Booze - Booze & Board Games

Autumn Harvest

11/22/2013

The Autumn Harvest

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2.0 Oz. Bushmills Irish whiskey or Goslings Black seal rum
5.0 - 5.5 Oz. Apple Cider
Powdered cinnamon
Cinnamon sticks
Apple slices

Method:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add rum or whiskey and the apple cider. Shake thoroughly (until you feel the shaker turn frosty in your hand) Strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Next, dust the top of the drink with powdered cinnamon, add the apple slice garnish and your cinnamon stick then serve.

Gin Rickey

11/15/2013

Ingredients:
1.5 - 2.0 Oz Gin (Bombay Sapphire)
Limes (for juice and garnish)
Tonic/Seltzer water
Ice

Method:
Fill a Highball/Collins glass with ice, squeeze the juice of half a lime into glass. Next add your gin and top off with tonic/seltzer water. With your bar spoon give the drink one quick stir before serving.

Garnish by dropping your squeezed lime shell into the glass also called "a lazy garnish".

Bushmills Rocks

11/8/2013

Bushmills on the Rocks

Ingredients:
2 -3 Oz Bushmills Irish Whiskey (I prefer the ten year old Single Malt)
Rocks/Old Fashion glass
Ice

Method:
Add a couple of ice cubes to the rocks glass, then pour your whiskey in over it and serve.

Now some may say that the ice is a waste, and that the only way to drink good whiskey is to have it "Neat". Usually I hear this from men who either are of refined taste, like our friend Jon Clark of Oregon, or men of ignorance who drink whiskey more as a symbol of machismo than for the flavor. Neat is simply whiskey in a glass with a drop or two of clear water added to bring out the wonderful qualities of the spirit. I prefer my drinks cold, and rarely if ever imbibe liquor neat. The ice will add water to the spirit as it dissolves which in my opinion serves the same purpose as adding a couple of drops, but with the benefit of chilling the drink.

Vera Rush

11/1/2013

Vera Rush

There are two methods for making these, neither of which takes longer than two minutes to put together.

Ingredients:
2 oz. Dark Rum (your favorite brand)
.5 oz. Pineapple Juice (fresh if you have a juicer)

Method #1:
Start by placing an Old Fashioned glass in your refrigerator , or if you have room, the freezer to chill it up.
Next fill your shaker/mixing glass with ice, pour in your rum followed by the pineapple juice. Stir it up with your bar spoon.
Finish by pouring your mixture, through a strainer, into your chilled glass from earlier. Add an Ice cube or two and serve.

Method #2:
Fill a rocks glass with ice, pour in your rum and float the pineapple juice on top. Give a quick stir and you are ready to drink.

Notes: I generally reserve stirring for Highballs and drinks that have more than one alcohol in them and shaking for any that have fruit juices etc. You can shake this drink to mix with no bad effect it just seems to be a bit more work than its worth for something so basic. If you use cracked ice the dilution while mixing is increased which I recommend for the first go around. Also the bare juice and rum may seem overpowering to those who do not appreciate the natural flavors inherent in them so, if you like, add a drop of agave, or simple syrup to ease the edge off.

Horse's Neck

10/27/2013

My first Horse's Neck attempt,

Ingredients:
2 oz. Bourbon or Brandy
3-4 oz. Ginger ale
1-2 dashes of Bitters
Lemon peel (use a channel knife or vegetable peeler and cut as long of a strip of peel from your lemon as possible before you start mixing)

Method:
Place one end of your peel in the bottom of a Collin's glass. While holding the other end add a couple cubes of ice. Now spiral your peel a little in the glass and add more ice to hold it in place, leave a portion of the peel hanging over the rim of the glass. (that's how the name came about)

Next add your bourbon, bitters and ginger ale, and give it a gentle stir with your bar spoon.

Huzzah! You now have a pretty enough drink to serve anytime.

the Black Widow

10/18/2013

The Black Widow

Ingredients:
2-3 ounces of Blavod (black vodka from England)
3-4 ounces of Cranberry juice
Lime wheel for garnish (optional)

Method:
Fill a rocks glass with clean ice, add 3-4 ounces of cranberry juice, top off with 2-3 ounces of Blavod black vodka pouring slowly to make a nice neat line between the mixer and spirit. Garnish with lime wheel if desired.

Essentially this cocktail is but a reverse Cape Cod only with black vodka as a float for presentation. It is a very pretty drink, both when you offer it up to your guests and after stirring. Just like with the Dark and Stormy we suggest strongly giving this drink a good stir before taking a sip. With all the spirit floating on top, that first pull could be a shocker if you fail to give it a spirited whirl with the straw. When mixed your cocktail takes on a nice, dark, blood red color that catches the eye.

The Cape Cod, or as we say it up here "Cape Coddah."

10/11/2013

the Cape Cod.

There are two schools of thought on how to make these simple drinks so I have shared the methods for both below.

Ingredients:
2 Ounces Vodka (Stolichnaya or Grey Goose)
3-4 ounces Cranberry Juice
Lime for garnish

Method #1:
Fill either a rocks or highball glass with ice, add vodka, top off with cranberry juice, stir, add lime wedge for garnish and serve.

Method#2:
Fill a Highball glass with ice, add vodka, add 3 ounces cranberry juice, top off with club soda, squeeze lime wedge over the drink to add juice, stir and serve.

Being a purist I prefer method one when making these, but for those of you who find cranberry juice too acidic cutting it with club soda, as in method two, will probably work best. Either way this drink, which for me brings back fond memories of the Reagan era, will bring a smile to your face with its rich bold flavor.

La Paloma

10/4/2013

La Paloma

Ingredients:
2-3 ounces 100 % agave tequila (I used 1800 Reposado)
.5 -.75 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
Grapefruit soda (another Mexican invention)
1-2 pinches of salt
1 lime slice

Method:
Fill a Collins glass with ice, add Tequila, Lime juice and salt, top off with Grapefruit soda and garnish with a lime slice. Viola you are done!

The Old Fashioned

9/27/2013

The Old Fashioned

Ingredients:
2 ounces of American Whiskey, Rye or Bourbon (I prefer Rye in this drink)
.5 ounce Simple syrup
2-4 dashes bitters (more bitters for more spice)
Orange to peel for garnish

Method:
Add simple syrup to a rocks/old fashioned glass. Next splash in your bitters to taste (I like four). Stir it up real well with a bar spoon. Place two fresh clean ice cubes in glass and add one ounce of your whiskey, again stir with the bar spoon to blend the tincture and let the ice dissolve a little. Add more ice and your last ounce of whiskey and repeat the stir process. Lastly, with a vegetable peeler slice off a good peel from the orange over the glass. Trim it up, then twist over the glass to get the oils out and run it round the rim for an extra touch. Pop the peel in the side of the drink and serve. The essence of orange really compliments the spirit.

The Bronx Cocktail, it's not what you'd expect.

9/20/2013

Da Bonx

Ingredients:
2 ounces London Dry Gin
.5 ounces Sweet Vermouth
.5 ounces Dry Vermouth
1 ounce fresh squeezed Orange Juice
Orange twist for garnish

Method:
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add gin, vermouth and orange juice. Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail or martini glass. Add an Orange twist for garnish (if you want to make the effort)

Author

Al Butler is the resident amateur bartender of Booze & Board Games. He tends to ramble on a bit, but cocktails always bring out his best.

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