Whiskey – Elvis Sips!

Let’s Stir Up a Manhattan!

There are some classic cocktails that everyone has heard of. The Martini. The Old Fashioned. Gimlet. And, of course, the Manhattan.

This year, for the 2020 Woodford Reserve Manhattan Experience Competition, I created MY version of the perfect Manhattan. I was picked to go to the regionals in Columbus – and, like so many other events, it was postponed until the fall because of the Covid19.

So, before I share my recipe with you, I want to talk Manhattan. All in all, this is a simple cocktail. Three ingredients. You don’t even have to garnish it. You can serve it in a beautiful martini glass. Or in a double old fashioned glass over a giant ice cube. Like so many of the “Classics” there are no hard and fast rules anymore. You can experiment until you find exactly how you like it – just be sure to communicate clearly with your bartender if you want YOUR perfect Manhattan out at your favorite bar.

Whiskey. Vermouth. Bitters. That’s all there is too it. Traditionally – Rye Whiskey, Sweet Vermouth, and Angostura Bitters.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of Rye, I prefer a rich, smooth Bourbon. I used Woodford Reserve. It mixes well, and holds up to the other strong flavors in the Manhattan.

Sweet Vermouth… I’ve liked it, in small quantities. I tend to find it too heavy and overpowering in cocktails. So I used a mix of Rosso and Bianco Vermouth. Bianco Vermouth is a bit sweeter than Dry Vermouth, and has some beautiful floral, citrus notes that help to carry some brighter tasting notes to the front of the Manhattan. If you haven’t found a Vermouth that you love yet, keep trying. Go to a well-stocked liquor or wine store, and just peruse the many brands. Each brand has a distinct flavor profile. Do a little bit of research and pick one or two to try. I like Martini & Rossi and Dolin. (And PLEASE, once you open your vermouth PLEASE store it in the refrigerator!)

Angostura Bitters. They’re great. If those are the only bitters you have, use them! Your Manhattan will still be delicious. If you have other bitters (You can find some great bitters variety packs on Amazon.) play around with the ones you like the best. Cherry Bitters would be great. Or even Chocolate. For my Manhattan I used both Orange and Lemon Bitters. I like highlighting the citrus notes that appear throughout my ingredients in this cocktail.

So, without further ado –

Swanning Around Manhattan

2 oz Woodford Reserve
.25 oz Martini & Rossi Rosso Vermouth
.25 oz Martini & Rossi Bianco Vernmout
2-3 drops Orange Bitters
2-3 drops Lemon Bitters

In a mixing glass combine all ingredients. Add ice. Stir to properly chill and dilute. Approximately 10 seconds. Strain into a Double Old-Fashioned glass over a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange peel. (If you have a Luxardo cherry, through it in there! Those cherries are delicious!) Enjoy!

How do you put your own personal touch on a classic cocktail?

Hot White (Christmas) Chocolate

Who remembers playing outside in the snow as a kid? Sledding? Making Snowmen? Snowball fights? Just staying outside in the crisp, cold weather crunching through the snow until your cheeks were pink and your nose was froze? When it was finally time to go inside the perfect way to warm up was a steaming mug of Hot Chocolate. How did you top yours? Marshmallows? Whipped Cream? Or were you a purist, and drank yours with no garnish at all?

Growing up we had a really good homemade Hot Chocolate Mix. My mom had the recipe in an old church cookbook. It might have been my dad’s mom’s church cookbook, but I’m really not sure. I just remember that it was delicious. I made it a couple of years ago, and it was still good. But not as good as I remember. So I decided to create a new, easy, amazing Hot Chocolate.

I don’t know about you, but as an adult Hot Chocolate is a pretty big treat. My hot drinks tend to stay on the sensible side- coffee or tea. And if I’m craving Hot Chocolate, sometimes the powdered packet is just fine… but let’s face it, even the best powdered mixes aren’t that good. So, if you are going to have Hot Chocolate do yourself a favor, and make it a real treat. A rich, creamy, decadent (SPIKED) treat.

I love this recipe because it’s a little different. It features White Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder. You get all of these delicious layers of chocolate and it’s not too sweet. It’s amazing on its own, but even better if you spike it with a little smoethin’ somethin’ it’s even better.

Hot White (Christmas) Chocolate
1 bag (11oz) High Quality White Chocolate Chips
1 ½ Tablespoon Dark Chocolate Cocoa Powder
8 cups 1% Milk
1/3 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream
A couple of drops of Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Kosher Salt

In a heavy bottomed pot combine the heavy cream, about half the milk, the cocoa powder, and whisk well to combine. Add the rest of the ingredients. Stir often and keep an eye on the heat, you don’t want to scald the milk. Once the chips are melted and everything is heated through, give it a taste test. Add more cocoa powder, milk, or vanilla as needed.

You can also make this in a crockpot. Follow the same directions, but over low heat stirring every 30 minutes. Once hot, switch to the warm setting.

Serve with marshmallows, whipped cream, or nothing at all in your favorite mug!

This is amazing and child friendly, as is. Now let’s make it adult friendly. Some of my favorite additions are – Candy Cane Infused Vodka (as made in a previous post), Skrewball Peanut Butter Whiskey (who doesn’t love peanut butter and chocolate?), Fireball (cinnamon and chocolate for a little extra spice), your favorite bourbon (bourbon and chocolate pair so well together), Rum Chata (for a more mild, extra creamy addition), Kahlua (for a mocha-type drink)….. the possibilities are really endless. Let me know what your favorite is!

My favorite? LOTS of marshmallows and a healthy glug of Maker’s Mark.

Winter Warm-Ups

So, this post is delayed by a few days. I was going to make a nice post about some of my favorite winter warm-up drinks, like hot toddies and how they are not only delicious, but also medicinal… I made my drinks, I took my pictures, and then my throat started to hurt, I began to feel achy and chilled, and before I knew it, I was hit with a cold/flu/nastiness. I have been sleeping as much as possible and drinking lots of hot water/lemon/honey/ginger and I’m already feeling much better.

So, what is a hot toddy? A mixed drink, served hot traditionally made with whiskey, lemon, and honey.

I enjoy a traditional toddy when the weather starts getting chilly but by December, I’m ready to shake it up a little bit. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but I love pairing blackberry and whiskey. So, I made a Hot Blackberry Ginger Toddy… it just what I needed. The blackberry and honey mix so well, and with the fresh lemon juice it doesn’t get too sweet. Beam Black is my go-to for a drink like this- big enough flavors to stand up through the blackberry/ginger, but it still blends well into the cocktail. The ginger is absolutely necessary for me, but feel free to leave it out if you don’t have any or don’t like it. I need the bite of fresh ginger to balance the other flavors, but I understand fresh ginger is too much for many people. (ps – sorry for the not-great phots… this is all that I got before I accidentally drank it in my haze of oncoming sickness.)

Hot Blackberry-Ginger Toddy
1oz Honey (locally sourced is best, thank you Don Popp’s Honey Farm)
.5oz Fresh Lemon Juice
4 Blackberries
¼ – ½ inch piece of fresh Ginger, peeled and rough chopped
1.5oz Beam Black
5oz near boiling water

In a heat proof measuring glass combine Honey, Lemon Juice, Blackberries, and Ginger. Muddle the blackberries into the honey and lemon. Add Beam Black. Top with water and carefully stir to combine. Cover the top of the glass and let steep for 4 minutes. Pour through fine mesh strainer into your favorite mug and enjoy.

Do you have a favorite take on the Hot Toddy?

Up next… my Favorite White Christmas Hot Chocolate….

Cranberry, Spice, and Everything Nice

I know that I’m not alone when I say that I love the Holidays! From Thanksgiving (ok, if I’m being honest with myself, from Halloween) through Christmas and New Year’s Eve I love the Holidays. All of the decorations, the cool-to-cold weather, the first snow, and all of the amazing food! This time of year, we make all of those special recipes that define Thanksgiving and Christmas to our taste buds. The Cranberry Sauce simmering away on the stove. The Snickerdoodles baking in the oven. The Apple Pie cooling on the counter.

I don’t know about you, but I always end up with some odds and ends left over from a flurry of holiday cooking and baking. An apple or pear too bruised to use in a pie. About half a bag of cranberries that I didn’t use. I always over buy cinnamon sticks because I love cinnamon and I can always find someway to use it. So I gathered all of my leftover Thanksgiving goodies and threw them in a pot and let it simmer away for an hour or so… the kitchen smelled amazing as the flavors mingled and the liquid reduced.

Once cooled I mixed it with some Maker’s Mark and topped it with Fever Tree Ginger Beer. Honestly, it would mix well with almost any liquor, it just depends on what your feeling and what you have on hand. But your favorite vodka or rum (I would go with a Spiced Rum over a Silver Rum) or even a nice tequila would all be a nice addition to this reduction. If you don’t have Ginger Beer, Ginger Ale, Club Soda, or even just Sprite would be good. Or you could spike some Champagne or Sparkling Apple Juice to make a festive Mimosa. This juice is incredibly versatile. I was really tempted to reduce some of it down to a syrup to serve over pancakes- but that will have to wait for the next batch!

Let me know what you think and how you use this concoction!

