[Spareribs]

Sidecar

This is a cognac based cocktail and is one of my all time favorite cocktails.

It was invented in Europe around the time of the World War One. It’s a great old classic.

In order for this to work you have to find the right cognac.

Personally I like the Pierre Farrand cognac for sidecar drinks but your mileage may vary for your taste buds.

If it’s made right, I feel that the sidecar is probably within the range of my favorite drinks of all time.

 

[Spareribs]

Classic gin Martini with olives.

One of my all time favorite cocktails that I love. To me, this is the quintessential appetizer cocktail before a meal.



Stirred or shaken?

In the James Bond movie, Bond prefers shaken with vodka.

However, many martini aficionados will feel that the James Bond version is wrong and I kind of agree. Occasionally I do like the James Bond version but I prefer the traditional stirred gin version.

Also the type of gin is important. In my opinion one of the best gins for a martini is the Plymouth brand from England. Plymouth gin may possibly be my all time favorite gin.

 

[megabigeye]

That's a lot of cocktails before lunch!
The Paper Plane was one of the first cocktails my wife and I ever made. Definitely a favorite! We wanted to have it at our wedding, but the venue didn't have amaro Nonino on hand. Too bad.

The Jaoquín Símo Sidecar is also especially good; it uses Pierre Ferrand 1840 and Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao.

Since it was Halloween, last night's drink was the Obituary-- a martini with absinthe. Sorry, no pictures. I enjoy drinking cocktails more than I enjoy photographing them.

 

[szore]

Paper plane

The Paper plane cocktail was invented in 2007 at the Milk and Honey bar in New York.

It’s made of bourbon, amaro, aperol and fresh squeezed lemon juice.

A worthy drink for a gentleman.

Or a woman.

 

[szore]

 

[miketlse]

Sidecar

This is a cognac based cocktail and is one of my all time favorite cocktails.

It was invented in Europe around the time of the World War One. It’s a great old classic.

In order for this to work you have to find the right cognac.

Personally I like the Pierre Farrand cognac for sidecar drinks but your mileage may vary for your taste buds.

If it’s made right, I feel that the sidecar is probably within the range of my favorite drinks of all time.

Slightly off topic, but my experiment was inspired by one of your cocktails, with a similar photo to above including a piece of lemon zest.

For non-alcoholic summer drinking I enjoy the citrus taste provided by infusions of verveine citronelle or lemongrass.
The citrus oil flavour lifts the spirit (mood).

So I tried to find a whisky for summer, which also provided a similar citrus lift.
Unfortunately even whiskys with 'hints of citrus' on the label, turned out to contain 'hints of citrus' that were near undetectable to my nose/tastebuds.
I was quite hopeful regarding Arran Barrel Reserve, but sadly the citrus colour of the whisky was not matched by the 'hints of citrus'.

I was on the point of giving up, when I remembered your cocktail with lemon zest. A few minutes googling provided a short list of whiskies most amenable to citrus (smoky and stored in american oak barrels were key factors), so I experimented with a few smoky whiskies.
I discovered that Laphroig with an added swirl of lemon zest, delivered just what I had been searching for.
Unfortunately things are a bit 'hit and miss' with other whiskies from that short list - I am assuming that part of the issue may be down to my inability to consistently cut similar pieces of lemon zest, then roll the zest to release the oil.
Of course it could be a simpler reason, such as the iodine flavour in the Laphroig, combines best with the citrus oil.

Anyway, thanks for providing the inspiration for this experiment with lemon zest.

 

[Spareribs]

Slightly off topic, but my experiment was inspired by one of your cocktails, with a similar photo to above including a piece of lemon zest.

For non-alcoholic summer drinking I enjoy the citrus taste provided by infusions of verveine citronelle or lemongrass.
The citrus oil flavour lifts the spirit (mood).

So I tried to find a whisky for summer, which also provided a similar citrus lift.
Unfortunately even whiskys with 'hints of citrus' on the label, turned out to contain 'hints of citrus' that were near undetectable to my nose/tastebuds.
I was quite hopeful regarding Arran Barrel Reserve, but sadly the citrus colour of the whisky was not matched by the 'hints of citrus'.

I was on the point of giving up, when I remembered your cocktail with lemon zest. A few minutes googling provided a short list of whiskies most amenable to citrus (smoky and stored in american oak barrels were key factors), so I experimented with a few smoky whiskies.
I discovered that Laphroig with an added swirl of lemon zest, delivered just what I had been searching for.
Unfortunately things are a bit 'hit and miss' with other whiskies from that short list - I am assuming that part of the issue may be down to my inability to consistently cut similar pieces of lemon zest, then roll the zest to release the oil.
Of course it could be a simpler reason, such as the iodine flavour in the Laphroig, combines best with the citrus oil.

Anyway, thanks for providing the inspiration for this experiment with lemon zest.

Laphroig is a good scotch. If I remember correctly I’m pretty sure I’ve had it with lemon and ginger syrup in a cocktail called the penicillin.

