Cocktail of the Month - August: Dark and Stormy

The Dark and Stormy, in contrast to most of our featured drinks, has a fairly easily obtained and unquestioned history.  The trademarked recipe is the property of Gosling’s, which is still owned by direct descendants of its founder- and they have maintained a fairly detailed historical record. James Gosling left England in 1803, looking to expand his family’s spirits business to Virginia. On his way, he became stuck on the reefs around Bermuda for several months, and decided to stay. The climate of Bermuda was perfect and he began distilling a spiced Rum that was barrel aged, and served directly from the barrels. Around the same time, in another area of the island, the Royal British Navy began brewing a ginger based beer - perhaps as a way to combat seasickness or to reduce the alcohol content in the sailors’ daily rations. By the mid-1800’s Gosling’s Rum had been combined with ginger beer in what was to become the unofficial drink of Bermuda.

In 1914 Gosling’s began selling their rum in old British Champagne bottles reclaimed from the officers’s club. The bottles were sealed with black wax, leading to its iconic Black Seal label. Shortly thereafter, legend has it, a British soldier described the drink as “the color of a cloud that only a fool or a dead man would sail under”, which lead to the moniker “Dark and Stormy”.

In contrast to the ease of discovering the recipe and history, making the Dark and Stormy proved a bit more difficult. Per the trademark, a Dark and Stormy can only be made with Gosling’s Black Seal Rum (and they WILL enforce it). We tasted the Black Seal rum on it's own, and it did have a distinctive spice profile, and a very smooth finish. It’s fairly easy to locate at your local spirits establishment. Ginger beer, on the other hand, is a whole different story.  Neither of us were able to find it easily available in our regular grocery stores, despite having seen it in the past. Ultimately we were able to locate a decent selection at both World Market and Total Wine- depending on your area and time of year you may have better luck with local shopping options. Once we located ginger beer, we realized that there were a wide range of options. We first tried a variety that contained alcohol - it made for a VERY strong drink! For this blog, we decided to use Gosling’s “Stormy” Ginger Beer- since it was designed specifically for making a Dark and Stormy. It is a non-alcoholic variety, and tastes a lot like an old fashioned brewed ginger ale, with the distinctive ginger bite you’d find in raw or candied ginger. We really enjoyed this combination, as when mixed, the drink still contained both the flavor profile of the rum and a definite ginger bite. It wasn’t quite as refreshing as some of our other summer drinks, but it is a nice option if you want to try something new.

RECIPE 

2 oz Goslings Black Seal Rum 

Ginger Beer - as needed for glass (less than 10oz)

Optional lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice 

Add ginger beer- leaving enough room for the Rum

Add optional squeeze of lime and rim the glass if desired

Pour Rum on top and swirl to see the Stormy effect

(You can add Rum first, but we liked the visual effect better this way)

Obviously we had a bit of fun with our pics for this one - especially that header pic!  We truly did try to make this as a storm was coming in, but it's a bit hard to see the storm clouds in some of the pictures - so we just went all out creating our header!  But the thought is there, and a Dark and Stormy would be lovely to sit and sip on the porch watching one of those summer thunderstorms roll in!  Cheers!

Christine & Stacy

If you try one, share a picture with us in the comments! 

Cocktail of the Month- July: GIn Rickey

Gin Rickey- light, limey refreshing; the perfect drink for hot midsummer days. And as it turns out, the perfect drink for your Fourth of July festivities. In July of 2011 the Gin Rickey was proclaimed Washington DC’s “native drink”, so it’s the perfect addition to your July 4th festivities.

The Gin Rickey has its origins at Shoomaker’s - a favorite hangout for DC Lobbyists even in the 1880’s, and is named for Colonel Joe Rickey, one of the most prolific of his time. Rickey was a well known “political fixer” and a frequent drinker at Shoomaker’s. Legend has it that he requested a cocktail of bourbon, lime juice and club soda as a hang over cure- after a night of hard drinking and political wrangling.  Over time, other patrons started asking for “Rickey’s Drink”. As gin grew in popularity, the sophisticated drinkers in DC and New York made a substitution, and it took off from there. Though you can still order a bourbon based “Joe Rickey”, it is far over shadowed by its gin descendant. Rickey, a true Southerner (and former Confederate officer) at heart, was not pleased with this development. He was on record on more than one occasion expressing his displeasure with this turn of events, and undoubtedly would not have appreciated the prime billing the drink received in his obituary.

