Craft Cocktails



As most of you already know, at least those of you who follow this blog religiously I am a big fan of Classic Cocktails. (I.E. Martinis, Manhattans, Old Fashions)  Currently a big fad in the cocktail world is the emergence of Craft Cocktails. A Craft Cocktail is where a mixoligist adds a variety of ingredients in search of a new/special cocktail.


I do not have an issue per say with the premise of Classic Cocktails, but look at the following recipe 





The Basil Rickey
Gin infused with Cucumber and Fennel
Housemade Lavender Simple Syrup
Muddled Basil
Topped with Orange Bitters and Lime Juice


Now I admit this looks very appetizing, however who in a home bar carries all those ingredients? Or for that matter would even know where to begin to purchase or make some of them?


Most of the Cocktails prepared here at MySideOfTheBar have 3 ingredients as do most of the Classic Cocktails.  About the most I do as far as many, many ingredients is my Bloody Mary Recipes. You may recall my Blog on Infusing Vodka which includes the list of ingredients for both the infused vodka and Bloody Mary.  


What I have decided is the best course to follow is to continue experimenting at home with either ingredients on hand or to purchase one or two to add to my stock to create a great craft cocktail.


Here is my latest I call the Professor’s Manhattan
1 OZ Bourbon or Rye
1 OZ Amaro
1 OZ Sweet Vermouth (I prefer Dolans)
Half Teaspoon Campari
Garnish two cherries




My other option is to leave the real Craft Cocktails to the professionals and enjoy them when I am out and about.

Cheers
The Professor


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Riding the Rails, Clickety Clack

Image
A few weeks back we took the Amtrak from K.C. to Naperville Ill. and as usual we had a great time. If you have never taken the opportunity to travel by train you do not know what you are missing. I recommend for your first trip nothing over four hours just in case you may not enjoy train travel. Also this will keep the price at a minimum and I recommend choosing your travel dates that are not during the peek seasons. (From around June 15th to August 15th.) to avoid high ticket prices You will be pleasantly surprised by the size of the train cars and the size of the seats. The cars are two levels with the lower level where you put your luggage when boarding, handicap seating and the rest room/changing rooms. We generally sit in the club car (now called the observation car) where they have many booths and seats and then entire care is plexieglass so you can see the beautiful sites as you travel. You can even carry on your own food and drinks and yes this means you can carry on your own
Read more

Cigar Infusion

Image
For those of you who follow MySideOfTheBar, you undoubtedly remember some posts on infusing Alcohol (See Jan 10 – Infused Vodka Part I and August 23 – Infused Vodka Part 2 ). So it seemed logical for us to attempt infusing cigars. Now infused cigars are no strangers here as Central Patti enjoys them often. One of her favorites is CAO’s Moontrance as well as a Hazel Nut/Coffee cigar. I started by fresh roasting some coffee beans from Ethiopia. The reason I choose those particular beans is that when roasted properly they are very, very oily and I believe they would be just right for infusing cigars. I took an empty cigar box and placed two cigars ( Graycliff Avelino Lara ) the fresh roasted and ground coffee beans and a small bowl of water. The cigars were a light tobacco which I hoped would absorb more flavor than a darker cigar might. The water was to not only assist with humidity, but to also aide in the infusing process. I left the cigars in the box for about 3 weeks checking ev
Read more

The Key West Cocktail Challenge

Image
Recently we were on the road with MySideOfTheBar in Key West with a couple of "Unusual Suspect" friends of ours. As you might expect we were in a bar when A.S. found a brochure for the Key West Cocktail Challenge. Also as you might expect we took up the challenge. The premise was easy, visit 6 participating bars, enjoy their signature cocktail and you get a T-Shirt. You can visit them in any order and take as long as you need to. (you could even do it in 6 days, but...) I am not going to try to describe each bar as you can follow the links to see and learn more. The first stop was The Green Parrot Bar . The Green Parrot is an open air old school bar that I absolutely loved. Their signature drink was Root Beer Barrel and at least two of us liked it ;) Stop two took us to Charlie Mac's and beside the great Signature Drink, it is also a BBQ joint. We only had the chicken wings, however they were awesome. The drink here was the Huckleberry Lemonade and I have to
Read more