Gin Rickey

Last night, The Amateur Mixologist played in his weekly soccer match, pulling out a 5-5 draw against a good side filled mainly with quality Brits.  I spent 50% of the match taunting them for the latest snooker scandal in England.  Only kidding of course.  No one gives a shit about snooker, not even the Brits, and it's their sport.  A draw is a decent result, but, I was exhausted. 

The Gin Rickey turned out to be an excellent choice for me on a night after such hard work.

Gin Rickey
Taken from Esquire's fantastic online drink database, available here.

1/2 ounce lime juice

2 ounces London dry gin
club soda

Squeeze the lime juice into a Collins glass full of ice. Add the gin, throw in the lime half, and top up with bubbly water of choice. That's it. Don't let anybody convince you to put sugar in this. You can use other liquors, adjusting the name accordingly.

This Gin Rickey tastes like a bizarro-Sprite, and yet, is oddly refreshing.  The drink makes for a perfect nightcap after playing a soccer game.  It's not particularly alcohol heavy, it's served cold, hell, one could convince themselves that this would have been a sports drink 200 years ago. 

As Peggy said on last week's Mad Men, we need 3 ingredients for a cocktail, and this fits the bill, barely. [I believe she said that 2 ingredients is "an emergency", a line that I liked very much.  Unfortunately though for Peggy, the world of cocktails has taken a back seat to 2-drink choices in the last 2-3 decades - though we're fighting against it in recent years!!  Good on us.]

It's also worth pointing out that I cheated a bit on this cocktail.  I didn't use fresh lime juice.  The limes I had at the house had faded and faded fast.  See?

Not only that, I didn't use London dry gin.  I used Leopold's small batch gin made in Colorado.  Leopold's is excellent, and I highly recommend checking out their Blackberry Flavored Wishkey.  I know that it sounds a little strange, flavor-wise, but it is unique and very good.

Our Gin Rickey turned out nicely.  And, the Gin Rickey is a cocktail that provides plenty of room for error - so throw in that bottled lime juice and non-London dry gin if available - give this one a go!

See you on Friday!

Mexican Mule

And we're drinking!!  Great success!

I've been talking about the Mexican Mule for at least a week now, and we're finally giving it a try. 

Mexican Mule
The Ultimate Bar Book, page 294

2 oz gold tequila
1 oz fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
3 to 4 oz chilled ginger ale

Shake all ingredients but the ginger ale vigorously with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled highball glass, and top with ginger ale.

This is a great cocktail for the end of the summer.  It's sweet, but not too sweet.  It's refreshing, shaken over ice and served over ice.  And, it's got an interesting spice to it too, in the same way a hefeweizen has a little spice. 

I wouldn't have paired ginger ale and tequila together on my own.  The combination would never have occurred to me, but, it works.  The ginger ale obviously adds some fizz, but it counterbalances from of the harsher notes of the rest of the drink (the acidity of the lime juice, the flavor of gold tequila - not my favorite flavor profile among liquors I assure you).

Also, you'll notice in the picture above that I made some simple syrup and am using my own bottling of the same.  It's incredibly easy - 1 part sugar to 1 part water, bring to boil.  Use any bottle you have lying around the kitchen, or, go purchase one of the oil/vinegar bottles at Target.  Just make sure it's clean, and refrigerate it.  I also added a tablespoon of vodka so that it keeps a bit longer (upwards of 6 months or so, though if ever looks cloudy, throw it out). 

Definitely give the Mexican Mule a go some time before the summer is out - you won't regret it. 

Also, I promised a Speyside post yesterday, and plan to put it up here this afternoon.  Until then, cheers!

Bacardi Cocktail

Wowza!  It's been an interesting last 48 hours.  Today, we'll be drinking the Bacardi Cocktail in the place of the Mexican Mule.  More on that in a minute...

