Your cocktail recipe of choice ?

[El Presidente]

Many of us find ourselves with a little more time on our hands than usual 

This topic of conversation came up on yesterday's Zoom Herf.  We discuss all the big issues 

Your cocktail recipe of choice? Maximum of three cocktails. 

Post up your special recipe and go into the draw for a little sampler. Post up a picture of your final creation and get an additional ticket in the draw. 

This could be a busy weekend ahead 

Post on this thread. Drawn Friday local !

[99call]

Not entering the draw, but just wanted to add this as it's a winner

A 'Paloma' does it for me

2x shots of Reposado Tequila

1x tablespoon of of Agavero liquer or Agave necter

Ice, and toped up with unsweetened Pink Grapefruit juice.  wedge of lime and squeeze of lime,  Sprig of Mint.   Salt rim optional

Lovely stuff. 

 

[madandana]

Negroni of course. It’s easy. Equal parts Aperol (or Campari) Gin and Sweet Vermouth.

usually served with one large ice cube and garnished with an orange slice.

This is my favorite as it is very complex like a great cigar. Sweet and tart all at the same time.

[Toast & Taste]

1. Scotch, in a glass. No ice.

2. Bourbon, in a glass. No ice.

3. Vodka, in a glass, 5 drops of sugar free tonic water. Ice.

Big Al 

[GrouchoMarx]

Perfect dry martini:

Gently pour gin over ice into a cocktail shaker.

Have someone walk through the room with an open bottle of dry vermouth.

Stir, pour - add 3 olives.

 

[JohnS]

I'm not intending to enter the draw, however I'm happy to share my recipes for some of my favourite cocktails below...

The Sazerac Cocktail

The first thing I do is to start with the Absinthe. I also use a 90 ml (3 US fluid ounces) tumbler glass, which is smaller, but which is ideal for this cocktail.

Pour about 5 ml (approximately 1/6 of a US fluid ounce) of Absinthe into the glass. This equates to about 2 US-sized teaspoons. At this point, I don't even bother with using another larger Old-Fashioned type tumbler glass, nor do I waste the Absinthe. Instead, I fill the glass with filtered water.

Then, to get the glass nice and cold, I place it in the freezer for around 45 minutes.

Don't leave it longer than 50 minutes because you only want the surface of the Absinthe-water to freeze, otherwise it's hard to remove.

Next, jettison the Absinthe-water down the sink, you'll be left with a perfectly-coated Absinthe glass that is chilled, which is what you want. Get some Sugar syrup, Peychaud's Bitters and the spirit of your choice, mine is typically Hennessy VSOP Cognac, yours may be different.

Now, pour approximately 8 to 10 mls (approximately 1/4 to 1/3 of a US fluid ounce) of Sugar Syrup into the bottom of the glass. If you want it sweeter, add more, but I find this (volume of Sugar Syrup) about ideal to balance the drink.

Get your Peychaud's Bitters and add about 2 - 3 liberal dashes. Some recipes allow you to substitute the Peychaud's Bitters if you'd like, in my opinion, there is no substitute for Peychaud's Bitters. Do you notice how the bitters sits on top of the Sugar Syrup? This is fine as the next step will mix the drink nicely when you add your spirit.

I add around 60 - 75 ml (approximately 2 - 2 1/2 US fluid ounces) of Cognac to the glass and lightly swill to mix it at this point.

Some bartenders, if they make the drink for you, will get a lemon peel and rim the glass at this point. I say no! Get your lemon peel, remove the with pith as much as you can as the pith is bitter, and twist it, dropping about 4 drops of lemon peel oil into the drink. This will add another dimension to the drink, giving it a citrus edge to go with the anise, vanilla, caramel and sweetened bitters that will soften the burn of the cognac (or rye), giving it what our dear friend @ATGroom described as a "buttery texture" when I served him the drink.

[JohnS]

The Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 Old Fashioned Cocktail

Ingredients:

Sugar Syrup, Angostura Aromatic Bitters, Regans' Orange Bitters, Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 rum, Orange peel/s, Maraschino cherry, Ice.

Method:

Firstly, take your highball glass and place simple sugar syrup in the bottom. The method I use to create sugar syrup is to get 1 cup of white sugar and 1 cup of water and heat it in a saucepan, then cool it and store it in the fridge. It's good for many months. I prefer this to muddling a sugar cube because even if you add water to the cube, there's always granules in your drink. With sugar syrup, the sugar mixes better.

 

Then, add bitters. Ron Zacapa rum has a delicious sweet taste which compliments well with orange, so I added some Regans' Orange Bitters to the traditional Angostura Aromatic Bitters.

