Fernet-Branca Bar Mats

These came in while I was away on vacation:

 

It’s Jack Daniel’s Birthday

Today is the birthday of Jasper Newton “Jack” Daniel, the founder of the Jack Daniel’s Tennessee whiskey distillery.

That pic is available for purchase as a sign.

Jack Daniel’s was born Sept. 5, 1850 and died Oct. 10, 1911 at the age of 61.

His birthday is actually the matter of some dispute, as there aren’t any records proving the Sept. 5 date. The Jack Daniel’s website has a video with more information about the man.

From Wikipedia:

He was born in January 1849, in or around Lynchburg, Tennessee. A town fire had destroyed the courthouse records, and conflicting dates on his and his mother’s headstones have left his date of birth in question. His mother died shortly after his birth, most likely due to complications from the childbirth.

From the Jack Daniel’s website:

No one knows exactly when Jack Daniel was born because there are no birth records, but it’s customary to celebrate Mr. Jack’s birthday in September.

I bought this book at the start of summer and it’s really become quite handy as I’ve been tasting American-made whiskeys, bourbons and ryes:

Here’s what author Clay Risen has written about Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7 Tennessee Whiskey:
•NOSE: Floral with orange peel and salted peanuts.
•PALATE: Spice and some chocolate; quick finish.
•COLOR: Tawny/auburn
•BODY: Light
•AGE: No age statement
•PROOF: 80
•GENERAL: Jack Daniels is ice-rink smooth and consistently hits its classic Tennessee mark. Muted spice and chocolate notes combine with serious sweetness to make this one of the most popular whiskeys in the world.

Do you like the way this Jack Daniel’s info is broken down?mi highly recommend buying the book. There’s a lot of history and information about the way whiskey, bourbon and rye have been made in America — and a good two-thirds of it is just tasting notes and info about specific brands.

Dry Wild Lime Soda

I’m slowly trying out every flavor of Dry Soda.

They just keep tasting better and better. This is easily the best one I’ve had yet:

These sodas are great in their own and are even better when mixed with a spirit, nothing too complicated or fancy.

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.

Farmers Market Black Raspberry Bourbon Smash

Pictured below is a Black Raspberry Bourbon Smash I made the other night with black raspberries I bought at the Downtown Jamestown Farmers Market:

About This Cocktail
This “Black Raspberry Bourbon Smash” is a variation on the basic whiskey smash. Want to know more? Read this piece about the history of the Smash which Imbibe Magazine published last year.

Ingredients
•2 oz Knob Creek
•1/2 oz lemon juice
•1/2 oz simple syrup
•6 black raspberries
•6 mint leaves

Preparation
Place mint leaves and black raspberries in a pint glass with the simple syrup and lemon juice. Muddle. Add ice and bourbon then shake and double strain into a chilled martini glass.

This Thursday will be a big day for the Downtown Jamestown Farmers Market.

The Farmers Market has been held each Thursday this summer on Cherry Street between West 2nd & West 3rd streets. This Thursday, though, will be something special, as this week is the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. If I have time to maneuver through the masses, I’ll swing by for some more fruit for cocktails.

Bored with whiskey and bourbon? Looking for something a little more “out there” to mix up? Well, click this link. The Cocktail Virgin Slut has a recipe for a Cocoa Puff Smash with Green Chartreuse!

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.

Bastille Day

Short post today.

Happy Bastille Day.

Today we had a cocktail tasting at the bar where I work. Tomorrow we start a new cocktail menu.

Of the drinks I sipped:
•French 75
•Chambord & Champagne
•St. Germaine & Champagne

Sooo, yeah… I think I celebrated Bastille Day appropriately.
Added today (and a few other days) to the Calendar Page!

How I Spent My Fourth Of July

Fourth of July. Spent with Evan Williams.

Bacardi Wolfberry Mojito

Mojitos are great in the summer, but people love variation.

Watermelon mojitos are one thing, but if I’m looking for a sweet cocktail to sip, I do love a blueberry lemonade or a Wolfberry mojito:

About This Cocktail
A traditional mojito made with Bacardi Wolfberry in addition to mint, lime and simple syrup.

Ingredients
2 ounces Bacardi Wolfberry
4 to 6 mint leave
4 to 6 watermelon pieces
1 lime wedge
Splash simple syrup
Top with soda water

Preparation
Muddle the mint, lime and simple syrup in a pint glass. Pack the pint glass full with ice and then add the Wolfberry rum. Roll the drink into a mixing tin and back before finishing it with soda water and/or lemon-lime soda to taste.