Squid Mixes: Obituary

An Obituary combines gin, dry vermouth and absinthe with a lemon peel garnish.  It is yet another in the large family of Corpse Reviver cocktails.  We got our recipe from Rebekah Peppler in The New York Times who informs us the drink is also sometimes known as Death in the Afternoon.  

My wife is the one who found the recipe and requested the drink, a bit of a surprise given her usual aversion to anise.  The absinthe is the flavor carrier here, though it's light.  A stronger gin (I used Seagram's Extra Dry) might compete better though I don't think that would be the right choice at our house.  We both enjoyed the result - perhaps worth remembering as a martini variant, too.

Sadly appropriate for the name of the drink, I have sad news to share.  One of our beloved cats, known here as The Little Squirt (black kitty with a tiny white priest collar - relatively camera shy compared to The Scamp, our most obliging cocktail model), recently passed away.  The house always feels out of balance if we don't have two cats so we got another not long afterwards.  He's an extremely affectionate adult male ginger who is presently eager for me to stop typing so I'll pet him.  We're still getting to know each other so I don't have a good code name for him yet.  Stay tuned.

RIP, little one...

Squid Mixes: Southside Cocktail

A Southside Cocktail combines lemons, sugar, mint and gin.  The recipe I found in Gary Regan's The Joy of Mixology calls for four lemon wedges muddled with the other ingredients before shaking.  In muddling full wedges, you get a lot of peel which certainly enhanced the sharp tartness of the resulting beverage.  I enjoyed the drink quite a lot.  It's certainly sour - and pulpy - but the sugar and mint bring enough to take the edge off.

Worth noting, other recipes I've seen use limes instead of lemons.  

The drink's origins are unclear.  Is it the South Side of Chicago or the South Side Sportsmen's Club in Great River, New York?  The most colorful theory supports the former, suggesting it may have been a favorite of gangster Al Capone's.

Squid Mixes: Strawberry Basil Martini

Our child recently turned 21 years old, legal drinking age in the United States.  Regular readers will probably not be the least bit surprised to know that I've been thinking about the first cocktail I'm going to make for them for a long time.  This summer, in particular, I paid close attention to the non-alcoholic beverages they gravitate towards.  And I asked them loads of questions, of course.  

Gradually, a flavor profile took shape.  They like fruit, preferably paired with an herb.  By the end of the summer, we both reached the same conclusion for the ideal combination: strawberry and basil.

I found a recipe by Judy at I'm Bored Let's Go.  A Strawberry Basil Martini combines strawberries, basil leaves, vodka, lemon juice, club soda and simple syrup.  Vodka seemed like the best base liquor for this first cocktail - minimal flavor interference.

Unfortunately, the kid goes to college out of state so it's going to be a while before I'll be able to make one for them.  On the bright side, my wife and I get to test the recipe.  Round 1...

First, I was pleased with the color.  I was worried it wouldn't turn out red enough without an artificial boost.  Not only were they fine but it felt like the correct red - a true strawberry red and the tiny flecks of basil that make it through the strainer bring the correct leafy green.

The basil flavor came through nicely and I love the tartness from the lemon juice.  We agreed that the berries could shine more.  So, for Round 2...

I added a couple more berries than the recipe calls for along with two pinches of sugar before muddling the strawberries and basil leaves.  By the way, muddling strawberries is highly satisfying.  Anyway, the additions successfully enhanced both color and flavor.  

I think it's ready.  I hope they like it.  I'll report back after Thanksgiving.

Squid Mixes: Kir

A kir combines creme de cassis and white wine.  The wine separates it from the kir royale which features champagne instead.  I chose the recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide even though it uses far more cassis than is typical - probably obvious in the photo.  I wouldn't do it that way if I were to make the drink again but my wife suggested it as a drink for helping to clear shelf space in the liquor cabinet.  She ended up adding more ice to hers to water it down.

Squid Mixes: Manhasset

A Manhasset combines rye, dry vermouth, sweet vermouth and lemon juice with a lemon twist.  Essentially, it's a Perfect Manhattan with lemon juice rather than bitters.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.  I assume it's named after the town in Long Island but I couldn't find anything regarding etymology.

