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Cosmic Cocktails | Libra | Tip the Scales

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Tip the Scales cocktail, part of the Cosmic Cocktail series on Sips & ShotsOr, rather, don’t–your local Libra wouldn’t like that very much.

It’s no surprise that with a set of scales as a symbol, Libra is the Sun sign of balance. Equity. Justice.

When you consider that Libra is also our second air sign (the first was Gemini), you will not be surprised that we have another not-to-be-tied down sign going on here, specifically in the manner of decisions. Whereas Gemini loathe being tied down to anything, Librans are indecisive in everything BUT love–they fall hard, fast, and often and might be a little too eager to rush into permanent relationships. I think this is just another sign of their balance.

Either that, or it means having a permanent tie-breaker around.

Other names I considered for this week’s drink? The Fence-Sitter or Switzerland.

Not that Librans are neutral, they just are so very good at seeing both sides that they cannot ever pick one. So while they make great mediators, they can be lousy decision makers. Final answer? Not in this lifetime!

The thing about Libra, though, is while in anyone else this constant waffling might be tiresome or outright maddening, Librans also happen to be sweet and charming, and so very easy going, that those around them are willing to overlook what could be considered a major character defect is brushed away. People want to help the Libran make a decision, the Libran, in turn, showing their gratitude in any number of generous ways. This is also beneficial as your typical Libra does not like to be alone.

Tip the Scales

1 oz Dry Gin
1 oz Apple Juice
1/2 oz Blue Curacao
1/2 oz Club Soda

Combine all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and shake–no, stir–well, it’s really up to you, there’s nothing that says you have to shake it but if you do, make sure to evenly distribute the shakes over each shoulder to keep from over-exerting one side of your body. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

For this cocktail I’ve made super-sure (to the edge of OCD) to keep the balance just right. I mean, I’m always striving for a well-balanced cocktail but this one takes the cake! There’s equal measure of spirits and mixers, equal measures of clear liquids versus colors, equal of sweet versus savory/neutral flavors and, just for a bit of added fun, we’ve got the comparing of apples and oranges!

Granted, it’s not all rosy and light in Libra-ville. The need for affection and company can bring out a social-climbing streak, and their frequent changes of mind can have them seeming rather hypocritical. (Wait, can you really change a mind that was never made up in the first place?) And that seeing-both-sides habit can stretch out a decision until it’s too late to be made–or someone else made it for them. But as long as it was a fair decision, they won’t quibble too much.

Good Evening, Mr. Underhill

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Mr Underhill's Best Cocktail

My main objective in this week’s Alphatini was a more-or-less savory cocktail; we’ve had a lot of sweet going on and it’s nice to mix things up a bit.

Pun unintended.

But we’re on the letter U and, well, I was at a bit of a loss since I’d already used my upside-down-cake inspiration.

As it so happens, though, I’ve been hard at work on What to Feed Your Raiding Party and this past weekend inspiration struck as I was inking the cover to a Lord of the Rings-style comics chapter I was reminded of the hobbits and Frodo Baggins in particular.

In the scene at the Prancing Pony he gives an alias, a Mr Underhill. And Bag End and all the rest of Hobbiton is so green and lively that is proved the perfect inspiration for a savory cocktail with a botanical base.

Mr Underhill’s Best

1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin
1/2 oz Galliano
1/2 oz Apple Juice
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
garnish: 3 olives

In a mixing glass half full of ice, combine the liquid ingredients and stir and time or two, plus a few more for good measure. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with some speared olives.

I’d planned to garnish it with a sprig of Rosemary from the little bush I’d bought just after Thanksgiving but, alas, my green thumb has proven non-existent once again and the poor thing didn’t make it a week past New Years. Last time I tried to keep one I over-watered it, this time I think it suffered the curse of my overcompensation (i.e. under-watering).

Now, as to the ingredients, originally I’d planned this to be an all-alcohol cocktail–hence the stirring. But on first taste the various spirits needed something than a little melt-water to make them nice and merry, so I looked to my mixer shelf to see what could work without being too sweet. Apple juice was the safest bet and I’m quite happy with the way it softens the harder edges of the individual liquors without being too bossy. You do tend to get a nice, light apple aftertaste, which is a nice finish–I think–to an otherwise bracing, savory cocktail.

It’s also a rather wee cocktail, coming in at under 3 ounces, so perfect for those trying to imbibe with moderation after, perhaps, excessive celebration the previous months.

