Drinks of Summer: To Top It Off

This post is part of Cocktail Culture’s Drinks of Summer series, in which we will feature light & refreshing warm-weather cocktails.

I’m going to pretend for a moment that I feel at all in the “summer” mood. It’s been tough around here lately—lots of rain and no sign of an end! But here’s the thing—you know we’re going to have to pay for all this rain later (and balance it all out) with a severe heat wave and drought conditions in July. And when that time comes….you’ll have the perfect drink in hand.

Once the warm weather hits, you can always count on finding a bottle of champagne in my fridge. And it’s not because I love to drink it as is (which, by the way, I sure do). I love topping off summer cocktails with a little bubbly to make it light and refreshing!

Here are a few from Beefeater. A brand-spanking-new Beefeater 24 cocktail by Dan Warner, and an old classic I will surely be partaking in while in New Orleans (French 75 bar @ Arnaud’s…here I come!). Keep these recipes on hand, and a bottle of bubbly chilled for when the clouds subside at last. Cheers!

Montford Spritz

1 oz. Beefeater 24 gin

1 oz. Noilly Ambre

1 oz. Aperol

2 dash peychauds bitters

2 oz. champagne

Build first four ingredients in a wine glass. Add ice & stir. Top with champagne and garnish with a grapefruit twist.

French 75

1 oz. Beefeater gin

½ oz. Lemon Juice

½ oz. Hiram Walker Triple Sec

Top with Champagne

Combine the first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Things…

Hello readers! Today I’ve got two quick notes for you.

1. I was first introduced to MySpeedRail.com by Lance Mayhew awhile back, and have been enjoying some of the recent blog posts there. But it’s just come to my attention that they’ve got a search engine set up on the site specifically designed to search cocktails on only the most relevant sites. It’s the perfect tool for finding a new cocktail to serve your friends, deciding what you can make with what you have on hand, or figuring out if your new creation has already been created by somebody else. Check it out the next time you’re looking for a great drink (after stopping by Cocktail Culture, of course!).

2. Tales of the Cocktail is fast approaching. I can’t believe it’s been a year already! I’m so excited to return to the Big Easy and meet up with new friends and familiar faces. If you want to be privy to all the deets while I’m on the road, follow me on twitter, where I’ll be updating more frequently. I promise to be witty and hilarious. Well, no I don’t but I’ll try anyway.

Cheers!

Drinks of Summer: The Margarita

This post was written by our wonderful new intern Kayla Joyce, as part of the Drinks of Summer series on Cocktail Culture.

With the first day of summer only 13 days away, and the warm weather soon to come (I hope!), it’s time to start thinking about those refreshing summer cocktails that bring us a taste of paradise.  A personal favorite of mine, also one of the most popular cocktails in the U.S., is the margarita.

I’m sure you’ve all heard the various tales of the origins of the margarita. I’m not going to pretend to know which story to believe, but the most common piece of information I found was that it was created around the 1940’s, making the margarita over 50 years old. Whether it was Margarita Sames in 1948 creating her own favorite concoction, or a bartender creating it for some girl named Margarita, I appreciate their work!

One of the great things about the margarita is that the possibilities seem endless. You can drink your margarita frozen, straight up, or on the rocks, and add any fruit flavor you desire.  If you’re looking for something new to shake up your old margarita (no pun intended), some common flavors are: Strawberry, Mango, Banana, Raspberry, Melon and Peach, but I give you permission to experiment further.

Classic Margarita: (This is where it all started folks)

1 ½ oz. Tequila

1 oz. Hiram Walker Triple Sec

¾ oz. fresh squeezed lime juice

¼ oz. simple syrup

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into an iced margarita glass (you can salt the rim if you prefer). Garnish with a slice of lime.

There are some cocktail purists who scoff at the idea of tampering with the classic margarita recipe & claim there is no such thing as a “Mango Margarita.” While that may be true to some degree, I think we’re getting caught up in linguistics, here.  Perhaps it would be more correct to call the drink “A mango cocktail that’s a take on a margarita” but that’s a mouthful, especially when you’re parched and begging the bartender for a refreshing libation.

