Cocktail of the Week #10

Wow, it's hard to believe I've been blogging this now for almost 3 months!
Well I like to make each of these posts relatable to one another if I can. So referring back to my write up on Zubrowka, I have a cocktail for you that's light for spring and quenching for summertime.

I want to preface this cocktail with a note from all Mixologists and cocktail bartenders... Mixing with vodka as a base spirit is so terribly simple anyone can do it. Because of that fact we as bartenders generally stay away from it. Not only to challenge ourselves, but to challenge our guests too. We pride ourselves as mixologists in helping people discover a new favourite drink, while educating them and straying the away from the common pitfalls of the overly sweet martinis and the vodka cranberry (also known as a cape codder, if there's a lime involved.)

Enough of my rambling, enjoy my grassy gimlet.

2 oz. Zubrowka Vodka
3 large leaves of lemongrass (2 tbsp if you were to chop it up)
3/4 oz. fresh Lime Juice
1/4 oz. Velvet Falernum
1 dash of Lime Bitters or Simon Difford's Margarita Bitters.

In a shaker glass, muddle the lemongrass with the Velvet Falernum until fragrant. Add bitters, lime juice and vodka. Shake until frosty, double strain through a fine mesh strainer; serve in a chilled cocktail coupe with a lime twist, and savour!

Bringing It All Home.

I haven't posted much this past week, solely because I was in Chicago. It's that place where I can find pretty much anything I want in the liquor world. And if my good friends at Binny's Beverage Depot don't have it they'll find it for me! Well this time I have brought back 3 spirits for your tasting pleasure (well I brought more, but 3 is plenty for now). Velvet Falernum, Hum, and some Batavia Arrack.

Taylor's Velvet Falernum is a sweet rum based liqueur from Barbados; with some very delightful aromas and tastes. At first smell you get cloves, and it really dominates the fragrance of the liqueur. But when one tastes the beverage you immediately taste sugar, lime and then the cloves at the finish. It's only 11% ABV so it certainly makes an ideal replacement for a simple syrup with spice notes. It's probably one of my favourite liqueurs to work with. Its one of those liqueurs that is extremely versatile. I look at it like a Maraschino or Tuaca.

Next, Hum, a botanical spirit predominantly of hibiscus, ginger, cardamom and kaffir limes. The latter two are of my favourite scents, so I may be just slightly partial, well that and a friend turned me on to it. The liqueur itself is pretty potent, and a little goes a long way. But i discovered you can bring out certain characteristics of the beverage by pairing it with a different ingredient. Apples for example bring out the ginger in the liqueur, where as I find ginger ale itself seems to make the cardamom pop more. It's 70 proof, so enjoy responsibly.

Finally, Batavia Arrack Van Oosten. Some people have seen the words Arrack and Arak, and often confuse the two. Arak is an anise spirit from the middle east. Arrack (arak in some parts of indonesia, it's not confusing at all!) in this case is a relative of rum! It is created in the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), on the island of Java. What makes this spirit unique is the Javan red rice that is added to the beer (fermented sugar cane juice) and distilled. It still maintains the fiery sweetness you find in rum, with an approachable dryness. But has a nice almost floral aroma to it. This one sits at 100 proof. It going to make a great base spirit for some summer drinks, I almost prefer it over rum itself.

Hope you enjoyed my spirited reviews for the month! Cheers!