And +10 imaginary points if you caught the Hugo Weaving crossover nod in the title of this post.

Introducing: AGWA de Bolivia

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AGWA de Bolivia banner
Lately I’ve been getting a lot of press releases from different companies running contests or touting new or improved alcohols and I’m thrilled to be able to share then with you guys. Don’t worry, though, I won’t be turning this into an announcement list for beverage distributors–we’re going to be pretty choosy about what makes it through the gate.

One bit of news that did catch my eye was about the new liqueur, AGWA de Bolivia. Not going to lie, what made me sit up and take notice was the fact that this liqueur is distilled from Coca leaves.

Yes, really, those coca leaves.

A few years back I picked up a book that looked interesting, mostly because I misread the title as I wandered through the bookstore. What I though was about Native American medicine (thinking medicine wheel or trail of tears sort of thing) turned out to be about alternative/natural medicines among various ancient cultures spread out around the world. And while the author did spend quite a bit of time searching for and describing the potential of a Viagra-substitute, the book was an interesting read and featured a bit about the importance of coca to the Peruvian culture.

And, of course, being from the South we all know about coca being part of the original Coca-Cola.

But back to the topic of the day! AGWA de Bolivia is a coca leaf liqueur (along with over 30 other herbs) but before anything else happens, the leaves are decocainized. I didn’t know that was a process, either, but I suppose it’s like decaffeinating coffee beans or tea leaves. And, really, it’s not like it’d be allowed in this country if it were truly laced with cocaine, right?

The same folks who kindly offered to send me a sample of this new liqueur also included a few starter recipes to try it out.

Trio of Agwa de Bolivia applications

The 3 AGWA-migos!

First I tried the Bolivian Kiss–it’s a simple 1-2 punch of bite the lime, take the shot. Only I don’t really see the point in shooting alcohol: it want to taste what I’m drinking, not get drunk. So the shot? Not so much. But the flavor combination of the lime and the AGWA was quite refreshing. On the agwabuzz website they also have a recipe for the AGWA Fresca and I’ll bet it’s delicious with the lime and soda water.

Next up was the Red Devil: AGWA and Cranberry. Todd and I both found this one to be surprisingly good. I mean, cranberry gets mixed with a lot of different alcohols and does pretty well, but on it’s own the juice can be a little thin, a little sharp, and very tart. It’s cranberry, after all. But add about an ounce of AGWA? Totally different story! The AGWA doesn’t assert itself over the cranberry, it blends together and creates this warm, soft, round flavor and feel–even on the rocks. This one we will be trying again.

Finally it was time to test the recipe that really made me curious from the original information: the Green Angel. It has two ingredients I dearly love–gin and limoncello–so I knew we had to give it a whirl.

The Green Angel

4 large Basil leaves
1/2 oz Limoncello
1 1/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz AGWA de Bolivia
3/4 oz Apple juice
Lime and Vanilla sugar for garnish

In the bottom of a shaker, bruise the basil leaves into the limoncello with a muddler. Fill the mixing glass half-full of ice and stir to coat with the limoncello. Strain off the limoncello and add the gin, AGWA de Bolivia and apple juice to the mixing glass. Shake like your attempting lift off and strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with vanilla sugar.

I adjusted their recipe a little–converted it from milliliters to ounces, muddled the basil with the limoncello rather than just stirring it around (and using only half of what they called for since I had huge basil leaves), and I shook it instead of stirring. It’s a preference thing.

The Green Angel reminds me of these little candies a friend gave me back in high school. They were French rosewater sugar drops with a little bit of licorice in the center. This cocktail has almost an anise touch to it–Todd said it reminded him of the monkey-face licorice we got back in Nebraska–but I don’t know that there’s any licorice actually in there, it’s just the first impression we each got. The lemon and basil are subtle, the gin in pretty good accord with the AGWA and the apple adds enough sweet to balance out the herbal notes from both alcohols. Not as sweet as I thought it would be, but a very tasty libation.

The Red Devil was obviously our favorite. If you’d like to give it a try you can find out who in your area is likely to carry AGWA de Bolivia (if you’re lucky enough to have a BevMo, try there first) at aqwabuzz.com

Oh! And an aside about the limoncello. For the love of lemons do not just pour out the limoncello and discard it! The hint of basil in the limoncello adds an amazing depth of flavor. In fact, I’d even suggest giving it a try on purpose.

