A cocktail from morgueFile

As per request, I recently embarked upon playing with the Rob Roy. This drink is very simple, pretty much the Manhattan of the scotch world. Now, I’ve made many a delightful Manhattan, and the proportions normally stay more or less the same. Unfortunately, with a Rob Roy, all such bets are off.
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13. June 2007 · Comments Off on Income Tax Cocktail · Categories: Cocktails · Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Income Tax Cocktail 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.

The Income Tax Cocktail

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.

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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.

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.

Bijou Cocktail

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.

The negroni is one of my all time favorite cocktails. Otherwise known as The Manliest Pink Drink, it draws its stunning color from the key ingredient of Campari. Now, Campari is a hell of a thing and perhaps not for the faint of heart. One of my friends in Columbus would try a sip of my negroni, and consistently pull a face and remark, “I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.” Consider yourself warned.

Negroni

1 oz gin
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth

Shake with ice and either strain into a cocktail glass (the tradition these days), or over a highball glass with two ice cubes. Garnish with an orange twist.

Depending on my mood, I often mix a classic one (in which case serve in a cocktail glass), but if I want something for relaxing while reading a book, I go for the recipe above and maybe add a couple of ice cubes. Some serve it over ice with a little soda water, and lots of folks add a slice of orange (half a wheel) and/or some orange bitters. Play around and find what you like!

Negroni

Update: this picture is now in use by Wikipedia’s entry on the Negroni!

Oh, and that first taste? Yeah, you may (re: probably) won’t like it. Stick with it, you might just end up with a pink drink you can order with pride!

The problem with browsing through cocktail blogs is that I invariably find someone else who is posting delightful, well informed information and my list of places to read increases. The Handy Snake is one of those, and I earlier wrote about Kurt’s Manhattan Special. Being a big fan of the tasty manhattan, I tried it out and was intrigued enough to recreate it with some slight modifications. Mainly, I don’t like drinking mine on the rocks, so I just reduced the amounts and ended up changing the proportions a hair. If you’re interested, I really recommend you check out the original.

The Manhattan Special

1.5 oz rye whiskey
.4 oz sweet vermouth
.3 oz Benedictine
2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

Note that Kurt makes a good point about wanting a strong rye to take on the Benedictine. I always like Wild Turkey in my Manhattans, and it serves well in this case.

What’s up with the .3 and .4oz measurements? I tend to make a Manhattan at 3:1 rye to sweet vermouth, but that’s too weak if you then add Benedictine. You could certainly just do 1/4 oz each of vermouth and Benedictine, but I liked it better with a hair more than that, and adding more vermouth than Benedictine. The end result is a very soft and sweeter Manhattan. It’s handy for those times when you want a Manhattan, but aren’t really looking forward to it standing up and socking you in the mouth for the first few sips. Of course, I think that’s part of a good Manhattan’s charm, but this is nice to have in the recipe book. Thanks, Kurt!

Manhattan Special

Yes, there’s a cherry there but I shook it instead of stirred the drink. This also dilutes it a hair more, in addition to making it colder quicker, which I think works well in this case.

07. May 2005 · Comments Off on Rob Roy · Categories: Cocktails · Tags: , , , , , , ,

Rob Roy
as made by Julian Gualdoni

  • Two shots of Lagavulin 12 year
  • One shot of sweet vermouth
  • One shot of dry vermouth

Stir over ice with a few drops of angostura bitters.