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Give it a Shot: Denizen Aged White Rum

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Denizen Aged White Rum

You may recall I mentioned an aged white rum (back in the Bluebird of Happiness celebration) a few months back. The time is way passed that I give you a better picture of this particular spirit and share a couple of season-appropriate cocktails courtesy of Denizen Aged White Rum.

While many base spirits (whisk(e)y, tequila, etc.) have pretty specific standards to meet x, y, or z classifications, rum standards vary from among countries of origin and local custom. Still, we do generally know that a white rum tends to be younger, and distinctly brighter in flavor, than a deeper aged rum. And while pretty much all distilled spirits are aged for a given length of time, white rum generally has a short aging period (sometimes as few as 8 months, like in Mexico) and uses uncharred barrels to prevent color from developing (and what color there might be is often filtered out).

Denizen combines the qualities of a 5-year aged rum from Trinidad that is then blended with 15 types of Jamaican rum (these latter rums benefit from the more varied flavors–cogeners–that come from pot-distillation) to get to their final state: a white rum with a broader, richer flavor of an aged one.

When I tasted the rum I was impressed with the breadth of flavor but still noticed that particular rum bite at the back corners of my mouth. In cocktails it adds a certain depth of flavor without muddying up the color of the drink (as sometimes that can be a bit of an aesthetic downer).

Denizen was kind enough to share these recipes which you might consider if you’ve got a party coming up.

Hot Apple Rum Cider

4 oz Denizen Rum
16 oz Apple Cider
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tbsp Cane Sugar
3 Cinnamon Sticks
5 Green Cardamom Pods
2 Star Anise Pods
1/2 tsp Grated Fresh Ginger
1/4 Vanilla Bean
1/4 tsp Angostura Bitters

Add all ingredients except Denizen to a saucepan or slow cooker and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes or until hot. Remove from heat and stir in Denizen. Strain into an insulated container or serve from pot. Garnish each much with a cinnamon stick.

Carnivale Hot Chocolate

8 oz Denizen Rum
12 oz Whole Milk
3 oz Water
6 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
3 Tbsp Cane Sugar
2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
2 tsp Ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Ground Cloves
1/4 tsp Angostura Bitters

In a small saucepan, stir together the cocoa powder, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and water until they form a paste. Add the milk and place over medium heat, stirring constantly until it simmers. Remove from heat, stir in Denizen and bitters, and pour into an insulated vessel. Serve warm in a mug. Marshmallows optional.

I’m guessing these would serve 4-6, depending on serving size (they, unfortunately, didn’t give a yield either of them).

However you choose to celebrate the season, please celebrate responsibly.

Cheers!

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I was provided a sample of Denizen Aged White Rum for purposes of review. All opinions expressed are my own. 

AlcoHOLidays | Hanukkah | Light One Cocktail

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When it comes to honoring other culture’s holy days with something as potentially flippant as a cocktail tribute, you have to walk a fine line between humor and reverence. So I’m going to apologize now for the very bad pun I’m about to make.

Light One Cocktail Hanukkah beverage

Most people know that Hanukkah is the Jewish celebration of the night when they had only enough oil for 1 night and yet it lasted a full 8. It is that, as well as the celebration of the re-dedication of the Temple of Jerusalem (which had been previously desecrated on the orders of Antiochus IV) after a several years of war. Because of that miracle, oil plays a significant part of the Hanukkah rituals and explains why the popular foods of the holiday are fried.

Oily (or unctuous) is not something we generally look for in cocktails. There is a way to merge the two; it’s a process called fat-washing (yes, it’s a gross name) and often includes bacon or other fatty meats. Somehow I didn’t think that bacon-bourbon would be… kosher for this festival.

Instead, I’m going to lead with wine.

The story of Judith is another told during this holiday (which, in 2012, starts at sunset on Saturday, December 8*), and one I was not aware of before now. Judith was a widow in a town beset by an Assyrian general and his troops and they were running out of options. She concocted a plan to “surrender” to this general (Holofernes), ply him with salty cheese to make him thirsty, and then get him drunk on wine. When he was out cold she cut off his head. His troops were a bit lost without their leader and the town was saved.