FCC Disclaimer: If it isn’t already obvious, I was provided with samples of the product to try. The rambling opinions are entirely my own.

Arabian Nights

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Juniper Genie Cocktail

The metamorphosis of this week’s cocktail was a bit of a long and winding road. A road, in point of fact, that begins France or thereabouts* and ends somewhere in or near Morocco. Neither place I’ve been but both I’d like to visit one of these days.

At any rate, it started back when I was, oh, 10 or 11 years old and a family friend was being cute(?) and singing the song “Jennifer, Juniper“ and saying that my name (Jennifer) meant Juniper. Now, being the precocious child I was I had already looked up the meaning of my name in the massive Encyclopedic Dictionary we had at home and knew full well that Jennifer is a modernization of Guinevere and had absolutely nothing to do with junipers. And told them so. Snootily.

Despite the misleading connection in the song, it did make me think of Gin–one of our two base spirit options for this series–which only left me figuring out what to add. I went through several j-possibilties and eventually devolved into j-sounding ingredients and ginger was the winner.

Now, at first I was going to be cute and spell it Jin and Jinger but I needed something else. Namely, another ingredient, another flavor. And looking around my bar shelves I found rosewater and that was all it took. Suddenly my mind was filled with the scent of chai, we needed spice and we needed it now!

Juniper Genie

1 1/2 oz Gin
1/4 oz Rosewater
1/4 oz Grated Ginger
a generous pinch of Cardamom
1 oz Ginger Ale
Crystallized Ginger for garnish

Combine gin, rosewater, ginger and cardamom over ice and give it a good shake to wake up the genie inside. Double-strain (to get out all the ginger bits) into a chilled cocktail glass, top with the ginger ale and garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger.

The flavors of the drink are well-layered, each one asserting itself as you continue to sip. First comes the rosewater–the scent is very strong and dominant, followed by the warm, sweetish flavor of the cardamom. Under that, the bite of the ginger starts to assert itself and, subtly at the bottom is the herbal taste of the gin. It’s what I imagine a small spice market would taste like.

Usually I’d infuse the alcohol with the spice but this time it really wasn’t necessary. Cardamom is so expensive that a suitable quantity for infusion would have been risky and the dried spice shaken in was plenty to get the point across. If you’ve never had cardamom that you know of, it reminds me of Apple Jacks cereal.

*Further research shows that the singer, Donovan, was actually Scottish and became famous as an English folk singer but the last verse of the song in question is in French, hence my misunderstanding.

Fighting the Tropics

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While I’m still slaving away on the cookbook, I’ve got the pleasure of bringing you a bit of alcohol history and a fabulous new reference by way of this guest post from my new friend, Woody Robinson. I mean really, how could I say no to a post about one of my favorite spirits?!

~~~oOo~~~

Last weekend I asked for a Gin and Tonic from a weathered bartender at a local pub. A simple request you may think. However, upon delivering my drink, the bartender barked in a raspy voice, “Fighting off the tropics eh?” While some may have ignored this odd comment, I decided to dig a bit deeper. I found out that Gin was mixed with quinine (an anti-malarial compound) and carbonated water during the 17th century in tropical British Colonies. Thus the Gin and Tonic was born!

While simply drinking is great fun, understanding the alcohol we consume makes the experience far more interesting and rewarding. For example, say you’re drinking some gin after a long day of work. Did you know that English soldiers were drinking the same thing while fighting Spanish troops in the Eighty Year War?

Unfortunately, finding a gin that caters to your specific tastes is often a difficult task. From traditional to modern blends with a broad spectrum of flavors, it’s easy to get lost at your local liquor store.

However, alcohol references can make finding your ‘gin of choice’ a snap. For example, FindTheBest teamed up with several gin directories to create a convenient database of the worlds greatest gins. With nearly 200 brands and useful filters to narrow your results, comparing gins has never been easier.

Learning the history of you favorite alcohol is an enlightening and satisfying process. While Gin and Tonics probably aren’t currently recommended by the FDA as an anti-malaria medication, they sure make for a good time after work!

~~~oOo~~~

Woody Robinson is a recent graduate of the University of California Santa Barbara, and is now a gin enthusiast working at FindTheBest and FindTheData. FindTheBest is an objective, socially curated comparison engine that allows you to find a topic, compare your options and decide what’s best for you.