Monthly Archives: July 2009

57 Chevy Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on July 30, 2009 – 8:48 pm
Filed under Grand Marnier, Vodka
Tagged as , ,

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57 Chevy

The Mash Bill:

1/2oz Vodka
1 1/2oz Southern Comfort
1/2oz Grand Marnier
2.5oz Pineapple Juice

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into Cocktail Glass
  5. Serve

My Thoughts:

Not so sure on whether I like this one or not, you get a sweet pineapple flavour from the juice, there is a very slight alcohol taste to the drink, whether this is from the vodka or Southern Comfort I’m not sure. The southern Comfort does distinguish itself from the other flavours in this drink.

Chartreuse Blanc Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on July 28, 2009 – 4:41 pm
Filed under Bitters, Chartreuse, Vermouth
Tagged as , ,

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Chartreuse Blanc

The Mash Bill:

1/2oz green Chartreuse
1 1/2oz bianco vermouth
1 dash orange bitters

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into Cocktail Glass
  5. Serve

My Thoughts:

A simple cocktail, yet it looks very elegant.

The drink gives off a wonderful aroma that is both sweet and what I will describe as ‘vinegary’ (from the Vermouth, there is a small herbal smell that floats around the glass.

With the first sip, you receive a sweet, but bitter taste; highly complex, with many of the different flavours of the Chartreuse coming through. Some of the other cocktails I’ve made with Chartreuse have had a strong anise flavour, like you would find in an Absinthe, however in this cocktail it’s not really noticeable, it presents more of the other herbal flavours

Greensleeves Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on July 27, 2009 – 8:40 pm
Filed under Uncategorized

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Greensleeves

The Mash Bill:

1 1/2oz Gin
3/4oz Green Chartreuse
1/4oz Sweet Vermouth
1/2oz Orgeat Syrup
1 dash Angostura bitters

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into Cocktail Glass
  5. Serve

My Thoughts:

This cocktail is the first cocktail that I have made with Chartreuse, and the cocktail gives off some strong aromas; from both the Chartreuse and the Gin. Nice colour for a cocktail, a pink/orange.

The drink has a strong herbal flavour, however it is sweet, there are flavours of almonds from the Orgeat and a sharp (not in a bad way) herbal flavouring liek you would find in Galliano. The texture of the drink is nice, smooth and thick.

The aftertaste is slightly bitter, but does not have any alcohol burn, which i was waiting for after having a sip of the Chartreuse neat.

Don Julio Reposado Tequila Review

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Posted by Carlos on July 27, 2009 – 12:58 am
Filed under Liquor Review, Reviews, Tequila
Tagged as , ,

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Don Julio Reposado Tequila Review

When I unscrewed the cap of the Don Julio for the first time, it was simply amazing; the aroma that surrounded me was so light, and so sweet. It was 11am when I opened the bottle, so I thought I should wait until a little later to have a taste.

Now I sit, looking at the very rustic bottle, a bottle that doesn’t have a uniform shape, each side is slightly more round, or longer in shape that the other, a bottle whose brown colour compliments the round wooden cap. This is a
really cool bottle design, which gives the product an old school look.

Don Julio is rested for 8 months, in oak barrels, which gives this tequila its light golden colour, there is quite a difference in colour when comparing Don Julio to Herradura, the Herradura is in my opinion 2 or 3 shades darker.

There is a 3 month difference in aging; would this make such a big difference? I’m not sure, different barrel types may also contribute to the colour.

A little more info on that amazing aroma, It has a very soft approach on your nose, and nasal passage, there are hints of sweet agave, vanilla, lemon/citrus, also reading the box, it suggests that there may be hints of pear and apple; If you search for it, there is faint pear aroma, but I can say that apple came into play. There is no alcohol smell, which is fantastic, and lets the sweeter, more delicate aromas rise, and surround you.

When the golden fluid hits your tongue, it’s sweet, with hints of vanilla, and a slight citrus tone. There is a certain oakiness to the tequila, without the earth/soil taste and smell that you find in some tequila. There is some presence of charred/toasted wood. Your tongue does get tingled, and there is a very slight burn for a few seconds, but it’s very tame. As time passed, I found that a Coffee (Like a faint Galliano Ristretto) or Mocha (There is a certain chocolate flavour to it) aftertaste hung around on the perimeter of my tongue.

Don Julio Reposado, has a very smooth finish with no (that’s right) burn when you swallow, in fact it has very little burn at all, and nothing that reaches your nasal passage. All in all, this is one hell of a tequila, it has a fantastic fragrance, magnificent flavours and most important of all, it easy to drink.

Don Julio Reposado can be found for ~$95 for a 750ml bottle, If you like tequila, or are wanting to try something other than your Jose Cuevo Especial, I suggest that you pick up a bottle of Don Julio, you will not be disappointed.

