Simple Cocktails Podcast Episode 25

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A special apple-stravaganza show! Taking liquor places….picnics, flasks, uncorking, and more! “Apple gum? No sir.” Are Apple-tinis a joke? We taste Calvados Boulard VSOP and Greg struggles with descriptive words. We also taste Berentzen Bushel and Barrel and make a couple of drinks with it. Shunning measuring glasses. Calming sounds and mental disorders? “This is strawberry milk.” Southern accent required.

Download Episode 25.

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Christmas Gifts For Guys

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christmas gifts for guys

I’ve made it a habit to assemble Christmas gift ideas every year to make you aware of some nice cocktail-related products that are out there. Last year, I included other items into one big gifts for guys segment. The gifts you see in the list below get progressively more expensive as you scroll down, or you can pick some of each for your favorite man (or yourself). Here are my ideas for 2014.

stanley camping flasks

Stanley cocktail flasks.

With some of the best made thermoses and camping gear you can buy anywhere, Stanley has a pretty awesome collection of cocktail-on-the-go accessories, including flasks from 5-12 oz and a cool set of travel shot glasses. Each of these will run you right around $20 from your favorite sporting goods store or from Stanley direct. Make sure you check Drink Spirits’ list of best spirits to sneak in a flask if you need some sneaky ideas.

beardbrand explorers kit

Beard stuff.

Now that No Shave November is over, some guys have put their face blankets away until next year. I usually grow my soup-saver from November through the holidays, though, so I’m needing to wrangle my facial hair now. BeardBrand has a whole line of beard oils, mustache waxes, and beard combs/brushes. Oils range from $15-30, or you can spring for a whole assortment of products the Explorers Kit ($115), which is pictured above.

mancrate zombie suppression

ManCrates.

When I showed off my new ManCrate to a friend, he said “I love opening crates!”

Me too, bro.

ManCrates has a whole line of dude-specific products that come ready-to-open with a crowbar. With crate categories like meat, sports, and zombies, just pick the interest your man has and buy a crate. I chose the $140 Zombie Suppression Crate, which includes weapons, a flashlight, a first aid kit, Gorilla tape, Spam, and Max Brooks’ Zombie Survival Guide. Crates range from $25 to $200-plus.

View my unboxing video here.

cogito classic smartwatch

A smart watch.

Smart watches are a relatively new thing, both in their style and usefulness. I’ve become really fond of the Cogito Classic smart watch, which connects with bluetooth to your iOS or Android phone. It’s available in several colors, and they’re distinguished from other smart watches I’ve seen because Cogito had made a sexy high-end analog watch….which includes a few bluetooth notification features. It’s style first, then function, and that’s an important distinction for some people. There’s a free app to manage your notifications and software updates, and battery life is stellar, too: my Cogito runs over a month on a standard watch battery. You can buy the Cogito Classic from Amazon for $180.

 

Happy Rye-day!

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sazerac and e.h. taylor rye

In winter, there are usually lots more opportunities to drink whiskies of all sorts, as our gins and vodkas take a break until the warm weather returns. I’m not shy about the fact that I love rye whiskey, so I dug up a few brands that I haven’t tried yet and gave them a sip.

Sazerac Rye. Named for the official cocktail of New Orleans (or is it the other way around?), Sazerac is a spicy, quality offering that Lisa and I tasted on a recent podcast. A sexy and slender bottle that would look great as a Christmas gift, this version embodies the spice and bite that you’ve come to expect from a rye. This is a good choice rye for the cocktail that bears it’s name, and is a quality sipper for the price, too. $30.

Col. E. H. Taylor Rye. A more premium product, Col. Taylor’s Rye is very different than Sazerac. It has the scent of homemade candy and has a more complex profile than just your standard rye spice. Taylor starts sweet and drys out into a woody richness as it coats your mouth. I made an outstanding Manhattan [recipe] with this whiskey, but this one is for the person who just prefers to savor a quality rye slowly…it’s awesome. $70

Simple Cocktails Podcast Episode 24

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Secrets of signature cocktails. Cooking with waffle irons. Secret connections that lead us to Winter Jack, which we taste. A story about neighbors. We make a Honey Paddy. “I just want whiskey and to go to sleep.” Lisa doesn’t like it – she understands it.

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Simple Cocktails Podcast Episode 23 – Thanksgiving!

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Happy Thanksgiving! Greg’s the turkey man – butter under the flesh is key. The failed Cracker Barrel plan. Can you eat and drink cocktails too? Netflix cocktail hour. A bit of whiskey talk…was rye the original American whiskey? “Put away that measuring glass.” The chemical in turkey that makes you full?

In this episode, we drink Sazerac Rye and make Scotch, Soda and Cranberry.

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G’Vine Nouaison

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gvine nouaison

This summer, I tried G’Vine gin for the first time. What I didn’t really realize at the time was there are two varieties of G’Vine: Flouraison and Nouaison. Flouraison, as I described in my previous post, is a mild, soft gin with quite a bit of sweetness and traces of minty licorice.

