Hurricane Survival Kit

Every now and then, a good excuse comes along to drink all afternoon. I can't think of a better one than Hurricane Sandy.
Or a better drink for such an occasion than a classic. 
A Bloody Mary.Here's how I made mine today (which is not always how I make it, that's the fun of a bloody mary!)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Stoli Hot Vodka
• 1/2 teaspoon of horseradish
• 2 dashes of Henderson's Relish (or worcestershire sauce)
• 2 dashes of Frank's red Hot (or tabasco)
• 1 dash of Outerbridge's Sherry Pepper sauce
• 1 dash Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
• a few sprinkles of Zeus Greek Seasoning 
• Fill almost to top with your favorite Bloody Mary mix
• fill remainder of glass with Spicy V-8

Add lots of ice, shake and serve with celery stalk (or in this case, a pickle and some cocktail onions.)

Now seeing as we are moving in two days, unless Sandy decides otherwise, I should probably take this drink and go continue packing before the power goes out.

Stay safe and dry....the good kind of dry.

In Search Of Gin

This being the month of Aviations, I decided to explore some different gins and this one just fell into my lap. There is a great new restaurant in Baltimore, The Fork & Wrench, that serves some really wonderful artisan cocktails and their version of The Aviation, Dutch Flyer, uses this very unique gin that was new to me, Boomsma Oude Genever.

This is not your typical London dry gin. Genever (or Jenever ) is the strong Juniper flavored liquor from which Gin evolved. When these Holland spirits first came about in the 1600s by distilling malt wines, they would be infused with juniper berries to cover up the bitter tastes. The Oude ("old") is aged in oak casks for at least a year and has a surprisingly yellow tequila-like color with an even more surprising whiskey element to it. The Jonge ("young") is more neutral, somewhat like vodka with a touch of juniper but closer in taste to that of a London dry gin.
I really enjoyed my Boomsma Oude Aviation, though I did not notice the unique taste of the gin when mixed with the other ingredients. Sipped on it's own is a very different experience.

Tonight's Crush...

Drinking one of my favorite red wines tonight. The Dreaming Tree Crush. A California red blend that is a collaboration between Dave Matthews and winemaker Steve Reeder. For those of you who don't know, Dave Matthews also established Blenheim Vineyards, about 20 min SE of Charlottesville, VA in 2001. It's a beautiful, scenic winery with some amazing wines. This new partnership began last year and you can read more about it here: http://store.dreamingtreewines.com  At around $13-16 a bottle, depending where you are, I highly recommend it.

A Scot classic: The Watson Inn Pickle Martini

Dinner and a cocktail at one of my all-time favorite spots tonight. Watson Inn in Watsontown, PA. The drink? The Pickle Martini, specialty of the house. At least it was when I first discovered this homey little place back in 2002. The drink has long since disappeared from the menu but everyone there knows it and they have been happy to serve it to me, one after the other, for the last ten years.  I have since started seeing this on menus here and there, most commonly called "the dirty pickle" or something along that vein, sometimes made with vodka, sometimes with gin. This particular version is still my favorite.

The recipe is pretty simple, though it never tastes as good at home as it does at Watson Inn. It's all about their pickles and as hard as I have tried, I can't make it quite as good. It's essentially just a dirty martini but with pickle instead of olives. I started out ordering it with Vox, can't remember why. I eventually switched to Ketel One, can't remember why.

Ingredients:

• Ketel One
• splash of dry vermouth
• splash of pickle juice

Shake vigorously and strain into well-chilled martini glass. serve with dill pickle spear. yum.

Sidenote: I'm a creature of habit and my usual bartender wasn't there tonight (for the second time in a row- EEK!) but the same girl who i first encountered last time (about a month ago) knew me and my drink on sight and made it perfectly. 
Bonus points. Big tip.

www.watsoninn.com if you ever happen to be that way...it is worth a stop. In addition to the pickle martini, the crab cakes are delightful. I recommend pairing the two.