This is also where dairy foods–everything from the sour cream on the fried latkes to the cheese filling in the blintzes–comes into play in the Hanukkah celebration.

Growing up, one of our unofficial holiday traditions was to watch Peter, Paul, and Mary’s “A Holiday Celebration” on PBS (frequently as part of their annual pledge drive). I was always most impressed by the songs I hadn’t heard before, namely the Hanukkah songs (some, like Light One Candle, written by Paul Yarrow). They remain some of my holiday favorites.

To that end, I offer you

Light One Cocktail

1.5 oz Red Table Wine
1.5 oz Apple Juice
1 oz + 1 barspoon Honey Bourbon, divided
kitchen match or long-handled lighter

Combine the wine (check for Kosher or Pareve on the label if your guests are observant), juice, and single ounce of bourbon in a mixing glass with just a few ice cubes and stir until combined but not super-cold. Pour into a cocktail glass that has NOT been chilled. Hold the barspoon of bourbon over the cocktail glass and light it. Once you’ve been suitably impressed, carefully extinguish the flaming by dunking the flaming spirits into the drink.

Turning the lights off just before you flame it makes for a nice touch.

So we have the wine for Judith, the apple juice for another common accompaniment to latkes (applesauce), and the honey bourbon for the honey-dipped loukoumades that also make appearances at some Hanukkah celebrations.

I’ve never flamed a drink before tonight. To tell the truth, I was always a bit afraid to. Even though it’s a fairly common bar trick it’s not something I was too keen to play with. Still, it seemed appropriate, so we went for it. I’d read about a Russian custom** of dipping a piece of sugar into spirits, lighting them in a spoon and then dousing them in one’s tea once the holiday songs were sung; it seemed a somewhat safer way to approach the flaming drink idea.

Alas, the sugar cube method wouldn’t cooperate with this drink, and since the overall alcohol isn’t of a high enough proof to flame on its own, the barspoon of bourbon serves our purpose admirably.

What we do end up with, though, is a slightly sweet wine that will complement, I think, a plate of latkes admirably.

L’Chaim!

*yes, I know the calendars say the 9th, Jewish days start at sunset whereas the Gregorian calendar’s start at midnight

**http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/rfcj/HANUKKAH/Beverage_Flaming_Tea_-_pareve.html

Pick Your Poison: Edible Cocktails vs the New Old Bar

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To say that I love books is an understatement: in our current home what was meant as the dining room serves as our “Library” and doesn’t even come close to holding our combined collections. And my cookbook bookcase is full to overflowing.

And, yet, I’ll seldom pass up the chance to meet a new book (though more and more and showing up on my Kindle, these days).

But, just like people, not every book was meant for every person. Today I’ve got two books that I wanted to love, but only found that bosom companion in one.

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First up, Edible Cocktails: From Garden to Glass – Seasonal Cocktails with a Fresh Twist by Natalie Bovis, The Liquid Muse.

With a name like Edible Cocktails, at first I expected something that took the flavor profiles of cocktails and put them into foods as opposed to beverages. The subtitle turned me around and then had me thinking that the cocktails would be arranged by season, to take advantage of fresh fruits, herbs and juices in-season.

It didn’t really do either per se.

What it did was spend the first third of the book touching on everything from types of spirits to gardening to composting. Yeah, I don’t want composting anywhere near my cocktails; thanks but no thanks. And it did all of this while coming off a bit pretentious. I kept thinking it was the Portland or Austin of cocktail books. Not a bad thing if that’s what you’re looking for, but not necessarily my cup of tea.

The true thrust of this book leans towards the syrups, jams, purees, and infusions that pepper the book and are then used in the cocktails that make up the other half of the book’s recipes. Even though I have a confirmed black thumb and have no interest in gardening whatsoever, I do appreciate the inventive flavor combinations her recipes suggest.

