Monthly Archives: March 2010

Ginger Mint Daquiri

Posted on March 31, 2010

Last week I made up a batch of ginger syrup for my Moscow Mule post. It’s pretty rad shit, but I haven’t really used it in any other drinks. So here’s an easy one I whipped up whilst making a pot roast.

3 parts Gold Rum

1 part ginger syrup

1 part lime juice

sprig of mint

Shake and serve down.

If your ginger syrup isn’t very strong, it’s not going to do much in this drink. The batch I made is excessively gingery, so it works nicely. I’ve also been using Appleton Jamaican Gold Rum. Shit’s cheap as hells and twice as tasty.

Tagged Mint, Recipes, Rum | Leave a comment

An Open Letter to Jim Beam Rye

Posted on March 30, 2010

Dear Mr. Beam Rye,

I think you and I kinda got off on the wrong foot. I was sorta new to the rye scene, and you were hanging around with some people I’m personally not a big fan of, so I made a judgment call, and it was a bit harsh. Yeah, I harshed you bro. But then, I saw you at Cut-Rate Liquor, hanging out, the only bottle of rye in stock, and I was like, “let’s put this to rest…. let’s end this.” And you were like “werd.”

Are you as sweet and spicy as your neighbor Wild Turkey 101 Rye? No. Are you as budget friendly as Old Overholt? Not so much. Do I feel that you would be perfectly acceptable used in a sazerac cocktail. Absolutely. “The World’s Finest Rye?” Not by a long shot. But listen, you’ve got your own distinct set of qualities, my friend. You’re a little peppery, somewhat nutty, and have a decent finish. All in all, you’re not bad, and I apologize for what went down between us… Alls I’m saying is, we’re cool.

Love & Handjobs,

The Captain

Tagged Reviews | 1 Comment

U v. R: The Awakening

Posted on March 29, 2010

Ninja please.

And suddenly, the Multiverse grew quiet… as if it could no longer sustain the constant suffering, the relentless violence, the never ending cries of the tormented… and for a moment, even the gods seemed to hush… and deep within the black abyss, woken from a thousand years of sleep by the cries of a million ashen souls, something began to stir … it was the Last Ninja on Earth. And bro, he was fucking pissed.

Tagged Unicorns vs. Robots | Leave a comment

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

Posted on March 25, 2010

This is one from the archives that never got published because I wasnt really happy with the pics. However, having just done a really sucky punch post, I figured I’d dust off this little bitch and give a shot…

So Bryan calls me up on Saturday and tells me he is going to some fucking “house party” in the city and asks if I would like to go, etc. I agree, on the condition that we make a punch to take along. I’ve got various reasons for wanting to do this, the first of which is I don’t like keg beer, and the second of which is I don’t like hipsters in tight pants. Okay, that has nothing to do with the punch, but I wanted to squeeze it in. Also, I’ve wanted to make a punch ever since I got Wondrich’s book “Imbibe!” – a gift from Bryan and his fiancée wife Kate. I’ve read thru quite a few recipes, but the one that has really intrigued me was the Philadelphia Fish House Punch (mainly for it’s bitchin name). However, the big problem is this recipe calls for a now defunct ingredient… real peach brandy. Peach brandy would in theory be liquor made by fermenting peaches and distilling the resulting mash. Nobody actually makes it like this anymore, for a reason that is beyond me. While there are a “peach brandies” on the market, these are essentially peach flavoring added to grain alcohol… think peach schnapps. Fortunately Wondrich addresses this issue in his book and provides a work around, using the following recipe which replaces the actual peach brandy with a 9:1 ratio of brandy to peach schnapps:

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

9 oz. brandy

6 oz. rum

1 oz. peach brandy

2/3 cup sugar

3 good sized lemons (6 0z. of lemon juice)

40 oz. water

Note, the original recipe pointed out that this would generally be enough for one person, while Wondrich states it’s more suited for 4 – 5. This means Bryan and I should be able to spilt it, as it’s about a half a gallon.

Preparing the Oleo-Sacrum

The first step is to peel the lemons - avoiding as much of the pith as possible - and placing the peels in a large bowl along with the sugar.

Next, using a muddler (or fucking ladle like me) extract as much of the oils from the lemon peel as possible. This will give your sugar a very ass kicking tanginess.

Add the sugar and lemon peels to one pint of boiling water, and stir just until the sugar is dissolved. This is known as the Oleo Saccrum. Fuck yes it is.

After the OS is ready, the lemons are juiced. Don't be a pussy and use bottled shit.

Finally, add the juice and all the booze to the bowl, and refrigerate for at least two hours. Extract the peels, and add up to an additional pint of water if needed. Bottle.

The good news is this is a great punch recipe. The bad news is everyone kept asking me if I “roofied it.”

Tagged Brandy, Punch, Recipes, Rum | 5 Comments

Zarzamora Variation

Posted on March 24, 2010

I was at TVH a few months back, and I had a drink they were calling the Zarzamora, which is Argentinian for Blackberry. So yes, there are blackberries in this drink, which is kinda rad. But what’s the Argentinian connection, you ask? Well, the national drink of Argentina is Fernet Branca and Coke. Which is weird because Fernet is an Italian drink, and pretty much tastes like your tongue getting raped by a sprig of mint and a tiny, tiny cougar. So the Zarzamora is their variation on that drink. And this is my variation on that. Still with me? I doubt it.

Fernet... who doesn't suck now, bitch?

Zarzamora Variation

2 oz. Rye

.5 oz. Fernet Branca

.5 oz. Dem Syrup

4 Large Blackberries

Club Soda

Muddle the blackberries in the bottom of a highball glass, along with the syrup. Add the rye and Fernet, and give the whole mess a bit of a stir. Add a few cubes of ice, and top off with club soda and a mint garnish. Drink from the glass.

