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

Mixology Monday XXXIII: Gay Caballero, or Infused with Walnuts

The Jack Twist . . . a sweet, nutty Cowboy drink.

As bartenders, bar chefs, mixologists—call us anything you’d like—we like to tinker. Something deep inside prevents us from ever being satisfied with settling for labeled distilled spirits. So what do we do? We strive to create flavors that excite, challenge, and hopefully satiate our ever-exploring palates by changing a spirit’s flavor profile. Like Byrd searching for the South Pole, we bravely face adversity as we taste-taste and mix old reliable spirits with a dash of this and a pinch of that, wait a few days (or weeks . . . or months), and blammo, we’ve created a liqueur.

Enter walnuts. Walnuts are one of our favorite nuts. They add a perfect complement to chocolate in a Toll House Cookie. Their marriage with bananas are a classic to-die-for component in many breads, desserts, and breakfast fare. Why not go all walnut on some whiskey such as Jack Daniel’s? After all, Jack is filtered through sugar maple charcoal. Perhaps maple and walnut would do the two-step with some tasty results. Well, after toasting some walnuts in the oven, and then infusing the darkly aromatic bits in some Jack for three days, the whiskey acquired a pleasant viscosity that made for a more pleasurable mouthfeel. Add some walnut liqueur and a little bit o’ dark brown sugar, shake it all up, and strain into a very receptive rocks glass, eager to feel the pulse of your waiting lips. Don’t forget to throw in a tiny twist of lemon, so it’ll kiss you with every sip.

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the drink was named after the character in Brokeback Mountain, as portrayed by the inestimable Jake Gyllenhaal. Add a little bit of advocaat to the mix (about a 1/2 ounce), and you’ve got yourself a Jack Nasty.

Jack Twist
(created by Paul Zablocki, Cocktail Buzz)

Ingredients
2 ounces toasted walnut-infused Jack Daniel’s*
3/4 ounce walnut liqueur
1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar
small lemon twist (about 1/2 inch)

Method
Shake vigorously with ice for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with the twist.

* Walnut-infused Jack Daniel’s
2 cups Jack Daniel’s whiskey
1/4 cup walnuts

Pour Jack Daniel’s into an airtight container. Toast walnuts in 350°F oven, or on stove top in skillet, for up to 12 minutes, careful not to burn (shake skillet occasionally). When walnuts have started to brown and you can smell their oils being released, remove from heat and add to Jack Daniel’s. Cover. Infuse for 4 days, shaking occasionally from day to day. After four days, strain Jack Daniel’s into a clean container, and discard walnuts.

photo © Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz