Tag: williams-sonoma

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Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail

Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail

The Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail is woven around a core of All-American Bourbon Whiskey.  With the heat bubbling up from somewhere down South it only makes sense to create a cocktail with a unique refreshing twist.  This twist is ice made from perfect spring water that bubbles up from the ground just up the road apiece.  That pure ice, run through the MAVEA pitcher sitting over there on the butcher block has been infused with spearmint from the garden.  As the ice melts, the flavors of the spicy spearmint melts into this drink.  I also added FEE Brothers Mint Bitters to the ice deepening the sparkling flavor.

I’m a real fan of Four Roses Bourbon Whiskey.  Directly in front of me is a thick, round shouldered bottle of Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey. I especially like the cork finish! Nice touch.

Sure, it’s only 10:00 AM and the heat is rising, the humidity rising and my thirst also rising.  If you’ve been following my writing for any length of time, you’ll know that I have a powerful passion for Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth.  The label clearly reads “BEST ON THE ROCKS WELL CHILLED.”  That my friends calls out to me with a huge smile.

I love my Vermouth mixed into cocktails that include Bourbon Whiskey, served on the rocks with a twist of orange.  There is a citrus laced element in this cocktail.  Similar to an Old Fashioned where fruit is muddled into the drink, I took the fruit flavors and added a bit of char to them.  Char you say?  Yes.  Oranges are a favored flavor in my Hankshaw Hawkins cocktail.  I also like using peaches, primarily because peaches are local and plentiful going forward into the summer months.  To char your fruits you must have some kind of fire, or in a pinch a cast iron pan.  I like to grill my oranges and peaches over hard wood charcoal.  If you don’t have a charcoal grill I suppose you can use that gas thing that you use to cook your dinners outside.

I prefer the flavor of wood smoke in my grilled fruit when using them in a cocktail.

Hankshaw Hawkins Cocktail

A perfectly delicious Fourth of July Cocktail that will tickle your fancy…

Ingredients:

Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

Carpano Antica Formula

Grilled Oranges and Peaches – figure a couple rounds of orange and about 3 chunks of grilled peach per person

Ice from the MAVEA Water Pitcher, frozen in an ice cube tray from Williams-Sonoma.  I LOVE the KING Tray.  The cubes are two inch square and they melt oh so deliciously and slowly.

Fee Brothers Mint Bitters for the ice

Preparation:

Filter some spring water (locally gathered of course) through the MAVEA Water Pitcher System

Pour into the Williams-Sonoma King Ice Cube trays

Add about 5 drops of the Fee Brothers Mint Bitters directly into each water filled tray

Very finely chop some fresh mint (Spearmint, please) to each ice cube and then freeze as normal

Grill several rounds of oranges and chunks of peaches over hard wood charcoal

Let cool then muddle in a Boston Shaker

Add a couple cubes of regular ice to chill the Bourbon and Vermouth down

Add 2 Shots of Four Roses Small Batch Bourbon Whiskey

Add 1 Shot of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth

 

Shake Shake Shake Shake Shake

Strain into a short cocktail glass with the mint infused ice, then garnish with a chunk of grilled peach or grilled orange and a big sprig of fresh mint

Danger Level 3 out of 5.  Not too dangerous, yet please drink with caution, a couple of these cocktails in the hot sun can be quite beguiling and then quite dangerous!!

http://www.cocktailwhisperer.com

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Extractions of Seasonal Citrus Fruits in Cocktails

Happy New Year all!  I’ve been experimenting with citrus as of late- but instead of the usual juice it and forget it- the cast iron pan (over there) has made a new dimension to my drinks.

What?  A cast iron pan?  How do you mean?

I like the charred flavor of citrus fruits.  But how?

Clementines are seasonal.  As are blood oranges.  Grapefruits are gorgeous at this time of year.  Sure, they are great juiced, but why not heat up your cast iron pan to almost smoking, peel your citrus and throw it into the pan.  Char the citrus and set aside to cool.

Use your juicer.  What?  You don’t have a juicer?  Run down to Williams-Sonoma and buy one! 

Photo: Warren Bobrow (Leica M8-Summicron 50mm F2)

Tequila is one of my favorite mediums to work with.  As is the new wave of “Botanical” Gin.

My first cocktail- named aptly the “Essence of Simplicity” cocktail is just that.

Ingredients:

2-3 grapefruit peeled

sprig of mint

Bitter End Moroccan Bitters

4 shots of Casa Noble Tequila

Preparation:

Heat your cast iron pan to sizzling hot

Char the grapefruit segments until nicely browned on all sides

Juice the segments and strain

Add Casa Noble Tequila to a cocktail shaker filled 1/2 with ice

Add one medicine dropper of Bitter End Moroccan Bitters to the shaker

Add the juice of the charred grapefruit

Shake!!! Shake!!! Shake!!!

