Pairing the Sidecar with Stuffed Mushrooms

The Sidecar, redolent with the aromas of citrus and cognac, pairs perfectly with our stuffed mushrooms.

The Sidecar, invented in Europe following World War I, and one of David A. Embury’s six basic drinks in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, is considered a classic among cocktailians across the globe. Just bring the glittering amber to your lips and you’ll soon learn why. The aroma alone is intoxicating: lemon and orange, with a familiar mix of cognac, one of the truly amazing members of the spirit world.

Pairing Sidecars isn’t such an easy task. You want to keep the citrus flavors balanced without bringing out too much of the cognac’s strength. That’s why stuffed mushrooms work so well: the richness of the butter in the stuffing is a perfect foil to the cognac, and brings out the flavors of the lemon juice and the orange liqueur without making it too sour. Add a little saffron and Italian herbs to spice things up, and all the flavors seem to just come together in one small bite.

The Sidecar
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces cognac or brandy
1 ounce orange liqueur (we like Combier)
1/2 ounce lemon juice
demerara sugar rim (or turbinado)
lemon twist, as garnish

Method
Rim half a chilled cocktail glass with the sugar (you may need to muddle or grind the sugar if it’s too chunky). In a shaker half-filled with ice, add the cognac, orange liqueur, and lemon juice. Shake for 15 seconds. Strain into glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Tips & Tricks

Finding the right triple sec can be a daunting prospect. We searched high and low until we found the one we thought mixed perfectly with a variety of brandies and cognacs. If you use one other than Combier, the ratios of the three ingredients may need to be adjusted. When experimenting, you can always use teaspoons instead of ounces to sample ratios before committing to a full cocktail.

Rimming a glass is easy. Just take a lemon wedge and rub the outer rim of your cocktail glass (you also can dip the glass in the liqueur if you prefer). Then dip the edge of the glass into the sugar and rotate, gently bobbing the glass up and down so that the sugar sticks to the rim.

PAIRING

Stuffed Mushrooms

Paul’s mom has made stuffed mushrooms ever since he can remember, and her recipe was the inspiration for this perfect little bite-size accompaniment to the Sidecar. Rosé wine and saffron, with a little Italian herbs, bump up the earthiness of these little treats. Make sure you get small baby bellas from the farmers market or grocery store; that way, your guests can pop them in their mouths without any worry. If you want to halve the recipe (as we do in the video), go ahead. If you end up with some leftover stuffing, it’s perfect as a little side dish for your main meal, or a topping for a turkey sandwich.

Ingredients
12 ounces mushrooms (clean and remove stems, reserve stems)
2 small onions
2 celery stalks (remove ribs)
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 cup unseasoned breadcrumbs
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1 tablespoon Italian herbs (oregano, marjoram, basil)
salt and pepper, to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon and 1/4 teaspoon, respectively)
2 pinches saffron
1/2 cup rosé wine

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. In a food processor, chop stems, onions, and celery until almost pulpy. Add mixture to skillet and brown, stirring occasionally (about 6 minutes). Add breadcrumbs, herbs, salt, pepper, and saffron, and mix until all ingredients are incorporated and the breadcrumbs have absorbed all the butter. Add wine and mix thoroughly. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Using a small measuring spoon, scoop out a little mixture and dollop onto underside of mushrooms caps. Press lightly to form a dome (do not overfill). Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. If the mushrooms are wobbly, you can cut a little off the bottom using a small, thin knife. Bake for 20 minutes, until mushrooms are cooked and the stuffing has browned. Serve warm.

Makes about 3 dozen stuffed mushrooms.

Fun Fact

Did you know that the stems of mushrooms are called stipes?

photos © Steve Schul

Cocktail Buzz Favorite Things of 2013

Look for our Cheddar and Caramelized–Stuffed Mushrooms recipe below.

Since everyone had decided to become a foodie in 2012, we made a conscious decision at the beginning of 2013 to savor rather than blog, tweet, facebook, and instagram every waking moment of our bibulous and culinary exploits. After six years, we needed to find out if we truly enjoyed the Cocktail Buzz experience, or if we were just going through the motions. As a result of this decision, we blogged, tweeted, facebooked, and instagrammed with less frequency, but that forced us to pick and choose those occasions where our lips and gullets were most pleasantly pleased or delectably delighted.

But we still continued to question ourselves. What were our motives for making kimchee from scratch or infusing white whiskey with gentian-laced crème de violette to make a florally bitter tincture? We looked for insight from everyone, and from every shared happy hour and meal together.

The epiphany happened just a week or so ago when our friend Evangeline asked Paul point blank, “What job would you do if you could do any job in the world?” “Recipe development” was the quick response. Steve agreed. For us, there is nothing more satisfying than to be surrounded by an arsenal of utensils and gadgets, all eagerly waiting their chance to have a go at bottles and boxes of promise. And, in the battlefield that is our wee kitchen, we thank the gods that, even though the two of us barely fit only with the proper geometric skirmish, we can comfort ourselves with the knowledge that our appliances comprise a perfect triangulated pathway connecting our sink, range, and fridge.

Regardless of the size of your workspace, you must instill a sense of play and adventure. When you give yourself license to play freely, nothing is so precious as to become weighed down by vainglory. You tend to shrug at the losses and smile when there are victories; you learn, and that is what life is all about. You rediscover your love for shaking and stirring, simmering and sautéing.

Culling from every lip-smacking experience we shared this year was not as difficult as we had thought. We agreed that spirits, liqueurs, books, movies, and recipes we returned to more than once — those things that contained multitudes of layers — would make the cut. In no particular order, here are some of our favorite things of 2013.

1. Favorite Books

The Drunken Botanist
Critics, bartenders, and foodies praised The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart, and you should too. Written in a fun and easy, approachable manner, this book celebrates and limns in great detail “The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drink,” the book’s subtitle. Filled with recipes, lore, science, and anecdotes, The Drunken Botanist will satisfy the science-loving child in those who paid attention in school, to those who want to know why allspice seeds won’t germinate from simply planting them (they “must pass through the body of a fruit-eating bat, a baldpate pigeon, or some other local bird”). It will inspire the home mixologist to start infusing spirits and sourcing unusual products, such as sorghum syrup, used in the following recipe, named after a popular sweet sorghum cultivar, which the author describes as “dessert in a glass.”

Honey Drip
(from The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart)

Ingredients
1/2 ounce sorghum syrup
1 1/2 ounces bourbon (or if you don’t like bourbon, try it with dark rum)
1/2 ounce amaretto

Method
Because sorghum syrup can be too thick to easily pour or measure, try spooning it into a measuring cup and heating it in the microwave for 10 seconds with a very small amount of water, just enough to make it easy to poor. (Alternatively, drop a dollop of the syrup in the cocktail shaker and hope for the best.) Shake all the ingredients over ice and serve in a cocktail glass.

