Mixing Upw the Left Coast, week 5

This week’s challenges were the cocktail creations of Lane Ford from San Francisco. They made us really want to have them straight from the man himself. If you have the opportunity to get drink from Lane we heartily recommend it.

 

The No. 4

2oz Reposado tequila

¾ oz lemon juice

¾ oz grapefruit syrup

½ oz egg white

2 dashes absinthe

Grapefruit peel (garnish)

Dry shake all ingredients, add ice and then shake again. Double strain all into coupe and garnish with grapefruit peel. For this cocktail we used Partida Reposado tequila and St. George’s Absinthe Vert. You can find the grapefruit syrup recipe at the end of Left Coast Libations.

The aroma of this cocktail is strongly of the tequila, a hint of absinth with a hint of floral, like freesia. The absinthe comes though in the flavor, mixing well with the tequila and ending with a bit of citrus. Again, the double strain gave it a great mouth feel and the egg white had a creaminess and freshness that is fantastic. The second time we made this we squeezed the grapefruit peel more directly or vigorously across the top of the cocktail. This made the scent and flavor more balanced with the other ingredients and brought out the fresh florals and cucumber from the tequila and egg white. It’s a very refreshing, well balanced drink.

The Arrack Sour

1 ½ oz Batavia Arrack

¾ oz lemon juice

½ oz maraschino liqueur

½ oz simple syrup

½ oz egg white

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Lemon twist (garnish)

Dry shake all ingredients then add ice and shake again. Double strain the drink into coupe and garnish with the lemon twist. For this cocktail we used Batavia Arrack Von Ostro and Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. We made our own simple syrup and you can find the recipe at the end of Left Coast Libations.

The aroma is of a slight spiciness from the arrack and Peychaud’s bitters, with a light cherry scent from the maraschino. The flavor is a strong blend of the Batavia and the maraschino with a slight saltiness from the egg whites. It has a lovely creamy mouth feel and a blush color that is very pleasant. The second time we made it we were a little less vigorous with our dashes. It came out dryer and better all around. We also noticed variation in the eggs which made the mouth feel and saltiness the second time round smoother and lighter. This is a new favorite and will be on our home bar list. Delish!