Mixing up the Left Coast, week 1

For our first installment from Left Coast Libations we decided to start with the drinks of Eric Alperin a bartender out of Los Angeles and the first one in the book. To be honest we chose these drinks because we already had most of the ingredients in our home bar. It turned out to be a very rewarding choice.

 

Smuggler’s Notch

1 brown sugar cube

3 dashes orange bitters

2 oz dark rum

Absinthe or Herbsaint

Orange Twist (garnish)

Muddle brown sugar cube with orange bitters, add rum and ice cubes. Shake and strain into a whiskey glass rinsed with absinthe. Garnish with an orange twist.

We had a more difficult time finding brown sugar cubes than we expected but finally found them at Cost Plus of all places. We used Angostura Orange Bitters, Appleton Estate Reserve rum, and St. George Absinthe Vert. The first time we mixed this drink up, the absinthe aroma was a little too strong due to how high we rinsed the glass with the absinthe. The 2^nd time had a much lighter floral nose. We noticed the absinthe and bitters with a little bit of the water made this drink dryer, cutting the sweetness of the rum. It is a surprisingly complex drink considering there are so few ingredients. There was an interesting black tea nose, which is a huge contrast to the donut crumb scent of the sugar and orange bitters. This was a slow sipping drink that has a smoothness, depth and greater richness than just sipping rum.

Kingsbury

½ oz Campari

½ oz Dolin vermouth

½ oz Licor 43

½ oz lime juice

Prosecco

Cucumber spear (garnish)

Combine the Campari, Dolin, Licor 43, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake softly for 5 seconds and strain into champagne flute. Top with Prosecco and garnish with a cucumber spear.

We used Dolin Dry Vermouth and Casalnova Prosecco in this drink. The 1^st time we made this it was a surprisingly fruity drink, considering the dryness of the brut and the tartness of Campari. This is probably due to the Licor 43, which we call MSG for alcohol, which pairs well with Campari. I almost liked the drink more without the Prosecco! The 2^nd time we made the drink the cucumber was more forward which made the drink dryer and more balanced. This drink has a nice play between the sweet, tart, and touches of dryness. Yum! It is a perfect spring and summer drink. We look forward to making this again and again.

Mixing Up the Left Coast

We apologize for not keeping the blog more active. To remedy that we have given ourselves  a mission: make all of the cocktails in Left Coast Libations and post about it here. We are inspired in this endeavor by Erik Ellestad of the Underhill-Lounge blog who is blogging his way through The Savoy Cocktail Book. A much bigger task than our proposed undertaking.

For those unfamiliar with it, Left Coast Libations is a book of cocktail recipies and profiles of top bartenders of the West Coast, specifically Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. Each bartender has two cocktail recipes featured. If you like cocktail books we highly recommend picking this one up.

Our plan is to pick one bartender each week and make both of their cocktails. We will jump around a bit rather than going straight through the book. This is mostly for logistical purposes, allowing us more tome to gather and in many case make ingredients.

We are excited to get started, so check back soon for our first installment, Eric Alpern.

Hot Buttered Rum

We found this recipe for Butter Batter, created by Kasy Fitch, bartender at Zig Zag Café. We usually use tiny Japanese winter ceramic mugs and therefore the recipe below is our take on the correct proportions.

2 oz. rum
4 oz. hot water
4 Tbsp. butter batter
ground cinnamon to top

Making the drink is simple. Add batter and rum to the bottom of mug and add hot water. Stir gently but thoroughly. Garnish with ground cinnamon. The best part of this cocktail is the butter batter! Below is the recipe.

Butter Batter
1 quart vanilla ice cream

1 lb. unsalted butter
1 lb. brown sugar
1 lb. powdered sugar
3 tsp. ground nutmeg
3 tsp. ground cinnamon

Several freezer friendly plastic containers

Let ice cream and butter soften to room temperature. Add all ingredients and combine using mixer set on medium speed until smooth. Pour mixture into several containers (some for you & your friends). Return batter to freezer and to solidify. This should last at least six months in the freezer. It is excellent as a nonalcoholic drink as well.

Earth Hour

In preparation for Earth Hour 2011 (March 26th at 8:30pm) the Gindicate is reviewing last years plans and dreaming up this years adventures!

Earth Hour 2010 was celebrated with much merriment in the Gindicate. We decided to take that hour to do a little candlelight gin tasting. It lasted far longer than the hour! We tried our 6 gins 3 ways: gin collins, gin & tonic, and traditional martini. We decided to go with a variety of different priced and available gins. The gins we played with that evening were:

• Martin Millers Westbourne
  
• Blue Coat
• No. 209
• New Amsterdam
• DH Krahn
• G'vine Floraison
  

We wanted to make sure that there was consistency in flavor so we used refresh collins mix, Q tonic, and Dolin's vermouth regardless of what might be "better" for the style of gin it was mixed with. We also were very particular with the number of ice cubes and how watered down they would get over time. We take our gin tasting very seriously!

We found that everyone had a different opinion on what worked best, with the different mixer/ingredient. Eventually we will get around to reviewing each gin separately, but just know ... fun was had by all. We hope you enjoy the photos taken with an iPhone using candlelight.

The Gindicate Test Kitchen

Last April we embarked on a new plan/mission: remove our outdated and dysfunctional kitchen. It seemed an easy task, IKEA had software and DIY instructions. What could be better than that? It only took us about 5 months (2 months without a stove) to get everything back in order. Because we were working so hard, doing it all ourselves, we didn’t gain any extra lbs from the fast food we were forced to eat! Also, those two months happened to be during June and July which meant that most meals were grilled.

Our poorly planned late 1940’s mess was refurbished cabinet doors that didn’t open beyond 45 degrees in the 1980’s (seen here without doors):

We demolished all the cabinets and removed the cracked tile flooring (yes, that’s the original window that now looks into the master bedroom addition):

We then laid in new walls and subflooring (some of which was missing under the original cabinets):

We then hand textured the walls with natural sponge and painted. Later laying in laminate flooring:

By this time (which is about June 2010) we have received our shipment of IKEA furniture. On the new flooring and a little padding we built all our cabinets:

There were a few setbacks in hanging the cabinets, but we were able to get it all together in the end! The countertops and sink went in smoothly:

We then put all the cabinet doors and handles on. The IKEA system is really easy, it went on in a few hours:

What ended up being the most difficult and rewarding part was tiling. We had ordered handmade clay tiles from Tiere y Fuego in San Diego. Being handmade made a huge difference in size and depth, everything was different. Each maker had a different style and I think we got at least two tile-maker’s batches. The colors were rich and vibrant which set off the wall color beautifully!

By the end of July our kitchen was usable, but we still had baseboards, touch up painting, and a fan light to install. All these things were slowly done over August. The main reason this took so long was that we still had day jobs. We worked 2 hours a night on the kitchen and all day Saturday and Sunday. Strangely enough, we have friends that had contractors take longer to complete kitchens for them. We’re grateful to be done and already making delicious food and drinks in our Gindicate Test Kitchen. I hope you will enjoy photos of our creations against the back drop of our DIY adventure.

We're back!

We'd like to start with a thank you to those who stuck with us while we were gone for nearly a year. There were many changes made within the Gindicate and we are happy to be back! That being said we did not quit our cocktailing lifestyle just stopped recording it. We will be posting within the next few weeks the major projects we embarked on since last March. Projects like ripping out, designing, and installing our new test kitchen. There will be more DIY explorations, bar reviews for the SF Bay Area, and of course discussions on Gin.

Thank you again for your patience!
Cheers!

To Gin or Not to Gin ...

As a Gin lover, I find that I can add Gin to pretty much any drink and really like it. The question of Gin-ing or not came up recently when trying to finish off a half bottle of French Champagne.

I'd heard that you can pair Champagne and Sloe Gin to produce a light, girly cocktail that is quite refreshing. The recipe is as follows:
Sloe Royale
1 oz Sloe Gin
3 oz Sparkling Wine
berry to garnish

Pour 1 oz Sloe Gin into Champagne flute. Top with 3 oz sparkling wine. Drop in a berry (seasonal) to garnish. Serve.

The problem I have is this. Does the Sloe Gin really enhance the cocktail or would it be better to place a hibiscus flower (that has been candied in syrup) at the bottom of the Champagne glass and top with sparkling wine? I have had both and have a very difficult time choosing a favorite. Maybe I'll just have to do a few more taste tests to see.

Happy Cocktails!