Monthly Archives: September 2009

MxMo XLII: Dizzy Dairy

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Posted by Carlos on September 27, 2009 – 2:08 pm
Filed under Cachaca, Mixology Monday
Tagged as , , , , ,

Mixology Monday – September 2009

So, Its been a little while since I updated the blog. Im getting the ball rolling again today by posting my entry for this months MxMo, Im hoping to get some more of the cocktails and shooters I have been making up on the site, as well as finishing some reviews.

This month MxMo is being hosted over at the E-Gullet forums, somewhere I have stopped by very briefly in the past, but never had a good look around, thanks for hosting! This months theme is “Dizzy Dairy” and below is the excerpt.

Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of opportunities for digging through vintage receipts for a taste of the past, and as always innovation is highly encouraged.

We hope that you’ll measure out your portions as best you’re able: better to indicate a tablespoon or ounce of egg white, for example, than to say “egg white.” In addition, be sure to share any tips and techniques that benefit your booze — “dry” shaking without ice for a good meringue, say, or stealing Society member Dale DeGroff’s whipped cream trick for Irish Coffee. Disasters as well as successes are heartily encouraged. Finally, prepare to respond to the anti-dairy lobby by giving us reasons why your libation is just this side of mother’s milk.

Dairy makes me think of creamy cocktails, and while this is not always what a dairy cocktail is im not a huge fan, fruity or straight up cocktails are the drinks I most enjoy. Of course like everything there are exceptions, for example there are some great cocktails that use egg for a frothing agent.

At first I was trying to think of a cocktail that included weird ingredients, but I settled for something a little simpler and just expanded on a a popular cocktail, the Batida.

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Canadian Rumba Batida

The Mash Bill:

1.5oz Cachaca
1oz Evaporated milk (Condensed makes it very, very sweet)
1/2oz Maple Syrup
1/2oz Pineapple Puree
1/2oz Passionfruit Pulp

The Work Order:

  1. Fill Blender with enough ice to fill your  glass
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Blend until smooth
  4. Pour into your choice of glassware
  5. Garnish with a Pineapple wedge
  6. Serve

My Thoughts:

Batidas are awesome during hot days, and while its not exactly hot here at the moment, I still enjoyed it. I made this twice, once with condensed milk, and once with evaporated because the condensed milk was super sweet (more so than usual). The fruit that added gives the drink a fresh, crisp flavour than mingles with the creaminess. Maple syrup was a last minute addition for a little flavour, and a little sweetness.

Unfortunately the blender that I used, didn’t work as well as it should of, so I ended up with slightly lumpy ice rather than a nice smooth consistency.

Review: Glayva Liqueur

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Posted by Carlos on September 10, 2009 – 3:54 pm
Filed under Liqueur, Liquor Review, Reviews

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Glayva Liqueur

Glayva is a scotch based liqueur, a range of the finest blended scotched to be exact, married with honey and herbs to give it a unique flavour. The bottle is pretty enough, small, patterned and it stands out on the shelf. The only thing that I think detracts from the bottle, the cap and its not so atheistically pleasing pattern/colours, it only irritates me up close though, it looks good on the bar.

The liqueur has quite a strong herbal nose to it, the dominating aromas I picked up were cinnamon and cloves, there are definitely more hidden with in the liquid, but I just cant put my finger on the names. One thing that is apparent is the presence of sugar, and lots of it, this liqueur smells super sweet, it has caramel and honey notes that linger around the glass. Neat the drink possesses a slight alcohol burn at the tip of your nose, however when iced (as the bottle suggests) any presence of alcohol is removed and an increase in both smokiness and the herbal notes is noticeable.

The consistency of Glayva is thick and syrupy, which gets even more viscous when chilled. The herbal aromas that were discovered while nosing the spirit are very similar to the flavours that are contained within the liqueur. As the spirit touches your tongue you are instantly confronted with herbal flavour, namely cloves, cinnamon and vanilla. The herbal properties of the drink dominate the presence of scotch, stopping the full flavour profile of the scotch from showing through, unfortunate but not crushing.

An interesting liqueur that blends complex herbal flavours very well.