Old Mr. Boston Official Bartenders’s Guide ©1935
Paul’s Mom has a friend named Janet who happened to come across an almost 80-year-old copy of a familiar friend to many home bartenders, the Mr. Boston Guide. We were thrilled when she deemed it necessary that we have it. This is our third copy (the others are from 1988 and 1968 — the 1968 copy coming from Marie, another of Mom’s friends!!), and we just love it. Filled with period ads for Mr. Boston products, it’s set up in the format of another famous bar guide, The Savoy Cocktail Book. The measurements are mostly in proportions, instead of precise ounce measurements (cocktails were smaller back then as any Nick and Nora movie can attest to), such as 1/2 Italian Vermouth and 1/2 Old Mr. Boston Dry Gin, which is the recipe for a Gypsy Cocktail. Just substitute your favorite London dry gin.

Gypsy Cocktail
(from Old Mr. Boston Official Bartenders Guide)

Ingredients
1/2 Italian [sweet] Vermouth
1/2 Old Mr. Boston Dry Gin

Method
Stir well with ice and strain into 3 oz. Cocktail glass. Serve with a Cherry.

The Way We Ate
Subtitled “100 Chefs Celebrate a Century at the American Table,” this lovingly curated cookbook from photographers Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz pairs chef’s recipes with years from the twentieth century. We represent 1969 and developed a cocktail with two side dishes using the Stonewall Riots as a jumping off point. Try our ’69 Cocktail paired with lamb chops with mint gremolata and some cheddar and caramelized–stuffed mushrooms. We served the cocktails and the mushrooms to our families on Christmas Eve. They were gone in three minutes. [Buy the book]

Cheddar and Caramelized Onion–Stuffed Mushrooms
(created by Cocktail Buzz for The Way We Ate by Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz)

The savoriness of these ingredients combined creates an explosion of umami on first bite. Pairing it with a 69 Cocktail coaxes out even more flavors.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced
1 pound button mushrooms (smaller ones are better)
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons brandy or cognac
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch-thick 1-inch squares
1/4 ounce Parmesan cheese
Finishing salt, such as Maldon

Method
Preheat oven to 350°F. Cover a baking pan with parchment paper, then place a wire cooking rack atop the paper.

Heat the 2 tablespoons oil and 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the onion and slowly cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 40 minutes. Reduce the heat if the onion starts to brown too quickly.

Meanwhile, remove and discard stems from the mushrooms. Wash the mushroom caps and set aside.

When the onion has caramelized, add the Worcestershire and brandy. Simmer for a minute, making sure to deglaze the pan. Transfer the onion to a plate or bowl, and set aside. Add the mushroom caps to the skillet, top with a lid, and heat on low for 2 to 3 minutes, flipping once, until the mushrooms soften slightly. Drain any excess water from the mushrooms, and place top down on the rack. Gently press 1 square of Cheddar into each cap. (You may have to cut the cheese into smaller pieces depending on size of the caps.) Top the cheddar with a generous dollop of the onion mixture, then a little piece or two of Parmesan. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove and transfer the mushrooms to a plate. Sprinkle with finishing salt. Serve immediately.

[Makes about 2 dozen, depending on the size of the mushrooms.]
photo © Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz

2. Cloud Atlas

Okay, officially the movie Cloud Atlas came out in 2012, but we didn’t watch it until 2013, and boy, what a movie. Spanning six different time periods ranging from the nineteenth to the twenty-fourth centuries, imdb.com describes this tour de force as “[a]n exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.” The six interconnected story lines suggest we are all connected, just by being. At times funny, poignant, and harrowing, this mind-fuck of a flic will keep you glued to your seat for its entire 2 hours and 51 minutes. Do watch the credits; you will see how all of the main actors played multiple roles, one in each time period, with the help of makeup, prosthetics, and, of course, great acting. We loved it so much we had to watch it twice. (We even bought the book by David Mitchell.)

3. Organic and Non-GMO Food

The following edict may seem mean, but it comes from a place of tough love: Stop eating processed food! Well, it’s nearly impossible to stop eating it altogether, but maybe start by not shoveling it down your throats all day. That’s what we have been saying for years, and it’s finally taken the courage of well-intentioned whistle-blowers to get the word out. GMO stands for genetically modified organisms, meaning scientists have fucked with the DNA in certain plants so that foodstuffs travel better, have a longer shelf life, and someone gets richer along the way.

Food that is organic is not, by law, genetically modified. The corn, soybeans, and sugar beets that are in everything are genetically modified (thanks Monsanto), and many current scientific studies think that the allergies that are pervading our lives are caused by such GMO food. Want to feel better, don’t eat the crap. Want to live longer, don’t eat the crap. Basically pay attention to what you choose to eat and make informed decisions.

Now that we got that off our chests, we will continue with our regularly scheduled program.

4. The Manhattan Cocktail and All Its Variations

Looking back on 2013, we realized that the cocktail we drank the most was indeed our fave, the Manhattan. Although the basic formula of 2:1 whiskey to sweet vermouth, with a dash of bitters, is our go-to recipe, we have made countless variations, using obscure and well-known liquors, quinquinas, tinctures, vermouths, cordials, and bitters. Besides our love for the burnished, caramelized, woody flavors inherent in American whiskeys such as rye and bourbon, perhaps it is the Manhattan’s simple elegance that beguiles us time and time again. Here are two variations you may enjoy.

The Boulevardier
(adapted by Toby Cecchini, the guy who made the Cosmopolitan famous)

Ingredients
2 ounces rye or bourbon
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth
lemon twist

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Add lemon twist.

Saratoga
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 ounce rye
1 ounce cognac or brandy
1 ounce sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe.

5. Christmas in New York

We finally broke down and stayed in New York City this Christmas, uniting our families for an extravaganza of food, flavor, and fun. Neither of us had ever spent the Holidays in NYC, or Brooklyn to be exact, so we decided that if not now, then when? Our goal: to feed and inebriate up to twenty people on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day without stressing too much about it. How did we manage that, you ask? Two things are required: prepare most of it ahead of time, and don’t fret if you forget the cherries and onions for the cocktails.

Our main course on Christmas Eve proved to be simple and sumptuous: Martha Stewart’s recipe for Beef Tenderloin with Shallot Mustard Sauce; our Christmas day main was less formal but equally as tender and savory: Hawaiian Pulled Pork. The pulled pork was a blessing: we made it two days before and just heated it up, served with mini soft dinner rolls. Here’s the recipe.

Hawaiian Pulled Pork
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
6-pound pork shoulder (or just the Boston butt) (plus or minus a pound is fine)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoon olive oil

Dry rub:
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon li hing mui powder, also called just li hing powder (don’t know of any substitutes, so if you do not have, just eliminate)
1 tablespoon ‘alaea salt (you can substitute any sea salt)
1/2 tablespoon gochugaru powder (you can substitute any hot chile pepper powder)

Wet mix:
20-ounce can pineapple chunks in juice (not syrup)
1 mango, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2–1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar (you can substitute apple cider vinegar, or any other, since the amount is so small)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 nob fresh galangal, minced (with juice) (you can find at Kalustyan’s in NYC or substitute fresh ginger)
juice of 1 lime

Method
Preheat oven to 350ºF, adjusted for middle rack. Trim skin and excess fat off pork shoulder, but not all the fat. Rub with dry rub, working into flaps, folds, and crevices. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a dutch oven. Sear meat, approximately 2–3 minutes each side. Brown sugar will begin to bubble and blacken on bottom, so keep a watchful eye. Add onions. Cook for a minute. Add wet mix, making sure some is on top of shoulder. Lay aluminum foil over the pot so it drapes a little over the edges, for a better seal. Cover with lid, tightly. Cook for 3 1/2 hours, flipping shoulder every hour. When done, remove from oven, remove lid, and shred with 2 forks. (Careful, it’s very hot.) Remove bone and anything gristly. Serve with dinner rolls.

