ginger ale

AlcoHOLidays | National S’mores Day | One S’more For the Road

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jwalker_ss_onesmorefortheroad_smores_cocktail

What’s the average lifespan of a s’more, you ask? Not very long I would think. Maybe just long enough for the melty marshmallow inside to cool down enough to prevent burning your tongue–because if you can’t taste the graham cracker-chocolate-marshmallow convergence what’s the point.

Popular at campouts and  bonfires, the earliest written record of a s’more is found in a 1927 Girl Scout camping manual. Since marshmallow sandwich cookies (like Mallomars and Moon Pies) were around 10 years earlier, it’s not much a leap to think that s’mores are a convenient take-off from those, right? But s’more “production” would have been a bit different in the early days as apparently the cylindrical puffs we now associate with mass-market marshmallows were not readily available until the extrusion process was perfected in 1948! They must have been more like the squares we see on Pinterest, made from scratch.

Frankly, I have no problem with either form.

August 10 is National S’mores Day and while I suppose you stoke a fire pit or grab a handy kitchen torch, inventive souls have been making them in the microwave or you can use my shortcut: marshmallow creme. But at least I made the graham crackers myself!

One S’more For the Road

1 1/2 oz Ginger Ale
1 1/4 oz Dark Chocolate Vodka (like Van Gogh)
3/4 oz Whipped Cream Vodka
1/4 oz Maple Syrup
Marshmallow Creme and crushed graham crackers for garnish

Prepare a cocktail glass by dip the outer rim of the glass in marshmallow creme and then rolling in graham cracker crumbs. Set aside.

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice and shake until sufficiently cold. Strain into the prepared glass and top with a dollop of marshmallow creme. A sprinkle of cocoa powder would not go amiss.

There are plenty of s’mores-inspired cocktails out there, this is merely my take on a popular subject. I wanted something somewhat light and graham crackers are only a spice away from ginger snaps in my mind, which made ginger ale a perfect mixer. From making my own graham crackers I learned that much of the flavor comes from the molasses in the brown sugar as well as a healthy dose of vanilla–maple syrup fit that bill nicely. And while you could certainly use a regular marshmallow and even toast it if you had the means, I like the soft, floating island of creme on top of this drink and it made rimming the glass that much easier.

Whether you celebrate National S’mores Day in the traditional manner or with a cocktail version, consider offering s’more to your friends rather than keeping them all for yourself.

Cheers!

AlcoHOLidays | Mexican Independence Day | The Caliente

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Raise your hands, all of you who think (thought) Cinco de Mayo was Mexico’s Independence Day.

Okay, put your hands back down.

For the record, Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) celebrates the Mexican victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Fifty-two years earlier, however, Mexico began it’s fight for independence from Spain with the “Cry of Dolores” (Dolores being a city, not a person–the actual “cry” came from a Roman Catholic Priest by the name of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla) on September 16, 1810. Even though they would not be completely free of Spanish rule until 1821, September 16th is recognized as the National Day of Independence in Mexico.

Partida Tequila and the Caliente cocktail for Mexican Independence Day

Now that we’ve had our history lesson for the week, let’s raise our glass, once again, to independence.

Tequila Partida contacted me about the upcoming holiday and sent me some samples of their lovely, lovely tequilas. They also wondered (and I have to join them in their puzzlement) why Americans celebrate Mexican holidays (or, you know, Tuesday) with blanco tequila, when the aged reposado and anejo tequilas are the grades of choice for celebrations in Mexico.

I’ve never been a huge fan of blanco tequila (aka unaged tequila)–it’s often too harsh and lacks that wonderful warmth that I associate with a good margarita (and that would be a margarita on the rocks, none of this slushy nonsense thank you very much). True, the aging process (while adding quality) does add to the price, but for superior flavor I think it’s worth it..

I had the opportunity to sample the Partida’s blanco, reposado, and anejo tequilas and I have to say, I was surprised that I liked the blanco better than the reposado, but not at all surprised that I enjoyed the anejo even more. What’s the difference?

  • Blanco is not aged at all, but Partida’s blanco is relatively smooth, light and crisp without the hard edges the other blanco’s I’ve tasted have had.
  • Reposado, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 2 months. Partida ages their for 6 months, which gives it a nice, light amber color. While I enjoyed the depth of flavor, it hadn’t smoothed out as much as I would have expected.
  • Anejo, by Mexican law, must be aged a minimum of 1 year. Again, Partida goes beyond the minimum and ages their anejo for 18 months, the outcome of which is a smooth, complex flavor and a nice, golden color. Tasting them side-by-side, even a tequila novice would be able to tell the difference in how smooth and mellow the anejo is compared to the reposado. This is what I want in my margaritas from now on.

Of course, you know me, I like my spirits best in a well-balanced cocktail, and this recipe (courtesy of Jacques Bezuidenhout and Tequila Partida) might be just the thing to add to your tequila cocktail repetoire.

