Tag: recipe

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Online Happy Hour March 2021: When Imbibe Magazine Fell In Love with D.C.

I’m trying out a new post series that rounds up cool posts on blogs and social media about cocktails, with a focus on bringing you great recipes, cool glassware, and fun new places to try out (whenever it’s ok to do that again). Where possible I’ll highlight DMV-based people, places and potables. Without further ado, let’s dive into the first Online Happy Hour, for March 2021.

D.C. Is Imbibe-Famous

This happy hour begins with the March/April 2021 issue of Imbibe Magazine, which twice puts a spotlight on D.C. The first story offers a “taste test” of Bloody Mary mixes, kicking off the slate with Gordy’s Bloody Mary Mix, which I can personally vouch for:

Imbibe loves Gordy’s mix too, highlighting the “freshness” of the taste, the “refreshing flavor of garlicky dill pickles,” and the “subtle spice” on the finish that provides a “pleasant punch of heat.” I agree with all that, plus it’s a great opportunity to support a local business while enjoying a delicious brunch Bloody Mary, Maria or what have you. (And if you’re interested, Imbibe goes on to cover five other options, including two options – Brewt’s and McClure’s – from my home state of Michigan. Want to make a mix from scratch? Check out this new post at Beautiful Booze, titled the Bloody Mary Bar Cart.)

Just a few pages later, Imbibe has a brief write-up on génépy, that alpine liqueur of the Alps that you (if you’re me) always wonder about but never actually pull off the shelf at the liquor store. Imbibe tells you/me we’ve been doing it wrong and should definitely include génépy on the next shopping list. It quotes D.C.’s own Chantal Tseng (@shinobipaws on Instagram and purveyor of the fantastic Cocktails for the End Times), who tells us that génépy is “lovely chilled and served neat, but also so adaptable,” including in a recipe of her creation called Disappearing Earth:

Disappearing Earth recipe
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Disappearing Earth

This cocktail is by Chantal Tseng of the Cocktails for the End Times blog. The Disappearing Earth, as featured in Imbibe Magazine, "harmonizes . . . peach liqueur" with "the floral and herbal essence of génépy."
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Keyword: Disappearing Earth
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 120kcal
Author: Chantal Tseng
Cost: $10

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. gin
  • 1/2 oz. peach liqueur Chantal recommends Rothman & Winter Orchard Peach
  • 1/2 oz. génépy
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 1 lime twist

Instructions

  • Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake vigorously
  • Double strain into chilled coupe
  • Garnish with lime twist

Cheers to that! And check out that Imbibe article for the other génépy recipes, which look almost as good as Chantal’s.

News Around Town

The best news I’ve heard in a while regarding restaurants and local businesses came in this Washingtonian report that the Hilton Brothers are planning to reopen most of their bars, including my favorite The Gibson, (fittingly) in a new, as-yet undisclosed location. I previously covered a really cool collaboration between the Gibson and Dandelyan in this Instagram post:

So I’m very much looking forward to its return. And while we are on the subject, I am also very much looking forward to visiting Silver Lyan, that D.C. creation by the folks behind the original Dandelyan bar. Silver Lyan opened like days before the pandemic lockdown and has been biding its time. You can get a preview of what they have to offer through their Silver Lyan at Home cocktail delivery service – I recommend the Project Manhattan:

The Project Manhattan from Silver Lyan

Speaking of getting things at hoe, I learned recently of a new D.C.-based bartender-on-demand service, sort of like the Uber for bartending, called SHKR, founded by Rochelle Louise. Looking forward to trying this service out first thing post-pandemic!

From Around the Web

Here are a few cocktail items of note from around the web. The Tipsy Bartender has a post with cocktail recipes for International Women’s Day. The Moody Mixologist breaks down the recipe for the fantastic Naked and Famous cocktail, offering a few variations you can try and fabulous photography as always. Liquor magazine has 11 cocktail recipes for March, while Difford’s supplies 20 recipes for cocktails with absinthe. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge base, check out Punch’s thoughts on force carbonated cocktails (and on that subject, be sure to check out my recent post on the Aviary gin & tonic, where I show how to use the Perlini, my choice for home carbonation). Or if you’re shopping for a shaker, check out my recent post on what to look for when in search of the best cocktail shaker.

