Tag: gin

Cocktail of the Week: Maiden’s Prayer

2013-10-20 20.07.12

There was no Cocktail last week. I can’t recall exactly why now. I’m going to assume it was because D and I were very busy and/or I didn’t have time to do any research or go to the store and expand our home bar. I’m back this week with a drink I had never heard of containing a liquor I have never imbibed before. The cocktail is the Maiden’s Prayer and the liquor is Cointreau, a French orange liquor. We were gifted the bottle when friends of ours were moving across the country (literally, they drove from California to Florida) and didn’t want to drag along extras like wine and booze. The bottle has been sitting on the bar because we already had a bottle of Triple Sec and I’d never used the stuff before. D wanted to try it though and so she did some searching around and found this recipe!

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Maiden’s Prayer

  • Gin 1 1/2 oz.
  • Cointreau 1 oz.
  • Orange juice 1 oz.
  • Lemon Juice 1 oz.

Combine all ingredients into a shaker with ice. Shake. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon/orange twist.

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These were good! Not really what I’d call Fall cocktails… The Cointreau blends perfectly with the juices and the gin is a good compliment. They were boozier than I expected or maybe the juices just didn’t mask the alcohol as much. D says that I’m a real sweetheart for making her lots of girly drinks. Whatever. A cocktail is a cocktail and so far they’ve all been really good. I’m not so insecure with my masculinity that I can’t enjoy booze mixed with fruit juice!

Art shot!
Art shot!

The fact that next week’s cocktail is going to be a Martini is completed unrelated!

Cocktail of the Week: Gimlet

2013-10-06 20.06.02

I spent the weekend in the hills above Santa Cruz, away from people, civilization, the internet and my mini bar. D had suggested last week that I make Snakebites for the weekly cocktail and I was fine with that. Today, D thought that perhaps Snakebites don’t count as a cocktail. I figured it two or more alcoholic beverages mixed together qualifies as a cocktail but she wasn’t so sure. Showing an excess of caution and not wanting to offend Ninkasi, Bacchus, Sucellus, Yi-ti or any other God of booze I scrambled together an actual cocktail!

The ingredients

Gimlet

  • Gin 1 1/2 oz.
  • Lime juice 1 oz.
  • Powdered sugar 1 tsp.

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail or martini glass.

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Gimlets aren’t bad but if I had gin and limes lying around I’d probably have some tonic too… And I’d just make myself a Gin and Tonic before making one of these. If I DIDN’T though and I didn’t feel like going the three blocks to the store to get some I’d make these. I like gin and I like lime juice. There really isn’t anything not to like in a Gimlet. Simple, clean, refreshing. D said that they were a lot like a Lemon Drop but lime-y and I’d have to agree with that. This is also one of the few cocktails that hasn’t immediately knocked D flat-out… That’s a pretty big plus in my book. It’s nice to have a drink with your wife and not have her fall asleep immediately afterwards.

Why not have another picture?

One of the things I’ve noticed is how simple most of these recipes are. A shot glass of this and a shot glass of that stirred or shaken together and thrown in a cup. If you have the time or inclination throw a lime wedge in there as garnish and enjoy. This makes a lot of sense, cocktails have to be quick, a bartender has to make it and get it to the patron in under a minute if they can. Much like cooking before I tried it myself these things look a lot more intimidating and complex from the outside looking in. But, once you’re inside you sorta wonder what the deal was all along? Of course, now at fancy bars and restaurants you have bartenders concocting up drinks with four to eight(?) liquors in them over the course of five or more minutes… It sounds impressive to the uninformed but it really seems to defeat the purpose, it takes too long and the the taste is a mish-mash of too many things vying for your taste buds attention. You end up with a really pricey drink that isn’t all that great.

 

Cocktail of the Week: Gin and Tonic

 

A classic
A classic

Gin and Tonic’s have this fascinating background to them. Back when there was a British Empire, the jewel of it was India. India though is a tropical country and has a malaria problem. In the 17th century Jesuit monk, Agostino Salumbrino, noticed quinine being used by the Quechua people of South America to treat the shivering caused by malaria and sent the plant back to the Old World where it became the standard treatment for the disease. Quinine though tastes bitter, British Officers in the 19th century started cutting their tonic water (medicine) with Gin. And the Gin and Tonic was born.

Except most people who drink it don’t have malaria… Or are stationed in the Tropics… This ends the educational portion of the post.

Anyway, Gin and Tonics are a common summer drink and a classic cocktail so I had to make them!

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 Gin and Tonic

  • 2 ounces gin
  • 3 ounces tonic water

Pour the gin and the tonic water into a lowball or old fashioned glass almost filled with ice cubes. Stir well. Garnish with lime wedge.

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Fever tree tonic water is good but these needed a little more sweetness to them. So we dripped a little honey into them and after squeezing my lime wedge into the drink it was beautiful. Cool, clean, refreshing probably the perfect summer drink. Plus, they’re super easy to make so a few minutes at the bar and you can take these back out to the porch and enjoy the day.

 

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