Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 12

Our post today features Left Coast Libations cocktails from Yanni Kehagiaras. The book says he’s at Nopa in San Francisco and since we’re terrible people who haven’t looked it up recently, we’ll have to take their word for it. What we have to say is Yanni sure made us think about our cocktails and brought our Padawan to the dark side … he’s now an avid follower of Laphroaig much to the Gindicate’s chagrin.

Burns Night Cap

2 oz Laphroaig Quarter Cask scotch

½ oz Benedictine

½ oz Lillet Blanc

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass.

The aroma was all Laphroaig, peaty and medicinal and not at all appetizing for people who usually like gin. However, the Lillet really brought forward a mellow warmth and herbaceous-ness from the Benedictine. All of which mellowed out the smoky peaty-ness of the scotch. It was unbelievably yummy and shocking in its flavors. We couldn’t believe how tamed and complex the Laphroaig became in this cocktail. Quite enjoyable … again the Padawan was pleased. Now he is incorrigible, always ordering cocktails featuring Laphroaig. Thanks Mr. Kehagiaras.

The Bitter End

2 oz Flor de Caña Aged White 4-year rum

1 oz grapefruit juice

½ oz lime juice

½ oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Angostura bitters float (garnish, up to ¼ oz)

Build in a Collins glass using all ingredients except garnish. Fill with crushed ice and stir. Float additional bitters.

The aroma is warm and spicy like cinnamon or cloves from the Angostura. There is just a hint of the peppery quality of grapefruit that comes through as well. The flavor is citrus, rum, and a slightly bitter tartness from the rum. The bitters help tie it all together with the sweet falernum, the sharp rum, and the bold citrus. Together it’s a light, crisp, and slightly tart drink. The second time we added an additional ¼ oz of falernum and it really mellowed the grapefruit and brought out the spicy quality of the bitters. Next time we’ll try it as originally written, but with pink grapefruit. That might really make the difference. Overall an excellent drink!

Mixing up the Left Coast, week 11

This week’s selection features one of our favorite bartenders, Dominic Venegas. Dom left the SF Bay area for the East Coast and boy are we jealous of the patrons that haunt The Tippler. We wish him luck and good fortune! Today, however, we must make do with the cocktails he shared with Left Coast Libations: the Solera and the Stallion. Until we see you again, sir! Cheers!

The Solera

1 ¾ oz Santa Teresa 1796 rum

1 ¼ oz oloroso sherry

½ oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

Orange Peel (garnish)

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass, and garnish with orange peel.

For this drink we used Solera 1842 oloroso VOS Jerez. It was a reasonable size and price for what we were looking for since we’re not particularly fond of sherry. The aroma was strongly of sherry and orange oils with just a hint of rum. The flavor was sweet, but with a touch of heat from the rum. It’s a very well balanced cocktail with just the right mixture of spice and the warm molasses of rum. This is a fantastic after dinner drink and has helped me appreciate sherry that much more!

The Stallion

2 oz Beefeater gin
1 oz Barolo Chinato

½ oz Senior Curacao de Curacao (white)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Stir all ingredients with ice, strain into cocktail glass.

The Gindicate is from the SF bay area, and usually has no problems sourcing booze. However, we could not find a bottle of Senior Curacao de Curacao (SCdC) white for anything. We ended up making Black Stallions, since we used SCdC blue. I actually quite like the deep blackish color of the cocktail and its hints of green. It makes me think of a horse of a different color from the classic Wizard of Oz movie. And I have to admit this has become a “go to” drink for the Gindicate Test Kitchen. When people say, “Make me something you would drink” or “Surprise me!” this is what I make. I think it’s the chinato that makes it so approachable to drink and enjoy.

The aroma is of gin with a hint of chinato, which is an aromatic wine or amaro. The flavor is of the juniper from the gin as well as the amaro with a hint of sweet from the Curacao. The bitters add greatly to the drink, keeping it from being two sweet or one dimensional. It’s a spin on a negroni with a bit of orange to keep it interesting. The second time we made this cocktail we used Tanqueray and the juniper was less forward, making the aroma more complex. The flavor of the chinato and the Curacao were more prevalent and fuller. It became a better digestive and had a dry quality that appeals the certain members of the Gindicate. Delicious, either way!

Hmm ...

Well, it looks like some of the posts we preloaded have been lost and are gone into the ether like the Angel Share. Please be patient as we figure out where they have run off to. We hope to have them all back in action next week.

