Moderators: Jenise, Robin Garr, David M. Bueker
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
James Dietz wrote:This may be my most favorite thread ever. I'm inspired to up my drinks skills. And I'm going to take a look at Imbibe too.
I started reading To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion after this thread and this interview http://eater.com/archives/2013/10/31/david-wondrich-interview.php
I'm working on drinks that use absinthe.
wnissen wrote:permitting me to post so much non-wine content in the forum. Does the Bellini count?
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Mike Filigenzi
Known for his fashionable hair
8187
Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm
Sacramento, CA
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Jenise
FLDG Dishwasher
42713
Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
James Dietz wrote:This may be my most favorite thread ever. I'm inspired to up my drinks skills. And I'm going to take a look at Imbibe too.
I started reading To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion after this thread and this interview http://eater.com/archives/2013/10/31/david-wondrich-interview.php
I'm working on drinks that use absinthe.
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Jenise wrote:James Dietz wrote:This may be my most favorite thread ever. I'm inspired to up my drinks skills. And I'm going to take a look at Imbibe too.
I started reading To Have and Have Another: A Hemingway Cocktail Companion after this thread and this interview http://eater.com/archives/2013/10/31/david-wondrich-interview.php
I'm working on drinks that use absinthe.
We've been similarly inspired. I've been ordering cocktails I've never had before (game for anything that doesn't require vodka, egg or cream), and Bob now wants to learn to make a Sazerac at home!
Thanks, Walt.
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
wnissen wrote:Yeah, I felt like I wasn't quite doing it right since I didn't have a celery stalk nor a complete hamburger to stick on it!
wnissen wrote:Day 25: "Zombie" - The late Ernest Raymond Beaumont Gantt was the "founding father" of Tiki, though wouldn't you have changed your name to Donn Beach, too? His signature drink was Zombie Punch, which the aforementioned "Beach Bum" Berry claims to have tracked down after years of dedicated drinking and research. The original recipe is complex. The secret "Don's mix" starts with cinnamon-infused simple syrup, which is one of the prettier shades of pink I've seen in the kitchen:
It's then mixed 1:2 with grapefruit juice to complete the Mix.
Then there's the Falernum. Mercifully, it's not the amphora-aged Roman wine (the 223 A.D. vintage is terrific, by the way), but rather a liqueur of rum, lime, and spices that is also used in the "Corn 'n Oil." Paul Clarke's recipe is on the last page of this PDF, which also contains recipes for other libations that were lost to various extents in the mists of time: http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/pdf_f ... pirits.pdf The finished Falernum is delicious, a musky herbal concoction despite the ginger and lime zest. I'm a little surprised you don't see it used more often. In any case, here's the ingredients:
Finally, the rums: dark Jamaican, gold Cruzan and Lemon Hart demerara from Guyana. The last was unknown to me, but it's apparently the linchpin of the drink. It would have to be, at 151 proof! One of my favorite stories of both cocktails and marketing is that Donn Beach famously would sell no more than two to a customer. Now, if you add up all the spirits (including the six drops of Pernod), just one Zombie has 3.3 shots of 80-proof liquor. It's hard to imagine someone wanting more than two. But as David A. Embury's Mixing Drinks notes, "Everyone except Caspar Milquetoast, of course, comes back for a third just to pit his personal prowess against the allegedly devastating power of the drink." That is some clever reverse psychology there. For the full recipe, some history, and an alternate recipe that doesn't involve as much fuss, see this 2007 article: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/28/dining/28tiki.html
Without further ado, the ingredients, with the cinnamon syrup on the left and the Falernum on the right:
After mixing everything together, I had the final cocktail sitting in front of me. I'm happy to say it was very good. As befits such an elephantine drink, I don't think you can taste the whole thing all at once. You see different parts of the elephant with different sips; a hint of anise, the tang of grapefruit, or the warmth of cinnamon. If I had to quibble I'd point out that the three rums, with everything else going on, are hard to pick out. With the Mai Tai I can taste what the rhum agricole brings versus the aged Jamaican, but not here. Still, it's something I'm happy to keep sipping until it's gone.
For those who have been patient enough to read to the end of this thread, I have a treat for you. Paul Clarke has posted a complete PDF of the article on his blog. Have a look at the gorgeous photographs and detailed recipes, and maybe you, too, will get inspired to make all 25.
http://www.cocktailchronicles.com/pdf_f ... ential.pdf
Cheers!
Lou Kessler wrote:End of thread, all 25, as soon as I translate War & Peace into Ancient Greek.
Jenise
FLDG Dishwasher
42713
Tue Mar 21, 2006 2:45 pm
The Pacific Northest Westest
James Dietz wrote:
I also love Corpse Reviver No. 2. Too bad it's not on the list, but I'm going to learn to make it right.
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Jenise wrote:James Dietz wrote:
I also love Corpse Reviver No. 2. Too bad it's not on the list, but I'm going to learn to make it right.
What's in a Corpse Reviver? Great name!
Mike Filigenzi
Known for his fashionable hair
8187
Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm
Sacramento, CA
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Mike Filigenzi wrote:Apparently, the Corpse Reviver was a class of cocktails from pre-Prohibition times, all used as "hair of the dog" hangover therapies (at least, according to Erik Ellestad.) The #2 is something you can get at better cocktail bars these days. I made the Corpse Reviver #1 for Halloween night. (It's the one linked to above, with vermouth, brandy, and apple brandy.) It's a decent drink, but IMO the #2 is much more distinctive and interesting. The #2 is equal parts gin, Cointreau, Lillet, and lemon juice with a dash of absinthe.
Hoke
Achieving Wine Immortality
11420
Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:07 am
Portland, OR
Hoke
Achieving Wine Immortality
11420
Sat Apr 15, 2006 1:07 am
Portland, OR
Robin Garr wrote:Treating this thread now as a sort of Cocktail Open Mike (perhaps we ought to institutionalize that?) I had an interesting cocktail last night at El Camino, a hip new spot on one of our hipper strips, called a La Rosita ... it was basically a Negroni made with blue agave tequila in place of the gin. It worked for me ... they made it strong, and I nursed it all through a really good meal of ironic Cali-Mex surfer fare.
James Dietz
Wine guru
1236
Wed Mar 22, 2006 6:45 pm
Orange County, California
Hoke wrote:Robin Garr wrote:Treating this thread now as a sort of Cocktail Open Mike (perhaps we ought to institutionalize that?) I had an interesting cocktail last night at El Camino, a hip new spot on one of our hipper strips, called a La Rosita ... it was basically a Negroni made with blue agave tequila in place of the gin. It worked for me ... they made it strong, and I nursed it all through a really good meal of ironic Cali-Mex surfer fare.
I think it's a good idea to expand and institutionalize the idea, Robin. I think there are enough cocktail aficionados around here (and with you being one of them) to sustain it. Heck, Walt and Mike F. and I alone could sustain it, with a jump in traffic with absinthe sluts whenever that comes up.
wnissen wrote:I'd be happy to see that happen, Robin.
Mike Filigenzi
Known for his fashionable hair
8187
Mon Mar 20, 2006 4:43 pm
Sacramento, CA
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