Category Archives: whiskey

Maple Old Fashioned

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maple old fashioned

The Old Fashioned is arguably the greatest and most versatile cocktail on earth, and I love to try new twists on it from time to time. It is by definition a “true” cocktail: spirit, sugar, water, and bitters. Here’s a twist I tried on the Old Fashioned recently:

Maple Old Fashioned (by Greg Mays)

  • add 1 tsp of maple syrup (the real stuff, from trees) to an old fashioned glass
  • add 2 dashes of orange bitters (I used Dashfire)
  • fill the glass with ice
  • add 1 1/2 oz of bourbon and 1/2 oz aged rum
  • stir until cold
  • garnish with a long, curled orange peel (use a channel knife)

What variations do you like to try on your Old Fashioneds? Here are a few of the variations I’ve featured here at Simple Cocktails so far: Irish | Gin | Old Tom Gin | Tequila | Vodka

Moonshine Bloody Mary

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moonshine bloody mary

Using Moonshine in the place of vodka when you serve up a Bloody Mary is one way to change up a classic recipe. Fortunately, Ole Smoky makes a Bloody Mary mix that you can buy alongside a jar of their moonshine.

To garnish this cocktail, I used some of Tillen Farms‘ pickled vegetables which, like their cherries, is made with cocktails in mind. Here’s the recipe:

Moonshine Bloody Mary

  • build in a glass:
  • 1 1/5 oz of moonshine
  • 4 oz bloody mary mix
  • garnish of choice, preferably pickled, like those shown above, olives, gherkins, or a lemon wedge

Ok time for a heart-to-heart here. As someone born in East Tennessee, I get the fascination with moonshine. As a practical element of a home bar, though, moonshine has yet to earn it’s place beyond novelty. In this cocktail, I found the corn-sweetness of the moonshine actually clashed with the savory Bloody Mary. If you want to stick with the Ole Smoky brand for a Bloody Mary, use White Lightnin’, which is more flavorless than their Moonshine.

Ole Smoky’s Bloody Mary mix is good. It’s nice and thick, it has quality, natural ingredients, but lacks the spiciness of Zing Zang or the thick-deliciousness of Ubon’s. I added some Tabasco to pick up the burn.

 

Tennessee Dream Ice Cream

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20130721-210138.jpg

Here’s a recent conversation I had:

Mrs. Simple Cocktails: You should make homemade ice cream this summer.
Me: I want to make cinnamon. I love cinnamon ice cream.
Mrs. Simple Cocktails: Ooh! You should put pecans in it. Pecans taste good with cinnamon.
Me: You know what else tastes good with pecans and cinnamon? Whiskey.

Pretty smart, aren’t we? Here’s our recipe for homemade cinnamon-pecan-whiskey ice cream, which turned out delicious:

Tennessee Dream Ice Cream (by Greg Mays)

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 1/2 cup half and half
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 oz of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans (I used candied pecans)
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Directions: In a saucepan over low heat, mix sugar and half and half until liquefied, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir the heavy cream in. Once mixed, stir in 2 whisked eggs, vanilla, and Jack Daniel’s. Add the mixture back to the stove on low heat for a few more minutes until it’s mixed well. Remove from heat and stir in cinnamon and pecans. Allow to cool, then pour into ice cream maker and freeze according to directions.

One note that’s particularly important to the readers of this blog: while you may be tempted to double….triple….the Jack Daniel’s in your ice cream, remember that liquor won’t freeze. I know 3/4 oz doesn’t seem like enough JD, but it’s just enough to flavor it and keep the ice cream a tad soft.

Moonshine Cherries

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ole smoky moonshine cherries and white lightnin

Ole Smoky distillery, on top of their line of moonshines and moonshine liqueurs, sells a mason jar of pitted cherries that are properly drowned in high-proof moonshine. The cherries make a nice cocktail garnish and the liquid they’re in a tasty, strong, non-sweetened “cherry moonshine.”

There are two types of Ole Smoky moonshine: White Lightnin’ and Moonshine, the first is more of a neutral-flavored drink (like vodka) and the second is a traditional corn liquor. Here’s a simple cocktail recipe with White Lightnin’ and Cherry Moonshine:

Oh Cherry

  • 1 1/2 oz White Lightnin’ moonshine
  • 1/2 oz Cherry Moonshine (the juice from the jar)
  • 2 tsp simple syrup
  • stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • cherry garnish (duh)

Pow Wow Botanical Rye

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pow wow botanica rye cocktail

The more I began to think about the liquid in my bottle of Pow Wow Botanical Rye, the more I was intrigued. Pow Wow is distilled from rye (as you’d expect from whiskey), it’s infused with botanicals during distillation (as you’d expect from gin). Then it’s aged in charred barrels (as you’d expect from whiskey). Did you catch that glitch-out in the middle? This is a rye that has some gin-like characteristics, and if you know anything about me, you know that this bottle of booze has the potential to be the most exciting thing I’ve ever tasted.