Another point of contention for cocktail enthusiasts is the use of blenders with summer drinks (especially Margaritas). While the classic Margarita doesn’t call for blending, I don’t see anything wrong with whipping up an icy frozen cocktail with fresh fruit and good booze! The blender’s just gotten a bad reputation because it’s been used to create sickly-sweet concoctions made with poor-quality ingredients. The blender is back, baby. Just ask Tony Abou-Ganim.

Frozen Hawaiian Margarita:

1 ½ oz. Tequila

½ oz. Hiram Walker Triple Sec

2 oz. fresh strawberries

2 oz. fresh pineapple

¼ oz. lime juice

¼ oz. simple syrup

Pour the ingredients into a blender with a cup of ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled margarita glass. Garnish with a pineapple chunk & enjoy!

Triple Sec is obviously a main ingredient in most Margarita variations so if you don’t have any on hand, get out and grab some! Our triple sec has seen some wonderful reviews over past few months. Check them out!

Drink Hacker Review: Hiram Walker Triple Sec

Liquor Snob Review: Hiram Walker Triple Sec

Cocktail Hacker: Hiram Walker Triple Sec vs. Cointreau

Happy Anniversary!

It’s officially been a year since I first put pen to paper (or rather, fingertips to keyboard) and created Cocktail Culture. If you’ve been reading all along, thanks so much! If you’re just now stopping in, welcome! I’ve learned a lot over the course of the past year, and have had the opportunity to travel, meet new people, and try great drinks. The journey’s just begun, but here’s a little photographic trip down memory lane for you. Places I’ve been and sites I’ve seen this past year:

Beefeater 24 Thursday Drink Night!

Last Thursday the brand-spanking-new gin, Beefeater 24, sponsored Thursday Drink Night in the Mixoloseum and threw the icing on the cake with a fantastic live event at the Quarter Bar in Brooklyn. What a blast! TDN regulars Rick Stutz of Kaiser Penguin, Nathan (oysterschnapps), and Michael Dietsch of A Dash of Bitters were all there, in addition to Meaghan Dorman from Spirit Me Away, Alia Akkam from Bev Media, brand ambassador Dan Warner and Dave Wondrich. That’s right folks, we pulled out the big guns! 

And they didn’t disappoint. Online, a seemingly endless list of wonderful new Beefeater 24 cocktails streamed in, and in person, Dan Warner and Dave Wondrich served them up for us all! Aren’t we so lucky? Here were a few of my favorites from the night: 

B24 Fresh by Tiare Olsen

 2 oz. Beefeater 24

1 oz. Aperol

½ oz. Lime Juice

½ oz. Simple Syrup

¼ oz. Grapefruit Juice

Fill with tonic

 Shake, strain over crushed ice, and garnish with a lime spiral.

 Ginger Bushel by Matt Robold

 3 oz. Beefeater 24

1 oz. Ginger Liqueur

¼ oz. Apfelkorn

2 dash orange bitters

 Stir with ice, strain, and serve in a cocktail glass with a lemon twist.

 24 Hour Party People by Sylvan Thompson

 2 oz. Beefeater 24

¾ oz. 2:1 Ceylon Cinnamon Syrup

¾ oz. lemon juice

2 dash of cardamom bitters (boker’s or hess)

 Shake, strain, and serve up.

 For the full list you can check out Mixoloseum’s twitter feed. And head over to the Mixoloseum blog to get their take on the event! And for cryin’ out loud if you haven’t already, get yourself a bottle of Beefeater 24 asap and make a few of these cocktails. Cheers!

Beefeater 24 Sponsors Thursday Drink Night

It’s about that time again, folks. Another sponsored Thursday Drink Night and tomorrow’s theme is the brand new fantabulous Beefeater 24 gin. Exciting stuff!

 

As usual, the event will start at 7pm in the Mixoloseum chat room so click through, sign up, and log in, friends!

 

In addition, a stellar crew (if I do say so myself) will be joining in the fun from the Quarter Bar in Brooklyn. Dan Warner (Beefeater brand ambassador), Rick Stutz (Kaiser Penguin), Michael Dietsch (A Dash of Bitters), Dave Wondrich, Jack Robertiello (Drinks Ink), Meaghan Dorman (Spirit Me Away), and Greg Boehm (Mud Puddle Books) will all be there in addition to myself & Steve Raye from NOVA.

