DIY Ginger Beer

Back in May I wrote about how I made my own lime cordial for making gimlets. I mentioned how I found the recipe on the New York Times Magazine website, and while reading some of that author's archives, I came across his recipe for ginger beer. It can be found in his article entitled "Case Study: Cloudy with a Chance of Ginger."

Now, I have never been a huge ginger fan, though I do like ginger ale. The Dark & Stormy is always a popular summer drink, and having tried it with some store-bought ginger beer, I was not really impressed. However, I decided that maybe if I could make my own, I would like it better. So, I followed the author's recipe and gave it a shot.

It's really a pretty simple recipe. It involves grating ginger, juicing a couple of lemons, and making some simple syrup. All of these ingredients are combined, along with some yeast and filtered water, in a bottle, and put in a dark place to ferment. All of the amounts can be adjusted to your individual taste, so that it you'd like it a little sweeter or spicier, or a little less sweet or spicy, you can change it.

I originally had a bit of a problem in that it seems that the yeast didn't properly ferment the first time. After a couple of days I mixed up a little more yeast, this time letting in bloom in a bit of warm water before adding it to the bottle. It's important to keep an eye on the bottle for a few days in that the CO2 generated by the yeast will eventually cause the bottle to swell. If left unmonitored, it could burst, but this shouldn't be a huge problem.

After letting it ferment for a good 24 hours, I put it in the fridge to stop the fermentation process and, after straining it, moved it to a glass bottle. It ends up being slightly carbonated, which is nice. I mixed it with some dark rum, a squeeze of fresh lime, and the resulting drink was delicious. If you're a fan of ginger, or of Dark & Stormies, I'd highly recommend giving this one a shot.

DIY Lime Cordial

A couple of weeks ago I saw an article from the New York Times Magazine entitled Case Study: Building a Better Mixer. The article was about making homemade lime cordial.

If you're unfamiliar with lime cordial, chances are you'd be most likely to recognize Rose's, which has a unique neon green color that probably fends off the less adventurous. However, it is essentially de rigueur for making a gimlet. In the article, the author explained his inability in trying to find a higher quality lime cordial (i.e.- one not made from high fructose corn syrup) to try to replicate what a gimlet used to be like, back in the good ole days, presumably. After consulting several recipes and doing some experimenting, he finally came up with a recipe that he thought was best and wrote about it.

I'm a fan of gin and I'm a fan of gimlets, so I was intrigued by this premise. So, the week before last, on a Friday evening in which I had nothing to do, I went to the store, picked up some limes, a peeler, and a juicer, and set out to give it a whirl.

The recipe called for 18 limes, which, according to the author, would yield 2.5 cups of lime juice. Upon arriving at the store (Super H Mart, to be precise, where the limes were 10 for $1.00), the limes seemed a little small, so I decided to go with 25 limes. Per the recipe, I peeled and then juiced all 25 limes. I ended up with 4-2/3 cups of juice, just slightly more than the author had anticipated. I didn't view this as a problem, though, and added equal parts sugar, stirred until the sugar dissolved, then added the peels back and left in the refrigerator. The next day, I strained off the peels, poured into some bottles I picked up from World Market, and left it to sit in the refrigerator for another night to, according to the author, "cure" (I think this is inaccurate and would have probably been exactly the same if consumed that day). Here is a bottle of my finished product.

The next day, I added some gin and mixed up a gimlet. It is definitely tasty; certainly on the sweet side, but not cloyingly so, and adding the peels did add some bitterness to balance out the sweetness. On a warm day, I'm pretty sure these things might go down a little too easily, so be warned. It's also pretty versatile as this could probably be added, with triple sec, to some tequila to make quick margarita, or added to vodka to make a vodka gimlet. Even rum could be good.

If I make it again, I will probably go with slightly less sugar (maybe a 1:0.9 juice to sugar ratio, instead of 1:1). Oh, and I probably won't make two liters worth. All in all, it was a really simpleand cheap recipe, and one that could easily be made in an hour or so (not counting time in the fridge). If you like gimlets, I suggest giving this one a try.