That’s all for this happy hour – bottoms up, and see you next time!

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Classic Recipe with a Twist: Sunset Gin and Tonic

So much has happened since my last post on the blog! When we last left our hard-hitting cocktail coverage at the end of 2018, my world – our world – was a different place. Since that time, I had a big day at the day job, the aftermath of which has contributed to my extended absence from posting. (I’ve done a little better on Instagram, but only a little.)

And of course, since earlier this year, we’ve all been struggling to adjust to life during a pandemic. For some of us this has meant virtual quarantine. Some luminaries of the cocktail universe have sought to help us through it all. One offered to give us recipes we can use based on ingredients we have in our house (Derek Brown is just an amazing human being). Many others have minted new “quarantini” cocktails for us to sample. (I don’t have any of those for you, but I do have a classic martini, a hot and dirty martini, and even a totally dry (i.e., alcohol-free) martini for you if you’re interested.)

Pandemic/quarantine has knocked me off my cocktail blogging game a bit. I (like many of you I imagine) now work from home day after day and for some reason that new pattern has further disrupted my already disrupted flow for creating cocktails and then posting here about them. I’ve said “yes” to collaborations on Instagram, thinking they would motivate me to get back to it, but then failed to follow through. I guess there is a momentum to this kind of thing. It’s (at least by comparison) easy to keep blogging going when you’re consistent about it; but impossible when you get out of rhythm.

So I know better than to promise you that “I’m back,” but I am at least popping up to say hello and offer you something to drink as you wait patiently for the world to return to normal. This one is inspired by the last superfun thing I did before quarantine: visit South Africa.

South Africa is a wonderland. I can’t show you everything I loved about it – there isn’t enough space here (and at some point we need to get to the recipe). But let’s consider at least a few items: penguins, mountains, zebras and sunsets.

Penguins near the Cape of Good Hope
Penguins near Cape of Good Hope

The penguins flock in large groups and just kind of party, looking as awesome as you would imagine. There’s no ice or cold weather here – it was in the 70s or 80s (Fahrenheit) in this shot. But they look unperturbed as they mingle on the shore between occasional trips to the water to cool off and look for food.

Mountains along the Garden Route
Mountains along the Garden Route
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Cocktails for The Game: The Gin Harbaugh and the Bourbon Meyer

Today the Michigan Wolverines face off for the 115th time against the Ohio State Buckeyes in The Game.  This is always a high stakes event, even when it isn’t from the perspective of the rest of the college football world, but this year a lot is on the line as both teams are 10-1 and the winner goes on to play for the Big Ten championship.  I’m a lifelong Michigan fan, and this year I decided to apply my passion for cocktails to this annual event and am pleased to bring you cocktails for The Game, named in honor of the teams’ head coaches:  The Gin Harbaugh and the Bourbon Meyer.

Since I live in D.C., which is now Big Ten country thanks to Jim Delaney, the league Commissioner and the mastermind of Big Ten expansion to College Park, I wanted to add a little D.C. flavor to these drinks and began with the idea of using gin and citrus in one drink and bourbon and citrus in the other, inspired by the rickey.  

I like the tangy flavor that lemon juice brings to a drink, but for the Gin Harbaugh I also wanted a drink that packs more punch in its flavor so it leaves a bit of a mark on you after each sip.  Enter Ancho Reyes Verde, the somewhat spicy poblano liqueur, which adds some depth of flavor and provides a spicy aftertaste.  I balanced it out with a little simple syrup and topped off the drink with soda water.  Add a lemon peel garnish shaped like the Michigan helmet and you’re good to go:

Gin Harbaugh
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Halloween Cocktail Recipe: Into The Dark

Think you’re ready to host that Halloween party? Sure, you’ve got the perfect costume, killer decorations, and a carefully curated Halloween playlist. But do you have a Halloween cocktail picked out? If not, have no fear. I’ve got a cocktail that has it all – fall flavors, Halloween black color, and smoky special effects. Follow me . . . Into The Dark:

Halloween Cocktail - Into The Dark

For my Halloween cocktail, I wanted to bring together some great fall flavors, but also to give the drink a costume of its own to foster the Halloween spirit.  Let me start with the latter first because you might need some lead time on a couple of the ingredients.  

