Photos From My Christmas Day (2015)

Christmas.

I was up early, then immediately napped and awoke around noon just in time for brunch:

 

Champagne Coupe:

 

And more Milk Punch:

 

  

Tom & Jerry:

 

You’ve Got Airmail

Here’s some history: The song “Please Mr. Postman” was released on August 21 in 1961.

The song was released by The Marvelettes and it was the first Motown song to reach the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.

  
Rather than search the Internet for a “Postman” cocktail, I figured this would be the perfect opportunity to celebrate the classic “Airmail” drink!

About This Drink:

The Airmail is a rum and champagne drink made with honey — or made with a honey syrup.

The recipe below is David Wondrich’s recommendation, which can be found online at Esquire.com:

Ingredients:
•2 ounces rum (golden or aged)
•1/2 ounce lime juice
•1 teaspoon honey
•5 ounces Brut champagne

Preparation:

Shake all ingredients (except the champagne) over ice and strain into a chilled champagne flut. Finish by topping the drink with champagne.

In his Esquire article, Wondrich points out that the drink is sort of like “a cross between the French 75 and the Honey Bee.” And additionally, he can’t explain its origin, but it does appear for the first time in Esquire’s 1949 Handbook for Hosts.

Further Reading:

—Check Imbibe Magazine here.
—This recipe includes Angostura Bitters.
—And the Cold-Glass blog has a really lengthy article worth reading.

Customer Appreciation Post — Irish Handcuffs

I appreciate it when people appreciate the drinks I make for them, especially when they post about ’em on social media:

  
Both of those drinks are the same thing — a variation on the French 75 with Absolut Peach in place of gin, as well as a little peach liqueur to balance the brut champagne.

Later I made a “grilled” peach version of this drink with a smoked sugar simple syrup and a Laphroiag rinse.

Remembering Hemingway

Yesterday was Hemingway’s birthday, and we celebrated it appropriately at the bar where I work:

  

Chicago Cocktail

The Chicago Cocktail is only three (or four) ingredients, depending on how you make it.

Chicago was incorporated as a town on Aug. 12, 1833. It was incorporated as a city on March 4, 1837.

The recipe online at the Internet Cocktail Database calls for only three ingredients: Brandy, Bitters & Orange Curaçao.

(Photo from Imbibe.com)

Here’s a basic recipe for the Chicago Cocktail:

Ingredients
•2 oz brandy
•1/4 oz triple sec
•1 dash biters
•Top with champagne (optional)

Preparation
Stir in a mixing glass with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon peel or slice.

From Wikipedia:

Some versions call for sugaring the rim of the glass. It can be served on the rocks in a double old-fashioned glass or, especially in the champagne variation, straight up in a champagne coupe or flute or a cocktail glass.

Imbibe Magazine’s recipe calls for Cointreau and sparkling wine.

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.

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.”

Death In The Afternoon

Ernest Hemingway’s “Death in the Afternoon” is just two simple ingredients:

ABSINTHE and CHAMPAGNE!

About This Cocktail
Absinthe and champagne! It’s surprisingly delicious, though not if you don’t like anise.

Ingredients
1.5 ounces of absinthe
4 ounces champagne

Preparation
Here’s the method of making and imbibing as per Papa Hemingway himself: “Pour one jigger absinthe into a Champagne glass. Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness. Drink three to five of these slowly.”

Halloween is fast approaching, so before the holiday arrives, take the time to read Alan Moss’s piece on this cocktail over at The Real Absinthe Blog.

For my money though, read David Wondrich’s piece on the cocktail over at Esquire.com. The man’s always got such great stories to go along with his cocktail recipes.