Review: Double Cross Vodka

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Posted by Carlos on October 22, 2009 – 11:53 pm
Filed under Liquor Review, Reviews, Vodka
Tagged as , ,

doublecrossvodka

Double Cross Vodka Review

It has been a little while since my last review, which is really disappointing on a personal level; I have not been able to give as much attention to this site as I would like lately due to some challenges that life has thrown my way. I have a few bottles of high quality spirit that have been sitting in the queue waiting patiently for their turn in the spotlight.

This beautiful bottle of vodka is certainly one giant piece of eye candy, it is drastically different in appearance to all of the other bottles on my shelves. There are very few companies that encase there spirit in such finesse, the sharp, crisp edges of the long rectangular bottle is capped with a large (and I mean large) metal lid. There is a small metal cross on the front of the bottle that matches the cap. One of the other eye catching aspects of the vodka is the white scripture on the rear of the bottle, which happens to be some ‘old-world’ Slovakian poetry.

On the nose Double Cross Vodka is very smooth and creamy. There isn’t any burn, in fact there is little of anything, a slight fruitiness with a hint of citrus is all that greets the nose. Your thinking this is a bad thing? Nope, it is exactly what you want from a neutral spirit, and something that you should expect from any vodka that is ‘classed’ as “luxury”

After a quick roll around on the tongue, one thing sprang to mind “Milky Bar”, yep this vodka exhibits the flavour and mouth feel that you encounter after you have chewed on some white chocolate goodness. The sweet caramel and toffee flavours paired with the creamy yet slightly oily after taste. There is very little alcohol presence in the spirit, it is hidden very well (even at room temperature), but I suppose that is what happens when you filter the spirit seven times to rid it of impurities. There is a very small, short lived burn at the very end of the drink.

When Double Cross is served over ice the vodka becomes noticeably thicker in consistency and more oily, however the vodka is still very light and extremely easy to drink. The chill that the Ice brings releases some subtle citrus notes.

I was impressed by this vodka, it pleased both my eye and my palette. Would I use double cross everyday? If I could afford to! this luxury vodka retails for around $49USD (which is a fantastic price at the moment in Australia due to the exchange rate! however unfortunately it is not yet available worldwide). This is a vodka that I use for cocktails where vodka is the cocktail, the Vesper, Vodka Martini, any drink that needs a vodka that is smooth and tasty.

Cocktails

Double Crosser

2oz Vodka
1oz Grape Juice
1/2oz Grapefruit juice
1/2oz Peach Schnapps
Lime Wedge

Warsaw Cocktail

1 1/2oz Vodka
1/2oz Blackberry Brandy
1/2oz Dry Vermouth
1tsp Lemon Juice

Thriller Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 18, 2009 – 2:06 pm
Filed under Scotch Whisky
Tagged as ,

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Thriller Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

1 1/2oz Scotch
1oz Green Ginger Wine
1oz Orange Juice

The Work Order:

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

My Thoughts:

The scotch and ginger wine pair well together, the orange juice smooths out some of the alcohol bite of the scotch leaving the smoky flavours and spiciness to play in your mouth. There is a spicy ginger kick in the tail end of the drink.

Naked Pretzel

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Posted by Carlos on October 16, 2009 – 5:29 pm
Filed under Creme de Cassis, Midori, Vodka
Tagged as , ,

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Naked Pretzel

The Mash Bill:

3/4oz Vodka
1oz Melon Liqueur
1/2oz Creme de Cassis
2oz Pineapple Juice

The Work Order:

  1. Fill lowball glass with ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Stir
  4. Serve

My Thoughts:

The colour of the drink is not aesthetically pleasing by any means, it looks like dirty brown water with hints of green that float through it. Taste wise it is average, its fruity, but not fresh fruit, preserved fruit flavour.

The Double Crosser Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 14, 2009 – 8:08 pm
Filed under Peach Schnapps, Vodka
Tagged as

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Double Crosser

The Mash Bill:

2oz Vodka
1oz Grape Juice
1/2oz Grapefruit juice
1/2oz Peach Schnapps
Lime Wedge

The Work Order:

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

My Thoughts:

A struggle between the sweet and sour aspects of the cocktail, battling it out on your palette.

The sweet schnapps and Grape juice lines your mouth before the sour grapefruit juice glides in and tries to steal the show. Over all a decent cocktail.

Unlikely Marriage Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 11, 2009 – 1:25 pm
Filed under Triple Sec, Whisky/Whiskey

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Unlikely Marriage

The Mash Bill

1.5oz Whisky
1/2oz Triple Sec or Orange Curacao
1/2oz lemon Juice
Guava Juice to fill

The Work Order:

  1. Fill highball glass with Ice
  2. Pour Whisky, Orange Liqueur and Lemon Juice
  3. Top with Guava Juice
  4. Serve

My Thoughts:

Not a bad cocktail, not one that I expected to taste remotely good, you have 3 main parts to the drink, the sweet guava, the sour lemon and deep  whisky flavour. all that was stated in the recipe was “whisky”, so I decided to use bourbon (even though whisky is usually considered to be scotch) I used Cointreau for the Orange Liqueur.

