plymouth gin

It’s Spring and I’m Twitterpated

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Twitterpated-2

Bring on the Spring cocktails y’all! All of my favouite bars in Brooklyn have switched over to their new programs and I keep eyeing the Lavender bitters up on my fridge. (Keep in mind, most of my bar is up on top of the fridge!) I also keep eyeing the Dolin Blanc ’cause it’s just right for this time of year. (It lives in the fridge. All of the Vermouths and the Sherry live in the fridge.)

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Twitterpated

  • 1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 1/2 oz Dolin Blanc
  • 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
  • 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
  • 2 dashes BarKeep Lavender Bitters
  • Garnish: Maraschino cherry

Combine ingredients over ice and shake. Double strain into coupe and garnish with Maraschino Cherry.

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Remember when Bambi learns about the “birds and the bees” from the Old Owl? The very first thing I thought after taking a sip of this drink was the line, “Don’t you know? They’re twitterpated.”

Happy Spring Cocktails to you all!

Drinking with Mad Men Season 7: the Gimlet

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To celebrate “The End of An Era”, welcome to a series of drinks from the television show Mad Men. Each week I’ll be featuring a different cocktail from the show, so we can all drink along with our favourite Madison Avenue Ad-men and women.

I’m very emotionally invested in Mad Men. The characters are so well written, the fashion and attention to detail are unparalleled. It’s witty, charming and so so serious. I’ve watched the entire show multiple times and am looking forward to/nervous about the last Season!

For S7 E8 I’ll be drinking one of mine and Betty Draper’s favourite cocktails, The Gimlet.

Betty Draper gimlet

Doesn’t Betty look magnificent? Stunning. Image courtesy of AMC.

Traditionally Gimlets were made with Rose’s Lime juice with the following specs.

Traditional Gimlet

  • 1 oz Gin or Vodka
  • 1 oz Rose’s Lime Juice
  • Garnish: Lime wedge

Shake over ice and strain into Martini Glass or Coupe. Garnish with Lime Wedge.

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Betty likes her drinks with Vodka but I’m a Gin Gal and this is how I like to make my Gimlet.

Fresh Gimlet

  • 2 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 1 oz Lime Juice
  • 3/4 oz Demerara Syrup
  • Garnish: Lime Wheel

Shake and strain over ice. Lime Wheel Garnish.

Gimlet-Variation

If you want to make really tasty variation on a Gimlet, add a couple of dashes of Chartreuse Vert, Absinthe or both.

I’ll be doing this series until the end of Mad Men, so see you next week!

You’re So Kind + Recent Acquisitions Apr 2015

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Purchases-Spring-'15

Y’all, I got some new stuff and replenished some old stuff so let’s talk about it!

Plymouth Gin – I will always and forever hold Plymouth in the highest regard. It is the best English Dry Gin and the most versatile. I use it in every Gin cocktail possible but it really stands out in Sours, Martinis and all the classics. Specifically, check it out in The Oldest Living Confederate Widow.

Pimm’s No 1 – Something inside of my head snapped and said, “IT’S SPRING AND IT’S PIMM’S SEASON!” Check out my Ceylon Pimm’s Cup on BarNotes.

Amaro CioCiaro – I have read much about this Amaro and how it’s the best option for us modern folks to get something like the original Amer Picon. I finally had some as a digestivo at Walter’s a few weeks ago and wow, it’s wonderfully orange! I’m going to use it in Tiki, I totally am.

Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur – I’ve been eye’ing this one for awhile as well. There are a lot of Classic Cocktails with Apricot liqueur and I plan to make them all. Oh and totally gonna use it in Tiki. (shocking, I know)

Hendrick's-Quinetum-2

I am proud to post the above photo and humbled that I am privileged to have this. I feel like I need to pinch myself everytime I look at this bottle. In fact, let’s look at it again, shall we.

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I secretly got this from a secret bartender at a secret bar that I totally cannot talk about but if you’re reading this, thank you so much. The secret person who did this is SO KIND! I’m about to cry with excitement and emotion!

Hendrick’s Quinetum – This ultra rare, not sold in stores, limited edition Hendrick’s Quinine Cordial was developed by master distiller Lesley Gracie specifically to be used with Gin. Essentially, it’s tonic syrup and a most delicious one at that.  In Lesley’s words “What most bartenders will immediately pick up on is the orange nose, giving way to subtle lavender notes.  The taste has a deep green, bitter flavor from the wormwood, holy thistle and, of course, quinine.  Bartenders should find this combination amiable for crafting into cocktails with Hendrick’s characteristic floral notes and spicy bitterness, which comes from the caraway seed and cubeb berries.” Yes please. I will be using it, as intended, with Gin.

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Well, that’s all for now! Recipes coming SOOOOOOON. 

Improved Negronis are for Chinese New Year

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Gung Hay Fat Choy to you all! It’s Chinese New Year! Growing up in the SF Bay Area meant many a fun trip to Chinatown for New Year festivities and I totally loved the parades! My darling girlfriend is Chinese American and so this celebration has taken on a whole new meaning for me! I’ve noticed that no other culture wishes that everyone has Luck as much as the Chinese culture. So to you all I say, “May you be prosperous and full of luck!”

Trivia? Which drink goes perfectly with the rich and varied flavours of Chinese food cause it cuts right through the mix? NEGRONI! Bing, Bing, Bing! You did it! The citrus and bitter notes of a Negroni pair well with the heavy foods in a traditional Chinese New Year dinner and Red is the color of the celebration.

This is not just any Negroni though, this is An Improved Negroni. You may be thinking, “this bitch, why does she think she can ‘improve’ a Negroni?” But I’m not such a crazy bitch! “Improved Cocktails” are actually a category of drink. If you look back on the grand history of cocktails, the original ones were in an Old Fashioned format. The “improvements” meant adding things like a dash of Absinthe or two dashes of Maraschino.

My improvements are: adjusting the ratios, adding Maraschino and using Blood Orange peel in the drink for added Citrusness. Sun Ye Fai Lok!

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An Improved Negroni

  • 1 1/2 oz Plymouth Gin
  • 3/4 oz Campari
  • 3/4 oz Carpano Antica Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
  • Garnish: Blood Orange Peel

Combine ingredients and stir over ice until proper dilution has been achived. Strain into rocks glass with ice. Express Blood Orange Peel and Garnish.

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An Improved Negroni in the wild at Chinese New Year 2014. I have switched vermouth since then y’all! 

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Let’s just look at this drink again. Campari, you make me turn red all over. Remember #EveryWeekIsNegroniWeek

Valentines & the Hanky Panky

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So, it’s the week of Valentines, or as I like to call it, Valenspoons. I have no idea why I started calling it Valenspoons, perhaps it was because I like the way it sounds, it’s a silly sounding word. Perhaps I changed the name during one of those years when I did not have a sweetheart and was frustrated that this holiday even existed! Perhaps it was to mock the notion that there should be a Hallmark Holiday which encourages people to hit one another up on Tinder and have a dinner date + some Hanky Panky.

Speaking of Hanky Panky…

Do you all love Fernet-Branca as much as I do? Do you get that “Bartender’s Handshake” after a long night out? Do you drink Fernet-Branca after meals to savour the incredibly complex flavours and help settle your tummy? Do you think the Toronto is the best Manhattan Variation? Cause I do!

The Hanky Panky is one of my fave classic Gin cocktails, right up there with a Martinez, French 75 and Martini. Bonus: this drink was invented by a lady! Wooooo! Laaaaady! Ada Coleman was the head bartender at the Savoy American Bar in the early 20th C and the story goes that she created this cocktail for Sir Charles Hawtrey. When he had his first sip, he drained the whole glass and said, “By Jove! That is the real hanky-panky!”

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Hanky Panky

  • 1 1/2 oz Hayman’s Old Tom Gin or London Dry Gin
  • 1 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
  • 2 dashes Fernet-Branca
  • Garnish: Orange peel

Combine ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into coupe, express Orange peel and garnish.

Dirty-Puzzle

And since it’s Valenspoons, I’ve got a little variation for y’all! I decided to dry it out with Plymouth Gin, different specs, swap out the Orange peel for a Blood Orange peel and add some Scrappy’s Chocolate Bitters. Totes a Valenspoons drink now y’all! Fire up the Tindering!

Dirty Puzzle (Hanky Panky variation)

Combine ingredients and stir with ice. Strain into coupe, express Blood Orange peel and garnish.

Fernet-Branca

Luv u Fernet-Branca. Luv y’all. Happy Valentimes. 

Thanks to The Baddish Group for giving the opportunity to make these delicious drinks!

Classic Cocktails: Aviation

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I have a lot of feelings about this drink. I went on a 2.5 year Aviation challenge during which time I went to many different bars, in many different States of the good old USA, ordered an Aviation, and took notes. Most of the time, these “Aviations” were WAY TOO lemony. Even bars I really respect used too much Lemon Juice in the drink and Lemon Peels as garnishes. HELL NO.

