cocktails

[z987k]

So yeah, we all love beer here. But you know what else I love.. a good cocktail. I prefer them to be dry, most of the time. And it's really nice when they don't require you to have a ton of mixers on hand.

Some of my favorite:
Dry Martini - 2 parts gin, 1/3part dry vermouth 1 olive(if I have it on hand)
I also like to use a citrus infused gin from time to time.

I tried the Vesper Martini from Dr. No and casino royal, it's pretty good:
3 parts gin 1 part vodka, 1/2 part lillet

Gin and tonic is really good, I also like a dash of lime in mine.

Manhattan:
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 dash bitters
1 maraschino cherry

Mai Tai - takes way too much to keep on hand but I love them if done right
1 part dark rum
1 part light rum
1 part fresh lime juice(can substitute rose's lime at about 1/2 part.)
1/2 part triple sec (preferable curacao as opposed to triple sec)
1/4 part Orgeat
1/4 part simple syrup
Shaken with enough crushed ice to fill a Collins glass

Caipirinha
muddle 8 lime wedges with 2tsp sugar in Collins glass, fill with ice, then cachaca to the top

What does everyone else like.

 

[Jaysus]

I like bourbon... a lot. And I like it neat more often than not.


Maybe it is the Elijah Craig talking, but I just felt like like sharing that...

 

[Willy Boner]

Lemon Drop Martini:
Citrus Vodka
Juice of a lemon
sugar on the rim of the glass
OR
Citrus Vodka
Lemonade

 

[avaserfi]

One of my friends made this for me, now I am hooked.

Perfect Dusky Martini

2oz Belvedere vodka, chill glass with ice water and 1 oz dry vermouth, dump out ice and vermouth, add 1 tsp. olive juice and garnish with olive.

 

[Short Drive]

I like bourbon... a lot. And I like it neat more often than not.


Maybe it is the Elijah Craig talking, but I just felt like like sharing that...

+1 a drinker after my own heart. Don't spoil good booze with mixers, water, or ice.

 

[z987k]

One of my friends made this for me, now I am hooked.

Perfect Dusky Martini

2oz Belvedere vodka, chill glass with ice water and 1 oz dry vermouth, dump out ice and vermouth, add 1 tsp. olive juice and garnish with olive.

I am a fan of Elijah craig 18yr neat.

But damn gin and rum are also just so good.

Ron Zacappa 23yr Rum neat is oh so so good.

 

[Bernie Brewer]

I like a good old-fashioned. But it's impossible to find a bartender outside the state of WI that knows how to make them. Just another reason not to leave......

 

[thataintchicken]

Gin and tonic.
If I can find DH Krahn Gin, more the better.

My British Merchant Marine Captain Grandfather taught me how to drink G&T.
I will never regret the lessons.

 

[wild]

Lake Powell High Ball

Whiskey and lemonade

Two stuffed olives (with what is up to you)

On one icecube if available

 

[billtzk]

The Sazarac is one of my favorites:

- 1/2 tsp Absinthe or a substitute (Pernod, Herbsaint)
- 1/2 tsp Simple Syrup
- 1 dash Peychaud bitters
- 2 ounces rye whiskey

Coat a chilled old fashioned glass with Absinthe or a substitute (e.g., Pernod). Pour out most of it leaving just a few drops. Add the syrup and the bitters. Add the rye whiskey. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

I used to always use Pernod for this, but now that you can buy Absinthe in the liquor stores I have been mixing it with Lucid Absinthe. Lucid is excellent. I tried Jim Beam Rye Whiskey, but it seemed bland in this drink. Old Overholt works better. Sazerac rye is OK, but the last bottle I bought had a musty smell. I just bought a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye that I look forward to trying soon.

When I'm feeling cold, I like a Sidecar.

