Category: Recipes

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Rum Is Seriously Hot For The Springtime

Or… consider Rum when drinking late Spring cocktails…  But first what is Rum?

I think a better example is what Rum is and is not.

Warren Bobrow
Warren Bobrow

• Rum is not made of grain. It is derived from sugarcane.  Most Rum on the market is distilled from Molasses. Molasses is the stuff that is left after making sugar. It’s not pretty- you probably have a bottle of Blackstrap Molasses in your pantry. Same thing.

• Rum can be made with freshly crushed sugar cane juice- That style tends to be what we call Agricole or Agricultural. If the juice is not tanked within a day or so, it goes bad.

• Most Rum is aged in used American Bourbon oak barrels. Just like your Tequila and your Scotch and sometimes your beer. If you like Rum, you will probably be a whiskey drinker too.

 • Most Rum contains Caramel Coloring.  This is the market forces at work.  The consumer assumes that a dark rum means an old rum.  Untrue.  Like Whiskey, and their Scottish cousin Whisky, these liquids grow lighter in color with age.  Not darker in color like the bottles on the shelf would suggest with vastly inflated prices- because the rum just LOOKS old.  Bad form in my opinion.

• Most Rum contains the chemical known as glycerin for the creamy and richly textured “mouth-feel”… When distilleries and rectifiers (those who buy their distillate and say they make their own stuff-when they don’t, but there are no rules- so…) often add adjuncts and flavorings to the rum.  (Bad news in my opinion)

Please, read further at https://totalfood.com/rum-seriously-hot-springtime/

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Articles Recipes Reviews

Why Cannabis Cocktails Get A Bad Rap When They Are So Wonderful

And a gorgeous recipe for a Louis Armstrong’s Way cannabis fizzy.

I’ve made my living for the better part of seven years in the liquor space. With that said, I’ve noticed some real changes in that traditional world of intoxicants over the past year or so. After being tolerated for a few years, the large liquor companies are having serious misgivings about being too friendly with the cannabis family. Perhaps this is because the ongoing stigma that hovers just over the periphery in every illicit transaction outside of the “three tier system.” You see, the liquor industry has been permitted to print their own tickets since Prohibition, under the watchful gaze of the government. Taxation is a powerful determinate with broad reaching implications.

Read More at; https://thefreshtoast.com/drink/why-cannabis-cocktails-get-a-bad-rap-when-they-are-so-wonderful/

Louis Armstrong’s Way Fizzy

(makes 2 drinks and a bit more)

4 oz. Clement Rhum Agricole “Canne Bleue”
½ oz. Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 oz. Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
1 oz. Fruitations Soda and Cocktail Syrup- Tangerine
½ lime cut into chunks
4 oz. Ginger Beer Soda (sugar cane based, never corn syrup based)
Angostura
To a Boston Shaker: Fill ¾ with ice. Add the Rhum Agricole and the Fresh juices. Add the Fruitations Syrup. Cap and shake hard until frosty. Muddle the lime in a rocks glass or two. Add a couple cubes of ice. Pour over the contents of the Boston Shaker. Finish with about 2 oz. of the Ginger Beer Soda over the top of each glass. Stir. Dot with Angostura. Serve.

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Books Recipes

Well look!

Muddle, mix, shake, stir, pour–whatever the method, you’ll learn how to create the perfect cocktail.

Whether you’re new to mixing drinks or have been creating your own cocktails for years, The Craft Cocktail Compendium © has everything you need to know to mix, shake, or stir your way to a delicious drink. With over 200 craft cocktail recipes, expert mixologist Warren Bobrow will help you broaden your skills and excite your taste buds with unique takes on timeless favorites and recipes you’ve likely never tried before.

AVAILABLE MAY 1, 2017!

To Purchase from Quarto Books

To Purchase from Amazon

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Miscellaneous Recipes Topo Chico

Delightful

Leica M8, Summicron 50 F2
Leica M8, Summicron 50 F2
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Interviews Recipes

Juice Nước

Vietnamese sugar-cane juice with cannabis-infused milk is the perfect elixir for a gloomy day.
Vietnamese sugar-cane juice with cannabis-infused milk is the perfect elixir for a gloomy day.