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Remember to enjoy the experience. Sometimes tweeting that cocktail pic is part of the experience, just don’t make it the experience. Share the moment, followed perhaps by a smile.

Imbibe a ’69 Cocktail with Pride

Our cocktail and party food pairings are featured in The Way We Ate: 100 Chefs Celebrate at the American Table

Our ’69 Cocktail paired with Lamb Chops with Mint Gremolata and Cheddar and Caramelized Onion–Stuffed Mushrooms. Photo by Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz, from The Way We Ate.

Both of us were alive in 1969, albeit as toddlers. There was so much happening in the news that year—the moon landing, Woodstock, the Stonewall Riots—a lot for a young mind to even begin to comprehend. But these events greatly affected those around us and the vibes they gave off shaped the way we perceived the world, the way we matured, and even the way we ate.

As we grew up gay, we poured over books that would lend credence to our existence and provide a historical context for how we came to be. We learned about the Stonewall Riots, the angry drag queens who had enough from the police and decided to stand up for themselves and be heard. The closet door flung wide open.

So when photographers Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz, inspired by Gourmet magazine’s prolific output during the last century, asked us to come up with a chapter for their book The Way We Ate, we immediately thought 1969. In coming up with a cocktail and hors d’oeuvre pairing to commemorate the Stonewall uprising on June 28, 1969, we decided to look to history not only for inspiration, but for the ingredients we would use. Since the Riots erupted in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, we base the ’69 Cocktail on the seminal Manhattan Cocktail, but also the International Bartenders’ Association 1969 winning drink, which used Canadian whisky as its main spirit. Since we’re rye’s best friend, we use it in the ’69 instead of Canadian whisky. (Canadian whisky was commonly referred to as rye, and you can still hear some old-time bartenders call it such.) We then mellow it with some brandy, make it food-friendly with the addition of sweet vermouth, add a little grenadine for sweetness, and for that magic touch, Galliano, a liqueur that inexplicably transformed into a vanilla-spice syrup in the late 80s, but has returned to its original complex recipe, the one that would have been used in 1969. Once the contents of the shaker are poured into a chilled coupe, we express a little orange oil over the ’69, thus adding an aromatic layer that brings all the elements of the drink together and allows for easier pairing with food. The ’69 Cocktail will appeal to those who like their drinks a little sweet, and those who like their drinks on the drier side. It’s a happy medium.

The ’69 Cocktail is not so much a celebration of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, but a meditation. One that you can sip while reflecting upon history and how we have come to be who we are today.

But as gay men, we can’t just leave it at that. We had to add a garnish that would make this drink more playful. Riffing on the iconic rainbow flag, we chose a fruit to represent each color—blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, orange peel, lime peel, and lemon peel—and fashioned it into a fabulous panoply of smell, hue, and texture. Drop it in your drink and sip with pride. The berries will soak up the booze, which makes for a happy ending to your cocktail.

Preparing a round of ’69 Cocktails. Let your rainbow imagination run wild.
Do embellish with garnish.

As far as pairing the ’69 Cocktail, we have come up with a few hors d’oeuvres that are easy to make and can be eaten before or as dinner. We’ll publish those recipes at a later date, but do buy the book. There are 100+ recipes to make so you might as well start now with the ’69 Cocktail.

’69 Cocktail (or leave out the apostrophe if you’re so inclined)
(created by Steve Schul and Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz, for The Way We Ate)

Makes 1 drink, but feel free to split it with a lover, friend, or trick.

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces rye
3/4 ounce brandy or cognac
3/4 ounce sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce Galliano l’Autentico
1/4 ounce quality grenadine*
orange peel, to express
blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, orange peel, lime peel, and lemon peel, or other very colorful garnish, such as Gummi bears (skewer them on a garnish pick in a rainbow pattern, as if they were part of an ursine chorus line).

Method
Shake first five ingredients in ice for 20 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass or coupe. Pinch orange peel (peel side out) over drink, allowing the oils to express into it, rub around rim, and discard. Garnish with berries and citrus peel, in an artistic fashion, skewered through a pick.

Note: For a fruitier cocktail, you can add a berry or two of your choice, before shaking. If you do, make sure to double-strain so as not to get any seeds in the drink.

*Grenadine
If you don’t want to buy premade grenadine, homemade grenadine is easy to make. For a smaller batch, halve the amounts.

Ingredients
2 cups 100% pomegranate juice*
2 cups sugar
1 ounce vodka

Method
Bring pomegranate juice to a boil over medium–high heat. Reduce heat to a simmer and add sugar. Stir gently until sugar is dissolved. Keep heat low and simmer for up to 15 minutes, until mixture is slightly reduced. Allow to cool. Add vodka and stir. May be kept for several months in the refrigerator in a clean 750ml bottle (or 325ml bottle for half recipes).

* You can also make your own pomegranate juice. Cut up two large and heavy pomegranates (if you’re very adventurous, you can try to peel off the outer red rind), place pieces one at a time in a citrus squeezer, and squeeze the juice out of the arils into a deep bowl. (This is very messy, so make sure to wear an apron and have a damp cloth ready to wipe up any stray squirts.) Add a splash of water.

We’ll publish the recipes for the pairings soon. But for now, enjoy the ’69.

Other photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine Puts Us in the Catbird Seat. Plus, Rediscovering the Kitty Carlisle Cocktail

The Catbird Seat Cocktail, made with Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine, is a close relative of the Sidecar.

A few years back, we were approached by Piedmont Distillers to come up with a bunch of cocktails featuring their unique brand of moonshine. Dubbed Catdaddy, this 80-proof tipple appealed to our decadent side: it’s sweet and spicy—very southern—and teems with the flavors of vanilla, with whiffs of cinnamon and nutmeg, like frosting on a cake, or better yet, icing on a sticky bun (we did say it was sweet, after all). We had two goals: Our first was to come up with some cocktails to pair with courses for a New Orleans luncheon; our second was to create additional cocktails that would be able to stand on their own.

One such cocktail that fell into the latter category was our Catdaddy version of the famous Sidecar. If you’ve never had a Sidecar, you simply must. It’s a perfect blend of cognac (or brandy), lemon juice, and triple sec, plus a sugared rim for some textural sweetness and a lemon twist for the added citrus oil and aroma. For our version, we swapped out the triple sec for Catdaddy and ditched the lemon twist. And instead of a traditional white-sugar rim, we opted for darker, sexier demerara sugar, like we do in our Sidecar recipe. It adds deeper nuances of sweetness, almost like brown sugar or molasses would.

