Mixology Monday XLV: Teas, If You Please

Bramble Punch marries the flavors of blackberries and cinnamon.

According to tippler folklore, teas played an important role in the history of the cocktail. Many believe that they were one of five ingredients required to make a proper punch, the other four being spirits, sugar, juice, and water. These same people also believe that the word punch is derived from the Hindu word for five (panch is an approximation), so you see how this led the believers (we will call them Panchophiles) to claim that punches should be made with five ingredients. We will accept as gospel the claims of the Panchophiles for the sake of this Mixology Monday post, hosted by Cocktail Virgin Slut. This dual-natured cocktail aficionado has proposed that we all make a drink with tea as an ingredient. Not ones to shy away from a challenge, we share with you our love of communal bowls filled with redolent, spirituous delights, by making you a Bramble Punch.

Bramble Punch lauds the marriage of two bold flavors, blackberries and cinnamon, and highlights the five main elements of Punch (this would please the Panchophiles). First, cognac and a medium-bodied rum give this punch its punch, plus the addition of two more spirits—Jeżynówka, a Polish blackberry-flavored brandy, and Becherovka, a Czech herb-and-spice liqueur. Second, sweetness gets a boost from some rich maple syrup and dark brown sugar. Third, two juices, pink grapefruit and tangerine, unite to tame the heat and bold flavors of the spirits and liqueurs. Fourth, black tea infused with cassia-cinnamon enhances the melding of the flavors, and offers its own unique flavor. Fifth, ice, as it melts, adds the necessary water to make this drink smoother so you can enjoy sipping it as soon as its placed in your hands.

Bramble Punch
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
4 1/2 oz. amber (medium-bodied) rum (such as Old New Orleans or Mount Gay Eclipse)
3 oz. cognac (such as as Martell VSOP or Hennessy VS)
1 1/2 oz. Jeżynówka (blackberry-flavored brandy)
3/4 oz. Becherovka (Czech spice liqueur)
1 1/2 oz. cinnamon-infused black tea*
1/2 T. maple syrup
1 T. dark brown sugar
1 1/2 oz. tangerine juice
1 1/2 oz. pink grapefruit juice
ice cubes, preferably in a chunk, or a block with blackberries frozen within.

* Steep a tea bag (with black tea) and a cinnamon stick in 1 cup of boiling water. Remove the tea bag after 3 hours. Remove cinnamon stick after 3 days. If you can’t wait 3 days, then make sure you shake it well before using.

Method
Add all the ingredients (except the chunk of ice cubes) into a large shaker or capped bottle. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, making sure the sugar dissolves (if you prefer, you can dissolve the sugar in a little water before adding it to the mix). Place ice chunk or ice block in bowl. Pour punch into bowl. If using a chunk of ice cubes, the ice cubes will start to break apart. When they do, or if you are using a block of ice, stir the punch with the ladle to chill, wait a minute (do not rush, let the ice dissolve a bit), stir again, and serve. Add a blackberry to each cup for a nice sweet-tart surprise at the end of your drink.

Serves 4.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Six Days of Mixin’ & Drinkin’ (with a little food thrown in for good measure)

Peter, Paul, Marianne, and Steve, drinking Golden El Zetes, in Connecticut.

These last six days have been a beehive of activity for us. On Thursday, we visited our friend Julie in her new Park Slope apartment she calls "The Bird Nest," a one-bedroom penthouse that has three (count them, three!) outdoor spaces. She has the entire roof and will be installing a putting green. Having an outdoor space of our own, we know that she will be spending all her time on the main terrace. So we decided to invent a cocktail for her we dubbed The Bird Nest. It's a champagne cocktail with a twist of somethin’ special. Stay tuned in the near future on Cocktail Buzz because we'll be shooting a video with Julie, pairing it with an old classic appetizer (that too will have a little somethin’ special added, but we’ve divulged too much already).

On Friday, we prepared for our next video shoot, which took place at Paul’s parents’ place in Connecticut over the weekend. The weather was perfect for an outdoor shoot. And what a video shoot it was. We invented some cocktails for Peter & Marianne for Father’s Day/Mother’s Day and will be sharing you the results, along with an incredibly flavorful, decadent, yet easy-to-make appetizer. Paul’s niece Amanda even joined in the making of the appetizer. But since it takes about a week to edit, check for the video after this coming weekend on Cocktail Buzz.

On Monday, we published the the photos and cocktail/food reminiscences of our recent Chicago trip, so check that out on our Web site, and if you’re in Chicago, please do go the The Violet Hour, an amazing cocktail lounge. We can’t speak more highly of it. Just go! In the evening, we made one of our favorite cocktails, the Manhattan, using a hard-to-find vermouth-style fortified wine called Carpano Antica. It’s a little less spiky than your usual sweet vermouths, more smooth and subtle, but makes for a beguiling, whiskey-forward cocktail. Here’s our recipe:

The Manhattan
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 parts Rittenhouse Rye
1 part Carpano Antica
2 dashes Fees Brothers Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters

Method
Stir in a pint glass half-filled with ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Luxardo marasche cherry.

{To watch our video making a Manhattan, paired with bacon-wrapped dates, click here. }

Tuesday, last night, we drank Zen Green Tea Liqueur cocktails at the benefit for Soho Rep. for which we were a prize—to come to our home and create a signature cocktail. First off, if you haven’t tried Zen, and you like green tea, do take a swig if you get the opportunity. It is a sweet and slightly syrupy version of a freshly brewed batch of the green stuff, and it balanced nicely with the cocktails that were on offer: a Zen Margarita, a Zentini, and Zen Iced Tea. The Zen folks have a bunch of their recipes on their Web site. Secondly, we are very excited to share our secrets to create a signature cocktail with the winner, Matthew, and his delightful wife, Alexis. We chatted with them quite a bit before the raffle drawing, and found out that they live within walking distance from us in Brooklyn. Small world. We are looking forward to spending time with them and coming up with a special drink to share with you on our Web site. If you would like us to host a Create Your Signature Cocktail class, give us a shout at mail@cocktailbuzz.com, and we’d be happy to set something up.

Until our next post, bottoms up!

photo © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz