Sunday, October 29, 2006 by Darryl
 Okay, this must be the American label. The Canadian label looks more old-timey, and it says "Hot Cinammon Fireball Whisky Shooter". That "shooter" part is important. This is not the kind of stuff you want to drink on the rocks. I picked up a tiny bottle for about 6 bucks on my last trip to the LCBO, because if there's one flavor I love, it's cinammon. And I'm slowly developing an appreciation for whisky, so this stuff should be totally up my alley, right? Well...in practice, it tastes more like cinammon schnapps. Or rather, like cinammon hearts in liquid form. I get a slight hint of whisky in the finish, but that's only if I close my eyes and point my nose skyward. The overwhelming flavor is cinammon, and it burns, people. The ABV is only 33% but it feels closer to 40, due to the cinnamon ouchy. That said, it's pretty good. Again, this is great to shoot if you want a delicious cinammon kick, but anything more and it wears out its welcome. Good for parties. 3/5
In other news, I finally bought some martini glasses, so I can drink with just a bit more style. Ironically, I'm not a big fan of martinis (the gin or vodka + vermouth kind). Vodka martinis are pointless, and gin martinis are just a bit herbal for my taste. Maybe my bottle of vermouth has gone bad. Manhattans are another story, though, especially with Crown Royal (which I find rather plain on its own). And also, now that I finally plunked down $33 (ouch) for a bottle of Cointreau...there shall be Cosmos. And after another $33, margaritas.
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Saturday, October 21, 2006 by Darryl
Yes, I know it's almost winter. Yes, I know mint isn't in season. Yes, I know those omnipresent Bacardi ads turned a classic Cuban cocktail into the new Cosmo, ordered by every wannabe trendoid at every bar in the Western hemisphere in a futile effort to look cool. None of that stopped me from whipping up one of my favorites, the Mojito. I first encountered the Mojito in Vegas, after (yes) seeing those Bacardi commercials and reading various magazine articles about how the Mojito was the hot cocktail of the moment. I was intrigued, particularly since mint is involved, and I love anything minty. I ordered one at that lounge in the Bellagio where you can sit and watch the fountains, and I was not disappointed. The mint was front-and-center, along with that slight lime tang and soda water to make it go down easy. I was impressed, and wanted to make my own. Here's where it gets a little fuzzy. There are umpteen million different recipes for a drink that should be fairly simple, and the first one I tried was far too lime-y. So I adjusted. Another sticking point was the whole issue of shaking vs. stirring. The Bacardi ads and old-timers like the Mr. Boston book all say you should build the ingredients in a highball glass and stir, but Gary Regan in his excellent The Joy of Mixology recommends shaking and straining. I opted to shake and then dump the whole thing into a highball, because I hate wasting ice. Plus, stirring soda water releases all the fizz. And I just like shaking drinks in general; it makes me feel like I know what the hell I'm doing. And then there's the mint. I bought a few packs of mint at the grocery store, so maybe the grown-in-the-backyard-fresh stuff is better, but the leaves tasted perfectly fine to me. The first drink I made didn't have nearly enough of a mint taste. You really need to mash the leaves up good, and there should be at least 8-10 leaves in the mixing glass. Regan recommends mashing the mint, lime wedges and sugar all in one, and I think he may be onto something. I first used sugar syrup because it mixes better with cold liquids, but then I tried the granulated method. When shaken, I think the granulated version tastes better. So...whatever. Here's the drink, have a ball. It's definitely in my top 3. Mojito (from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan - this is the best recipe I've found)
2 oz white rum (purists say to use Havana Club; I use Bacardi out of spite)
4 lime wedges
2-3 teaspoons sugar
8-10 fresh mint leaves
club soda
Muddle the mint, lime wedges and sugar in a cocktail shaker, until all the juice is extracted from the limes and the mint looks like rotten spinach. Fill the shaker with ice, add rum, and shake. Pour everything into a highball glass (or strain and pour into an ice-filled highball, but I like seeing the mint and lime in the drink). Top with club soda. Garnish with a mint sprig (the bar in Vegas sprinkled the mint with icing sugar, which was a nice touch). Sip, marvel at how little rum you taste. Drink another. Try to stand up.
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Wednesday, October 18, 2006 by Darryl
I'm not much of a whiskey drinker, ordinarily. When I walk into a bar, I'm usually jonesing for something sweet, tangy, fizzy, or anything with a toothpick umbrella. That said, I am occasionally in the mood for something more complex and savory, something to be sipped like a fine wine while reading a good book or watching that umpteenth Will & Grace rerun. And I'm usually fresh out of fine wine, so whiskey it is! My mom's husband is a whiskey fan, so I decided to get him a bottle of something good for his recent birthday. Digging into all kinds of online resources and spirit periodicals, one brand that kept popping up was Woodford Reserve, a Kentucky bourbon (is there another kind?) that Wikipedia calls the official bourbon of the Kentucky Derby. It retails for $45 Canadian. Sounded pricey enough for a birthday gift without breaking the bank, and the experts seem to love it, so I picked it up. Which was easy, because the packaging is pretty. Now, the only thing I know about bourbon is that it's made from corn, and that it's in a Mint Julep. Naturally, I'm just the kind of expert to give this premium whiskey a fair critique. Color: Light brown. Whiskey-colored. Not clear. Uh...maple-syrupy? Nose: My untrained schnozz takes a deep whiff and detects caramel and vanilla right off the bat, along with rubbing alcohol. I open my mouth a little bit and sniff again. More vanilla, and something vaguely woody. A swill around the glass, then one final sniff. Nail polish. Palate: Lots of bite. Definitely more woody and whiskey-ish. This is 90 proof, all right. Something vaguely herbal pops up too, almost licorice-like, but perhaps I'm grasping. Finish: After the burn, very smooth. A slight caramel flavor lingers for a while, plus a few other flavors I can't pin down. Oh wow, there's the corn. And...pickles? Seriously, I taste pickle brine. Very complex. Verdict: The burn is a little much, so this stuff is probably better on ice or with a splash of water. I wouldn't want it too cold, though, because the flavor really is nice. The nose and finish are like polar opposites - you know you're sniffing whiskey, but the aftertaste is like a Thanksgiving buffet. Woodford is clearly for bourbon fans - not something I'll be buying myself anytime soon, but I wouldn't say no to a glass. And I imagine it makes a mean julep. 4/5
Now back to my rum and Coke.
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Sunday, October 15, 2006 by Darryl
Having recently developed an interest in all manner of alcoholic libations (but particularly cocktails), I decided to highlight some examples that appeal to me and seem to work in a number of "I need me a liquor fix" situations. My only requirements are that the ingredients are somewhat easy to find and that the drink doesn't take 20 minutes to prepare. And that vodka isn't involved, because fucking hell with the vodka, people. Anyway. My trips to the liquor store generally reap no more than two bottles at a time, since I don't have a car and must carry the precious liquids in a less-than-roomy messenger bag on a packed city bus. I wanted to try making my own Mojitos, even though the ideal Mojito weather (ie. hotter than Hades) is decidedly over, so I picked up a bottle of Bacardi white rum and because I'm a coconut whore, a bottle of on-sale Malibu.  Yum. First, the Malibu. F. Paul Pacult of Spirit Journal, who undoubtedly has one of the most nuanced palates of anyone in the beverage-tasting world, says that he enjoys Malibu by itself, chilled, without ice. I assume he is in the minority, because for me, Malibu is too sweet by half to be drunk neat, or even with ice. Plus, I'm on a student budget, so it just seems like a waste of liquor that could be better utilized in a delicious cocktail. Like this one!
Half-Assed Pina Colada
1 part white rum 1 part Malibu rum 2 parts pineapple juice (canned, none of that fresh crap) Combine in a rocks glass with ice, stir. I was craving the delicious taste of a Pina Colada (surely one of mankind's greatest creations) one afternoon, but I didn't have any coconut cream on hand and didn't feel like dealing with blender mess, so I thought this up. You can make a highball out of it, too, if you have a tiki mug on hand and are desperately clinging to those last lingering memories of summer. So that was fun, but I own a copy of Mr. Boston's bartender guide and I wanted to try something a bit more sophisticated, with just a bit of history. I'm a writer, if only in my dreams (and whenever I happen to open AppleWorks by the stroke of an errant mouse-click), so naturally I was gravitated to one of Ernest Hemingway's purported favorites, the Daiquiri. A real daiquiri, not one of those frozen blood-red strawberry concoctions your mom makes for her bridge-playing friends on Sundays. (And by your mom, I mean my mom. And by bridge, I mean poker.) Daiquiri2 oz white rum 1 oz lime juice 1/2 oz simple syrup (equal parts granulated sugar and hot water, stir until dissolved, let cool) I was pleasantly suprised. Firstly, I didn't have fresh limes on hand, so I used the bottled stuff and it still worked. Second, the lime juice seems to tone down most of the alcohol burn from the rum, so you're left with the nutty, warm aftertaste of the rum combined with the sour of the lime. It's quite something, and for such a simple drink the flavor is great, like a margarita without the cheese factor. That said, a little lime juice goes a long way, so be careful measuring or you might end up with an icky stomach burn. And don't be afraid to bump up the syrup if you like it a tad sweeter (I used closer to 3/4 of an ounce). Stay tuned for my further explorations of the many ways to get plastered with style.
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