Tag: Vermouth

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Warren Bobrow’s Mixology Workshop: The Best Recipes With Blueberry Strain

Warren Bobrow is a famous marijuana enthusiast and mixologist. These are the two passions of his life, and their mix can only result in something wonderful. His favorite art of spirited drinks is now shown in a cocktail book that contains dozens of recipes. These marijuana-infused drinks impress the audience with their diversity and delicious taste.

His book Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics also contains useful information about the history of the pharmacists of the old times using cannabis-infused tinctures and drinks to treat their patients. In addition, the introduction of the book describes various ways of infusing alcohol, preparing tonics and tinctures to use them in the future for the delicious recipes in the book.

At first, Warren Bobrow creates a large variety of tinctures, oils, milk, and syrups that allow the mixologist to bring the art of cocktail-making to the new levels. For a long time, the man has been trying to find the ideal balance between alcohol and weed.

If you have ever wanted to make a cannabis-infused cocktail, add THC to your Bloody Marry or absinthe, you simply have to read this book for some knowledge and inspiration.

Here are a couple of the author’s recipes that can surely inspire you to read the whole book. If you wonder what cannabis strain to use for these drinks, we can recommend you to experiment a little and try to use the Blueberry strain for the following two drinks. As all indica-dominant hybrid strains, this one will provide you with the necessary relaxation and happiness. This strain adds both sweetness and exotic notes to your marijuana beverage.

Dramatis Personae

Ingredients

  • 15 ml sweet vermouth
  • 15 ml rye whiskey
  • ¼ ounce calvados
  • 4 shakes Creole bitters
  • infused absinthe
  • 3 shakes aromatic bitters

This is a classic cocktail that comes from New Orleans. However, some of the ingredients that Warren Bobrow uses in his recipe slightly differ from the traditional way, which makes the beverage taste even better.

Before you start mixing the drink, fill a glass with cannabis smoke to enhance the wonderful aroma of your future Dramatis Personae. Then, immediately fill the glass ¾ with ice and add all ingredients except for absinthe. The author then recommends you to stir the ingredients 50 times. Only then you can spritz your drink with cannabis-infused absinthe. The sweet berry flavor of the Blueberry strain will add the necessary sweetness to the drink.

Weed-Infused Alcohol: Something to Consider?

A Bloody Good Remedy

Ingredients:

  • 180 ml chilled tomato-clam mixer
  • 10 ml (2 teaspoons) of cannabis tincture
  • garnishes (the usual variants include olives, fresh chiles, celery sticks, etc.)

Have you ever tried the famous Bloody Mary before? If it is your favorite drink, we recommend you to read another recipe of Mr. Bobrow that adds a bit of spice to this drink. A Bloody Good Remedy has one special quality that will surprise you—the drink has no alcohol in it. Besides, it is just lightly medicated, so you do not have to worry about overwhelming effects.

You simply have to fill a glass with a lot of ice, pour the tomato-clam mixture into the glass, and add some tincture that you have at home. This recipe allows you to experiment with garnishes—be as creative as you like. Besides, you can add a few blueberries or grapes as a garnish instead of using a berry-flavoured tincture. The combination may seem strange at first, but it is something new for you to try.

All drinks in this book are elegant and full of nuances that can help you understand the mixology a little better. Besides, each one of them, from the simple coffee to complex alcohol drinks, has its own author notes that are full of useful information and present the drink in an ideal way.

https://weedy.com/news/warren-bobrow-s-mixology-workshop-the-best-recipes-with-blueberry-strain

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The Dramatis Personae

The Dramatis Personae is my Cocktail Whisperer’s riff on the Vieux Carré, the classic New Orleans cocktail. My version calls for belly-friendly Creole bitters, and uses Calvados, or apple brandy, in place of cognac. Sound like an unusual cast of characters? It gets better. Enter a spritz of Infused Absinthe, stage right.

Finish the Dramatis Personae by pouring a little Infused Absinthe into an atomizer or spray bottle, and topping the drink with just a whiff of the medicated spirit. When you’re infusing your absinthe, try an Indica strain like Mr. Nice. It’s earthy and sweet, with pungent aromatics that enhance the aniseed and herbal notes in the absinthe.

Text reprinted with permission, c/o Fair Winds Press, an imprint of Quarto Publishing Group.