This was around in 2019 I think. I’m also pretty sure Laphroiag was also used by Steve the Bartender on his YouTube channel with his penicillin cocktail which also includes lemon…..if I remembered correctly too

 

[miketlse]

Laphroig is a good scotch. If I remember correctly I’m pretty sure I’ve had it with lemon and ginger syrup in a cocktail called the penicillin.

This was around in 2019 I think. I’m also pretty sure Laphroiag was also used by Steve the Bartender on his YouTube channel with his penicillin cocktail which also includes lemon…..if I remembered correctly too

Thanks, I will investigate further.

 

[megabigeye]

The Penicillin is good but making the ginger syrup is kinda a pain in the butt, in my opinion.

@miketlse, are you wanting to make whiskey and lemon cocktails? If so, what you should look up are sours, which are cocktails made with fruit juice, usually citrus.

The Whiskey Sour is ridiculously easy to make and equally delicious.
The Gold Rush is a Whiskey Sour with honey syrup in place of the simple syrup.

For a Scotch sour that's easier to make (and drink!) than the Penicillin, check out the Mark Twain Cocktail. Another of my and my wife's favorites.

 

[miketlse]

The Penicillin is good but making the ginger syrup is kinda a pain in the butt, in my opinion.

@miketlse, are you wanting to make whiskey and lemon cocktails? If so, what you should look up are sours, which are cocktails made with fruit juice, usually citrus.

The Whiskey Sour is ridiculously easy to make and equally delicious.
The Gold Rush is a Whiskey Sour with honey syrup in place of the simple syrup.

For a Scotch sour that's easier to make (and drink!) than the Penicillin, check out the Mark Twain Cocktail. Another of my and my wife's favorites.

I do spot some interesting looking cocktails on this thread.
However my main focus with lemon at the moment is not related to using lemon juice containing citric acid.
Rather during summer I often drink infusions based on lemon verbena or lemongrass, which provide the uplifting lemon oil flavour, but without the citric acid element of lemon juice.

I enjoy a wee dram, but every whisky that is described by 'hints of lemon/citrus' seems to have 'hints that are very faint, and easy to miss'.
Rather than continue to pursue the search for a whisky which naturally has stronger 'hints of lemon/citrus', I have explored plan B which was can this whisky taste be achieved by adding lemon zest to a sympathetic whisky.
I seems that Laphroig is sympathetic and works well.

This winter, I am tempted to explore your cocktail suggestions.
The only proviso is that because I am diabetic, I would want to avoid having to add sugar based syrups, so maybe 6 months of experimenting with adding Stevia lie ahead.
Life is a journey, not a destination......

 

[megabigeye]

I do spot some interesting looking cocktails on this thread.
However my main focus with lemon at the moment is not related to using lemon juice containing citric acid.
Rather during summer I often drink infusions based on lemon verbena or lemongrass, which provide the uplifting lemon oil flavour, but without the citric acid element of lemon juice.

I enjoy a wee dram, but every whisky that is described by 'hints of lemon/citrus' seems to have 'hints that are very faint, and easy to miss'.
Rather than continue to pursue the search for a whisky which naturally has stronger 'hints of lemon/citrus', I have explored plan B which was can this whisky taste be achieved by adding lemon zest to a sympathetic whisky.
I seems that Laphroig is sympathetic and works well.

This winter, I am tempted to explore your cocktail suggestions.
The only proviso is that because I am diabetic, I would want to avoid having to add sugar based syrups, so maybe 6 months of experimenting with adding Stevia lie ahead.
Life is a journey, not a destination......

Ah, I thought that's what you might mean. I like an orange twist with bourbon, lemon goes well with Scotch, as you've found.

I really don't like artificial sweeteners, so I might be the wrong one to ask, but I wouldn't think they'd do well in a cocktail. I'd imagine the flavor would be a bit overpowering and linger too long. Would you be able to use Grenadine or another sweet liqueur? Those might work better, in my opinion.

 

[Spareribs]

Screwdriver cocktail

Made with fresh squeezed orange juice and vodka and topped with drops of bitters.

A nice drink. I saw it on the menu so I had to order it.

I think this drink was probably popular at college parties for people who don’t drink beer

 

[Spareribs]

Samuel Smith’s Nut Brown Ale

This is a very nice beer from England.

I have nostalgic feelings towards this beer as I used to drink it by the fire place at my friends house.

I was happy to see it again at the store

 

[Spareribs]

Classic eggnog

Eggnog is an old cocktail typically served around Christmas time.

This was a very good version from the bar. There’s lots of bad or mediocre versions but I was lucky to have this one.

This one had brandy, rye, rum, Pedro Ximénez sherry and spices.

This is so classic.

 

[Spareribs]

Chartreuse Hot Chocolate

This an extremely rare cocktail but fabulous for Christmas. The first time I’ve ever seen hot chocolate at a cocktail bar.

This alcohol version had chartreuse verte, hazelnut, chocolate, house made cream and topped with smoked sea salt.

Wow. The best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. Complex in flavors. I especially liked the smoked sea salt as it added an extra layer of complexity to this drink.