Four new friends

Just ordered the following items online from Astor Wines in NYC. I was unaware that liquor could be home-delivered in PA. A whole new world has just opened up. http://www.astorwines.com/  and...your first online order over $100 ships for free!

Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot.

- this will serve the following purposes:

1. will be a nice visual companion to the R&W creme de violette. I will see to it that they are ALWAYS kept side by side.

2. i am interested in apricot as an option with liquor. Plus it's hard to find so I had to have it.

3. it's delicious. just by itself or with gin (that's as far as I've gotten). I saw this for the first time in Louisville, KY at MEAT http://www.facebook.com/meatlouisville. A very memorable bar in a very memorable town.

Creme Yvette.

-this is a new one for me but I have a feeling it will change my life for the following reasons:


1. It is hard to find. In which case  I will always be automatically obsessed and will have to have it no matter what, even if I have never seen or tried it.
2. The bottle is absolutely gorgeous.
3. It is a similar liqueur to Creme de Violette, with a slightly different taste. I happened to have had an Aviation with it last weekend in NYC at a FANTASTIC restaurant http://saxonandparole.com/....check it out. I was excited to see they carried Aviation gin and happened to be watching the bartender make my drink (as I tend to do)  and saw this unfamiliar bottle instead of the tall recognizable R&W CdV bottle. De-lish-ous. So i sought it out. and found it. 

Luxardo Bitter.

-always interested in trying things similar to my beloved Campari. Plus sort of obsessed with Luxardo. AND it's a few bucks cheaper. That being said, I will never stop buying Campari.

Luxardo Triplum Triple Sec.

-Interesting looking bottle and obviously everyone needs triple sec and this is half the price of Cointreua. Plus, I'm sort of obsessed with Luxardo. Haven't even opened it and have already decided it's my new brand.

Drink Of The Month: Aviation.

(Pictured above: my very first Aviation and the reason I am writing any of this)

One of my all-time favorite cocktails. I first had this delicately balanced concoction in Manchester, England earlier this year at a fantastic bar called TROF. www.trofnq.co.uk/
I was somewhat familiar with Creme de Violette and the history of The Aviation but had yet to see it on a menu. And yet to experience its charms.
This was also my introduction to Luxardo maraschino liqueur, which has since become a home bar staple. On a trip to Louisville, KY this past summer i was delighted to find several bartenders that were not only familiar with the Aviation but excelled at the construction.
There are are two accepted recipes. The first, which I use, includes Creme de Violette. The second recipe omits it. In 1930, the popular Savoy Cocktail Book dropped the CdV from the recipe. The drink was transformed and CdV eventually became almost impossible to find until its resurrection in 2007. As far as I am concerned, there is no point in an Aviation without it. Not only does the Violette balance the sweet/sour battle between the lemon and maraschino, but you have that LOVELY light purple hue...


A new discovery for me is Aviation Gin. I discovered it during a quick trip to Portland, Oregon this month and their website is wonderful and lists several suggested recipes including both recipes of the Aviation. This gin was named after the nearly 100 year-old cocktail and is the perfect companion to the Luxardo and Violette.

Aviation Gin is more difficult to find (another plus) but my fallback gin has been Plymouth though they make slightly different cocktails. Beefeater is also a good choice. There are many variations on the recipe but the one below is my favorite. My personal version varies slightly as I prefer a little less lemon juice but otherwise it's the perfect amount of ingredients. I have tried about 8 or 9 slight variations (a 1/4 ounce here and there) but this is the one....

BTW- Very interesting article on this delightful cocktail here:
http://cold-glass.com/2010/06/23/aviation-cocktail/http://cold-glass.com/2010/06/23/aviation-cocktail/

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. Gin
• 1/3 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 1/4 oz Rothman & Winter Creme de Violette (a scant 1/4 oz)
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake vigorously with ice and strain and serve up with a cherry (Luxardo also makes their own soaked cherries- definite plus) in a chilled cocktail glass.

Clink!