Dry Rhubarb Soda

This new flavor of Dry Soda just might be my favorite.

Okay, okay… So the Rhubarb’s probably not a new flavor, but it’s new to me (and it’ll probably only be my favorite until I try their ginger soda).

I had a bottle of this stuff on its own and then I mixed a little with gin, which was nice. I really wanted to make a rye whiskey drink, but it just wasn’t working.

From their website:

DRY Soda is a less sweet, all natural soda made with just four ingredients, including a little bit of pure cane sugar. Each of DRY’s eleven unique flavors is perfect to sip on its own, pair with a meal or mix into cocktails.

Their 11 flavors are: Blood Orange, Ginger, Vanilla Bean, Apple, Cherry, Rhubarb, Lavender, Juniper Berry, Cucumber, Wild Lime and Pear.

Dark ‘n’ Stormy

The day has been a perfect one, weather-wise, for this cocktail (which means the weather itself was not all that perfect).

This isn’t a proper Dark ‘n’ Stormy. You’ll find other proportion elsewhere online. This just happens to be what I drank tonight and how I drank it:

Dark ‘n’ Stormy
•2 oz Myers’s Dark Rum
•1 oz Cruzan aged rum
•4 dashes Angostura bitters
•12 oz ginger beer (Maine Root)

Interested in more?
•Read what Jeffrey Morgenthaler has to say.
•A New York Times piece on the Gosling’s trademark.
•And here’s the Gosling’s site.

Jackie Kennedy Cocktail

Today is Jackie Kennedy’s birthday.

Did you know she has a cocktail named after her though? It’s the signature cocktail of the Elephant Bar at the Raffles Hotel Le Royal in Phnom Penh, Cambodia (as well as its sister property the Raffles Grand Hotel d’Angkor.

This is a pic of the Elephant Bar from their website:

The Raffles Hotel Le Royal has the whole story online at their website, but in short:
Jacqueline Kennedy visited Cambodia in 1967. She found time during the trip to try the famous rouge Champagne cocktail in the hotel’s Elephant Bar. Years later, when Raffles Hotel Le Royal was being renovated, the glass she drank from (which still had her lipstick mark on it) was found.

Now called “Femme Fatale,” the hotel bar’s signature cocktail is a champagne-based drink with Crème de Fraise Sauvage and a dash of Cognac. It’s now the bar’s signature cocktail to commemorate Jacqueline Kennedy’s visit to Phnom Penh.

Femme Fatale
The website “A History of Drinking” lists the recipe as following:

•1/4 oz l Crème de Fraise (strawberry liqueur)
•Dash of cognac
•Champagne
•Build in a champagne flute, top with Champagne. Garnish with a rose.

Interested in more? Check out A History Of Drinking.

Mojitos In Miami

The city of Miami celebrates an anniversary tomorrow.

July 28th is the anniversary of the day the city incorporated in 1896.

Google “Miami” and “cocktail” and you’ll read that the city’s unofficial drink is the Mojito. There are also places online which say that Miami now has an official cocktail, and that it’s the Bacardi Mojito.

Regardless, the Florida city was incorporated on July 28, 1896. And whether or not it’s official, a day in July is the perfect time for a Mojito.

Mojito
•6 mint leaves
•.75 oz simple syrup (one part water, one part sugar)
•.75 oz fresh lime juice
•1.5 oz white rum
•1.5 oz club soda

Here’s the recipe as printed online at Liquor.com:

HOW TO MAKE THE MOJITO COCKTAIL
In a shaker, lightly muddle the mint. Add the simple syrup, lime juice and rum, and fill with ice. Shake well and pour (unstrained) into a highball glass. Top with the club soda and garnish with a mint sprig.

Note that this Liquor.com recipe calls for the mojito to be shaken after almost all of the ingredients have been added. Shaking the mojito is one method. I usually roll it into a mixing tin at that stage (and then back into the highball glass), then finish with the soda water.

More opinions on how to make a mojito:
•Imbibe Magazine suggests stirring a mojito.
•Epicurious also says to stir, but at a different stage.

Two Flavors Of Fentimans

I’ve written before about Fentimans, and recently I got to try two new flavors: “Dandelion & Burdock” and “Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger.