Cheers!

Congrats, Marco!

This week we learned that our friend and favorite bartender, Marcovaldo Dionysos, has been nominated as a top 10 finalist for American Bartender of the Year by Tales of the Cocktail! Read more about it here. We have previously written about our adventures recreating his cocktails featured in Left Coast Libations and have to say that the Chartreuse Swizzle is an all time favorite. Of course, he makes it best. If you have a chance to meet him and try one of his creations, do! An amazing man with amazing talent. We're rooting for him to make it to #1!


Cheers!

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 10 (part 2)

Here you go, part 2 of the Mixing up the Left Coast for week 10. This one goes out to our Padawan A, who loves Laphroig. Hopefully this will inspire him to purchase a bottle instead of drinking the one in the Gindicate Test Kitchen. This cocktail is again from Mr. Jimmy Patrick from the SF Bay Area.

William Orange

1 ½ oz Highland single malt scotch

½ oz Grand Marnier

½ oz Orgeat
½ oz Lime juice
1 drop Absinthe
1 drop Fee Brothers Whiskey Barrel Aged bitters

Sprig mint (garnish)

Shake all ingredients over ice, strain into a old fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with sprig of mint.
There are a lot of scotches out there and the choice you make for this recipe will greatly determine how this cocktail comes out. We only had Laphroaig and it is a peat monster! It made the aroma and the flavor very peaty and overwhelming. The Laphroaig has a smoky quality that hid our wimpy mint and gave the flavor a slightly medicinal taste when added to the absinthe. It was like sweet campfire juice.

Then we used St. George’s Single Malt whiskey and everything was amazing! The aroma was woody and minty, the flavor sweet but with a great whiskey kick. It allowed the absinthe to settle into the aroma and not overpower the rest of the cocktail. It was delicious! This is a drink we love and highly recommend!

Cheers!

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 10 (part 1)

This week we taste the recipes created by Jimmy Patrick from the SF Bay Area. We haven’t had a chance to try any cocktails from the man himself, the book says he tends the bar at the Lion and Compass in Sunnyvale, CA. Hopefully we'll get a chance to meet him if we head back to the old Homestead! This weeks drinks will be split into two posts because the second drink is a doozey and deserves some extra consideration. Enjoy part 1, the Bohemian ...

Bohemian

1 oz Bacardi Superior Rum

1 oz Lemon Hart Demerara Rum

1 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

½ oz Licor 43
½ oz Lemon juice
½ oz Lime juice
1 drop absinthe
Lemon peal spiral (garnish)

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain over crushed ice into a highball glass. Garnish with the lemon peel spiral.

The aroma is spicy and a bit of absinthe, but primarily of rum. Somehow all these ingredients make a very strong spiced coffee flavor. Also, the elderflower and Licor 43 are a little overpowering. It is a complex drink with too many flavors warring for attention on your pallet. The second time we tried it out we reduced the St. Germain and Licor 43 by half. This time the aroma is less overpowering, but more lemony and sweet. Unfortunately the flavor was completely overpoweringly coffee and too astringent thanks to the Bacardi. It seems like it needs seltzer or ginger beer to thin it a little. It was not the cocktail for us.

Perhaps next time...

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 9

Lately we have been featuring a lot of tequila drinks since we were able to mix up some great cocktails with friends at their home bar. The Gindicate has always had gin in its heart and luckily for us there are quite a few cocktails featuring our favorite liquor in Left Coast Libations. This week we have a gin double feature from Joseph Brooke out of Los Angeles. We hope you enjoy these delightful cocktails!

The Brass Flower

1 oz Gin

1 oz Grapefruit juice

¾ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur

2 dashes Fee Brothers Grapefruit bitters

Brut Champagne

Strip of grapefruit peel (garnish)

Gently toss (a 5 second shake) all ingredients over ice, except champagne. Strain into a flute and top with champagne. Twist the grapefruit peel over the cocktail to express the oils. *The book also requires you to dink and laugh in this recipe, which is charming!

This recipe calls for a London Dry gin and we used Brokers for our first round. This simple cocktail smells of the pepper and fruitness of grapefruit, while expressing the lovely floral notes of the St. Germain. It has a lovely blend of champagne, grapefruit and gin. There is a refreshing flavor and dryness to it, but the elderflower was not prevalant. However, we wished that the gin was a little less sharp since our grapefruit was not sweet. Therefore we used Plymouth gin in the second round. With this there was more citrus flavor in the gin and therefore it is enhanced in the rest of the cocktail. The elderflower was more present, but still not too sweet. It became more balanced and a little less dry. Watch out, it is a very easy drink that only hits you after a few.