The first is activated charcoal, which gives the drink its Halloween-appropriate black color.  There are plenty of options online; I used Viva Doria Virgin Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal Powder, which I found on Amazon.  You will also need dry ice pellets; I found mine at Talbert’s Ice in Bethesda (two pounds cost me about $5).  (Note that Talbert’s is especially safety conscious and will not sell you dry ice for use in drinks unless you have a dry ice cage; I found one of these online but did not order one, so I can’t speak to how well they work in a cocktail.)  Finally, if you want some skull-themed cocktail picks, try the Fred & Friends Bar Bones cocktail picks, like the one I used in the picture above.

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Classic Recipe with a Twist: Meet Me in the Woods at Midnight (a take on the Scofflaw)

You could do a lot worse than spend a week or two or your summer in Maine.  I’ve spent some time with my family up on Mount Desert Island the last few summers, near Acadia National Park.  One favorite activity there is hiking on one of the many trails on the oceanside mountains; another is making cocktails at happy hour with made-in-Maine ingredients.  This year is no exception, and after one of these hikes I wanted to make a cocktail that captured the beautiful Maine woods on a foggy, misty day – a drink I called Meet Me in the Woods at Midnight, which is a slight variation of the classic Scofflaw:

Meet Me in the Woods at Midnight

I always feature the drink first in these posts so you can see what you’re getting into.  But that makes this post sort of backwards because you’re seeing the ultimate creation before its inspiration.  So without further ado, let me share a bit of what I saw earlier in the day.  The first part of the hike featured a long stretch of woods immersed in fog – with living trees standing comfortably next to the dead.  The forest floor was covered with almost glow-green moss that added to the eerie effect.  It was a beautiful, almost haunted scene:

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Recipe: Founder’s Fizz

Happy Fourth of July!  Today we celebrate American Independence, which, as a recent article in the Atlantic noted, a European visitor once described as “almost the only holy-day kept in America.”  As the same article noted, drinking has long been practiced in observation of the day.  In that spirit, I bring you this short post to offer you a recipe for the Founder’s Fizz – a refreshing drink perfect for a hot summer day, conceived by Michael Anthony, the bar manager at the Richard Rodgers theatre, the Broadway home of Hamilton:

Founder's Fizz

Like many classic and enduring drink recipes, this recipe is very simple, consisting of gin, simple syrup and lime juice, topped off with seltzer.  Pour that over a glass full of crushed ice and you’ve got a drink that will help keep you cool as you wait for the sun to set and the fireworks to commence.

Now, to be clear, the Founder’s Fizz is a modern creation.  But here’s a bit of history to put you in a July-4th-type of drinking mood.  On July 6, 1803, the Washington Federalist recounted the Independence Day festivities in the District that year.  On that day, “the Artillery and Grenadiers under their Captains, Edgar and Benjamin Patterson, with several respectable citizens, retired to the Federal spring on Rock Creek.”  Following an “elegant dinner,” several “toasts were drank, under discharge of cannon and musketry.”  As one does (don’t tell me you forgot to order the cannons and muskets for your Fourth of July party?).  And here were the toasts:

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Classic Recipe: Piña Colada

Today’s forecast is 95 and sunny, with more of the same (and even hotter) for the next two days.  When this part of the summer comes around, I resort to standard survival methods:  crank the air conditioning; put out the inflatable backyard pool; and blend up some frozen drinks.  To help you in your fight back against the heat and humidity, I offer you a recipe for the classic frozen cocktail:  the piña colada.

Piña Colada

The piña colada combines pineapple and coconut flavors with ice and rum and – through the power of these tropical flavors and the position the drink has come to occupy in the collective imagination – mentally transports you to a breezy tropical island.  Suddenly, the blazing heat and humidity of the Washingtonian jungle feels right – almost as if you really are at the beach:

Tropical island

Even if all you are really doing is filling your inflatable pool for that inflatable-pool party you’re hosting later (but trust me, this is a good idea – it helps with the tropical-island fantasy):

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Original Recipe: Cherry Blossom Cocktail

As you have probably been able to gather from my posts of cocktail events in March and April and of my non-alcoholic Sakura Sparkler recipe, I’ve got a thing for cherry blossoms.  As I’ve noted, cherry blossoms are not only beautiful but also edible, meaning you can use them in your cocktails.  In this post I have another such recipe for you.  And this one uses cherry blossoms in three different ways.  For lack of a more imaginative description, I’m calling it the Cherry Blossom Cocktail:

Cherry Blossom Cocktail

There are other ingredients, but let’s start with our three cherry-blossom constituents.  The first is the cherry-blossom garnish, visible in the picture and plucked from a local tree (if you don’t have your own tree, ask a neighbor – most won’t deny you a lone blossom).  The second is Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup, which I used in my Sakura Sparkler recipe and is available on Amazon.  And the third is Cerasum, a new aperitivo from D.C.’s own Don Ciccio & Figli.  Don Ciccio explains that Cerasum is made from three different kinds of cherries, sakura blossoms, and “10 selected roots and herbs,” pursuant to a recipe dating back to 1906.  What it is is delicious – not sweet like many cherry-flavored liqueurs but tart, adding a distinctive flavor to the drink.

These cherry-blossom influences are accompanied by gin and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  They combine to produce a bright and tangy cocktail with cherry, citrus and light floral and herbal flavors.  It’s just the cocktail for enjoying the cherry blossoms on a nice spring day.

Here is the recipe:

Cherry Blossom Cocktail recipe
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Cherry Blossom Cocktail

Celebrate cherry-blossom season with this cocktail, which mixes gin with flavors of cherries and cherry blossoms.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Keyword: cherry blossom cocktail
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 226kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. gin I used Botanist
  • 1/2 oz. Cerasum
  • 1 oz. Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cherry
  • 1 cherry blossom

Instructions

  • Combine the gin, Cerasum, cherry blossom honey syrup and lemon juice with ice in a shaking tin.
  • Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe.
  • Garnish with a cherry and a cherry blossom.

Enjoy!

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Dry Recipe: Sakura Sparkler

As foretold in my March cocktail events round-up, cherry blossom season is upon us.  This year, celebrate not merely by getting outside to see them, but by adding them to your drinks.  I’ve already offered you a recipe that uses an edible flower as garnish in the Blood Orange Daiquiri.  And cherry blossoms (or sakura) are also edible and thus fair garnish game.  You can even find cherry blossom comestibles on Amazon if you don’t have a tree of your own at hand.  We’ll get to that, but first let me introduce you to what we will be making:  a refreshing, non-alcoholic, sparkling beverage called the Sakura Sparkler:

Sakura Sparkler

Like my previous non-alcoholic cocktails (see the Mexican Candy Soda and the Actually Dry Martini), this one is made with Seedlip’s Garden 108.

The cherry-blossom component comes in two parts.  First, the drink itself includes a Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup, which provides a sweet floral flavor that goes well with the Garden 108 and is balanced against freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Second, I took some dried cherry blossoms and made ice cubes out of them.  Dried cherry blossoms are available on Amazon; so are large ice cube trays.  Making cherry-blossom ice cubes is simple.  If you’re working with the dried variety, rinse them thoroughly to remove the salt.  (If you’ve got fresh cherry blossoms, you probably still want to wash them.)  Next, fill the tray with water and drop a couple cherry blossoms in each cube.  If you’re working with dried cherry blossoms, you might want to gently unfold them in the water, and I pushed mine toward the bottom of the tray so they would be more visible from the surface of the ice when frozen.  Finally, place them in the freezer and allow to freeze.