E-mail went down at the office yesterday, for the entire morning and afternoon.  We couldn't send or receive e-mail, nor could we retrieve e-mails from the system generally.  In other words, if your only way to obtain contact information from someone was in an e-mail they sent, you were SOL.  It was strange to be so isolated from information that is so valuable for daily tasks.  I didn't miss the mundane e-mails that come and go, day in day out.  I did miss the opportunity to access information quickly and efficiently from prior correspondence.

In any event, today we're drinking the Bacardi Cocktail for one simple reason - I don't have any ginger ale.  None. Nada.  I started pulling the Mexican Mule ingredients together, and noticed I was missing out on one of its key ingredients.  And, it was late.  I fumbled through The Ultimate Bar Book, and found a more-than-suitable alternative: the Bacardi Cocktail!

Bacardi Cocktail
The Ultimate Bar Book, page 252

2 oz Bacardi light or gold rum
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine
Maraschino cherry

Shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with the cherry.

I had a little help on the tasting of the drink from JB.  She thought that the drink tasted tart and sweet.  "It tastes like some fruity drink I would have had in college," she said. 

I agree.  This is a rather sweet, tart cocktail.  It's good, but not great.  It's similar to the Celeb_U_Bot we tried last week - a fair amount of juice and added sugar (in this case, the grenadine, the Celeb_U_Bot, good old fashioned sugar).  One of these is likely enough, if for no other reason than the juice and sugar will give you a wicked hangover if you have too many of the Bacardi Cocktail.

Next week, we will no doubt tackle the Mexican Mule, with ginger ale and all.  Until then, have an excellent weekend and drink one for me!

New Yorker

Today we're drinking the New Yorker cocktail, a bourbon based drink that surprised me, even when it shoudn't have.

New Yorker
The Ultimate Bar Book, page 360

1 1/2 oz bourbon (or rye)
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon of sugar
Dash of grenadine
Orange twist
Lemon twist

Pour the bourbon and lime juice into an ice-filled old fashioned glass.  Add the sugar and grenadine and stir well  Twist the lemon and orange peels over the drink, and drop them in.

This was an unexpected flavor profile, but upon some reflection, it should not have been surprising at all.  I looked at its contents before drinking it, and despite seeing a few additions that should have clued me in, I just assumed this was related to an Old Fashioned.  It isn't.  This tastes like an alcoholic fruit drink.  A strong one, but still, the lime juice is quite prominent.  The sugar and grenadine are both adding plenty of sugar too, to cut through the tart qualities of the juice.

You'll notice that I did not include an orange twist in the cocktail.  No doubt it would have imparted some flavor to the drink, though I believe the cocktail worked out just fine without it.  As my internal rules state: never let a garnish stand between you and a cocktail.

I'd make one of these for standard summer fare, a BBQ or a gathering of friends.  I would suggest though, using a basic bourbon, as the nuance in something more expensive, like a Woodford Reserve bottle that I used, will be lost in the shuffle.

See you on Thursday!

Celeb_U_Bot

I'm heading to Chicago today for Lollapalooza.  It's one of my favorite music festivals, and is always put on in an excellent fashion.  Like most festivals, I go because of the middle-acts and not the headliners.  This year, some of my favorite bands, like The National and Arcade Fire will be playing.  Some new bands that I love, like Yeasayer, will be there as well. 

Hope you all have an excellent weekend as well - maybe this cocktail will put you well on your way:

Celeb_U_Bot
(You can find the recipe at the Svedka vodka website.)

Pour all ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake vigorously.
Pour into a martini glass and garnish with a lime wedge (optional).

• 2 parts SVEDKA Vodka
• 1 part Fresh Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Sugar (or Simple Syrup)
• Splash Lemon Juice

This is a flavorful cocktail, more flavorful than most vodka based cocktails.  The lime juice is strong, adding a nice sour kick to the cocktail.  My friend Justin, who was over drinking this with me, thought that it was "sweet, with a slight bitter feeling to it."  He added "you can hardly tell you're drinking any alcohol."

It is sweet, without a doubt, but it works.  It's similar to any sour drink you'd make, and since the vodka isn't imparting any noticeable flavor, you're going to get a lot of the lime juice on your palate.

