IMBIBE

Recipe: Liberté Cocktail

Although Hennessy Cognac is best known for being commissioned by Napoleon himself, the great Emperor shouldn’t get all the credit for Revolutionary-era drinking. Bastille Day approaches rapidly and, although most Americans couldn’t care less, I am a bit of a closeted Francophile and feel the need to honor the beginning of the great, bloody proletariat Revolution (the bourgeois Revolution technically occurred earlier when the clergy defected to the Third Estate, allowing it to seize control of the Estates General). Created especially for Lillet, a quintessentially French apertif, mixologists Nicole Cloutier and Jacqueline Patterson have crafted this recipe for the Liberté Cocktail (hopefully Egalité and Fraternité are not far behind). It’s simple, incredibly refreshing and no doubt something similar to any concoction the noble classes would find themselves sipping on the Riviera or at Versailles just moments before being dragged off to the guillotine. Here’s what you’ll need:

3 ounces Lillet Blanc

1 ounce Hendrick’s gin

2 dashes orange bitters (or more to taste)

1 orange peel 

Combine all wet ingredients in a shaker full of ice, stir gently but vigorously (despite James Bond’s inclinations, vermouth shouldn’t be shaken as it bruises the delicate spirit) and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the orange rind to release some essential oils, drag along the glass’ rim and drop into the cocktail to garnish. Sip slowly while thoughtfully pondering whether you’d be more of a Jacobin or a Dantonist.

Imbibe Responsibly.

Recipe: Bloody Mary

I’ve been avoiding this recipe for a few reasons. First of all, everyone has their own way of making a Bloody Mary and is sure to take issue with almost everyone else’s recipe. Secondly, I’ve honestly only recently settled on what I think makes for the perfect Bloody and, finally, it’s one of my favorite cocktails - so I wanted to make sure I didn’t screw it up. 

As Spring seems to be beginning to take root here on the East Coast, however, I think now is the perfect time to take on the endeavor of this mythic and potent drink, cultural artifact and fabled hangover cure. Without further adieu, you’ll need:

2 oz (a little over 1 jigger) premium vodka (Ketel One does nicely)

1/2 cup good tomato juice

The juice of 1 whole lemon

A liberal dashing of Worcestershire Sauce

2 spoonfuls (at least) of premium Horseradish 

Hot sauce to taste

Celery, cocktail olives, salt, pepper and lemon wedges to garnish

Before I suggest how to assemble this cacophony of ingredients, a word on some of my reasoning. First of all, most recipes would call for less vodka - but with such strong and possibly overwhelming flavors going on in the Bloody Mary, I think it’s important to make sure that vodka “bite” is still at least slightly noticeable. Secondly, some people will yell and scream that Tabasco just has to be in a Bloody and no other type of hot sauce. This just isn’t true and, in fact, I prefer some other more smoky hot sauces to Tabasco. Finally, in my mind, the horseradish is the golden ticket here. Use a lot of it. Add some, taste the concoction, and do not hesitate to add more if you feel like it. Make sure to use fresh horseradish, none of that horseradish sauce stuff.

OK - onto assembly. I find the easiest way to make a Bloody is sloshing all the ingredients into a cocktail shaker (including the olives, and maybe even a little bit of their brine), mixing together diligently with a large spoon until the horseradish has dissolved and the liquid takes on that familiar red, speckled aesthetic of the classic Bloody Mary. Pour into a high ball glass piled with ice and garnished with a large sprig of celery (be dramatic here - make it big and fancy) and a wedge of lemon. 

This recipe can be doubled, tripled, etc. and whipped up into a large pitcher for serving as well (which sounds good to me). Remember - this drink should be tangy, salty, spicy, smoky, a little bitter and everything in between. Indulge, enjoy and don’t fret if a flavor seems off - just keep adding more until the cocktail seems balanced. Or pour on the vodka and hope people get too drunk to notice.

Imbibe responsibly.

Cocktail Infographics

I love the idea of the infographic - from showing weather patterns to explaining historical events or putting statistics together in a coherent and easy-to-look-at package, it’s a medium that I don’t think has gotten nearly enough attention over the last few years. With publications like FastCompany and the New York Times Magazine embracing the infographic as an ideal and aesthetically-appealing form of getting their messages across, however, all that might be changing soon. As seen here with designer Fabio Rex’s cocktail infographics, the concept is being applied to more and more fields daily…and that’s a trend I’m happy to endorse.

PS - yes, they’re in Spanish, but the information isn’t too hard to figure out. 

Recipe: St. Germain Cocktail

A refreshing, elegant and classic concoction to help ring in any new year is the St. Germain Cocktail. It’s easy to make, crisp, cold and bubbly - so get to it and celebrate the end of 2010 in style. Here’s what you’ll need:

2 parts dry Champagne (use a Brut, like Moet & Chandon Nectar Imperial)  

1.5 parts St. Germain Elderflower Liquer

1.5 parts club soda

1 lemon wedge to garnish

Mix the club soda and St. Germain thoroughly in a tall glas filled with ice. Top with champagne, drop in a slice of fresh lemon and enjoy. 

Imbibe responsibly.

Recipe: Sazerac

I’ve been holding off on this recipe for awhile since it’s a little complicated and such an infamous drink that I wouldn’t want to spread any misinformation about the proper preparation. However, recently the Sazerac has become my cocktail of choice. In the world I currently inhabit, one of pre-fabricated neo-speakeasies, Lower East Side tiki bars and copious Milk and Honey knock-offs - every cocktail I encounter tends to cost at least upwards of $12. This fact is ridiculous, yet I must accept it as a truth of fine drinking in New York City. Thus, I like a little more “bang for my buck,” drinks that require actual effort to mix and don’t just taste like a $15 Cosmopolitan alternative. The Sazerac provides exactly that. The drink is exotic, comes with a ritual and rich historical narrative as well as incredible potency. Without further adeiu, this is what you’ll need:

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey

1/4 oz Absinthe (St. George or Lucid will do) OR Herbsaint 

3 dashes of Peychaud’s Bitters

1 lemon peel 

1 sugar cube 

Now for the preparation. Take one heavy, crystal old-fashioned glass and fill it with cracked ice. In a second glass, muddle the sugar cube with the bitters. Allow to sit for a moment before pouring the Rye into the sugar/bitters mixture. Now, empty the first glass of ice and quickly pour the absinthe in, swirling it around vigorously to coat the sides of the glass with the liquor and then discard the remaining absinthe. This is called an absinthe (or Herbsaint, if you’ve decided to go the less dangerous route) “wash” or “rinse” and will give the glass a distinct taste and smell of the notorious green fairy without overpowering the cocktail. Now, pour the rye into the glass, run the twist of lemon along its rim and then drop into the cocktail, served up (the drink will be cold due to the ice that has previously chilled the glass).

Substitutions for this cocktail, which has often been debated as the world’s first, include the obvious use of Herbsaint (an Anis-flavored liquer) if absinthe isn’t available and the use of Cognac if Rye doesn’t sit well with you. No matter how you do it, as long as you use quality ingredients and keep the proportions correct, this drink is incredibly complex, rich and delicious - a true cocktail. 

Enjoy, and imbibe responsibly.

Recipe: Margarita

Well, this is an old standby. Nonetheless, people don’t tend to mix themselves up classic margaritas these days. Everything is frozen, or passion fruit, or pomegranate or fancied-up with Mescal or…you get the point.

So here’s an appeal to the logical side of all the drinkers out there - there’s no better margarita than the classic, mixed up carefully with quality tequila and poured over ice into a salted glass. You don’t need to do shots. You don’t need to be outside or at some tropical location or a theme party. You just need to be in the mood for a potent and refreshing margarita. Without further adieu, a recipe:

2 parts ultra-premium blanco tequila (I prefer Don Julio)

1 part Cointreau (not Triple Sec)

1 part freshly-squeezed lime juice

A dash of sugar to sweeten

Salt and lime wedges to garnish

It’s easy, but it’s also easy to screw up by using cheap liquor. I always preach that one should spoil oneself with fine booze at all times possible, but when it comes to tequila it’s actually of utmost importance not to use the bad stuff. Tequila packs quite a punch in any form, but in order for the smoothest and most refreshing margarita, expensive blancos should be used so that there’s no unpleasant “bite” or aftertaste. 

Chill a glass in the freezer (I like to use tumblers to class-up the joint, in lieu of those tacky margarita glasses), run a lime around the lip of the cup and dip into a plate of coarse salt. Fill with cubes of ice, pour the mixed margarita in and enjoy.

Imbibe Responsibly.

Recipe: Double Standard

Also known as the Double Standard Sour, this drink’s not only pretty (and impressive to make), but it also packs quite a punch. Make sure to get the proportions right on this one, for overloading it with any particular ingredient (something I tend to do) can easily push this cocktail over the edge and into “too strong” territory. 

Here’s the recipe:

1 oz fresh lemon juice 

1/2 tsp sugar

3/4 oz rye or Bourbon whiskey (depending on your taste)

3/4 oz gin 

1/2 oz grenadine or raspberry gomme* 

Shake all ingredients together in a cocktail shaker loaded with ice,  strain and garnish with an orange slice and maraschino (or home-candied) cherry. 

What’s this raspberry gomme thing, you wonder? Well, it’s not particularly hard to make and does, indeed, make this cocktail perfect - however, it’s hard to put together when raspberries aren’t in season. The gomme is merely lots of fresh raspberries muddled in simple syrup - almost a homemade grenadine, but a lot less saccharine. The gomme adds a really nice sweet and sour finishing punch to the drink, so if you can get your hands on the goods, I’d recommend trying to whip it up.

As always, use good-quality liquor for best-quality results. 

Imbibe responsibly.