The Nut Job

I wonder how many entries to this month's MxMo will be called the nut job. Mixing over a theme of nuts is not nearly as easy as it sounded at first.

And I have been looking far and wide: At Marzipan Liqueur, at home made nut syrup Orgeat style and everywhere in between.

And then I have been quite envious of several peanut butter based cocktails - I've come across lately including this and this. And that would be perfectly in sync with what inspired our gracious host, Elana of Stir and Strain, who writes in her announcement post:

Nuts? Yes! A few months back I tried, and was wowed by, a peanut-y take on an Old Fashioned at a bar here in L.A. They had infused peanuts in bourbon and with a touch of honey had made magic. Nuts of all sorts make it into cocktails now. Some black walnut bitters here, the sweet almond flavor of orgeat there… circus peanuts. Your challenge is to utilize nuts (and since we’re NOT adhering to the strict rules of what are nuts, peanuts and walnuts both count) in any way you see fit to create a cocktail. Infusions, bitters, almond tinctures are all game. Amaretto, homemade nocino, Frangelico too. Go nuts!

At the end of the day - I ended up with the European answer to peanut butter: Hazelnut cocoa spread also know as Nutella.

For those who have never heard of Nutella - BBC has a nice overview. I have really never really liked the stuff - when I was a kid an alternative was to get a thin slice of dark chocolate on a slice of rye bread and I preferred that. But I prayed for an alchemical transformation when booze was introduced to the equation.

• 4,5 cl bourbon - I used Bulleit
• 0,5 cl Maraschino
• 6 cl orange juice
• Table spoon Nutella
• orange bitters

I started by stirring the Nutella into the orange juice - unless it's heated I do not believe it is possible to liquefy it completely. The I strained the chocolately juice into a shaker with the bourbon, Maraschino and bitters and gave it a good strong shake and double strained into a glass.

I'm pleased that it didn't separate before I finished the drink, and I can see it served as a dessert cocktail. Sort of a cross between Drambuie and Baileys without the dairy.

But the chocolate completely overpowers the hazelnut that is somewhat present in a spoon full of Nutella by itself. So in the end I did not really succeed in making a good nutty cocktail. But I did have fun.

Lavender Negroni

Having followed Manhatten Cocktail Classic through blogs, mail and updates from a friend who participated I found myself attracted to the concept of a Lavender Negroni.

It certainly looks pretty and I find the idea of the very umami taste of a Negroni mixed with the very floral taste of lavender intriguing. And I'm not the only one.

So I looked for the recipe - and checked my bitters cabinet for lavender bitter. I have a lovely bottle of Scrappy's that I picked up at Tales of the Cocktail last year I believe.

On closer inspection: I've not used it before - the bottle was unopened, but tasting it in a glass of water to figure out what else it could be used for I fell in love with the taste. It really does taste like sitting on my patio on a summer evening with the smell of lavender on the air, as cats and the wind agitates the plants.

And after cutting onions or handling smoked fish nothing is more effective than running your clean hands through the plants.

A little more research on Scrappy's let me to Bartender Journey - a treasure trove of great podcasts - where founder Miles Thomas talked about his bitters and bitters in general.

(If you have the time you should also listen to the interview with Jörg Meyer - the proprietor of my favorite bar in the world Le Lion and another bar in Hamburg.)

Meyer has some very interesting points about hiring bartenders for their kindness and social skill - and of course absolutely expect them to mix excellent cocktails. His point is, that you can train a smart person to make excellent cocktails but you can't train a person to be kind or socially skilled.

That approach to bar management is what sets Le Lion apart for me. And why I can't wait to make a second visit.

So I had the bitters, vermouth and Campari was chilling in the fridge. Now for the gin. Recently I bought a new British gin, distilled in Cornwall: Tarquin's Gin made by Southwestern Distillery. It's leaning towards the floral spectrum of gins without loosing the basic juniper taste that is the key to a good Negroni. Tarquin's taste like a labour of love, and judging by this little film it is.

So off to mix....