Where is your Maraschino Cherry? Where are your correct proportions? These are the questions and I’ve got the answer.

Honestly, the very best Aviation I’ve ever had (on more than one occasion) is made by Angel Negrín and here is his perfect recipe.

Aviation

  • 2 oz / 60 ml Plymouth Gin
  • 2 tsp / 10 ml Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Liqueur
  • 1 tsp / 5 ml Crème de Violette
  • 1/2 oz / 15 ml Lemon Juice
  • Maraschino Cherry

In tin, combine ingredients and shake over ice. Place Maraschino cherry in coupe, double strain liquids into coupe.

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Bonus: Aviations make sensational Fizzes and even better Silver Fizzes.

Aviation Fizz: Make the Aviation, strain into Collins glass and add ice, Club Soda and Cherry.

Aviation Silver Fizz: When making the Aviation, use 2 tsp Violette and add Egg White. Dry shake like hell, add ice and shake again. Add 1 oz Club soda to Collins glass, add ice and Cherry, strain Aviation into glass. Top with more soda.

Aviation Royale: Make the Aviation, strain into coupe, add cherry and top with Champagne.

Aviation-Fizz

Muhhhhhhhhhhhgh. This drink is so so amazing. I can’t handle it…when it’s made properly. 🙂

Holiday Infusions

/ Dani DeLuna / 8 Comments

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I recently received the Death & Co Book as a present from my fabulous girlfriend. THAT BOOK IS EVERYTHING. The Cocktail recipes are outrageous but what has really stuck with me are the infusions, syrups and batched ingredients. It reminded me that back in the spring/summer, I was infusing anything I could think to put together. Well, I’m back in the kitchen gettin’ busy with Holiday Infusions and Syrups.

Here we go!

Cacao-Infused-Campari

This one is from the Death & Co book but I adjusted the ratios a bit. I found their version to be underwhelming and I wanted MORE CACAO!

Cacao Nib Infused Campari

  • 500 ml Campari
  • 4 heaping tablespoons Cacao Nibs (like how I went from Metric to Imperial units?)
  1. In jar combine Campari and Cacao Nibs
  2.  Let sit for 4 hours, gently rolling or stirring if you have a wide-mouthed jar (you don’t really want air bubbles to happen, just to agitate the liquid)
  3. Double strain into container

Cranberry-Infused-Dolin-Rouge

I’m gonna use this one in ALL the Xmas Cocktails! Oh and eat the cranberries after you’re done infusing! They’re sooooooo delicious!

Cranberry Infused Dolin Rouge

  • 250 ml Dolin Rouge or other Sweet Vermouth. (But try to get Dolin Rouge, it’s so perfect with Cranberries.)
  • 250 ml dried Cranberries (by Volume). I don’t have a scale. Do you have a scale? Lucky you.
  1. In Jar combine dried Cranberries and Dolin Rouge
  2. Let sit for 48 hours gently rolling or stirring if you’ve got a wide-mouthed jar
  3. Double strain into container
  4. Eat the Cranberries or give them to a friend

Pineapple-Infused-Plymouth-Gin

Yep, it’s back. This is my favourite thing ever and I use it in a lot of summer cocktails. For winter, I’m gonna use it in Punch!

Pineapple infused Plymouth Gin

  • 500 ml Plymouth Gin
  • Two handfuls of Pineapple Chunks
  1. In jar, combine Gin and Pineapple Chunks
  2. Let sit for 24 hours occasionally shaking. Yep, get up at 4 am, shake it and go back to bed.
  3. Taste. If you would like it to be more Pineapple-y, discard used Pineapple and add more fresh Pineapple. Let sit for another 24 hours. Rinse, repeat.
  4. When it is to your liking, double strain into container.

Cinnamon-Bark-Syrup

This one I got straight from the Death & Co Book. It’s sensational. Hot damn! Back to Imperial measurements.

Cinnamon Bark Syrup

  • 1 oz or approx 0.06 lb Cinnamon Bark
  • 2 Cups of Water
  • 2 Cups of Sugar (Demerara used here)
  1. In sauce pan, muddle Cinnamon Bark until it is in shards
  2. Add Sugar and Water and slowly bring to a boil
  3. Reduce and simmer for 4 minutes
  4. Let sit overnight
  5. Double strain into container. Smell it. It’s so damn amazing.

Good luck to you and happy infusing/syruping! Holiday Cheers!