I’m a huge fan of hot-weather beverages. Right now, it’s anything but hot out, but this little mocktail will transport you.

This time of year can be warm and sunny, or it can be thanklessly cold and rainy. It may officially be spring, but we are experiencing the occasional icy wind that goes right through you.

That’s where Vietnamese-style, freshly crushed sugar-cane juice comes in. This scintillating liquid — extracted from the stalk using a machine that resembles a sausage grinder — is refreshing, and come summer, it’ll stave off the heat and humidity with alacrity.

 To take my iced sugar-cane juice to a higher level (so to speak), I use condensed milk for the infusion. The condensed milk takes to decarbed cannabis beautifully, and you can use it in a plethora of concoctions — from the obvious caramel, by cooking it very low and slow until it caramelizes, or as the aide-de-camp to a Vietnamese iced sugar-cane juice, which is the topic of this article.

Juice Nước

Infused with your desired amount of THC.

For an 8-ounce can of condensed milk, take 3-7g of decarbed cannabis and add it to a hemp teabag or a section of cheesecloth, tied well to prevent leakage.

 Add the condensed milk to a small sauce pan or Erlenmeyer flask.

Add the hemp tea bag or cheesecloth pouch to the condensed milk.

Prepare a double boiler.

Heat the bottom filled with water to 165-degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the Erlenmeyer flask into simmering water.

Allow to infuse for at least 2 hours but do not boil — or your condensed milk will become caramel.

Let cool and add 10-15 ml of the condensed milk at a time to your iced Vietnamese sugar cane juice.

http://www.seattletimes.com/life/take-this-tropical-sugar-cane-mocktail-to-a-higher-level-cannabis-recipe/

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Interviews Recipes

Bartender Journey!

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Recipes Reviews

Eden “Heirloom” Ice Cider

Ice Cider is one of the most exciting things to come out of the Northern American Climes since downhill skiing!  Well, that would be stretching the winter-esque verbiage just a tad, but bear with me here just for a moment.  I’m thrilled to share with you my passion for a dessert wine so unique that an entirely new flavor profile has to be honed within your brain.  Unless you’ve spent any time in the Normandy (northern-decidedly un-touristy) region of France or in the frozen tundra of upper New York State and Vermont, it’s highly unlikely that the words Ice Cider would mean anything to you.  But please allow me to introduce you to a product that is certainly as elegant as ice wine.  But costs a 10th as much!

As a comparison, Ice wine is one of the scarcest forms of wine in the world- and it is understandably expensive.  The grapes have to freeze on the vine without turning to black goop- it’s a process that already is expensive because the grapes (either Vidal or Riesling) are not an easy grow in the cold climates.  Enter the much more durable apple.  Apple cider has only been produced in the Niagara Peninsula and just beyond.  The art of freezing the freshly crushed juice before fermentation is an art that many have never heard of, much less tasted.

That is until the Eden Cider Company in Vermont radically changed the way that cider can be enjoyed.  Instead of drinking a glass of apple cider lightly fermented in a glass like beer or champagne, or sparkling-style-mixed with Guinness in a velvet- a miniscule portion of ice cider is a veritable revelation of flavor.

Ice Cider is concentrated goodness that only gets better over time.  Just like German ice wines age over decades, Ice Cider can be laid down for longer than you would imagine.  They are durable things that taste delicious on release too!  For 29 bucks, DrinkupNY has something that very few people have ever tasted, much less know exactly what Ice Cider tastes like.

Heirloom Apples are not to be eaten un-cooked!  That sounds so foreboding, when actually- heirloom apples are precisely the kind of apples that go into cooked foods.  They have flavor far beyond the apples that you reach into a tree and freshly pick.  Heirlooms are concentrated and tart.  Some may say that they are bitter across the palate and quite drying.  Others may want you to steer clear of heirlooms all together because they are quite ugly to look at.  Whatever the case may be, the apples that make up the Eden “Heirloom” Ice Cider are things of rare beauty.  Because no matter what they look like, heirlooms create liquid pleasure that goes down your throat, drop by drop into liquid driven dreams.

Sometimes you’ll want to mix with the Eden Heirloom Ice Cider and I’d say- go right ahead.

Rolling, Tumbling and Cascading of Pearl’s Infinite Wisdom
3 oz.  Eden Heirloom Ice Cider
2 oz. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout- left to go flat overnight
4 oz. Sparkling Cider

Preparation:
Into a pre-chilled Burgundy Glass:
Add the “flat” Guinness
Float the sparkling cider on top
Finish with another float of the Heirloom Ice Cider
Serve and prepare another… They’re so good!

Cheers from all of us at DrinkUpNY!

Warren Bobrow is the celebrated author/bar man and mixologist responsible for the 1st book on the topic, Cannabis Cocktails.

Warren has written to date four books, Apothecary Cocktails, Whiskey Cocktails and Bitters/Shrub Syrup Cocktails.  His first book, Apothecary Cocktails was nominated for a Spirited Award at the 2014 Tales of the Cocktail. Warren has been a dishwasher, and a pot scrubber- a cook- and a saucier.  He cooked professionally around the country, Portland, Me., Charleston, Sc., Scottsdale, Az., New Hope, Pa., He owned and lost his fresh pasta manufacturing company located in Charleston, SC in 1989- Hurricane Hugo.

Then came a twenty-year career in Banking.  Don’t ask!  Demoralizing yet, essential.
Fortunate to do what he is passionate about, Warren has five books in May 2017 and more ideas on the way.  Ministry of Rum judge, Rum XP associate, American Distilling Institute, Saveur 100, Oxford Encyclopedia, Sage Encyclopedia, Whole Food/Dark Rye, Liquor.com, Barrell Bourbon.   He taught a deep dive on rum at the Moscow Bar Show, taught at Stonewall Kitchen, Attended the Fetes Gastronomie in Burgundy, traveled to Abruzzo in Italy for wine and Michelin starred foods, just to name just a few.  From failed-executive assistant in a bank to tastemaker to the world.
Never working yet never not working.  Smoke and Mirrors.  Authentic.

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Recipes

DRINK THIS CANNABIS COCKTAIL INSTEAD OF BEER ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY!

Photo courtesy of Fair Winds Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group.

St. Patrick’s Day has the unfortunate reputation for being a day that celebrates drinking and getting drunk, and that is too bad, but we can add a little weed to balance out that booze and get us to a nice high place.Enjoying alcohol in moderation along with cannabis allows us to feel high without the terrible consequences of a hangover the next day. Stick mostly to bud, not booze, on St. Patrick’s Day, save for just one or two of these amazing cocktails!

Since our national celebration of Guinness and stereotypical Irish culture falls in the early Spring, I’m forced by necessity to pay homage to the seasonal changes in my drinking and the ingredients therein. As a seasonal ingredient, maple syrup comes to mind, and the way to infuse it with THC is quite simple!

I love to infuse cannabis into ingredients that I’m going to use later in my mixed drinks, and maple syrup is one of those ingredients that takes to a long, slow infusion with alacrity. Perhaps the natural sugar is what brings maple syrup into a marriage of sorts with with decarbed cannabis? I’m pretty sure the unhurried infusion has a great deal to do with the cheer this syrup creates!

This drink blends infused maple syrup with absinthe, apple brandy, whisky and more to create a sophisticated taste sensation. Inspired by a Sazerac, this little mind eraser is perfect when the temperature starts to rise and you need a bit of cooling to go along with all that Guinness you’ll be sipping on St. Patrick’s Day.

I also make this drink with cannabis-infused absinthe, but the process of infusing alcohol can be somewhat dangerous, so I’ve omitted it here. If you’re interested in going further, check out my book Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails and Tonics for in-depth instructions on infusing various types of alcohol with weed.

Canna-Maple Infusion

Ingredients:

  • 6 grams Cannabis
  • 16 oz Maple Syrup

(Chef’s Note: I use the really dark maple syrup, known as Grade B.)

