Blog

New Years Eve, etc.

What’s up ya butts? We’re working on some cool crap for NYE.  I think it’s going to be eight drinks for that night’s menu… trying to make it really interesting with stuff that we haven’t really done before in various ways.  Here’s what I know we’re going to have so far…

Clarified Cognac Milk Punch aka Mary Rockett’s Milk Punch

This is from Wondrich’s “Punch” book, which is a must read.  However, I was never really interested in making it until I tried it at Bellocq in New Orleands, which is a must visit.  We went down there for Tales, and we ran into Sandy and crew from the Oakland, another must visit.  Kirk, HNIC at Bellocq, graciously let us sample a few versions of his clarified milk punch and I was really blown away.  Essentially this is Cognac, sugar, lemon juice and water, and scalding hot milk is added to it.  The whole mess curdles, and then is clarified thru a series of steps involving coffee filters and swearing.  It sucks to make, but it’s fantastic, and I made this about a month ago so it’s aging very nicely.

Barrel Aged White Hook

James Downs aka Lil’ Jim Jim aka Chim-chiminy (if you’re not into the whole brevity thing) came up with a White Hook a while back.  It’s Journeyman’s White Rye, Noilly Prat dry vermouth and Luxardo Maraschino (ratio 3:2:1).  Welp, in a typical boss move on my part, I made five gallons of the stuff an put it in a Journeyman Silver Cross barrel that I had in the office.  Here’s a tip: make sure the barrel doesn’t dry out completely otherwise your very expensive booze will leak out all over your office floor, and then you’ll be like “fuuuuck,” and then you’ll have to make more and you’ll be all salty for wasting all that money and just, in general, being sorta a douche.  Either way, it’s been aging for about a month and is looking pretty nice.

Yakuza Cooler
2 oz. Yamazaki 12
.75 oz. Yuzu Juice
.5 oz. Jasmine Syrup
Hana-Awaka sparkling sake

This is a drink I really like, but frankly it’s just too expensive to make and keep on the regular menu.  If we priced it the way we price our other drinks, it would be about $19… But since it’s New Years and the bar is gonna be filled with a bunch of cool MFs, I fig’d I’d p the t.

Hot House Shrub
2 oz. Lemon Peel-infused Tanqueray Rangpur
1 oz. Celery Cumin Shrub
House made tonic water
Micro Basil

I’m re-thinking my stance on shrubs in general.  If made correctly, they should completely replace both the sour and the sweet in a drink.  That’s what this one does… it brings sweetness as there is some honey in it, and the vinegar adds the acidity normally provided by citrus.  I think if a shrub can’t do that, it’s just not made correctly.  Dunno, maybe I’m just a dick.  I don’t have the micro basil in hand yet, so I’m not actually sure how it’s going to add to the drink, but I think it’ll look cool as fuck at the least. Overall it’s an extremely complex but refreshing cooler.

I’m also working a Sazerac with Sazerac 6, Nux Alipna Walnut Liqueur, Root Beer bitters and Absinthe.  I think it’s pretty close.  Sazerac 6 is so hard to get I wouldn’t normally put it on the menu, but for that night it should be fine.  Oh, also, we’ve got at least one cocktail on draft for that night.  I’m trying to carbonate it, but I’m having a fucker of a time… but at the least it’s going to be something like a Manhattan on draft.

Okay, peace.  Hope you have a good whatever it is you celebrate.  If you’re not coming to NYE here you’re going to be doing something that sucks by comparison, but you may want to swing by early in the New Year in case we have any of this stuff left over.

Posted on December 22, 2012 at 3:19 pm
This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged Cognac, Gin, NYE, Rye, shrubs. Bookmark the permalink.