March 28, 2015

Shark


Back in October I visited PDT in New York and spend a brilliant evening at the bar watching Jeff Bell work and talking to a lot of very nice bar guests.

The visit had been planned well in advance and I knew exactly what my first drink was going to be: Shark.

My own take on this mix of Tiki and The Dark Ages of Mixology involves a homemade green Curacao and golden rum instead of butter infused rum.

Recently I tasted a butter infused cocktail in Copenhagen made by Sune Urth at No. 2. His methode leaves a completely clear liquid with no oily sheen on the surface. Until I master this proces I won't fat wash any booze.

Perhaps my changes to John DeBary's recipe are big enough to warrant a new name to the Shark, but the only sharklike creatures in the waters around Denmark are called Porbeagle in English (and has an equally unsexy name in Danish), so I hope I'm forgiven for keeping the name.

  • 4,5 cl golden rum - I used Appleton V/X
  • 1,5 cl over proof white rum - I used Wray and Nephew
  • 1,5 cl fresh pineapple juice
  • 2 cl fresh lemon juice
  • 1 cl Frangelico
  • 1 cl homemade green Curacao (or blue or how about purple? Find the recipe and explanation here)
  • 0,75 cl heavy cream
  • 0,75 cl simple syrup
  • Dash Elemakule Tiki Bitters
Measure everything into a shaker, shake well with ice and strain into low ball glass over plenty of crushed ice. Garnish with sprig from pinapple top and striped straw.


March 16, 2015

Bananas


Have I gone b...? Well just a bit. I am old enough to remember, that bananas were once a priced fruit in Denmark.

During the second world war they were completely absent from the market, and when the first banana boat arrived i November 1945 it was front page headline news. A sign that the war really was over.

No, I a, not old enough to have actually lived through that, but I remember my parents telling me about it. And I remember my father pointing out the huge warehouses that turned green bananas yellow.

All of this to say, bananas are kind of sacred to me: Even when they are old and brown you find a use for them. That is why I made some banana salt caramels a few days ago, I was afraid of wasting bananas.

And those caramels. Yes, there is both butter and cream in caramels but first and foremost there is sugar. So a caramel could be the sweet in an Old Fashioned. Right?

Laura from Sass & Gin have set this months challenge in Mixology Monday. She wants us to make the pater familias of cocktails, or as she puts it in her announcement post:

So, here's the challenge: We will be sticking to the traditional ratios of spirit, bitters and sugar, but I'm challenging you to step outside the box with your selections. In addition, how will it be chilled or garnished? Do you want to add a secondary spirit or rinse? Go to town!

I have previously mixed the Bananarac and know that banana and whiskey work together, but since Laura asked us to go to town I decided to change the base spirit. Behold the Bananas:

  • 4.5 cl Creme de Mezcal - I used Del Maguey
  • 0.75 cl banana liqueur - I used Giffard Banane du Bresil
  • 2 homemade banana salt caramels - a dark simple syrup would work too.
  • 2 dashes of Eucalyptus bitter
Place the caramel in a shaker or stirring glass, add the banana liqueur and bitter and muddle a bit to get as much of the caramel dissolved in the liquid as you have patience for. The add remaining ingredients and stir with ice until well cold.

Strain into old fashioned glass over one big or two medium ice cubes. Garnish with a bit of fresh banana.

March 13, 2015

Winter Goodbye


Spring is in the air in Denmark, time to clear out the old winter greens and air out the house.

I'll leave the latter for later because right now I'm taking an early cocktail hour with a cocktail that completely surprises me.

Having looked at a gradually more sorry looking cauliflower in my fridge for a week with not devine inspiration for it's use I finally ran it through my juicer and got a vibrant, pale, milky juice with a very complex flavour.  It is both peppery, sweet and nutty.
 
I decided to mix it with summer flavours - since spring is the average of those two seasons ;) - and my old all season favorite: Gin.
  • 6 cl gin - I used Tarquin's
  • 0.75 cl banana liqueur - I used Giffard Banane du Bresil
  • 1.5 cl lime
  • 3 cl fresh cauliflower juice
Add the ingredients to a shaker, fill with ice and shake hard. Strain into a cocktail coupe and garnish with a slice of lime.