The Finer Things In Life

[SoxFan1]

Actually, I have. I had commercial bottled Tikves rakija from Macedonia when I was visiting friends in Chicago back in July. I didn't think too much of it, but that's not too suprising since I had it straight rather than mixed into something. I'm not a fan of Peruvian or Chilean pisco brandy on its own, but it absolutely sings when put into the right cocktail. I assume it's the same story with rakija, yes?

 

OK, the big question. . . have you had Jeppson Malort and what did you think of that experience??

I've had commercial rakija and it is meant to be drank straight, either room temperature or warm. It's served in a specific shot glass and meant to be sipped, not taken as a shot. It's easy on the tongue but harsh down the throat, with a good burn to go with it. I've never had rakija as part of a cocktail in my life. It's almost sacrilegious. Same with the homemade stuff, which is much, MUCH stronger.

 

And no, I have not had Jeppson Malort, but I will definitely be having some when I get back to Chicago. After looking it up, I much look forward to it.

 

Oh and tonight, I had Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest. Very solid. And I also had a Leiney's Sunset Wheat aka Fruity Pebbles.

[Heads22]

Rock Bottom Brewery's Gila Pale Ale is one of my favorites.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I've had commercial rakija and it is meant to be drank straight, either room temperature or warm. It's served in a specific shot glass and meant to be sipped, not taken as a shot. It's easy on the tongue but harsh down the throat, with a good burn to go with it. I've never had rakija as part of a cocktail in my life. It's almost sacrilegious. Same with the homemade stuff, which is much, MUCH stronger.

 

And no, I have not had Jeppson Malort, but I will definitely be having some when I get back to Chicago. After looking it up, I much look forward to it.

 

Oh and tonight, I had Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest. Very solid. And I also had a Leiney's Sunset Wheat aka Fruity Pebbles.

 

I'm glad I did not commit sacrilege then. Harsh down the throat is an apt description, and we drank it at room temp. Obviously I need to give it another go, and perish the thought that I would mix it with anything — or that I would tell anyone if I did.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Rock Bottom Brewery's Gila Pale Ale is one of my favorites.

 

When they get it right, Rock Bottom's stuff is pretty tasty. On site at some individual Rock Bottom pubs though, I have been disappointed by the quality of teh beers they were putting out.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I'll have to post this in the drunk thread and in the Finer Things thread.

 

HAPPY REPEAL DAY!!

 

77 years ago today, Prohibition was repealed in the U.S. Have an adult beverage or two today in recognition of the occasion.

 

I suggest celebrating with a classic Prohibition cocktail. The Scofflaw, the Three Mile Limit, and the slightly stronger Twelve Mile Limit were all cocktails created during Prohibition that overtly thumbed their noses at the powers that be. The latter two drinks refer to offshore jurisdictional boundaries beyond which thirsty Americans at sea could enjoy a drink without retribution.

 

Twelve Mile Limit:

 

• 1 oz. white rum

• 0.5 oz. rye whiskey

• 0.5 oz. brandy

• 0.5 oz. grenadine

• 1 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice

 

Shake with ice, strain up, garnish with a lemon twist.

 

This one is pretty tasty — reminds me a good bit of the Ninth Ward cocktail I have gushed on about here before.

[knightni]

Or you could pick up a 98 year old woman and drink gin out of a bathtub with her.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Or you could pick up a 98 year old woman and drink gin out of a bathtub with her.

 

The day is young. . .

[FlaSoxxJim]

These are the cocktails I'm bringing to the tasting table for consideration in advance of my bartending debut next week. Not surprisingly, most of these are drinks I'm posted or mentioned here because I think they are good drinks. They are divided into champagne cocktails, egg white drinks, strained/up cocktails, and iced rum drinks. Three of the drinks are originals and a couple others have been fairly modified through trial and error from the original cocktail How does this look?

