In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I touch on Dubonnet and the Dubonnet Cocktail. Dubonnet was invented as an anti-malarial wine. It's useful even if you don't have a mosquito problem.
Category: camper_clips
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The Anti-Malarial Further Fortified Fortified Wine Cocktail
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Back In My Day, It Was Called A New-Fashioned
In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I cover the history of the cocktail- the original one. I'm sure you've heard of it: spirit, sugar, water, bitters.
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Spicy Mary
A bunch of years ago I tried to sell a book on infusions, because there weren't any at the time. In some ways I'm glad it didn't sell, because my cocktail knowledge and abilities are so much better now that I would have been embarrassed by many of the cocktail recipes you were supposed to use after the infusions were done. But I did do enough recipe development that I learned the timing for a lot of infusions. In my latest post for FineCooking.com, I list the quantities of spicy things like pepperonchini, peppercorn, chili peppers, and horseradish to make a 1-day infusion.
Then you can add those to tomorrow's Bloody Mary.
When I was working on the book, I had all the different infusions sitting around and decided to dump them all into the drink at the same time. It was pretty amazing how you could clearly taste each infusion separately, rather than them being all muddled together into one new flavor.
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The Martini Does Not Exist
The word 'Martini' has very little meaning.
Two versions of the cocktail may have completely different ingredients and be served in different formats: A bone-dry-and-dirty Grey Goose Martini on the rocks with extra olives has nothing in common with a Fifty-Fifty gin Martini with orange bitters and a twist. They're not even close to the same drink – in ingredients, in format, or in purpose.
More than that, the Martini no longer exists even as a drink concept. It means different things to different people: strength, dryness, elegance, simplicity, an aperitif, glassware, crispness, an era in time, an intellectual challenge, etc.. Some of its concepts are mutually exclusive.
This conundrum surfaced when in New Zealand last year for the 42Below Vodka Cocktail World Cup, in which they had a Modern Martini challenge. The problem was that nobody agreed on what the Martini was, so everyone updated it in a different way. Most of those ways differed from the judges' concept of the drink.
The Martini is as amorphous a concept as morality.
In this Sunday's Los Angeles Times Magazine, I wrote a story about how the Martini Does Not Exist, except in the mind of the individual.
I'm pretty happy with how it came out. After going through the issues involved with the concept of the drink (and revealing how that cocktail contest turned out), the story lists the Martini recipe as a moving target throughout the years.
Please give it a read.
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Cheers to Rudolph, Not the Reindeer
(Image courtesy of Cherry Heering.)
In my latest blog post at FineCooking.com, I introduce the Blood and Sand. The cocktail was almost certainly created in honor of the 1922 silent movie of the same name, staring Rudolph Valentino.
I've also written a long story about all the different ways bartenders are changing this drink, but that's going in an upcoming issue of Mixology Magazine so unless you read German you're out of luck on that one.
I will say, though, that should you decide to watch the movie on which the drink is based, the 1941 version with Rita Hayworth and Tyrone Power is much more entertaining than the original. Unless you want to watch Rudolph on a silent night.
The blog post is here.
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Bits and Pieces from Winter Drinking Guide in 7×7 Magazine
My San Francisco winter drinking guide in 7×7 Magazine is coming online in bits and pieces.
Here are some:
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Hot Buttered Fun
Hot Buttered Fun would be a good party band name, right? My latest post on FineCooking.com is up. It's a recipe for the Hot Buttered Anejo, which is a hot buttered tequila that I had one night when the brand Avion was pouring drinks at Elixir.
Check it out here.
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Chartreuse + Chocolate = Delicious
The week before Paul Clarke wrote about the same topic to make it look like I ripped him off, I wrote my next blog entry for FineCooking.com, about the magical mystery combination of Chartreuse liqueur and chocolate.
While Paul was creative and found four drinks that combine the two ingredients, I went to Jamie Boudreau and asked if I could borrow a single recipe he blogged about in 2007. I'd like to think that this just makes me efficient.
(Verte Chaud by Jamie Bodreau. Photo also by Jamie Boudreau.)Read the story on FineCooking.com here.
And remember, your comments at Fine Cooking make me love you more.
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Winter Drinking Guide in 7×7 Magazine
Oh hello, giant sexy four-page spread in the December issue of 7×7 Magazine written by Camper English!
Run screaming to your local newsstand to pick up the latest issue with a guide to winter drinking. In it you'll learn:
- Where to get your fancy on in a hotel bar
- The best hot drinks in SF
- Bars with rooms for rent
- The bar with 1200 Santa Claus dolls on display
- How I worked the phrase "plaid-slathered" into a bar review
- Gift ideas from local liquor stores
- The best bar for hungover bartender spotting
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Turkey Cocktail
In my latest post on FineCooking.com, I tell the tale of a recent Thanksgiving tradition: drinking Wild Turkey. I also link to my experiments with Wild Tofurkey and share a new-fangled Old Fashioned recipe from the brand.
Check it out here.
