Recently, I received samples for review of House Spirits Distillery‘s Aviation Gin and Krogstad Aquavit. I’ve bought several bottles of Aviation over the last couple of years. I like it, even though it’s considered a “New Western”-style gin–meaning it de-emphasizes juniper to focus on other botanicals. Now, I like a juniper-forward gin. I always have a 1.75L bottle of Beefeater to keep on hand and threaten the cats with, and to my mind there’s no better martini than one made 3 parts Beefeater to 1 part vermouth. But I also like tripping through other styles of gin, and Aviation’s no exception.
The Krogstad, though, is new to me, and to be honest, so is aquavit as a spirits category. I can’t really judge the Krogstad except on its own merits, since I’ve never sampled its competitors. I really like it, though. It carries notes of anise and caraway right at the front, and it’s very tasty. I’m looking forward to what some might consider an unconventional use for it. I have a recipe for home-cured salmon, and where this recipe calls for Pernod, I’m planning to use Krogstad in its place. Yummy, yeah?
UPDATED with photo by Jennifer Hess
But I’m not here today to review the products or speak of charcuterie. I’m here for cocktails, and I have a doozy that I whipped up to showcase these spirits. I call this the Mah Nà Mah Nà. If you want to know why, you’ll have to buy me a drink and I’ll tell you. This quaff, though, is a botanical bomb, all the more reason to love it.
Mah Nà Mah Nà
1 oz. Aviation gin
3/4 oz. Krogstad aquavit
1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
lemon twist, for garnish
Shake it over ice like Animal, strain it into Miss Piggy’s slipper, and enjoy.
About a month ago, Gary Regan devoted his SF Chron column to examining the intersection of food and beverage. I’m not talking about pairings, but instead food as an ingredient in cocktails. The technique of fat washing is an example of what I mean: you take some bacon, for example, and steep it in bourbon for a while. Remove it, fine strain out the solids, and then freeze the bourbon. The spirit itself won’t freeze, but the fat that’s suspended within it will rise to the top, which makes it easy to remove and discard–or reuse, I suppose, if you’d like some bourbon-flavored lard for any reason. Think about chilling a chicken stock after you’ve made it; same thing happens with stock that happens with bourbon.
Now, Gary went on to describe something that isn’t really much like fat washing at all; in fact, it was such an abrupt segue that I think it didn’t really belong in that particular column. What he described was a drink called the Canary Flip, a drink created by a Brisbane bartender. A flip, if you don’t know, is a drink made by shaking up your drink ingredients with a whole egg. Flips were common in colonial times, but today, only cocktail geeks like me seem to make them anymore.
Shame, that. I mixed up the Canary Flip recently, and Jen and I loved it. It was a good use for Fernet Branca, a bitter Italian aperitif that many drink straight. I can’t really stand it on its own, but it’s good in cocktails, when it’s in balance with the other flavors. It’s absolutely perfect in the Canary Flip. In this drink, it’s mixed up with Chartreuse, cognac, simple syrup, and the aforementioned egg. The result is a delightfully complex drink, herbal, rich, and creamy. It’s not at all cloying and it has a wonderful mouthfeel. This one’s a keeper!
Canary Flip
Makes 1 drink
Adapted from a recipe by Nicholas Edwards, the Lark, Brisbane, Australia.
1 ounce yellow Chartreuse
1 ounce Courvoisier V.S. Cognac
1/2 ounce simple syrup
3 dashes Fernet Branca
1 egg
1 lemon twist, as garnish
Instructions: Fill a cocktail shaker with yellow Chartreuse, Cognac, simple syrup, Fernet Branca and egg. Shake without ice for 10 seconds to emulsify the egg. Add ice, shake and strain into a chilled sherry glass. Add the lemon twist garnish.
It’s not quite midnight anywhere in the States, folks. Are your taxes in? We had an accountant prepare ours this year, for the first time, and boy was that a load off!
In honor, I decided to prepare a special cocktail tonight … but not the one you’re thinking of. You’re probably expecting the Income Tax, of gin, two vermouths, orange juice, and bitters. Careful readers will remember that Jen’s allergic to orange juice, so that’s right out.
Next best? What else but the Scoff Law. I used CocktailDB’s ingredients, but Gary Regan’s proportions (his adaptation calls for grenadine, which I don’t currently have):
Scoff Law
2 oz. bourbon or rye (I used Wild Turkey Bourbon 101; for some reason, I can’t find Rittenhouse rye anywhere right now)
1 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. green Chartreuse
Technique: Shake, strain, turn yourself about, etc.
On a personal note, I know I missed Mixology Monday this month. I feel rather stupid about it, and I apologize to hostess Anna. The fact is, I completely forgot. I have good reasons–we lost a much-beloved pet a couple of weeks ago, and we’re moving to Providence, R.I., next week. That aside, I enjoy MxMo, I haven’t missed many, and it gets me posting at least monthly.
I’ll probably be pretty quiet for a bit after the move, but I’m looking forward to exploring the liquor stores in the Providence area and possibly even reporting back on my finds. It may even give this blog a needed kick in the ass to get me posting regularly again.
For this month’s Mixology Monday, I decided to highlight a cocktail called the Diamondback, which I first saw in the September/October 2007 issue of Imbibe magazine. Our taskmaster, Rick, demands we tax our livers with drinks that “contain at least 3oz of 80-proof spirit or have less than 1/2oz of non-spiritness.” No Rick! Don’t throw [...]
Twenty-freakin’-three? Holy crap, we’re just shy of the two-year mark! Many, many thanks to Marleigh for hosting this month’s Mixology Monday! Brandy MxMo is a challenge. With so many fruit brandies out there, how do you choose? Aside from apple brandies, I haven’t quaffed much from the many barrels of non-grape brandies that are available. [...]
Inspired by drinkboston.com, I decided to try a Green Ghost, since I had everything on hand the day I read Lauren Clark’s post. We loved this drink. Thanks, Lauren! photo by Jennifer Hess
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