:: mxmo XLV announcement! ::

MxMo XLV: Teas

CocktailVirgin will be hosting this month's Mixology Monday, a monthly online cocktail party with a different theme each month. This month the chosen theme will be tea.

Tea has played a historical role in cocktails for centuries. Perhaps the best documented early example was its inclusion in punches as part of the spice role to round out the spirit, sugar, water, and citrus line up. Later, teas appear in many recipes such as Boston Grog, English Cobbler, and a variety of Hot Toddies. And present day mixologists are utilizing tea flavors with great success including Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey MarTEAni and LUPEC Boston's Flapper Jane. Now it's our turn to honor this glorious cocktail ingredient!

Here's how to play:

• Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses tea or tisane (a herbal "tea" which lacks tea leaves) as an ingredient. This can be hot tea, cold tea, tea syrups, or infusions and use it in a cocktail, punch, or other drink type. Be careful how long you infuse them (after 2 hours, things get really bitter!) if you go that route, and feel free to take a shortcut and use Beefeater 24 which has tea already in the botanical mix.
• Make the drink and then post the recipe, a photo, and your thoughts about the drink on your blog or on the eGullet Spirits and Cocktails forum.
• Include in your post the MxMo logo and a link back to both the Mixology Monday and CocktailVirgin sites. And once the round-up is posted, a link to that summary post would be appreciated.
• Post a link to your submission in the comment section here, or send an email to yarm-at-verizon.net

The due date is Monday, January 25th which I will interpret as whatever gets posted before I awake on Tuesday the 26th (and for the late ones, I'll still accept entries. Ones that get in by Tuesday around 10pm EST will definitely get onto the RSS Feed, others will be added to the post (the feed only goes out once)).

Cheers,
Frederic

haitian witch

2 oz Haitian Rum (Barbancourt 15 Year)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz Simple Syrup (Demerara preferable)
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

On Monday night after my DJing gig, we stopped into Eastern Standard for dinner and a cocktail. When I asked bartender Paul for something with rum, Aaron Butler of Drink (soon to be of Russell House Tavern) was sitting to our left and joined in on the discussion. Aaron suggested a Daiquiri variant called the Haitian Witch, which is kind of eerie considering the disaster that happened in Haiti the next day. The variance in the Daiquiri recipe came in the addition of Cherry Heering liqueur instead of some of the simple syrup and the inclusion of Peychaud's bitters for spice. Both extra ingredients donated an curious reddish hue to the Haitian Witch. The drink itself started with a lime nose and grassy notes with lime flavors on the sip. The Heering's cherry and the bitter's spice appeared at the end of the swallow along with a little of the rum's heat. Midway through my drink, Andrea noticed that the house iPod had started playing Frank Sinatra's "Witchcraft" that added another level of intrigue to the cocktail experience that night.

the eulogy

3/4 oz Batavia Arrack
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse (*)
3/4 oz Falernum (John D. Taylor Velvet)
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
(*) Now made with Strega at the Anvil.
On Sunday night when it was time for cocktails, I remembered a drink I had recently spotted on my Twitter feed by the Anvil Bar. Anvil Bartender Justin Burrow created a Last Word variant that uses Batavia Arrack instead of gin. Moreover, the Last Word's green Chartreuse was swapped for more mild yellow perhaps to balance the Eulogy's more aggressive base spirit. In addition, the original's Maraschino liqueur was exchanged for an equal amount of falernum which is rich in allspice, clove, and citrus notes.

The Eulogy's nose was filled with lime and Batavia Arrack aromas. The drink was a bit sweet for my tastes especially compared to the Last Word, although after successive sips, the sweetness seemed to subside to a more comfortable level. The first part of the sip was the sweetness combined with the lime juice's fruitiness. The Chartreuse and falernum's spice followed this first flavor wave, and the Batavia Arrack's rawness completed the profile on the swallow. The Batavia Arrack did a great job filling in for the intensity lost via eliminating the green Chartreuse, and the yellow Chartreuse and falernum did a decent job substituting for Maraschino liqueur's role in the Last Word.

twelve mile limit

1 oz White Rum (Pritchard's)
1/2 oz Rye (Old Overholt)
1/2 oz Brandy (Château de Plassons VSOP)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For our second cocktail on Friday, we were already flipping through Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails after looking for Swedish Punsch drink recipes, when Andrea spotted the Twelve Mile Limit and was intrigued. The drink is a nod to the 12 nautical mile offshore boundary which is the territorial limit for a country's sovereignty. Haigh described how the limit used to be 3 nautical miles but the boundary was later increased to 12 miles, and during Prohibition this would have been the limits for governmental alcohol interdiction. The Three Mile Limit is a drink in itself and Haigh claims that it is a less stiff drink than the Twelve Mile Limit. The recipe I found for it makes it seem stronger proof-wise, although it has a gentler disposition:

Three Mile Limit
• 1 1/2 oz Brandy
• 3/4 oz White Rum
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 dash Grenadine
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Twelve Mile Limit tasted very much like other Prohibition cocktails I am familiar with including the Scofflaw with a sharp flavor as a common factor. Generally, the Prohibition drinks have teeth, whereas the more modern drinks seem to be smoother. Moreover, when modern day ones want to add some teeth of their own, it seems that the recipes utilize bitter liqueurs instead of sharper spirits and citrus like the Twelve Mile Limit's white rum and lemon juice. The Twelve Mile Limit's grenadine flavor was rather strong on the front part of the sip, the rye and brandy notes were in the middle, and the white rum flavor and heat appeared at the end of the swallow along with some vanilla notes. In addition, the citrus bite -- perhaps intensified by the liquors -- was detectable throughout the sip and swallow.

dauphin

1 oz Swedish Punsch (homemade)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
2 dash Fraise Syrup (1 tsp homemade Raspberry Syrup)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This past week, I finally gave up hope that Eric Seed or other would start importing Swedish Punsch any time soon and decided to make my own. Part was giving up hope, and part was to quiet Andrea's pleadings. Swedish Punsch (sometimes called Caloric Punsch) is a traditional liqueur in Sweden made from Batavia Arrack (a rum-like spirit from Indonesia, not the anise-flavored Arak from the Middle East), sugar, and flavorings. These flavorings can include citrus peels, brewed tea, and spices, and the various additives work to soften the spicy and smoky Batavia Arrack into something more manageable to most people's palates. In fact, it can be rather drinkable on its own.

The Swedish Punsch recipe I followed was mainly Erik Ellestad's with a little of Deep Ellum's (which appeared in the January/February 2009 Imbibe magazine). Ellestad cites his recipe's influences as Jerry Thomas' Arrack Punch and United Service Punch. Essentially, the recipe was a one-quarter scale of Ellestad's with the rum and tea choices being Appleton V/X and Oolong, respectively. Deep Ellum's recipe had a greater amount of cardamom and included nutmeg; therefore, I increased the cardamom amount five fold and grated some nutmeg (here 1/2 tsp, or 2 tsp to the full scale recipe). The scaled down version made around 850 mL (a bottle and a touch more).

For a recipe idea to use the Punsch, I remember Erik mentioning that the Diki Diki was one of his favorites. The drink appears in Ted Haigh's Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails and is mainly Calvados with a small amount of Swedish Punsch and grapefruit juice. In order to showcase the Punsch more, I flipped through the Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 which is a rather good source of Swedish Punsch recipes. The Dauphin, besides being about half Swedish Punsch, stood out for it used the same pairing of Punsch and grapefruit juice so the flavor combination must be something special.

Indeed, the spice and lemon rind flavors in the Punsch paired up well with the grapefruit. Specifically, it seemed like the cardamom was the magical element in the mix to make the pairing shine. The sip started with a sweet raspberry and citrus fruit flavor and ended with a dry tea swallow. Moreover, the rum notes stood out at the end of the sip as well. I think for a next Swedish Punsch recipe, I will try to find something a bit drier for the Dauphin's balance was on the sweet side.

rum brooklyn

1 oz La Favorite Vieux Rhum Agricole
1 oz Berkshire Mountain Distillers Ragged Mountain Rum
1/2 oz Housemade Amer Picon
1/4 oz Punt e Mes
1 barspoon Maraschino
1 barspoon Dolin Sweet Vermouth
1 barspoon Dolin Dry Vermouth
1 dash Housemade Aromatic Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top and discard.

For my second drink at Deep Ellum on Wednesday, Max Toste wanted to show me one of his new rum blending experiments. Last time he made me a Four Rum Manhattan, and this time, the rum to rye swap was with the Brooklyn. Instead of the whiskey, Max used a combination of an aged Massachusetts' distilled rum and an aged rhum agricole. Max poured me a small taste of the La Favorite Rhum Agricole and I was suprised at how smokey it was -- about as intense as its plasticky hogu notes.

The Rum Brooklyn started with an orange oil nose which later paired with the housemade Picon orange liqueur on the taste. The drink was a fine balance of sweetness and rhum agricole intensity, and the richness of the aged rums worked well with the vermouth and Punt e Mes notes. While the end of the sip contained a rounded set of bitter notes, the Picon's orange flavors were the ones that lingered well after the swallow. Max's Brooklyn was a lot more intense than the Old Overholt Rye ones I used to drink at Eastern Standard's bar back in the days before the domestic Amer Picon supply ran dry and the drink was sadly lifted off the menu.

san francisco nog

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Heavy Cream
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg Yolk
1 Demerara Sugar Cube

Muddle sugar cube and add the rest of the ingredients plus ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Last night, we headed out to Allston for dinner at Grasshopper, and afterwards, we rounded the corner to get drinks at Deep Ellum. Bartender Max Toste somehow predicted that that the San Francisco Nog would catch my eye. Apparently, the drink just appeared on the menu a week or two ago after Max retired an apple cider-Bourbon egg nog/flip that we missed in between visits. After my rather pleasing experience with the cream-laden Fernet Alexander, the nog was definitely worth a try. The drink's name is a homage to the United States' Fernet capital which at one point a few years ago consumed over half of the Fernet Branca in this country and more bottles per capita than any other city in the world.

As I picked up and sniffed my filled rocks glass, I was surprised how much the nutmeg overwhelmed the Fernet on the nose. However, this was definitely not the case on the sip. The drink was rich from the egg yolk and cream and punctuated by the Fernet's menthol notes. Flavorwise, the San Francisco Nog reminded me a lot of Vietnamese iced coffee with its combination of bitter, cream, and sweet flavors. And recipewise, it reminded me of the hot Fernet Tom & Jerry Andrea enjoyed at Drink last January.

broken shoe shiner

1 oz Pernod
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Benedictine
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with 9 drops of rose water. Makes enough to fill two cocktail glasses.

On Monday night, we continued with the modern recipes theme by finding the Broken Shoe Shiner in the Rogue Cocktails book. The drink is credited to Stephen Cole of Chicago's Violet Hour and the history provided was, "Named for a woman who was murdered along with her children by her husband, Jean Lanfray. The murders ignited a scandal surrounding absinthe, which Mr. Lanfray consumed prior and during the murders, and eventually led to the ban of the spirit in France." The scandal was rather skewed in that absinthe played only a minor role in the fracas as Lanfray apparently drank "seven glasses of wine, six glasses of cognac, one coffee laced with brandy, two crème de menthes, and two glasses of absinthe" while out and another coffee with brandy after returning home (Wiki article). After that last drink, he got into an argument with his wife and then asked her to shine his shoes. Her refusal angered Lanfray and he grabbed his rifle and launched into a homicidal rage.
Note that the absinthe was only a small fraction of his alcohol intake for the day, and his drink list's variety is symbolically mirrored in the Broken Shoe Shiner's eclectic recipe. With such a motley collection of ingredients, it seemed like an oddball destined for the sink; however, Rogue Cocktails and the bartenders who wrote it at Cure in New Orleans have earned my trust from previous experiences. And the Broken Shoe Shiner was no different. The drink started off with rose water aroma combined with Pernod's anise-fennel notes. A sweet Aperol flavor appeared on the first part of the sip, Benedictine and other herbal elements in the middle, and anise and pineapple at the end. Interestingly, the middle part of the sip with the Benedictine came across as almost a chocolate sort of taste. Moreover, the pineapple and Pernod made for a great pairing and added some tropical elements akin to those in Tiki drinks. Overall, the Broken Shoe Shiner was rather delightful with a good balance of sweet, sour, bitter, fruit, and spice all without a standard base spirit. And the only thing that ended up in the sink that night were two empty cocktail glasses coated with a light lace of egg white foam.

punky monkey

3 Cardamom Pods
1 oz Aged Rum (El Dorado 12 Year)
1 oz Bourbon, preferably overproof (George T. Stagg)
1/2 oz Agave Nectar
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Lightly muddle the cardamom. Add rest of ingredients plus ice, shake, and double strain into a coupe glass. Optional garnish of a cardamom shoot.

On Sunday night, it was time for cocktails and I decided to break out of my rut of making classic cocktails and opened up the Food & Wine: Cocktails 2009 book and found the Punky Monkey. The drink was in the section written by Joaquin Simo of Manhattan's Death & Company; the Punky Monkey is his Tiki-style cocktail and refers to his nickname for his fiancée when she is being a smartypants. As a further tribute, his inclusion of cardamom flavors reflects her love of Indian spices.
For an aged rum in this drink, I went with the first one that appeared in front of my eyes, El Dorado 12 Year, a delightful Demerara rum which ended up working rather well. As an afterthought, I remember our bottle of Zacapa 23 which would have added a lot of extra spice notes to the mix but happened to be further back on the shelf. For overproof Bourbon, the Stagg immediately came to mind instead of the Booker's which probably would have worked just as well. Between the pair of brown spirits, yellow juices, and red bitters, the drink ended up an attractive deep burnt orange color. Cardamom and pineapple notes wafted off the surface of the drink which only prepared the mouth for a fraction of the tastes to come. Sweet pineapple appeared on the first part of the sip, rich bourbon notes in the middle, and the cardamom and rum flavors at the very end. The cardamom ended up pairing up spectacularly well with our rum choice and it acted very much like cinnamon syrups do in more standard Tiki drinks.