 

Word on the street is there’ll be a webcam set up as well so check us out as we shake, stir, and sip the drinks you submit!

 

Cheers!

British Invasion! Beefeater 24 Arrives in the States!

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending the official launch party for Beefeater 24 gin. For many cocktail writers, mixologist, bartenders, and enthusiasts, the “tea party” at Ella in New York was their first opportunity to try the product. Little secret here (ok, maybe not since I’m blogging it): it was my first chance to try it as well. Biased though I may be, I’ve got to tell you it’s fantastic! But you don’t have to believe me…take a look around online and you’ll see many others are raving about it as well.

So what is Beefeater 24 and what makes it different from the regular Beefeater Dry Gin? Created by Beefeater’s master distiller Desmond Payne, Beefeater 24 was inspired by the fact that Beefeater’s founder, James Burrough, was a prominent tea merchant. Though Beefeater 24 is made from many of the same botanicals (steeped for 24 hours—get it? 24) featured in the original, the addition of Chinese Green Tea and Japanese Sencha Tea makes for a totally different gin.

So, how about a few recipes? Here’s what they were serving up at the party:

Triple Citrus 24 by Dan Warner:

1 ½ oz. Beefeater 24
3 oz. Q Tonic Water

Build in an ice-filled Collins or highball glass. Garnish with a lemon wheel, lime wheel, and orange wheel.

24 Martini by Dan Warner:

2 oz. Beefeater 24
1/3 oz. Lillet
3 dashes Regan’s orange bitters

Stir all ingredients until ice cold. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

The shifting Sands by Sasha Petraske:

1 ½ oz. Beefeater 24
½ oz. Maraschino Liqueur
¾ oz. grapefruit juice
½ oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
Dash of simple syrup
Top with soda water

Shake first five ingredients. Strain into an ice-filled Collins glass. Top with soda water. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

The launch party brought out the likes of Gary Reagan, Audrey Saunders, Simon Ford, and Charlotte Voisey, among many others. Dan Warner, brand ambassador for Beefeater, chatted up the crowd while Desmond Payne served as the honorary Mad Hatter. Check out the bartenders in their fab top-hats. It was so much fun and the drinks are so tasty—perfect for warmer weather!

Next week we’ll be examining the product even closer and creating more great cocktails so stay tuned! Chip chip cheerio!

Original Beefeater TDN Cocktails

As promised, I’ve got the winning cocktail from the Beefeater-sponsored TDN event. Jake Parrott came out with the Chip Shop Punch, a delightful drink I remember quite well as delicious.

Chip Shop Punch by Jake Parrot

1 1/2oz Beefeater gin

1/2oz Rothman & Winter Apricot

1/4oz Coruba rum

1/2oz lemon juice

1/2oz simple syrup

2 dashes Angostura bitters

 

Swizzle with an enormity of crushed ice and ring it with straws, as everyone will ask for a sip.

There were many other cocktails that made their way across the bar over the course of the evening. Forty-six original cocktails, to be exact—a TDN record! Perhaps that’s because Beefeater is such an easy gin to work with. Here’s what Robert Hess had to say about the gin category that night,

 

“Gin is one of the best spirits for cocktails, I feel it is because there is a great spectrum of flavors within it, which can be brought out by the various other ingredients which you choose to use. It’s sort of like making a soup with a veal stock instead of just water.”

 

And trust me, the flavor was out in full force for so many of these fantastic cocktails. Here’s a taste, but if you’d like the full list, check it out on Twitter.

 

Role Model by Matt Robold of RumDood

 

1 1/2oz Beefeater gin

3/4oz cognac

1/4oz Cherry Heering

1/2oz lime juice

1t simple syrup

2 dashes aromatic bitters

 

Shake with ice, but make sure to first don your favorite super hero costume. Strain, using a batarang as your julep strainer.

 

The Tristessa by Jim Romdall (of Vessel) and Paul Clarke (of Cocktail Chronicles)

 

1 1/2oz Beefeater gin

1/2oz Pommeau de Normandie

1 dash Marteau absinthe

1 dash Caol Isla Scotch

1 dash simple syrup

 

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an entire apple on the rim. Really, try it.

 

You’ll be Hungry 1 Hour Later by Cocktails-a-peel

 

1 1/2oz Beefeater gin

1/2oz lime juice

1/2oz falernum

1/4oz orange juice

orange wedge

1 dash sesame oil

 

Muddle the orange wedge and sesame oil, add remaining ingredients, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Cross your fingers, and take a sip.

Beefeater TDN Live in Seattle

I think I’m just barely recovered from my wonderful trip to Seattle for the Beefeater sponsored Thursday Drink Night live event at Vessel. What a crazy time! I flew in that morning, shared 25 or so cocktails with a few of the best, and was on my way the following day in the wee hours of the morning.

 

Next time I visit Seattle I am definitely going to save more time to enjoy the city. What I saw of it was wonderful and if Vessel is any indication of the quality of Seattle’s cocktail scene, it is most certainly worth another visit and a serious bar crawl.

 

I have to extend a huge thanks to Jim & Michael of Vessel who took such great care of our TDN crew, which included Paul Clarke, Stevi Deter, Robert Hess, Jamie Boudreau, Keith Waldbauer, and Charles Munat. What a great crowd! Also, thanks to Dan Warner, brand ambassador for Beefeater Gin. He spent a few hours fielding questions from participants and sharing his own perspective on great Beefeater cocktails. He shared a bit of Beefeater’s history and provenance, like the fact that it is the last major gin distiller making gin in London. It is the London Dry Gin, folks.

 

At one point in the night I took an informal poll, asking TDN participants to name their favorite classic cocktail to make with Beefeater Gin. I thought for sure the martini would take it, but it was actually the Negroni, one that I have to admit I have yet to try. Better get on it, then!

 

But moving on to original Beefeater cocktails, there were so many great new recipes shared for this TDN, and I made sure to try as many as I could! My personal favorite of the night was a cocktail with a name that sounds more like it belongs on a Chinese Take Out Menu—Sweet n Sour Beef, created by Ryanimo. Ryanimo, if you’re out there and would like your full name and/or a link put in here please drop me a note with your info! Your drink was awesome! Here it is:

 

Sweet n Sour Beef by Ryanimo:

 

1 ½ oz. Beefeater Gin

1 oz. Lillet

¾ oz. Cherry Heering

½ oz lime juice

2 dash Regan’s Bitters

 

Shake the ingredients, strain and serve up.

 

Another star of the night for me was the Magic Carbonated Drink. I’m not sure of its creator (help me out, someone), but Stevi Deter did the naming. This one could only be enjoyed by the Vessel crew as its instructions employ the use of Perlini System, which carbonates the drink and makes it fizzy and FANTASTIC! So if you can, head on down to Vessel and order this:

 

Magic Carbonated Drink:

 

1 ½ oz. Beefeater Gin

1 oz. Aperol

¼ oz. St Germain Elderflower Liqueur

2 dashes lavender bitters

 

Ask your Vessel bartender to throw this together, carbonate it, and serve up with a lemon twist. Yum!

 

As always, a few drinks were chosen as finalists for the drink of the night. Go check the recipes out and vote for your favorite on the Mixoloseum blog. I’ll also announce the winner here later this week. Hope to see you again soon, Seattle. Cheers!

Leavin’ on a Jet Plane

Hello Kind Readers!

 

Just wanted to drop a little note in here and say I’ll be away for the next couple days—I’m flying out to Seattle for a Beefeater-sponsored Thursday Drink Night & it’s my first time visiting the West Coast! Very exciting! Lucky me, I’m going to be joining Paul Clarke of Cocktail Chronicles, Stevi Deter of Two at the Most, Robert Hess of Drinkboy, and Jamie Boudreau of Spirits & Cocktails at Vessel to try out some TDN cocktails live.

 

What’s that? You’ve not heard of Thursday Drink Night? Where were you when Sandeman Port sponsored? Rick over at Kaiser Penguin does a pretty good job of describing it.

 

I’ll be taking off with this super-swanky Beefeater spy kit. Actually, it’s a botanicals briefcase and holds the ingredients used in Beefeater gin including juniper, lemon peel, and Seville orange peel. Now all I need is a handcuff for this puppy and I’ll really be turning heads.

 

Join in on the fun tomorrow night, starting at 7pm EST in the Mixoloseum Bar. Just click through, create a username and password, enter the chat room and introduce yourself! We’d love to see you there!