In naming the new drink, we wished to keep with the vehicular nomenclature of the Sidecar, along with evoking “Catdaddy,” so we racked our brains to find a befitting name—a name that would make you feel a little special while sipping on it, as if you were the main attraction of a parade. Perhaps a parade charging down Bourbon Street, with you waving to all the parade-goers from your enviable position in the high back seat of an old luxury auto. The name Catbird Seat popped into Paul’s head. It’s from a James Thurber story called “The Catbird Seat,” and seemed utterly befitting for several reasons. In said story, one of the characters, Mrs. Barrows, spouts cryptic phrases, such as “Are you in the catbird seat?” at the lead character Mr. Martin, who subsequently learns they are of Southern origin. The phrase, which is synonymous with “sitting pretty,” was then used by P.G. Wodehouse in a novel he wrote called—get ready for it—Cocktail Time. Too perfect.

Whenever we imbibe a Catbird Seat, we feel pretty special, because cognac, no matter what brand you use, seems to elevate a cocktail to a lofty level. (It’s French, after all.) And Catdaddy is pretty darn special too, especially since it’s gone through a makeover: Piedmont Distillers now only uses natural ingredients in the flavoring process, and has changed the name of the product from Catdaddy Carolina Moonshine to Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine, but you can just call it Catdaddy, plain and simple.

Catbird Seat
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces cognac or brandy
1 1/2 ounces Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine
1/2 ounce lemon juice
demerara sugar, for rimming

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe, rimmed (or half-rimmed) with demerara sugar.

❤ ❤ ❤

A Kitty Carlisle cocktail.

We tried some of the new version of Catdaddy just the other night at The Way Station, an old-school Steampunk-themed bar in our neighborhood in Brooklyn, where our friend, the sultry burlesque chanteuse Rosie 151 performs with the outstanding Red Hook Ramblers the first Thursday of every month. We were honored by Rosie and proprietor Anders Heidel, who featured our very own Kitty Carlisle cocktail, one of the creations we came up with for that New Orleans luncheon. Ah, the Kitty Carlisle. Named after the New Orleans–born legend, this sweet-and-sour sipper is a blend of equal parts Catdaddy, bourbon, crème de cacao, and lemon juice. Imbibing some took us right back to New Orleans, especially with the strains of dixieland jazz and the naughty serenading of Rosie’s lyrical double entendre whipping the crowd into a frenzy of southern decadence. And if that wasn’t all, free shots of Catdaddy were passed out by one Foxy Vermouth so everyone could get a taste of the new all-natural recipe. Let’s hope they keep it on the menu the next time Rosie performs with the Red Hook Ramblers so you too can get a taste of southern hospitality, burlesque style.

Come to think of it, we’d love for the Kitty Carlisle to become a new New Orleans cocktail, much like the Sazerac, the Absinthe Suisse, or the Vieux Carré. Make one and let us know what you think.

Kitty Carlisle
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
3/4 ounce Catdaddy Spiced Moonshine
3/4 ounce bourbon
3/4 ounce white crème de cacao
3/4 ounce lemon juice

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass or coupe.

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Food Pairing Ideas
If you’d like to pair some grub with either of these cocktails, we recommend pork barbecue or anything with andouille sausage. We make pierogi that combines the spiciness of andouille with the sweetness of prunes (and a little Catdaddy thrown in for good measure). You’ll be booking your tickets for New Orleans after just a few sips and nibbles.

The Addictive Qualities of Braunschweiger Spread paired with Ginger Almond Brandy

Braunschweiger, a type of German liverwurst, makes a spread so delectable, you may just have to lick the bowl clean. Pair it with a simple drink of brandy, amaretto, and ginger beer.

Growing up, we both ate our fair share of sandwiches, some of them slathered in “spreads.” For Steve, these spreads mainly consisted of Braunschweiger (more on this, in a moment). For Paul, these spreads came from a little can with the Underwood label: Deviled Ham, Roast Beef, White Meat Chicken, and lastly Liverwurst.

Liverwurst. Just saying the word induces scrunched-up noses and guttural utterances of disapproval from many Americans. We just don’t eat a lot of liver today, unless we grew up with a delicatessen diet or had budget-conscious parents who tried to make it palatable by saying “It’s good for you.”

And liverwurst is a tough one to pair with cocktails, especially spirituous ones, which only heighten the alcohol burn and metallic livery flavor.

Enter Braunschweiger Spread, a lighter, yet still rich and creamy, bastard cousin of liverwurst. It’s made of Braunschweiger (essentially fancy German liverwurst) and various seasonings, cream cheese, and other condiments. Literally, Braunschweiger means someone who hails from Braunschweig (Brunswick to English speakers), Germany, where the liverwurst probably was popularized, but if you break it down into two words, it means a Brown Man of Few Words. Perhaps an image of a laconic UPS driver popped into your head. We like to think that this is appropriate, as Braunschweiger Spread delivers without much ado what’s essential: fat to keep you sated, vitamins to keep you healthy, and flavor to keep you eating it.

We make a very simple Braunschweiger Spread that you can whip up in a matter of minutes (after a little shopping at your grocery store). It pairs delightfully with another German: Asbach Brandy. Mixed with some ginger beer and amaretto, it cuts through the rich creaminess of the spread. Make some before dinner tonight (you can have a light salad, for some green balance).


Braunschweiger Spread
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

This recipe is forgiving, meaning you can play with the measurements to achieve your desired balance of flavor. Packages of Braunschweiger liver sausage are usually 8 ounces, but save 2 ounces to try on its own with the crackers, paired with the Ginger Almond Brandy drink, to experience the difference.

Ingredients
3/4 tube (6 ounces) Braunschweiger liver sausage
1/2 package cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon India pickle relish
1 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
rosemary crackers (or other varieties of crackers)

Method
Combine ingredients in a food processor or standing mixer. Pulse, or mix on low, until the mixture reaches a desired spreadable state (you don’t want it too smooth or too chunky . . . in between is perfect). Transfer to a bowl. Serve with crackers.


Ginger Almond Brandy
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces brandy (we used Asbach)
1/2 ounce amaretto (we used Lazzaroni)
3 ounces ginger beer (we used Reed’s extra ginger)
cherry of any kind, with a touch of syrup (optional)
ice

Method
Add brandy and amaretto to a mixing glass and stir (or shake, if you prefer) for 15 seconds. Strain into ice-filled double-rocks or highball glass. Top with ginger beer. Add cherry, if you prefer, and give it a little stir.

The retro-inspired Braunschweiger Spread will make your party guests coo with delight.

The Real Brandy Old-Fashioned { paired with smoked eel hors d’oeuvre }

Lemon-Lime soda is the key to success in this blessedly simple and tasty drink.

Try this experiment: Ask someone tending bar to make you a brandy old-fashioned. What may get placed before you will most likely be brandy (or cognac) subbing for rye in this iconic drink. Not necessarily bad (a complex brandy would make all the difference), but if the bartender handed this drink to a Milwaukeean, and told them what it was, she would take a sip then look at the bartender quizzically. That’s because to your average Wisconsinite, the brandy old-fashioned is more like a highball, with a generous amount of lemon-lime soda and a few extra dashes of Angostura bitters added to the mix. And during a Milwaukeean’s Friday Night Fish Fry, when brandy old-fashioneds are poured faster than Laverne & Shirley can get into trouble, you would be hard-pressed to find another type of cocktail in someone’s hands (and if you did, you can bet they’re not from Milwaukee).

