Canecutter

Today we are drinking the Canecutter, a cocktail I found at the drinksmixer.com website, a clearinghouse for drink recipes.  It's a good resource for finding random drinks or shots, and you can search by the alcohol or drink name.  Much of it is reader-submitted, so use a discerning eye, lest you find yourself mixing 1 part Everclear and 1 part tonic (maybe that's your drink of choice, I don't know).

Canecutter
Recipe available here: http://www.drinksmixer.com/drink2673.html

1 oz dark rum
1 oz Kahlua
Coke
Ice
Ice first, then add rum, Kahlua and fill with Coca Cola. 

I wasn't entirely convinced of this drink until I tasted it.  It is really good!  Each component can be tasted, and together, it is one hell of a cocktail.  When you think about it, these flavors pair well together - coffee, dark rum, and coke make sense.  They are each rich in their own way, and over ice, the drink isn't excessively sweet. 

I think I used about 1.5-2oz of Coke, adding it to the top of the drink.  It ends up being the right amount to add.  Any more, and you're diluting the flavor in the alcohol.  Dark rum and Kahlua are fairly easy drinking, as alcohols go, making this a smooth cocktail all around.

I'd drink this before a night out and about.  It's a good pre-bar cocktail, because it isn't too sweet, it isn't too heavy, and when served over ice, it's fairly refreshing.  I could definitely see myself having more than one.

On Thursday we're drinking the Celeb_U_Bot, a vodka based cocktail you won't want to miss!  And, if time permits, we'll do a special scotch entry, continuing our ongoing series on the alcohol on Friday.

Have a great Tuesday!

White Russian & What We're Drinking This Week

Jam packed first post this week - we'll of course talk about what we're drinking this week, we listen to some relatively new music, and we'll be drinking the White Russian.

First though, I feel compelled to write something about the oil spill in the gulf.  60 Minutes, as it always does, scored the best interview available in the last 6 months, with a survivor of the oil rig explosion.  Not only was he a survivor, but the man was a high-level technical engineer on the rig, with knowledge of the operation and the events leading up the disaster.

This spill is catastrophic.  Recent news is that BP successfully built a mile-long pipe that can remove some of the oil spilt.  One of the BP reps said that the pipe would capture upwards of 80% of the oil.  Forgive me for being skeptical.

It's hard to put any faith in a company that is both accepting and disclaiming responsibility for this disaster.  BP CEO Tony Hayward has been on the airwaves, loudly pronouncing that everyone else is at fault.  Meanwhile, BP has said that they will cover the costs of clean-up, while also having sought out legal waivers for whatever destruction may arise to homeowners near the water.  It's a big jumbled mess; a confluence of half-baked PR and legal strategies. 

And I don't need to see pictures of the poor animals washing up on shore to know that this spill will be devastating on the ecosystem of the Gulf.  Whatever the projected losses are at this point, double or triple them, because it's likely that whatever spillage information BP has shared to date is a fraction of the actual amounts.

I'm hoping that this accident shines some sunlight on drilling operations, putting worker and environmental safety ahead of profit driven enterprises willing to cut corners for an extra hundred-million. 

Soundtrack this week:  Broken Bells, Broken Bells - Broken Bells is James Mercer lead singer from The Shins, and Danger Mouse the DJ.  The first track, "The High Road" is a hell of a song.  I was telling some friends though that I think the rest of the album is good, but not great.  Like many other Danger Mouse efforts (apart from Danger Doom, which was an incredible rap album) about half of the album is really good and the other half is just so so.  It's worth a listen though, for the first track alone - it's an excellent song.

What We're Drinking This Week:

- Today: White Russian - the classic drink of Big Lebowski infamy, which we drink today. 

- Wednesday: Bee's Knees - gin, honey, and lime juice.  I love the name of the drink, as it portends good things to come.

-  Friday:  Petite Fleur - white rum, Cointreau and grapefruit juice.  I'm a big fan of grapefruit anything, so this one is likely to be a winner. 

Without further ado, let's have a White Russian!  Cue obligatory picture of the Dude holding a White Russian:

American Bar, page 197


White Russian

1 oz vodka
3/4 oz Kahlua
cream

Stir liquors over ice cubes in a mixing glass, strain into a sherry glass, top with light whipped cream.

For this cocktail, I'm using Ketel One vodka, Kahlua of course, and canned whipped cream. 

