Author Archives: Greg

The Murph’s Bloody Mary

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The Murph's Bloody Mary

Recently, I’ve had the opportunity to try several different Bloody Mary mixes, from BBQ varieties to one with ghost peppers. With 5 different bottles mix in my fridge as of now, I’ve gotten used to pouring myself a Mary on a Sunday afternoon.

My current fave is The Murph’s, particularly the Hot and Spicy variety. Available primarily in New York and New Jersey right now, The Murph’s is very much a traditional-tasting Bloody Mary. It’s very tomato-forward overall, which is exactly what you’d expect. The ingredient list is the same for both versions of Murph’s, though it seems Hot and Spicy just has a heavier dose of horseradish, cayenne, and black pepper (which I love).

There is unfortunately one drawback to The Murph’s: one pesky thing I found in the ingredient list, and that’s corn syrup. Now I’m no scientist or doctor, so I can’t give you a technical reason why, but I don’t like corn syrup. In fact, I avoid the high-fructose variety (HFCS) altogether. Now, the corn syrup in The Murph’s is one ingredient of one ingredient (the Worcestershire sauce), so I can forgive it to some extent, but I just wish it wasn’t in there.

I like The Murph’s and I like the traditional flavor of the mix. On the whole, it make for a tasty Bloody Mary, and it’s a valid choice when you see it on the shelf, I just wish they could dump that one pesky ingredient to perfect the recipe (in my eyes).

G’Vine Gin

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g'vine gin, southside cocktail

There are some pretty common subcategories popping up in the gin world, though it seems the most dominant ones are the traditional London Drys (like Tanqueray or Beefeater) and the “softer” gins (like Hendrick’s or Aviation). Most gins share common botanical elements, and the way those botanicals taste will likely help you choose a gin for your cocktails.

G’Vine Gin is distilled from grapes in Cognac, France. It’s flavor is primarily licorice, which has a bit of a bite at the end of your sip. It’s a little bit sweet, too, and while the flavors are clear and pronounced, they’re also pretty mild, giving you a subtle cocktail ingredient that’s somewhere between vodka and the bolder London Drys.

I found a great cocktail for G’Vine. The Southside Fizz is growing in popularity, and to the unfamiliar, it’s really a “Gin Mojito.” You can also serve this without the soda and ice in a cocktail glass (just called a Southside then). Here’s the recipe:

Southside Fizz

  • in the bottom of a Collins glass, muddle mint leaves in:
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • 1 oz lime juice
  • fill the glass with ice and add 2 oz gin
  • top with club soda and stir well

Averna

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averna

Averna is an amaro, one of the charming Italian bitter liqueurs that are hugely popular with certain groups of people, and nearly unknown to others. Campari is the most popular amaro, and just this week, Campari purchased the Averna brand to include in their catalog of liqueurs.

Here’s a question I haven’t answered yet at Simple Cocktails: why bitter? Mrs. Simple Cocktails refers to bitter as a flavor “she tries to avoid,” yet amari are unique drinks as they can be served as both aperitifs and digestifs. An aperitif is meant to whet your appetite before dinner, and aperitifs are usually dry and bitter. Bitterness causes your tongue to salivate, effectively preparing your mouth to eat. A digestif is meant to finish your meal with both sweetness and aiding digestion. Because amari are bitter and sweet, they fit both definitions, and they’re a fun cocktail ingredient as well.

Amari can have a wide variety of dominant flavors, from vegetal (Cynar) to herbal (Fernet Branca) to citrusy (Aperol). Averna is a sweet cola-like experience, almost like root beer. It’s tasty combination of cherry and coffee, too, and actually leaves a little tingle on your tongue just like soda. It’s closest amaro comparison would be Fernet Branca, though it’s not minty and is much less bitter.

Averna is the most accessible amari that I’ve had yet, and it’s great on the rocks after dinner, or a shot in a glass of club soda makes a great, natural, old-timey “soda.” It’s earned a permanent place in my home bar.

Jack Daniel’s Rested Rye

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jack daniel's rested rye

Jack Daniel’s is working quickly to get into the increasingly important rye whiskey game. Months back, they released an unaged limited-edition taste of their rye to retail, and now, it’s time for a rested version, 2 years in a barrel, still limited-edition, and still not a finished product. It’s an interesting way to ramp up a product which must age for several years before it’s finished, and it’s certainly a unique approach to marketing an aged spirit.

At $50 a bottle, Rested Rye is mostly a collector’s purchase, since it won’t be available long-term. I’m under the impression that 4 years is the goal for the final Jack Daniel’s Rye product, so this whiskey is young and brash, and everybody knows it. Other than the brashness, the flavor starts with a sweetness that’s particularly unique to Jack: like pancakes with maple syrup. The flavor ends up with a charred wood flavor that’s a touch bitter.

The rough edges of Rested Rye will be sorted out as the product ages, and I will say something I recall thinking when I tried the unaged version: this is a unique rye whiskey, particularly in the sweetness of the flavor. There’s no shortage of great ryes on the shelf, but having Jack in the game is still a very welcome addition.

Flaviar Tasting Kits

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flaviar best of 2013

At Simple Cocktails, I get tot taste a lot of different liquors, but most of you don’t have the same opportunity. One option for trying a lots of different liquors (without going broke) is to subscribe to a tasting service like Flaviar.

