All credit for this drink goes to Paul from The Cocktail Chronicles who inspired me to give it a shot. The Paloma cocktail is fairly simple; basically adding some sort of grapefruit soda to tequila and a lime. The “por Mi Amante” is the signal that a wonderful shift has occurred and that strawberry infused tequila is being used instead. Oh goodness, but this is a delightful drink.
I live in San Diego, home of temperate weather nearly all year around. The flip side of this is that, when it’s hot and humid like it is now, I really feel it. We don’t even own a fan; normally the breeze from the sea is enough, but today it’s 85 degrees and muggy in our apartment. Naturally, I did what any thinking person does in situations like these: searched the internet for a cooling cocktail. The one I ended up drinking is an upcoming post, but my runner up was from Forbes 10 Cool Summer Cocktails list. The fancy picture is from that article and shows a drink I plan on making soon: the Campari Smash. It’s mainly Campari and limoncello, both of which I happen to have. They have lots of other drinks, so take a look, make a drink, and cool down.
Today is a milestone in that this website officially saw it’s two millionth visitor who found us by searching for “bruise gin”. Now, these fine enlightened visitors are obviously attempting to make (or have made for) themselves a fine martini. They’ve already taken the first important step and decided the martini will be gin. I like them already.
Due to travel and whatnot it’s been a while since we had any new cocktails posted here. I’m going to ease back into things gently, so what we have here is a beer-based cocktail called the Michelada. Around these parts it’s considered a Mexican thing, but I’m not sure how far down into Latin or South America it’s popular. I first heard of it in Playboy of all places (part of my never-requested, never-paid-for, and apparently never-ending subscription but hey they often have a cocktail recipe every month so who am I to complain?), but it seems like one of those drinks that everyone does a little differently.
This cocktail is actually what led me into researching a somewhat distant variant, the Monkey Gland. I first came about them both in Dr. Cocktail’s very enjoyable book “Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails.” The ingredients for the Income Tax are easier to find, so it’s more likely you’ll be able to try one of these out with even a modest liquor collection.
1 1/2oz gin
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz dry vermouth
Juice of 1/4 orange (about 3/4 oz)
dash of angostura bitters
Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass and garnish with an orange wheel.
This drink is worth making for its history alone. Still, we’ll start with the recipe and then move on from there.
1 1/2oz (dry) gin
1 oz (freshly squeezed) orange juice
1/4 oz grenadine
1/4 oz Pernod
Shake over ice, strain into cocktail glass and serve with an orange twist. I’ve seen it made 1:1 gin:orange juice and served with no garnish, but if you’re getting the juice from an orange, you might as well use the peel.
As a quick aside, some folks substitute Benedictine instead of the Pernod (I think this was started when Absinthe fell out of favor).
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Picked up a bottle of Pisco to try a Pisco Sour and are now looking for other Pisco-based drinks to try? By a strange coincidence, I am as well! This is a much simpler drink, and not as fun as the Pisco Sour, but still enjoyable. I’ve also seen it referred to as simply a “Chilcano.”
Pour a shot or two of Pisco over ice into whatever tumbler or highball glass you have handy. Fill with ginger ale. Add in a squirt of lemon juice and a shake or two of angostura bitters. Garnish with a slice of lemon.
As you can see, it’s an exact recipe. The core of it is Pisco and ginger ale similar to a rum & coke. In fact, I’ve seen some recipes that stop right there, and that’s an enjoyable drink. If you’re feeling like you simply must measure things, 6:1 ale to Pisco seems about standard. The lemon juice and bitters make it more fun, but it’s a subtle change. This is a summery drink, which Christy also enjoys sampling.
Dearest readers, my apologies for abandoning you for so long. I know that all three of you have been wading through posts on spring, squids (scary!) and samosas, tapping your fingers and waiting for the next cocktail. My apologies, but midterms were upon me, and they’re just not conducive to trying new drinks. However, I have a few hours this afternoon where I should be working on homework, and a possible trip to LA is still a few hours off, which really provides a golden opportunity. I’ve been wondering if I could try something with that dusty bottle of green chartreuse, and stumbled upon the Bijou Cocktail.
1 oz gin
1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz green chartreuse
1 (or 2) dash(es) of orange bitters
Stir over ice and strain into a cocktail glass then garnish with an olive and lemon peel.
That’s right, I said an olive. You’ll see recipes that call for a cherry, which was far less brain-bending to my mind, but this drink is all about the olive. Because, my friends, the Bijou Cocktail is a strange and delightful journey. The chartreuse is certainly present, as is the vermouth, as is the citrus, as is the olive. It’s like you invited one friend from each of your very different social circles, and now their all hanging out in your mouth having a delightful time.
Green Chartreuse is one of those things I’ve had around for years, and I’m always happy to find an excuse to use it. If you have some in your cabinet, then this is worth giving a shot. It’s certainly not something I’d have two of in one sitting, but I’ll be returning to it again soon. The only ingredient I didn’t taste in this was the gin, although I used Plymouth. I’m quite curious to try it again with something a little more aggressive, perhaps Junipero.
UPDATE: The Junipero was, in fact, a terrible idea. Plymouth gin is delightful, as is Beefeater. Christy finds the drink interesting as well, although probably wouldn’t make it through a whole one.