gin

Have I Got a Dill For You!

Sips

As promised, this week in Alphatinis is a savory sipper perfect for hot summer days.

~~~oOo~~~

Pickled Puppy Martini

Pickled Puppy

I knew, when I (loosely) planned out this series, that D would have something to do with dill. A dill cocktail practically cries out for gin–it all but hops over and into the bottle just to be closer to the already herbalicious spirit. So a dill-infused gin it would be but then! Then I remembered this really nice cucumber-mint mojito with cucumber-infused gin I had once at Bonefish (whose cocktail menu I’ve found lacking in the past) so I decided to throw cucumber into the mix.

Infusing liquor is a fairly simple process: put your fruits or veggies or herbs* into a seal-able glass container, cover with base alcohol of choice and let sit until ready. It does, however, take time. I’m glad I started the infusion 5 days before it was time to try out the cocktail. In about 2 days the dill had made it’s mark but it took the other 3 for the cucumbers to really join the party and mellow the whole mix out. (For the curious I used half a cucumber, sliced, and one very fluffy sprig of dill to about 8 oz of dry gin.)

But what would I pair this very interesting gin with? I didn’t want to go too sweet, obviously, but I didn’t want it to be like drinking pickle juice, either!

Thinking about the gin drinks I enjoy–gin & tonic, gin & cranberry, gin & grapefruit–oh, wait, a twist on a Greyhound might be just the thing. And I happened to have a bottle of Pamplemousse rose Perrier on the shelf as well as pink grapefruit juice. Sold!

Pickled Puppy

2 oz Cucumber-Dill Gin
1 1/4 oz Pink Grapefruit-flavored Sparkling Water
splash of Pink Grapefruit Juice
garnish: cucumber, dill

Combine gin, water and juice over ice in a mixing glass and stir like a dog chasing his tail. Once thoroughly chilled, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish.

I used a long strip of fresh cucumber threaded with dill and a bamboo skewer as a garnish but you could also use some of the cucumber rounds from the infusion. Keep in mind, though, that those cucumbers will be super-potent.

This cocktail turned out so well, my take on the more traditional Greyhound, that I’m keeping the infused gin on hand to make more this weekend–it’s a fabulous, low-impact summer cooler.

~~~oOo~~~

*Yes, I know you can infuse with proteins, too, but I just don’t see the point. Fat-washing doesn’t really appeal to me.

No clue, yet, what our e-themed cocktail will be. Guess we’ll all be surprised next week!

Introducing… The Alphatinis!

Sips
Classic and Dry Martinis

Classic and Dry Martinis

Whew! It is HOT out there. Care for a cool drink?

How many times have you perused a restaurant’s bar menu–usually featuring a number of signature cocktails ending in -ini–picked something that sounded great and then, well, been kinda disappointed by that first sip?

Aside from the fact that it’s better to judge a drink after 2 sips, just to make sure you’re tasting the cocktail and not residue from other things you’ve tasted, it’s a shame when a cocktail doesn’t live up to its name or hype.

That’s what this new series is all about: creating cocktails that are as pleasing to your mouth as your mind. 26 such cocktails, to be exact, one for each and ever letter of the alphabet (yes, even X, Y and Z).

But that all starts next week. For this week let’s just get some basics out of the way.

The original martini, way back in the late 1800s, was comprised of gin, sweet vermouth and bitters. By the early 20th century dry vermouth had replaced the sweet and it became the drink that carried us through until mid-century when the James Bond phenomenon (yes, really) turned the tide to a vodka-based cocktail.

Personally, I’m not a huge fan of a dry martini–it’s all alcohol, no mixer, and I prefer to cut the alcohol with something non-alcoholic in the name of balance. The sweet vermouth version, though, that one I kinda like, though it’s not nearly as sweet as some of the ones we’ll be trying out over the course of the series.

Original Martini

1.5 oz Gin
1.5 oz Sweet Italian Vermouth
1-2 drops of Bitters

Combine with ice in a mixing glass and stir until cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass and garnish with a twist or orange or lemon.

Classic Extra Dry Martini

3 oz London Dry Gin or Vodka
1/8 oz Dry French Vermouth

In a mixing glass, pour the vermouth over the ice and then strain it off. Add the gin or vodka, stir until chilled and strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a small onion. To make it dirty, splash in a bit of the brine from the olives and give it another swirl with the garnished stick.

The dry martini is still too dry for me, though a dirty martini is slightly more palatable than it used to be. If you like your drinks crisp, clean and subtle give the dry version a try. If, on the other hand, you like your cocktails rich and a little sweet–I’d almost call it a meaty flavor, but not really; think of it the way a good red goes with a really good steak–give the original a try.

And next week we starting with our A-game. What will it be? You’ll just have to come back and find out. But! If you have any requests for the rest of the Alphatini series–either from a past experience that could have been better or you just want to challenge me–most of the upcoming ‘tinis have yet to be designed, so let me know what you want to see!

50 Shots of America–Oklahoma

Sips

The countdown has now begun, folks, as we’re making our way through the final 5 in our cocktail tour of the United States we’re also just now getting to the territories that reached statehood in the twentieth century!

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Sooner Twist Than Shout cocktailOOOOOOOOOk-lahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains… (C’mon, tell me that’s not the first thing you do when you hear Oklahoma. It is the state song, after all, so I guess it’s meant to be just that memorable.)

Originally the Indian Territory–home to both native settlements as well as where the displaced tribes of the southeast were packed off to via the Trail of Tears–it didn’t take long (less than 30 years) before cattle trains between Texas and Kansas began making regular runs through there and the US decided, hey, we might want that territory for our use after all. First they subdivided and shrank the Native American lands and then they just started giving the rest away to anyone who could show up at the appointed day and time of the Land Run.

In fact, that’s where the state nickname originated: a “sooner” was someone who crossed into the not-quite-available territory before the allotted time, generally to stake out the choicer claims for themselves. Sooners became known as go-getters and ambitious folk… guess it does sound better than “sneakers.”

Of course, this was all before statehood was granted (that didn’t happen until November 18, 1907).

But, hey, it’s not like the early days of the Oklahoma Territory were anything different than any other settled area we managed to grow into, right? And the way I see it, we all have our fair share of karma from those decisions. Those plains-sweeping winds can just as easily be tornadoes as they could gentle spring breezes is all I’m saying.

Sooner Twist Than Shout

1/2 oz Dry Gin
1 1/2 oz Beer
1/4 oz Lime Juice
Coffee liqueur

Combine the gin, beer and lime juice over ice in a shaker and whirl it around like a truck in a tornado. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

To add the coffee liqueur to the bottom of the glass, draw the liqueur into a straw or pipette and hold it in place, put the full end of the straw at the bottom of the glass and release. You may have to tap or bounce the straw a bit to relative gravity issues, but it’s worth it–not only for the look of the cocktail but the tiny bit of sweet coffee that finishes the drink is an amazing finish to an otherwise tart cocktail.

Like Florida, Oklahoma has got quite the panhandle going for it and their panhandle is full to the brim with pinyon pines and others of that resinous ilk. Pine makes me think gin and this time I wanted a twist (get it? do I have to explain all of my cues and puns by now? we’re on cocktail #46, here!) on the classic gin and tonic, using good old American beer instead of tonic water (OK ranks 5th in wheat production).

With oil representing such a boon to the state’s early and continued economy (they have an active oil well on the grounds of the state capitol!), I wanted to make sure it was represented in the drink, as well.

Whether you serve this with the state meal or not–yes, they have one–of barbecue pork, chicken fried steak, biscuits, sausage and gravy, fried okra, squash, corn, grits, black-eyed peas, cornbread, strawberries, and pecan pie–it’s a great drink the end a long day. Just wait until after you pull off Route 66 before consuming any alcoholic beverages–we want us all to get to state #50 in one piece.

50 Shots of America–South Dakota

Sips

More than 75% through our drink-by-state tour of the United States, today we stop by South Dakota for a trip through the Black Hills…

~~~oOo~~~

Black Hills Stream

Black Hills Stream

There’s still that 50/50 chance that today’s state is actually number 39 and not 40 as it shows up in most lists, but we’ll not rehash that old tale again. Instead, let’s focus on what makes South Dakota a state apart from it’s northern kin.

Home to Tom Brokaw and Laura Engalls Wilder, the Mount Rushmore State sports those famous stone visages in the Black Hills–so named for their appearance, from a distance, covered with pine trees of various types makes the mountains look black. And I’m not sure where I thought Deadwood and Wounded Knee were located (though I suspect I thought it was somewhere in the southwest) but apparently those sites are in South Dakota, too!

Black Hills Stream

1 oz Gin
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Goldschlager

Combine all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass and stir until the ice tumbles about like stone going through a wash plant (we’ve been watching Gold Rush Alaska). Strain into a chilled cordial glass and, if your lucky, you might find a bit of gold in your glass.

The gin is for the pine trees, the goldschlager is for the gold. The scent of the botanicals in the gin teases your nose (along with the cinnamon, of course) and lies subtle under the stronger liqueur. Schnapps have a way of taking over a drink, so using them in small doses is generally a good idea but especially so in shots.

Now, I’m going to sit back, watch Natural Treasure 2 and sip the rest of my drink.

~~~oOo~~~

We’ve only got 10 more states to go. Next up is Montana!

Episode 9: I Need a Drink

Podcast

Whether it’s celebrating the new year, starting off the 12th Night celebration or congratulating yourself for getting the mammoth end-of-year to-do list, done, a drink with a kick can do wonders. After all, what we call cordials and liqueurs were once known as restoratives!

As I rambled mentioned on the show, one of my many sites is Sips & Shots, where I create a new cocktail a week and post about other beverage interests from time to time. And if my voice sounds a little rough on the recording, all I can say is it’s a good thing I recorded when I did as I woke up with practically no voice at all the next day!

Now, what you’re really here for, the music:

Pumpkin Pie–Russell Wolff
Alcohol–O Sweet Static
In the Bar Tonight–Dakota
Crazy When She Drinks–Lee Rocker
Sipping Tea–The Gentlemen Callers
Cold Beer–Jeff Ronay
Glass of Wine–The New Autonomous Folksingers
Wine of Her Lips–Billy Bourbon
Vodka Kosovo–On Wave
Martini Time–AirFerg
Ginned Up–John Hughes
Gin & Tonic–Sammy Barker
The Old Black Rum–Great Big Sea
The Saltee Tango–Stoat
Only the Tequila Talking (feat. John Popper)–Lisa Bouchelle
Sweet Tequila–Brain Buckit
Whiskey Time–The Whiskey River Band
Nancy Whisky–Murder the Stout
Drinking Like a Fiddler–Dust Rhinos

And that’s us for another month. Please, everyone, if you do imbibe, don’t be a drunken monkey–use a designated drive, take a cab, or drink at home and do so in moderation.

Fun’s better if you can remember it the next day!