:: la fée verte ::

The stuff of legend, recently attainable without having to pay fifty bucks to have it shipped surreptitiously as an undervalued "beverage" from the UK -- although, really, going to the post office to sign for a package containing nothing but alcohol is pretty amusing despite not being able to tell anyone there what you're doing (and trying not to giggle when the guy at the window next to you is turned away for trying to mail some scotch).

Yes, so. Absinthe. I do like anise, and in fact really like this anise toothpaste a lot. And my burgeoning drink-snob streak appreciates the easier availability of an important ingredient. Wednesday my boss handed me this article in the NYT to read, and I am really excited to try this new one! I also appreciated an article in a major publication that was not fixated on the mistruths and sensationalism the topic can engender.

My boss, in fact, is becoming a bit of an absinthe fiend himself. We do a monthly champagne-and-cheese event at the shop, and last month I brought my bottle of Nouvelle-Orléans so I could make a Death in the Afternoon for my boss. He really dug it, and the next week when I went to the wine/gourmet shop down the road (they have great takeaway sandwiches) I saw they'd just gotten some Lucid in. So I gave him a bottle as an early Hanukkah gift. Apparently the bottle is half-finished now.

Another good article published this week, here.
The Wormwood Society

Next: designing some really cool absinthe spoons in sterling... Should be fun!

rye whiskey flip

rye whiskey
Benedictine
touch simple syrup
egg!

Yay for flips. Really tasty, as all flips seem to be. When I need to drive myself later, however, I get really paranoid about my consumption. I only started driving a bit over a year ago so it's still kind of new, the going out then heading home thing... ah well. I'm sure it'll get easier/less stressy with time and experience (not drinking and driving of course, just the paranoia that I might be somewhat affected).

vieux carré

Old Overholt rye
fine brandy
dry vermouth
Benedictine
Angostura bitters
Peychaud's bitters

Slightly different recipe at Gumbo Pages.

Very pleasant drink, easy to sip. Although I wonder if I would have been better off sticking with gin for the evening... I am going to experiment with sticking with one base spirit in an evening, and then comparing the effects.

:: Repeal Day ::

Husband was knackered after working from home all day, so I went down from Marblehead alone and made do with my proxy husband for dinner. Fred and Andrea showed up not too long afterwards, so it was a really nice time -- you'd think I'd spend more time at the bar with the people responsible for this new fixation of mine, no? Will have to remedy that.

Spent some time shyly sitting alone at the bar in the beginning and perusing the special cocktail menu for the event: Misty came up with an awesome assortment on one side of the sheet, and the other side featured "Esquire's Top Ten Cocktails of 1934"... I need to get better at the "talking to new, random people" thing. I digress.

Only two drinks, since I had to drive myself home. To live on Essex St again...

final ward

rye
Luxardo Maraschino
Charteruse
lemon juice

From what I can tell from my 3 minutes of browsing (I need to get in the shower and off to work, sigh) this drink is a variation of the Last Word, and named to honor its creator. Citrus and I don't always get along but this drink was really lovely in a cool way. Definitely a nice finisher.

jaguar

1 1/2 oz blanco tequila
3/4 oz Amer Picon
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3 dashes orange bitters

Garnish with flamed orange peel. Source: drinkboston.com

I'd been meaning to try this drink for some time, and we were having dinner at the Standard again... I don't know a hell of a lot about tequilas but I did like this drink. Everything blended so well together. Husband couldn't take more than a sip though, as he'd had a bad tequila experience in his youth that seems to have ruined him on the stuff. More for me, I guess!

boozy hot cocoa, take one: amaretto

2oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2oz amaretto (I used Luxardo, which I lurrrve)

Chop the chocolate into very fine pieces, no bigger than 1/4" in size, and put into a small bowl. Bring the milk and cream to a boil, and pour over the chocolate. Tap the bowl on the counter to help the cream get into the chocolate, and let sit for 30 seconds or so. Mix slowly to blend the chocolate and cream together. Put the amaretto into your large mug, then pour the chocolate mixture over it. Stir to mix the liquids, then enjoy.

Earlier today I made ganache for the first time, following the instructions from the fabulous Secrets of Baking. Then later today, we went over to Marty's specifically to get Luxardo's Amaretto as we'd discovered how wonderfully sublime and better than DiSaronno earlier this week (thanks, Kit). I know amaretto with chocolate is sort of basic and almost boring, but damn: it is tasty, gauche or no.

I need to play around with making ganache-type things more, since the blending didn't work out so well (some chocolate chunks towards the bottom of the mug, nothing particularly fatal). I may have to change it to a two-stage process, blend the cream and chocolate and then add in the milk. I want to try this with Fernet now!

-> Repeal Day!

Andrea told me about this upcoming event earlier this week. I won't be toasting right at 5:32, but I'll be there not too long afterwards! See you there?

http://lupecboston.blogspot.com/2007/11/repeal-day.html
Join the ladies of LUPEC on Wednesday, December 5th at Green Street in Cambridge for a drink because...well, because we can! No pomp, no circumstance and no cover. Just a casual gathering of folks who like cocktails. The festivities begin at 5:32 PM. Pull out your 30's fashions and belly up to the cash bar which will feature a special menu highlighting cocktails of the era.

arsenic and old lace

1 1/2oz gin
1/2oz pastis (I used Jade Nouvelle-Orleans Absinthe and a dash of sugar)
1/2oz creme de violette
1/4oz dry vermouth

Stir with ice and strain. Recipe: CocktailDB

Frederic reminded me of this one earlier this week -- the name caught my eye a while back, before I'd secured my creme de violette.

It's an awfully pretty, pearly-purple drink, yet tastes pretty absinthy. Not that this is a bad thing, mind. It's suiting my mood just fine, thank you very much!