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Come Party With Me: Summer Cocktail - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 14:30:06 -0700

A Summer cocktail party must have a specialty cocktail. At first I thought to serve a classic concoction like a martini or Manhattan, but when I came across this updated version of the sidecar - a drink dating back to World War I that consists of cognac, lemon juice, and orange liqueur - I knew I had to make it. The basic three ingredients are there, but the addition of pineapple juice and muddled blackberries provide a distinct and deceptively delicious taste. To ensure that I'm not making cocktails all night, I'll set the ingredients up on a table in the garden and print out the recipe on nice paper. Then, I'll encourage guests to shake their own cocktails!

I've also asked everyone to bring either beer or wine, so they'll be plenty to drink when the cocktails run out. For the recipe, read more.

Blackberry-Pineapple Sidecar
From Food & Wine

Ingredients

7 blackberries
Ice
2 ounces Cognac
1/2 ounce Cointreau or other triple sec
1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup
1 or 2 pineapple leaves, for garnish (optional)

Directions

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the berries. Add ice and all of the remaining ingredients except the garnish; shake well.
Strain into a chilled coupe or martini glass and garnish.

Makes 1 drink.

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Cognac 101: A Very Special Guide

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 14:30:36 -0700

Ever since "Hennessey" was first name-dropped in hip-hop lyrics and Tim Meadows's Ladies Man started sipping Courvosier, I've been curious about cognac. With all the VSOPs and XOs, cognac can be intimidating. So if you're also wondering what all those letters on the labels mean, I've put together a little primer.

Cognac is a brandy, but not all brandies are cognacs. The name refers to brandies produced in the Cognac region of France, made from white wine grapes that are first fermented, and then double distilled.
From this distillation, you get a liquid called eau de vie, which is aged in oak barrels to become cognac.

All those different letters refer to how long a cognac is aged. Find out what they mean.

Happy Hour: Brownie Cognac

partysugar — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:18:31 -0800

Valentine's Day is an excellent excuse to experiment with chocolate cocktails. I'm especially interested in this recipe because it creates a cocktail that tastes like a brownie!

This drink has a rich, glossy color and a decadent, smooth taste. It's a great dessert cocktail, perfect for when you feel like a sweet treat, but don't want something too heavy. To take a look at the recipe, read more.

Brownie Cognac
From Fine Living

1 1/2 oz. Courvoisier or other type of cognac
1 oz. amaretto
Dash of chocolate syrup

Fill pint glass with ice.
Add the cognac, the amaretto, and a dash of chocolate syrup.
Shake and pour into a chilled martini glass.

Serves 1.

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Happy Hour: Domino's Side Car

YumSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 13:27:18 -0700

In my early twenties, I fell in love with a drink called the Side Car. It was the perfect mix of brandy and orange liqueur, and was wonderfully tasty. However there was one small problem, every bartender I ordered from seemed to have their own version of the drink. Some contained whiskey, while others contained cognac; it was never the same thing twice. After a while I couldn't handle the inconsistency and stopped ordering it altogether. However, I couldn't handle the thought of completely cutting out such a delicious drink, so I found my own recipe. To check it out, read more

Domino's Side Car
From Domino magazine

1 1/2 oz brandy or cognac
1 oz Cointreau or Triple Sec
2 tbsp lemon juice
Lemon wedge or twist

Wet the rim of a martini glass and dip it in sugar.
Combine the brandy, Cointreau and lemon juice with ice in a cocktail shaker.
Strain into glass. Garnish with lemon.

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Happy Hour: Hennessy Shanghai

partysugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:13:41 -0700

Cognac, like Champagne, is a type of alcohol whose production is limited to a specific region of France. It's a type of French brandy that is produced in Cognac and the surrounding regions. Although cognac is used to make an assortment of specialty cocktails in America, it has only recently been accepted as a mixing ingredient in French bars. In the past, the French preferred the liquor alone, but now, with the help of popular Cognac brands like Hennessy, it's making its way onto the scene. In this cocktail it's mixed with ginger ale, bitters, and an orange peel for a refreshing taste treat. Take a look at the recipe, just read more

Hennessy Shanghai
From Kevin In Blog

1 1/2 ounces Hennessy
3 1/2 ounces Ginger Ale
A few dashes of Angostura Bitters
1 twist of Orange Peel

Pour all of the ingredients over a ice. Stir to combine.

Serves 1.

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Hennessy Cognac

Intern — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:17:25 -0700

Happy Hour: Tito's Vodka

partysugar — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 16:00:32 -0800

Earlier this week I had the pleasure of meeting Tito Beveridge, the creator of Tito's vodka. Before meeting Tito, I'd never heard of the Texas-based American vodka company. However, I was impressed with Tito's ambition - before getting into the spirits business, he was a geophysicist, oil driller, and mortgage broker - and pleasantly surprised by his vodka's pure, bite-free flavor. The handmade corn vodka is distilled six times in an old-fashioned pot still. This sort of still is typically used for making fine single malt scotches and high-end cognacs, so naturally it provides the vodka's incredible smoothness. At $18 a bottle, the best thing about Tito's is that it's a premium-style vodka that won't break the bank.

The worst thing about this exceptionally clean vodka is that it's very easy to drink, which could potentially be dangerous! Have you ever sipped Tito's vodka?