The recipe contains a misprint.  It calls for 1/2 part of dry vermouth and 1/2 part of sweet but the actual measurements list the dry at 1/4 oz. and the sweet at 1/2 oz.  Quick internet research wasn't especially helpful either.  Some had the two equal, some favored the dry, others the sweet.  So, I went with Punt e Mes, a combination of both and my wife's favorite vermouth anyway.  

The result was quite nice.  I generally favor whiskey drinks, my wife lemony wins so this is a good one for pleasing both of us.  I'm not sure either of us would take it in favor of a Manhattan or a Sidecar but it's still a good one to have in the repertoire.  

Our child gave me a most thoughtful Father's Day gift: a magnifying glass I can keep in the kitchen.  As I get older and my eyes get weaker, it has become increasingly challenging to read fractions in drink recipe books.  It has already come in handy.

Cherry Battle: Starlino vs. Luxardo

The garnish is an essential element of a perfect cocktail and we've been in love with Luxardo, our favored Maraschino cherry brand, for years.  Amareña Fabbri found favor in my recipe for a while (see here) but over time, Luxardo proved more satisfying, not least for its longer shelf life (see here).  The one major drawback with Luxardo is the price.  A jar is $21.28 on Amazon, and frequently more at local stores.  I realize most people wouldn't even consider spending that much and I don't exactly blame them.  We are not top-shelf spenders when it comes to liquor.  So spending more for damn good cherries seems a tolerable indulgence.  "Are they really that good?" I hear you wondering.  Yes, they truly are.  

Which is not to say it's not still worth trying something else from time to time.  We recently picked up a jar of Starlino cherries for an audition.  Let the battle begin...  

The Luxardo was its usual dark, warm, syrupy loveliness.  The Starlino... oh boy, you should have seen my wife's face after popping the Starlino in her mouth.  I can only describe her expression as disgust.  Plasticy, she said.  I wasn't nearly as offended but will concede the Starlino was sweeter, and not in a pleasant way.  

So, what to do with them?  My wife agreed to still help eat the Starlinos which is good because even though they cost less than the Luxardos, they aren't exactly cheap.  Plus the jar takes up space on the shelf that could be devoted to something we actually like.  Once we finish the Luxardos, we could add the syrup to the Starlino jar, perhaps improving the flavor.  Of course, I have this idea mere days after disposing of some Luxardo syrup I'd been hoarding in order to make room for the Starlino jar.  Wouldn't you know it?

Winner and Still Champion: Luxardo

Squid Mixes: Scofflaw Cocktail

A Scofflaw Cocktail combines rye (or bourbon), dry vermouth, lemon juice, grenadine and orange bitters. I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan.  The original was created by Jock, a bartender at Harry's New York Bar in Paris in 1924.  I like whiskey drinks and my wife likes lemon drinks so such cocktails as the Scofflaw are good to have in the repertoire.  The lemon dominates the flavor but there's still some of that whiskey warmth.  I think a little more sugar would be good.  The recipe suggests 1 or 2 dashes of grenadine.  I went with 1.  If I were to do it again, I'd try it with 2.

Regan's book is good for many reasons.  He writes wonderful blurbs for his drinks.  The most interesting takeaway for the Scofflaw is the history of the word itself.  Scofflaw was the winner of a 1923 contest to come up with the best word to describe "a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor."  The prize was $200.

Star Trek: Meridian

Episode: "Meridian"

Series: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Season 3, Episode 8

Original Air Date: November 14, 1994

via Memory Alpha

Our heroes discover Meridian, a planet which only appears in our dimension once every 60 years.  While visiting, Dax falls in love with one of the inhabitants, Deral.  To be together over the long term, either Dax or Deral will have to forfeit a life with their own people.  Dax is willing to make that choice.  Meanwhile, Quark schemes to get a holo-image of Major Kira to use for a sleazy holosuite program for Tiron, a wealthy patron.