The Sazerac

Although it's a minor travesty, I had never had a Sazerac until last year. However, it's now one of my favorite drinks to make, and I feel like it's one of the most underrated out there. In honor of Mardi Gras being just around the corner, I thought I would whip one up and raise a toast.

Commonly known as America's oldest cocktail, it was invented in New Orleans around the middle of the 19th century. The ingredient list is pretty simple, with just sugar, Peychaud's bitters, rye whiskey, and absinthe, but the details are in the way that it's put together. I'm not going to attempt to describe the process of how to make it because Chris McMillan from the Library Lounge did such a great job doing it in the video below. Watch the video and make yourself one this weekend.

Speaking of Sazeracs, be sure to check out Ryan Waldron's series on the Krewes of Mardi Gras over on his blog, Seersuckers and Sazeracs.

Southern Staple: Buffalo Trace bourbon

While I wouldn't consider myself a bourbon connoisseur, I would consider myself a bourbon enthusiast. I haven't tried as many of the high-end bourbons as I would like to, but I do know what I like.

For my 23rd birthday, my buddy Sanders gave me a bottle of Buffalo Trace bourbon,. I was unfamiliar with it because, at the time, it was only sold in Kentucky. I really liked it, and was impressed with its drinkability, especially at 90 proof, and I've been hooked ever since. It's sweeter than some bourbons, but in my opinion, not as sweet as Maker's Mark, which I know some true bourbon fans aren't too keen on. It's more expensive than Jim Beam, but a little cheaper than Maker's, so I feel like it's at a good price point as well. It's good for making Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, Mint Juleps, drinking on the rocks, or even drinking straight with a splash of water.

Buffalo Trace is produced at, not surprisingly, the Buffalo Trace Distillery which is located in Frankfort, Kentucky. The distillery is owned by the Sazerac Corporation and also produces Sazerac rye, Ancient Age, Elmer T. Lee, and, perhaps most famous of all, Blanton's. They also produce an annual "Antique Collection" of limited release whiskeys, of which I know that Tucker is a fan. These can be expensive and hard to find, and while I'm sure they're good, I think I'm just going to stick with the regular one.

Buffalo Trace can be found in Birmingham and now in Atlanta. Which is awesome.

Cocktail reviews from EJ Forbes' blog

I've written before about the great job that Ed Forbes does on his blog writing about different cocktails. Since I started reading his blog, I've tried making one of his cocktails each weekend. Here are the ones I have tried so far, along with my thoughts on some of them.


Scotch sour- This is pretty much your basic whiskey sour, though the scotch does add a slightly different flavor. I have to admit that this was the first whiskey sour I had ever made not using sour mix. It was pretty tart; I think the lemon could be cut back a little bit.


Knickerbocker- Basically just a gin martini (redundant, I know) with a dash of sweet vermouth. I usually have a hard time drinking martinis, but just the dash of sweet vermouth made this a very pleasant drink.


Black Feather- I tried this one last weekend and really enjoyed it. Maybe a little heavy on the cointreau, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, but there is a good depth of flavor here.


Between the Sheets- I usually avoid drinks with silly/sexual names, but this one was pretty good. I'd suggest boosting the gin a little bit.


Boss Tweed- This one was good as well, though I would cut back on the lemon juice as I found it somewhat overwhelming.


Satan's Whiskers- This was really a nice drink as well. Pretty well balanced.

Check out all the rest of Ed's cocktails over on his blog. I'm sure that you can find at least one (or two, or three) that strike your fancy, assuming you have a taste for fairly classic cocktails.

Cocktail hour

I don't know if you've taken a look at EJ Forbes' blog that is on my blog roll, but I've got to say that one of his best recurring topics if Cocktails. He features both classic cocktails (like the Manhattan and the Sidecar), as well as some new cocktails made with classic ingredients (like the Satan's Whiskers and the Orange Blossom). In addition to the recipe for each drink, there are great photos, and there's usually come entertaining prose, too.

