Silver Cocktail

Once again, browsing through Savoy Stomp, I found something I wanted to make. The Silver Cocktail caught my eye, and since I had everything for it, I made one. Ellestad’s right, it’s not a terribly interesting cocktail, but it is a pleasant one. It’s just gin (I used Tanquery, which in addition to being Ellestad’s recommendation for those of us who aren’t lucky enough to keep Junipero around, is that I had, thanks to a sale at Binny’s a few weeks ago), vermouth (the Dolin dry, which I am liking more and more each time I mix with it), maraschino and orange bitters. It’s almost comforting, since if you’re a booze nerd, you’re generally used to those flavors.

But, my love of endless tinkering got to me, and I thought to myself, “Self, what if I made a second one with grapefruit bitters instead of orange bitters.” I love any combination of grapefruit and maraschino, so this seemed like a natural. It turned out pretty good – I’m not sure if I’m as wild about grapefruit extracts and maraschino as I am of grapefruit juice and maraschino, but anything where you’ve got a grapefruit based product and gin is going to be ok by me.

Recipe:

SIlver Cocktail (Savoy via Savoy Stomp):

1 oz Gin

1 oz Dry Vermouth

Barspoon Maraschino

4 dashes Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a small cocktail glass.

Silver Cocktail No. 2 (Savoy w/ modification)

1 oz Gin

1 oz Dry Vermouth

Barspoon Maraschino

2 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

Method as above.

 

 

Apple Brandy Old Fashioned.

So, I mentioned that I was going to try stuff with this Apple Brandy I had bought, and one of the things I mentioned was making a Plain/Old Fashioned Cocktail. I was waiting for the bus this morning, in the wind, and had this revelation about how I was going to make it, and why it was going to be tasty.

The Jewel by my apartment has a small, sad section of British food, in which is found Demerara sugar cubes – brown sugar, but not the sticky, dense kind. They’re rich tasting and crystalline. That was the first piece of my grand plan.

Part two took advantage of something I’m not usually a fan of. Fee’s Aromatic Old Fashioned bitters are supposed to be reasonably authentic 19th century bitters, but to me they always taste a bit flat and cinnamon-y. Aggressively cinnamon-y.

But brown sugar, cinnamon, and apples? How is that not a lovely fall drink? So, I get home from work, run my errands, and then prepare drinks. I soaked a sugar cube per drink in about equal parts Angostura and Fee’s bitters, then ground it up with a wooden spoon (someday, someday, I will buy a muddler), added just a splash of water to dissolve, then added 2 oz of apple brandy and stirred until combined. Chucked a couple ice cubes in each glass, stirred once or twice to chill a bit, and sipped.

It’s fall like. The apple from the Laird’s comes out a little, and some alcohol burn, and the sweetness from the sugar and all the cinnamon from the Fee’s. It’s definitely a glass of booze with some sugar and flavoring, but it’s a seasonal glass of booze with some sugar and flavoring.

Recipe:

2 oz Apple Brandy

1 cube demerara sugar

Angostura and Fee’s Aromatic bitters, sufficient to soak the sugar cube

Splash water, if necessary.

Soak sugar cube in bitters, crush, and dissolve with water if necessary, add apple brandy, stir to combine and dissolve. Add a few large cubs of ice, stir to cool, enjoy.