• 5 cl gin - I used Tarquin's
• 5 cl red vermouth - I used Martini Rosso
• 5 cl Campari
• Lavender Bitter - I used Scrappy's

Measure the first three ingredients into a stirring glass, add plenty of ice and stir until very cold. Usind a spray bottle - I picked up a really cheap perfume spray bottle at the dollar store - spray lavender bitter into an Old Fashioned glass or another low glass, add a huge ice cube and strain cocktail over it.

Spray a little bitter across the top of the drink too and garnish with a sprig of lavender.

As my lavender is not yet in bloom (remember I live on the 56th parallel) I used the only little purple flower I could find: A sprig of chives cheerfully blooming between my neglected patio stones. My garden seems to run on this principle: Whatever I plant dies, whatever plants itself thrives.

But since I'm happy to report, that this is a winner, I'm sure I'll get to garnish a Lavender Negroni with lavender at a later date. Can't wait and I'll make it with Tarquin's again it works very well.

Tøppe aka the ESC

Tomorrow Denmark hosts the Eurovision Song Contest. One of those cultural events that makes the rest of the world feel as much out of the loop as Superbowl does most Europeans.

Basically it's just a huge music show where viewers from all the participating countries - more than 25 - root for their favorites and national juries award points that will determine the final winner.  A process that opens hostility between many other wise closely related countries.

The competition is more than 50 years old and the most watched show in Europe every year. Some call the show Gay Christmas - and this year one of the favorites and a contestant Putin would hate to see win is a drag with a full beard.

Concita Wurst have drawn some ugly comments from other contestants - but this is a song contest and sing is what she does.

One of my coworkers is the Danish commentator for the show, his name is Ole Tøpholm otherwise know as Tøbbe.

He has had some voice problems the last couple of days - so I figure a cocktail will help him to be fit for the job tomorrow.

I've taken a huge cue from one of my own favorites - the Mai Tai - and another favorite rhubarb.

• 6 cl golden rum - I used Mount Gay XO
• 3 cl banana liqueur - Giffard Banane du Bresil
• 1,5 cl orgreat
• 3 cl lime juice
• rhubarb cordial

Put the first four ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Put one half of the spent lime in a tall glass with ice and strain the content of the shaker over it, top off with the rhubarb cordial. For the party vibe it needs a straw and a cocktail stick.

Aurora

Yes it is Cinco de Mayo - a day to remember a Mexican victory over a far larger French army in 1862.

A day commemorated by lots of Mexican food and drink - judging from food and drinks blogs in my newsfeed.

However in my home country May 5th is also a pretty special day.

69 years ago today Denmarks saw it's first day in liberty after the German occupation from 1940-45.

May 4th the German Army surrendered to General Montgomery.

A song written not long after May 5th 1945 describes that first morning in freedom, as a morning like many others and not like any morning in a 1.000 years.

The German occupation is the only time Denmark has ever been occupied by a foreign power.

So in honor of both these occasions I have mixed a cocktail taking it's name from the Roman Goddess in charge of red skies in the morning.

• 5 cl Mezcal - I used Ilegal Joven
• 1,5 cl pineapple syrup (recipe here)
• 3 sage leaves
• 10 blueberries
• Bitter Lemon

Muddle two of the sage leaves with the blueberries in the syrup in a tall glass add the Mezcal and a couple of large ice cubes and stir until very cold, top off with the Bitter Lemon and garish with the last sage leaf. 

Bananarac - books and bananas

I am looking at my cocktail book library with new eyes - and ears. That might lead to a new post on cocktail books - my old one still gets a surprising amount of traffic.

For mind numbingly boring garden/house maintenance work this morning, I revisited The Hour - a cocktail manifesto by Bernard DeVoto.

That is, I plucked stinging needle out of the ground, and washed garden furniture to my audiobook of that particular text. As it only runs about an hour and 50 minutes, that seemed like a doable trade off between menial labour and pleasure.

I do wish it was actually Bernard himself reading his text, but the gentleman who does the honors have a nice voice and a calming tempo.