Add 2 nips of rum and mix with some ice cubes.

Grab an orange and peel using a vegetable peeler. Squeeze the peel over the drink to blend the oils from the peel into the drink. (Please excuse the blurry image!)

Finally, add a maraschino cherry on top of some more ice to fill the glass. Stir thoroughly and serve.

I found this a little sweet yesterday, so I will try to adapt this recipe again today. Experimenting with cocktails can be very rewarding, especially as you fine-tune and adapt your drinks to suit your palate.

[JohnS]

The Alexander Cocktail

The Alexander Cocktail is a mixed drink, commonly referred to today as a 'Brandy Alexander'. The modern drink uses Cognac, White (or Brown) Creme de Cocoa and Half-and-Half. If you don't have half-and-half, make it yourself by combining some full cream milk and cream. The Creme de Cocoa may be white or brown, all that changes is the colour of your drink.

My Ingredients:

• 30ml (or 1 ounce)   cognac
• 30ml brown (or white) creme de cacao
• 30ml to 60 ml (1 to 2 ounces) light cream (or half-and-half)

My Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain contents into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg (and optional cinnamon) on top and serve.

The recipe calls for nutmeg to be sprinkled on top, but I like to add a little sweetness and spice to my Alexander cocktails, so I add cinnamon.

However, did you know you can make this drink with Gin? The original recipe had a variation containing gin. When I make it with gin, I like to use White Creme de Cocoa to give the drink a lighter colour. Difford's Guide has a recipe for a Gin Alexander here.

My Ingredients:

• 30ml (or 1 ounce)   gin
• 30ml white creme de cacao
• 30ml to 60 ml (1 to 2 ounces) light cream (or half-and-half)

My Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain contents into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg (and optional cinnamon) on top and serve.

Again, my preference is to add some cinnamon to the nutmeg sprinkled on top.

 

Why not give it a go and try this cocktail (either with Brandy, Cognac or Gin) with your next cigar!

[Colt45]

open beer,

pour beer,

drink beer

[Kitchen]

A good dark rum with a splash of chocolate bitters on the rocks. 

[wineguy]

1 hour ago, GrouchoMarx said:

Perfect dry martini:

Gently pour gin over ice into a cocktail shaker.

Have someone walk through the room with an open bottle of dry vermouth.

Stir, pour - add 3 olives.

 

I prefer slightly dryer than that!  And Blue Cheese olives please.

[SirVantes]

Ingredients: 45ml single malt scotch, 50ml spring water. 
 

Preparation: Pour scotch into copita or tasting glass. Pour into mouth. Swirl.  Swallow. Repeat. Pour water down the sink. 
 

Variant: Pour water into mouth. Swallow. This version is called the Jessie. 

[El Hoze]

Bud tall boy, stick 12 of them in the freezer, drink them until you open one that is freezing up, transfer that to a warm class to melt it and transfer rest of cans to fridge. 

[noreaster]

Hemingway Daiquiri...basically just a  Daiquiri ( rum lime juice and simple syrup ) with grapefruit and maraschino liqueur... I always use Havana Club 3 yr..

[ayepatz]

Like @madandana, I love a Negroni.

I have tried many variations, but I always come back to Plymouth Gin, Martini Rosso, and Campari in equal measures over a large ice cube with a sliver of orange peel.

I also love a good Martini. I was introduced to this particular recipe by a good friend in Gibson’s Steakhouse in Chicago.

Chill a Martini glass in the freezer. Take a measure of Dolin Blanc Sweet Vermouth, swirl it around a cocktail shaker over some ice. Stir, do not shake. Pour the Dolin away, and add 2 large measures of Hendricks Gin. Stir well, and pour into the chilled glass. Add two green, pitted olives (I like Sicilian olives), without brine, and serve.

My third choice is simply a gin and tonic with a splash of fresh pink grapefruit juice. Perfect for a warm day in the garden, and a surprisingly good accompaniment to cigars.

[armada_crew]

Pisco Sour

2 1/2 oz Pisco

3/4 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz simple syrup

1 egg white

Angostura bitters

Shaker with ice

Put all together in shaker with ice except the bitters, shake for 15 seconds, pour, add dash of bitters, enjoy!

 

[Colt45]

molotov.

shaken, not stirred.

[RDB]

It’s no good giving exact recipes... everyone’s taste is different. Especially for sour and sweet, you have to experiment and find out just what you / your wife / lover like. Three classics:

Margarita: Tequila (a lot), lime juice (some), triple sec (not too much). Shaken. Salt, but not too much. 

Martini: Vodka or Gin (a lot), stirred until ice cold, dry Vermouth (hardly any at all, ideally floated or sprayed on the top), juicy olives.

Champagne: sugar cube, bitters, cognac, Champagne. A mint leaf  is good. And God this is a dangerous drink.

[Pigpen]

Negroni of course. It’s easy. Equal parts Aperol (or Campari) Gin and Sweet Vermouth.
usually served with one large ice cube and garnished with an orange slice.
This is my favorite as it is very complex like a great cigar. Sweet and tart all at the same time.

My favourite


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[djrey]

1. Cuba Libre. Do I really need to explain this one? My favorite is Doorlys XO. About 3 oz rum to 8 oz coke. Perfect.

2. Mojito. Can’t show a pic of this because I am still waiting for my mint to grow back but it imperative to start with “Mentha Villosa.” It’s a unique strain of mint only native to Cuba and was unheard of outside Cuba until a Canadian smuggled it out years ago. Spearmint and all the others make a crappy mojito. Get yourself some of this stuff.. 

teaspoon sugar in the raw, 1/2 to 1 fresh lime juice, sprigs of mint. Muddle it up, ice, 3 oz rum, I prefer a dark rum. Hit of bitter and club soda to fill the glass. 
 

3. ice pick. Combine juice and peel from a full lemon. Ice and 4-5 oz vodka and shake. Top off with some mint sprigs and unsweetened ice tea. Easy and refreshing drink that hydrates you as you drink. No hang over here folks. Cheers

[madandana]

10 hours ago, JohnS said:

The Alexander Cocktail

The Alexander Cocktail is a mixed drink, commonly referred to today as a 'Brandy Alexander'. The modern drink uses Cognac, White (or Brown) Creme de Cocoa and Half-and-Half. If you don't have half-and-half, make it yourself by combining some full cream milk and cream. The Creme de Cocoa may be white or brown, all that changes is the colour of your drink.

My Ingredients:

• 30ml (or 1 ounce)   cognac
• 30ml brown (or white) creme de cacao
• 30ml to 60 ml (1 to 2 ounces) light cream (or half-and-half)

My Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain contents into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg (and optional cinnamon) on top and serve.

The recipe calls for nutmeg to be sprinkled on top, but I like to add a little sweetness and spice to my Alexander cocktails, so I add cinnamon.

However, did you know you can make this drink with Gin? The original recipe had a variation containing gin. When I make it with gin, I like to use White Creme de Cocoa to give the drink a lighter colour. Difford's Guide has a recipe for a Gin Alexander here.

My Ingredients:

• 30ml (or 1 ounce)   gin
• 30ml white creme de cacao
• 30ml to 60 ml (1 to 2 ounces) light cream (or half-and-half)

My Method:

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain contents into a cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg (and optional cinnamon) on top and serve.

Again, my preference is to add some cinnamon to the nutmeg sprinkled on top.

 

Why not give it a go and try this cocktail (either with Brandy, Cognac or Gin) with your next cigar!

John- I’m going to start hanging out at your house!

[targa88]

Refer to mine as = How to rescue poor flavoured scotch, bourbon, rye...

Rusty Nail:

Scotch 2/3 to 1/3 Drambuie (or Glayva - even Cointreau @ a pinch)

Old Fashioned:

2oz of bourbon/rye

Tsp of sugar/or sugar cube

A dash or two of bitters

[Bill Hayes]

My version of a Manhattan - 30ml Bulleit Rye Whiskey, 30ml Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey, 30ml Antica Formula Vermouth, one dash Angostura Bitters, one dash Angostura Orange Bitters, one shaving of orange skin singed with a lighter.

Add the Rye and Vermouth in a mixing glass with ice then stir. Drain ingredients into martini glass, leaving the ice behind. Singe orange peel with lighter then twist to release oils over glass and then add to drink.

I like the combination of the two Rye Whiskeys. The Bulleit is smoother and more rounded and the Rittenhouse adds the extra punch, working with the orange.

[Riverstyx]

Some great cocktails here. Love the thread. 
 

I’m loving some Death in the Afternoon: a little absinthe, a lot of champagne. 
 

on the topic of bourbon cocktails I’ll add that I think makers mark is the perfect bourbon. It’s a good cheap bourbon. Anything more and you shouldn’t be mixing it...rocks or neat only. 

[gweilgi]

14 hours ago, GrouchoMarx said:

Perfect dry martini:

Gently pour gin over ice into a cocktail shaker.

Have someone walk through the room with an open bottle of dry vermouth.

Stir, pour - add 3 olives.

 

Last step: wait for someone else to walk past and comment that "you're not doing it right" ....