  • Marijuana smoke, to flavor
  • Ice
  • 0.5 oz (15 ml) rye whiskey
  • 0.5 oz (15 ml) sweet vermouth
  • 0.25 oz Calvados
  • 3-4 dashes Creole-style bitters
  • 2-3 dashes aromatic bitters
  • Spritz of infused absinthe
Old-Fashioned Glass
PREPARATION
  1. Before you fill your mixing glass with ice, turn it upside down and burn some cannabis under it in order to fill it with smoke.
  2. Turn it right side up, and immediately fill it three-quarters full with ice (now you’ve made smoked ice!).
  3. Add all the other ingredients except the absinthe, and stir fifty times.
  4. Strain into a pre-chilled glass, and finish with a spritz of Infused Absinthe.

    Dramatis Personae.
    Dramatis Personae.

https://bevvy.co/cocktail/dramatis-personae/muhy

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Fortify Me: 4 Vermouths To Stir Or Sip!

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The aromatized wine ramped up with herbs, citrus peel and other botanicals is coming into its own as an essential aperitif and cocktail ingredient.

By Warren Bobrow, CSX Contributor

Vermouth is a most maligned cocktail ingredient. Most of the stuff that goes into a cocktail is sour from age because most people don’t know that vermouth has a pretty short shelf life. In other words, vermouth needs to be refrigerated to remain usable for preparing your fine cocktails. (If you have a bottle waiting on top of your fridge and it’s been there for a few months in the heat, or if you snagged one from your grandparent’s home lurking under their cobweb laden bar, THROW IT OUT NOW.)

The original use for Vermouth involved certain core-medicinal properties of the ingredients. European vermouth contains a goodly amount of its active ingredient- wormwood, which is the also found in the socially-much-maligned intoxicant absinthe. Wormwood has shown itself to be very effective for ridding the body of internal parasites like intestinal worms and for the treatment of most minor stomach maladies like your common tummy ache.

Vermouth, like many of our modern day aperitifs and their denser amaro cousins, was not originally stirred into a mixed drink to taste. In fact, they didn’t come into play in the cocktail bar until Jerry Thomas utilized them in his “medicinal” concoctions originally dispensed by apothecaries as powerful medicinals. Vermouth’s original use was a curative against head lice–that’s the healing power of wormwood for ye!

In our modern era, a person might take an antacid tablet when they have a belly ache from eating a spicy meal or spoiled food. In the 1800’s they might have a glass of vermouth or a glass of amaro for their curative and digestion. I much prefer a few glasses of Carpano Antica Vermouth instead of chemically produced stomach tablets. Here are a few vermouths to try:

Uncouth Vermouth Apple MintUncouth Vermouth Apple Mint
Where do I start with Uncouth Vermouth? Perhaps the first place would be with founder Bianca Miraglia herself. She is an alchemist and a poet with liquids as her muse. She gathers her herbs in their wild state and unleashes their potential mixed with wines that speak clearly of their potency and passion. Bianca is mystical in her flavors and her infused wines (vermouth) speak a language that is clearly brilliant and hardly the norm. There are different varieties with the seasons. They age beautifully as well with all the finesse of their maker. Class act!

Carpano Punt e Mes
Produced by the same fine house that produces Carpano Antica, Punt e Mes speaks a different tonality than its sibling. Punt e Mes is more modern in style, lighter- more refreshing perhaps. Sure you’ll find the notes of stone fruits cooked for long periods of time enrobed in sweet chocolate aromatics and further spiced by baking aromatics. They’re all in there. But what makes Punt e Mes so spectacular is the easy way it mixes in Craft Cocktails. I’m lucky to have a bottle in the fridge; it’s magnificent drizzled over a Rum and Mexican Cola as a very enticing float.

Atsby amberthorn 1Atsby Amberthorn
North Fork of Long Island Chardonnay wine is the framework behind this gorgeous effort that uses a plethora of herbs and spices to weave a liquid driven dialog towards pleasure in your creative mixed drinks. But even outside of the cocktail bar, Atsby Amberthorn is a perfectly wonderful way to ease yourself into the evening. A snifter of Atsby and a twist of lemon with a splash of seltzer says to me more than a typical night-cap. This is one that heals the gut while easing that pounding in your aching head.

