Enter Teh Sickness

 The best laid plans blah blah blah.  So I didn't finish up Carpano Antica Formula week as early as I had planned but that is okay.  I did get to them eventually, after taking a few days to be down bad with teh sickness. I did not care for Souracher at all.  I think I don't like ginger beer.  Although.....we went to Sagamore distillery on Saturday to celebrate some family birthdays and while there I had some kind of blackberry rye thing with ginger beer and it wasn't awful.  But still, not my fave.  I did like the Munich Negroni Western Style - not too far off from a standard Negroni, really, but the hazelnut did come through nicely.

Taking another week off from theming.  I still want to make that Coconut Gimlet I mentioned in my last post and then I'm going to focus on using more of my vermouths because I literally can not fit another bottle into my bar fridge.  I need to at least finish off one of the dry vermouths and either the Carpano Antica Formula or Cocchi Americano.  

• Physical -Howlers by Brian Paone
• Audio - The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
• eBook - Finished This One is Mine by Maria Semple and now reading The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (RIP)

Enter Teh Sickness

Ya ya ya coco jambo

 

Next up is Carpano Antica Formula:

I made Lovelight Monday night and liked it a lot.  I was very pleased that the cinnamon shone through.  I was afraid such a small amount would be masked by the Campari but I was quite pleasantly surprised.

Two more this week although I don't know exactly when I am going to get to them.  We're going out for dinner tonight for Annapolis Restaurant Week, tomorrow we are going to watch a friend's acoustic show at a local joint. So, likely, Friday and Saturday.  I want to get through this week because I saw something on Rob's Home Bar for a Coconut Gimlet and it sounded good to me and bonus, the hubs will like it too.  

• Physical -Disney Adults by AJ Wolfe
• Audio - The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
• eBook - Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

Ya ya ya coco jambo

Weekend Wrap Up

 Ok so I did end up remaking The Healer from yesterday's post, I upped the Licor 43 and dropped the lemon, both to .50 oz.  Much better drink.  Maybe not one of my faves but I'll drink it again.

Friday night I made something of my own creation, sorta.  I did get some guidance from ChatGPT but then I made my own tweaks on it.  It was FANTASTIC.

Saturday I tried a bit of an experiment.  Sometime last year I had infused an entire bottle of gin with Earl Grey so I could make an Earl Grey MarTEAni.  First mistake, infusing the whole bottle.  Should have just done maybe six or eight ounces.  Second mistake?  Well, I don't know exactly but the gin ended up way to tannic.  But a few weeks ago I stumbled across the idea of rice washing to reduce tannins so Saturday night I gave it a try.  And the difference was noticeable, in taste and appearance.  Huge improvement but I'm not sure whether enough of one to justify keeping the bottle.  But I do have a few other ideas I'll try.

Sunday was the hubs birthday and also National Margarita Day so of course I had to make margaritas.   When we were at Disney last year, Satu'li Canteen in Animal Kingdom had an amazing Kiwi Margarita, so good that I went back for a second which I NEVER do.  So I made us Kiwi Margaritas.  Great way to end the weekend.  (we had crabcakes too 😀)

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
• eBook - My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

Weekend Wrap Up

Tweakin'

The official programming for Amaro Nonino week has ended but that doesn't mean I'm done!

The first drink I made, the Drifter, was completely underwhelming.  It was just...meh.  No character.  

The second drink was fantastic. Riff on a Paper Plane called a Broken Plane, subbing in St Germain for Aperol.  I liked it a lot and will 100% make this again.

The third drink?  Might need a bit of help.  This is the drink as written:

And, based on the ingredients, it should have been fantastic.  But it was wickedly out of balance, all I could really taste was lemon juice.  I'm going to re-spec it tonight and bring the Licor 43 up and the lemon down.  Watch this space.