Steve’s dad recently visited us, and for this former Milwaukeean, brandy is the king of spirits. Practically the only spirit. So we made sure we had a bottle of Asbach, a German brandy, waiting for him. It’s one of our favorites, with its rich, smooth taste, and almost buttery aroma. So making some brandy old-fashioneds seemed apt. The only problem was, we had no lemon-lime soda, and the various apps we prepared for cocktail hour were already laid out.

Paul found a bottle of ginger ale in the fridge and quickly deemed it an acceptable substitute. So instead of just ginger ale, we decided to sweeten it up with some simple syrup (but not too much). After garnishing with a half-moon orange slice, and a cherry or two, we raised our glasses, took some big sips, and dug in to the grub.

One of the stand-out pairings wasn’t so much of a shock, but unique in that the food was unusual: smoked eel. A little piece of this rich, unctuous fish goes a long way. Place a piece on a rich, buttery cracker, or a thick-cut potato chip, dab with a bit of mustard, then take a bite. Sip your brandy old-fashioned and relish the mingling of sweet and smoke.


The woody flavors in the smoked eel hors d’oeuvres pairs perfectly with the sweet brightness of a smooth brandy old-fashioned.

Brandy Old-Fashioned
(adapted by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces brandy (try Asbach)
3–4 dashes Angostura bitters
3–4 ounces lemon-lime soda
1/2 tablespoon simple syrup
orange slice, lemon twist, and cherry (in any combination), as garnishes

Method
Stir the brandy and bitters (and simple syrup if you are using ginger ale) in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled double-rocks or highball glass. Top with soda and give a little stir. Add garnishes, preferably speared with a bartender’s straw.

Variation
If using ginger ale instead of lemon-lime soda, use 1/4–1/2 ounce simple syrup, and after mixing, top with 3–4 ounces ginger ale.

Smoked Eel Hors D’oeuvre

Ingredients
1 medium smoked eel, skin and spine removed, cut into bite-sized pieces
buttery crackers, or thick-cut potato chips
Dijon or sweet and spicy mustard
Muenster, or other white cheese, sliced
cream cheese (optional)
fresh dill (optional)

Method
Place a slice of cheese and a piece of eel on a cracker or chip. Add mustard (and other condiments, if using). Note: If your eel seems dry from over-smoking (this usually happens when the eels are thin), chop it up into small pieces and spoon a little bit onto the cracker or chip.

A word about eels

These beautiful fish, so sleek and snakelike, are born in the middle of the ocean and when they are tiny and glassy, make their way to shores across the globe, establishing homes in the estuaries of bays, and farther inland, to live out their lives, until it’s time to return to the ocean to spawn, then eventually die. Some eels can live up to a hundred years, if they are lucky enough to avoid weirs and, worse, man-made dams.

Eels are the third most eaten fish in the world. The Maori of New Zealand revere the eel. It is godlike and respected. The Japanese are addicted to glass eels and pay a high price for shipping to their shores. Those of us who like Japanese cuisine probably have eaten unagi sushi, with pieces of succulent, slightly sweet eel, one of Paul’s favorites. Paul also grew up eating fried eel prepared by his grandmother. Much to his mom’s chagrin, his grandmother would take the eel and wrap its mouth around the spigot of the faucet, and flay it. After cleaning it, it got a dusting of flour and bread crumbs, then into the frying pan. Simple. Delicious. For the squeamish, we recommend an easier approach. The worst you may have to do once you’ve decided on serving smoked eel is to skin it (easy, if it’s not overly smoked), fillet one half by running a knife down the length of the eel just above the spine, then remove the spine. Wash your hands afterward with some lemon juice to get rid of the smokiness. A little work, yes, but the rewards are priceless.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Tasting Spirits and Sipping Cocktails at Tales of the Cocktail 2011, Part I

While in New Orleans at Tales of the Cocktail, we end up sipping dozens of spirits, liqueurs, sodas, and new cocktails whipped up by the world’s greatest bartenders and mixologists (why do some people pooh-pooh the word mixologist and why is it not recognized as a real word in dictionaries?—it’s been around forever!). Here is a sampler of some of our favorite tastings during our first few days down in NOLA:


Lights and action at the Shore Leave Part at the WWII Museum at New Orleans’ Tales of the Cocktail.

The Shore Leave Party at the WWII Museum was insanely fun. We started out chatting with journalist Michael Anstendig over some Hudson corn whiskey lemony highballs that were easy to sip and a great way to cool us down. Then, we ran into the gentlemen from Templeton Rye, who slipped us a flask filled with their smooth as silk spirit (we’ve been making Templeton Rye Manhattans with them all summer, and cannot stop!). Thanks, fellas, for the hooch! Also dishing out cocktails made with Milagro tequila, orgeat, horchata, coconut milk, and dashes of some other tasty ingredients was Jaime Salas, a fellow Brooklynite (who as a Brand Ambassador of course is rarely in his home city). Thanks for chatting with us and providing us one of the many fun photo ops available throughout the event.

We caught the tail end of the World’s Largest Negroni event. Wall-to-wall imbibers eagerly sipped, from a flagon of thick ice, one of our favorite cocktails of all time. This Negroni was special though; besides the bittersweet musings of Campari and Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth, the classic drink boasted the slightly sweet and tea-tasting Beefeater 24, which we lauded a couple of years ago during its launch in the U.S.


Raising a glass to the world’s largest Negroni, at Tales of the Cocktail 2011.

The Negroni

Ingredients
1 ounce Beefeater 24 London Dry Gin
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce Martini Rosso (sweet vermouth)
orange slice, as garnish

Method
Pour ingredients into a rocks glass filled with ice then stir and serve. Garnish with a slice of orange.


Steve Schul enjoys a Negroni at the World’s Largest Negroni event.

Of course, the largest smattering of various spirits was presented by Diageo at the Cabildo Museum. Dubbed “Cocktails from Around the World,” 50 bucks got you a sampling of dozens of cocktails mixed by the world’s most flavor-savvy cocktail creators. We tried new concoctions by Lynnette Marrero, Joaquim Simo, Ryan Fitzgerald, Enrique Sanchez, Misty Kalkofen, Dänny Ronen, Fred Sarkis, all of which satisfied our taste buds, to say the very least. We could have drunk all night, but, well, a sip of each was just enough to make us happy.


Cheers to Lynnette Marrero for creating a delicious Black Daiquiri for the Diageo event.

One of the most fun events was Purity Vodka’s make-your-own infused bloody mary–style martini. Bartender & brand ambassador John Pomeroy Jr. guided us through the process, which involved dumping your favorite bloody mary ingredients into a siphon, adding Purity vodka, charging it with CO2, giving it a little shake, and straining it into a cocktail glass with a lovely ice orb. We, along with fellow cocktail writer (and our logo illustrator) Dr. Bamboo, experimented with a variety of ingredients. But our favorite? Shrimp, andouille, okra, peppercorn, green bean, salt, and tomato. It tasted like New Orleans in a glass. You must try this at home! Use a cream siphon so it’s a little more manageable than a big soda siphon. Thank you Purity for provided a jazz trio and an amazing spread, in the cozy Bombay Club.

