Cream or Egg + Flavoring:
Alexander, Porto Flip, Ramos Fizz, Grasshopper