Come Party With Me: Indian Dinner - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 12:50:50 -0800

No themed dinner party can begin without the relaxing mood enhancer and conversation stimulator that is the specialty cocktail. Since India (outside of the big cities) doesn't have much of a drinking culture, I'm turning to Dale Degroff, the king of cocktails, for inspiration.

According to Degroff, in its day - during the 19th century when East India existed - the East India cocktail was similar to the cosmopolitan in popularity: Everyone enjoyed it. The mixture of cognac, pineapple juice, and orange curacao pairs perfectly with Padma Lakshmi's salty, crispy kahti rolls.

For the main course serve cold beer, a Pinot Blanc, sweet Reisling, or an unoaked Syrah. To look at the recipe for the East India cocktail, read more.

East India Cocktail
From Dale Degroff's The Essential Cocktail

Ingredients

1 1/2 ounces cognac
1 ounce orange curaçao
1 1/2 ounces pineapple juice
1 dash Angostura bitters
Flamed orange peel, for garnish
Nutmeg, for grating

Directions

Combine the first four ingredients with ice, and shake.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, dust with freshly grated nutmeg, and garnish by flaming the orange peel over the top of the drink.

Makes 1 drink.

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Talking Mixology With Dale DeGroff

partysugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:30:52 -0800

Last week I had the wonderful opportunity to sit down with Dale DeGroff. If you've never heard of DeGroff, you'll be surprised to know that he has changed your life. Remember that basil gimlet you enjoyed at the bar last week? You can thank Dale for that. Or what about that perfectly poured martini? Dale's responsible for that, too. Known to food insiders as the King of Cocktails, Dale DeGroff is single-handedly responsible for the renaissance of classic cocktails. Back in 1980s New York, at a time when the majority of bars served drinks made from overly-sweet mixes, Dale was mixing drinks with fresh, seasonal, local ingredients and creating cocktails based on preprohibition recipes. To find out what the master has to say about cocktail trends and to see who he thinks is the best bartender in America today, read more.

Dale was in San Francisco to promote his new book The Essential Cocktail and to run the Pernod Ricard mixology course for bartenders, BarSmarts.

PartySugar: What do you consider yourself? A bartender, bar chef, mixologist?
Dale DeGroff: Retired. Now I am a teacher and an author.

PS: What do you consider your signature drink?
DD: The Ritz cocktail, which was named in tribute to the classic champagne cocktail and featured in Playboy magazine. The whiskey smash, which is currently on menus from London to Australia. Bobby Flay serves it at his restaurants. That one was based on a 19th-century drink, but I changed the name. The Fitzgerald is another one.

PS: What qualities make a good bartender?
DD: Speed, accuracy, friendliness, a certain passion and love affair with life. You have to be confident and a chameleon, and you have to love it.

PS: Who are the best bartenders in America?
DD: The list is long in terms of exclusivity. There's lots of guys who can make amazing, culinary drinks, but Doug at PJ Clarks, handles that crowd with such ease, speed, and accuracy. That bar is packed every night and he makes a good cocktail. He doesn't do special cocktails, but he could learn everything those other guys do in exactly a month.

PS: What's your ultimate hangover remedy?
DD: Don't start drinking or don't stop drinking. Aspirin. Nothing beats a milkshake and a hamburger. Some people say soaking your feet in oatmeal works.

PS: What's the next big thing? In cocktails and spirits?
DD: We are in the middle of the next big thing! The overall idea is that we've taken the cocktail out of the beverage category and turned it into something culinary. Bartenders have to look at their bars like a chef would look at his kitchen. They are looking at their ingredients like a chef looks at his ingredients. You've got to go to the cupboard, go to Whole Foods and buy what is fresh and in season. I'm really into pepper jelly, spices, and herbs. Pisco is going to be big. Anything from South America really. Brown liquors are on the rise. The geeky bartenders are making drinks with bourbon and rye. Rhum agricole. Tequila, anything Latin really. Sherry is popping up in cocktails everywhere.

PS: What's your advice to the home mixologist?
DD: Buy the best, freshest ingredients you can afford from the liquor down to the mint. Follow recipes! Bartending is like baking, there is a science to it. My drinks really work. Make it fun, get your guests involved. Stock your bar with gin, an old-fashioned like Beefeater and a new wave like Plymouth. Vodka, cognac, rum, rhum agricole. Three whiskeys: scotch, bourbon, rye. Tequila: blanco and reposado. Cointreau , good vermouth. Don't buy domestic vermouth, get an Italian red and a French white.

Source

All the News That's Fit to Eat - Sept. 17, 2008

YumSugar — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 12:30:47 -0700

Romesco sauce can transform any soup, seafood, or vegetable. - Miami Herald
Here are the secret ingredients that'll turn your meal around. - Boston Globe
Olive oil, beware: Lard is back. - San Francisco Chronicle
The best (and worst) cookbooks for Fall. - Los Angeles Times
How to decipher all those egg carton labels. - New York Times
Russian wines make a quiet return. - Chicago Tribune
Taste testing celebrity cognac and other spirits. - Washington Post
Perfect paella means getting all of these elements right. - The Oregonian
Transition into Fall with an Autumn picnic. - Cleveland Plain Dealer

Source