Customer Appreciation Post — The Scarlet Witch

Another pic from New Year’s Day:

  
Pictured above is my Scarlet Witch cocktail.

This drink has been going over really well.

I’ve sold it to a few different people who were debating between wine or a Cosmo or Vodka/Cran.

It’s a nice little twist on those flavors — with Ramazzotti, Chambord & Cabernet lending extra dimensions to the taste:

  

Brandy Milk Punch

Woke up this morning with a strong urge to make Brandy Milk Punch.

Got some good photos.

It was a beautiful day here in Western New York and the natural light really made all the difference for these photos:

  
  
  

My recipe on the Bar Notes app:

 

A Trip To The Moon

Today marks 113 years since the film A Trip To The Moon was first shown in France!

  
The short film was written and directed by Georges Méliès and was an immediate inspiration to other directors of the era.

It’s even said that Méliès drew inspiration from nearby Buffalo, N.Y. — specifically the A Trip to the Moon attraction at the Pan-American Exposition in 1901:

Various film scholars have suggested that Méliès was heavily influenced by other works, especially Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Le voyage dans la lune (an unauthorized parody of Verne’s novels) and the A Trip to the Moon attraction at the 1901 Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.

To mark the anniversary of Méliès’ short film, why not shake up an appropriately-themed cocktail like the Blue Moon.

I found the Blue Moon using my Bartender’s Choice app, which was created by Sam Ross of Milk & Honey. The drink is a simple three ingredients, gin, lemon juice and creme de violette — all shaken and strained into a cocktail glass.  

Imbibe Magazine lists pretty much the exact same drink here, but with slight scaling back of the lemon juice and creme de violette (citing Ted Haigh’s updated recipe from Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails).

Red Moon:

At Forte we make a drink called the Red Moon. It has raspberry vodka, Chambord, triple sec, cranberry juice and lime juice and though it might sound like an overly-sweet raspberry Cosmo, it is actually quite tasty:  

 

Bar Notes ‘Cocktail of the Day’

The Bar Notes crew made my write-up of Nick Jarrett’s “Prizefighter #1” their cocktail of the day!

Get the recipe for the Prizefighter #1 by clicking here.

 

I’ve previously been mentioned for my New York Sour! Check out the post by clicking here and here!

The Prizefighter No. 1 Cocktail

Today I’m writing about the Prizefighter cocktail, keeping in theme with yesterday’s pugilist post.

Yesterday was Jack Dempsey’s birthday and I wrote a blog post about the Dempsey Cocktail, which can be found by clicking here.

Dempsey was not only a boxer. He opened a restaurant later in life and also appeared in the film The Prizefighter and the Lady:

  
The Prizefighter cocktail is a contemporary take on the smash/sour — with Fernet-Branca as the base spirit.

The drink was created by bartender Nicholas Jarrett in 2010 and was included in the 75th anniversary edition of Mr. Boston’s Official Bartender’s Guide.

  

The following is from my Bar Notes page, which mirror’s Nick Jarrett’s post about the drink:

About This Cocktail:

I recently tried my hand at making Nicholas Jarrett’s Prizefighter No. 1 — an original from Clover Club, which I found the recipe for on the Bar Notes app.

Ingredients:
•1 oz. Fernet Branca
•1 oz. Carpano Antica
•3/4 oz. simple syrup
•1/4 oz. lemon juice
•6-8 mint leaves
•3-4 lemon wedges
•Pinch salt

Preparation:

Muddle the lemon, mint and salt in the simple syrup. Combine the other ingredients in the tin, and whip shake the drink. Fine strain over crushed ice, and garnish with mint.

Still Thirsty For More?

—Read this post on Cocktail Virgin Slut. The proportions of the simple syrup and lemon juice have been modified in order to eliminate the lemon wedges from the equation. It definitely simplifies things a step. I made the drink this way as well yesterday… And cutting back on the simple syrup didn’t seem to hurt it.

—A write-up about Fernet on Cocktails & Cologne that mentions the Prizefighter.

And here’s another picture:

  

The Last Word

A quick pic of my first cocktail from before dinner in Buffalo last night:

The Last Word

Gin, green chartreuse, maraschino liqueur and lime juice.

This was my first time tasting green chartreuse.

Though the green chartreuse was in a cocktail and I wasn’t tasting it alone, it’s herbal flavor definitely came through. I look forward to my next chance to try some — either in a cocktail or on its own.

Green vs. Yellow Chartreuse:

•Green Chartreuse (110 proof or 55%) is a naturally green liqueur made from 130 herbs and plants macerated in alcohol and steeped for about 8 hours. 

•Yellow Chartreuse (80 proof or 40%) has a milder and sweeter flavour and aroma.

Still Thirsty For More?

—Read this article called “Exploring Chartreuse.”
—A look at its popularity as a shot.

My Recipe Card:

And here’s my recipe card from the Highball app:

  

Customer Appreciation Post — The Blinker Cocktail

Here’s a photo of a cocktail I made for LochNessie last night:

 A classic Blinker cocktail:

This drink is one I have saved in my Highball app.

Highball is a really great app for saving cocktail recipes. It’s easy to use, it’s pretty minimalist and it allows you to save and share your recipe cards.

Here’s my recipe card for The Blinker:

 

When I made the Blinker last night, I didn’t stick exactly to the recipe.

I didn’t use grenadine for the drink, as the only grenadine on hand was the typical pre-packaged grenadine full of sugar and preservatives and whatnot.

Instead, I used a grenadine-style simple syrup comprised of Pom Pomegranate juice and my restaurant’s housemade simple syrup.

It’s not a full-blown grenadine, as it’s missing a few ingredients and flavor components, but it’s a start — and it’s a nice flavored simple syrup to have on hand.

Here’s a link with more info about Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s method.

On The Bar — Mint Julep

A Julep A Day #3    

On The Bar — Dark ‘n’ Stormy

Using the “On The Bar” app.

I downloaded it a long time ago, when it was mostly all just Boston-area bartenders who were using it. But it looks like it’s spread far and wide, so hopefully we can get a bunch of people using it in Jamestown!

  

Further Reading:
— Recipes for a Dark ‘n’ Stormy

— A link to something similar, but different.

— And I know, I know… It’s gotta be Gosling’s.