Cocktail of the Day: brandy

Showing posts with label brandy. Show all posts

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sucka Punch

February 21, 2010

Torani Amer
Torres 10 year brandy
Small Hand Foods grenadine
lime juice
Bundaberg ginger beer

Shake the first four ingredients and strain into a pilsner glass. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lemon wheel.

This is a twist on the ol' Picon Punch. It was so tall and cold that we fooled ourselves into thinking it was summertime.

Sunday, December 6, 2009

The Side Dish

November 24, 2009

Torres brandy
Grand Marnier
St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
cranberry syrup
lemon juice
egg white

Dry shake, add ice, shake, and fine-strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with fresh nutmeg.

This one is part Sidecar and part Thanksgiving... hence, the Side Dish. It's now on the main cocktail list!

Friday, November 20, 2009

Apple Dandy

November 13, 2009

Torres 10 year brandy
Dow's 20 year tawny port
calvados
Benedictine
Fee's Whiskey Barrel bitters

Stir and strain into a chilled rocks glass. Garnish with fresh nutmeg.

This one tastes like the holidays (it's almost 2010!!)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Vieux Carré

October 29, 2009

Sazerac rye whiskey
Torres 10 year brandy
Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
Benedictine
Peychaud's bitters
Angostura bitters

Stir ingredients and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange ribbon.

This drink was invented in 1938 by Walter Bergeron, the head bartender at the Monteleone Hotel in New Orleans, and is named after the French term for what we call "The French Quarter" ... le Vieux Carré ("Old Square").

Friday, September 11, 2009

Black Mamba

September 6, 2009

Torres brandy
lemon
blackberry simple syrup
small chunk of orange
safron/cardamom bitters

Shake and fine strain into a cocktail glass which has a half rim of lemon-verbena sugar.

Delicious and summery. We make the saffron-cardamom bitter in house using a recipe given to us by Nopa's own Neya White.

Essential Bar Tools:

Pint glass
Shaker
Citrus squeezer
Paring knife
Cutting board
Patience
Wine opener
Bottle opener
Jiggers: Utensils for measuring liquids with 1/4- 1/2 oz. increments.
Hawthorne strainer: Metal device with a spring that fits over a shaker in order to strain the liquid from the ice.
Julep strainer: Solid metal paddle-like strainer with numerous holes. Fits into a pint glass, and is often used with stirred cocktails.
Fine strainer: Small metal sieve used to remove anything solid from a cocktail.
Bar spoon: Long, thin spoon used primarily to gently stir cocktails.
Channel knife: Tool used to carve twists from citrus.
Muddler: Baton-like device used to press, crush or pulverize ingredients.
Extra Liver: Let's just say: We like what we do.

More to come, of course!

Cocktail Terminology:

Up: Chilled, but served without ice, typically in a martini glass.
Neat: Served at room temperature, typically in a rocks glass.
Over: Served on ice. Glass may vary.
Strained: Ingredients combined in a shaker are strained into a glass through a Hawthorne or Julep strainer.
Fine Strained: Ingredients are poured through a small mesh strainer, eliminating ice chips, fruit pulp, or whatever else is unwanted.
Twist: The zest of any citrus (but not the flesh of the fruit).
Ribbon: Wide twist made from using a vegetable peeler. Not an official term, but it's what we use at Range.
Wedge: A wedge of fruit (often citrus) which includes the zest, pith and flesh of the fruit.
Wheel: Round cross section of citrus.
Half-moon: Half of a wheel. Another Range term. Not sure why we don't call them "half wheels".
Chip: A small, circular piece of citrus zest used as a garnish.
Dry: For Martinis this means using only a few drops of vermouth.
Very or Extra Dry: No vermouth
Shake: To mix vigorously with ice in a shaker
Stir: To gently stir a drink in a shaker with a bar spoon. This keeps the ingredients more "pure" because the ice doesn't break up and melt as it does with shaking. The trade off is that the cocktail is less chilled. Gin Martinis, Manhattans, and Sazeracs are examples of drinks that should be stirred.
Dry shake: To combine ingredients in a shaker without any ice. Typically used in order to properly emusify cocktails containing egg white.
Muddle: To use a muddler to press, crush or pulverize any ingredient in order to extract juice and/or flavor.
Rocks Glass: Short, cyllindrical glass meant to hold a spirit and ice.
Bucket: A large rocks glass. Gin and tonics and the like are typically served in a bucket.
Collins Glass: Tall, cyllindrical glass used for collins, fizzes, and often juice-bassed drinks.
Pilsner Glass: Very tall glass, often featuring a pedestal base. Aside from beer, these are used for cocktails that contain juice and soda, such as Mojitos.
Cocktail Glass: Often called a "Martini Glass".
Shot Glass: Small glass meant to hold around two ounces of liquor.
Cordial Glass: Smallish stemmed glass used for port, and desert wines.

More to come, as well!

Cocktail of the Day