My only complaint is that due to the way WordPress is set up, it is a bit difficult to navigate through just the cocktails. The easiest way I've found to look at all of them is to click on the "Cocktails" tag on the right side of his page. At this point they go back a good six pages, so be sure to go back to the beginning as the oldest posts were written last fall and thus the drinks are a good seasonal match. I'm sure that you'll be able to find something that should hit the spot when 5:00 rolls around today.

Speaking of Don Draper...

Here is a lesson on how to make Don's drink of choice, the Old Fashioned (in case you didn't already know how). It is done by Chris McMillan from the Library Lounge at the Ritz-Carlton in New Orleans.

The whole New Orleans' Best Cocktails series is pretty awesome. Be sure to check out the video on making a Mint Julep; it is a Youtube classic.

Make your own gin: a follow-up

The ingredients have been gathered

Earlier this year I came across a couple of websites that talked about how easy it is to make your own gin at home by infusing cheap vodka with select botanicals. This intrigued me, and I even wrote a blog post about it. Well, it wasn't until a couple of months ago that I actually took a shot at it and just now that I finally wrote about it. Below is a recount of my experience.

I based my technique and recipe off of a combination of the information found on this website and this website (though mostly on the first one). I made trips to several stores to buy whole spices, including a local Indian market. I bought juniper (of course), black cardamom pods, bay leaves, black peppercorns, dried lemon peel, dried orange peel, fennel, coriander, and cinnamon bark (the good kind). Surprisingly, the hardest ingredient to find was juniper berries, but I finally managed to track them down at (where else?) Whole Foods. I also picked up a grapefruit to use some of the rind, a cucumber to put in one jar, and picked some rosemary from the backyard.

Anyways, after getting the botanicals, I picked up some hooch at the liquor store in the form of the cheapest handle of 100 proof vodka they had, and some 80 proof to use to dilute the final product. Having a plethora of mason jars, I decided to make four different batches and divided the 1.5L of vodka evenly among these jars. To create my recipes, and to emphasize that I am a nerd, I input the original recipes from the above websites into an Excel spreadsheet, then scaled them down to my smaller batches, and then created two of my own recipes (if you are also a nerd and would like a copy of my spreadsheet, email me and I will send it to you). As I mentioned above, one of my custom recipes featured some grapefruit zest and was "heavy" on the dried lemon and orange peel, while another one featured fresh cucumber and rosemary. I used my mortar and pestle to break up some of the whole spices for each recipe, put them in the jars, added the vodka and after giving them each a shake, put them in the pantry.


The four batches right after their assembly

The site I primarily based my recipe on suggested leaving them for a month or so. I would give them each a shake and a visual and olfactory inspection once or twice every day, but really didn't see much point in letting them sit for much longer than a week. So I strained each one through some cheese cloth, and came out with four jars of amber-colored liquid that smelled like they would make decent colognes. At the suggestion of one of the websites, I ran two batches through a Brita pitcher to, as the website seemed to promise, take them from their golden hue to the clear appearance that we all know and love. Well, this is where things stopped working out. I ran one of the batches through the Brita at least 12 or 15 times, possibly more. This stuff simply was not coming out clear. I guess that the oils from the botanicals mixed with the alcohol somehow and there appears to be no way to get it clear, save for distilling it (which I am not going to do). So I gave up, and finally just mixed it with the 40 proof vodka and called it a day.


The four batches after a week of soaking


This is how they came out after being strained (but before the Brita)

So how did it come out? Um, well, not terribly, which is good. I could definitely taste some differences in the two batches that I made, and could almost even taste the grapefruit from the rind that I added. Both were certainly drinkable. However, I think that since we eat and drink with our eyes first, it is difficult to get around the odd color of the gin, though it does mellow out a good bit when added to tonic water. Also, not being a gin connoisseur, I found it somewhat difficult to compare these side-by-side in an attempt to pick up on the subtle ways that this amount of fennel might have been better than this amount of cardamom, etc. I really just drank them with some tonic water. In conclusion: not bad, but I wasn't blown away either.


I believe this was #3, the one with the grapefruit peel, after being filtered through the Brita and diluted with 40 proof vodka


If that was #3, this is #4, the one with the cucumber and rosemary

So is this something you should do? Maybe. If you really like gin, and know what particular flavors you really like and really don't like, this may be a good way to go to try to craft your "perfect" or "signature" blend. It might be fun for Christmas or birthday gifts if you have friends that really like gin. Once you buy the botanicals, it is really a pretty cheap operation as you will, no doubt, have enough spices to make many, many batches. However, until someone can tell me definitively how to get rid of the yellow hue in the final product, I don't think I will be attempting this again any time soon.

Mixology: Summer Beer

This past Wednesday night I attended a community group cookout from the church I've been going to this summer and it was there that I first tried this delicious beverage (hey, we're Presbyterian, what can I say?). Its maker, Ruthanne, was kind enough to provide me with the recipe so that I might provide it to you, dear reader, so be sure to get check out her blog. So, without future ado, from her email:

here's the recipe for the summer beer. this makes 2 quarts

48 oz (1.4 L) light beer (i've found corona or landshark type beers work best)
1.5 pints (750 ml) of vodka (no need to buy the pricey brands)
3 cans of frozen limeade concentrate (i get the store brand of this - cheaper and tastes exactly the same)

Combine in a pitcher and chill before serving. Can be served over ice. i've also served this from the freezer and it had a slushy consistancy which was quite good also.

I really can't get over how good this drink was. The limeade adds sweetness and tang, the beer adds some fizz and keeps the sweetness in check, and the vodka just adds trouble. I suggest whipping up a batch for your Labor Day activities this weekend and celebrating the end of summer with a toast.

Make your own gin

With the weather starting to warm up, gin and tonics are sounding better and better. While I normally just drink Gordon's or Beefeater (if I'm feeling fancy), I've been thinking lately about making my own gin. Since vodka is basically just unfinished gin, it doesn't require much more than putting some spices into a bottle of vodka and letting it sit for a few weeks, it seems like a fairly economical way to create my own special blend.



After doing a little searching on the internet, I came across this website that seems to have a pretty easy guide, including a suggested recipe for the amount of spices to use. I am most likely going to start with this one, though I might try adding some cucumber to it, in the spirit of Hendrick's Gin (though I have yet to actually try it yet; the concept sounds good though). I will provide an update if and when I actually try it.

"Great Cocktails" on Hulu

I was browsing Hulu.com the other night looking for something to watch and came across the show "Great Cocktails." This show apparently comes on the Fine Living Network, which is a great channel if, like the rest of us, you're trying to figure out how much house you can buy for $12.5 million. This "Great Cocktails" show was pretty good, though. Each 20+ minute episode presents stories about several different types of drinks, and offers up recipes, anecdotes and advice. I found it pretty informational and entertaining and would recommend it if you've got some time to kill on the computer.

Introducing: the belt koozie

Few things are more annoying than having to carry your drink while you are walking around, especially if you are at a tailgate or out shooting. Your hand gets cold, your beer gets warm, and you have to carry your arm at an annoying 90 degree angle. Fortunately, the Texas Hunt Co. can supply you with their "All-Terrain Beverage Holster for Belt", or belt koozie as I prefer.



In all seriousness, I think this thing is awesome. My boss this summer came back from a dove shoot in Argentina with one similar to this, and to say that I was green with envy would be an understatement. I stumbled across this one the other day and was ecstatic that I could now possess one without having to go all the way down to Argentina. I think that people perhaps underestimate the importance of a proper koozie, and I admit that I was ignorant of it until I met some girls from Auburn who usually had at least two koozies in their purses, and a few in the car. But that is another post.

The Recovery Room, Charleston, SC

For the past seven weeks after church I have visited the Recovery Room in Charleston for brunch. I suspect that my friends are getting annoyed about how much I talk about this place, but frankly, it is pretty fantastic.



Located on upper King Street, practically beneath the Crosstown Connector, it isn't exactly in a great part of town, but it certainly adds to the bar's unique character. Inside, it is a windowless dive bar with plenty of neon and kitschy decor. The food is greasy brunch fare (along with yogurt and granola, for those trying to be healthy) and includes egg sandwiches, massive omelets, biscuits with chicken fingers covered in your choice of honey or gravy (or, if you are like me, you might accidentally get both), and "hash browns," which are better known as "tater tots." Another highlight are the $2.50 mimosas which are hard to pass up.



The place is run by Chris Boston who came from Moe's Crosstown. I must admit that he was so friendly and hilarious as our server the first day we went there, that my affinity for the place is probably due in large part to his personality. My only complaint is that it can take a while to get your food after you have ordered, so it would be great if they could work on that. However, each of the tables have Trivial Pursuit cards (Genus Edition; the only real version as far as I'm concerned) and there is a game of Connect 4 that floats around somewhere in the bar to keep you entertained while waiting.



I have not visited this place any time other than for brunch on Sundays, but it is open as a bar during the week and, apparently, serves breakfast food all day. If you're having rough morning after a late night out in Charleston, I highly recommend finding your cure at the Recovery Room.

685 King St., Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 727-0999
There is plenty of parking located across the street in the gravel/dirt lot.

Summer drink: Po'mosa

I was not familiar with the beverage known as the "po'mosa" until a week or so ago. Fortunately, some new friends in Charleston were able to enlighten me and introduce me to this nice little concoction.

Ingredients:
1 bottle of Miller High Life (the champagne of beers, after all)
Orange juice

Directions:
Open up your bottle of High Life and drink about two or three ounces. Next, pour orange juice directly into the bottle until it reaches the top (you can drink more beer initially if you would like more orange juice mixed in). Next, kick back and enjoy.

A Bottle Full of Trouble

Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.



(I couldn't find a good image of the bottle, so I "Photoshopped" this image to get the point across)

I am not sure how many people have tried this product, but after having yesterday, I can't seem to say enough good things about it. Basically, it is a tea infused vodka that is made right here in Charleston. While I am certainly one of the first to be skeptical of flavor-infused liquors, and of vodka in general, I must say that this stuff is fantastic. I tried it yesterday mixed with lemonade and it was great. That is, great in that troublesome way that you can't even taste the alcohol. And, coming in at a quite respectable 70 proof, after two or three of those drinks, things are likely to start becoming a little blurry.

The bad news is that, according to an article I read, it is currently only available in South Carolina, Nevada, Colorado and New York. However, it is supposed to be shipping more widely later on. Just because you live in one of those states, though, doesn't mean that you are going to be able to get your hands on a bottle right away. I just got back from the liquor store and the guy told me that he got six cases in on Friday and that they were already gone. He's getting six more cases in tomorrow, I will definitely be stopping by on the way back from work. Also, I am suspecting that it will be a frequent guest at many Clemson football games this fall.

The To-Do List

Now that most of my classmates have left town for the summer, I feel that I have been granted a reprieve from endless cans of Natty Light and Bud Light and now have an opportunity to explore my cocktail options. I have been keeping a list of drinks that I would like to try that I would like to share with you; any tips or notes on these drinks would be appreciated.

Americano:

• 1/2 Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 Campari
• splash of club soda
• Garnish: orange slice

Pour over ice into a collins glass.

Sidecar:

• One part cognac
• One part orange liqueur
• One part lemon juice

The Vesper- many will recognize this as James Bond's cocktail from the novels, as well as in Casino Royale

• 3 measures of Gordon’s gin
• 1 measure of vodka
• 1/2 a measure of Lillet

Shake until ice cold and serve in a deep champagne goblet with a large thin slice of lemon peel

Brown Derby- recipe from this blog

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon
• 3/4 oz. grapefruit juice (not ruby red)
• 1 tsp. good honey

Lillet with soda and orange slice- not so much a cocktail, but a way to enjoy Lillet, which is already delicious

Brandy Alexander- perhaps out of season, but inspired by the Feist song of the same name

• 1 1/2 oz Brandy
• 1 oz Dark Crème de Cacao
• 1 oz Half-and-half or Heavy cream
• 1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg

I think I've got a lot of work ahead of me...