Hopefully, in the future, I’m lucky enough to taste the other Don Julio Anejo and Blanco tequilas.

Cocktails

I made a rather nice Margarita with this reposado, Cointreau and Fresh Lime Juice

Margarita

1.5oz Tequila
1oz Triple Sec
1oz Lime Juice (freshly squeezed or bottled)
Ice
Lime for garnishing

Vertical Vodka Review

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Posted by Carlos on July 24, 2009 – 2:37 pm
Filed under Liquor Review, Reviews, Vodka
Tagged as , , , , ,

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Vertical Vodka Review

This is the first vodka that I have reviewed on In Search of a Cocktail, and while its not something that I really drink by itself (Its usually mixed), it certainly is a new experience trying to pick out flavours and characteristics in a neutral grain-based spirit.

I only recently started drinking vodka again, after some physiological barriers I must of put up after a bad night on some *gasp* Smirnoff Red! and I’m glad that I did, I have had some fantastic cocktails that are either vodka based, or have vodka in.

Vertical Vodka wasn’t a brand that I neither knew about, nor was planning on reviewing until a few weeks ago when the distributor informed me of it. This Vodka is distilled in the Chartreuse Mountains of France, by the Chartreuse Monks.

The bottle is rather dull, and not very exciting, which is something that I’m surprised about, why? Because Vertical Vodka is distilled by the same monks that make Chartreuse (Keep an eye out for the reviews soon!) and the shape of the Chartreuse bottle is different, and rather nice to look at. This bottle is just a tall, thin, round bottle. Another thing that struck me as odd was the fact that it did not have a cork cap, like many of the other top-shelf vodkas; After a little bit of a look around on the Vertical website I discovered this “No cork closure so that the cork might not alter the purity of the vodka.”

The aroma that surrounds this is something that I have never picked up on until tonight, apart from the ethanol/alcohol smell you get from any vodka, I was greeted with caramel, toffee, and citrus peel.

On the tongue, Vertical Vodka is smooth, and does not even tingle, on first thought I was thinking that Vertical was no different to Absolut, same burn, same taste, however its not, its not even close.

Vertical brings a much softer mouth feel and a very creamy, chocolate/toffee flavour, Im thinking about how I can expand on the flavours that are presented, a smooth buttermilk chocolate icing would nail it in my opinion.

There is a bit of a sting at the rear of your mouth when you swallow, not a really harsh and nasty burn, but there is a about a 5 second stretch where you can feel the vodka warming your chest as it descends to your stomach. When Sipping the vodka, it tends to hang around towards the back on the roof of your mouth, and the tip of your tongue, where it leaves you with the sweeter notes that are present in the drink.

The mouth feel of the vodka is a slightly viscus fluid, not as viscus as Absolut when pouring, which may or may not be good, I haven’t made up my mind, but it did have a nice texture in my mouth, and went down without too much effort.

A bottle of Vertical Vodka will cost you around $50AUD

Purple Peach Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on July 23, 2009 – 2:38 pm
Filed under Blue Curacao, Grenadine, Vodka
Tagged as , ,

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Purple Peach

The Mash Bill:

2 oz Vodka
1 oz Blue Curacao
1 oz Sweet And Sour Mix
Dash Grenadine
6 oz Sprite

The Work Order:

1. Fill Highball Glass with Ice
2. Pour Vodka, Blue Curacao, Sweet And Sour Mix and Grenadine
3. Stir
4. Fill with Sprite
5. Serve

My Thoughts:

A strange flavour, it tastes similar to grape soda, There isnt much of a peach flavour bur the drink is slightly acidic in its attack on your throat.

This is probably one I wont make again

National Daiquiri Day

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Posted by Carlos on July 19, 2009 – 3:32 pm
Filed under Rum
Tagged as , , ,

Today is National Daiquiri Day in the US, while Im not in the states, I still took the chance to celebrate the occasion!

On the 19th of the July each year, people celebrate the history of this classic drink, whose history has many stories, many people associate the creation of the cocktail with Ernest Hemingway, However others believe that it was in fact invented in 1898 in the small iron mining town of Daiquiri near Santiago, Cuba by an engineer named Jennings Stockton Cox.

From what I have read, its seems that Cox was the original maker of the Daiquiri, and Hemingway made it popular in later years at his favourite cocktail bar ‘El Floridita’ during prohibition.

So what was the original recipe?