I'm planning out for the next couple of months and I am stumped when it comes to uses for Pama.  I mean, it's great on it's own, or it can easily be used for Pomegranate Martinis, Margaritas, Daiquiris, Collinses, Sprtizi, etc.  But I am looking for creative. I'm thinking that pomegranate juice ticks a lot of the same boxes as tart cherry juice so I am going to see what kind of cherry cocktails I can come find.  At first I was thinking Cherry Heering, but that's a sweeter liqueur than Pama I think.  

Currently Reading:

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - The Griffin Sisters Greatest Hits by Jennifer Weiner
• eBook - My Life as a Villainess by Laura Lippman

Tweakin'

Wait your turn, Rhum!

Picked up a new bottle this weekend, a bottle of Rhum Barbancourt, so expect I'll be playing with that one soon enough.  Not yet though.  

First need to finish up Suze week.  I made an Eponine Collins Saturday night.  As I was making it I was muttering to myself about how it was needlessly complicated but once I tried it I had to concede it's a very well crafted cocktail.  Very complex, nothing that I could easily slot into any other category.  I guess it can be called a collins because gin + lemon + bubbles, but really, did not seem collins adjacent to me at all.  A lot of well balanced complexity.  Even the husband liked it.  

Then last night I just made a smoked Old Fashioned.  Simple and reliable.

Tonight starts Amaro Nonino week:

Currently Reading:

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
• eBook - His and Hers by Alice Feeney

Wait your turn, Rhum!

Kickin' it Old School: Taco Edition

 Y'know, eff it, this isn't a diary exactly, but it's a place to record things, right?  Right.

The hubs has been asking for what we are calling American Tacos.  Do other people call them that?  Or maybe Gringo Tacos?  I dunno, probably.  I've been making so-called street tacos for the past few years but he said he missed the way I used to make them, from a taco kit, with lettuce and tomato and shredded cheddar and taco sauce.  Double layer, hard taco encased by a soft taco, with a layer of refried beans in between.  So that's what I made Monday with ground beef.  And y'know, I still prefer a more minimalistic street taco but gotta admit, these were pretty good.

Tuesday, I did battle with an iceberg and I won.  It was a huge chunk that had broken off of the snowcrete wall next to my car, it had broken off and actually rolled over into the active road way, causing a hazard.  So I spent some time chopping at it and finally got it broken up enough to be able to move the individual pieces out of the way.  Then for Suze week I made a Clandestine cocktail.  It was very tasty.  I don't remember anything about it though, just that I liked it.

Last night I made another from the Eras Pour book.  It's from the Folklore chapter, inspired by Betty and is called "Only Seventeen" which has NOTHING to do with that Winger song.  This book is now three for three.  Everything I've made has been spectacular.  This one drank like a sweeter and slightly floral Old Fashioned. Monkey Shoulder scotch as the base, St Germain and demerara syrup to sweeten a bit, spritz of lemon on top.  

Tonight I'll make the last designated cocktail for Suze week.  Except, oops, I don't have basil OR cucumber.  Hrm.  Maybe I will save it for Sunday night, after we do our grocery shopping.  We will see!

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - Explosive Eighteen by Janet Evanovich
• eBook - Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier

Kickin' it Old School: Taco Edition

Monday Means Memory Mist

Whoops!  Last week was busy, busy, busy and of course I forgot to take notes on what I drank when, but to the best of my recollection it went something like this:

Perfect Manhattan - Nothing remarkable.  If I did anything different with this I don't recall

Rose from the Dead - This one was from The Eras Pour book.  It was very very good.  I don't remember the specs and I can't find it online so....I know there was tequila and rum, also absinthe.  I'm guessing it might be a Corpse Reviver #2 riff maybe?  Anyway, it was delish, I will make it again!

Negroni - I mean, it's a negroni.  I used Carpano Antica.  

Cranberry Lime margarita -  This one is going into my bar book.  The specs I found called for cranberry juice cocktail and I had 100% cranberry juice, so I added some simple syrup and it was perfect.  2 oz blanco tequila, 1 oz cranberry juice, .75 lime juice, .75 triple sec, .50 simple syrup, two dashes orange bitters.