Regardless of its storied past, and our enjoyment of good bourbons, we found the gin and lime combination to be the perfect refresher on a hot southern night. Hope that you enjoy it as well!

RECIPE

2oz Gin

Juice of 1 lime

4oz Club Soda

Fill your highball glass with ice

Add the gin and lime juice

Top with the club soda

Garnish with a lime wedge, give it a little stir and enjoy!

Cheers!
Stacy and Christine

Cocktail of the Month - May: Bourbon Smash

Last May we featured a somewhat complicated, delicate to make, spring classic- the Mint Julep. While we had a great time figuring out the science behind the perfect julep, and it’s a great occasion drink, it was something that we wouldn’t make as a daily cocktail - too much careful attention and planning. (You can read about our julep exploits here ... )

While we were looking for classic cocktails to feature this year, we found the perfect answer - the Bourbon Smash. Much easier to make, with the same fresh flavor profile as a julep. Dating back to at least 1862, the Smash is listed as a more casual variant of the Mint Julep. Historically it’s unclear which came first- whether the Smash is a dressed down Julep or whether the Julep was a more fancy follower of the Smash. Either way, both are fabulous in their own right, and in their own situation.  A Smash is literally "smashing" the ingredients/fruits and adding spirits and ice.  So, fun to note, all Julep's are Smashes, however, all Smashes are not Juleps.

Although there have been countless variations on the Smash, with some recipes being as vague as "a spirit base, seasonal fruit, sweetener and ice", we used the most original recipe that we could locate, and ended up with the perfect sipping drink for summer nights on the porch.

RECIPE

Half a lemon, cut into 4 wedges

6-8 mint leaves

1 oz simple syrup or 1T. sugar

2 oz of your favorite bourbon

In a shaker, muddle and smash the lemon, mint, and sugar

Add bourbon

shake

Strain into a rocks glass with crushed ice or one to two large cubes

Garnish with fruit and/or mint 

Enjoy!

We hope that you enjoy this classic as much as we have - it's sure to become a summer staple for both of us! 

Cheers!

Christine and Stacy 

Cocktail of the Month- March: The Martini

We have been on a bit of a hiatus to start off the year- snow days, sick days and taking care of children has been more time consuming than usual. But as we are digging out and disinfecting, we are ready to focus on spring and moving forward!

We are re-launching our cocktail blog series with the ever timeless martini. Although in our younger years we tried so many things that ended in -tini (appletini, chocotini, the list goes on...) there’s really nothing that matches the classic elegance of an original, authentic martini.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for the adventurous taster) there are nearly as many “classic recipes” as people you talk to! The only thing that seems to be commonly agreed upon is the presence of vermouth and ice... you can shake, stir minimally or extensively; add olives or lemon; vodka, gin or both; drink while cold or let warm and meld the flavors- the list goes on and on. What’s most important is that you find the variation you enjoy most, and celebrate that!

We chose to try the gin martini- as most sources indicate that it was the original. It is also an American invention- although sources differ as to whether it was East or West coast based. Some stories attribute the Martini to a town called Martinez, outside of San Francisco; while others reference a bartender named “Martini”, in New York.  Most agree, however, that neither the original gin nor vemouth was as dry as we have today. Some purists today even use virtually no vermouth, advocating rations of 25:1 gin to vermouth, or dryer.

Here is the recipe we used. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments! 

2oz gin

1/2 oz dry vermouth 

Ice 

Olives or Lemon Twist 

Stir gin and vermouth in mixing glass filled with ice or shake with ice in a shaker.

Strain into chilled cocktail glass. 

Garnish with olives or lemons

ENJOY!

And in our case, make sure to use Christine's husband's favorite vintage martini swords!

Cheers! 

Christine and Stacy 

Cocktail of the Month-November: Hot Toddy

Continuing our Fall trend, we are featuring another heated cocktail- perfect for an evening drink when the night air turns cold! When the Hot Toddy first came to our attention on a vintage cocktail list we nearly discounted it all together.  Our first thoughts, even our second and third thoughts, tended to be something like "how good can this be, people used it as medicine?!" Even as we prepared it we were cautious- not expecting too much, hoping it was "OK".