However the words of the manifesto itself are so loaded, that it's impossible to know, just from listening to then, if Bernard was a twat or the greatest satirical write of his time.

I suspect the truth is not so black and withe and chuckle at faith.

Bernard DeVoto did not like cookbooks. He especially disliked the Beverage section of cookbooks:

As I have shown, the basic idea was to see how many ingredients you could put into a drink, especially a cocktail, and still survive. Year by year, that mania of our national adolescence killed more Americans than smallpox, the Colt revolver, or the Indian. Yet publishers go on endorsing the same toxins to more than a million women a year.

Bernard DeVoto is in some circles today only know as the husband of Avis DeVoto, who helped Julia Child and her two French co-developers get their Mastering the Art of French Cooking - the ultimate cookbook - published. And Avis DeVoto then went on to become the greatest cookbook scout of all times, after Bernard's early death.

He would have loved it, I suspect.

And so to honor him, I decided to mix a drink, that he would have hated. The Bananarac.

A twist on the Sazerac which is a twist on the Old Fashioned, and since he abhorred sweet drinks and just barely tolerated The Old Fashioned adding banana liqueur would have enraged him.

But I'm just too happy that I have finally found a decent banana liqueur that is neither glow in the dark yellow or smells nauseously artificial, to let that stop me.

Giffard Banane du Bresil is the real stuff: Macerated bananas and cognac.

• 3 cl rye whiskey - I used Old Overholt
• 3 cl cognac - I used Pierre Ferrand 1840
• 1,5 cl banana liqueur - I used Giffard Banane du Bresil
• 0,5 barspoon simple syrup
• Dash Angostura
• Absinthe

Stir the first five ingredients in a mixing glass or tin with ice until very cold, spray absinthe in a rocks glass, pour cocktail over big ice cube.  

Pineapple Julep

Derby Day is largely ignored in Denmark.

We do have a race course but the interest in horse racing is not very big, so I can't tell you when it's Derby Day in Klampenborg.

I can however tell you when it's Derby Day in Kentucky: That is when all the cocktail websites over flow with recipes for Mint - and other - Juleps.

This year my tastbuds took notice when a bourbon based Pineapple served at Julie Rainer's Clover Club Bar in Brooklyn was mentioned.

But I have not been able to find a recipe - just the telegram-style description on the cocktail menu, and that is not a lot to go on.

Since I had a whole pineapple to play with I figured I would make pineapple sirup two different ways.

Half the fruit was chopped into chunks and placed in a covered bowl with 2 dl white suger. 24 hours later I could pour off about 2 cl liquid. It was fresh, sweet, still tangy and very pinapply but with a tiny crunch of undissolved sugar.

The other half I blended and then pressed all juice out of the pulp, added an equal measure sugar to the juice and brought it to a boil. This was very sweet and dessert-like.

The first option is my faborit and what I used for my final drink:

• 6 cl bourbon - I used the work horse Bulleit
• 1,5 cl pineapple sirup
• bunch of mint (my garden mint is not at full grow yet so I couldn't pick as much as I wanted)
• Crushed ice

Add most of the mint and sirup to a julep cup. Muddle gently and then add bourbon and fill the cup about half way with ice. Stir until cup is very cold and then pack ice to a dome about the rind of the cup. Garnish with mint and some pineapple leafs.

Hanky Spanky Panky

Ada Coleman is one of my heroes - the first famous female bartender in the world (until someone identifies a predecessor - because as we all know cocktail history can change with the turn (up) of an old photo).

At the moment though she is the great foremother. I love this picture of her (yes it's posed and all that, but there is a certain warmth in her tiny smile, that I adore.)

And let us not forget the cocktail she is remembered for: The Hanky Panky - it's actually hard to forget it once you have tasted it, it's one of those hate or love cocktails. I love it, actually way more than I thought I would - truth be told sweet vermouth taste a tiny bit like soup cubes to me, but once Fernet enters the equation all is well.

So I took notice when Jarred Brown and Sipsmith described a new take on the old classic - The Spanky Panky Martini. The addition of mint intrigued me and it was an easy choice for my much anticipated Friday cocktail - the one that recalibrate me to weekend mode.