Alright friends - I'm off to see some music!  See you next week!

Cucumber Margarita

As a kid, I remember an oft-played TV commercial that ran in the summertime.  "It's hot, and you need a pool!" the man said, over and over again.  He was right!  At 8 years old, all you want is a pool. 

At my age now, I want a cold drink!  We've got just the ticket: the Cucumber Margarita!

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 293

Cucumber Margarita

1 tablespoon superfine sugar
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 cup thinly sliced English cucumber
1 1/2 oz silver tequila
1 oz Cointreau

Put the sugar and lime juice in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass.  Add the cucumber and muddle.  Add the tequila and Cointreau.  Fill the glass with ice and stir.

Damn this is a solid cocktail.  It is a wonderful confluence of the traditional margarita flavors and the fresh taste of summer cucumbers.

Admittedly, I did not use an English cucumber.  I used the more heavily seeded variety that grows in my backyard garden.  If you happen to do the same, remember to take out the seeds in the middle.  Simply slice through the middle and take out the seeds individually with the edge of the knife or you could simply cut out the middle (you'll lose some of the great cucumber taste the more you cut up the middle).

This is a sweet cocktail, no doubt about it. It's sweeter than your usual margarita - there is a tablespoon of sugar in here after all.  It goes down really smoothly though, and isn't sickly sweet. 

I'm particularly a fan of this cocktail because my garden has produced an abundance of cucumbers this year.  It's as though the cucumber plant watched John & Kate plus 8 and got inspired (minus the trashiness, of course - my cucumbers are classy as hell).

Friday, we drink the St. Germain Cocktail.  I'm very excited about this one - and I know JB is too.  Ladies love St. Germain Cocktails.  Love them!  If you're a single guy, buy a bottle for the next time you need to make a drink at your house - it will go over well, I assure you.

See you Friday!

La Floridita Daiquiri

One of the great features of The Ultimate Bar Book are the cocktail derivations that are regularly featured alongside the main drink.  Want a different kind of daiquiri, one that's apart from the norm?  You'll find 10 of them readily available and easy to follow.

La Floridita Daiquiri is one of the alternatives, with only a slight change from the typical light rum, simple syrup and lime juice concoction.

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 262

La Floridita Daiquiri

2oz light rum
1/4oz maraschino liqueur
3/4oz fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar

Combine all ingredients but the garnish in a blender with 1/2 cup ice.  Blend until smooth.  Poor into a chilled cocktail glass.

This is the first blended drink we've made on The Amateur Mixologist.  I pulled out the trusty blender, often used in my house for morning smoothies, and was set to go.  You should know that 1/2 cup of ice is a really small amount of ice, particularly if you're dealing with large cubes.

I blended the drink on the "Ice Crush" setting, and wouldn't you know, only after did I come to understand that the "Food Processor" setting was the better option.  Once I was done though, even if it didn't look all that frothy and slushy (it was more like small ice-chips), I gave it a sip.  Good thing too, because it was excellent.

This is a fitting next step after having made the Aviation cocktail last Friday.  There is of course maraschino liqueur in both drinks, and it is undoubtedly the reason for the similar flavor profile.  And with all the additional water from the ice cubes, it is a lighter and colder cocktail.  The result is a really nice cooling drink.  In no way is it sweet and foo-foo-y.  In other words, you don't find a plastic sword served along side this one. It's simply a nice alternative to the classic daiquiri.

On Friday, we'll be checking out the Shamrock.  Appreciate the e-mails, as always.  Keep them coming!

Until Friday, have an excellent week!

Matador

Today we're drinking the Matador cocktail, a drink with three simple ingredients: gold tequila, pineapple juice, and fresh lime juice. 

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 289

Matador

1 1/2 oz gold tequila
3 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Shake the ingredients vigorously with ice.  Strain into an ice-filled old-fashioned glass.

This is an ideal cocktail for pineapple juice lovers.  The pineapple juice is not subtle, it dominates the drink.  In fact, in certain sips, I couldn't taste the tequila.  I certainly couldn't detect the lime juice.

Here's the thing about such a drink though:  Invariably at one point in your life you likely purchased a large bottle of Jose Cuervo Especial Gold tequila, and you've probably consumed less than half of it.  It now sits on the back of a shelf, collecting piles of dust.  Now is your chance to use the rest of the bottle. 

Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of Jose Cuervo Especial Gold.  It tastes cheap to me.  Nicer, more refined tequilas have a depth of flavor that is missing with Cuervo Especial Gold's hard punch to the gut taste.  Cuervo makes good tequila, no doubt, but their mainstay Especial Gold bottling is not my favorite.

The Matador though, is highly drinkable, and, with its 1.5oz contribution of the Cuervo Especial Gold in each serving, you'll be finished with your old bottle in no time!  And, since you're post-college, or soon will be, you can probably afford to step up your game, and buy some better quality agave-based liquor.

I'd recommend the Matador for any summer occasion.  It's served over ice, has a fair amount of liquid content making it a little more suitable for larger sips, and it's got a strong fruit juice component.  Serving it at a BBQ would of course make sense, but why not make one when you're just sitting around in the afternoon reading a good book?  I'd do it. 

This Friday, we drink the Aviation - one of my favorite cocktails.  Until then, cheers!

Jack Rose, Revisit

As long time readers may recall, the 5th cocktail we ever produced on The Amateur Mixologist was the Jack Rose.  It didn't go well. 

At the time, I figured that my dislike of the cocktail had something to do with the powdered sugar in the recipe, though my aversion to powdered sugar was debunked, in a way, by the successful inclusion of powdered sugar in the Fireman's Sour. 

If the powdered sugar wasn't the contributing factor, perhaps the calvados that I had purchased was too low-rent for this, or any other cocktail (the jury is still out on this one, as my calvados was, and is still, suspect).

No matter what the reason, the first go-round of the Jack Rose was a complete and utter failure.

Why revisit it, you ask?  Good question. 

I received a thought-provoking e-mail from reader Mark in Minnesota, who made some helpful suggestions about the drink - namely, was my lime juice may have been out of date, and perhaps more pointedly, that should I use a fresh squeezed lime in the place of its bottled equivalent.  All good comments and suggestions. 

I'm a big fan of bottled lime or lemon juice.  But, it has to be real lime or lemon juice.  None of the fake-lime looking squirt bottle, and Rose's lime juice doesn't count either (it's sweetened lime juice, a wholly different than real lime juice).  Bottled lime juice though offers consistency that real limes may not provide.  It's kind of like buying frozen peas - you're guaranteed a consistently good and fresh product compared to the non-frozen equivalent.

Today, we're going to revisit the Jack Rose, with an entirely new recipe.  And, we're going to try it with fresh squeezed lime juice, and we're going to try it with bottled lime juice (non-expired, of course).

And where are we getting our recipe?  Wikipedia.  I know, I know.  Wikipedia can sometimes be about as resourceful as the neighborhood blowhard.  I feel though that it's a good fit for finding cocktail recipes.  At a minimum, it can't be worse that what we used the last time around.

Jack Rose Wikipedia Entry, with recipe

3 parts applejack
2 parts lemon or lime juice
2 dashes grenadine

Traditionally shaken into a chilled glass, garnished, and served straight up.

First things first, I want to point out how different this recipe is from the original recipe used.  The original recipe called for a full barspoon of powdered sugar, whereas this recipe contains no powdered sugar.  Also, there is a bit more juice in this recipe than in the prior recipe.  Back to our broadcast....

Test Group # 1 - Bottled lime juice

I am happy to report that this is night and day compared to my first experience.  This cocktail is tart, but just sweet enough to be not merely palatable, but tasty. 

Whereas I said that the first Jack Rose tasted as though it was made in the backyard of a meth lab, this cocktail tastes as though it was made at a country club pool.  It's warm weather material, to be sure - on a hot summer day, this cocktail will cool you off and isn't too sweet.  I also made too large a drink for my own good.  As you may be able to tell in the photo, I used 3oz of calvados, 2oz of lime juice and about half an ounce of grenadine. 