"Meridian" was Co-Executive Producer Ira Steven Behr's attempt to recreate the musical Brigadoon.  Both critics and creative staff consider the episode to be the weakest of Season 3.  Mind you, that in itself is nothing to be ashamed of, at least so far.  DS9 had been on a solid run to this point, stretching back to the end of Season 2.  The love story isn't believable, which Terry Ferrel herself freely admitted, especially when compared to a masterpiece still to come in Season 4.  Her tender (ultimately unnecessary) goodbye with Commander Sisko, on the other hand, is amazing.  Avery Brooks's emotional availability gives both writers and actors a lot to build on as they seek to develop a sense of family for the series.

Once again, I appreciate that Dax was allowed to be a sexually expressive being in a way no woman on NextGen ever was.  In an otherwise weak romance, her responses to Deral's cheeky questions about her spots are absolutely dynamite:

Deral: I was admiring… your markings. Are they decorative?

Dax: No. Are yours?

De: No. …If you don't mind me asking… how far down do they go?

Da: All the way.

Sure, one could argue that the gender fluidity of the symbiont made it easier for the writers to move away from the Star Trek ideal of the demure female (at least within the context of a romantic relationship).  But they gave Kira a lot more elbow room, too.  Especially in Dax's case, granting her this range will pay off handsomely in tales to come.

Food Notes

Andorian ale makes its first Star Trek appearance when Tiron orders one at the bar.  Like Romulan ale, it is blue.  I found a recipe here.

Acting Notes

via The West Wing Wiki

Brett Cullen (Deral) was born in Houston, August 26, 1956.  He graduated from the University of Houston.  In television, Cullen has had principal roles on The Young Riders and Devious Maids and recurring roles on Falcon Crest, The West Wing and Lost.  Films include Apollo 13, The Dark Knight Rises and Joker. 

Squid Mixes: Oriental Cocktail

An Oriental Cocktail combines rye, sweet vermouth, triple sec and lime juice.  I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan who, in turn, adapted his from The Savoy Cocktail Book.  The legend according to Savoy is that in 1924, a desperately ill man in the Philippines gave the recipe to the doctor who saved his life as a thank you.

My wife asked for something with limes and this was what I found.  It's a pretty drink with enough lime to satisfy the expressed craving.  The triple sec brings a sugary, orangey brightness to the affair as well.

Squid Mixes: Remember the Maine

A Remember the Maine combines rye, sweet vermouth, cherry brandy and absinthe with a lemon twist for garnish.  I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan.  The original comes from The Gentleman's Companion by Charles H. Baker.  Evidently, Baker first encountered the drink in Havana.  The name is a reference to the famous battle cry of the Spanish-American War.

Interestingly, the recipe insists on stirring clockwise.  I honestly never gave much thought to which direction I stir though now having tried both ways, I can assert that counter-clockwise is more instinctive for me.  I'm guessing the Cuban bartender who made the cocktail for Charles H. Baker must have been left-handed.  

Despite their relatively low proportion, the cherry and absinthe dominate the flavor.  It's an interesting drink - quite sweet.  

Squid Mixes: Silver King Cocktail

A Silver King Cocktail combines gin, lemon juice, sugar syrup, egg white and Angostura bitters.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.  It's not as sweet as some of the other egg white drinks we've tried - pleasant change of pace.  The bitters - just a dash - brings a welcome bite of spice, too.

Squid Mixes: Prado

A Prado combines silver tequila, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, grenadine and egg white with a lime slice to garnish.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.  Prado means grassy meadow or field in Spanish.

The result is very nice.  The grenadine brings the pink but the drink doesn't taste pink.  With the tequila and lime flavors dominating, the Prado is essentially a pink, foamy margarita.  

Squid Mixes: Love Cocktail

A Love Cocktail combines sloe gin, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.

Initially, my wife found the drink a bit cough-syrupy.  Is it possible I forgot to add the lemon juice?  Sometimes, I measure things out and forget to add them and it's particularly likely with squeezed juice.  In this case, I stirred some in after the first tasting and it definitely helped.  So if I make it again, I either need to make doubly sure I add the lemon juice and maybe increase the proportion.