TVH’s version is pretty much the same (to the best of my ‘ccollection), but they use Coca Cola instead of soda, which I personally found a little too sweet. I think the club soda tames everything down a bit, and lends itself to a relaxed sipping cooler with plenty of great flavors, yet nothing overwhelming. The mint is a nice touch especially since you’ll be smashing on this ‘mo from the glass, lest you deal with a blackberry-clogged straw, which is never a good thing.

Tagged Amaro, Mint, Recipes, Rye | 2 Comments

Campari Rock Candy

Posted on March 23, 2010

Here’s the dangle… I ascertain a distinct lack of hard sugary candies in my life. Excluding these apple flavored jolly ranchers, there is almost no rock candy in my mouth right now. Not to mention rock candy that gets me drunk! So I decided to do something about it. Actually, that’s not true. The Deej told me about some Aperol rock candy he came across, so I was like, “I’ll play ball… I’ll play fucking ball, broheim.” And then I blew everybody’s mind with this slight variation on a recipe someone told me about.

My Dixie Wrecked.

Hearst Cocktail Variation

3 0z. London Dry Gin

1 oz. Sweet Vermouth

Ango Orange Bitts

Campari Rock Candy

I made the rock candy using about 4 parts sugar to 1 part corn syrup and 1 part Campari, however I’m not going to post the recipe here yet because it needs some tweaking. The first time I did it, it came out brown because the sugar had caramelized. The second time, it didn’t harden up because the Campari still had too much liquor. The third time it came out okay, but still didn’t taste Camparish. That’s a word. And then I ran out of Campari. So, hang in there, and I’ll give her another whack and see what crappens.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged Bitters, Gin, Recipes, Sweet Vermouth | Leave a comment

The Captain's 1 Year Anniversary

Posted on March 22, 2010

Cowboys like to party.

When you live hard and you play hard and burn the candle at both ends… in this life, you can lose everything you love, everything that loves you. Alot of people told me that I’d never wrestle again, they said “he’s washed up”, “he’s finished” , “he’s a loser”, “he’s all through”. You know what? The only ones gonna tell me when I’m through doing my thing, is you people here. You people here… you people here. You’re my family.

Tagged Recipes | 1 Comment

MxMo: The Stag Special Punch

Posted on March 21, 2010

I’ve been thinking about punches lately – well actually just thinking about large bowls of liquor – so I figured I’d contribute this month’s MxMo theme which is Punch, hosted by Hobson’s Choice. The following recipe is from Trader Vic’s book. I like it because it’s got bourbon, which I haven’t seen in very many punches, and it’s also got tea, which I’ve never actually had a in a punch before. And also, tea infused cocktails are all the rage right now… and I’m nothing if not a follower of trends.

Stag Special Punch

1 qt. Bourbon

1/2 pt. Maraschino

Juice 6 Lemons

1/2 pt. Jamaican Rum

1/2 pt. Pineapple Juice

1 qt. Strong Green Tea

“Mix in punch bowl with large block of ice and let stand until thoroughly chilled. Garnish with fresh mint and serve in punch cups.”

So, hmmm. Not really stoked with the recipe as stated. I found the maraschino overwhelming – but I am admittedly sensitive to that shit. And I didn’t really get the pineapple juice, which was dissapointing since making pineapple juice is a fucking pain in the ass if you don’t have a Juiceman. Which I ain’t. So I added another cup of pineapple juice, which helped. And then, on a whim, I added the juice of two grapefruits. Which really helped. Is it a punch I would serve at the bar? Not necessarily. But at the end of the day, it’s not about winning or losing, it’s about getting fucking drunk, so in sense, mission accomp’d.

Here’s a link to the “Round-Up” of all the punches submitted this week…

Tagged Bartender's Guide by Trader Vic, MxMo, Punch, Recipes | 1 Comment

Union Jack

Posted on March 20, 2010

Here’s one from Trader Vic’s book… It isn’t a very good drink, but it looks cool. It’s also pretty fucking hard to make, so I’m gonna post it, and you’re gonna read it, and that’s the way it’s gonna fucking crappen. Accept it, look at the picture, and then go back to your awesome life. Jerk.

Who you callin' a pousse?

Union Jack

1/2 oz. Grenadine

1/2 oz. Maraschino

1/2 oz. Chartreuse

Pour ingredients slowly over the back of a spoon, in order, into a chilled cordial glass. Prepare to be underwhelmed.

Tagged Bartender's Guide by Trader Vic, Green Chartreuse, Pousse-Café | 5 Comments

Moscow Mule

Posted on March 19, 2010

I was at the Duke’s last week for an Oscar party, where I whipped up a batch of ginger syrup and made some Moscow Mules. Needless to say, they ruled, and all bowed down before my greatness.

But in all cerealness, this is the first vodka post I’ve done here. It’s not very fashionable these days, most bartenders maintain that because it’s triple distilled it has no flavor, and is therefore useless. And that’s a valid point. However, I think there is a lack of vodka based cocktail recipes because the stuff was essentially unobtainable in the US during the Cold War. In fact, in Trader Vic’s guide, out of 1500 cocktail recipes there are only four that call for vodka.

Moscow Mule

3 oz. Vodka

.75 oz. Ginger Syrup

.75 oz. Lime Juice

Club Soda

Build this one in the glass over ice, and top off with club soda. Garnish with a lime, imbibe with a straw.

Ginger Syrup

6 oz. Cane Sugar

6 oz. Water

6 oz. Fresh Grated Ginger

See my previous post about syrup, but add the ginger when you add the sugar, and let it simmer on low for about 20 minutes. Strain the syrup thru a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Bottle.

Tagged Recipes, Vodka | 2 Comments

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