Nouaison, I’ve discovered, is more akin to a London Dry as it’s a spicier bitier gin with cinnamon and clove. Nouaison is more in line with my personal preference in gins, as I tend to prefer London Drys to many of the milder gins.

In cocktails, Nouaison has a very different character than it’s more herbal brother, and I can see why G’Vine told me that they consider Flouraison a warm-weather gin and Nouaison a cold-weather gin. This would be a great gin in a hot toddy or a tea as the spice profile is a perfect fit.

Somewhere on the list of my favorite gins, Nouaison has elbowed it’s way in. This is a unique winter gin, and reminds me of Big Gin a little bit because of it’s flavor profile. Nouaison is definitely one to try if you like your gins spicy with a bite.

Underground Herbal Liqueur

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Underground Herbal Liqueur

Time for a quick review of what an herbal liqueur actually is. It’s sweetened, which makes it a liqueur. Herbal means you have various herbs seeped into the liquid as it’s made: bitter herbs, sweet herbs, and all variety of spices. Similar herbal liqueurs include stuff like Chartreuse, Drambuie, or the many Amaros.

Underground Herbal Liqueur is distilled by Ogden’s Own in Utah (I’ve recently covered Five Wives and Porter’s Fire from them, too) at 40% alcohol and sells for a very reasonable $20. The flavor of Underground falls somewhere around Jägermeister and Fernet Branca. It’s a minty, syrupy, flavorful elixir, and like Jäger, they recommend you serve it very cold (Jäger wants you to keep their liqueur in the freezer).

So at a pricepoint similar to Jägermeister and lower than Fernet, the question is really why choose Underground? Because it tastes better, that’s why. The herbs and the minty finish, while syrupy, are balanced together very well and complement the spicier flavors of clove and cinnamon too. As a digestif, it’s a great-tasting dessert. You don’t really need to freeze Underground, either, because it tastes really good at any temperature. Though I love Fernet, a lot of people don’t, and the drinking masses will certainly find Underground comparatively better-tasting.

With the claim to “America’s first herbal spirit,” a great taste and a great price, too, there’s no reason not to pick up a bottle of Underground next time you visit the liquor store.

Simple Cocktails Podcast Episode 22

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Do we push our guests to a specific cocktail? Custom glassware and copper cups leads Greg to conclude: “I am not a metalsmith.” We taste Wild Turkey American Honey Sting (Greg’s story from the Burn! Blog). Potentially racist cups. Left handers are….? Lisa picks her favorite thing: bourbon, honey, or ghost pepper. Asian…fusion….southern…. We make Moscow Mules and Lisa misses Pepsi Crystal. Greg gets ID’ed buying Ginger Beer.

Download Episode 22.

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Last Word Cocktail

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last word cocktailThe Last Word has become a bit of a legendary cocktail for the craft cocktail movement. Simple enough to make and simple 1:1:1:1 recipe proportions, half of its ingredients are unusual to the point that only a craft cocktail bar would be likely to have both of them (Maraschino and Chartreuse).

This cocktail has some great balance, with herbal flavors mixing with sweetness and citrus in a way that you rarely taste. Try one out yourself (if you have the 4 ingredients)!

Last Word

  • in a shaker, combine:
  • 1/2 oz gin
  • 1/2 oz green Chartreuse
  • 1/2 oz Maraschino liqueur
  • 1/2 oz lime juice
  • shake with ice and strain into a small, chilled cocktail glass.

 

Porter’s Fire

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porter's fire

As interest moves from flavored vodka in the booze industry, we’re seeing more flavored whiskies arrive to replace them. I recently heard of Porter’s Fire and had to try it – it’s a whiskey liqueur from Ogden’s Own Distillery in Ogden, Utah.

Porter’s Fire is named for Orrin Porter Rockwell, a guy I hadn’t heard of, but Ogden’s tells us: “With his long, flowing hair and beard and his run-ins with the law, Orrin Porter Rockwell was one of the most colorful characters in the history of the Mormon church. He was a close friend of Joseph Smith in New York. It is probable the Rockwell was the youngest member of the LDS church as its inception.”

Like we discussed in our podcast this week, it’s an interesting choice to marry your liquor branding with the Mormons (especially since they don’t drink), but it’s certainly a understandable branding choice for a Utah distillery.

Porter’s Fire is a Canadian whiskey combined with cinnamon and vanilla liqueur. It’s 35% alcohol, and I gotta tell you: the flavor of this liqueur is SO familiar and SO reminiscent of Chila Orchata and RumChata, that I had make a cocktail with them. This is very much a non-creamy version of those horchata liqueurs, I’d almost bet you that you would have trouble telling them apart in a blind taste test. You can also taste the same flavor profile of Five Wives Sinful (Cinnamon Vodka from Ogden’s) too. All 4 of those products feel like they’re seasoned and flavored almost the exact same way, and all of these make for some really simple, tasty Christmastime cocktails too. Here’s a cocktail to try (pictured above):

Sinful Cinnamon Cocktail (by Greg Mays)

  • in a shaker, combine:
  • 2 oz Porter’s Fire Cinnamon Whiskey Liqueur
  • 1 oz Chila Orchata
  • shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
  • garnish with a cinnamon stick