Great Cocktails

[MrWookie]

I came back to this thread to try a cocktail I haven't tried yet. I still haven't bought Campari or Grand Marnier, so their cocktails were out. However, I realized I haven't tried a Ward Eight. I knew the recipe, but I'd never made myself one. The recipe is pretty easy:

2 oz bourbon
0.5 oz lemon juice
0.5 oz orange juice
1 tsp grenadine

Shake and serve up with a lemon wheel

I actually took Paul Harrington's advice and made a substitution for the grenadine. According to his book Cocktail, grenadine used to be more than more than a red sugary syrup. I sub-ed in Whidbey's Liqueur, a loganberry liqueur made on Whidbey Island, WA. It's a great liqueur on its own, but I think it could fill the sweet and fruity roll of the grenadine here.

Trying this out, I think it was a good switch. Basically, this is a classic cocktail with a little berry in the finish. It's just a hair rougher than a Sidecar, which has resemblance to this drink's recipe. This is a solid drink, and I'm sorry I haven't tried it earlier.

Additionally, I forgot to add a recipe for a classic drink I love: the Godfather.

2 oz Scotch or bourbon
1 oz Amaretto

Personally, I refer to the bourbon version as "The Godfather, Part 2," but both are solid, even I do make the bourbon version more. This is a solid drink for bourbon lovers, or for people who want something a little sweeter than straight bourbon.

[katyseagull]

The drink you made is called a Ward Eight?

[MissT74]

First time I've seen this thread, I think I'm going to go through it and make one right now as I peruse the 2+2 forum and watch Dog the Bounty Hunter, until Boston Legal comes on.

What a life, eh? I'll let you all know what I'm drinking. I can make almost anything, my liquor cabinet is pretty well stocked.

T

[MissT74]

Well, I realized that I had no juice, unless I wanted to raid my daughters Capri Suns so I went with my standard: Apple Martinis.

3 parts vodka
1 part apple puckers
shake and serve

Yummy.

Now, I know I'm kind of "new" to The Lounge, but I think you guys might be in for a treat as the alcohol kicks in. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

It's a powerful drink!

T

[MrWookie]

Katy,

Yes.

[MissT74]

So check it out, now that I know how to post pics (giggle) see my awesome martini glasses that I got for Christmas a few years ago from the ex-hubby....hand painted, bought off of eBay.

Hope they come out OK....





(Bonus: School picture of daughter in the background [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] )

T

[MissT74]

Check out what I just bought on eBay!



T

[james_stansky22]

Anyone ever try salty dogs.
5 oz grapefruit juice
1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 tsp salt

[MrWookie]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A Negroni.

I love Campari so I am biased

[/ QUOTE ]

This is one classic I have not tried. I've been unsure whether I'd like Campari, so I've never bothered to buy a bottle. One of these days I will, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
A Negroni.

I love Campari so I am biased

[/ QUOTE ]

This is one classic I have not tried. I've been unsure whether I'd like Campari, so I've never bothered to buy a bottle. One of these days I will, though.

[/ QUOTE ]

Campari trip report:

I picked up a bottle the other day for the first time. However, I remembered that I actually lied about not having a Negroni before. Back in college, I actually had had a sip of a Negroni, but I was pretty drunk at the time. The guy who taught me most everything I know about bartending offered me a sip of his, but I couldn't recall for you anything about what it tasted like up until now. According to him, a Negroni was the only way he liked Campari. He'd introduced me to all sorts of weird [censored] that I ended up liking, at least occasionally: Benedictine, Drambuie, Chartreuse, Pernod, and others. These are out-there liqueurs that not all that many people actually think are tasty, and the fact that he liked these but not Campari always had an effect on me. I'd never really wanted to plunk down for it when I could instead buy something I'm sure I'd like. I decided to venture to the last frontier and change that.

I don't have a great word for what was running through my head when I first tried Campari neat. Whenever I try a new liquor, I always have it neat and warm. That's the only way to really get a sense for what it's all about, even if you usually expect to drink it mixed and cold. Campari was a strange, bitter liqueur. It was reminiscent of cough syrup with a sharp, bitter aftertaste, but it didn't linger in my throat as long as Robitussin. I can't say I liked it.

So, my next job was to try a Negroni. The recipe I used was equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, stirred. The initial flavor I almost grew to like as I finished the drink. However, the aftertaste of the Campari was still there, and I couldn't get past it. Something about that flavor just doesn't agree with me. I'm going to give it one last shot in a drink called a Jasmine, but at this point, I doubt that purchasing this was a good decision.

OK, the Jasmine was much better, but it was pretty much a recipe for success from the start. It was 1.5 oz gin, 0.75 oz lemon juice, and 0.25 oz each of Campari and Cointreau. It was as pink as choice parts of the female anatomy I'm not supposed to describe in detail in the Lounge, but I liked this cocktail much better. The Campari took a back seat to the three cocktail ingredients I actually like, but it was still a hint of complexity that kept the Jasmine from being yet another version of "two parts strong, one part sweet, one part sour." If I ever finish off the bottle of Campari I bought, it'll probably be after 20 or so of these.

[smokingrobot]

The Manhattan, not to be confused with the crap that is popular and fruity, is a robust and classic beverage. If you like dark spirits, you'll dig it.