Prep:

First, decarboxylate your cannabis for 45 minutes at 240ºF in the oven. Grind up the herb and place it in a pie plate covered tightly in foil. Toasting the herb ensures that all of the THC is activated to the fullest!

Use a double boiler (a bowl over a pot, with a few inches of water in the pot to maintain a constant temperature) to heat your maple syrup to 160ºF, using a candy thermometer to measure the temperature. Add the cannabis to a cheesecloth pouch so it’s easier to remove later, and immerse it in the hot syrup.

Infuse for minimum of two hours, checking often to make sure the water in the double boiler hasn’t evaporated. After you remove the cannabis, squeeze it thoroughly to get every drop of syrup out. Let cool and use in your drinks, or over a stack of pancakes for a morning buzz!

CANNABIS_COCKTAIL_608BushStreet

608 Bush Street Cocktail

Ingredients:

  • ½ oz (15 ml) Absinthe
  • ½ oz (15 ml) Infused Marijuana Maple Syrup
  • ½ oz (15 ml) White Balsamic Vinegar (tangy and slightly sweet)
  • ¼ oz Calvados (Apple Brandy from Normandy in France) or a domestic version of which there are many!
  • ¼ oz Rye Whiskey of your choice (I used Barrell Whiskey)
  • 3-5 shakes of a Creole Bitters of your choice (bright red in color, signifying great strength)
  • Lemon Peel Twist
  • Ice

Prep:

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail mixing glass filled ¾ with bar ice.

Stir 30 to 50 times to cool, but not dilute. Strain the liquid into a rocks glass.

Add the lemon or orange peel twist to the glass. Dot with a couple more drops of the Creole Bitters.

Serve to an appreciative friend! Never drink more than one or two at the very most in an hour. There is no rush to get where you are going. Always drink plenty of water to balance the effects of alcohol and never drink and drive!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

http://hightimes.com/edibles/drink-this-cannabis-cocktail-instead-of-beer-on-st-patricks-day/

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Interviews Podcasts Recipes

Green Dragon Daiquiri

Saint Patrick’s Day is coming, Klaus recommends you try a Green Dragon for the wearing of the green!

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Books Recipes

Mixologists Share Their Best Cannabis-Infused Cocktails

Mixologists Share Their Best Cannabis-Infused Cocktails

Without cannabis, drinks are basic.

Whether you’re hosting a soiree, brunching with friends, or planning a romantic dinner, these three alluring alcohol and cannabis-infused libations by guest contributors (and epicureans)  Elise McRoberts, Rabib Rafiq, and Jason Eisner will set the tone for the occasion. Since mixing cannabis and alcohol can be synergistically intoxicating, it’s wise to consume responsibly and control your dose. Some recipes call for cannabis-infused liquors and tincture, which can be difficult to find yet simple to make at home. To help, reference this recipe for Green Dragon, break out your Magical Butter machine or pick up a copy of Warren Bobrow’s Cannabis Cocktails, Mocktails & Tonics where you can dive a little deeper into the sea of DIY cannabis tinctures. Now who’s ready for a drink?

Melamine 

Who created it? Rabib Rafiq, The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook recipe contributor and owner of Bistro 63 at the Monkey Bar, a restaurant and a cocktail bar in Amherst, Massachusetts.

What does it taste like? A 21st century take on the gin-based Bijou cocktail — herbaceous and full-flavored with a spicy and ever-so-slightly sweet layer.

Ingredients:
1 oz. cannabis-infused green Chartreuse
1 ½ oz. gran classico bitters (or 25 milliliters Campari)
1 oz. rhum agricole

Directions: “Fill a mixing glass ⅔ full with ice,” says Rafiq. “Pour liquid ingredients over ice and vigorously stir until very cold. Strain mixture into a champagne coupe or martini glass with no garnish.”

Pro Tip: “Mix the Chartreuse and bitters with Ron Zacapa 23 rum (but any high-quality aged rhum agricole, or rum made with sugar, will do). This can be served as a cocktail and it’s a great after-dinner drink; the herbal spirits help ease digestion.”