Strain into a short rocks glass with a sprig of mint as garnish…  Slurp and enjoy!

The next cocktail combines blood oranges juice, lime juice, and clementine juice in a punch-like concoction that includes Cava from Spain, Conjure Cognac and Ron de Jeremy Rum.  “The Long, Smooth Rum”

It’s aptly called the “Hedgehog’s Revenge”

Ingredients:

Blood Oranges

Limes

Clementines

Preparation:

Take about three each, peel away the bitter pith and char in your cast iron pan. Set aside to cool.

Juice the citrus fruits

To a cocktail shaker, add 1/2 with ice

Add 2 shots of Conjure Cognac

Add 4 shots of Ron de Jeremy Rum

Splash of Cava (Spanish Sparking Wine)

Add about 6 oz of the charred juices

Shake and strain into two Champagne flutes

Top with a splash of Cava

Sip carefully!

This Cocktail uses Botanical-style Gin.  What is Botanical Gin?  Quite simply, it’s Gin that tastes like something!  Most of the Gin on the market today has very little flavor.  If it said Vodka on the label- you’d be 1/2 way to a hangover by now!  My friend Laura Baddish sent me some samples of a lovely Botanical Gin named Bulldog.

This is Gin with GUTS!  It stands up to citrus faster than you can say “Gin with juice”  which is the basis of this little drink.  It’s more of a long drink than a mere shot.

You can also use- if you can find it… The new Gin named FEW from the mid-western part of the USA.  It’s remarkable stuff and it reminds me of White Whiskey in the nose… (More to follow on this one)

The More to Follow Cocktail is just that.  You want more- to follow!

Ingredients:

Blood Oranges- Charred in the cast iron pan

Home cured cocktail cherries

Fresh Mint

2 Shots of Bulldog or Few Gin

1 Shot of Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (or your choice)

1 Medicine Dropper of Bitter End Jamaican Jerk Bitters

Preparation:

Muddle the cherries and mint together in a cocktail shaker

Add some ice- how much?  Not much.

Add the Blood Orange juice

Add the Gin

Add the Carpano Antica

Add the Jamaican Jerk Bitters

Shake and strain into a tall Collins glass with a couple cubes of ice and one of your home-cured cherries.

 

 

 

 

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Recipes

cocktail cherries

sterilize some Ball jars

pit out some nice black cherries

fill jars and add a couple sprigs of lemon thyme

add a pinch of cardamom

top with brandy

seal and refrigerate for a week or so- no peeking!

enjoy in a cocktail or over ice cream!

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Articles Recipes

Just the Weekly Round-up of articles on Williams-Sonoma..

Thanksgiving Cocktails and a Punch

By: Warren Bobrow
Reprinted from Williams-Sonoma Blender Blog

I love the idea of a blazing fire, accompanied by friends and family gathered together at the table to share a Thanksgiving meal.

 

 

Redline Cocktail

This important holiday evening is started nicely with cheery glass of Cava, or Spanish sparkling wine. I then add a fire-roasted fruit puree. I’ve taken organic strawberries, charred them in a dry, yet sizzling hot, cast iron pan, let them cool, then run them through the food processor. I adjust the sweetness to taste with agave syrup, I then add a dollop or two of this smoky-sweet puree into each glass. Use two pints of strawberries and two 750 ml bottles of Cava for 8 people.

 

The tangy-sweet-tart quality of the strawberries when added to a mineral-tasting Cava just says a welcoming celebration in your spirited glass. You don’t need very much of this drink to say greetings and please join us at our bountiful table.

 

Dyed in the Wool

Another easy and exotic drink is a spin-off on the classic Rob Roy cocktail. In this case blended, (not single malt) scotch whiskey is added to a short rocks glass. I then add some freshly squeezed lemon juice and  some cool, rustic apple cider. A small splash of sweet vermouth finishes the drink.

 

The earthy, richly scented cider melts into the deeper tastes of scotch and the sweetness of the cider. Scotch and apple cider is a very sophisticated and a slightly under-the-radar combination.

 

2 shots blended scotch

1 shot sweet vermouth

1/4 cup apple cider (preferably unpasteurized, unfiltered)

2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Angostura Bitters

Lemon twist for garnish

 

To a cocktail shaker add the blended scotch, sweet vermouth, apple cider and the freshly squeezed lemon juice with ice.

 

Shake and strain into a short rocks glass with a lemon twist and a shake or two of Angostura Bitters to finish. Serves 1.