But before mixing I fact checked something I have been telling a few people taking about Ada Coleman lately: That Harry Craddock didn't just wiz in from - perhaps - shaking the last cocktail in the USA before prohibition and naturally assumed the position as head bartender at the American Bar in the Savoy hotel in London.

He advanced when the management of the Savoy listened to American customers and retired both Ada Coleman and Ruth Burgess in 1925 because Americans was uncomfortable with women working in bars.

So, what is my source? The very same Jarred Brown - I own the signed number 149 edition of his and Anistatia Miller's: The Deans Of Drink - and it's here I've read this version of how Ada Colemans job as head bartender ended.

Ruminating on the unfairness of the action towards the two women I vigorously shook the Hanky Panky with added mint:

• 5 cl gin
• 5 cl red vermouth
• 1 cl Fernet Branca (yes I love Fernet)
• 10 fresh mint leaves

Put at least 7 mint leaves in a shaker and add the other ingredients, shake over ice and double strain into a coupe and garnish with the remainder of the mint leaves. But remember to wake them up by placing them on your palm and then deliver one firm slap.

And Ada? She was transfered to the flower shop at the Savoy. She was even gracious enough to say in an interview: I missed all my friends too much if I had retired at once, so I've come to work among the flowers, and already instead of mixing cocktails for my friends, I've been making buttonholes for them.

One firm slap, indeed!

The Collie

I like a good medicinal taste to my drinks - anything with a hint of iodine and/or the antiseptic whiff of a good bandage makes me happy.

By accident my contribution to this months Mixology Monday lands firmly in the cleaning cupboard group of drinks - the Collie taste like something that could clean out a dusty old room right quick.

But first read what Scott of Shake, Stir & Sip have to say about his chosen theme of Temperance:

While many of us today think of overly sweet and unimaginative uses of fruit juice combinations when we hear of nonalcoholic beverages, there is a growing resurgence and movement of creating real craft “mocktails” in cocktail bars around the world… As such, this month’s theme challenges you to create unique craft “mocktails” only limited by your imagination.  Perhaps you have an abundance of that homemade lavender syrup sitting in your fridge?  Maybe you’ve been thinking about creating a non-alcoholic version of your favorite cocktail.  Or maybe you just wanted an excuse to mix up an Angostura Phosphate you saw in Imbibe.  Oh yes, non-potable bitters are fair game here since they are legally classified as nonalcoholic in the states.  However, if the Teetotalist inside of you won’t allow it, you can go without them.  Cheers!

Truth be told I've never tried my hand at mocktails before - and I'm glad I didn't have to serve The Collie for unsuspecting guest. I does however grow on me as I drink and write.

I wanted to start out from a platform of the Indian yogurt drink called Lassi  - and started by ruling mangos out, the fruits available at this time of year in Denmark are rock hard and taste like imported apples.

I looked at my fruit basket and saw a grapefruit and appointed that star of my creation. The name? Well it springs from a childhood book about a certain dog almost named Lassi.

• 2,5 dl ice
• 1 dl plain greek yogurt
• The flesh of half a red grapefruit - handle it over the blender not to waste any juice
• 1 dl ginger beer
• 3 cl violet syrup

Put the ice, yogurt and grapefruit in the blender jar and pulse until the ice is brushed. Add the ginger beer and pulse a few times - don't let the blender kill the fizz from the ginger beer.

Pour into Collins glass - add the violet syrup that will settle on the bottom ready to be agitated by a straw and garish with some kind of purple flower.

Snow Ball

Of all the strange concoctions I have measured into a shaker the Snow Ball from the reprint of the 1935 edition of the Bar La Florida Cocktails wins hands down.

It's a mix of gin, creme de menthe, Parfait Amour and milk. Even stranger is the fact that the measurements are given as 1/3 each - not one third of an ounce or anything like that, so I just went with equal measures and hoped the creme de menthe would not overpower the other three ingredients.