 

Champagne Cocktails:

• Bellini (Peach nectar, peach liqueur, grenadine, champagne)

• St. Germaine Cocktail (champagne, St. Germaine, soda)

 

Egg White Cocktails

• Pisco Sour (pisco brandy, lime juice, simple syrup, egg white, Angostura bitters)

• Hawaiian Cocktail (gin, pineapple juice, simple syrup, orange bitters, egg white)

 

Strained/Up Cocktails

• Martinez (gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, Angostura bitters)

• Ninth Ward Cocktail (bourbon, falernum, lime juice, St, Germaine)

• The Perfect Pear (pear vodka, Canton ginger liqueur, lime, raspberry syrup)

• Maple Leaf (Bourbon, maple syrup, lemon juice)

• Trinidandy Daiquiri (Zaya rum, lime juice, ginger syrup)

 

Rum Punches/Coolers

• Podgy and Jasper (light and dark rum, lime juice, sugar, bitters, nutmeg, honey)

• Great White (Demerara rum, vanilla syrup, coconut milk, nutmeg)

 

[knightni]

I don't know if I could drink an egg white.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I don't know if I could drink an egg white.

 

That's a big hurdle for most people to get over. You can put yourself at ease health-wise by using pasteurized eggs or pasteurized All Whites in the carton. Once you shake the egg white up in the drink you totally emulsify it so it just contributes texture and a nice frothy top to the drink. If you have ever had a meringue dessert before you have had whipped raw egg whites and you have lived to tell the tale.

[iamshack]

That's a big hurdle for most people to get over. You can put yourself at ease health-wise by using pasteurized eggs or pasteurized All Whites in the carton. Once you shake the egg white up in the drink you totally emulsify it so it just contributes texture and a nice frothy top to the drink. If you have ever had a meringue dessert before you have had whipped raw egg whites and you have lived to tell the tale.

I think I could drink anything you make...they all seem mouthwatering to me....a Maple Leaf or Great White sounds extremely tasty at the moment...

[knightni]

Great White sounds like a solid eggnog alternative.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Great White sounds like a solid eggnog alternative.

 

A rum-soaked Festivus for the Rest of Us!

[FlaSoxxJim]

I'm ground-truthing the recipes for a couple cocktails for tomorrow's audition, and everything tastes pretty good to me.

 

Honestly, the tasting dinner tomorrow won't be a big deal. The issue with me never having professionally tended bar is going to be figuring out how to keep up with the event menu drinks as well as the random call drinks, plus beer and wine when the line at the bar is three deep.

 

[knightni]

Sounds like you need a bar monkey for handing out beers.

 

[FlaSoxxJim]

Sounds like you need a bar monkey for handing out beers.

 

 

That is pretty cool.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Had a successful pre-party tasting of 12 different cocktails which the hostess and two friends, after much debate, winnowed down to six specialty cocktails to serve at Tuesdays birthday bash. I lost track of the decision-making process and will find out later today what drinks were actually selected. It will drop to a freezing 27ºF that night, so I'm throwing a bonus crock pot of hot buttered rum into the mix.

 

I think I mentioned it, but the hostess' house is an amazingly eclectic museum-like place with Delta dirty blues art (she used to co-own a Delta bar) juxtaposed to Central American sculptures, etc. There is barely an inch of space on any wall or floor to fit any more art. She has published eight books on Feng Shui and she certainly knows how to make space something really special and inviting. She also cooked an amazing dinner consisting of crawfish etouffee served over baked apple with young artichoke and Brussels sprouts. Wow!

 

There will apparently be 50+ people at the party, so it will far and away be the most people I've aver played bartender for.

[SnB]

What's the best Hot Toddy recipe?

 

go.

[G&T]

I don't know if I could drink an egg white.

 

I recently drank my first real egg nog with raw egg. No problem.

 

[Texsox]

I'm ground-truthing the recipes for a couple cocktails for tomorrow's audition, and everything tastes pretty good to me.

 

Honestly, the tasting dinner tomorrow won't be a big deal. The issue with me never having professionally tended bar is going to be figuring out how to keep up with the event menu drinks as well as the random call drinks, plus beer and wine when the line at the bar is three deep.