Another niggling detail was that each of the purees, etc. require refrigeration and last only a week. And that’s after you’ve gone to the trouble of making and seeing how much you have because the recipes are sorely lacking in any sort of yield information (okay for cocktails, they usually make 1, but not for other items). I also didn’t really appreciate the brand-name-dropping that went on throughout the book. Things like that stick in my craw, but others may not care about them so much.

The photos in the book are breathtaking, though–this could have been nothing but the photos in a hardback coffee table-sized edition and I would have loved it as is. No recipes required. And I would love to have their assortment of barware.

Best bet is to gift this book to a friend who does garden, drools over the Anthropology catalog, and shops thrift stores for vintage finds.

(And just a note to say that while I may not have thoroughly enjoyed Edible Cocktails, Bovis is a partner in the O.M. line of organic cocktail mixers which I adore.)

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By contrast I truly adored The New Old Bar: Classic Cocktails and Salty Snacks from The Hearty Boys. This fun, fast-reading book by Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith (whom you may know if you are a fan of the Next Food Network Star) was an absolute pleasure to read. There’s a healthy smattering of cocktail photos as well as many photos of cocktail ephemera and neon signs. It’s just plain fun.

In addition to quite a long list of cocktails (listed alphabetically on their own, but organized by base spirit in the index), along with tips or anecdotes on many, there’s the promised chapter on snacks that really makes you want to get into the kitchen. Fried, pickled, or baked and, yes, salty, these nibbles are intended to whet the appetite of a bar patron or your guest for some liquid refreshment. The Cheesy Monkey Bread in particular caught my eye.

The New Old Bar rounds out its offerings with a chapter on toasts. While its true you can drink any time, having a reason–be it loves lost or gained, life’s milestones, or holidays–makes the libations even more meaningful with a few choice words said over them.

A bon vivant of the first order would love this book, as would any burgeoning cocktail enthusiast interested in the classics as well as some more modern drinks.

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I was provided copies of each book for purpose of review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own. Have a cocktail book coming out that your brave enough to let me see? Email sipsandshots@gmail.com for my mailing information.

AlcoHOLidays | Repeal Day | Good Clean Fun

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Good Clean Fun cocktail for Repeal Day, December 5

From 1920 to 1933, the United States was technically dry, minus a few loopholes and a helluva lot of bootleggers.

See, the temperance movement thought that many of society’s ills would be cured if drinking were just outlawed. And even though President Wilson tried to veto it, Congress used their 2/3 vote to overrule him and they signed the 18th Amendment into existence, banning the sale, importation, or exportation of intoxicating spirits throughout the country. For the curious the intoxicating spirit threshold was .5% alcohol.

Now, the funny thing about number 18 was that it didn’t make consuming alcohol illegal, just the making, buying, and selling. So folks in the know stocked up big-time before the Volstead Act took effect on January 16, 1920. And even the making of spirits wasn’t completed forbidden–individuals could brew fruit-based wines and ciders for personal consumption and vineyards took to selling grape concentrates to facilitate just those measures with packaging that told folks exactly what not to do if they didn’t want their reconstituted grape juice to ferment. Wink wink.

Of course the hope that banning alcohol would immediately dissuade folks towards drinking backfired spectacularly. To many the law made absolutely no sense and it ruined a lot of faith in both the government and the police forces tasked with enforcing the new law. And then there was the not-so-small matter of the government losing out on all that taxable revenue now that all sales were under the table.

It took 13 years for folks to see the light. Thirteen years of bootleggers, speakeasies, and increased crime rates (instead of the hoped-for lessening). Prohibition was repealed on December 5, 1933, by the ratification of the 21st Amendment.

Good Clean Fun

1 sugar cube
Angostura Bitters
1 3/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz Limoncello
strips of citrus zest for garnish

Drip enough drops of the bitters onto the sugar cube to “soak” it and place it in the bottom of a low-ball or small cocktail glass. Combine the gin and limoncello over ice and stir until thoroughly chilled (10 to 15 turns should do it). Strain the chilled alcohol over the  sugar cube and add a couple strips of citrus zest to the drink, swirling it to start the sugar dissolving.