The Lively

1 large fresh Strawberry

2 oz Gin

¾ oz Agave-Ginger syrup

¾ oz Lemon juice

Splash simple syrup

Slice ¼ of the strawberry off and set aside as the garnish. Muddle remainder of the berry with other ingredients and shake over ice. Strain over fresh ice into a sours glass (5-6 oz stemmed glass) and garnish with strawberry piece.

We had some difficulty with this cocktail because we used Ginger People ginger juice in the Agave-Ginger syrup. We recommend that you juice your own ginger or greatly reduce the Ginger People amount by half or ¾ the amount. When we mixed up this cocktail using this recipe we didn’t realize the strength of the ginger and it really affected the flavor. The aroma was of stone fruit, strawberry, and astringency from the ginger. The ginger bit so hard in this cocktail that you could not get any other flavors at first. We then adjusted the cocktail to ¼ Agave-Ginger syrup, ½ lemon, and ¼ simple syrup. This time, the aroma was of strawberry, gin, ginger and a hint of stone fruit. The flavor was much more balanced; sweeter but still not sweet. The harsh ginger bite was gone. It was a bit like spring with its cool astringency yet there is sweetness like the promise of summer.

Cheers!

Thank you St. George, we love your Gins!

It took us some time, but we finally got St. George Spirits Gin selection. They are amazing! What we have (so far) in the Gindicate Test Kitchen is a sample box, not the full sized bottle of each, but a box of 200ML bottles. We purchased ours at their Hanger 1 distillery store. This means we have to be careful with mixology until we can drive the 15 miles to get a larger bottle! We aren't even surprised that their Gins taste great straight at room temperature. That just shows the craftsmanship and truly excellent quality of St. George. Below is our breakdown of their Gins:

Dry Rye Gin – “An assertive and elegant American dry gin to delight the unabashed juniper lover,” and how! We get rye, licorice, rock candy and cardamom in a full frontal assault of flavor that leaves you saying, “Please, sir, can I have another?!”

Botanivore Gin – “A botanical balancing of the highest order, pot distilled from wildcrafted juniper and an array of choice herbs, spices and citrus.” This is a crisp, well balanced and juniper forward gin that is extremely versatile. We can’t wait to try it in a martini, Collins, and gimlet!

Terroir Gin – “A uniquely California gin with a sense of place and poetry, distilled from sustainably sourced botanicals,” which is an understatement. This gin smells like the trails that crisscross over the Northern California foothills. It reminds me of running through those sweet grasses as a child, brushing against bay laurel and picking the fronds off wild anise to eat on the way home. This is my kind of California.

Congrats to St. George Spirits on a fantastic line of Gin! Now we get to experiment in the Gindicate Test Kitchen to find our favorite pairings/cocktails. Follow St. George Spirits' twitter feed for great cocktail suggestions and come back soon so we can show you what we’ve been up to!

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 8

We have been remiss in our writing duties recently. Times have been very difficult for us with work, holidays, and family obligations. We have been regularly making cocktails each week and will try to update more regularly so that you may all enjoy them as well. This week we discuss the cocktails of Jennifer Colliau of San Francisco. The cocktails use unusual ingredients like pink peppercorns and a lime-whey mixture. You can get more information on this exciting bartender on her blog .

Brace

1 ½ oz Pisco
1 oz Lime-Whey mixture
½ oz Contraeu

½ oz Simple syrup

3 dashes The Bitter Truth Celery bitters

Orange peel (garnish)

Shake all ingredients vigorously with ice and double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with an orange peel.

For this cocktail we used Don Cesar Puro pisco from Peru. Since pisco is made from grapes, like a grappa, we find the aroma of this liquor to smell a lot like vermouth. The cocktail has a very strong pisco aroma that is highlighted by the orange peel. The flavor starts sweet and then goes dry and tastes a lot like very good dry vermouth. The lime-whey mixture is very refreshing, although making it was time consuming. The recipe for this ingredient can be found in Left Coast Libations and it is a unique item we recommend trying. The next time we made this cocktail the aroma was crisper and less sweet. We were less generous with the bitters this time and it made the cocktail more appealing to us. If you like dry vermouth, you will find this cocktail enchanting.

