July 4th, 2015 — Recap

Having the Fourth of July on a Saturday this year felt pretty great (as Saturdays are like Fridays for some of us in the service industry).

All-in-all, it was a great few days.

I drank beer.

I drank wine.

And I camped out:

  

In terms of liquor, I drank something pretty basic on Saturday that I’ve never had before— gin and ginger ale.

Sure, it’s summer and blah blah blah gin and tonic. But I surveyed what we had on hand and the gin and ginger ale is what I ended up with. I almost went with whiskey & ginger ale (and there was actually a lot on hand to choose from), but I really wanted gin for some reason — which is a spirit I like, sure. but never really reach for. And I think this summer is going to be a turningpoint for me in that regards.

After the basic gin and ginger ale, I cracked open a bottle of Sipp Ginger Blossom and made two cocktails — one with gin for me, and one with Captain Morgan for my mother-in-law:

  
This flavor of Sipp had the bite of ginger beer, but also had vanilla and lime notes which softened and sweetened the drink. I’m sure it would make a great Dark ‘n’ Stormy. And I was afraid that mixing it with Captain Morgan would be overkill on the vanilla, but I didn’t hear any complaints.

And, finally, I love this photo I took Sunday night:
  

I was drinking a Great Lakes Burning River and tried to get a group shot without getting out of my chair. What ended up happening was a photo burst of several pics that created a weird vortex around my father-in-law. I didn’t digitally enhance it to look that way or blur it on purpose at all. 

Visualizing The Moscow Mule

A quick chalkboard drawing dedicated to The Moscow Mule:

  
 

And here are some links:
—Liquor.com’s “how to” video for The Moscow Mule
—Here’s the David Wondrich take: (Link)
—And Imbibe Magazine always has the prettiest pictures.

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.

Gosling’s Dark ‘N’ Stormy

  

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.

Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer

Crabbie’s is everything it promises to be. It’s an alcoholic ginger beer beverage that tastes more like genuine ginger beer than booze. I enjoyed it over ice (as directed) and found it to have a nice, medium ginger flavor — not unlike the Gosling’a brand cans or even the Saranac bottles of ginger brew.

This quick description comes from their website:

DISTINCTIVELY REFRESHING
Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer is carefully crafted from a recipe using ginger shipped from the Far East which is cold steeped for up to six weeks and then combined with four secret ingredients to produce its deep, deliciously spicy flavor.

Until last night I’d only had the orange-flavored Crabbie’s. This original recipe was definitely better, in my opinion.

Also from the Crabbie’s site:

PIONEER OF TASTE
It takes taste and imagination to create a drink so delicious that it stands the test of time. The roots of the distinctive Crabbie’s Original Alcoholic Ginger Beer stretch all the way back to the early nineteenth century. That’s when our pioneer John Crabbie set sail from the port of Leith, Edinburgh, in search of the finest spices and ingredients from far-off lands.

Antique Mixology: Ginger Beer Bottle

Another find I spotted at an antique shop while in Salamanca, N.Y.

Ginger beer used to be stored in stoneware. And just as with old bitters bottles, there’s quite a market for these ginger beer bottles.

Spiced And Stormy

I’ve been on a ginger beer kick of late.

From the traditional “Dark and Stormy” and the “Moscow Mule” to some crazy and truly inspired ideas (cilantro vodka!?), I’ve been throwing back quite a bit of the ginger brew these last few weeks.

For folks new to the beverage though, as with so many other things… I’ve found that small forays into new territory really help to get people interested and on board.

And so there’s the “Spiced and Stormy,” which is really just a small twist on the traditional “Captain & Ginger Ale.”

About This Cocktail
A variation on the traditional Dark and Stormy, made tall (an extra ounce) with Captain Morgan rum in place of dark rum.

Ingredients
3 ounces of Captain Morgan
6 ounces of ginger beer
Garnish with a lime wedge or twist

Preparation
Pack a Collins glass full with ice and pour in rum, then ginger beer and finish with the lime garnish.