Tasting rooms are very creative these days, and just tasting an unmixed spirit simply is not enough apparently anymore at Tales. Some of these, such as the Sandeman Ruby Port tasting, went all-out. At this tasting, where a cocktail competition was taking place, we were treated to three unique drinks created by three very talented bar chefs. Steve loved Don’s Dram by Andy Minchow of Holeman and Finch in Atlanta; Paul, the Red Cape Cocktail by Adam Sieczka. Also on hand was Cheryl Scripter from Bittersweet Confections here in New Orleans who encouraged every passerby to sample all the truffles at her table. Ruby Port and truffles are indeed a marriage made in Elysium.

Red Cape
(created by Adam Sieczka)

Ingredients
1 part Sandemans Founders Reserve Ruby Porto
1 part rye whiskey
1/2 part simple syrup
1/2 part fresh lemon juice
1/4 blood orange
6 small basil leaves

Method
Muddle blood orange and basil leaves with simple syrup and lemon juice. Add port and rye whiskey. Add ice. Shake and pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with blood orange slice and basil leaf.

Don’s Dram
(created by Andy Minchow)

Ingredients
1 part Sandemans Founders Reserve Ruby Porto
1 part Martell VS cognac
1 part freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
1 bar spoon Ricard (pastis or absinthe)

Method
Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and shake for five seconds. Double strain into cocktail glass. Garnish with a pinch of sea salt and one grind of black pepper.

❤ ❤ ❤

Let us continue into the realm of something new: Cupcake Vodka. We were so intrigued by the name, we had to stop by for a sip. Let us tell you that these vodkas are not in the least bit cloyingly sweet. Touted as all-natural, they are easy to sip, fun to mix, and are worth more than a try. Our favorite expression was the Devil’s Food. A truly interesting find. It got our creative minds racing.

A few minutes later, we found ourselves in the Drambuie tasting room. We are very familiar with Drambuie, and were eager to try its new product, one which is peatier and slightly less sweet than the older model. We chatted with Anthony Caporale who created a delicious creamy lavender Drambuie concoction that we would have killed to have a scone with. And on the opposite spectrum of taste, there was a global-inspired Drambuie drink with lemongrass and jalapeños that made us reconsider that Drambuie is limited in what you can do with it. We love surprises.

Kilbeggan, aged in bourbon barrels, was a lovely way to reacquaint ourselves with blended Irish whiskey. The aroma is slightly sweet and rich, with vanilla and, of course, bourbon. A nice change from the usually Irish whiskeys aged in sherry barrels. We are looking forward to mixing with it in some of the cocktails we’ve developed when we get back to Brooklyn.

Other welcomed tastings didn’t involve alcohol at all. Barritt’s ginger beer is a lovely addition to the ginger beer canon: light and refreshing, and served by rep Paul Imbesi, donning some sweatbands around his head and wrists. We dubbed him the Olivia Newton-John of the Tasting Rooms. Never lose your sense of humor, Paul! We’ve talked about Fentimans sodas in our previous post, and we are excited to experiment with the Rose Lemonade in future drinks. What a great tasting room, with so many of their soda flavors on hand, being mixed with all kinds of spirits and liquors. If you haven’t tried the Dandelion and Burdock soda, you are missing out!

More tasting notes to come. Stay tuned.

Thanks to all the hard-working men and women who gave us their time. Cheers!

The New Friends You Meet (and run into again and again) at Tales of the Cocktail

The Cognac Summit was the first cocktail we imbibed after we landed in New Orleans. Shaken at the Tales of the Cocktail Media reception at the French 75 Bar in Arnaud’s in the French Quarter, it was a smooth and extremely well-balanced introduction to a week of revelry, seminars, and meet-and-greets in this southern city that never seems to sleep.

Cognac Summit

Ingredients
1 lime peel
4 thin slices fresh ginger
1 1/2 ounces VSOP cognac
2 ounces traditional lemonade
1 long piece cucumber peel
4 or 5 ice cubes

Method
Lightly muddle the lime zest and ginger slices in a rocks glass with the cognac. Fill glass half-way with ice. Stir well for 5 seconds. Add lemonade and cucumber peel. Stir well for another 5 seconds.

❤ ❤ ❤

As we filled up on piquant gruyere-laden gougères (which pair perfectly with the Summit Cocktail, by the way), and other assorted tasty nibbles, we met costumer Thayer Abaigael and her husband Scott Lund, recent transplants from San Francisco who have completely embraced the NOLA way of life. The sultry air mixed with savory conversation, plus a French 75 made with cognac and lemonade, led the four of us to a pizza joint not too far from Arnauds where we continued our conversation about Tales and the city. Scott developed the extremely user-friendly Droid app for Tales this year (they should have asked him to develop the iPhone app as well), and Thayer runs the Vieux Carre Media breakfasts and lunches that have turned out to be the saving grace for us during our stay thanks to the amazing food and the opportunity to rub elbows with the executives and distillers who sponsor everything at Tales.


Hollis Bulleit always has time for a photo and a hug. In the Vieux Carre Room at the Hotel Monteleone, with Paul Zablocki of Cocktail Buzz.

For example, we attended the Bulleit-sponsored luncheon, and after we were greeted at the door by Thayer’s soothing voice and hospitality, we were instantly drawn to the orange-plumes and infectious grin donned by Bulleit’s World Ambassador, Hollis Bulleit. Sure, we shared with her how much we love love love her family’s bourbon and rye, but sometimes at Tales, you need to talk about something other than booze, and Hollis and our conversation quickly turned to politics (socioeconomic, gender, queer), the pros and cons of East- vs. West-Coast living, and the crazy wonderful ebullience that gushes from every seam of this city. (We keep running into her, and every moment shared is filled with fun, sass, warmth, and laughter.)

She grabbed us by the arms and said, “you must meet my father,” and led us to Mr. Tom Bulleit, founder, and sixth-generation distiller, who rose from his chair mid-bite, and took the time to talk to us a little about the family biz, but, more important, about the films he loved, and those we shared a common admiration for. He was warm and generous with his time. We will be watching McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Cannery Row when we get home, Tom, we promise.

Some other new friends we met in the Vieux Carre Media room, and who we’ve been running into again and again, hail from Vancouver: Craig James, the CEO of Fentimans, and his sharp-as-a-tack daughter, the lovely Samantha. They asked us if we had the opportunity to sample their products at one of the Tasting Rooms, and we were quick to respond with a resounding “yes!” Our favorites are the Dandelion and Burdock, Rose Lemonade, and Shandy, but they’re all good, and a much needed and refreshing respite from a cocktail-heavy day.

Getting back to Scott and Thayer, that first night after pizza and salad, we wandered to the Grey Goose party at Latrobes’s on Royal Street where it seemed all of NOLA’s beautiful people converged. We were greeted by a spectacle of lights, camera, and action adorning one NOLA’s most architecturally significant buildings from 1818 in the heart of the French Quarter, a stunning place to sip a barrel-aged cocktail by Guillaume Jubien and Nick Mautone. Consisting of Grey Goose La Poire, Noilly Prat dry vermouth, Monin white cocoa syrup, this “Feu d’Artifice” is barrel-aged 2 to 3 days and after some stirring in ice, garnished with a lemon peel. A highly flavorful—but not too sweet—unique and satisfying after-dinner drink.

It was then time to hit the hay. Thanks Hotel Monteleone for such a gorgeous room!


