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Posts Tagged ‘Cocktail’

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Cocktail Hour: Tequila Añejo Old Fashioned

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 18, 2016

The Old Fashioned Cocktail is usually associated with whisky, perhaps rum and even brandy; but only recently has it become fashionable as a cocktail suitable for the agave spirit, Tequila. This is perhaps because the spicy flavour characteristic of tequila (añejo or otherwise) does not lend itself easily to this simple cocktail. The peppery spice and the earthy fruity agave flavours are aggressive, and in an Old Fashioned, these aggressive flavours are given free rein. Many persons find the result just a little too demanding and intimidating for a drink we aspire to enjoy in our easy chair after a long day at work.

What I have found is that rather than adding simple syrup as the sweetener, a better course of action is to add a mixture of agave syrup and orange Curacao. In particular, the orange Curacao plays wonderfully with aged tequila tempering its wild side, without diminishing its rich depth and character.

Anejo Old FashionedWith a wonderful tequila like the Dulce Vida Organic Tequila Lone Star (Anejo), the results of this simple tweak can be quite stunning.

Tequila Añejo Old Fashioned

2 oz Dulce Vida Organic Tequila Lone Star III (Anejo)
1/4 oz Orange Curacao
1/8 oz Agave Syrup
ice
Orange Peel

Add a thin coil of Orange Peel to the bottom of a rocks glass
Add a few cubes of ice
Pour 2 oz Añejo Tequila over the ice
Stir Gently
Enjoy Responsibly

Note: If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

Note: My posting for Dulce Vida Organic Tequila Lone Star III (Anejo) will publish tomorrow.

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Cocktail Hour: My Rum Club Cocktail

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 15, 2016

My Rum Club Cocktail has its roots in the Brandy Crusta which is a classic cocktail traced back to Joseph Santini (circa 1840). Santini was a celebrated bartender and caterer in New Orleans at that time. Almost forty years later, Leo Engels used Santini’s 1840 Brandy Crusta as the basis for his Rum Crusta recipe in his Bartender’s Guide, American and other Drinks, 1878). The recipes in Leo Engels guide give us an important glimpse at the bar drinks of his time and how they had already began to evolve into more complex forms.

My Rum Club Cocktail has its roots firmly in Santini’s and Engels’ early Crusta recipe; however I have tweaked the proportions and added a small splash of ginger-ale to lengthen it slightly. My bar drink is perhaps a little harder to construct than a typical rum and soda; but the effort is well worth the prize.

Abuelo rum club cocktailThe Rum Club Cocktail

2 oz Ron Abuelo Anejo 7 Anos
1/4 oz Orange Curacao
1/4 oz tsp Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1 tsp Sugar Syrup
1 dash Fees Bitters
1 dash Maraschino Liqueur
Ice
Sugar
Lemon Peel
Splash Ginger-ale

Add the first six ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice
Shake until the sides frost
Rim the edge of a chilled cocktail glass with a lemon slice and dip it in sugar
Strain the contents of the shaker into the chilled, sugar rimmed, cocktail glass
Garnish with lemon peel and a lump of ice
Complete with Ginger-ale

Please Enjoy Responsibly!

Note: If  you are interested in more cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

Note: My review for Ron Abuelo Anejo 7 Anos will publish tomorrow.

Posted in Cocktails & Recipes | Tagged: , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Cocktail Hour: The Honey Spiked Mammy

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 12, 2016

When I recently received a bottle of John Hall’s Forty Creek Spike (Honey Spiced) Whisky, I wanted to showcase the ‘honey spiced’ flavour in a nice cocktail which could be embraced by a wide range of persons. For that purpose, I decided that a tall refreshing bar drink was the proper course of action. It turned out that I had already created such a bar drink about two years ago, the Spiced Mammy. A few tweaks to that recipe to adapt it for the honey flavour in this spiced whisky was all that was required.

My Spiced Mammy is very loosely based upon the well-known Mamie Taylor Cocktail which is a bar drink designed for blended scotch whisky. Tthe ginger-ale in the recipe certainly finds a good home next to our national whisky as well. Rather than using lime juice as we would in a Mamie Taylor, I am using lemon juice which pairs naturally with honey. The sharp lemon flavours are just the right foil for the heightened sweetness of the ‘honey spiced’ whisky created by John Hall. I also added touch of lime zest for colour (and as a compliment to the lemon flavour).

Please enjoy.

Spiced MammyThe Honey Spiked Mammy

2 oz  Forty Creek Spike
1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
dash or two of Sugar Syrup
1/2 cup cracked ice
Ginger Ale
Thin Strips of Lime

Remove thin strips of lime peel from a fresh lime
Fill a tall highball glass half full of chipped ice
Add the lemon juice and the Forty Creek Spike Whisky
Top with ginger ale
Add a few threads of lime peel and stir gently.

Remember, my aim is not to help you drink more…it is to help you drink better!

If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more of my mixed drink recipes!

 

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Cocktail Hour: The Ruffled Pelican

Posted by Arctic Wolf on January 9, 2016

This cocktail was inspired by one of my favourite gin drinks, the Darby. The Darby is a wonderful cocktail which mixes grapefruit and lime with dry gin. It is easy to mix, and it is sure to please even the most discriminating of palates.

Grapefruit and lime mix as easily with agave as they do with juniper, and so for this variation of the Darby I simply replaced the gin with a very nice Reposado Tequila from Dulce Vida. The result is very similar to the well-known Paloma albeit with much less soda.

Ruffled PelicanI call this cocktail, the Ruffled Pelican.

Ruffled Pelican

1 1/2 oz Dulce Vida Reposado Tequila
1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
1/2 oz Sugar Syrup
Splash Soda

Pour the first three ingredients into a metal shaker with ice
Shake until the sides of the shaker are frosted
Strain into a suitable glass
Add a small splash of soda
Garnish with a slice of lime
Enjoy!

Remember to enjoy my cocktail suggestions responsibly!

If  you are interested in more of my original cocktail recipes, please click this link (Cocktails and Recipes) for more mixed drink recipes!

Note: My posting for the Dulce Vida Reposado Tequila review will publish tomorrow!

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Review: Olmeca Blanco Tequila Clasico

Posted by Arctic Wolf on July 31, 2015

_0114_olmecablancoOlmeca is a Tequila brand owned by Pernod Ricard, distributed by Corby Brands here in Canada. The line-up features three sub brands, Olmeca (which is a Mixto), Olmeca Altos (which is a 100 % Blue Weber Agave tequila) , and Olmeca Tezón (which is 100% Blue Weber Agave and which is produced from 100 % Tahona crushed agave).

Tequila Sunrise

Tequila Sunrise

All of these sub brands are double distilled from Mexican Blue Agave in Copper Pot Stills. As well each of the brands will contain some distillate from the juice of agave which has been crushed in the traditional method with a two ton Tahona millstone.

Here is a link to my full review of Olmeca Blanco Tequila Clasico:

Review: Olmeca Blanco Tequila Clasico

“… I noticed an aggressive punch of smokey agave filled the air. The aroma vanished as quickly as I noticed it, and even when I took a cautious sniff from my glass, I could not locate that same punch of punky fruit and smoke. Instead, I noticed a peppery effervescence which was combined with mild agave aromas and a light sweetness which reminded me of cane …”

Please enjoy my review which ends with a nice cocktail suggestion, the Tequila Sunrise.

Chimo!

 

 

Posted in Blanco Tequila, Mixto Tequila, Tequila | Tagged: , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Review: Olmeca Blanco Tequila Clasico

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