 

Apple Betty Punch

For all of you wine lovers out there, may I recommend instead a perfectly lovely, crisp punch to go along with your dinner? Hard apple cider is marvelous when combined with sparkling, non-alcoholic cherry juice and some lemon and lime juices for spark. The flavors of hard cider with the citrus juices are marvelous with turkey and all of your fixings!

 

1 bottle of hard cider

1/2 bottle of non-alcoholic cherry cider

1/2 bottle of seltzer water

1/4 cup each of lemon and lime juices

2 cups ice

 

Mix all ingredients together, pour over ice and serve with round slices of lemon and lime. Makes 20 four-ounce portions.

 

If you don’t want an alcoholic beverage, please substitute non-alcoholic sparkling apple cider for the hard variety and use a bit of seltzer water for that celebratory fizz.

 

Spiced Scotty Toddy

Dessert also calls for a deeply warming hot toddy. I’m especially fond of the classic Hot Buttered Rum. The extra warmth a toddy offers is the perfect send-off to your friends.

 

This drink is an exotic approach to the classic boiling hot water-based toddy, with the addition of sweet butter. You can also use freshly whipped cardamom and ginger-sweetened cream on top of the mug instead of butter; it’s your choice. I like to use dark spiced rum or a home-spiced whiskey for this hot drink.

 

After Dinner

For an interesting after-dinner drink, I suggest something a rich glass of Pedro Ximenez Sherry or an older vintage of Madeira — it’s rich and thick, a dessert in a glass! Ask your local wine store what they carry. Use this rule of thumb: dry sherry for appetizers, sweet juicy sherry with dessert.

4 to 5 shots spiced rum or good blended whiskey that you have spiced a few weeks in advance (see note below)

1 quart or more hot chai tea or strong black tea

1 pat sweet butter per drink (if you use whipped cream, eliminate the butter)

 

Pour a shot rum or whiskey into 4 or 5 preheated mugs, then distribute the chai tea among the mugs. Top with butter pats or spiced, sweetened whipped cream.  Serves 4 to 5.

 

*How do I spice whiskey? Add apple pie spices with a split vanilla bean to a cheesecloth bag. Submerge into a bottle of whiskey for a couple of weeks before using. Use the spiced whiskey for all your whiskey-based cocktails.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Recipes

The Bitter and the Sweet. (Originally posted on Williams-Sonoma’s Blender Blog)

Amaro & Vermouth: The Bitter and the Sweet

Originally Published Sep 9 1:56 pm by Warren Bobrow

 

My first experience with the romantic taste of Amaro came in Rome, when I was traveling in Italy with my parents. They would pull my sister and me out of school for a month or more at a time to see many of the European countries. My parents liked the best things that life had to offer — and rather than stick us on an impersonal tour bus, they would immerse us in local food, wine and museums.

I first noticed people enjoying Amaro in a street-side café. We were staying at the Hassler Hotel at the top of the Spanish Steps. Tourists find this staircase irresistible for photography and for pausing to enjoy a relaxing cocktail from the multitudes of street-side, stand-up table cocktail bars. There were several tall tables set up beside the steps, and young men in sharply cut suits were sipping tiny glasses of a caramel colored liquor with shots of espresso on the side.

I also remember that there was a tall, red tinged cocktail in almost everyone’s hands. I direct tweeted world famous “Cocktalian” Gaz Regan for his Negroni cocktail recipe and am including it here for good luck.

                      Negroni (recipe courtesy of Gaz Regan, via Twitter)

“I prefer 2 gin, 1 each campari & sweet vermouth. Gin: Traditional. Beefeater or Tanqueray fit the bill. Vermouth: Noilly Prat always.”

Little did I know at the time that what they were drinking would pave the way to my future desire to whisper about cocktails. I wanted to taste what these stylish people were drinking, because I was very sophisticated for a 12-year-old! At the end of my usual dinner bowl of Tortellini in Brodo, I remember sipping at my tiny glass hesitantly. It smelled faintly of citrus, and the texture of the liquor was soft on my inexperienced palate. The finish (as I remember) went on and on, seemingly for years.

 

Italian Vermouth in many ways is similar to Amaro, but a bit less bitter on the tongue.  Some uniquely flavorful ones from Italy are Punt e Mes and the esoteric, salubrious Carpano Antica.  The Carpano is a rum raisin-filled mouthful of sweet vanilla cake, laced with Asian spices and caramelized dark stone fruits. Punt e Mes is lighter and nuttier, with caramelized pecans and hand-ground grits in the finish.

I’m sure the alcohol is low — all these products (Amaro included) are low in alcohol, making them perfect in a cocktail. Amaro can be enjoyed as a digestif, it acts to settle the stomach after a large meal because of the herbal ingredients.