Bacardi Hand-Shaken Daiquiri

1Part Bacardi Superior
1Part Fresh Lime Juice
1/2tsp Sugar

Hemingway Daiquiri

1 1/2oz Light Rum
1/4oz Maraschino Liqueur
3/4oz Lime Juice
1/4oz Grapefruit Juice

Not so traditional Daiquiri’s

Apple Daiquiri

1 1/2oz Rum
1/2oz Apple Juice
1/2oz Lime Juice
1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar

French Daiquiri

2oz White Rum
2 Dashes Creme de Cassis
1/2 tsp Superfine Sugar
1/2oz Lime Juice

Galliano Daiquiri

1oz Gold Rum
3/4oz Galliano Herbal Liqueur
Juice of 1/2 Limes
1/2oz Sugar Syrup

So what are you waiting for? Go make yourself a drink and celebrate a fantastic cocktail!

Brass Fiddle

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Posted by Carlos on July 19, 2009 – 2:49 pm
Filed under Bourbon, Grenadine, Peach Schnapps, Whisky/Bourbon/Scotch, Whisky/Whiskey
Tagged as , ,

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Brass Fiddle

The Mash Bill:

2oz Peach Schnapps
3/4oz Whisky
2oz Pineapple Juice
1oz Orange Juice
1oz Grenadine
Ice

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour All Ingredients into the tin
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into Hurricane Glass filled with ice
  5. Serve

My Thoughts:

A very red drink, there is alot of Grenadine in this cocktail, which also makes it kind of syrupy.

I didnt have orangejuice, so I squeezed some mandarines, this gives the drink a really nice flavour, I also garnished the drink with a few mandarin pieces.

The drink itself is very sweet and syrupy. The main things you can taste are the Peach, Pineapple and a little orange/mandarin, there is no trace of the whiskey at all.

Overall, the drink is a bit to sickenly sweet for my taste, I would put this down to the 1oz of grenadine, if you cut this back to 1/2 or 1/4oz and increased the orange juice, I would think that this drink would be much better.

Independance Shooter

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Posted by Carlos on July 16, 2009 – 2:18 pm
Filed under Blue Curacao, Grenadine, Peach Schnapps
Tagged as , ,

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Independance Shooter

The Mash Bill:

2/3oz Grenadine
2/3oz Peach Schnapps
2/3oz Blue Curacao

The Work Order:

  1. Pour Grenadine into shot glass
  2. Layer Peach Schnapps
  3. Layer Blue Curacao

My Thoughts:

4th of July was a few days ago, and Im only just getting a chance to post this shooter, and while Im not American, my girlfriend’s family is, so I thought I would make some
‘patriotic’ cocktails for the lead up to the 4th.

This was supposed to be ‘red, white and blue’ (in that order) but it turned out ‘red, blue and white’ even though the blue curacao was higher in alcohol content than the peach schnapps. I also made a mess of the layering, thin 2oz shot glasses are not the best glasses to use, try a shorter, wider shot glass.

The shooter was thick, and syrupy, and did not really have any kind of alcohol flavour. You could taste the Peach Schnapps and the Grenadine, but not the blue curacao.

Galliano Ristretto Review

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Posted by Carlos on July 14, 2009 – 6:06 pm
Filed under Galliano Ristretto, Liquor Review, Reviews
Tagged as , ,

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Galliano Ristretto Review

History:

Galliano Ristretto is a espresso flavoured liqueur made with Arabica and Robusta coffee beans to capture the intense flavours of Italian coffee.

Ristretto was first marketed at the beginning of 2009.

Review:

Ristretto is a very dark brown, so dark infact, that you cant see through it. The colour is comparable to Kahlua.

Through out this review, I will compare Galliano Ristretto to Kahlua, as its the only other coffee liqueur that I have in my bar.

While the Kahlua smells of coffee, Ristretto smells of espresso coffe, ‘but they are both coffee’ you say, there is a definate diffence in aroma, Kahlua smells like sweet sugary coffee, Ristretto smells of bitter espresso and alcohol, is this a bad thing? Not in my opinion! Ristretto has a slight dark chocolate quality to it.

Ristretto is less syrupy and marginally less sweet than the Kahula, there is a strong bitter espresso taste, with a sweet hint to it, it tastes like you are sipping a cold espresso with a couple of tea spoons of sugar.

Ristretto, being at 42.3%abv or 84.6proof does have an alcohol sting to it, that isnt masked that much.

Just like the Galliano L’Autentico, by itself, Galliano Ristretto has a little bit extra alcohol sting when consumed neat, however when mixed into a cocktail, such as ‘The Bajork’ or the ‘Choc-Coffee Martini” it is pretty awesome, and brings rich flavour to the drink.

A 500ml bottle of Galliano Ristretto can be found for ~$38

Cocktails:

The Bjork

1/3oz Galliano Ristretto
2/3oz Bourbon
2/3oz Kaluha
1oz Espresso
1/3oz Drambuie
1oz Cream

Choc-Coffee Martini Cocktail

1-1/2oz Galliano Ristretto
1oz Espresso Coffee
1tsp Sugar
Cream (To top)
Choc sprinkles (To Garnish)

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