Reunion Cooler

½ oz Pink peppercorns
4 total 1-inch Chunks ripe pineapple
2 total 1x8-inch Strips of grapefruit peel
1 oz blanco tequila
½ oz Lime juice
1 barspoon agave nectar
Crush peppercorns at the bottom of a mixing glass with a muddler. Add the pineapple chunks and grapefruit peel and muddle again. Then add the liquid ingredients and shake thoroughly. Strain into a double old fashion glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with the remaining grapefruit peel fashioned into a rosette.
For this cocktail we used Partida blanco tequila and it was a good sharp contrast to the agave nectar. The grapefruit peel gives this cocktail a lovely peppery aroma that gives you a good warm up for the pink peppercorns. The flavor is very floral and slightly spicy. The tequila and pineapple are a great mix and this cooler is a little short, it felt odd in the glass like there was something missing. The next round we made of this cocktail used Partida reposado tequila and added a topper of seltzer. It really improved the cocktail and made it more light and refreshing. The flavors were always fantastic, it just made it a little more of a summer cocktail. Don’t forget a straw!

Salud!

Aspall Dry Draft Cider

Aspall is an English Draft Cider that has a variety of different "styles" for sale. I got this bottle at BevMo. There is a lot that can be said about how it tastes (technically) but that isn't what I'm here to tell you about. If you're one of the lucky few who understands what a number means or what "white spices aroma" is, good on you. For the rest of us, you just really want to know what it tastes like, compared to what you know. It's rather expensive ($4 for 500ML and 6.8% ALC/VOL) and you may not want to buy it if its not in your flavor profile.

So here's what it really tastes like (btw I'm not a super-taster, I just have a snooty pallet). It's dry, sharp, and a bit skunky. If you like beers like Heineken then this might be a good draft cider for you. I was a little shocked that the aroma is so light but the taste is so ... full? It has a sharp vinegary middle and a pleasant tart apple after taste. I finished the whole bottle, so I must have liked it well enough. It's not Strongbow (which is sweeter) or Magners Irish Cider (which is extra dry/skunky) but definitely somewhere in the middle to Magners end.

Changes and Lessons Learned

Every so often you get a chance to explore who you are and what you're really made of, gumption wise. Not so recently one of the Gindicate learned that life would forever change because she was Gluten Intollerant. There is a process (painful, invasive, and mildly humiliating) to determine if she has Celiacs Disease, but that was never a consideration. After only a week of eliminating most wheat-gluten products from her diet, her symptoms disappeared. That has forced the Gindicate into exploring new food and spirits.

Although unfiltered wheat was her favorite (the irony of it all) she has been forced to learn about Gluten-Free options. We will now be adding her two cents to a Gluten-Free booze page. We hope you all enjoy what is to come. These challenges will hopefully help others in their quest to better undertand the Gluten-Free allergy and lifestyle in the "adult beverages" world.

Thank you for joining us on this exploration, click the tab above for more information and breakdown of what she has learned on this journey.

Cheers!
-the Gindicate

Hello?

Hello out there! Sorry we haven't posted in a while, but life got a little hectic! It became more difficult to afford all the mixers and specialty items while we were Mixing Up the Left Coast. Things are getting a little more reasonable and hopefully we can share some cocktail recipes soon.

Thank you for sticking with us!
the Gindicate

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 7

One of our favorite bartenders that we wish we could visit more often is San Francisco’s Kevin Diedrich. You might have seen him on Bar Stars recently. He truly comes up with some extraordinary flavor combinations in these two recipes.

Blueberry Nights

1 ¾ oz Plymouth gin

¾ oz Dimmi liqueur

½ oz lemon juice

4 to 5 fresh blueberries

1 large sprig of fresh lavender or 1/8 dry lavender

Wide lemon twist (garnish)

Shake all ingredients over ice, strain into cocktail glass and garnish with lemon twist.

The aroma speaks strongly of gin and lemon. Although the recipe does not call for it we recommend double staining this cocktail due to the lavender. The flavor was mostly of gin with a hint of lemon, the freshness of blueberries and a tiny hint of lavender. It was surprisingly light and fresh, even though the fruit and floral weren’t strong. The second time we tried muddling the berries and lavender and it added extra flavor to the drink. The aroma featured more of the Dimmi liqueur and blueberries. It was very balanced, tart lemon, with a sweet herbalness from the lavender. I wish we had had a chance to make this with fresh lavender. What a surprising and excellent drink!