Grey Goose party at LaTrobe’s in New Orleans. Flashy lights and videography, pulsating music, and custom cocktails.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Louis Royer “Force 53” Cognac Makes Its Mark in NYC

A bee, symbolizing the natural world, is the perfect logo for Louis Royer Cognac. For M Royer, it was a symbol of “diligence, an efficient and lively organization, and regional and craftsman work.” We like bees as well.

Last week we were invited to a Cognac tasting at New York City’s Daniel, the Michelin three-star restaurant led by the esteemed chef Daniel Boulud. Master Selector Jérôme Royer and Master Blender Laurent Robin from the award-winning Louis Royer Cognac distillers flew in from Jarnac, France, to regale 75 of us with the history of the Louis Royer company. They also offered us tastings of three Louis Royer cognac expressions, including its latest, “Force 53º,” a high-proof cognac developed especially for the American market, and a total of nine different Force 53º cocktails, created by local bar chefs.

It was our first time at Daniel, and the mood was decidedly festive. Four different cocktail stations were set up in the front dining rooms as mixologists whipped up their creations and waiters passed by with tiny bites of fish and other tasty hors d’oeuvres. Barman Jason Littrell, who was standing in for an absent mixologist Jonathan Pogash (he was busy becoming a new dad—congrats, Jonathan!), offered us each a Commes les Français, a champagne and Force 53º cocktail, mixed with a little Combier Liqueur d’Orange, Lillet blanc, and passion fruit juice, and a rinse of pastis. A lot of ingredients? Yes. But bewitching, indeed. It was the perfect way to start the evening. After about a half hour of sipping and chit-chat (Paul met the lovely Eleanor West from Food Republic, the brainchild Web site from chef Marcus Samuelsson, that caters to men’s taste), we were ushered into the private dining room where we parked ourselves at a table with some of the most delightful ladies on the planet: Jen Pelka, managing Editor of Gilt Taste, and Whitney Chen, also of Gilt Taste, and a current Food Network Food Star finalist.


Four of the nine or so “Force 53” cocktails. This photo reminds us of an old-school paper cocktail menu. Bottoms up!

A collective insobriety hung over the event once we were seated and the gentlemen from Louis Royer began their chats. Jérôme Royer, a fifth-generation distiller, charmed us as he gushed about the family business. “My blood is cognac,” he added before guiding us through tasting his VSOP Preférence and XO expressions, along with the Force 53º. All were incredibly smooth (water had been added to each to open them up), and elicited aahs throughout the room. We could tell right away that the Force 53º would be an excellent base for cocktail creations, and the bar chefs on hand crafted some beautifully redolent and tasty concoctions. Hands down our favorite offering by Jonathan Pogash was his Spice Is Nice, a rocks drink made with Force 53º, Cinnamon Syrup (courtesy of Trader Tiki), some ginger syrup, and some lime juice. What made the drink so special was not its first few sips (which had us hooked), but the garnish: a lime wheel dusted with cayenne that lay perched above the drink. When tipped, the cayenne added a new layer that was surprisingly tasty, without being too spicy.


Three Expressions of Louis Royer Cognac (from left: VSOP Préférence, VSOP “Force 53,” and XO).

As sipping continued, we discovered that Whitney used to be a total science geek (a lot of chefs have admitted to being science geeks—cooking has a definite geek factor that appeals to us); and also that Jen used to be a chef at Daniel. After more getting to know each other and four new cocktails to try, she offered us a dip into the kitchen. We quickly followed her into the heart of Daniel. To behold the hive-like activity that awaited us behind the doors was exciting and entertaining. If you would indulge us with an oxymoron here, a bustling calm canopied the chefs as their hands and tools worked in harmony to make click-clacks on the wood and stainless, and the penetrating gaze of their eyes focused on the final touches of the courses they prepared. The celadon glow of the tiles that line the walls perhaps added to this mood.

Thanks to Hanna Lee from Hanna Lee Communications for the invitation. She brought together formidable talent from all over the world to a magical place in the heart of the great City of New York.

Commes les Français
(created by Jonathan Pogash)

Ingredients
1 ounce Louis Royer “Force 53” cognac
1/2 ounce Combier orange liqueur
1/2 ounce Lillet blanc
1/2 ounce Boiron passion fruit juice
rinse of pastis
2 ounces champagne
lemon peel, as garnish.

Method
Add ingredients to mixing glass with ice and gently fold. Strain into chilled champagne flute that has been rinsed with pastis, and top off with extra champagne. Add lemon peel garnish.

Spice Is Nice
(created by Jonathan Pogash)

Ingredients
2 ounces Louis Royer “Force 53” cognac
1/2 ounce Trader Tiki Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 ounce ginger syrup (from the Ginger People)
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
lime wheel dusted in cayenne pepper, as garnish

Method
Shake ingredients well in ice and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass. Add garnish.


Waiters and Chefs, at Daniel, NYC.


Pastry Chef, at Daniel, NYC.


The Kitchen at Daniel, NYC.

All photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Kümmel Explained, plus Two Easy and Flavor-Popping Cocktail Recipes

The world is full of strange and exotic liqueurs (or cordials, if you prefer). Take kümmel, for instance (or kummel, without the umlaut; or even kimmel, as this is the closest pronunciation in English). Perhaps you’ve spotted a bottle of Gilka brand at the liqueur store, with a penguin wearing a kaiser helmet and monocle. How utterly German. Berlin, in fact.

For those of you who are aficionados, you already know the power of kümmel. It lies in its distinct flavor: caraway. After all, kümmel means caraway in German and Dutch. It also means cumin; both spices come from the same family. So it wouldn’t be amiss to find some kümmel liqueur that has notes of cumin in it as well. Some producers even add the flavors of fennel seeds to the process.

It is believed that kümmel was first created in the late 16th century in Holland by Lucas Bols, and because of its popularity, it spread east to Germany, then Russia, where most of the world’s kümmel is produced today.

Our association with this liqueur began several years ago when Cousin Jon gifted us a bottle (he’s such a nice guy). Of course we tasted it immediately and decided to get busy to come up with some cocktails.


CiCi will make your mouth sing as you settle into your evening.

Steve played with it first and came up with a nice take on an after-dinner sipper that unites the caraway flavors of the kümmel with the delicate bittersweet taste of elderflower. He then grounded the mix in a bath of cognac. Ooh-la-la. A very merry distinct flavor emerges from the first sip as the two flavors create one new flavor. Herbal, floral, a perfect way to end a meal and head into the prospects the evening has to offer. The name he bestowed upon this libation was CiCi. Why? Well, who can remember at this point, but the name stuck. You can have a CiCi during cocktail hour as well. Pop in a brandied or marasche cherry, and serve it up or on the rocks.

CiCi
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces cognac
1 ounces kümmel
1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur (such as St-Germain)
marasche cherry, as garnish (optional)

Method
Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled glass. If serving as an after-dinner drink, split this between two people and use smaller glasses (see photo above).

❤ ❤ ❤

The Remington, with its lick of caraway, is one smooth cocktail thanks to Canadian whisky, some fresh orange juice, and sweet vermouth.