- 2 ounces Cognac (or other brandy)
- 1 ounce Cointreau
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice

Use fresh lemon juice, not bottled. Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Lately I've been using the affordable Maison Rouge VSOP, which is capable of handling the lemon juice without being obscured by it. I have also used Pierre Ferrand Ambre with good success. I made a Sidecar recently with some Cognac Tesseron XO Lot 90, but the lemon juice overwhelmed this fine spirit. An XO should be enjoyed straight, or with a cigar.

In warm weather (mid 70's or higher), I often drink a White Lady. I don't like this in cold weather.

- 2 ounces Gin
- 1 ounce Cointreau
- 1/2 ounce lemon juice

Shake with ice. Strain into a frosted cocktail glass and serve.

It's interesting how the White Lady and the Sidecar are so completely different in their warming effects. The Sidecar is a cold weather drink that warms you up despite the fact that it is shaken with ice. Cognac is a warming spirit. The White Lady is a warm weather drink that cools you down. Gin is a cooling spirit. My favorite Gin is Bombay Blue Sapphire. Any recipe that calls for Triple Sec, I always use Cointreau, as there is simply none better.

I'm also fond of the Classic Martini. It is not too dry. You don't dump the vermouth in this version of the Martini.

- 1 1/2 ounces gin
- 1/2 ounce dry vermouth
- 1 dash orange bitters

Stir with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon zest.

Never shake a Martini! You only shake drinks that are opaque, such as those that have fruit juices in them. You stir cocktails that are clear. Bombay Blue Sapphire gin and Noilly Prat dry vermouth. I use Fee Brothers West Indian Orange Bitters.

I like a good Daiquiri when I'm in the mood for a sweet cocktail. I use Alton Brown's Daiquiri recipe.

I mix a Margarita like this:

- 2 ounces tequila
- 1 1/3 ounce Cointreau
- 2/3 ounce lime juice
- 1/2 tsp light or amber Agave Nectar (optional)

Shake with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Once again, Cointreau is the only Triple Sec I ever use. The lime should be fresh squeezed. A Margarita is properly a sour cocktail, but I like to sweeten it sometimes with a bit of light or amber Agave Nectar. I use the light nectar with a dark Tequila, and the amber nectar with a lighter Tequila. I used a variety of Tequilas, mostly Reposado or Anejo for their more developed flavors, very rarely a blanco/white/silver tequila. One of my favorites is 1800 Reposado because it has a strong enough flavor to come through the lime.

 

[z987k]

There's nothing wrong with shaking vodka drinks. Vodka has no flavor to muddle like gin.

 

[BleedsDogFish]

Your all nuts with your Rob Roys and Manhattans. Cocktails are for people who watch sex and the city. I am a bartender and as such I am prevy to the truth delivered from God Himself.

"And yay god said to Abraham, you shall only drink Grand Mariner, neat from the snifter."

If you don't drink this, you are missing out. Don't make your bartender muddle you some silly drink with mint or cherries. Make him happy that you are in his club of Grand Mariner drinkers.

 

[z987k]

Your all nuts with your Rob Roys and Manhattans. Cocktails are for people who watch sex and the city. I am a bartender and as such I am prevy to the truth delivered from God Himself.

"And yay god said to Abraham, you shall only drink Grand Mariner, neat from the snifter."

If you don't drink this, you are missing out. Don't make your bartender muddle you some silly drink with mint or cherries. Make him happy that you are in his club of Grand Mariner drinkers.

Grand Mariner is good and all, but I'd rather have rum or bourbon... also neat, maybe an ice cube if it is a ****ty spirit.

 

[BleedsDogFish]

Im just being difficult, to me the simpler the drink the better. I do drink vodka and bourbon as well, rarely mixed with anything. Maybe soda water now and then.

 

[z987k]

yeah that was the point of the thread. I wanted to see what people drink for simple cocktails. A gin/vodka martini or a Manhattan are very very simple drinks.

 

[billtzk]

I also mostly drink scotch and bourbon, neat, but there are occasions when a cocktail is more appealing. I like to have a cocktail before dinner (or while I'm cooking) and a single malt scotch or a good bourbon or cognac neat after dinner, often with a cigar.