In 2 Deep

1 ½ oz Partida reposado tequila

¾ oz Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

½ oz Punt e Mes

1 bar spoon Frenet Branca

2 dashes orange bitters

Wide orange twist (garnish)

Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a small cocktail glass. Garnish with the wide orange twist.

The herbalness of the Fernet and a little orange were the outstanding aromas. This full bodied drink has a mellow mouth feel, and lots going on. There is the orange, ginger, herbaceous-ness, but is also very well balanced. The second time we made this there was more tequila flavor mixed with the oranges, less canton, but still the warmth and sweetness of the Punt e Mes that ended in the mintiness of the Frenet. There are mountains of flavor here and it gob smacks you with the first sip. Amazing!

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 6

This week we tested the recipes from San Francisco bartender Duggan McDonnell. Both drinks call for Serrano chili peppers, so beware. We found some spicy ones and they were wonderfully hot and flavorful!

Laughing Buddha

3 small pieces of fresh ginger

1 thin slice of Serrano chili pepper

2 oz Hanger One Buddha’s Hand Vodka

1 oz lime juice

½ oz Five Spice-Infused Agave Nectar

Barrit’s Ginger Beer

Cucumber wedge (garnish)

Ginger slice (garnish)

Muddle the ginger and chili pepper in a tempered glass. Add the remaining ingredients, except the ginger beer, with ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a high ball filled with crushed ice while simultaneously pouring ginger beer to fill the glass. Garnish with cucumber and ginger slice.

For this cocktail we used Reed’s Ginger Beer since we could not find Barrit’s. Also, the Five Spice-Infused Agave Nectar recipe can be found at the end of Left Coast Libations, do not attempt to make your own with powdered Five Spice. The recipe calls for specific whole spices and really makes this cocktail unique. The aromas consist of cucumber and ginger from the garnish, we really didn’t get much smell from the cocktail itself. The flavor is spicy, sour, with a hint of sweetness and good ginger flavor. Sipping from the glass brings out more of a peppery, ginger and lemon flavor from the Vodka. We don’t recommend a straw for this cocktail. The second time around this cocktail was a little bit more vibrant and a little less warm. It is a delicious summer drink, and is well on its way to being our favorite of the book. Excellent!

The Misdemeanor

2 pieces diced pineapple

1 thin slice of Serrano chili pepper

½ oz agave nectar

2 oz Partida blanco tequila

1 oz lime juice

½ oz green Chartreuse

Muddle the pineapple, chili pepper, and agave nectar in a tempered mixing glass. Add remaining ingredients, ice and shake vigorously. Strain into a highball glass half filled with crushed ice.

This is another drink light on aromas. Initially the pepper really came through on this cocktail, but not much else came through because it was too strong. The pineapple and Chartreuse seemed to be absent from this flavors. The flavor profile really changed when we added a straw. The drink went to a whole new place with this addition. It was much more balanced. There seemed to be some savory flavor missing with the tequila. It really makes me wish that there was an herbaceous flavor like sage to compliment the tequila.

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!

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 4

 This week we are featuring Kelly Swenson out of Portland, OR.

The Celeriac
2 oz Gin
3/4 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz 2:1 simple syrup
4 dashes of the Bitter Truth Celery Bitters
1 egg white

Dry shake all ingredients together, then add ice and shake again. Double strain contents into a cocktail glass or champagne coupe. It's highly recommended to then spritz the top of the cocktail with a Misto Pump of the Celery Bitters. Otherwise, just serve.

We did mist the top of the cocktail with the Celery Bitters and found that it really added to the overall aroma of the cocktail. However, there is such a thing as over spritzing, which we did with our first go around on the Celeriac. The aroma of the bitters is of celery leaf, which really brought out the subtlety of the lemon and egg white. The flavor, however, was very herbal because of the over spritzing. The pineapple was forward but balanced the gin and hid the lemon flavor. It has a great creamy mouth feel thanks to the egg white and double straining. This cocktail finished with a hint of lemon and a strong celery leaf aftertaste. The second time we made this cocktail we spritzed the drink less and it was even better. There was still an aroma of celery but the lemon and gin were much more present. The flavor was also much more balanced between the lemon, gin, bitters and pineapple. It is a light, refreshing drink and perfect for a warm spring evening!