If you’re new here, I love gin and I love rye whiskey. Other liquor is good too, but those two are my faves. Pow Wow, which’ll run you about $40 a bottle, is one of the premium whiskeys managed by Georgetown Trading Co., whose catalog includes other whiskey brands too. Pow Wow really does have some gin characteristics, particularly in the scent of it, and if you’re a whiskey or gin lover, it’s totally worth trying.

pow wow botanica rye cocktail

Here’s a classic cocktail to try with Pow Wow:

Gall Bracer

  • 1 1/2 oz rye
  • 2 dashes of bitters
  • 1 dash of grenadine
  • pour ingredients slowly over ice in an old fashioned glass
  • garnish with a cherry

How to: Make a Mint Julep

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how to make a mint julep

Much like the Sazerac, the Mint Julep is a simple cocktail whose preparation and mystique makes it seem really complex. Mrs. Simple Cocktails got me a full-blown julep “kit” for Valentine’s this year, so I’m making them now using all the proper tools. I’ve provided Amazon links to everything I used below:

how to make a mint julep

Step 1: take a Lewis bag filled with ice and smash it to tiny bits using a wooden mallet. The Lewis Bag prevents the ice from being “wet” by wicking the water away as you crush it.

Step 2: Next take a nickel or silver julep cup and fill it with 15-20 mint leaves and 1/2 oz of simple syrup. Muddle them gently together for 30 seconds and add a scoop of crushed ice to the cup. Stir well.

how to make a mint julep

Step 3: Add 3 oz bourbon whiskey to the cup and stir more. Add more crushed ice, this time almost to the top. Stir more. Your shiny julep cup should start looking like mine in the photo: frosty and cold! Top once more with crushed ice and garnish with a mint sprig and cocktail straws. Optionally, you can dust the top of the Julep with powdered sugar.

how to make a mint julep

Here’s the recipe list once more. Like I said, it’s simple and it’s theatrical:

Mint Julep

  • 3 oz bourbon
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup
  • 15-20 mint leaves and a sprig for garnish
Photography by Jasmine Nicole.

 

New York Sour

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new york sour

I saw this recipe a few weeks ago at Bon Appetit and tried it that same day. It’s quite sweet and you could easily make a bowl of this as an adult punch for a party. Here’s how you make it:

New York Sour

  • in a cocktail shaker, add:
  • 2 oz rye whiskey (substitute bourbon if you’d like)
  • 1 oz lemon juice
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • add ice, shake, and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice
  • slowly pour a fruity wine (I used Shiraz) over a barspoon into the glass so it floats on top of the cocktail

As you can see from my picture, the presentation is amazing. I found the “float” part to be much easier than I anticipated.

Walk the Line: Jim Beam

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jim beam bourbons and whiskies

This is Walk the Line: a series where I explore the entire product lines of the most popular liquor brands together with a panel of friends and tasters. Click here to view the entire Walk the Line series.

Jim Beam. The flagship bourbon and one of the top-sellers in the world, aged 4 years. The fire from the toasted barrels comes out in Beam White and it has a “hot” finish as a result, the tasters said it felt higher proof than it actually is. Ms. Ubon told me her favorite southern cocktail is to mix Beam with Coke, which they fondly call Brown Wine. Jim Beam is $15 per bottle.

Jim Beam Black. Using the same recipe as the white label bourbon, Black is aged 8 years and bottled at a higher proof. An affordable bourbon with a long age, Black is smoother and cooler than Beam white, and it marks an affordable ($20) upgrade from the flagship bourbon.

Red Stag. A black cherry flavored bourbon, and while it’s not marketed as a liqueur, Red Stag is quite sweet, with almost a snow-cone quality to the flavor. It seems that it’s meant to be mixed into an Adult Cherry Coke. Red Stag is a very popular line for Beam and very affordable at $15 per bottle.

Devil’s Cut. A newer member of the Beam clan, Devil’s Cut is Jim Beam bourbon that includes whiskey that’s steam-extracted from the barrel wood. Whiskey that evaporates from the barrel is traditionally called the Angel’s Share, so what’s left inside is the Devil’s Cut, right? This Beam variation is certainly woody and spicier on the tongue. For our tasting panel, was a favorite of the Beam line. Devil’s Cut is $25.

Jacob’s Ghost. The newest Beam-family whiskey, just hitting stores now. It’s named for Jim’s great grandfather Jacob Beam (the first Beam to sell whiskey). This is a unique white whiskey because it’s actually aged for a year and the color is filtered back out of the liquor, leaving a ghostly pale colored whiskey. It is certainly more mellow than other unaged whiskeys I’ve tasted, which often have the pungent quality of tequila. Tasters thought this one was almost like sake with a fruity finish. Ghost retails for $23.