Mine came out looking like this:

Cherry Blossom Cubes

Put these all together and you have a refreshing, alcohol-free drink perfect for welcoming spring.  Here is the recipe:

Sakura Sparkler recipe
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Sakura Sparkler

Enjoy the Sakura Sparkler, a Seedlip-based cocktail perfect for spring, featuring cherry-blossom honey syrup and cherry-blossom ice cubes.
Prep Time10 minutes
Total Time10 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Mocktail
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 70kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

Cocktail

  • 1 1/2 oz. Seedlip Garden 108
  • 3/4 oz. Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup
  • 3/4 oz. Freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • soda water

Ice cubes

  • cherry blossoms

Instructions

Ice cubes

  • In advance of making the drink, fill large ice cube tray with water.  Add 1 to 3 cherry blossoms per cube.  If working with dried cherry blossoms, be sure to rinse the salt off the flowers before adding.  Try to orient the flowers in the cube so they will appear near the surface when the ice freezes.  Leave in the freezer until completely frozen.

Cocktail

  • Combine the Seedlip, syrup and lemon juice in a shaking tin with ice.  Shake vigorously and strain into rocks glass.
  • Add cherry-blossom ice cube.
  • Top with soda water and stir gently to combine with the other ingredients.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: Blood Orange Daiquiri

In the last few posts, I’ve focused on blood orange.  First I offered the Desert Orange, a “margarita for winter” of sorts.  Next I featured the Blood Moon Cocktail, a light and somewhat spicy drink for enjoying astronomical events or really any occasion.  And in my post previewing March cocktail events in the District, I promised a recipe featuring an edible hibiscus garnish.  This is that post.  To help put you in the mood for spring I offer you a blood orange daiquiri:

Blood Orange Daiquiri

The daiquiri has a special significance for me.  It was nearly a decade ago at the Columbia Room – when it was still just a backroom in the old Passenger – that Derek Brown first taught me (and a roomful of other guests) how to make one according to the traditional recipe:  2 ounces of aged rum, and 3/4 ounces each of simple syrup and lime juice.

It was life-altering.  I had taken a bartending class in college, where we learned that daquiris were frozen drinks made with rail rum and sour syrup.  The traditional recipe was so much better, and it re-awakened my interest in mixing drinks.

So I thought it fitting to celebrate the arrival of spring with a fresh take on the classic that marked a spring of sorts in my drink-crafting hobby.  I started with aged rum (Appleton 12-year) and used freshly squeezed blood orange juice in place of the usual lime.  Blood orange juice is sweeter than lime juice of course, so I dialed back the sugar.  (In this case, the syrup was hibiscus flower syrup, about which more in a minute.)  I also added Campari and Calvit’s Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus shrub.

The garnish has two parts.  The base is a blood orange wheel, placed horizontally on top of the crushed ice that fills the glass.  On top, I placed an edible hibiscus flower from Wild Hibiscus Flower Co., which offers the flowers in syrup (which, as I noted above, I used as a substitute for simple syrup).  Although it isn’t depicted above, I also added a paper straw.  (The garnish looks great but isn’t easy to sip around.)

I had a lot of fun with this drink.  As daiquiris tend to do for me, this one went down fast.  Let me know what you think!

Here’s the recipe:

Blood Orange Daiquiri recipe
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Blood Orange Daiquiri

Urge spring forward with this blood orange daiquiri, featuring rum, Campari, blood orange and hibiscus, and garnished with a hibiscus flower that anticipates the coming season.
Prep Time6 minutes
Total Time6 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 225kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. aged rum
  • 1/2 oz. Campari
  • 1 oz. freshly squeezed blood orange juice
  • 1/4 oz. Calvit's Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus Drinking Shrub
  • 1/4 oz. Wild Hibiscus Flower Co. syrup
  • 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
  • 1 dash Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Cocktail Shrub
  • blood orange wheel
  • Wild Hibiscus Flower Co. edible hibiscus flower

Instructions

  • Combine the rum, Campari, juice, shrubs, syrup and bitters in a shaking tin and set aside.
  • Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice.
  • Add ice to the shaking tin, shake contents vigorously and strain into the rocks glass.
  • Garnish by laying a blood orange wheel horizontally atop the drink and placing an edible hibiscus flower on top of the wheel.
  • Add a paper straw, trimmed as necessary.