Cocktails

Touch of Zam

1oz Glayva Scotch liqueur
1/2oz Benedictine herbal liqueur
1/2oz Sambuca
1 1/2oz orange juice
1/3oz Simple syrup
1 tsp Lemon juice

Highland Cream

1oz Scotch whisky
1/2oz White Creme de Cacao
1/4oz Peppermint Schnapps
1/4oz Galliano
1 tsp Glayva
1 oz Whipping Cream

Feeling Neglected..

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Posted by Carlos on September 8, 2009 – 9:40 pm
Filed under Uncategorized

I write this post to apologise for the lack of new cocktails and reviews in the last week, I finally got a new job, bartending which is fantastic and lets me experience a whole new side to cocktails and alcohol in general; and I get paid for it. The only downside to the job is working nights and weekends, the social times, the times where the cocktails that are posted on site are made and tasted.

While I settle into this new job, I might post a little less often, however you know you can still count on some fantastic cocktails and awesome reviews!
Until next time!

Carl

Gentle Bull Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on September 8, 2009 – 9:31 pm
Filed under Kahlua, Tequila
Tagged as ,

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Gentle Bull Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

2oz Tequila
1oz Coffee Liqueur
1.5oz Half and Half (or Just Milk)

The Work Order:

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

My Thoughts:

I used a bottle of Maestro Dobel for this cocktail (Which will be reviewed soon!) and on its own the tequila doesn’t stand out (its aromas and flavours are subtle, and unlike most tequila) I believe that this is why the tequila flavour is almost non existent in this cocktail. Its a nice cocktail, the creamy coffee flavours that are diluted by the addition of the tequila make for an easy to drink beverage.

Review: Xante Liqueur

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Posted by Carlos on September 4, 2009 – 11:34 am
Filed under Liquor Review, Reviews, Xante
Tagged as , ,

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Xante Liqueur

The presentation of Xante is fantastic; a slender, rounded bottle with golden writing which stands out, but somehow matches the liquid inside, all topped with a cork. To be honest, I feel posh pouring out of this bottle.

Cracking the bottle instantaneously emits a strong pear aroma into the surrounding environment. It remarkable how much this smells like fresh pears, the sweet aroma is met by the spicy cinnamon and apple aromas from the Cognac. There are sweetened notes of honey and caramel which compliment the enticing fruitiness of the drink. Even neat there is no alcohol aroma or burn, and while this is a liqueur, it still weighs in at 38%abv/72proof.

This liqueur is one that you can drink anyway that you would like, and it still tastes great, warmed, chilled, or even hot, room temperature is good, you get a little spiciness at the back of your throat while swallowing, and there is a small amount of burn, in my opinion you experience the most flavours serving it this way (or slightly warmed)  as the base spirit is a Cognac. Over Ice, Xante gives you the fruitiness, the spiciness but it omits the burn from the experience, when chilled it is quite refreshing.

The first thing that you notice when sipping Xante is the powerful fruitiness, the pear flavour is sweet and syrupy when it first touches your tongue, but reduces in intensity quickly. After the initial flavour hit, the smooth, creamy cognac is able to be tasted, it coats your mouth with a layer of thick spicy liquid, hints of vanilla, cinnamon and light oak from the aging process.

The finish of the liqueur is smooth and long, the sweet, fresh flavour of pears reappears and lingers around your gums and cheeks, its amazing how much it resembles the after taste of eating a ripe pear, it has that same sweet, yet slightly smoky flavour. If sipped neat, there is a spicy burn that tickles your tongue and throat for a few seconds.

Xante is a fantastic product, it is very mixable, and works well with fresh fruit juices.

Lemon Meringue Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on September 3, 2009 – 12:04 pm
Filed under Vodka
Tagged as , ,

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Lemon Meringue Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

1oz Vodka
1oz Simple Syrup
1oz Lemon Juice
1oz Half&Half (Milk and Cream Mix)

The Work Order:

  1. Fill Shaker with ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain
  5. Garnish with lemon
  6. Serve

My Thoughts:

An interesting cocktail, as you take the first sip, you notice the fresh lemon juice which produces a sweet and sour flavour, this fades as you swallow and is replaced my the creamy texture of milk/cream. Thumbs up for this one.

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