 

 

I could have been on a plane . . .

[G&T]

So I whirled up the Jaspers mix and made the punch. First tue Wray & Nephew is far sweeter smell g than I expected. Unless you really get your nose in there, the alcohol is fairly well hidden. That said, I'm not about to take this straight. I made the mix with a little less sugar but I thought it tasted really good so I didn't want to keep adding.

 

The drink is actually very good. Strong but with a great mix of sweet as well. A sipper, but I am surprised by it's flavor. Not an everyday drink, but I will make my way through the Jaspers faster than I would have expected.

[G&T]

We need a recap of the event Jim!

[FlaSoxxJim]

So I whirled up the Jaspers mix and made the punch. First tue Wray & Nephew is far sweeter smell g than I expected. Unless you really get your nose in there, the alcohol is fairly well hidden. That said, I'm not about to take this straight. I made the mix with a little less sugar but I thought it tasted really good so I didn't want to keep adding.

 

The drink is actually very good. Strong but with a great mix of sweet as well. A sipper, but I am surprised by it's flavor. Not an everyday drink, but I will make my way through the Jaspers faster than I would have expected.

 

Excellent! Sweet and fruity on the nose of the J Wray for sure. My prediction is you will begin to crave the stuff before too long.

 

I believe I have posted the Podgy and Jasper recipe here before but again, it is 1 oz. each of light rum, Coruba, and Jasper's mix, and 1/2 oz/ of honey (I also usually add 1/2 tsp. of allspice dram but it is excellent without it as well. Please try this one and let me know what you think.

[FlaSoxxJim]

We need a recap of the event Jim!

 

The big party is not until this Tuesday. The six drinks that were selected are the bellini, St. Germaine cocktail, Hawaii cocktail, perfect pear, Trinidandy, and Podgy and Jasper. I was a bit surprised at the final selections — the hostess and her accomplices all purported to not like very sweet drinks, but most of what they picked is on the sweet side of the sweet/savory spectrum. I was most disappointed that the pisco sour didn't make the cut.

 

At the same time, I think all the drinks I offered are quite good or I wouldn't have put them on the candidate hit list.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Got through the bartending gig last night, and it went superbly. I honestly have never made drinks for more than maybe 10 people at a time at casual parties, so I was nervous about keeping 50 or so people lubricated. Cheating and having beer, wine, champagne, and a crock of hot buttered rum (it dipped down to about 28 degrees) at self-serve stations helped a lot and I only had to deal with mixed drinks. The six cocktail special event menu went over well and I also managed to spin up four of the six cocktails that didn't make the cut. The bellini and my two original cocktails (Perfect Pear and Podgy and Jasper rum punch) were the most populat drinks, followed by the Trinidandy Zaya daiquiri and the St. Germaine champagne cocktail. A few adventurous types braved the egg white-containing Hawaii Cocktail, although at the end of the night many more people were happily sipping fresh eggnog with rum, brandy, cream and fresh whole eggs direct from the hostess' hen house. When I was busy I was thankful for the easy drink crowd that just wanted neat scotch or bourbon and soda or vodka tonics, etc.

 

For the most part I kept up with a steady stream of orders for 5 hours. Being a private party I didn't have to worry about ringing up customers, and I think that would actually be the biggest pain in the butt as a professional bartender. I got a lot of compliments on the cocktails. Most gratifying was having several guests, including bar and restaurant staffers, ask how long I'd been bartending.

 

About halfway through the night I was joined by a very charming woman who decided to jump in and barback for me. She was engrossed by every detail of the cocktail construction and by the end of the night she had graduated to shaking up and serving a couple of drinks on her own with just a bit of sideline coaching from me. After the party wound down a couple of her friends told me that she was normally pretty reserved and uptight (she works in finance) and they had never seen her cut loose like that before, so that was pretty cool. I also got a nice bottle of Pamperno Anniversario anejo rum from the hostess as a token of her appreciation, which is much appreciated.

 

All in all, a very fun experience.

Edited December 16, 2010 by FlaSoxxJim