Mirador

1-1½ oz Del Maguey Vida
Sub Del Maguey Crema if you like a sweeter drink
1-1½ oz Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur
3-5 oz Cristalino Cava (Spanish Sparkling Wine)

Stir spirits until well chilled strain into large chilled coupe
fill with Cava and garnish with 2 Luxardo Brandied Cherries.

This uses a couple newer products... the first one is: Del Maguey Vida de San Luis del Rio with smoky aromas of pear, blossoms, lychee, honey, vanilla and roasted agave that are sumptuous and clean. The flavors follow suit and grow to include ginger, mandarin, cinnamon, laurel and plantain buttressed by delicate smoke. The finish fades with citrus, minerals and sandalwood; this mezcal is nonpareil.

The option for sweeter is Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal, a splendiferous, magnificent, inexplicably beautiful elixir crafted in the mountains of Oaxaca. It is a mixture of unfermented, roasted agave syrup and Mezcal San Luis del Rio. The aromas confound with roasted agave, vanilla, sweet almond, apple, pineapple and pear delicately set against smoky scents of coffee, caramel, cocoa  and cedar achieving an immaculate balance that is provocative and lucullan. The palate articulates an intricate demonstration of these aromas in a harmony that is incomparable –you must taste it to believe it. The finish dawdles eliciting a visceral sense of earthy magic or romance in a sumptuous fade that ends clean.

The third ingredient is Solerno Blood Orange Liqueur; this has got to be the tastiest orange liqueur I have tried in a very long time. Solerno begins by distilling blood orange (Sanguinello); then they distill the zest of the blood orange to capture the aromatic oils. The final distillation is of Sicilian lemons which balance the flavors to enhance the depth and structure of this glorious liqueur. The astonishing nose is filled with exquisite citrus. The flavors are textured and layered iterations of gorgeous blood orange.

Then final clencher is Spanish Sparkling wine (Cava) i used Cristalino. It is an amazing value with exceptionally generous bubbles and wonderfully fresh fruit

A Yummy new Mezcal drink. . .

Burro del Fuego

1 1/2 oz Don Amado Reposado
3/4 oz Nardini Amaro
3/4 oz Triple Sec (i used Hiram Walker)
3/4 oz Lemon juice (fresh squeezed)
1 Small Jalapeno

Clean and chop Jalapeno toss it into your shaker muddle it with Mezcal, add other ingredients, shake until well chilled, double strain into chilled cocktail glass. Express lemon oils over drink and garnish with a lemon zest and then Enjoy!

I am a Winner!!!

So for the Manhattan Cocktail Classic Gaz Regan Sponsored a Cocktail Contest...

The contest was limited in that we were supposed to use Dubonet, Bernheim Wheat Whiskey, Rittenhouse Rye, Lunazul Tequila or Pama Liqueur as the base of the cocktail and it had to be simple.
Anyways i won the Bernheim division of the contest and now i am going to let you in on how. . .
Being the wise acre i am, i took 4 out of the 5 ingredients and mixed them together and surprisingly it tasted good (i would have used all 5 but i didn't have one of the ingredients...).

What i do when crafting a 'constrained' cocktail (one with specified ingredients) is mix them equal parts and experience on my palate what 'needs' to be adjusted (to sweet - less of that, to strong - less of that, to herbal/spicy/etc. - whichever . . . less of, or complete removal... and then i think in the opposite direction. . . need more of this, or more of that--etc.).

So here is the winning recipe....

Friskey Eve

20-25ml Bernheim Wheat Whiskey [3/4 oz]
20-25ml Rittenhouse Bonded Rye [3/4 oz]
20-25ml Dubonet Rouge [3/4 oz]
20-25ml Pama [3/4 oz]

Stir and Strain into a chilled Glass
Garnish with an orange twist

Here is the Mandala that Gaz Made me... AWESOME!!!

Old Man Drinks

Recently, I received a copy of  “Old Man Drinks”, by Robert Schnakenberg, for my perusal. I have been playfully stomping through it ever since. This book is a fantastic joy to read. It is filled with great cocktail history snippets, excellent drinks, wonderful photos, inimitable charm, timeless wit and occasional flurries of romantic musing or profound philosophical fun. Now before i go to far, this is a 'lifestyle' book. It is 'entertaining-- and meant to be that way. There are cocktails and everything else I mentioned, but they are merely 'parts' of a lovely montage. As soon as i have re-read it in a 'more orderly' fashion I am placing on the counter in my bathroom for every visitor to enjoy. This is a ineffably enchanting book, a fantastic gift, a nice placement on a coffee table (or bathroom reading), a smart book to place on your bar, but mostly it is just feisty good time with book covers. Find yourself a copy and enjoy it.
(I stole the picture from their website...to lazy to get my camera out...)