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Happy Hour: The Big Apple

YumSugar — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 13:27:18 -0800

Last year, while flipping through Blueprint magazine, I came across a beautifully styled drink called The Big Apple. The recipe sounded fantastic - whiskey, apple cider, vermouth - but the reason to drink it was even better. According to Blueprint, it makes the perfect "transitional" sipper and I couldn't agree more. It's definitely too cold for margaritas, and I personally can't do eggnog until Thanksgiving. Over the next two weeks I plan on enjoying a few of these Big Apples. Want to join me? Get the recipe, just read more

The Big Apple
From Blueprint

1 lady apple (or other small apple), cut in half lengthwise, or 2 slices of a larger apple
3 ounces whiskey
1 ounce dry vermouth
2 dashes bitters
1 cup sparkling apple cider

Fill a large cocktail shaker halfway with ice.
Add apple cider, whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Shake.
Strain into two glasses.
Garnish each with an apple half or slice.

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Happy Hour: Manhattan

partysugar — Tue, 20 Mar 2007 12:55:47 -0700

In order to be a wonderful home entertainer, you must learn how to make the classic drinks. The Martini, Cosmopolitan, and Margarita are popular drinks that highlight gin, vodka, and tequila respectively. It's good to know one basic cocktail for each of the five major liquors (gin, vodka, tequila, rum, and whiskey). Dating back to 1870, a Manhattan is the optimal whiskey drink. Take care when mixing this cocktail because it can be difficult at first to get the correct ration of whiskey to vermouth. Use a rye or bourbon whiskey for best results when making your guests this drink. Meant to be stirred rather than shaken a Manhattan is a wonderful before dinner drink that pairs nicely with salty appetizers. To see how it's done, read more

Manhattan
From Williams Sonoma: The Bar Guide

2 1/2 ounces rye, bourbon, or blended Canadian whiskey
1 1/2 tablespoons sweet vermouth
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 maraschino cherry, for garnish

Pour the whiskey, vermouth, and bitters into a mixing glass two-thirds full of ice cubes.
Stir well.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with cherry and enjoy.

Serves 1.

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Happy Hour: Corkscrew

YumSugar — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:00:00 -0700

My first nip of a Corkscrew elicited a "yum!" but had I examined the ingredients beforehand, I might have thought "yuck." Rum isn't really my liquor of choice, and peach liqueur plus dry vermouth just sounds like a bad combination. But in fact, the Corkscrew accomplishes just what a good cocktail should: It brings together three disparate ingredients to create an entirely new (and delicious) flavor.

The dry vermouth is an excellent counterbalance to the peach schnapps, which would otherwise be too sugary. As a result, this martini-style cocktail has a summery fruit flavor with just a hint of sweetness that will appeal even to drinkers who don't tend toward fruity drinks. To get the recipe, read more.

Corkscrew
Adapted From CocktailDB

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz. light rum
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. peach liqueur
Squeeze of lime juice

Directions
Combine all four ingredients in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a twist of lime peel.

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Happy Hour: El Presidente

YumSugar — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:13:33 -0800

While there are a lot of red, white, and blue drinks to celebrate the 4th of July with, there's really only one for President's Day: El Presidente.

Okay, so it's actually named after the General Carmen Menocal, former president of Cuba, and doesn't have much to do with US culture, but I think the namesake is still rather fun. Plus, doesn't the mix of white rum, orange curacao, French vermouth, and grenadine sound delicious?

To get the recipe and enjoy en El Presidente on President's Day, read more.

El Presidente
From Esquire

1 1/2 ounces white rum
1/2 ounce orange curacao
3/4 ounce French vermouth
1 dash grenadine

Stir ingredients well with cracked ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. It should pour a delightfully clear, deep orange color. Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

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Come Party With Me: Fashion Week Party - Drinks

YumSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:15:19 -0700

For the bash I'm throwing in honor of New York Fashion Week, I'll be serving everyone rounds of this drink, the Manhattan. Not only is it a classic cocktail, but it's sleek, urban, and distinctly New York. The best thing about this bar classic? It's just as easy to make in a large batch as it is to prepare just one.