It did but since I used the aptly named and super tasting glacial Creme De Menthe from Tempus Fugit it seemed fitting for a snowball or even a snow ball.

I do think that the milk to some extent pulls the drink together - both visually and taste wise. But the milk is also the weak point of the drink.

For the briefest moment in time - long enough to snap a picture thankfully - the drink looked drinkable but a short while later the booze split the milk leaving a translucent liquid in the bottom of the glass and curds on top.

I have few food hang ups and drank it regardless but it would be a disaster at a party or in a bar, so I wonder how they managed at El Foridita in Havana in 1935.

The milk I used was organic whole milk, perhaps a more processed milk will hold up better?

• 1,5 cl gin
• 1,5 cl creme de menthe
• 1,5 cl parfait amour (I used Bitter Truth creme de violette - and I do know that Bols claims parfait amour is a purple curacao)
• 1,5 cl milk

Shake everything over ice and strain into small glass - Nick and Nora type is good and just be thank full that this is a very tiny cocktail.

Colonial Gin and Tonic

I must admit Gin & Tonic is not a drink I fix myself often anymore. There are so many other cocktails and drinks I haven't tried yet, so I will rather spend my "booze budget" on them than the old familiar.

And I'm not talking about money, I'm talking about the amount of alcohol I allow myself to drink during a month. If I don't keep a tight budget one drink too easily leads to another and that is rarely a good thing.

Gin and Tonic and I have to some extend grown apart - I often find the taste a bit one dimensional.

Perhaps because I neglect to mix it with the same care I put into other drinks?

This Wednesday was international Gin and Tonic day however and Hendriks rekindled some of my old love by sending me a very nice little package. I couldn't resist and had a rare mid-week libation.

During my gentle gin-buzz I searched the interwebs for some good G&T-videos and found this, that shows how the reigning worlds best bartender Davis Rios mixes a 'gintonic' Spanish style.

A video that had me planning a fantasy trip to Barcelona for  amazing G&T's, including a visit to 41 Degrees for cocktails and bar foods the Adria way set to music.

And since the trips is all in my mind anyway why not visit Heston Blumenthal on the way home and taste one of his cucumber infused gin and tonics?

For some mysterious reason (clever product placement by spirits giants who have managed to turn the international gin and tonic day into booze lovers Mother's day, perhaps?) that very same day Gin Foundry's post about the Colonial Gin and Tonic popped up in my twitter-feed and I knew I had to mix it - actually cook it.

And what better time to do that than today?

I only tweaked it a little tiny bit.

Tonic reduction:

• 6 juniper berries
• 6 black peppercorns
• 12 coriander seeds
• 3 green cardamom pods
• The peel of one lemon and a quarter of a pink grapefruit
• 4 thick slices of cucumber
• 0.5 liter Fever Tree Indian Tonic

Put everything put the tonic in a heavy pot and crush it together with a pestle, add the tonic and cook for 15 minutes on a gently rolling boil. This will reduce the liquid to  0.30 liter - it will be very bitter, and I ended up adding a little simple syrup before I bottled it. I can't tell you how much, I just added a bar spoon at a time until it was to my taste.

After a quick trip to the freezer to cool the tonic down (well the tonic took the quick trip) I was ready to mix:

• 6 cl Old English Gin - apart from the fact that I love this gin I figure it's closer to the gin used in the first G&T's.
• 3 cl Tonic reduction
• 1 cl lemon juice
• Dash of rose tincture
• 3 dashes angostura bitter

Everything in a shaker with ice and shake hard.

Then I have two suggestions:  Either strain into a icy cold stem glass - (use the winning method at the bottom of this post for quick cooling (and to find use for any cheap vodka in your bar)).

Or - and this is the path I chose - strain into a glass full of ice and some garnish - and top it off with a bit of Pellegrino Tonic Water for fizz and tonic balance.

Finally go here and stare at a must have G&T drinking vessel.

(Contrary to what it may look like, the only sponsored part of this post was the G&T box from Henricks on Wednesday - the rest is just the result of my love of name-dropping)