Coming up with our next drink, the Remington, happened by accident. In this case, a happy one. We were craving Oriental Cocktails one night, but were out of lime juice. All we had was one orange in the fridge. So Paul decided to use orange juice instead of lime juice, and swap out the triple sec in an Oriental for something more exotic. Adding triple sec to orange juice just seemed redundant. Kümmel, on the other hand, proved to be a dynamite choice; shaking it up with orange juice and sweet vermouth creates a smooth citrus-bittersweet tang that makes your whole mouth feel good. So smooth, and a pinkish shade of amber. We both looked at each other and winked. “Lady smooth.”

As we threw our heads back and laughed, one of us added, “Like a Lady Remington.”

“Let’s call it a Remington. That way, a guy would want to order one too. He’ll never know how the name actually originated.”

“Utterly devious.”

“Cheers.”

There’s a little addendum to these recipes. Paul knows a young brilliant drummer named Cici who works with a young brilliant writer named Chris who has a lovely wife named Mary née Remington. Mary happens to be a hugely devoted caraway fan. Wheel in the sky, keep on turning.

Remington
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces Canadian whisky
1 ounce sweet vermouth (try Carpano Antica)
1 scant ounce orange juice
1/4 ounce kümmel

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. You can use blood orange juice to give your Remington a spikier, more bittersweet edge.



photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

Everyone Loves Punch During the Holidays (Especially the Host)

Serving punch at your holiday party will take the burden of having to play bartender to your guests. The Pomander Punch, above, tastes of cranberries and spice.

The final fifteen minutes before your guests are scheduled to arrive are always fraught with trepidation. We curse ourselves with nonstop invective. “Why the @#$% did I agree to throw this @#$%ing party. I’m such a @#$%ing idiot.” It’s at these moments, when we all turn into whining teenagers, that we must take a deep breath and rise to the occasion. You threw this cocktail party because you are awesome and your friends rock, and you wanted to share with them some cocktail and party-food pairings that will be remembered forever (and not in a bad way). So that you will be touted as the cocktail-party thrower of the century and not the sniveling spaz you seem to be playing at the moment, you must do the following: make a punch. Not the kind you imbibed as a child—those were sweet and sparkling sugar-rush inducers filled with ginger ale and neon sherbet. No, this punch will be filled with high-quality spirits and liqueurs, possibly champagne, fresh seasonal fruit, and flavors that will send you into adulthood negating any old associations with prom punch ever again. Welcome to the grownup table; you can now fold up that kiddy card table and banish it forever.

Punch is a blessing or, more appropriate, a mangala. The word itself, many believe, derives from the Hindi word panch, meaning five, alluding to the five ingredients that purportedly made up historical punch: spirits, sugar, lemon, water, and tea or spices. But if you ask the average josephine what she thinks of when she thinks of punch in a historical context, she may describe for you a Hogarthian scene of jack-tars, slinging their flagons while singing a shanty tune honoring the drunken sailor, which isn’t at all inappropriate. Sailors brought the Hindi punch back with them to England, bedazzled by its bold flavors of spice and citrus, and from the early seventeenth to the mid nineteenth centuries, punch ruled supreme. Punch houses dotted the London landscape, filling the hearts and minds of men with merriment. Sharing a bowl was like taking communion: it brought you closer to God, if you let it.

We want punch to bring you closer to a reasonable frame of mind. With a punch at the ready, all you have to do is point your guests in the direction of the chilling bowl and say, “help yourself to a delicious glass of [fill in the blank] punch.” At first they may be surprised that no islands of lime sherbet dot this quaff, but after a sip, you’ll hear their contented sighs, and they’ll hear yours.

Here are a few punch recipes that will brighten up your party and set your mind at ease. Some of them are for 1 serving, but with a little math, you can easily create a bowl full of shimmering panch. Just remember to make a block of ice for the punch bowl (you can freeze water in a freezer-safe bowl).

Global Punch
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces Jack Daniel’s
2 ounces amber (medium-bodied) rum (such as Old New Orleans or Mount Gay Eclipse)
1/2 ounce ginger liqueur (such as Domaine de Canton)
1 ounce real pomegranate grenadine
1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur (such as St-Germain)
2 ounces red grapefruit juice (you can substitute pink if red is not available)
1/4 ounce lemon juice
1/4 ounce lime juice
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters (you can substitute with another orange bitters)

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled glass. Serves 3.

If making a bowl of punch, first make a block of ice in a freezer-safe bowl that’s smaller than the punch bowl. Then, multiply all the ingredients by eight or more depending on the size of your party. Refrigerate until chilled. About a half hour before serving, remove the ice from the bowl and place in the punch bowl. Pour the punch into the bowl. Garnish with lemon and lime wheels. Ladle into punch cups or glasses.

Try pairing with Chorizo Sobres, little deep-fried spicy smoked sausage and peach bites.

Rihanna
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 ounce amber rum (such as Old New Orleans or Mount Gay Eclipse)
1/2 ounce white rum (such as Mount Gay Silver Eclipse)
1/8 ounce Cruzan Black Strap rum
1/2 ounce Grand Marnier
1/4 ounce Velvet Falernum
1/2 ounce simple syrup*
1/4 ounce crème de banana (such as Bols)
3/4 ounce orange juice
1/4 ounce lime juice

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled glass. If you’re feeling the call of the tiki gods, garnish with cherries and banana slices poked through with a straw. Serves 1.

If making a bowl of punch, first make a block of ice in a freezer-safe bowl that’s smaller than the punch bowl. Then, multiply all the ingredients by eight or more depending on the size of your party. Refrigerate until chilled. About a half hour before serving, remove the ice from the bowl and place in the punch bowl. Pour the punch into the bowl. Garnish with cherries and banana slices. Ladle into punch cups or glasses.

* Dissolve one cup of sugar in one cup of water over low heat, stirring occasionally. When all the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat, let cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to a month.

Try pairing with baked coconut shrimp.

Pomander Punch
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
1 1/2 ounces cranberry sauce–infused Junior Johnson’s Midnight Moon Carolina Moonshine*
1 ounce bourbon (try Bulleit)
1/2 ounce clementine orange juice
1/4 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
block of ice

Method
Shake in ice for 15 seconds. Strain into chilled glass. Garnish with a half-moon slice of clementine or a whole pericarp of star anise. Serves 1.

If making a bowl of punch, first make a block of ice in a freezer-safe bowl that’s smaller than the punch bowl. Then, multiply all the ingredients by eight or more depending on the size of your party. Refrigerate until chilled. About a half hour before serving, remove the ice from the bowl and place in the punch bowl. Pour the punch into the bowl. Garnish with clementine orange wheels and star anise pericarps. Ladle into punch cups or glasses.

* In an airtight container, add 1/3 cup homemade cranberry sauce (follow directions on package of cranberries) for every 2 cups moonshine (you can substitute vodka if moonshine is not available). Let infuse for at least five days and up to two weeks (the longer you wait, the better), shaking the container at least once a day. Strain into another airtight container and label.

Try pairing with bacon-wrapped dates.


Blackberries and cinnamon combine to create an amazing flavor sensation. This punch is boozy and bodacious. The bowl will be emptied by nightfall.

Bramble Punch
(created by Cocktail Buzz)

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

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. You can easily double or triple the recipe.

* 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.

Try pairing with Cheddar Blue Fricos, lacy and crispy wafers of cheese.

photos © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz