Cox Crow

Scotch, on the rocks.

A while back I picked up a new gin and some vermouth: DH Krahn and Noilly Prat.

In a mixing glass, add 3 cubes of ice, then 1 oz. of Noilly Prat and 2 oz. of D.H. Krahn gin. Shake well, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This is the best martini I’ve made to date.

I’m out of gin (horrors!), and so made a perfect Manhattan.

Shaken with ice, 1 3/4 oz. bourbon, 1/4 oz. dry vermouth, 1/4 oz. sweet vermouth. Served in a cocktail glass.

I don’t much care for it: waste of bourbon.

Of the drinks I’ve made, I think my favorite is Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Richmond Gimlet. I do, however, make a variation and not the exact recipe he gives.

In a shaker, muddle the juice of one key lime, eight mint leaves, and a squirt of agave syrup. Add ice and 3 oz. gin. Shake briskly and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Last night I found myself at a birthday party, and was offered a shelf of liquors from which to mix a drink. Equipment was lacking, but I made do with a shot glass, a mug and a spoon.

In the mug, mixed one shot of Stock extra dry vermouth, and two of Skyy vodka. Stirred with ice, and strained into an old fashioned glass.

It’s a hot afternoon here at the roost, and time for a cold drink.

Perhaps a gin and tonic.

Build the drink in a highball glass by adding the ingredients in order.

1. 1.5 oz. gin
2. fill with ice, and
3. tonic water (today: Stirrings)
4. squeeze the juice from half a lime

When anyone asks what I’m mixing up now, I say that I’m attempting to perfect my martini. I have a feeling that will hold true for some time.

I enjoyed a Three Olives martini, garnished with three olives stuffed with bleu cheese, at the Bonefish Grill, so the olives in my refrigerator are stuffed with bleu cheese. (Well, they say it’s bleu cheese, but I don’t see any blue on it.)

Tonight, though, my martini did not have an olive in it, nor did it have vodka.

Begin with a chilled glass. Wash the inside of the glass with Martini & Rossi extra dry vermouth. Stir two jiggers (3 oz.) of Beefeater gin with three cubes of ice, about a minute, then strain into the glass. Twist a lemon peel over the drink. Brush the edge of the glass with the peel, and add it (or discard if you prefer) to the drink.

Monday, May 31st, I made a Margarita, c.f. CocktailDB and the International Bartenders Association.

Shook, with four cubes of ice, 2.5 oz. tequila, .75 oz. triple sec, .75 oz lime juice.

Served over three cubes of ice in an old fashioned glass rimmed with lime and salt.

A second Margarita added a bit of blackberry left over from a Blackberry Fizz I made for D.

I have a new hobby: mixing drinks.

Now, some have taken this to mean that I’m exclusively mixing cocktails. While those are most pleasurable to sample, this is not the case. I am also mixing juleps, punches, mocktails, sodas, and lemonade. Mom, for one, liked my cream soda.

What I am avoiding are electrical devices and highly processed ingredients, such as pre-made mixers and anything containing high-fructose corn syrup. This means replacing Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice, which contains high-fructose corn syrup, with Nellie & Joe’s Key Lime Juice, which contains only lime juice, or a fresh-squeezed lime, and a spot of sugar. Sad, yes, because Rose’s sells on its tradition, and there’s nothing traditional about the ingredients. I expect that I’ll soon be making my own grenadine.

And, as a result of my new hobby, I shall post here some recipes I’ve used, and notes on the taste of the drinks that resulted. Do not expect expertise. I am but a dedicated amateur but recently come to the task.