Brother Ilchester's Summer Highball

Brother Ilchester's Summer Highball, cc by-nc-sa image from John Cmar on Flickr

The past few weeks have seen a robust crop of peaches and nectarines from our CSA shares. In pondering the latest fruits, and what to do with a forlorn bottle of triple sec, I came up with the following refreshing concoction:

• 1 peach or nectarine
• 1 part triple sec
• 1 part gin (I used Citadelle)
• 3 parts tonic water

Pit and slice the fruit. Place slices on a paper towel, and freeze for approximately 60 minutes. Mix triple sec, gin, and tonic water over the frozen fruit instead of ice.

This turned out quite well, and perfect for the ridiculously hot and humid weather of late. Having the cool fruit to munch on toward the end of the drink was wonderful.

the Ultimate (and Epic Ultimate) Bell Pepper Cocktail

As previously noted, Laura detests the bell pepper, and I am both unexcited & not offended by it's inclusion in various foodstuffs. In picking several up with our recent CSA share, I took this as a challenge to do something deliciously different with what I affectionately refer to as Cthulhu's Filler Vegetable. (Seriously, it's in just about every frozen or easily prepared dish that includes some sort of "vegetable mix.") Giving this a bit of thought, I came to an obvious conclusion:

The bell pepper must be taken roughly by alcohol in a shadowy bedroom and spit forth delicious progeny as a result.

I wasn't sure what form this would take. My first inclination was to find precedent for soaking peppers in an alcoholic beverage, as I didn't expect anyone would be mad enough to attempt a mixed drink with this ubiquitous waxen seed-husk... but a bit of interweb sleuthing proved me wrong, oh so wrong. Behold! The Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

My initial version used the following:

• 2 bell pepper rings
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and one bell pepper ring with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with bell pepper ring.

This ended up being far tastier than I expected. The profile of the pepper holds up well with the other flavors, and the result is a sweetly spicy taste of some complexity. Of course, enjoying this requires that one actually likes bell peppers. I offered Laura a sip, and her immediate response was "OMG IT'S HIDEOUS" and to gag and wave her hands in front of her mouth until I brought her a palate-flushing glass of ginger ale.

The original poster noted that serving such a drink out of a bell pepper seemed to be a messy and inconvenient idea... so I clearly had to go there. Behold! The Epic Ultimate Bell Pepper Cocktail:

• a whole bell pepper with a relatively balanced bottom
• fresh mint leaves to approximate 1 tablespoon mint
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 1/2 oz. Dogfish Head Blue Hen Vodka
• 3/4 oz. Galliano liqueur

Slice the top off of the pepper in one even layer, and gently core the central seed area out with a paring knife. Cut the central stem out from the top and discard. In a cocktail shaker, muddle the mint and the remaining pepper top with the grapefruit and lemon juice. Add ice, vodka and liqueur. Shake vigorously. Strain into the body of the bell pepper and serve.

Although admittedly gimmicky, this would be interesting for someone to try who was both "hosting a party" and had a surplus of bell peppers. The added advantage is that cleanup would be both easy and nutritious.

Now, to finish this alcohol-impregnated pepper...

Farpoint 2010 Libations

This year's Farpoint saw the same impressive libation list as last year. At our traditional Saturday night dinner, I took the chance to tray a few things I didn't get to last time around.

• Klingon Disruptor: Jim Beam, Patron Tequila, cinnamon schnapps - The table speculated that based on the drink's name, it might be a massive person in full Klingon garb with a keen interest in sudden proctology. For my sake, this turned out not to be the case. This ended up being a good mix of flavors, but slightly disappointing - the cinnamon schapps clearly dominated the flavor profile, with the tequila being notable beneath, and any bourbon contribution being lost in the shuffle. It's not something I'd immediately come back to.

• Vulcan Mind Meld: 1 part ouzo, 1 part rum (151 proof) - This is a brilliant mix, and obviously not for the unwary. While it packs the alcoholic punch you'd expect, the flavors are very strong and enjoyable. The anise predominates, and oddly competing citrus and rum notes fighting it out in the background. Highly recommended.

I meant to end with the Talos IV Coffee (3 parts Grand Marnier, 1 part coffee), although a "mixing incident" resulted in about 20 parts coffee instead of one. The vaguely orange-tasting caffeine held promise, however. I'll get you next time, Talos IV...

toasting the new year with other nog creations

Happy New Year!

*raises glass*

With some nog remaining from my Irish Christmas Piracy, I decided to try the beer/eggnog combination with something suitably seasonal on the brew end. I chose Weyerbacher Imperial Pumpkin Ale for this, and went with the following proportions:

• 1 part egg nog
• 3 parts beer

Although it generated a lovely layering effect with a careful pour, mixing was necessary to get the full blended taste. Unsurprisingly, it was rather good, striking me primarily as a pumpkin-spiced milkshake with mild alcohol notes. That said, the true flavor nuances of the Ale were ruined by the egg nog, making this a wasteful thing to do with a wonderfully crafted brew, and not worth repeating in the future. Using a less flavorful (and cheaper) beer, like a Guinness Stout, would likely give a similarly tasty drink and possible improve the beer involved.

Having a tiny bit of nog left, I then tried it mixed with Dogfish Head Chocolate Vodka as follows:

• 1 part egg nog
• 3 parts chocolate vodka

This make for a tasty drink, although the lack of smokey notes from a bourbon or the spice character of a rum did not elevate it to a "must try again" holiday status. In other words, when it comes to nog-based holiday drink...

The Irish Christmas Pirate wins. As well it should.

the Irish Christmas Pirate, and other nog creations

I am not, typically, a consumer of egg nog.

In terms of holiday beveraging, it has never been an important part of my family's Christmas culture, and so has never carried much celebratory merit with me. That noted, my fandom for The Office led me to acquire some nog last year in order to try the horrifying-sounding drink from A Benihana Christmas episode from that series - the Nog-a-sake:

• 1 part egg nog
• 3 parts sake

The surprise was that it was not "vile." However, it was also not "good," and as such, not something I will repeat in the future. The problem was that I still had nog remaining, and aside from the standard spiking with brandy or bourbon, I had a lack of creative ways to deal with the surplus. Then Jared became involved, and the result was the glorious Irish Christmas Pirate:

• 1 part egg nog
• 1 part rum
• 1 part Irish Cream liqueur

It's not just tasty - it's damn tasty. The Irish Cream brings out some subtle flavors from the rum-nog combination that aren't as apparent when you have the two alone, which would be the standard Christmas Pirate. For the second year in a row, I am happy to welcome egg nog into my holiday celebrations, which I suppose makes it a tradition that I heartily endorse.

Another nog creation that I have yet to try, but am clearly destined to, is combining egg nog with a stout or porter style beer:

• 1 part egg nog
• 1 part beer

I hear-tell that it can either be mixed, or possibly layered for an interesting visual effect. This will need to be examined in the name of SCIENCE.

of birthdays and beverages, mid-July 2009

This past weekend, I had the good fortune of attending Jared's Bat-Party in glorious celebration of his birthday. In keeping with the theme, a menu of Bat-Related mixed beverages had been devised. I tried several, the most interesting of which being the Joker Shooter:

• The Joker Shooter: 2/3 shot Midori, 1/3 shot Irish Creme. The resultant effect was that the Irish Creme layered on top, if done correctly. Visually pleasing, and quite tasty.

Of course, being wholly unable to "leave well enough alone," I tried a couple of other speculative mixes of my own:

• The Black Joker: 2/3 shot Midori, 1/3 shot Kahlua. The resultant effect was that the Kahlua layered on the bottom. Visually interesting, but not so pleasing. Something about the mix brought a bitterness out of the Kahlua, and the "chocolate melon" taste that resulted is not something I'd recommend.
• The Asian Joker: 2/3 shot Midori, 1/3 shot lemonade. The resultant effect was that the lemonade mixed with the Midori, although a portion of the Midori did layer out on the bottom, on close inspection. Not visually interesting, but quite sweet and tasty.

Also this past weekend, I was sadly not able to attend Jason's dapper party in glorious celebration of his birthday. Jason did craft a beverage in the good southern tradition, and posted the enticing recipe that I must try at my earliest convenience:

• The Blueberry Martini: as rogued from his post...

Handful of fresh blueberries
1.5 oz vodka
0.5 oz blue curacao
2 tsp fresh-squeezed lemon juice
---
muddle the berries in a cocktail shaker, add vodka, blue curacao, and lemon juice. Fill shaker with crushed ice. Shake it like you mean it. Strain into a martini glass. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, gentlemen.

Farpoint 2009 Libations

Balticon is this weekend, and in gearing up for the convention, I am reminded that I never posted the Farpoint libations list. At Farpoint in February, the hotel bartender got into the spirit of the con with some zeal, and devised a Star Trek-inspired beverage selection for the bar. For the curious, here are the drinks and recipes:

• Actuarian Fizz: lemon juice, grenadine, gin, & club soda

• Chech'tluth: bourbon, gin, club soda, peppermint schnapps, & Johnnie Walker

• Klingon Bloodwine: red wine infused with ginger, & fresh chilies

• Black Hole: Kahlua, Smirnoff "w"odka, & lemon juice

• Antimatter Shot: Sambuca, Blue Curacao

• Klingon Martini: gin, vermouth, & a dash of Bloodwine - as budding martini aficionado, I couldn't pass this up. It... wasn't as bad as I feared. With better gin, it could have been "good." Also, it didn't really look "Klingon":
  

• The Picard Cocktail: 8 oz. of Earl Grey tea hot, 1 oz. Grand Marnier - Jared had this one and was willing to share. It was surprisingly good.

• Vulcan Mind Meld: 1 part ouzo, 1 part rum (151 proof)

• Talos IV Coffee: 3 parts Grand Marnier, 1 part coffee

• Klingon Disrupter: Jim Bean, Patron Tequila, cinnamon schnapps
  

I'm not normally a "mixed drinks" fellow, but if there are similar options next year, I may need to explore them a bit more.