The Caliente

3 chunks of fresh Pineapple
2 coins of fresh Ginger
1/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Agave Nectar*
1 1/2 oz aged Tequila (like Partida Reposado or Anejo)
1 oz Ginger Ale

In a mixing glass combine the pineapple, ginger, lime juice, and agave nectar and muddle until the ginger is broken up a bit. Fill the glass 3/4-full with ice and add the tequila. Shake like you’re keeping time with a lively mariachi band. Pour in ginger ale and swish it around to chill everything together before straining into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a piece of crystallized ginger.

Jacques will have to forgive me as I made some tweaks to the recipe–he recommends Partida Reposado, I would go with Anejo, and he used a scant 1/4 oz of ginger ale and I thought why bother if that’s all your adding? I also have you serve it in a cocktail glass where he suggests over ice in a highball. Do what you like. I liked the ginger in this cocktail, the tequila gives it a very nice flavor, but I do wish the pineapple were more foreward–it gets a bit buried under the oompf of the other flavors, so you might want to try pineapple juice instead of the ginger ale or maybe even pineapple soda!

*Agave Nectar is making quite a buzz in culinary circles, and therefore with the home gastronome as well. Most folks say it’s lower calorie but that’s not really true. What is true is that, ounce for ounce, agave nectar is sweeter than table sugar, so you can use less–IF you use less, volumetrically-speaking, then yes, it’s reducing your calories, but a gram of sugar and a gram of agave nectar both add the same amount of calories. Read those labels, though! Manufacturers have been known to stretch their agave nectar in the name of profit with high fructose corn syrup, so check that the ingredient list includes only 100% agave nectar before bringing it home.

Okay, folks, remember to go for the gold? Age before beauty? Something like that! But if you were looking for a reason to try some really good tequila this weekend, now you’ve got it!

And come back next week to find out what we’re celebrating next!

“¡Viva Mexico! ¡Viva la independencia!” 

——————–

FTC Disclaimer: I was provided samples of Partida Tequilas for the purpose of review. All opinions are 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.

A Little Change of Plans

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So, this week we were supposed to all be surprised with the fabulous E-Alphatini, right?

Yeah, about that, I’ve discovered my deadline for the cookbook project is coming up fast so a lot of my blogging time is taking a backseat for the month of August so I can get some serious, sloggy, un-fun data entry done.

In the mean time, why not make up a batch or two of this drink that was previously posted as part of a Food & Game Pairing over on What to Feed Your Raiding Party.

You sip, I’ll type, and we’ll all meet back here in 4 weeks to solve the mystery of the E-Alphatini!

Summer Monkey

1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Peach Schnapps
1 oz Banana Liqueur
Ginger ale

Combine the juice and liqueurs in a tall glass (highball, pint glass or even a hurricane will do) and stir to combine. Fill the glass 3/4 full with ice and fill will ginger ale. Stir with a straw and serve. Optionally, garnish with pineapple.

 

50 Shots of America–Michigan

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Talk to the Hand

Talk to the Hand

On the cruise last January one of the couples we shared our dinner table with was from Michigan. The demonstrated exactly where by holding up their right hand and using it as a visual aid. Apparently this is a regular thing for Michiganders as the lower peninsula does resemble a mitten. (The UP–Upper Peninsula–is sometimes considered the bridge.) Because of this, the name for today’s cocktail came before anything else:

Talk to the Hand

4 fresh Cherries, 3 stemmed
3/4 oz Vanilla Vodka
1/4 oz Kirschwasser
1.5 oz Ginger Ale*

Muddle the 3 stemmed cherries with the vodka and kirsch in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and shake like your trying to keep warm while ice-fishing. Add the ginger ale and stir a few times to combine and allow the ginger ale to cool, then strain into a chilled cordial glass. Garnish with the remaining cherry.

*Use Vernor’s for authenticity. Next best would be some ginger beer for flavor, last on the list being the dry-er (read as, less sweet) ginger ales from the grocery store. Still acceptable if that’s all you can find, though.

Even though the first European settlers of The Great Lakes State were French Catholics (a nice, peaceful trio of Jesuit missions that actually got along fairly well with the Native Americans of the time) who helped establish the peninsula as a major fur-trading center, Germans have become the largest single ancestral group in the centuries since then. They’re also the largest producer of cherries in the country–hence the kirsch.

My research turned up the fun fact that a Michigan pharmacist was the guy behind Vernor’s ginger ale. Thanks to progress you can find it outside it’s original area (even down here in Florida from time to time). What made Vernor’s different was the extra fizziness, the sweet taste and the souped-up  ginger taste. It was even an integral part of the ice cream soda known as the Boston Cooler (which has nothing to do with town in Massachusetts): ice cream and Vernor’s. Yum!