Cranberry-Pear-Cinnamon-Maple Reduction

In a 5 quart pot combine-
-6 cups water
-12oz fresh Cranberries
-2 Pears (or Apples or one of each) cored and chopped
-2 Cinnamon Sticks
-5oz Demerara Sugar
-4oz Pure Maple Syrup
-and if you have an orange lying around, throw a slice or two into the pot

Bring it all to a slow boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 45 minutes. Taste test for desired sweetness/flavor concentration. Either continue reducing or allow to cool and strain into a storage container and chill.

Spiked Cranberry and Spice

In a Collins glass, over ice combine
1.5 oz Maker’s Mark (or your favorite spirit to get you in the Holiday Spirit)
2 oz Cranberry-Pear Reduction
Stir to combine
Top with Fever Tree Ginger Beer
Garnish with an Orange Wedge, Cranberries, or nothing at all.

Enjoy!

#WhatchaMakinWednesday (Part One)

Every Wednesday I try to create a new cocktail. I call it #WhatchaMakinWednesday. Sometimes it’s recipe testing for a competition drink. Sometimes it’s for a new seasonal menu. Sometimes it’s just something that I’ve been wanting to try.

I will (almost) always share the Wednesday recipe. But, I’ll be honest, sometimes my ideas just plain don’t work. I will try to share the #fails but no promises. And other times I prefer to keep my recipes a bit of a secret. I am always open to feed back and ingredient/flavor ideas. Or names for my cocktails. I’m SOOOO bad at naming them!

This weeks WhatchaMakin concoction was inspired by a few things. First, the PERFECT little Pears that I saw at the Farmer’s Market. Second, the Brown Sugar Simple Syrup that I made earlier in the week that is so good I want to take a bath in it! Third, it’s almost Fall and I’m craving some of those flavors. Thus, this bourbon-based libation sprang forth from the first fallen leaves fully formed and ready to be consumed.

What do you think?

1.5 ounces Maker’s Mark
1.5 ounces Pear Juice
1 ounce No Sugar Added Cranberry Juice
¾ ounce Brown Sugar Simple Syrup
¼ ounce Lemon Juice
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake for 10-15 seconds and either serve over ice or strain into a goblet/snifter and garnish with a slice of pear.

*Brown Sugar Simple Syrup Combine Equal Parts Dark Brown Sugar and Water over medium high heat. Stirring occasionally bring to a boil. Allow to cool and keep in the refrigerator until ready to use.

P.S. What would you name it?

National Bourbon Day

Today, June 14 is a very special day. It’s National Bourbon Day! Since I live in Cincinnati, and Kentucky is just across the river, Bourbon is pretty special in my region. I first started drinking bourbon shortly after I turned 21. I decided that the Whiskey Sour would be my go to drink (this was replaced after about 5 months with the Tequila Sunrise, but that’s another story). I spent many nights feeling oh so classy sipping on my well whiskey sour, with extra cherries please! It didn’t take me long to figure out that higher quality ingredients meant a much tastier cocktail, and a much more comfortable morning, if you know what I mean! From cheap well whiskey, to Maker’s Mark and Basil Hayden’s. From bright red maraschino cherries to the luxurious Luxardo. It’s safe to say I’ve upped my whiskey game over the years.

My taste for and appreciation of Bourbon has grown so much since my first few sours. As a bartender I hear all the time how people hate “brown liquor” (what does that even mean?) or that they can’t stand the “burn” with bourbon. Professionally I see this as a challenge. I firmly believe that if you don’t like a liquor you just haven’t had it in the correct drink yet- and I’m here to help!

So here are my three offerings for National Bourbon Day. I’ll list them, from I feel, is the most approachable, easy drinking, to the boldest, biggest bourbon flavors.

Tart Cherry Limeade-

1.5 ounces Red Stag

1 ounce Tart Cherry Simple Syrup*

topped with Lime Seltzer, right now I’m obsesses with a brand called Bubbly

Fill a Collins glass with ice, add the Red Stag, Cherry Syrup, and soda. Stir gently to combine and top with a couple of cherries.

Bourbon Bramble-

1.5 ounces Maker’s Mark

1 ounce Blackberry-Honey Syrup*

.5ounce Lemon Juice

Splash of soda water

I like to feel fancy with this drink, so I put it in a Wine glass. Combine the Maker’s, Syrup, and Lemon Juice in a Shaker, add ice, and shake vigorously for 20 seconds. Pour into the Wine glass, add a little more ice and soda for bubbles. Add a couple of blackberries to the glass and enjoy!

Blood Orange Old Fashioned-

2 ounces Woodford Reserve

1 ounce Blood Orange Simple Syrup* (I make my own, but you can find some at most liquor stores)

2 dashes Orange Bitters

Add ingredients to a rocks glass, stir to combine, top with ice and garnish with an orange or blood orange wedge and a Luxardo cherry if you have it.

*I’ll add some syrup recipes in the next couple of days. It is so worth it to make your own, especially if you can get the ingredients when they are in season!