•Dandelion & Burdock:
•Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger:

Both are “Botanically Brewed” with ginger extract. The Dandelion & Burdock had a slight anise taste. I added rye whiskey and was tempted to add Peychaud’s. It tasted sort of like a juicy Sazerac in a way. Here’s the Fentimans description:

Full-strength infusions of Dandelion leaves and Burdock root, sweetened with pear juice and spiced with a touch of ginger and anise, all intermingle to create the unmistakable aroma and distinctive palate of this traditional English soda.

The Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger was a delicious orange soda. The addition of the Seville orange gave it a little bitterness on the finish. I was tempted to add vodka, but the bottle was gone before I knew it. Here’s the Fentimans description:

“Jigger” is an old English term for good measure which we use when we combine the juice of eight mandarins and the zest of Seville orange in every bottle. Speedwell, juniper extract and fermented ginger botanicals then conspire to stimulate your senses with Fentimans Mandarin & Seville Orange Jigger!

Fentimans is a UK-based company with a large line of soda products. I’m a bit of a fiend for ginger beer, so that’ll be next up on my buy list. In the states, a Pennsylvania-based company called Lion Brewery makes and distributes Fentimans products in the U.S.

More info’s available online at their website, which can be found here.

Amelia Earhart Cocktail

Today is Amelia Earhart’s birthday.

A quick search of the Internet turned up a cocktail result. A website called A History Of Drinking wrote the following about her:

Today we’re marking the birthday of legendary aviatrix and “Queen of the Air,” Amelia Mary Earhart, born this day back in 1897 in Atchison Kansas.

Among her many accomplishments were: first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic, and the first person to fly solo from Hawaii to California.

Earhart disappeared in 1937 while en route to Howland Island during an attempt to fly around the world.

The drink itself was created by a user named StriperGuy on a ChowHound message board back on June 28, 2009. Here’s the text of his post:

Came up with another winner. Because it is basically an adapted Aviation I will call it an Amelia Earhart (the strawberries are a bit girly):

Amelia Earhart Cocktail
2 oz fresh local strawberry puree (I blended some with the gin)
•2 oz gin
•2 Tsp marascino liquer
•1 Tsp creme de violette
•2 Tsp simple syrup
•Juice and zest of 1/2 meyer lemon

Shake and serve on the rocks, or straight, or whatever

For my money, that recipe’d make for a heck of a pretty cocktail served up in a martini glass or champagne glass.

Seelbach On Esquire Network

Another new episode of “Best Bars in America” will air tonight on the Esquire Network.

I’ve written about the show before. In short though, the show follows two comedians (Jay Larson and Sean Patton) as they go from city to city checking out the list of “Best Bars In America” as published by Esquire Magazine.

This was my reaction last week when a Boston bartender served the guys a Seelbach Cocktail:

Saaaaaayyyyy whhaaaaaaaattt!? Seelbach!?

One of the things I’m starting to love about this show is that every episode there tends to be some cocktail which was recently on my mind.

I first tasted Peychaud’s Bitters last August when a package I ordered from Buffalo Trace arrived. I immediately began making Sazeracs for myself at the bar, but in recent months I stumbled upon the Seelbach Cocktail and the Vieux Carre.

Now, I love the area in which I live. In fact, part of this blog’s focus is to celebrate Western New York. That being said, the only way I ever get to taste any “Classic Cocktails” is by making them for myself.

In the last year or two I’ve really been educating myself on old drinks and the new methods which have sprung up around the classic cocktails revival. So, of course, my research is going to overlap with what people are doing in bigger cities.

It’s no surprise then that a show like “Best Bars” would feature a “Jungle Bird” or a “Seelbach.” Still, I’m just happy to see it. As I said, I’ve only ever gotten to taste these cocktails when I’ve made them for myself, so it’s educational to watch as another bartender constructs them and talks about them.

Here’s the Imbibe recipe:

Seelbach Cocktail
•1 oz. bourbon
•1/2 oz. Cointreau
•7 dashes Angostura bitters
•7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
•Champagne

Stir ingredients briefly over ice, strain into a chilled champagne flute, top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Here’s the cocktail as they served it at Drink in Boston last episode:

Oh, and I can’t believe I haven’t yet mentioned: 14 dashes of bitters.

New episode tonight on the Esquire Network. I’m not sure of the city, so if you know… Leave me a comment.

Vodka Soda Splash

Today is Rose Kennedy’s birthday.

A Rose Kennedy is a cocktail comprised of vodka and soda water with a splash of cranberry juice.

There are cocktails which people know to order by name, such as Cosmopolitans and Manhattans. Then there are those cocktails which get ordered by their component parts, such as the standard vodka cranberry and also the subject of today’s post — the Rose Kennedy.

I don’t know when and how this drink originated, but at some point in the last year I read that a “Vodka Soda Splash” is alternately called a “Rose Kennedy.” Whether or not it’s a regional thing I’m not sure, but it’s definitely associated with the mid-Atlantic and Northeastern parts of the U.S.

Imagine this with a little less red, more pink and some bubbles:

That pic is from David Wondrich’s write-up in Esquire on the Cape-Codder, without which there would be no Rose Kennedy Cocktail (or Madras or Sea Breeze or Bay Breeze).

Proportions vary (and truthfully, there’s not a lot written about the Rose Kennedy Cocktail online). The nice thing though is that the recipe is pretty simple and straightforward. It is only a Vodka Soda Splash after all.

Rose Kennedy Cocktail:
•2 oz vodka
•2 oz soda water
•Splash of cranberry juice

Add all the ingredients into a rocks glass packed full with ice. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Happy Birthday, Hemingway!

Today is Ernest Hemingway’s birthday.

Talk of the man tends to go hand-in-hand with talk of cocktails and libations.

There have been a great number of articles and cocktail lists written regarding Hemingway in the last few years, due in part to the publication of Philip Greene’s book “To Have And Have Another.”

I’m not an expert on Hemingway, but I am more than passingly familiar with some of the drinks that get associated with his name:

Cocktails associated with Hemingway:
•Daiquiri
•Death In The Afternoon
•Dripped Absinthe
•Dry Martini
•Jack Rose

I’ve written about Death in the Afternoon before! Click the link and check out the cocktail in all it’s glory:

Hemingway’s recipe for the drink:

“Pour 1 jigger of absinthe into a champagne glass. Add iced champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”

As I said earlier, I’m not a Hemingway expert, but today’s a perfect day for learning a little about the man and all the cocktails he’s associated with.

Below you’ll find resources with info about absinthe and daiquiris and details debunking Hemingway mojito and Bloody Mary lore.

Links worth reading::
•A Liquor.com piece from 2013.
•A Food Republic piece from 2012.
•The Wondrich write-up on “Death in the Afternoon.”

Destination Cocktail: The Lenhart Rocker

Destination Cocktail:
Bemus Point’s Lenhart porch and their “Rocker”

Chautauqua County sees a nice tourism bump in the summer months.

We have Chautauqua Lake, Chautauqua Institution, the many attractions in Jamestown and, of course, the shops and such in Bemus Point.

The Hotel Lenhart is one of a dozen seasonal operations here in the county.

The Hotel Lenhart’s bar, The Lamplighter Room, is the only place in the county (or anywhere really) where you can get a “Lenhart Rocker.”

Rockers at The Lenhart:

(Photo by Karen Glosser)

More about their signature drink later. First a little bit about The Lenhart:

The Hotel Lenhart is a staple of Bemus Point. It has been owned and operated by the same family since 1880, which makes this its 134th year in business.

Its regular season is from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

From their website:

•The big feature of the Lenhart is the veranda which wraps from the side all across the front of the hotel. There are 40 of their multicolored rocking chairs for viewing the spectacular sunsets over Bemus Bay.
•The dining room seats 125 and is available for special parties. The cocktail lounge, The Lamplighter Room, is located just off the lobby.

It’s in the Lamplighter Room that you can order a “Lenhart Rocker,” or just a “Rocker” as you’ll hear some people call it. Staying in the Lamplighter Room is an option, but more often than not you’ll find yourself with this view when drinking at the Lenhart:

The drink’s a juicy one, and deceptively potent. If you’re watching the bartender, you’ll only see two bottles used to make the Rocker: vodka and a house mixture.

I’m not sure if the recipe’s a “secret recipe” or not, but I don’t know all of what’s in the house mix. What I have heard though is that the Lenhart is the largest consumer of cherry brandy in the county. Whether that means there’s cherry brandy in the Rocker, I don’t know — but I’d say its a safe bet.