Lastly, I started Suze week yesterday, Sunday.  Started off with Swiss Account and it was also a winner.  Bitter and complex

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
• eBook - All Her Fault by Andrea Mara

Monday Means Memory Mist

Scofflaw and Rosita

Still trying to finish off a bottle of dry vermouth.  First I made a Scofflaw, I used specs from Anders Erickson.  I didn't take notes on this one - do not ask me why for I will never understand how my brain works - but I remember liking it.

I also made a Rosita.  To explain my initial reaction to this cocktail I first have to go back about....thirty five years???  More?  Anyway.  There was a restaurant in Baltimore called Gampy's, stood for Great American Melting Pot.  I loved that spot.  I loved the servers that would walk through the restaurant calling out a warning every other step "HOT OIL!"  "HOT!" "OIL!"  "HOT OIL!".  

They also had this one frozen drink, I don't recall what it was called, but there was something about its overwhelming banananess that elicited the same reaction from everyone who tried it.  It went something like this:

::sip::
BANANA!
::hands to next person to try::
::sip::
BANANA!

And so on.

And that is what happened with this Rosita cocktail.  One sip and I was all "TEQUILA!".  It was VERY tequila forward.  I am not a huge tequila drinker but I will keep this one in my back pocket for when I want something other than a marg or Paloma.

Probably one more week of dry vermouth and then I am moving into Suze week.

Currently reading:

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
• eBook - China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

Scofflaw and Rosita

January Reads

 

January Reads

Sometimes Two is Not Better Than One

 I realized the other day that I had accidentally opened two bottles of dry vermouth and they were both mostly full (One Martini & Rossi, the other Dolin) so I'm going to try to use one of them up before moving on to my next themed week (which will be Suze BTW).

So last night, I made a Contessa.  Bit of a Negroni riff.  Equal parts gin (I used Plymouth), Aperol and Dry Vermouth (I used the Martini & Rossi).  I meant to give it an orange spritz but grabbed lemon instead which I think was a happy accident.  (Oh, and I figured out my issue with the spritzes - I need to not spritz directly into the drink.  Instead, think of it as something akin to spraying a cloud of cologne and walking through it.  I've been standing back and spritzing over top of the glass from about two feet below and the mist gradually settles into the glass but with much less intensity that way.  Been working pretty well).  

I liked this Contessa a lot and bonus, it's what I call a Water Bottle Drink.  By which I mean a drink I can batch and pour into my big ass water bottle.  I can usually fit three drinks in there and then I can take it with me to house parties.  Much better than cans of Cutwater cocktails.  

Ooh, also, I bottled the allspice liqueur that had been infusing for the past ten days.  It still needs to age in the bottle for a few days but I am very much looking forward to giving it a taste.  I'm using the Serious Eats recipe and am optimistic.  Hooray tiki drinks!

Currently reading:

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - The Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans
• eBook - One Shot by Lincoln Child

Sometimes Two is Not Better Than One

Smoke and Snow and Ice OH MY

Plymouth week went fairly well.  The Vesper was my favorite, probably because it reminded me of the martinis my dad used to make (and let me take tiny sips from) when I was about eight.  Like, literally, that first sip took me back to watching Get Smart with my dad while he drank his "firewater" and I waited for the lemon peel.  To this day, I still love eating lemon peels.  

I ended up making a bonus Plymouth cocktail which blew me away enough to create an entire post so I'd remember it for later (see last post).  It was actually an accidental bonus.  It started because I wanted to make something with Italicus and Cocchi Americano and when teh Googles suggested something that ALSO had Plymouth it was like kismet.

Taking a break from themed weeks to use up some stuff and play with ideas and techniques.

We had a winter weather weekend.  Since we don't have a fireplace, I decided to try making a smoked old fashioned.  I'd never smoked a cocktail before so I wanted to keep it simple.  Evan Williams Black, rich simple, orange bitters, no garnish because I didn't want to cloud the smoke.