Flaviar has developed tasting kits that you can either subscribe to or purchase individual packs. Monthly memberships are about $40, and individual tasting packs run $30-50. Each pack includes five 1 1/2 oz vials of liquor and instructions for tasting them. The packs are measured for 3 people to each have a taste, and the box includes a small instruction and tasting notes brochure.

I received Flaviar’s Best of 2013 pack, which includes Aviation Gin, High West Double Rye, Nikka Whisky from the Barrel, Gosling’s Family Reserve Rum, and Mascaro Ego XO Brandy. From what I can tell, the packs regularly include hard-to-find and high-quality liquors like these.

I think Flaviar is an interesting choice for tasting spirits without having to commit to a whole bottle (the Gosling’s Rum alone would run you $70). In Flaviar packs, you’ll taste a wider range of liquors than you would if you went to a store and bought a handful of miniatures anyways, and a tasting is a fun experience to have with guests at your home bar.

Galliano

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galliano harvey wallbanger

Galliano is a very unique, very….yellow….Italian liqueur that’s most famous as the central ingredient of the Harvey Wallbanger cocktail.

The liqueur itself is an herbal and vanilla tasting drink that’s pretty high in alcohol (for a liqueur), much like Chartreuse. This is not something you’d likely drink on it’s own, but in the cocktail below, it adds some great depth (otherwise it’d just be a Screwdriver). After sipping Galliano on its own, I realized that it would taste great with just a splash into 2 1/2 of gin, stirred and served like a martini.

Either way, this is a classic, tasty, great liqueur to have in your home bar.

Harvey Wallbanger

  • In a tall glass full of  ice, add:
  • 3 oz orange juice
  • 1 1/2 oz vodka
  • 1/2 oz Galliano
  • garnish with an orange slice
  • serve with a straw

Bols Genever

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bols genever

One of my first reviews at Simple Cocktails was some genever, and as a gin lover, I didn’t really know how to process it, because while gin developed from genever, genever tastes nothing like gin. Since that initial taste of genever I’ve been told that Bols Genever is the standard of quality for genever, and I finally picked up a bottle.

I’m going to repeat myself once more: the flavor of genever is nothing like gin. I would venture to say it’s unlike all other base spirits out there, but it most closely resembles scotch. Bols’ genever is malty, rich, and tasty, but I would suggest you avoid many gin cocktails and try it in more traditional scotch cocktails, or just serve it neat or in an Old Fashioned. Here’s a genever version of the Rob Roy cocktail:

Amsterdam Sunshine

  • 2 oz Bols Genever
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • orange peel garnish

Willa Vodka

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willa vodka vodka swizzle

Willa is an Illinois wheat vodka, a relatively new product with a very limited reach right now. Willa is a certified organic craft vodka in beautiful bottle with a long, slender neck. Vodka is a busy spirits category and Willa has labeled itself as an active lifestyle vodka – according to their website: “…[the creators] expressed their desire for a organic, lower calorie, clean tasting spirit.”

I found Willa very pleasant to drink on the rocks, and because it’s 70 proof (as opposed to “normal” 80-proof vodka), it’s a lighter vodka in both flavor and alcohol. My vodka tasting expert is Mrs. Simple Cocktails, who loves Grey Goose (another wheat vodka). She said that while Willa tastes good, it loses some flavor it it’s light-ness. After 2 dirty martinis with Willa, she said the alcohol effect was noticeably lower, too.

Willa will run you about $30 a bottle, and because it’s lighter, I found it a good fit for warm-weather outdoor drinking, like in a Bloody Mary at brunch, or in a fruity punch at a garden party. Try it in this refreshing cocktail with crushed ice:

Vodka Swizzle

  • 2 oz vodka
  • 1 1/2 oz lime juice
  • 1 tsp superfine sugar
  • 1 dash bitters
  • shake and strain into a tall glass filled with crushed ice and stir
  • top with 3 oz club soda
  • stir and garnish with a swizzle stick

Contratto Vermouth

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contratto vermouth

Vermouth is an essential ingredient to many classic cocktails and is one of the first bottles you should buy for your home bar. Vermouth is an aromatized and fortified wine, like Sherry or Port. It lasts longer than wine, but once a bottle of vermouth is opened, it should be used within a month or two and you should keep it in the fridge so it stays fresh.

As I continue to learn more about vermouth, there’s something that you should also know as a home bartender: the difference between good (expensive) vermouth and bad (cheap) vermouth is huge. Cheap vermouths are often overly bitter and pretty abrasive, which has led to dryer and dryer martinis being served in bars (because cheap vermouth that’s long past it’s expiration date is especially awful). As much as my maven nature wants to fight it, it’s time to settle this once and for all: there’s no such thing as a vermouth that’s both good and cheap.

Which brings us to Contratto: a quality Italian vermouth that will run you about $30 a bottle:

Contratto Bianco is their “dry” version, a vermouth with a wonderful sweet citrus flavor – grapefruit with a touch of orange. This vermouth is so good, you should try it on the rocks at the start of a nice fish dinner. For martinis with Bianco, don’t garnish with the traditional olive, but add a lemon twist instead.

Contratto Rosso is a copper/brown and has a stronger, more bitter nose to it. It musky and woody and tastes like cloves, cinnamon, and bitter chocolate. It makes an amazing Manhattan, and yes, this one is also good enough to drink on it’s own. Try it neat with your dessert in the place of port.

Even though I’m very price-sensitive when I shop, I have had enough great vermouth now to know that the extra money spent on a quality bottle of vermouth, like Contratto or Vya, makes such a massive difference in the quality of my home cocktails, it’s impossible to ignore the value of it.