Toto
3/4 oz El Jimador Reposado tequila
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Cynar
Lemon twist (garnish)

Stir all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The aroma of this cocktail is lightly lemony, crisp with hint of herbals from the amaro. The taste is of the warm honeyed flavor of chartreuse with a hint of astringent-ness from the Cynar a the end. It has a lovely mouth feel and surprisingly light tequila flavor. The subsequent times we made this there was a slightly stronger tequila flavor, but it was so well balanced that anyone (even those self proclaimed tequila intolerant) could appreciate this cocktail. It was so mellow and multi-layered that someone thought this had a gin like Plymouth or Hendrick's in it instead of tequila.

Simplicity can speak volumes! By allowing the Chartreuse, Cynar and tequila to speak for themselves Kelly was able to create a far more complex drink than some 15 ingredient behemoths. There is a lot to be said about a three component cocktail. I was impressed and this was a hit.

Mixing Up the Left Coast, week 3

This week we decided to bring it home. After a great spring break vacation, we wanted a little taste of home. For the Gindicate, nothing says home like the fantastic bartenders at the Smugglers Cove in San Francisco. Luckily for us, Marco Dionysos is featured with two delicious cocktail recipes. 

Chartreuse Swizzle

1 ¼ oz green Chartreuse

½ oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

1 oz pineapple juice

Juice of ½ lime

Lime wheel (garnish)

Sprig of mint (garnish)

Swizzle ingredients with crushed ice until tall glass frosts over. Or shake with ice and strain over crushed ice, tall glass will frost over. Garnish with lime wheel and activated (smacked) mint.

The scent of this cocktail is very tropical thanks to the pineapple, falernum and mint. It was like being in a tiki bar or a relaxing beach in Hawaii. The flavor was light on the beguiling herbs of chartreuse and a lot of pineapple when sipped from the glass. When sipped through a straw the mint scent was diminished, but the refreshing herbacity of the chartreuse and falernum were more forward and really balanced the drink out. A simple, fresh,  summery drink, what’s not to like?!

English Breakfast

1 ½ oz Earl Grey Tea infused No. 209 gin

¾ oz Grand Mariner

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

1 bar spoon orange marmalade

1 egg white

Qi black tea liqueur (garnish)

Dry shake all ingredients, add ice and shake again. Double strain into a port glass and spray top of the drink with Qi black tea liqueur using a misto pump.

The strong overriding scent of this cocktail is of the Qi, which has a smoky woodsy almost Chinese herbal smell, and a heavy cream undertone. This cocktail has a delightfully full mouth fee. The citrus flavors dominate this drink through the Grand Mariner, lemon juice, and marmalade. The bergamot from the Earl Gray tea is vaguely there but it’s mostly hidden. After trying this drink with the original recipe we tried it with reduced marmalade and lighter spray of the Qi in order to bring the other flavors forward. The creaminess of this cocktail became much more prevalent. Once you sip off the Qi foam the other flavors come forward. You get more of the juniper of the gin and the citrus is more balanced due to less marmalade. You still get the lightness of the gin and that made this cocktail really great.

We’re on Spring Break!

We hope to be able to bring you the third week of Mixing Up the Left Coast on time, but since we are going on vacation, here is a taste of our next featured bartender from Left Coast Libations, Marco Dionysos. The recipe was recently published over at Hungry Beast. 

The Arthur

2 oz Beefeater gin

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

¾ oz pineapple juice

½ oz orgeat

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

brandied cherry (garnish)

Shake all ingredients with ice vigorously. Double strain into a cocktail glass with brandied cherry and gold flake (optional) as garnish.

For this cocktail we used Fee Brothers Orgeat Cordial syrup. The aroma was slight and fleetingly tropical thanks to the orgeat and pineapple acting like falernum. The color of this cocktail is a pale yellow and rose from the Peychaud’s bitters, which contrasts nicely with the brandied cherry. The flavor of this cocktail is sweet, tart, light and refreshing. The pineapple is a mellow strength throughout this drink and there is a little zing at the end thanks to the brandied cherry. The first time we made this we used our Brother B’s homemade brandied cherries from a recipe published Imbibe. We also tried this drink with Luxardo cherries and it wasn’t as flavorful. The drink was virtually identical, except the extra juicy cherries from Brother B added an extra pop of flavor and color. We highly recommend making this drink in anticipation of summer! Yay!