Lillet Blanc
The inclusion of wine made with Bordeaux varietal Sémillon lends a full, fleshy structure to this French aperitif wine. It’s blended with quinine liqueur from the cinchona bark in Peru, and citrus liqueurs from Spanish, Moroccan and Haitian oranges. Light, delicate and floral, you can sip it chilled or over ice with a twist a lemon or grapefruit.

Warren Bobrow is the creator of the popular blog cocktailwhisperer.com and the author of Apothecary Cocktails,Whiskey Cocktails, Bitters & Shrub Syrup Cocktails and Cannabis Cocktails. He can be reached via his website, cocktailwhisperer.com.

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Hubbery Devrey Cardigan Cocktail

 My first book, Apothecary Cocktails has been nominated for a Spirited Award for the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail!

 

By Warren Bobrow, Cocktail WhispererAtxa Vermouth Tinto, Eden Orleans and Gabriel Boudier Saffron Infused Gin make for a Negroni of otherworldly flavors and textures.But first of all, what is a Negroni?  Well, the historic reference for drinking them dates back to the mid-1970’s.  I was on yet another trip to Italy, along with my parents.  It was an upbringing that you cannot read in a book, nor watch on television.  Movies only offer snippets of recreated European travel, so the only way to really understand Europe is to go there and whatever you do, don’t take a tour-bus.  You might as well eat all your meals at Americanized fast food restaurants because to experience Europe you must eat and drink like a European.  Just my opinion.My parents never begrudged me the occasional beer or glass of wine either with our meals.  I think they thought that I’d be less likely to abuse alcohol if it was around all the time.  Of all the things I disagree with, in regard to their style of child rearing, this was the only one that made perfect sense.To this day I look at Day Drinking as the only time I really enjoy a cocktail.  I suppose it dates back to being in Europe as a boy and drinking every day!The Negroni was not necessarily something that I would order in a restaurant, but I do remember vividly the first time I saw one.  We were in Rome, staying at the Hotel Hassler at the top of the Spanish Steps.  Lining the steps were cafés, really no more than a couple of stand up tables with stand up guys and their girls sipping vivid red short cocktails.  After a couple of these potent drinks everyone becomes like actors in a Black and White Fellini movie.  That is what Rome represents to me, even to this day.  If you close your eyes when visiting Rome and open them on the Spanish Steps – well, you’ll see what I mean.  The light hasn’t changed although seeing the world in color is much different than in Black and White in the Fellini films.

Back to the Negroni. Count Negroni as legend has it was rather fond of the cocktail known as the Americano (Campari and Vermouth with soda water). Being a nobleman with either a stomach ache or a drinking problem – or both…, he asked his bartender to change the cocktail and remove the fizzy water in favor of a large dose of gin.

As it turns out to fans of the classics, and with history being my guide, this drink of Campari, Sweet Vermouth and Gin- to present day is still named the Negroni.

I’m certainly not calling my drink a Negroni, but what I will call it is the Hubbery Devrey Cardigan, named after a character in Monty Python’s Flying Circus.  It’s a silly name for a very grown-up sense of humor, dispensed sip-by-sip.

In this case on ordering a Negroni, while walking up (or down) the Spanish Steps, your typical combination of Campari, Sweet Vermouth (often of a dubious origin) and gin (is that gin or rockgut?) is poured down the throats of thirsty tourists in bars that line the broad Spanish Steps in Rome.

May I propose something completely different in this case.  Being someone who is not a Nobleman, well this does create certain difficulties when working with venerable cocktails such as the Negroni.  Please hear me out on this; I think the finish is brilliant and very, very fresh.  And modern.  And fascicle.  Because life is meant to be all things, bitter, sweet and strange.

I’ve been drinking Spanish Vermouth as of late.  These are brilliant efforts are made with some of the most expressive base wines available from Spain- and only in miniscule quantities.  Spanish Vermouth is certainly a gourmet’s pleasure.

Atxa Vermouth Tinto is from the Basque Region of Spain.  It is a lovely sipping Vermouth, bursting with flavors of citrus and tobacco.  I love it in a Negroni, especially one of a different stripe like the Hubbery Devrey Cardigan Negroni.