For those of my guests who aren't sipping spirits, I'll have sparkling cranberry juice on hand to pour, so they can look (and feel) just as glamorous as the rest. To stir up this fashionable drink, read more.

Manhattan
From Food and Wine

Ingredients

Ice
12 ounces sweet vermouth
8 ounces rye whiskey
2 ounces Grand Marnier
16 dashes of Angostura bitters
8 orange or lemon twists

Directions

Fill a pitcher two-thirds full with ice.
Add the vermouth, rye, Grand Marnier, and bitters, and stir for 30 seconds to chill.
Strain into 8 chilled martini glasses.
Top each with a twist.

Serves 8.

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What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 04:30:13 -0700

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Florida's beekeepers want a new law prohibiting blended honey products.
Quinoa adds texture - and protein - to ordinary breadcrumbs.
Denny's is sued for having too much sodium in its food.
Look to Washington and Australia for Rieslings that are of great value.
The search is on for the manliest restaurant in America.
Vermouth, when served in a French Kiss, is surprisingly seductive.

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

What's Cooking at Slashfood

YumSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 04:00:01 -0800

We love Slashfood so much that every Thursday we round up their most delicious stories. Here are this week's finds:

Take a tour of Mexico City's San Angel Market.
Comfort food reaches new heights with this cheesy sausage potato mountain.
Noilly Prat, makers of dry vermouth - a crucial component in the popular dry martini - will change its US formula.
PETA's now lobbying to replace the word "fish" with "sea kittens."
This red velvet Nikon is the most delectable camera that I've ever seen.
With no change in the number of diners eating out, you'd think an economic downturn didn't exist.

Source

Come Party With Me: Foodie Thanksgiving - Drinks

partysugar — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 12:30:39 -0800

At Thanksgiving, impress your foodie friends with a sophisticated cocktail. A blend of sweet and dry vermouths and bourbon, the perfect turkey is a seasonal variation of the classic Manhattan. The potent flavor of the whiskey will pair nicely with the rich appetizers. Prepare a pitcher, shake and serve as guests arrive.

Have champagne on hand. Nicolas Feuillatte has some lovely, affordable options. For the meal pour a pinot noir. To look at the recipe for the perfect turkey, read more.

Perfect Turkey
From Bon Appetit

Ingredients

1/4 cup Wild Turkey bourbon
1 1/2 teaspoons sweet vermouth
1 1/2 teaspoons dry vermouth
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice and nutmeg

Directions

Shake bourbon, sweet vermouth, and dry vermouth with ice in a cocktail shaker.
Serve in a Martini glass with a spice-sugared rim (mix 1/4 cup sugar with 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice and nutmeg). Garnish with orange peel.

Makes 1 drink.

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What Would You Make?

partysugar — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:18:33 -0800

Here's the scenario: You are at home and hungry for food. You have to cook up something scrumptious for you and your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/child/friend, but the ingredients you have on hand are limited.

You have canned pumpkin puree, garlic, and fresh parsley. Using these products, along with whatever you currently have on hand in your cupboard and refrigerator, what would you make?

To see what I would whip up, read more

I would start by chopping up a bunch of garlic and onion. I would add this to a heated sauté pan with olive oil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes.
Next I would add a cup of arborio rice and sauté for a few minutes more.
I would deglaze the pan with vermouth - I always have some since I am crazy about martinis - and simmer until the vermouth has burned off.
Meanwhile, I would heat a quart of chicken broth and add this to the sauté pan with the rice and veggies slowly to make a risotto.
When the risotto is almost ready, I will stir in a bunch of pumpkin puree, a little bit of chili powder, and the fresh parsley. If it hasn't expired, I'll add some cream and whatever cheese I have in my cheese drawer.
I would serve the pumpkin risotto with lots of freshly ground black pepper on top and a glass of red wine on the side.

How about you, what would you make?