I love cocktail parties. Especially ones that give me the opportunity to take my guest’s palates to another level. This little cocktail party served notice that great mixed drinks don’t have Fireball or Tito’s in them. Far from. They take great parts and incredible craft spirits and bring these liquid driven adventures truly to a higher place.

I was given a bottle of Martinique Blue Cane Rhum Agricole recently and I couldn’t think of a nicer way to serve it than with Royal Rose- Simple Syrup of Cardamom and Clove and a bit of seltzer water.

Just over on Mt. Pelee’

Ingredients:

3 oz. Clement Bleue Canne Rhum Agricole (100 Proof)
1 oz. Royal Rose Simple Syrup of Cardamom and Clove
2 oz. Seltzer
2-5 drops Lemon Bitters (of your choice)

Prep:

To a cocktail mixing glass filled ¾ with ice

Add the Rhum Agricole
Add the Simple Syrup
Stir well to combine
Pour into a Collins Glass with ice
Top with the Seltzer
Dribble the bitters over the top and serve

The second cocktail took a simple drink known as the gin and tonic and quite literally, raised the bar with thirty different types of gin. The crowd favorite? A little gin in a gorgeous bottle from Scotland named Caorunn. For some reason (well known to those of us who love artisanal gin) the Caorunn has a richer texture and ‘ginny’ character that worked so well with the multitude of tonic waters that I brought with me. Amongst the gins were The Botanist, SW4, No.3., Martin Miller’s Pot Still, Hat Trick, FEW, Nolet, Beefeater, and many others.

Not Just Another Gin and Tonic

Ingredients:

3 oz. Gin of your choice (Caorunn was the crowd favorite)
Lemon Zest (no pith!)
5 oz. Cane Sugar Tonic Water- the crowd favorite was Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic (Bed, Bath and Beyond)
Aromatic Bitters – like Angostura, often used in a “pink gin”

Prep:

Flavor the glass with the lemon zest then the Angostura Bitters
Add ice
Add the Gin
Top with the Tonic
Stir and Serve

I’m sure that the third drink is where you want to get going- and that would mean immediately!

The Soda and Cocktail Syrup named Fruitations is where this drink really takes off. I used the brilliant Tangerine syrup and combined it with Mezcal and then finished it off with a Cane Sugar Ginger Beer from Australia named Bundaberg. Brilliant stuff. A wedge of fresh lime and lemon bitters sent this drink further than it has ever been prior. Trust me.

Just up Near Mexico City

Ingredients:

2 oz. Mezcal of your choice
Orange Zest
1 oz. Fruitations Soda and Cocktail Syrup (Tangerine)
Splash Ginger Beer
Aromatic or Lemon Bitters

Prep:

Moisten the inside of a rocks glass with the orange zest
Add ice
Let cool
In a Boston Shaker add:
The Fruitations Syrup
The Mezcal
Cap and Shake hard to combine
Double Strain over the ice filled rocks glass
Splash of Ginger Beer
Dot with Lemon Bitters
Spray the lime wedge over the top
Serve with a smile

The next drink was my own take on the classic Old Fashioned, and it departs from the classic in one very determined way. I chose to roast several different kinds of oranges in a bath of both Balsamic vinegar and Demerara sugar until caramelized and bubby- about 2.5 hours at 350 degrees covered. The final ½ hour is uncovered to add a bit of darkness to the softly cooked fruits. I then roasted some Luxardo cherries until warmed through and quite soft- about 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Set to cool so you won’t break your expensive crystal with sizzling hot fruit, pricy whiskey and ice!

Not your typical Old Fashioned

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons or so of the oven roasted citrus and cherries
2 oz. Barrell Bourbon Whiskey- I used unreleased batch #012
bitters of your choice

Prep:

Muddle the roasted fruit
Add the whiskey
Stir gently
Dot with bitters
Serve

The final drink was the easiest to duplicate because once you are able to buy a good quality Absinthe, you’ll be more than ½ way there. Any of the fine Absinthes made by Jade would work beautifully, as would the Lucid line. There is one thing that I must stress. The lack of color is far preferable to the ones with color added. It’s just my preference.

