Wednesday, July 11, 2012

[headkick]

1 oz Willet Rye
1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz Kümmel
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 dash Celery Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

Two Fridays ago, I stopped into Drink right after it opened and beat the post-work rush. For a first cocktail, I told bartender Jeff Grdinich that I was in the mood for whiskey. What he improvised was an herbal medley that shared some similarity with a classic drink called the High Kick which is equal parts rye, dry vermouth, and kümmel. Since Jeff did not have a name for his drink, I dubbed it the Headkick with perhaps Brick and Mortar's Flying Headlock in mind.
The cocktail offered a fresh lemon oil aroma that led into a sweet honey sip. Next, the complex swallow began with rye followed by kümmel's spice notes that finished with vegetal notes from perhaps the celery bitters.

2 comments:

bza said...

This. Sounds. Amazing.

Did he use Gilka Kummel? I'm trying this tonight.

frederic said...

No, Combier.

It might be a more interesting drink with 1/2 oz kummel and 1/2 oz yellow Chartreuse instead of 3/4:1/4. The yellow Chartreuse kind of gets lost here.