Soaking a sugar cube in bitters is a long-standing tradition of blending the savory and the sweet in drinks. And while cocktails were around two decades before the U.S. tried their little “Noble Experiment”, the trend to drink good alcohol neat was problematic when you were dealing with the low-quality and sometimes dangerous concoctions that served for spirits in speakeasies, hence the many mixers of Prohibition-era cocktials.

The term bathtub gin refers to grain alcohol flavored with various items (like juniper) and topped off with water from the bathtub spigot (as the bottles were apparently too tall to fit easily under the kitchen faucet)–so the story goes. In this cocktail I use gin as an homage to those dark days but pick a good one. Limoncello, while not tied to Prohibition per se, appealed to me in the vein of making lemonade out of lemons. Limoncello make take longer (though not 13 years, thank goodness), but it’s certainly tasty.

We all know full well that drinking without discretion or moderation can lead to some very bad things. Anything from bad choices of who to go home with to DUI-accidents to diseases of various sorts can befall someone who drinks too much or too often (or both). But a well-made cocktail really is, in my opinion, good clean fun.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Thanksgiving | Berry-Cran Cobbler

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Berry-Cran Cobbler Cocktail for Thanksgiving

Growing up, Mom made no bones about Thanksgiving being her favorite holiday. Trips home to see family were in November, not December, and featured large gatherings of family and friends, food served buffet-style on every flat surface available, and (one memorable year) plates that were actually Chinet platters, because a normal plate wouldn’t come close to holding a little bit of everything available.

These days Thanksgiving is often relegated to the back-burner for many. Merely a carbo-load before Black Friday shopping begins (this year some stores are starting Thursday night, even).

Despite some of the more inauspicious beginnings of Thanksgiving (similar to the controversy surrounding Columbus Day), Thanksgiving is still widely celebrated throughout the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. Menus vary depending on your family’s heritage or adopted traditions, though turkey with all the trimmings is considered the norm. What makes this turkey dinner different from any other?

Cranberry Sauce

Sure, you can buy canned cranberry sauce year-round, but you can roast poultry year round, too. Cranberry sauce is just one of those things we don’t seem to buy much of (or make) except for Thanksgiving.

Berry-Cran Cobbler

1 Tbsp Dried Cranberries
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 1/2 oz Spiced Rum
3 Tbsp Raspberries & Blueberries
Crushed Ice
Cranberry Juice
Sprig of Mint

Muddle the dried cranberries and simple syrup in the bottom of a mixing glass. Add the rum, fresh berries, and then crushed ice to the 3/4 mark on the glass and shake until nice and frothy. Dump the whole thing into a glass, add more ice (if needed), and fill with cranberry juice.  Garnish with a sprig of mint and serve with a straw.

Even though cobblers are traditionally made with sherry or other fortified wines, I thought rum better fit the feeling I was going for. The fresh berries should break up a bit during shaking and the cobbler is one of the few drinks that is served with the shaking ice rather than straining over fresh. It’s a fun sort of throw-back drink for a fun sort of throw-back holiday. It’s very sweet, so if you want something lighter, split the shaken mixture between two glasses and use more cranberry juice to thin it.

To be totally candid…

There’s a lot of crap going on in society today–Mother Nature is obviously not. pleased. with us, jobs are still scarce for many, and some people still insist on being grade-A asshats just because they feel like it. But in the face of all of that, we still have a lot to be thankful for. I’m not going to make you confess your gratitude. (Hey, if what you’re most thankful for today is your morning coffee, your earbuds to drown out an annoying co-worker, and the 30%-off coupon you’ve got for Kohls, you shouldn’t have to feel bad for standing next to the guy whose thankful his cancer’s in remission–we don’t judge, here. Be happy for you both.) But whatever you raise your glass to this coming week, I hope you have a good one.

Cheers!