Two of these boys and you're going to be housed in short order.  Moving on!

Test Group # 2 - Fresh squeezed lime juice

Boy, this is an interesting result.  I like both cocktails.  I think they are both very good, and certainly far better than the first effort.  But, they taste vastly different from one another. 

Where the first cocktail was pleasantly tart, this version, with real limes, is a little more subtle, a little more nuanced.  In some ways, it tastes as though the limes are a tad under ripe, which is not necessarily a bad thing.  The limes are imparting a great flavor into the cocktail that wasn't there with the bottled stuff.

Was bottled lime juice bad?  No, quite to the contrary in fact.  It was exactly as I've believed most bottled lime juice (of any quality anyway) to be - it was consistent. 

You'll notice too, that I made a small drink, thankfully.

I think the take away is that fresh limes, if available, provide unique nuance that isn't available out of even the best bottled lime juice.  But, don't pass on a cocktail simply because fresh lime juice is not available.  High quality bottled stuff is good, and makes good drinks, but I'm all for nuance, and probably preferred the freshy-fresh over the bottled stuff on this particular occasion.


Thank you to Mark in Minnesota for piquing my interest in the Jack Rose once again, and giving me a reason for this revisit.  The Jack Rose is a winner.  The first recipe I used though, was not a winner, it was dreadful.

Until Friday, cheers!

Cucumber Cooler

So, while writing this post on this random Wednesday evening, I happened to be watching the Detroit Tigers baseball game, which was in the 9th inning.  Their pitcher, Armando Galarraga, was on the final out of a perfect game.  He had one more batter to face.  He would have been the 21st pitcher to pitch a perfect game in all of baseball history.

But it was not to be.  Not because he didn't deserve it, but rather, because of a bad call.  The play in question, a play in which Galarraga covered first as the first baseman was pulled off the bag to field the hit, wasn't even close.  The baserunner was out by a full step.

It's sad.  Galarraga deserved the perfect game.  This is likely to haunt him for the rest of his life.  The ump too though will suffer.  This game, this call, will haunt him for the rest of his life.  It's terrible for everyone involved.

Interestingly enough, unbeknownst to me, I was watching the Indians feed.  I didn't realize it at the time, I thought I was watching the Tigers feed.  The Indians announcers, the opposing team's announcers, were baffled by the call.  I can't imagine how the Tigers broadcast must have sounded (actually, I switched over once I realized I was on the Indians broadcast, and let's just say that the Tigers announcers were pissed).

In better news though, we're a mere 9 days away from the United State v. England in the World Cup.  We'll delve more fully into the World Cup next week, as the group play gets underway.  The US team just arrived in South Africa, and the build-up is getting to me, bit by bit.  I've watched the Nike ad about 100 times by now, and each time I get really excited to see the US players (and Cesc too, obviously, throwing aside the newspaper).  If you haven't seen it, it's worth a couple minutes of your time.  Check it out, here. 

Today, we're drinking the Cucumber Cooler!  Perfect for the summer:

Recipe taken from Hendrick's Gin website, available here.

Cucumber Cooler

1 1/2 oz Hendrick's Gin
3/4 oz St. Germain
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
soda water
5 mint leaves

Place all ingredients but soda water in a long glass. Muddle gently. Add ice and top with soda water. Add a cucumber garnish.

This is a superb, refreshing, summer cocktail.  What exactly makes this cucumber-y enough to be called a Cucumber Cooler is admittedly a bit lost on me.  Sure, there is a cucumber garnish.  And, if you were to add the garnish to the mix, like dropping it in the drink, there would be an added cucumber flavor.  I will say that eating the cucumber garnish, as I have in this particular instance, is a nice compliment to the drink.  Know though that there isn't much of a cucumber flavor to the drink itself, as the name would suggest.