The cocktail turned out spectacularly.  I was a bit disappointed by the amount of smoke, I expected a big billowy plume, based on what I'd seen on the 'Tube.  I tried again the next day, using more wood chips and burning them for longer before extinguishing with my glass.  Same result, good drink, subpar theatrics.  But I'll take it!

I'm going to try a smoked espresso martini next!

Currently reading:

• Physical - It's The End of the World as We Know It, edited by Christopher Golden and Brian Keene
• Audio - Finished Carl's Doomsday Scenario, haven't started a new one yet
• eBook - Finished the Summer Pact, reading We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

Smoke and Snow and Ice OH MY

Quickie

 White Negroni riff, equal parts Plymouth, Cocchi Americano and Italicus.  Orange zest. Five stars. 

Quickie

Goodbye Sherry, Hello Plymouth

 The rest of sherry week went pretty well.  The other two drinks I made, a Manzoni and a Sherry Valance, were pretty good.  I'd give them both a B+/A-.  I made a few other sherry drinks over the weekend but of course I don't remember what I made.  Welcome to my life.  I do have them written down, but at home, and I am not there.

Speaking of home, I am concerned about Stella.  She got a brushin' last night and yes, she hates being brushed but it wasn't any worse than usual, I actually thought it went a bit better than it usually did, she didn't fight me much and she didn't scream at me at all.  But after I was done she hid under the sofa, she didn't come out for dinner, she stayed there all night as far as I know, she was still hiding in the morning and didn't come out for breakfast.  This isn't normal for her.  Hopefully she'll be out by the time I get home from work tonight.

Went out this weekend and acquired a few new bottles:  Espolon Añejo tequila, Carpano Antica vermouth, Frangelico hazelnut liquor, Elijah Craig Toasted Bourbon, Empress 1908 gin, Averna Amaro, a bottle of Portland Syrups grenadine....and one other I CAN NOT remember....I got three from Magothy Liquors - the Averna, the vermouth and the Frangelico, and five bottles from Angel's Share, the gin, bourbon, grenadine, tequila and....one more....it'll come to me....I'll just keep staring at this screen, that'll work, right?  RIGHT?

Okay, let's just keep going, we're walking and we're walking....I also ordered two bottles of bitters online, celery and grapefruit.  OH!  And a bottle of Rittenhouse Rye!  HaHA!  I knew I'd remember!

This week is all about Plymouth Gin:

I made Donna Reed last night and I liked it, but, tbh, I probably liked it because Campari.  Big fan of Campari and double big fan of Negronis.  Regardless of why, I liked the drink.  But hoping another one of the cocktails I have planned for this week showcases it better.

Currently reading:

                Physical - This Book is All Elite

                Audio - Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinneman

                eBook - Just finished None of this is True by Lisa Jewell and about to start                                  The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin.  

Goodbye Sherry, Hello Plymouth

First Fail

 The hubs and I were down bad with teh sickness the past several days so I don't have much on the cocktail front to recap.  I made the third of my three planned Mr Black cocktails, IYKYK, and it was fine, nothing remarkable, but I might make it again.  That was last Thursday before the plague befell us.  

This week starts Manzanilla Sherry week!  On deck:

As you might notice, the first cocktail, La Perla, did NOT go over well with me at all.  It smelled good as I was putting it together and my comment after my first sip was "well, this isn't for me but I'll finish it" and my comment after my second sip was "nope, I was wrong, not finishing this".  I'll have to try the sherry straight to see if that's the issue.  I just opened it and it'd been kept cool and dry since purchasing so it SHOULDN'T have gone bad, but who knows.

It is ALSO possible the culprit was the lemon oil.  In an attempt to cut back on waste, I bought some food safe orange and lemon oils and put them in atomizers and I used the lemon oil last night.  Maybe it's not the one to one substitute I assumed it would be.  Ah well, live, learn, etc.

Trivia tonight so nothing new until Wednesday night, haven't decided yet which one Imma make, depends on whether I feel like juicing oranges tomorrow.  Stay tuned.

