Tag: tanqueray

Cocktail of the Week – Aviation

Aviation

This week continues the trend of popular pre-Prohibition cocktails with the Aviation. This cocktail is a a mix of gin, Maraschino, and lemon juice. The original recipe calls for creme de violette, but that’s a hard, and expensive, liquor to find and doesn’t add much more than a purplish-blue hue to the drink. Many bartenders skip it, as I have.

Aviation
The ingredients

Aviation

  • 1 1/2 oz. gin
  • 3/4 oz. maraschino liquor
  • 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

Add ingredients to an ice filled shaker. Shake well until thoroughly chilled. Pour into cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry. (Please use an actual cherry not one of those disturbingly highlighter red “maraschino cherries.”)

Aviation

The Aviation is a tricky cocktail. I made a number of them and the balance between the liquids is very important. A little too much lemon juice and its too sour, too much gin and you can’t taste anything else. Even the maraschino liquor can throw the whole drink off. I found that being a light on the gin and a little heavy on the lemon juice made for an ideal drink.

The Aviation isn’t a popular cocktail. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one ordered at a bar. I know why too. It doesn’t take much to mess it up and even when you have a perfectly made one it isn’t going to “wow” you. Maraschino liquor might also be a turn off for people. It’s an interesting liquor that starts sweet but leaves a herbal, acidic, minerally aftertaste that takes some time to get used to. I ended up with a version of the drink I’m happy with but I don’t see myself making, or ordering, it that often…

Cocktail of the Week: Negroni

Negroni

Earlier this year I wrote about the precursor to the Negroni, the Americano, a cocktail with Campari, sweet vermouth, and club soda. I had originally intended to follow up that post with the Negroni but got distracted for about six months… So, here we are today with this classic cocktail. Simple, delicious, with a flavor profile anyone would love. Unless, you’re not a fan of herbal or bitter liquors… If that’s the case you should probably ignore any cocktail with Campari in it. I really think the Negroni is delicious though. It’s a delightful digestif.

Negroni
The ingredients

 Negroni

  • 1 oz. gin
  • 1 oz. Campari
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth

In an old fashioned glass half full of ice pour ingredients. Stir. Garnish with orange peel.

Negroni

I don’t know what I can add to the gallons of ink that has already been spilled in discussion of the Negroni. You don’t get labelled a classic for nothing. Smooth with a touch of bitterness at the end, this drink goes down easy. Though you don’t want to rush this one. Relax. Take your time. Enjoy the drink. Enjoy the moment. This too shall pass and there is nothing to guarantee that the future won’t be as delightful as this moment is.

Cheers!

Cocktail of the Week: Cuba Libré

Cuba Libré

With the relationship between the United States of America and Cuba finally beginning to thaw after 55 years I thought it might be appropriate to visit one of the most popular cocktails of all time, though it’s rarely called by it’s actual name these days, the Cuba Libré or rum and coke.

The Cuba Libré’s history, like most cocktail histories, is a bit murky but most agree that the drink was birthed in Havana sometime after the Spanish-American War (which ended in 1898.) The original cocktail calls for fresh lime juice and angostura bitters; some recipes even call for adding gin. The rum and coke has become the most pedestrian of cocktails made with little gusto and drank with even less. I encourage you to try the original some time.

Cuba Libré
The ingredients

Cuba Libré

  • 1/2 to 1 lime
  • 2 ounces rum, preferably dark
  • 1/2 ounce gin (optional)
  • Coca-Cola, chilled
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Squeeze the lime into a Collins glass, then drop the spent lime half into the glass. Add two to four ice cubes. Pour in rum (and gin if using.) Fill glass with Coke, add bitters, and give two stirs to incorporate everything.

Cuba Libré

I’ve always appreciated a good rum and coke. The actual cocktail is even better, the bitters help tame the sweetness of the Coke and rum goes good with everything. I sat on the porch listening to the Beach Boys and drinking this cocktail wishing that the weekend wasn’t over and I wasn’t landlocked…

Cocktail of the Week: Bee’s Knees

Bee's knees cocktail

I follow a cocktail maker on Tumblr, named DrinkShouts, they often show cocktails that look amazing. I’ve often wanted to make them but they usually require liquors that I don’t have and aren’t willing to purchase. They recently promoted the Bee’s Knees, a cocktail that dates back to Prohibition times. It is believed that the inclusion of lemon and honey was in order to mask the taste of bathtub gin. That might be the case, but it’s a delicious cocktail even with good gin.

Bee's knees cocktail
The ingredients

Bee’s Knees

  • 2 oz. Gin
  • 3/4 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
  • .3/4 oz. Honey Syrup

Combine ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe, if you have one. I don’t so I used a margarita glass. No garnish, or a lemon twist.

Bee's knees cocktail

 

The Bee’s Knees has a nice smooth honey flavor with a hint of sour. Depending on the type of gin you use there’ll be a hint of juniper as it goes down. The honey syrup is delicious and I think I’m going to try using it in other cocktails that call for simple syrup. It has a distinctly honey taste to it, one I found quite appealing.

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