Jagerette Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 5, 2009 – 12:25 am
Filed under Jagermeister, Peach Schnapps

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Jagerette Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

1oz Jagermeister
1oz Peach Schnapps
Cranberry Juice

The Work Order:

  1. Fill tulip glass with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Stir
  4. Serve

My Thoughts:

The drink itself smells of Jagermeister, that herbal aroma mixed with fruit. The taste is strange, you have the sweet yet bitter taste of the cranberry juice, the sweetness of the schnapps and the slightly bitter herbal flavour of the Jagermeister.

I wouldnt say that this is a light or refreshing cocktail, it has some quite heavy flavours (thanks to the Jagermeister) however it does bring some strange and mystifying flavours to your palette.

Ferrari Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 4, 2009 – 2:28 pm
Filed under Amaretto, Angostura, Vermouth
Tagged as , ,

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Ferrari Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

2oz Dry Vermouth
2oz Amaretto
Dash Orange Bitters
Lemon Twist

The Work Order:

  1. Fill Shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain
  5. Garnish with Lemon Twist
  6. Serve

My Thoughts:

This is not a cocktail for the sweet tooth, while it does have a slight sweetness thanks to the Amaretto, the Vermouth’s flavour dominates the drink, leaving you with a dry slightly herbal after taste.


Kiss and Tell Cocktail

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Posted by Carlos on October 3, 2009 – 2:27 pm
Filed under Blue Curacao, Gallinao L'Authenico, Vermouth, Vodka
Tagged as , ,

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Kiss and Tell Cocktail

The Mash Bill:

1oz Vodka
1/2oz Galliano
1/4oz Dry Vermouth
1 tsp Blue Curacao
2oz Orange Juice
1oz Passion Fruit Juice

The Work Order:

  1. Fill shaker with Ice
  2. Pour all ingredients
  3. Shake
  4. Strain into a Lowball Glass filled with Ice
  5. Garnish with an Orange Wheel
  6. Serve

My Thoughts:

A fruity cocktail with herbal Galliano notes.

Review: Martin Millers Gin

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Posted by Carlos on October 3, 2009 – 2:13 pm
Filed under Gin, Liquor Review, Reviews
Tagged as , ,

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Martin Millers Gin

A small batch distilled London Dry Gin, one whose distillation process is quite a journey literally. Once the distilling in London has been completed, it is shipped over to Iceland to be blended with ‘The purest water on earth’ to give the gin a clean, fresh, crisp taste.

The bottle is a rather eye catching, It stands tall with bevelled corners, its silver and blue colour scheme compliments the clear liquid that it encapsulates. The aspect of the bottle that I like the most is the ‘map’ that is printed on the back of the bottle (so you can see it from the front) that shows you the ‘path the gin travels’ from London to Iceland.

Martin Millers comes in two varieties, the standard 80proof and a ‘Westbourne Strength’ at 90.4proof, I am reviewing the 80proof.

On the nose the gin is soft, dominated by orange/mandarin zest the fragrance that is released from the glass does not contain a large amount of juniper nor many strong herbs, lighter more refreshing herbs are present, corriander, thyme and lemon grass. This gin reminds me of fresh green grass. Impressive.

This gin is by far, the smoothest, most enjoyable gin that I have indulged in. The softness that was found in it fragrance carries over to its taste and mouth feel. On first contact, there is no burn, there are no harsh flavours or imbalances, its simply smooth, it rolls across your tongue leaving nothing but an ever so slight spiciness. How many times have you had a gin, that had these properties, while neat? I am stunned, I haven’t even gotten around to putting it over ice yet.

Picking flavours out of a smooth, soft spirit can sometimes be a challenge, and this is no exception, there are soft floral properties, bursts of lemon and orange, and hints of juniper, coriander and anise. Once over ice, the spirit becomes very light, almost like cold water, except with a herbal back end to it, the citrus notes fade and ‘rootier’ flavour dominates the drink.

This is one gin that I will be saving for use in special cocktails, its soft touch will make for amazing Martinis (which I have been acquiring a taste for since I made one for the first time when I started this site)

Martin Millers Gin sells for around $65AUD and is well worth a look if you can find it.

Cocktails

Mississippi Mule

2oz Gin
1/2oz Creme de Cassis
1/2oz Lemon Juice

Genoa

2oz Gin
1 1/2oz Grappa
1/2oz White Sambuca
2tsp Dry Vermouth
Olive garnish

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.

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