Oh also!  I meant to be tracking my reading here as well.  I have finished one book so far this year, The Arrest by Jonathan Lethem.  Much like the La Perla, this wasn't for me.  I recognize the quality of the writing but I just didn't dig the story.  

Currently reading:

                Physical - This Book is All Elite

                Audio - Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinneman

                eBook - Live Wire by Harlan Coben

First Fail

So it begins

I've been playing around with mixology for a few years now.  I've built a nicely stocked bar, I know when to shake and when to strain, I know the importance of using the right ice.  I make myself a nice cocktail almost every night that I am at home.  But I've found that I'm just flitting around from one shiny new bottle to another and I really haven't taken time to explore the depth of my bar.  And I'm also developing anxiety around opened syrups and vermouths and sherries, oh my!  I do refrigerate my perishables but that only buys so much time.

I realized I need focus.

So I decided for 2026 to theme my weeks.  Each week will have one bottle or other ingredient in the limelight.  And every fourth or fifth week will be a Use-Up week, for those syrups and vermouths and sherries.  

This week's theme is Mr Black.  The three drinks I chose for this week were all featured on Steve The Bartender's YouTube channel.  These were original cocktails created for a Mr Black competition.

As prep for this week of cocktails, I made a cranberry syrup, a banana syrup, and a cocoa nib infused Campari.  Pretty sure I am going to infuse whatever is left of the banana syrup with cocoa nibs to make a chocolate banana bread old fashioned or something, but that is for later.

Of the three drinks, I've made two so far and they were both insanely good.  Flippin' Banana was on the sweet side, but not too sweet thanks to the healthy dose of Mexican chocolate bitters.  The Coffee Chocolate Boulevardier was recognizably a boulevardier, but softer on the palate.  The last one, IYKYK, I'll be making tonight.  

Next week, Manzanilla Sherry!

So it begins

2026: A Year in Cocktails - A New Beginning - Prologue (Grapefruit)

 Heh.

So yeah, today is the first day of my year in cocktails project.  I'll talk more about that later in the week.  Right now, I want to run down how 2025 ended and how 2026 began.

2025 ended with champagne.  'Nuff said.  I might have splashed some St Germain in there at some point but tha's about it, nothing fancy or notable.

But, 2026 began with THREE fantastic cocktails three nights in a row.

For Christmas, the hubs got me The Eras Pour, the Unofficial, Ultimate Taylor Swift Cocktail book and for that alone he should get a bit of a huzzah since he is most definitely not a fan but he LURVES me, he really LURVES me.  So I was paging through the book and came upon something called Careless Man's Careless daughter which used, among other things, grapefruit.  And hey, lookit, I just bought a grapefruit (one single grapefruit) the other day.  So I juiced that grapefruit and made that drink and holy shitsnacks it was fantastic!

But I was left with another six ounces or so of grapefruit juice and I decided I felt tiki, especially since, during a spate of housecleaning, I had uncovered our Lord of the Rings tiki mugs.  Did some Googling, found this site and made myself a Tiki Tonga Tang and folks, let me just tell you, this drink is DANGEROUSLY delicious.  I took a pic, but please please please do not expect me to make a habit of this, there will rarely be pics of drinks, sorry.

Last night I made a Hemingway Daiquiri which I had somehow never had before.  I used specs from Punch and was blown away.  Even the hubs liked it (typically his responses range from "I don't think I care for this" to "it's fine" so for him to say he actually liked a drink is a BIG DEAL.

I still have grapefruit juice leftover.  I might just make myself a dirty Greyhound with the rest of it and by dirty, all I mean is I ain't measuring shit, put that gin and that grapefruit in a glass with ice and that's IT.  So it might be a rare two drink night tonight, will have a Greyhound with dinner and make my first "on theme" drink for laters.  Yes.  This sounds like a plan.

2026: A Year in Cocktails - A New Beginning - Prologue (Grapefruit)