This drink doesn't really need much of an introduction.  The White Russian is a cocktail that even non-drinkers enjoy.  It is smooth, flavorful, sweet, and delicious.  The coffee notes are perfectly counterbalanced with the heat of the vodka - kind of in a similar way that an Irish Coffee imparts a nice bite to the mix of the cocktail. 

The White Russian was so good in fact, that I forgot to take a photo of the drink before taking a sip.  Hell, I finished the drink off before realizing that I didn't have a photo of the cocktail itself.

While the White Russian is served over ice, I find it to be a relatively warming drink because of the vodka.  As a result of its warming tendencies and the use of ice, the White Russian can be consumed in the winter or summer and seems to fit in nicely no matter the weather. 

As you no doubt noticed above, I used canned whipped cream in the place of lightly whipped cream, as the instructions call for.  I did a quick blast of the canned stuff and it worked flawlessly.  Know though, that if you attempt to impart it into the drink out of a can, you might not get an appealing looking mix.  It will taste fine, it just might look as though the cream has coagulated.

Looking forward to the other cocktails this week - until then, cheers!

Ring of Kerry Cocktail

Today we're drinking a cocktail called the Ring of Kerry, a drink named after the southwest coast in Ireland.  We will of course be discussing the drink in greater detail, but before proceeding ahead, I have to talk about Lost.

I don't want to post over and over again about television shows, but I just watched this week's Lost episode, and I feel like I have no choice but to write about it.

I've been with this show since day one.  I liked the pilot episode, and was hooked thereafter. 

This episode threw more sci-fi stuff into the equation than ever before, and I'm not sure how I feel about it.  You always figured that this day would come, that one day there would be an episode with questionable special effects, and even more questionable explanations of island events.  But I almost wanted to believe that with such little time left, they may gloss over such things, and neatly explain the island here and there in the episodes that remained. 

I'm conflicted.  I appreciate trying to tie the island into something greater than say, generic mysticism, but isn't that what they're doing with a beam of light emanating from a cave?  And what's the mother's backstory?  I suppose it's as the mother says in the episode, every question will lead to more questions.

Maybe what troubles me most is that when the light emanates from the cave I feel like I'm watching Star Trek.  I know that Lost was a sci-fi drama from essentially day one, but, the producers and writers played it cool and never used special effects in such a way that I checked-out mentally.  This episode provided me with such a moment with both the cave-light, and the terrible generic description of what the light meant. 

I still love the show.  I still think it's the best TV series I've seen (I haven't seen The Wire yet, which I always hear may be better).  I'm still going to watch the last couple shows with great interest.  I just wish that this past episode dealt with the cave, the light, and whatever it represents in a better manner.

From Lost's island realm, we now turn to another island, Ireland. 

I love Ireland.  It's easily accessible from the east coast, and cheap flights are always available.  It's culturally rich, has excellent drink and food selections, and has some of the most beautiful pastoral scenes this side of a Giorgione's Fête champêtre.

I was last in Ireland in 2006, and took the following photos while at the Ring of Kerry, to give you an idea of the landscape (and one self-evident sign that I found humorous).  It's a beautiful place, and well worth your time when there.

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 169

Ring of Kerry

1 12 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
1/2 oz Kahlua

Shake all the ingredients well with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Sprinkle 1 tsp grated chocolate over the top.

For this cocktail, I used good old Jameson, the highest selling Irish whiskey in the world.  Use whatever you like, but if you have good Irish whiskey, something that's worth drinking neat, save it.  I also realized I had no chocolate in the house, or at least, nothing I could shave.  I used cocoa powder in its place, and it turned out great.
This is an outstanding cocktail.  It's not too sweet, not too rich, and has just enough alcohol to give it a little bite.  It will remind you of all the Bailey's or Kahlua cocktails you've had in the past - the White Russian in particular.  The difference though, is that this cocktail isn't made with any cream or milk, and as a result, there less more of a pronounced flavor. 

Consider this cocktail a nice choice in the event you have some leftovers from your St. Patrick's Day party.  Or, drink it for a late May Day holiday treat.  May Day is an Irish holiday occurring on May 1st.

Tomorrow, we're going to check out the Venus cocktail - a cocktail that includes fresh raspberries that are shaken along with the rest of the drinks contents.  I'm looking forward to checking it out. 

Until then, cheers!