But no matter what you call the drink, it's good, and can easily be compared to other summer favorites like the Mojito and the Tom Collins - drinks that offer cooling refreshment by way of both ice and the addition of soda water. 

The mint leaves offer a nice addition as well, providing aromatics at the end of the drink that make for a quality finish.  Make a big batch of Cucumber Coolers for your next BBQ, or just make a couple for you and your better half.  You'll enjoy the cocktail, and it may give you a reason to purchase Hendrick's and St. Germain, two excellent bottles that should be in your collection.

Unfortunately, this is an abbreviated week due to the holiday and my impending departure to Detroit (Rock City) for my friends' wedding. 

Coming up next week...

Next week we're going to delve into some reader suggestions.  We've received some quality ideas recently from you all, and it's time to share the ideas with the masses.  We'll also revisit the Jack Rose, so look alive on that one.  As always, we here at the Amateur Mixologist appreciate your readership, comments, suggestions and feedback - and look forward to drinking with you all again soon.

Until then, cheers!  Have a great weekend!

Margarita

Today we're drinking the Margarita, a classic tequila-based cocktail.  You've probably had them a hundred times, and as more bars and restaurants serve them from scratch, you've probably noticed an improved quality to the Margarita's you're drinking.

So where did the Margarita come from?  You'll never believe this, but there are conflicting stories as to its origins.  Shocking, I know.

There's the one about a Dallas socialite who wanted to create a cocktail for a pool party - her name of course, was Margaret, and her nickname was Margarita.  Another story involves a showgirl named Marjorie King, who was allergic to all alcohol but tequila, and the sweet-ol' bartender went about creating a cocktail she could enjoy.  And finally, one story involves a Mexican bartender who forgot how to mix a certain drink, only remembering that it contained Cointreau.  As a result, the bartender threw whatever he could think of in a glass, including Cointreau - and booya, the Margarita.  All of these stories are probably bunk, but they're fun and perhaps with sharing at a cocktail party.

In any event, now that the non-definitive history of the margarita is out of the way, indulge me for a moment while I share a couple photos from Manhattan that I took this past weekend. 

First, this weekend was the time of year in which the sun sets directly in line with the streets.  The main night this was to occur was Friday, but it was cloudy as hell that day, and no sun appeared on the horizon.  Thankfully though, it improved with the weekend.  This was taken at 14th and 3rd Ave (and I thought it was particularly interesting because people flooded the street for photos - hence the reason a guy is standing there directly in front of me):

The second photo is from Sunday, when JB and I loafed around Central Park for a while.  We sat across this guy for a few minutes, and I caught a couple nice moments of him, mid-nap.

Alright, let's drink!

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 290

Classic Margarita

2 lime wedges
Kosher salt
1 1/2 oz premium silver tequila
1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 oz Cointreau

Rub a wedge of lime around the rim of a chilled margarita glass, and salt the rim.  Fill the prepared glass with ice, shake the liquid ingredients vigorously with ice.  Strain into prepared glass.  Squeeze the remaining lime wedge over the drink, and drop it in. 

This is a nice little margarita recipe, though I don't think all of its directions are entirely necessary.  First, I don't think you need to place ice in the glass, and second, I don't think you need to drop the lime into the cocktail.  If the cocktail glass is chilled, the ice will only melt away the fine flavor of the 3 main ingredients.  I suppose if you love lime, you could add the slice to the cocktail, but it's superfluous. 

Having said that, I think this is a excellent combination that yields a flavorful and tasty margarita.  It is tart, sweet, and delicious.  The balance of contents is excellent, with each providing a nice contribution of flavor.

Unfortunately, far too many people drink margaritas made from a mix.  Stop, please.  Margaritas may be the worst of the available mixes out there.  Some drinks lend themselves well to mixes (bloody mary mixes come to mind), though the vast majority do not.  Margaritas do not. 

A made-from-scratch margarita is extremely easy to throw together.  And, you have the benefit of adding a little more lime juice, a little more Cointreau, or a little more tequila - whatever is your preference.  The alternative, a mix, is just sugar on top of sugar.  Why drink inferior cocktails when the good stuff is as easy as this?