Next in this philosophically incorrect version of the classic Negroni I’ve included Orleans Bitter Aperitif Cider infused with red currant and bitters, I know already that your ears have perked up and the word bitter may connote something else entirely.  Whatever your idea is about Campari, may I please suggest substituting the Orleans Bitter with red currant and bitter herbs instead? Thank you.

And now in a tip of the hat to the alchemists who discovered that saffron really is worth muchGabriel Boudier Saffron Infused Gin as the gin component to this cocktail.  Who can resist something as elegant as gin in a cocktail that is woven it seems from the finest grains and the best saffron that money can pluck from impossibly tiny flowers. Did you say add saffron to a Negroni?  I think so, rabbit.
more than gold I’m including

The gin element is unmistakable.  You cannot imagine what this drink was like without the deeply mysterious aromatics of exotic saffron coursing through each sip.  The combination of the Orleans Bitter and the Spanish Vermouth along with the saffron infused gin is otherworldly.

I finish this drink with a splash of Bitter Truth Grapefruit bitters.  My thoughts are simple.  Where there is gin, somewhere there should be juice.  Or bitters, or something.  I forget.  I’ll have another please.

Just make a few and let me know how you enjoy it.
Cheers!

Hubbery Devrey Cardigan
Ingredients:
2 oz. Gabriel Boudier Saffron Infused Gin
1.5 oz. Orleans Aperitif Cider infused with red currant and bitters
1.0 oz. Atxa Vermouth Tinto
2-3 dashes Bitter Truth Grapefruit bitters
Lemon twist

Preparation:
To a cocktail mixing glass, fill ¾ with bar ice
Add the gin, then the cider, followed by the vermouth
Stir 30 times with a long cocktail spoon
Strain with a Hawthorne Strainer into two coupe glasses
Garnish with lemon twists and dot the top with the grapefruit bitters to finish

Cheers from DrinkUpNY!

Article by Warren Bobrow, a nationally published food and spirits columnist who writes for Williams-Sonoma, Foodista and the Beekman Boys.

 

 

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Cocktails for Thanksgiving from Cocktail Whisperer: Warren Bobrow

Non-traditional/new traditional Thanksgiving drinks.

I love the idea of a blazing fire- friends and family gathered together to share a meal.  A celebratory evening is started nicely with cheery glass of cava and to it, the addition of a fruit puree.  I’ve taken organic strawberries, charred them in a cast iron pan, run them through the food processor *adjusting the sweetness to taste* then added a dollop or two of the puree into each glass.  The tangy-sweet quality of the strawberries when added to a chalky tasting Cava just says celebration in a glass.  You don’t need very much of this drink to say welcome to our table.

 

Another easy and exotic drink is a take off on the classic Rob Roy. In this case Blended Scotch Whiskey, instead of expensive Single Malt- is added to a short rocks glass with a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice and topped with cool, rustic apple cider.  A small splash of sweet vermouth finishes the drink.  The cider melts into the deeper tastes of whiskey,  the sweetness of the cider and the herbaceous tinge of sweet Vermouth.

It is a very sophisticated drink.

Of course I recommend instead of a usual bottle of wine, a perfectly lovely, tangy punch to go along with dinner.

Hard apple cider is marvelous when combined with sparkling cherry juice and some lemon/lime juice for spark. The flavors of hard cider with the citrus juices are marvelous with turkey and the all your fixings!  You can drive up the alcohol level with some dark rum. 

Dessert calls for the classic and deeply warming-  Hot Toddy.

I’m especially fond of a hot buttered rum to go with a pumpkin or apple pie.  It’s a classic and the extra warmth it gives to the body (and spirit) is the perfect send-off to your friends!

The Chai Tea Toddy is an exotic approach to the classic water based Toddy with a bit of sweet butter.  You may also use freshly whipped sweetened cream on top instead of butter- your choice.

  I like to use dark spiced rum or a spiced whiskey for this hot drink.

  • 1 quart hot Chai tea or black tea.  If you want to make the drink sweeter, use some ginger/cardamom simple syrup
  • 4-5 shots Spiced Rum or good blended Whiskey that you have spiced a few weeks in advance. (save that expensive single malt for another day)
  • 1 pat sweet butter- per drink

If you use whipped cream, eliminate the butter.

How do I spice whiskey? Add apple pie spices with a vanilla bean (split) 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.