On the Coffee Table: Clouds of Witness

Title: Clouds of Witness

Author: Dorothy L. Sayers

via Wikipedia

Aristocratic amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey is back.  This time, his own brother Gerald, the Duke of Denver, is suspected of murder.  Denis Cathcart, fiancé of their sister, Mary, has been found shot to death outside the family's hunting lodge in Yorkshire.  Gerald is discovered with the body and can't - or won't - provide a convincing alibi for where he was at the time of the shooting.  Lord Peter's investigations take him all the way to New York and back, unraveling several twisted tales of love and betrayal.  

In this, my third Wimsey book, I'm starting to piece together the essential differences between Dorothy L. Sayers's approach to mystery and that of the authors with which she's most frequently compared, namely Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Agatha Christie.  Unlike the others, Sayers didn't go in for the sensational, even occasionally contrived, solutions.  If anything, the whodunnit aspects of her stories are predictable and/or pedestrian.  She was more fascinated by legal process - coroner inquests, court trials and the like - than detective craft.  Social satire of England in the early 1920s drives her style and the sensational aspects of her books are presented more in this topical light: trans-Atlantic flight, the well-to-do dabbling in communism and opportunistic journalists and photographers fawning over Peter's celebrity.  

And brilliant as he is, Lord Peter's leading characteristic is still goofy.

There are some fun food elements, particular regarding the niche interests of this blogger.  19th century vintage wines are discussed, particularly an 1875 port that has gone off.  Peter has a charmingly cheeky view of cocktails:

"Well, well," said Mr. Murbles, beaming mildly, "let's make a start.  I fear, my dear young people, I am old-fashioned enough not to have adopted the modern practice of cocktail-drinking."

"Quite right too," said Wimsey emphatically.  "Ruins the palate and spoils the digestion.  Not an English custom -- rank sacrilege in this old Inn.  Came from America -- result, Prohibition.  That's what happens to people, who don't know how to drink," 

Unnatural Death is next in the series.

Squid Mixes: Kiss the Boys Good-Bye

A Kiss the Boys Good-Bye combines brandy, sloe gin, lemon juice and egg whites.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.  I can't find any etymological origin though I expect the name has something to do with the high lemon juice content: 1.5 oz per drink.  It is definitely enough to make your lips pucker.  My wife reports that all of the egg white drinks we've tried so far go down easy.  It helps that she's a big lemon fan.

As you can see in the photo, I achieved a much more satisfying head of foam this time.  I employed the reverse dry shake: you shake all the ingredients with the ice, take the ice out, then shake what's left again.  Not only does it produce more foam than the dry shake did (see two weeks ago) but since you've already taken the ice out, it's much easier to pour any residual foam out of the shaker at the end.  Clearly, the reverse dry shake is a technique worth remembering.

Squid Mixes: Boston Sour

A Boston Sour combines whiskey (I used rye), lemon juice, bar sugar and egg white with a lemon slice and maraschino cherry for garnish.  I got my recipe from The New York Bartender's Guide.  The result was indeed quite sour.  As my wife walked into the kitchen, she said "It smells like one of my drinks."  She really likes lemon, you see.

My wife enjoyed the drink but was underwhelmed by the foam.  She pointed out, correctly, that restaurant cocktails tend to have thicker foam.  I skipped the dry shake this time (see here) as the particular recipe didn't call for it.  That may have made a difference.  I also may try a reverse dry shake sometime (see here).  Apparently that makes it even foamier.  Could one do both?  And/or, one can use a protein shaker ball.  I also wonder if the shape of the glass matters.  Our current coupe has a very wide mouth.  Perhaps a thinner glass would result in a thicker foam layer.  Of course, I also wonder if a professional bartender is simply using more egg, thus achieving thicker foam.

More experiments to come.