Enjoy this one.  Really, I mean it.  Enjoy this one at a BBQ, a dinner, anything.  This works in any environment.

Salud!

Fireman's Sour

Wouldn't you know it, no sooner than I rail on the use of powdered sugar than I choose another recipe that has, guess what, powdered sugar.

Thankfully, I can tell you in advance that the Fireman's Sour recipe works.  There's enough of a punch in the other ingredients to quell any offensive qualities that the powdered sugar might otherwise provide.

The Fireman's Sour is especially good on a night like tonight.  I play softball on Wednesdays, and the weather this evening was ideal.  With a nice warm 80 degrees outside and 2 wins in the bag, a refreshing drink is in order.

If the name didn't give it away, the Fireman's Sour is a member of the Sour family of drinks.  No doubt you've heard of whiskey sours, or amaretto sours.  At one time, I drank both, but I always found them to be too sweet, even at a younger age.  It's worth noting though, that the bars I went to served sour mix out of a bottle.  In other words, there was little nuance (or quality) to whatever I was drinking.  It was more of a "let's hit you over the head with sugar" type of whiskey sour.  I think far too many bars, probably well over 75%, use bottled sour mix in the place of fresher ingredients.

Sour cocktails have been defined as any drink that includes a base liquor, lime or lemon juice, and a sweetner.  That's a rather loose definition, as numerous cocktails include lime or lemon juice, but bear no discernable relationship to something like a whiskey sour or even this Fireman's Sour.  Among the drinks listed on the Sour cocktail family Wikipedia entry include Amateur Mixologist alumni, like the Daiquiri, the Kamikaze, and my personal favorite, the Sidecar.

Here is the recipe for the Fireman's Sour:

American Bar, page 95

Fireman's Sour

3/4 ounce lime juice
1 barspoon powdered sugar
dash grenadine
1 oz white rum
1/4 oz dark rum
lime

Shake well over ice cubes in a shaker, strain into a small highball glass over crushed ice, squeeze lime wedge over drink and drop it into the drink.

For the liquid ingredients, I used my trusty old Bacardi, Captain Morgan's, Nellie and Joe's Famous Key West Lime Juice, and Rose's Grenadine.

This is one hell of a drink.  As mentioned above, the powdered sugar is balanced out by the mix of the different ingredients.  It's sweet, but not overpoweringly sweet like the Jack Rose (incidentally, we'll be checking back in with the Jack Rose cocktail in the near future - perhaps a different recipe will change my feelings on the drink). 

This may be the ideal summer cocktail, alongside such classics as the margarita.  It has a freshly made lemonade flavor that is the perfect balance between sweetness, tartness, and overall drinkability.

I highly recommend trying this drink out.  If I had a rating system, which I don't, I'd give this a strong 9 out of 10.  Most of you have the main liquors lying around in your cabinets.  Fork over the $10 to purchase the remaining items and you'll be well rewarded.

For more content, updates, random musings, and my attempts to be witty, check us out @IMakeDrinks on Twitter.

Mojito Battle Royale

In an Amateur Mixologist first, we're comparing recipes.  How does the American Bar Mojito recipe stand up compared to The Ultimate Bar Book Mojito recipe?  We'll find out in a moment, but first, let's look into the Mojito.

The Mojito is a drink of Cuban origin, made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime, sparkling water and mint.  The Mojito dates back to an English pirate named Richard Drake, who purportedly invented a Mojito-like cocktail in the late 16th century.  I don't believe what Mr. Drake was drinking was remotely close to the modern mojito, but let's humor the historians for a moment and continue on...

After Mr. Drake created El Draque, the next incarnation included rum as opposed to rum's forebearer "aquardiente."   By the way, how terrible a drink name is El Draque.  It sounds too similar to El Dreck.  Perhaps Mr. Drake was in fact speaking yiddish in the 16th century.  In any event, it was said by Cuban playwright and poet Federico Villoch in 1940 that "[w]hen aquardiente was replaced with rum, the Draque was to be called a Mojito."

