palmer

2/3 Rye Whiskey (1 1/2 oz Old Overholt)
1/4 Grapefruit Juice (3/4 oz)
1/4 Dry Vermouth (1/2 oz Noilly Prat)
2 dash Grenadine (1/2 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a grapefruit twist.
After the Kal Katz, I decided to stick with the same era and search through Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. When I spotted the Palmer in the whiskey section, it reminded me of the Standish Arms which also appears in that book. Upon shaking the drink and straw tasting it, I needed to up my first interpretation of 2 dashes of grenadine from 1/4 to 1/2 oz for balance. I also added a grapefruit twist to the recipe which added some bright aromas that led into the grapefruit and pomegranate sip quite well. Next, the swallow was all about the rye with herbal and spice notes from the dry vermouth and bitters. Perhaps I enjoyed the Standish Arms more, but the Palmer was definite worth a try.

kal katz

1 oz White Rum (Banks)
1 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
2 dash Crème de Menthe (1/4 oz Tempus Fugit)
2 dash Maraschino Liqueur (1/4 oz Luxardo)

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass.

Two Thursdays ago, I was flipping through Tom Sandham's World's Best Cocktails and spotted a classic from the 1930s. The drink was the Kal Katz that José Abeal created at Sloppy Joe's in Havana for their 1932-33 menu. The book points out that is seems to be a variation of the Mary Pickford, another Cuban drink that was created a few years before the Kal Katz (see the link for more historical info).
The Kal Katz began with a pleasing combination of pineapple and mint with perhaps a hint of Maraschino. While the fruitiness of the pineapple came through on the sip, the rest of the pineapple flavors appeared on the swallow along with the rum followed by a Maraschino and mint finish.

sufrimiento de simon

2 oz Eight Six Co. Tequila Cabeza
3/4 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Galliano Ristretto
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Add a straw and a paper umbrella.

After Drink, the party bus whisked us away from Fort Point, up Mass Ave, and into Central Square, Cambridge. Our destination was Brick & Mortar, and we were greeted with a small version of Sufrimiento de Simon to showcase the Eight Six Co's tequila. On the menu were a larger format of this drink as well as several other tequila cocktails including the El Ranchito with peach tea syrup and Suze gentiane liqueur which I tried.
The Sufrimiento de Simon showcased a fruity lemon aroma. The citrus continued on into the sip along with a berry note from the sloe gin. The swallow then provided tequila, coffee, and pineapple flavors with growing clove notes. Indeed, Misty utilized the agave-sloe gin combination that worked great in her Gail Collins, but overall, the libation reminded me more of the Lani Kai Sling with additional coffee notes (besides a change of base spirit).

:: 86 company spirits ::

[Brava Daiquiri]
2 oz Eighty Six Co. Caña Brava Rum
2/3 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/3 oz Cinnamon Syrup
Few drops Herbsaint
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Two Wednesdays ago, Simon Ford was in town for the launch of The 86 Company's spirits line that he helped to found. For the launch, they had four products to showcase -- a gin, a rum, a tequila, and a vodka -- each produced in collaboration with a different well-respected distiller. The event was spread out over three destinations with each bar featuring one of the spirits (with the vodka one being left unaccounted for except at the tasting), and in between each leg was a 80s-themed party bus that took us from the Hawthorne to Drink and from Drink to Brick & Mortar. The event started at the Hawthorne with a tasting of the four spirits followed by classic gin cocktails. Here are my notes from the tasting:

• Fords Gin - Simon's namesake gin was produced in collaboration with the distiller at Thames Distillers in London. In the botanical mix besides juniper are corriander, bitter orange peel, lemon peel, grapefruit peel, jasmine flowers, orris, angelica, and cassia, and their website in a brave degree of honesty actually lists the percentages of each botanical by weight in the infusion. On the nose, the gin reminded me a lot of Bombay Sapphire, No. 3, and Nolet's gin due to angelica or orris in conjunction with the juniper. At first the gin was rather earthy and low in citrus when tasted neat; however, after adding a splash of water to this 90 proof spirit, grapefruit peel and cinnamon suddenly became quite apparent.
• Aylesbury Duck Vodka - This spirit is made from white winter wheat grown on small farms in western Canada and is distilled to 193 proof before being diluted for bottling at 80 proof. Yes, it was vodka, but it was not absolutely flavorless and I enjoyed the light grain notes when tasted neat similar to that in Russian Standard. A few did not enjoy that like I did, but the biggest complaint was a glycerol sweetness and body aspect to it. Compared to a pot stilled spirit, it was slight and I did not really have a problem with this.
• Caña Brava Rum - The rum was made in conjunction with Panamanian distiller Francisco "Don Pancho" Fernandez who is also the maker of Ron de Jeremy. The 86 Co. sought him out for his experiences of making rum in Cuba before Castro and they wanted to make a Cuban-style white rum that would be perfect for Daiquiris. The end result is a rum made from wild sugar cane grown on volcanic soil in Panama, aged up to three years in wood, blended, and stripped clean of color through charcoal filtration. I was hoping for something grassy like I had heard old Cuban rums were, but instead the sugar cane notes were more subtle in this smooth and clean white rum. The vanilla notes from the barrel aging were there but not as robust as say El Dorado 3 Year. Bottled at 86 proof.
• Tequila Cabeza - For all that I found the rum to be on the subtle end of things, the tequila was quite the opposite. The spirit was produced in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, and the Vivanco family opted for cooler, slower winter fermentation to bring forth this extra flavorful style. I enjoyed the spirit for it had more vegetal and fruity notes to it as opposed to many of the tequilas that are on the market. Also bottled at 86 proof.

Besides the tasting at the Hawthorne, bartenders Katie Emmerson and Nicole Lebedevitch were mixing up cocktails with the gin. Before the tasting, Jackson Cannon offered me a gin and tonic which was good but hid the gin a bit too much to make a decent call. For a cocktail later, I chose a Martinez and the gin worked well to add extra spice and citrus notes to the mix. I think the gin will appeal the No. 3 and Nolet's crowd more so than the Beefeater or Plymouth set.
After the Hawthorne, we loaded up onto the party bus and traveled to Fort Point to have punch and cocktails made by the Drink crew. The Don's Mix-laden Daiquiri of sorts that I tried was crafted by Josey Packard; perhaps it was closer to a Donga Punch. The cinnamon on the nose led into a sweet grapefruit sip. Next, the swallow offered rum, cinnamon, and spice.

:: untappd beer app ::

Besides the OnTheBar app for mobile phones, the next most useful drink-associated app I have found has been the Untappd beer one. I believe that I first learned of it through a friend's tweet announcing a beer he drank, and I decided to download the app and give it a shot -- especially since there is very little risk in trying out a free application. Here is my impression after trying it out for 6 weeks.

I have really only used some of the features on Untappd and will mention the others that perhaps some of you will find useful too. In essence, you can enter beers, rate them zero to five stars (with half star increments), make tasting notes, and enter a location (if away from home base) for your own personal drink diary. The information can also be accessed in a feed (see below) such that you can see what and where you and your friends have been drinking and whether there is a beer or bar that you should make note of. The app allows you to find friends through Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare contacts as well as entering in people's names; moreover, you can search your friends' friends lists for others that you might have missed. One downside of logging in with your personal accounts is that the app tries to push notifications and announcements to your feed; after my first badge got posted on to Twitter, I learned how to turn off these notifications so it is no longer an issue. Others will probably love the automatic posting and boasting ability, but I prefer my Twitter feed to be less encumbered. Thanks to the Droid operating system being difficult, I was unable to take a screen shot, so I took one on the web version. The web version looks slightly different such as lacking the star rating values when displayed like this as a feed:
Other useful features include BeerAdvocate-like notes about the beer for some of the beers, whereas others, such as more rare ones that were user entered, lack details. This includes proof, IBU, style, and tasting notes. It certainly does not replace BeerAdvocate or RateBeer, but the extra information can certainly be useful in making a pick. The app also has a badge system to reward you for your drinking; there are badges for trying certain beer styles, going to different venues, and the like. Beers at home as well as beers away are both welcome. And the app is great for taking notes during tastings and reviewing them later to figure out later what was notable and worth revisiting. The app also allows the integration of photos and I have used this on occasion (although only when the beer is in a photo-worthy situation), and it allows for commenting on each others' brew choices.

Functionalities that I do not use are a mapping system to locate your drinking buddies as well as nearby beers, bars, and breweries. Perhaps I am more old fashioned in my approach to drinking such that I do not think in these terms, but the bar locator might be perfect for me when traveling. The app also will relay trending beers with choices for macro- and microbrews; while knowing that Guinness and Bud are popular isn't that interesting, knowing that Stone's Enjoy By 04.01.13 IPA and Tröegs's Nugget Nectar are both out now and popular can be.

Overall, the app has been quite handy in tracking my and my associates' beer drinking. I also have learned to appreciate the badge system; at first, I found it silly and unnecessary, but I began to enjoy checking in a beer at a bowling alley, a beer from a foreign country, or another IPA to further progress on certain badges. Anything that reminds you to change up your routines and explore is good in my book. The app also points out how unusual a beer is by how many people have checked in; while Heady Topper is much sought after, I was #24,000-or-so to have check in with that, but I would be the 46th person to check in with Abita's Zach's Special Bitter; therefore, I knew it was more rare and special before I ordered it. Moreover, I was able to complement the bar manager, Jamie from Stoddard's, for yet again being able to score such an unusual beer.

For more information, look here. Or download the app through iTunes or GooglePlay.

witchy woman

1 1/2 oz Campari
1 oz White Rum (Turkey Shore)
1 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat (BG Reynolds)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Swizzle in a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with an orange slice and a sprig of mint (omitted).
After the Midas Touch two Tuesdays ago, I decided to take a more bitter route with the Witchy Woman that I had spotted in the Imbibe Magazine online recipes. The drink was created by Yao Lu of Houston's Anvil Bar & Refuge, and I would surmise that the name is a tribute to the Eagles song. After swizzling, the Witchy Woman offered an orange aroma from the garnish that joined the Campari notes. An orange, lime, and Campari sip was followed by a rum and orgeat swallow than finished with the rest of the Campari flavors.

midas touch

1 1/2 oz Cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
3/4 oz Dry Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1/2 oz Royal Rose Saffron Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Aromatic Bitters (Fee's Boston Cocktail Summit Bitters)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
Via the Royal Rose Syrups twitter feed, I watched a video about the Midas Touch that used their saffron syrup. I was intrigued by the combination and decided to give the recipe a shot. Once mixed, the Midas Touch offered a lemon and sherry aroma, and the lemon and grape notes continued on into the sip. On the swallow, the Cognac was followed by saffron and then a nutty sherry, cinnamon, and spice finish. With the lemon, sherry, and bitters, the Midas Touch reminded me a little of the Barbara West.

[jab molassie]

2 oz Scarlet Ibis Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
1/4 oz Coconut Cream
1/4 oz Angostura Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

For Andrea, Sean Frederick at the Citizen made a drink that captured his experiences in Trinidad and recreated them in a glass. For ingredients, he used a Trinidadian rum, Scarlet Ibis, for the island, and Angostura Bitters for the competition that he was down there for. The coconut cream represented the coconut water that he used to keep hydrated, and the pinch of salt to symbolize all of the sweating everyone did during that week. Since he was down there during Trinidad's carnival season, I considered dubbing the unnamed drink after that except that Kevin Martin had previously named a pisco drink the Carnivale. Instead, I dubbed it after one of the traditional characters in the Trinidad carnival, the molasses devil or Jab Molassie.
The drink proffered a citrus aroma that led into a lime and coconut sip. While the swallow presented the rum and Angostura spice, it was pretty smooth for a drink containing that much Scarlet Ibis and bitters; perhaps a combination of the salt and the coconut cream softened the swallow.

broadside

2 oz Hayman's Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Rooibos Tea Syrup
5 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass that had been smoked with a smoldering cinnamon stick.
Sean Frederick was one of the American finalists in the 2012 Angostura Bitters Cocktail Challenge, and that honor allowed him to compete recently for the global competition in Trinidad. When Andrea and I stopped in at the Citizen two Mondays ago, I asked Sean about his trip and the experience which happened to center around their carnival. As we got to talking, I asked if he could make me one of the drinks that he competed with; Sean replied that he only had the ingredients on hand to make one of them, the Broadside. The Broadside utilized a smoked cinnamon treatment to the inside of the glass before the drink was strained, and the smokiness matched the nautical meaning of the name. A broadside in naval warfare is the simultaneous firing of all of the cannons on one side of the warship which can definitely be a rather smoky ordeal. Indeed, once mixed, the smoke joined the spice aromas on the nose. Next, a lime and floral sip led into gin, tea notes, and spice on the swallow.