But what does Amaro taste like? The flavors vary from sweet to bittersweet to herbal, featuring orange blossoms, caramel and nuts. Some taste like artichoke, others like mint, and still others like a sweetened root tea. They may be enjoyed in a cup of hot tea as an elixir, or dropped into a small cup of espresso to “correct” the sweet, thick coffee.

 

You can drink Amaro straight or on the rocks, or even as an adjunct to other alcoholic and non-alcoholic ingredients. I love Ramazzotti Amaro, Averna, Branca Menta and its twin (without the mint), Fernet Branca. There are dozens that I’ve tasted around Europe and at home in New Jersey.

But why is Amaro so fundamental to the Italian style of living? Perhaps the explanation will be: with everything sweet, there must also be a bitter side?

I’m not sure, since I’ve read that Amaro is more than just a drink; it’s a way of life. Whatever the explanation is, the use of the bitter herbs, roots and spices are pleasing to drink and stimulate conversation. Because of the low alcohol level, the drink is uniquely designed to extend your meal into further conversation, not end it immediately with a cup of coffee.

A dash of bitter and a dash of the sweet make life go round and round.

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The Mount Washington Slushy. Originally published on Williams-Sonoma’s Blender Blog

A New Cocktail for Cool Fall Nights

The sun is setting a bit earlier now, and close friends are gathering outside for the last eating and drinking events of the season. We still have some evenings left under the stars before fall fully sets in.

Instead of drinking lightly scented, crisp white wines with our dinners, our palates are beginning to reset towards darker, more aromatic flavors. Alcohol levels in our cocktails are also a bit higher now with the cooler weather, sometimes for flavor and other times for the body-warming aspects of a carefully mixed drink.

The Mount Washington Slushy Cocktail is a creative example of a handheld fall warmer. It combines the earthy aromatics of maple syrup frozen into ice cubes, along with the peppery, spicy flavors of rye whiskey. Then in a nod to the classic Sazerac cocktail, there is a touch of the mysterious liquor absinthe.

The Mount Washington Slushy

Grade A maple syrup as needed

Spring water as needed

Regular ice cubes as needed

6 drops Angostura bitters combined with finely chopped orange zest to make your own “orange bitters”

A few scant drops of absinthe

2 shots rye whiskey or Canadian whiskey

Freshly cut orange rind

Homemade brandied cherries (recipe below) and/or fresh mint for serving

Put about 1 Tbs. Grade A maple syrup into each compartment in an ice cube tray, cover with spring water and place in the freezer to create “maple ice.” Do this the morning before preparing your cocktails to give the ice a chance to solidify.

To a cocktail shaker, add a few drops of maple syrup and a few cubes of regular ice. Add the bitters and absinthe to the shaker. Add the whiskey, then shake until frost appears on the outside of the shaker.

Rub the rim of a short tumbler glass or mint julep cup with a freshly cut orange rind. Gently squeeze the rind over a flame, then place in the glass, if desired.

Strain the liquors into the glass, add a few cubes of the maple ice and garnish with a homemade brandied cherry and/or fresh mint. Serves 1.

Homemade Brandied Cherries: Wash and pit a few pints of dark red cherries. Place the cherries in a sterilized jar and cover with applejack or an inexpensive brandy. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least a week or more.

What you will have after a few weeks of steeping are high-quality cocktail cherries — and they make great hostess gifts, too!

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Interviews

Cocktail Whisperer: Warren Bobrow

http://drinkthinkreadings.com/2011/09/01/featured-writer-warren-bobrow/

 

Featured writer: Warren Bobrow

Posted on September 1, 2011 by karanewman

Mark your calendar – Wednesday, Oct. 19 is the next Drink.Think reading event!

Once again, we’ve got a great line-up of writers slated to read from their work — and over the next few weeks, I’ll entice you with mini-biographies, starting this week with Warren Bobrow.

Now, if you’re out and about in the NY food and drink scene, surely you’ve run across this chap. Somehow, the man seems to be everywhere — He’s at spirits launch parties. He moderated a panel on food writing I attended at the IACP regional conference. He was front and center at a rum seminar I attended at Tales of the Cocktail in New Orleans (he’s a rum judge for the Ministry of Rum, so that makes perfect sense). And all the while, Warren manages to tweet up a storm like it’s an Olympic sporting event–go ahead, follow him @WarrenBobrow1.  I dare you.

Warren is a prolific writer off Twitter, too:  he’s the Food and Drink Editor of the 501c3 non profit Wild Table on Wild River Review; he is a cocktail writer for William-Sonoma’s Blender Blog, Foodista and Serious Eats; and his research on Biodynamic and Organic Wine and Food will appear in the 2012 Oxford Encyclopedia of Food/Drink in America, Ed. 2.

Whew!  Come on out to Lolita Bar on Oct. 19 and hear what he has to say.