My favorite quote in one of the write-ups is this almost incidental addition to the historical record: "Other accounts suggest that slaves working in Cuban sugar cane fields in the late 19th century invented the mojito."

Now listen, I have no idea who invented this drink, but, I would say that if I were a betting man, I'd put my money on the slaves as having invented the Mojito.  Why?  Because white people steal everything!  Richard Drake probably saw a slave make the drink, and claimed it once it proved popular.  In other words, I'm postulating that Richard Drake was the Elvis Presley of his time.

I kid, I kid.  I have no idea how it all went down.

Enough with the history, on with the drinking.

American Bar Mojito

Mojito Battle Royal

The tale of the tape:

American Bar, page 140

Juice of half a lime
1 barspoon powdered sugar
2 oz white rum
soda
mint sprig

Stir sugar and lime juice well in a large high-ball glass.  Crush mint leaves with pestle, add the squeezed half lime.  Fill with crushed ice, add rum, stir.  Add soda, garnish with mint sprig.

American Bar Ingredients

And...

The Ultimate Bar Book, page 269

1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon superfine sugar
6 to 8 fresh mint leaves
2 ounces light rum
2 to 4 ounces chilled club soda
Fresh mint sprig

In the bottom of a highball glass, muddle together the lime juice, sugar, and mint leaves until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the rum.  Fill the glass with ice and top with club soda.  Garnish with the mint sprig.

The Ultimate Bar Book Ingredients

So how do the two drink recipes compare, and who is the big winner?

First the consolation prize:

The American Bar recipe is good, but not great.  I don't like using powdered sugar in any mixed drink.  I think it provides a saccharine-like flavor that isn't particularly palatable.  Also, there is bound to be some inconsistency from lime to lime.  Some limes are going to produce more juice than others; some limes will be sweet while others may be a bit over or under ripe.  While I'm all for using fresh products, using lime juice instead of lime adds some consistency to the recipe that most people can appreciate.  Why spend time making a drink, only to find out that it is inferior in quality as a result of a bad lime?

Also, superfine sugar, or regular sugar will provide a bit of grit that, when muddled, will produce more flavor from the mint leaves.  Powdered sugar just doesn't work in the same way.

The American Bar recipe tasted a little flat, and not particularly vibrant.  Lime is supposed to add citrusy goodness to the drink, and none of that was present in the American Bar Mojito.

On to the winner:

The Ultimate Bar Book recipe has a brighter, mintier, and sweeter flavor than the American Bar book recipe.  The sugar brought out more flavor from the mint leaves, providing a more complex and enjoyable taste that one should look for in a Mojito.  And it goes without saying, if the minty flavor isn't there, you're not going to love this drink.

One other difference between the recipes is that The Ultimate Bar Book calls for 2 to 4 ounces of club soda.  I have to hand it to the writer for at least putting in parameters when making this cocktail.  I went with 3 ounces, and it yielded great results.  American Bar, by comparison, just says "add soda."  Unfortunately, this tells me very little.  I appreciate the specificity of The Ultimate Bar Book recipe.

The Ultimate Bar Book Mojito

As a result of all of the above, I prefer The Ultimate Bar Book recipe. 

Just like the Caipirinha, I'm convinced that we keep coming back to these drinks, the Mojito included, ordering 2nds and 3rds because of the sweet sugar and lime combination that remains at the bottom of the glass.  It is delicious!

Laslty, and this is not a complaint against either recipe, but rather, a suggestion:  club soda should always, always be used sparingly.  Think of soda in the same way you think of salt when cooking. You can always add more salt, but you can't take it away. You can always add more soda, but you can't take it away. When a recipe calls for soda, add a splash to start, and no more. A splash may be all you need. If you prefer a lighter flavor or taste, perhaps add more. The point is, add in small increments, you'll be rewarded with a drink more to your liking.

Enjoy a Mojito in this beautiful weather - it's an easy choice on a warm day.



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