Just a Normal Louche

Ingredients:

Jade Absinthe
Drizzle of iced water
Great Conversation

Prep:

Release the chilled water from your Absinthe fountain slowly and gently into 2 oz. of Absinthe, sip and repeat until sated

The Negroni.. As Illustrated…

From Cocktail Whisperer on Dec 31, 2013

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Friday, May 17, 2013

The Negroni

By Warren Bobrow, Cocktail Whisperer

I love the drink named the Negroni. It’s bright, refreshing and quenches the thirst, unlike many cocktails. It never leaves me feeling drab, nor does it take away my appetite like some other cocktails do when sipped before a meal.

In my upcoming book, Apothecary Cocktails, Restoratives from Yesterday and Today, I discuss the correlation of the digestive tract and healing, by using liquors mixed with fresh herbs. If only the pharmacists from years back had known about the Negroni as a healing curative! Well, in a way they did.

The Negroni was invented back in 1919 in Florence, Italy – purposively built to heal what ails you. Orson Wells famously said in 1947 that, “The bitters are excellent for your liver, the gin is bad for you. They balance each other.” I don’t know about you, but I think gin is good for you. Perhaps Mr. Wells had it altogether incorrect. The entire drink is good for you. Gin, after all, was used during the Middle Ages as a curative for the Black Plague. And Vermouth has long been held as a curative for many internal battles surrounding the digestive glands.

The history of the Negroni involves a base spirit, like gin, plus bitters and vermouth. I enjoy my Negroni Cocktail with the powerfully intoxicating Caorunn Gin from Scotland. Distilled with a healthy smack of the juniper berry and woven into a backdrop of citrus with a hefty punch of alcohol, the Caorunn Gin just tempts me to have another. Combined with the syrupy and complex Carpano Antica Vermouth and the historically correct Campari Bitters from Italy, the Negroni speaks very clearly of getting buzzed with the minimum of effort. I just sipped my Negroni down and absolutely feel no pain. And why would I, with the application of my finger to stir this magnificent cocktail?

My friend Gary Regan stirs his with his finger so why shouldn’t I?

Well the reasons are numerous why you should not stir your cocktail with your finger. Cleanliness has something to do with this. But I suppose if you dipped your finger in your tri-sink filled with disinfectants and cleansers, you’d really have nothing to worry about as long as you were in your own home. I always use a cocktail spoon when working behind the bar so not to upset my customers! The drink shown was mixed with my own finger… far away from any paying customers!

The best Negroni is also the simplest one to make. I do only a couple of things differently:

1. Wash glass out inside and out with cool water.
2. Dry carefully with a soft towel.
3. Pack with ice and water.
4. Carefully measure out your ingredients, pour out the bar ice and water.

I also use a couple large hand-cut cubes of ice from the Williams Sonoma silicone ice cube tray. But most importantly, I filter my water first with ice made from from my Mavea “Inspired Water” filter. With this magical device, my ice nearly freezes crystal clear. A far cry from the ice that comes out of the ice machine in the fridge.

The Negroni Cocktail

Ingredients:
• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Carpano Antica
• 1 oz. Caorunn Gin
• 2 dashes of The Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters

Preparation:

1. Add Campari.
2. Add Sweet Vermouth – I ALWAYS USE Carpano Antica for the second step.

3. Add your choice of Gin. In this case I used Caorunn Gin from Scotland. Caorunn is liberally flecked with citrus fruit woven around the haunting elegance of the moors at night.

4. Add The Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters.
5. Add ice.
6. Stir all ingredients together… (And no, you don’t have to use your finger!!!)

Cheers from DrinkUpNY!

– See more at: http://drinkwire.liquor.com/post/the-negroni-as-illustrated#sthash.na0iK3hA.HuSc6QGl.dpuf