What can we look forward to? If you love how this beverage turned out and want to try others, this recipe appears in The Cannabis Kitchen Cookbook which features more delicious cannabis infused cocktails like Buzzy Bee’s Knees, Dutch Pilot, Cannabis Coconut Mojito, Twentieth of April, Green Rush, and more.

 Sour T-iesel

Who created it? Jason Eisner, Beverage Director at Gracias Madre and Eater.com’s 2015 Bartender of the Year in Los Angeles.

What does it taste like? Balanced with hints of mint, citrus, brine, agave, and cannabis.

Ingredients:
2 oz. tequila blanco
1 oz. organic fresh pressed lime juice
½ oz. organic agave nectar
Pinch of pink sea salt
3 organic mint leaves, no stems
5 drops organic cold pressed CBD oil, extracted from hemp
¾ oz. organic aquafaba
Ceremonial grade matcha, for garnish

Directions: “Place all ingredients (excluding CBD and aquafaba) in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Fine strain into a large vessel (64 oz. pitcher) and add CBD and aquafaba. Using a KitchenAid handheld emulsifier on turbo, emulsify liquid for five seconds. Transfer emulsified liquid back into an empty cocktail shaker and a Hawthorne strainer, then strain liquid into a coupe glass. To create pot leaf topping/garnish, use a stencil and ceremonial grade matcha.”

Pro Tip: Don’t feel like making it? Swing by Gracias Madre in West Hollywood and its OC branch Café Gratitude in Newport Beach and order a round or two for you and your crew.

What can we look forward to? “I have created a company called DOPE Cannabis Cocktails,” says Eisner. “These are 100 percent organic, vegan-friendly and gluten-free RTD canned cocktail mixers infused with a proprietary CBD blend. In 2018, we will also launch our THC line. These canned cocktail mixers do not include alcohol, so the customer can add two ounces of their favorite base spirit, or they can pop one open and enjoy it on its own. The reason we don’t call it a ‘mocktail’ is because a mocktail doesn’t provide an experience. These CBD-infused cocktails deliver an experience, an altered state of consciousness that is meant to completely redefine the way we celebrate. In fact, our tag lines are ‘experience the party, without the hangover’ and ‘Party Clean in 2017.'”


The Mescal Bloody Jane

Who created it? Elise McRoberts, Chief Marketing Officer and Edible Specialist at Kind Courier.

What does it taste like? Rich tomato, smoky mezcal, spice with hints of cumin and horseradish.

Ingredients:
Smoked paprika, pepper, sugar, salt rim
8 oz. organic tomato juice or purée
1 ½ tbs. pickle juice
3-7 dashes of hot sauce, to taste
1 tbs. organic horseradish
1 tbs. Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 tsp. cumin powder
1-2 oz. Treatwell Wellness Blend cannabis tincture (or similar cannabis tincture)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 ½ oz. mezcal
Celery stalk, for garnish
Lemon or lime wedge, for garnish

Directions: “Add horseradish and other ingredients, excluding mezcal, to a cocktail mixer over ice. Shake vigorously and strain into rimmed glass over ice and mezcal. Garnish with celery stalk, lemon, or lime.”

To prepare smoked paprika and pepper rim: Mix equal parts paprika, pepper, sugar, and salt on a plate and spread evenly. Run a lemon wedge around the glass rim and swirl rim though spice mixture, coating evenly.

Pro Tip: “Bloody Mary’s are great for adding munchies like shrimp, bacon, olives and more for garnish. You can add whatever munchies your heart desires. If your mix is too spicy or salty, you can always tone it down with more tomato juice.”

What can we look forward to? “I love this drink for Saturday and/or Sunday mornings if you need a miracle to get you going after a raging evening,” says McRoberts. “The addition of cannabis tincture is just enough to take the edge off and I believe the cannabinoids aid in restoring my body and mind balance. I used a non-psychoactive tincture in this, but also recommend a nice 1:1 CBD:THC blended tincture if you want to feel a little more of the THC.”

https://www.merryjane.com/culture/mixologists-share-their-best-cannabis-infused-cocktails