 

[dataz722]

I usually only drink cocktails when I go out because most bars around here have next to no beer selection and im not too much of a fan of SA.

Tequila, sweet and sour, and cranberry is damn good. Just make sure its atleast 2/3rds tequila.

A REAL margarita with just a ton of good tequila, fresh lime juice (pulp and all), GM, and just a little simple syrup.

A good (patron, don julio etc) chilled tequila in a snifter.

GM in a snifter

and I always like a good long island (not that watered down make your face permantly pucker s*it that most restraunts give you)

Lately I have been drinking alot of red bull and vodka though.

 

[uglygoat]

does a black and tan count?

ditto keeping the booze 'neat'

 

[jmulligan]

I also stick to beer if possible, but I will drink cocktails when I go out. I like a good cosmo (just tinged pink, it should not be red). And HWMO recently bought a bottle of the Rangpur lime gin (Tanqueray), which is the only gin I can drink straight. YUM.

Last time I visited my mom she said "I've got this cocktail you've just GOT to try! It's so good!" So I let her make it (unseen to me), and tasted it. Jebus Marie, it was nasty. I asked her what was in it, and she starts rattling off a few ingredients. After I heard "maple syrup, cinnamon schnapps..." I just quit listening.

 

[dataz722]

Although I must say that the WORST "cocktail" I have ever had was in cancun. They called it mexican beer and they said they drink it alot especially for a hang over. It was beer in a glass with a salted rim with clam juice, chicken stock, hot sauce, worchester, a little tequila and a few other things. It was kinda like a bloody mary but with beer instead and I took one sip and almost puked.

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Soco and Vanilla Coke
Rich and Rare + 7Up

 

[hcarter]

I like The Glens: Livet and Fiddich. My sister turned me on to Mojito's, I like those sometimes as well. I find that as I get older, I have become something of a seasonal drinker. I tend to like heavier drinks in the fall and winter and lighter drinks in the spring and summer. Maybe I'm just dumb and it took me awhile to catch on, but when I was in my early 20's, I'd drink whatever was available.

 

[adrock]

+1 on Alton Brown's Daiquiri recipe for a sweet cocktail. I hardly ever drink it, but when I do, it's good.

I'm much more prone to vodka/tonic or, in honor of The Dude, white russians.

 

[yermej]

Sailor Jerry spiced rum & coke with lime
Hendrick's gin, neat or on the rocks
No. 209 gin and soda
Patrón Silver or the Patrón coffee liqueur
white russians made with vanilla vodka & Starbucks coffee liqueur
Oban 14, neat

 

[Joe C]

Gin and tonic.
If I can find DH Krahn Gin, more the better.

My British Merchant Marine Captain Grandfather taught me how to drink G&T.
I will never regret the lessons.

Tanqueray & Tonic with extra lime. fan-F'n-tastic.

 

[RLT]

Any kind of gin, even gibley's, with tonic. It is deeeee-licious.

 

[HBRunner]

Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum and 5-Alive.......very tasty!

 

[adx]

Manhattan:
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
2 1/2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 dash bitters
1 maraschino cherry

This is NOT a Manhattan. A Manhattan is made with rye only. Bourbon is too sweet in a Manhattan.

I like a good old-fashioned. But it's impossible to find a bartender outside the state of WI that knows how to make them. Just another reason not to leave......

Do they still try to sneak brandy into old fashions in the mid-west? Most bartenders make that one wrong too. You don't top off an old fashioned.

There's nothing wrong with shaking vodka drinks. Vodka has no flavor to muddle like gin.

The problem is that shaking makes foam. Foam isn't tasty in a martini.

 

[GreenwoodRover]

Segrams 7 and 7up (50/50mix) with a fresh squeezed lime

Gin and Tonic, but only if my fathr in law makes it, for some reason mine are no match to his, i'll have to take a lesson some day.

The classic Greyhound, Vodka and grapefruit juice.
If im feelin' real fruity, Stoli Razz and Grapefruit juice