Collins Cocktails

By lisala on 6/26/10 1:04pm
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Summer is really here, and it's perfect weather for lounging on a porch or a deck and watching the sun go down while you sip a long cool cocktail. A Collins is a fabulous summer cocktail, and it's easy to make. It's served in a Collins glass, a long tall cylinder, over ice. The various versions of a Collins are largely variations in terms of the citrus, or other flavoring, and the spirit used. The first Collins appears to have been created in the mid-1800s, and was named in honor of a nineteenth century meme visible in various newspaper and passed by word-of-mouth. Someone would approach another person, often in a bar, and say that "Tom Collins" had been bad-mouthing them.

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Wild Turkey 101 Proof Rye

By lisala on 5/20/10 6:34pm
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The local liquor store got a small supply of Wild Turkey 101 Proof Rye in stock. While I've been somewhat despondently hoping they'd get more Rittenhouse Rye in, I've about given up hope. But I thought, having found Wild Turkey bourbon palatable when Maker's Mark bourbon wasn't an option, I'd try Wild Turkey Rye. It's a little more expensive than Old Overholt, ($23.00 versus $20.00) and in some parts of the country is more widely available, though the amount of Rye distilled by Wild Turkey pales next to the bourbon.

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Whiskey and Other Sours

By lisala on 4/29/10 10:44pm
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You've probably gathered that I'm a fan of Bourbon and Rye, both of which, technically speaking, are Whiskeys. There's an entire family of cocktails called "sours," closely associated with Whiskeys (and with the family of cocktails knowns Collins). They are a very traditional cocktail, so traditional in fact, that they're included in the 1862 book How to Mix Drinks, by Jerry Thomas. A "sour" is a cocktail that contains a base spirit (typically bourbon or another whiskey, but possibly gin, tequila, vodka, or even brandy) a citrus juice (lemon or lime, or orange—hence the "sour") and some form of sweetener—triple sec, simple syrup, grenadine, or pineapple juice are the most common. Technically, a Margarita and a Sidecar are both "Sours." Brandy was initially favored in the mid-1800s for Sours, but by the end of the century Bourbon was the popular spirit.

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Irish Whiskey

By lisala on 4/14/10 9:24pm
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When most people hear the words "Irish Whiskey," they think of Jameson's or Bushmills. That's a start, what they should be thinking about is a pot still. Pot still whiskey, the traditional way of making Irish whiskey, is made from a mix of malted and unmalted barley (the mix details is a distillery trade secret) that's distilled in a pot still. It's a uniquely Irish method of distilling. Irish pure pot still whiskey is a single, unblended small-batch whiskey. The "Pure" indicates that it was produced by using only barley, no other grain, and using a mixture of malted and unmalted barley, and distilled in a pot still. The use of the unmalted or "green" barley gives the pure pot still Irish whiskey a characteristic "peppery" quality that some have compared to the peppery quality of pure American rye.

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The Search for the Perfect Martini

By lisala on 4/12/10 5:16pm
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I've been trying martinis for a couple of years now. I started with the traditional gin and vermouth martini, moved on to variations including the vodka martini and even tried a chocolate martini. So far, I'm really liking the olives and their effect on a martini, and while I very much like a gin and vermouth martini, lately I've enjoyed "dirty" martinis made with vodka and a splash of olive juice. I'm picky about the vodka, though I'm quite enjoying Koenig's Idaho potato vodka.

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Barenjaeger Honey Liquor

By lisala on 3/26/10 8:33pm
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Bärenjäger today is a 70-proof honey-based spiritous liquor, loosely inspired by a traditional honey liqueur made in the fifteenth century in Eastern Prussia. Bärenfang was the traditional name ("bear trap" in German) but the most common version in the United States is that distilled by Teucke & Koenig, a German company in Steinhagen, Germany. Bärenjäger ("bear hunter" in German) was so successful in the U.S. that the bottle design, a glass bee hive, was trademarked and other, similar liqueurs appeared. There's Wild Turkey American Honey Liquor, based on bourbon. Evan Williams has a honey based bourbon too; Evan Williams Honey Reserve.

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George Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky "Cascade Hollow Red Label"

By lisala on 2/21/10 8:28pm
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I've been favoring Rye lately, even over the otherwise sacred Maker's Mark, and while I prefer Rittenhouse Rye, I find Old Overholt more than palatable. But last I tried to buy Old Overholt, the only Rye the store had was Jim Beam's Yellow Label, which, frankly, I'd rather not. They had a small display set up of George Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash Whisky "Cascade Hollow," and so we decided, for sixteen bucks, we'd try it. I note that elsewhere it's sold for around $10.00.

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Jim Beam Yellow Label Rye

By lisala on 12/15/09 10:32pm
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I've written about American Rye as the quintessentially American whisky. I'm particularly fond of Rittenhouse Rye, and have a distinct fondness for Old Overholt. The other day, we tried Jim Beam's "Yellow Label" Rye. It's a bit more expensive than Old Overholt, which in turn is a bit more than Rittenhouse Rye.

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Long Island Iced Tea

By Eviaa on 12/12/09 7:00pm
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Ohhh the Long Island Iced Tea. While a tasty beverage, it apparently has quite the reputation considering everytime I order one, I get a look from everyone around me. You know, that look like "wow, bad day, huh?" Or "Yikes, drink much?" I find it pretty amusing since to me, alcohol is alcohol and you can still enjoy a drink like this one, without turning into a raging alcoholic. It helps as well, that most of the bars I've ordered a Long Island Iced Tea in, have a serving limit. Pretty smart idea considering the ingredients.

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50 Year Old Single Malt Bargain Priced at $16,000

By lisala on 8/23/09 8:28pm
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Glenfiddich distillery is releasing fifty very special bottles of 50-year old single malt. scotch regionsscotch regionsThat's right, I said fifty year old single malt. The whisky in question has been stored in two oak casks in Glenfiddich's distillery warehouse in Banffshire, Scotland since its original production. Glenfiddich will release just fifty bottles of the scotch each year for the next ten years. The scotch is contained in a numbered hand-made blown glass bottle, decorated with Scottish silver. The bottle arrives in a hand-stiched leather case and is accompanied by a leather-bound book about the history of the scotch, with room for the lucky owner's own comments.

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