Squid Mixes: Clover Club Cocktail

A Clover Club Cocktail combines gin, dry vermouth, lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white.  I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan.  Regan also suggests skewered raspberries for garnish but my wife didn't see ones she liked at the store.  The drink hails from Philadelphia, named for a social society which frequented the Belleview-Stafford.

With this drink, I cross a threshold as a mixologist: eggs.  You know all those cocktails you see with a thick head of foam?  That's from egg whites.  I've avoided such recipes for a while, mostly because of the hassle of first separating the white and then needing something to do with the yolk.  Fortunately, one can buy already separated whites by the carton.  

According to Regan, you begin with a dry shake, another first for me.  Basically, you shake the ingredients together first before adding ice.  This helps work up the foam.  Then you add ice and shake as normal.  

We enjoyed the result.  "Goes down easy," my wife said.  It's quite sweet, no doubt thanks to the raspberry syrup, which also provides the rich red color.  The egg whites will keep refrigerated for a few weeks, leaving ample opportunity for more experiments.  Stay tuned.

Squid Mixes: The Bedford

The Bedford combines rye, Dubonnet Rouge, Cointreau and orange bitters with an orange twist.  I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan who adapted it from the original created by Del Pedro at Grange Hall in New York.

We both found the flavor to be a bit thin.  My wife feels the absinthe in last week's Phoebe Snow offset the Dubonnet's grapiness nicely and there was nothing to play that role here.  Of course, you know what they say: absinthe makes the heart grow fonder.

But seriously, folks...

I wondered if it was the rye: Tin Cup, a new brand for us.  But when I tried it on its own, it was quite flavorful.  Maybe a bit more from the citrus players would help.  Regan calls for only a teaspoon of the Cointreau and 2 dashes of the orange bitters.  I'd say double the Cointreau at least.

Oh well.  You can't win 'em all.

Squid Mixes: Phoebe Snow Cocktail

The Phoebe Snow combines brandy, Dubonnet Rouge and absinthe.  I got my recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan.  We tried it twice over the Thanksgiving holiday.  The first time I used too much absinthe.  The recipe calls for a dash.  The quick pour I did straight out of the bottle was definitely excessive, even between four glasses.  The result was plenty tasty - not even over black-jelly-beanish according to my wife.  But with absinthe, clocking in at 110-proof, flavor is only part of the concern.  For the second batch, a couple days later, I was a lot more cautious and the result was an improvement.  Less is more.

If only I'd had my actual dash measuring spoon with me...

Phoebe Snow was a character in a publicity campaign for Lackawanna and Western Railroad at the turn of the 20th century, intended to promote the company's use of "clean-burning" anthracite.  

via Wikipedia

Phoebe Snow was also the stage name of a 1970s folk musician, best known for her hit "Poetry Man."  Interestingly, the Phoebe Snow Cocktail isn't even the only drink associated with the advertising character.  The Brandy Alexander was created for a dinner celebrating her.

Squid Mixes: Chocolate Manhattan

Lake Champlain Chocolate (LCC) offers a Manhattan chocolate truffle, a cross-brand promotion with Whistle Pig Whiskey.  We picked up a few to try over the weekend and figured they might make pair well with a chocolate-flavored Manhattan.  Not surprisingly, there are several variations available on the web.  I used Heather Wibbels's recipe at Cocktail Contessa as a template.  She combines bourbon, sweet vermouth, creme de cacao, chocolate bitters and spicy bitters (optional) in a chocolate shavings-rimmed glass.  I made a few substitutions: rye instead of bourbon and a cherry garnish instead of the chocolate rim, in both cases mimicking the LCC offering.  I skipped the spicy bitters.

I felt the drink turned out well - pleasantly chocolatey, including a satisfying tint.  My wife enjoyed it, asserting it's definitely better than a chocolate martini.  Interestingly, caramel is the predominant flavor in the truffle and as such, a splash of caramel liqueur could be a meaningful addition to the drink.  Though at what point would it become a Caramel Manhattan rather than a Chocolate one? 

Wibbels provides a drier variation with less cacao, more vermouth and less bitters.  Of course, one could go further and use Punt e Mes, dry vermouth or a combination.