We could not have been more wrong! The Hot Toddy will definitely become a part of our cold weather repertoire.  It was crazy easy to make, only needed ingredients we already had on hand, AND was both tasty and warming.  In fact, we have continued making these at home since trying them out for this blog!  Yummy Cozy!

The drink's origins can be traced back to the late 1700's India (although other variations attribute it to an Irish doctor, prescribing it medicinally), where it was made with liquor, hot water, sugar and spice. It is no surprise that it quickly spread to colder and wetter climates in the UK and American colonies, as British influence spanned more of the globe. As the drink spread, local spices and regional liquor preferences created a number of variations. By the 1830's it had become a common cold remedy used by everyone from grandma down to young children.

RECIPE 

1 Tbsp honey 

1 Tbsp lemon
2 shots Bourbon

boiling water (about 1/2 cup) 

Add first 3 ingredients to Irish coffee glass (or other mug). Pour in boiling water and stir! 

** NOTE the original recipe had 2 Tbsp honey, but we felt it was sweet enough with one!

Cheers and Stay Warm!
Christine and Stacy

Cocktail of the Month-September: Old Fashioned

Labor Day- summer is coming to an end, but it's not quite fall. As we thought about a drink that captured this feeling, we decided to feature the classic Old Fashioned with a few variations.

The Old Fashioned is among the most classic of cocktails.  References to this classic bourbon (or whiskey) drink date back to 1806; it may in fact have been THE original cocktail. What we do know: in the 1800's a cocktail was comprised of bitters, a sugar cube, a dash of water and your spirit of choice- you could order one with most any alcohol as the base. Sometime in the late 1800's the bourbon variety picked up the Old Fashioned moniker- leading to the idea that it may have been the original, or just the one that best stood the test of time.

What we love most about this drink is it's simplicity. Free from the over sweetness of many modern cocktails, you can really enjoy the bourbon you are paying for - which incidentally means you should start with a bourbon you enjoy straight.

Traditional Old Fashioned recipes call for a sugar cube muddled with a few dashes of bitters and a splash of water. Although this is ideal, most agree that a rich simple sugar (2:1 ration sugar to water) is a reasonable replacement. (Use about 1\3 oz of rich simple syrup/drink).

We also tried a few variations on the Old Fashioned- although they are not traditional. We found that using a fruit bourbon- cherry and peach specifically- brought us a flavor profile that reminded us of the summer to fall transition. We omitted the sugar cube, using just a few dashes of bitters and the bourbon - plus ice. as the fruit bourbons are sweeter on their own, Purists would gasp, I am sure, but if you are just experimenting give it a try!


Cheers and Happy Fall!
Christine and Stacy

Cocktail of the Month- August: Sidecar

The Sidecar, like many vintage cocktails, appears to be of dubious origins. Many tales credit its creation to Harry's Bar in Paris- inspired by an American officer during World War One. Others have a similar story substituting London's Buck's Club. The most reasonable (I think) explanation being both establishments based their drink on an old 19th Century cocktail from - where else- New Orleans. 

If one traces back the recipe, it takes on a distinctly New Orleans flair. The mixture of French Cognac and Curaçao from the Spanish Islands reflects the mix of nationalities  present in the very distinct world of New Orleans.  Curaçao, over time, was replaced by Cointreau - as the drink gained in popularity and needed an orange liquor that was reliably and consistently produced (the early Curaçao was not). When Curaçao production stabilized it included blue food dye- which would totally change the classic look of this drink. 

In the French style, the Sidecar is made with equal parts cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice. In contrast the English sidecar has 2 parts cognac to one part Cointreau and one part lemon juice. Traditionally the glass is rimmed with sugar (orange infused if you are really fancy) and garnished with an orange peel twist. 

We chose to make our sidecar in the English style - as we prefer a lighter citrus note- and eliminated the sugar - rim as we don't like overly sweet flavors.  We used Christian Brothers XO Brandy - if you have a favorite brandy its a great substitution. 

We enjoyed the the flavor of this drink, and it's perfect for a hit August night! 

RECIPE 

2 oz. Cognac 

1 oz. Cointreau

1 oz. Lemon juice (we used fresh squeezed) 

If you choose to rm the glass, rub it with the squeezed lemon and dip into a plate of sugar. 

Measure liquids into a shaker of ice, shake well, strain into your rimmed glass and enjoy! 

Cheers! 

Christine and Stacy 

Mint Julep: A Year of Cocktails - May

This month's cocktail is inspired by a little horse race coming up at the end of this week... 

When we began brainstorming our Year of Cocktails, May was one of the months that we instantly had a plan for - and the same plan no less (which is saying something for the two of us).  When you live in the south, there are few things as iconic as the Kentucky Derby and the connected pageantry.  Everyone pictures the fabulously dressed women, Derby hats perched atop their heads, and of course they have mint juleps in their hands.  If you ever wondered why juleps are served in little silver cups, if you are hosting a Derby Party and are unsure of intricacies of this classic drink, or if you are a history and science nerd like me - this is the blog post for you! 

Although written references to juleps exist prior to the 1875 advent of the Derby, due to excellent marketing and branding the two are forever linked in the minds of most Americans.  The first references to juleps at the Derby appear in 1938, which makes sense as Prohibition ended in 1933 and America was emerging from the throes of the Great Depression in the late 1930's.  Americans were ready to get out and have a good time, forget about their problems for a while, and enjoy an drink that symbolized wealth and stature.  The julep's history made it a perfect fit - in the days before home refrigerators, even having the available ice to make the drink was a sign of wealth. Combining that with the requisite silver cup, and the staff to make such a labor intensive drink was surely a sign of a very affluent family; and the additional bonus of being made with local Kentucky bourbon made it the perfect signature drink for an event that was fast becoming a symbol of wealth, history and class in the American South. 

We had our silver cup, we had ice, bourbon, sugar and mint - we thought we were ready to whip up the perfect mint julep.  I am here to tell you - the recipe for a julep looks deceptively simple! We even had an official mint muddling stick! We muddled our mint (basically smashing the mint leaves to release the flavors), we put in the ice and the other ingredients and we stirred... then waited for that classic super-frosted cup. Nothing! A little bit of condensation perhaps, but no super cool frosted julep glass. We went back to the trusty internet, pulled up all the recipes we could find and looked for something we had missed. Some recipes called for a splash of water, in addition to the standard ingredients - surely this little splash of water couldn't make the difference we thought? 

But we had nothing to lose, so we gave it a try.  Amazingly, we added the water, stirred vigorously, and behold - the glass iced, instantly and dramatically! If you are just interested in having the perfect julep, you can stop reading here, skip to the recipe at the bottom, and enjoy your fabulously iced silver cup (you're welcome....).  However, if you are like Christine and I and need to know WHY this works, read the next paragraph.  We were fascinated.... 

Full disclosure, as I write this, I am a science/ math nerd, but I tend much more towards the life sciences - thermodynamics was never my strong suit, so this is totally my lay person's understanding of the information... We figured that there must have been some sort of chemical reaction going on, so we started by hitting up the research chemists and engineers in our immediate social circle. Despite the fact that they all thought that we were crazy - because who really calls someone out of the blue to ask about drink glasses that "magically" frost - we hit on the phrase "heat of enthalpy".  Then we were off to the races, so to speak.  A google search and some reading later, we had it figured out (sort of)! The simple syrup (sugar supersaturated in hot water), the bourbon and the ice are a closed system with a defined amount of energy. When you add a splash of water and stir, as I understand it, several things happen simultaneously. The freezing point of the ice/water combination is lowered, due to the alcohol in the bourbon, this results in a melting of some quantity of the ice in order to reach a state of equilibrium,  In addition, the dropping temperature changes the solubility of the sugar in the simple syrup - just as you had to heat the water in order to dissolve that much sugar, the cooling of the solution causes some of the sugar to recrystallize.  Both of these things - the melting and the recrystallizing - use energy that removes heat from the closed system.  As the system loses heat, it chills the glass so severely that any moisture in the air (that would normally form condensation on the glass) actually freezes.  To create the ideal situation for a perfectly frosted julep cup, you need the following....

 1. A good recipe

 2. A full cup of ice so that the temperature balance works correctly 

 3. A vigorous stir

 4. A real silver cup - as silver is the best substance for conducting heat and cold

5, A good dose of Southern humidity in the air to provide enough water vapor to freeze

Because we are a bit artsy and creative (and have young daughters), in addition to being nerds, we took our new-found knowledge one step further.... If the freezing effect of the julep cup is caused by agitation in the system drawing the heat, it's the only natural explanation for the mysterious powers of everyone's current favorite Disney princess! If you have "Frozen" fans in your house, and have seen the movie as many times as we have, you will remember that Princess Elsa's ice "powers" grow and spin out of control whenever she is becomes overly upset/angry/scared etc. As her emotions swirl and her feelings build in intensity they seem to draw the energy from the environment - setting off an eternal winter in Arendelle. So as an added bonus to our cool drink experiment, we solved a Disney mystery as well! 

We hope that you have enjoyed learning from our experiences and that you will drink a fabulous julep as you cheer your favorite horse to victory in the Derby this weekend!

RECIPE

1. Place the leaves from 4-5 springs of  mint and 1/2 oz  simple syrup into a julep cup
2. Muddle well to release the oil and aroma of the mint.
3. Add 2.5 oz of your favorite bourbon.
4. Fill with crushed ice, add a splash of water,  and stir well until the glass becomes frosty.
5. Garnish with the mint sprig.

Cheers!

Stacy and Christine 

Kir: A Year of Cocktail-April

This month's cocktails (yes, it's a two for one!) are perfect for spring time brunches or afternoon garden parties. The color is a beautiful, springish purplely pink and the flavor is light and refreshing. 

The Kir, and it's cousin the Kir Royale, are classuc cocktails that should have been rediscovered long before now. The Kir was originated by Cannon Felix Kir- a priest, leader of the French Resistence in the Second World War, and later mayor of Dijon in the Burgundy region of France. There are some stories that indicate the drinks beginning as a result of the damage to French red wine vineyards during the war, but these seem to be more the stuff of legend than fact. What is clear, however, is Kir's preference for using and promoting local products. He created his namesake drink by mixing a local dry, acidic white wine with local creme de cassis (black currant) liquor LeJay Cassis. The Kir Royale then developed, using champagne as a base instead of white wine. 

The recipe is simple and can use any white wine, or champagne as long as it is dry and fairly acidic. In recent years the Kir has become a cloyingly sweet drink, but if mixed correctly it should give you the refreshing bite of the dry, acidic wine with just enough sweetness to temper it. 

RECIPE 

1 part creme de cassis liquor

4 parts chilled dry white wine or dry champagne

Pour the creme de cassis in first to get the best mix, and Enjoy!! 

Traditionally the Kir was an everyday drink, and the Kir Royale was for special occasions. We, of course, sampled both. If you like bubbly, I would strongly recommend the Kir Royale as your go to choice. It's no coincidence (thanks to Town and Country Magazine for this tidbit) that the same cassis buds used in making the liquor are used in Chanel no. 5.   Both, to me, exude a classic elegance that just can't go wrong. 

Bon Apetit!! 

The Grasshopper: A Year of Cocktails - March

Today's classic cocktail had its start, interestingly enough, during a prohibition-era cocktail contest in New York City.  While I'm not so sure how you hold a cocktail contest whilst the selling of alcohol is illegal, I guess it's the fine line between creating and selling... Nonetheless, this iconic drink was created during the romanticized era of speakeasies and jazz musicians.  Philibert Guichet, Jr., the owner and proprietor of Tujague's in the French Quarter of New Orleans, created the Grasshopper for the above mentioned competition sometime during the 1920's (dates vary in the sources I found...). After his creation received second prize in the contest, Guichet brought it home, began to serve it, and it grew in popularity over the next half century. The history of the the Grasshopper, combined with it's electric green color, make it a perfect drink for a Mardi Gras celebration! 

Although Mardi Gras was yesterday, we chose this as our March cocktail because its green, frothy color also works well for upcoming St. Patrick's Day celebrations (think an adult version of the Shamrock Shake!) and as a general welcome to Spring. It's also a great replacement when you run out of Thin Mint cookies. 

Due to the strong mint flavor of the drink, we chose to play up the creme de cacao flavor by rimming the glass with semi-sweet melted chocolate (chilling while the drink was mixed) and topping with some chocolate shavings. In my book this created to the perfect blend of chocolate and mint flavors, and a very refreshing drink. We used the classic recipe (below); there are many variations created by modern mixologists, but Christine and I feel that the original has stood the test of time and does not need improvement. 

Recipe: 

1 oz. green creme de menthe    

1 oz. white creme de cacao 

1 oz. light cream

Mix all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Share with us in the comments how you will use the Grasshopper to celebrate spring, or which variations you like best! 

Cheers

Stacy