Archive for the ‘DOTW’ Category

Blue Hawaiian

The Blue Hawaiian, at Wikipedia.

“The Blue Hawaii was invented in 1957 by Harry Yee, legendary head bartender of the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, Hawaii when a sales representative of Dutch distiller Bols asked him to design a drink that featured their blue color of Curaçao liqueur. After experimenting with several variations he settled on a version somewhat different than the most popular version today, but with the signature blue color, pineapple wedge, and cocktail umbrella.”

Here’s the recipe we used.

1oz Malibu Rum
1/2 oz blue curacao
3 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lime juice
Pineapple, Maraschino cherry garnish w/umbrella

Other resources:

Mai Tai

The Mai Tai, at Wikipedia.

“The Mai Tai is an alcoholic cocktail purportedly invented at the Trader Vic’s “Polynesian-style” restaurant in Oakland, California in 1944. Trader Vic’s rival, Don the Beachcomber, claimed to have created it in 1933 at his then-new eponymous bar (later a famous restaurant) in Hollywood. Don the Beachcomber’s recipe is more complex than that of Vic and tastes quite different.”

In researching the Mai Tai, I found literally dozens of different recipes. Common elements include rum (usually both light and dark) combined with almond, and another sweet (often pineapple juice or simple sugar) and a sour (sour mix or lime juice.)

Here’s the recipe we used.

1/2 oz light rum
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz amaretto
3 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lime juice
pineapple garnish

Shake the mixture vigorously with ice for 5-10 seconds, and pour the drink over ice. Garnish with pineapple.

If you like your drinks a little less sour, maybe go 1/2 or 3/4oz on the lime juice.

Other resources:

Mai Tai Recipe – Drinksmixer
Kevdo’s Collection of Mai Tai recipes
The Perfect Mai Tai – All Recipes
Mai Tai – About.com

Video:

Whiskey Sour

The venerable Whiskey Sour is the newest “Drink of the Week!”

A simple entry in a family of classics, sours are basically some form of alcohol, with some sort of sour (lemon or lime) and a sweetener sugar, simple syrup, fruit juice, etc. Wikipedia’s article on the Sour can be found here.

Here’s the recipe I used:

Whiskey Sour

2 oz blended Canadian whiskey
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 oz simple syrup (or to taste)
2 oz cold water

Shake with ice, strain into a sour glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with lemon and cherry.

I typically go with a double, because you have to fill that glass, you know? The drink can also be acceptably prepared with sour mix, if you’re out of lemons (but why would you let that happen?)

Other resources:

Whiskey Sour Recipe – Drinksmixer.com
Whiskey Sour - Emeril Legasse
Whiskey Sour – Epicurious

Video:

Gin and Tonic

Drink of the week. Obviously the photo doesn’t display the drink in an appropriate glass, but it tasted the same.
According to Wikipedia, this cocktail was introduced by the army of the British East India company.
See also: The history of the Gin and Tonic.
And: A simple summer drink with a history.

Gin and Tonic

2-3oz Gin
4-6oz Tonic
1 Lime Wedge.

Fill highball glass with ice. Add gin and tonic (to taste.) Stir. Run a wedge of lime around the rim of the glass, and garnish with said lime.
Drink.

Other Resources:
Gin and Tonic Recipe – Drinksmixer.com

Long Island Iced Tea

The Drink of the Week this week certainly packs a punch. The Long Island Iced Tea features 5 different types of alcohol. Not for the faint of heart, unless you’re a heavy hitter you’ll be feeling one of these.

The Long Island Iced Tea

1.5oz Vodka
1.5oz Tequila
1.5oz White Rum
1.5oz Gin
1.5 oz Triple Sec
2.5oz Lemon Juice
Tablespoon Simple Syrup (to taste)
Splash of Coke
Mix and serve over ice. Garnish with Lemon

Other Resources:

Long Island Iced Tea Recipe – Drinksmixer.com

Lemon Drop Martini

This one was suggested by one of my friends, Mike Kohary.

Wikipedia suggests that the origin of this cocktail/shooter is “Henry Africa’s” in San Francisco. Key components are vodka, lemon juice and sugar. After a decent amount of research, the version I made was as follows:

Lemon Drop Martini

1.5 oz Vodka
.5 oz Triple Sec
1 teaspoon simple syrup
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
Shake with ice, serve in a chilled, sugar rimmed martini glass. Garnish with slice of lemon.

My wife approved of this drink. If I were to make these again, I’d probably mix enough to make 12, because it goes so quickly.

Other resources:

How to make a Lemon Drop Martini
Lemon Drop Cocktail
Johnnie Martini’s Lemon Drop Martini Recipe
Vegas Lemon Drop Martini – Drinksmixer.com
Lemon Drop
How to make the perfect lemon drop martini

Manhattan Cocktail

The inaugural “Drink of the Week” is the Manhattan Cocktail. A true classic, the Manhattan was invented in the 1870′s. This drink was a favorite of my grandparents, and it’s easy to see why.

The Manhattan is subject to considerable variation and innovation, and is often a way for the best bartenders to show off their creativity. Some shake the ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker instead of stirring it, creating a froth on the surface of the drink. Angostura are the classic bitters, but orange bitters, Peychaud’s Bitters, and others may be used; using Fernet-Branca yields what is called a Fanciulli cocktail. Some make their own bitters and syrups, substitute comparable digestifs in place of vermouth, specialize in local or rare whiskeys, or use other exotic ingredients. A lemon peel may be used as garnish. Some add juice from the cherry jar or Maraschino liqueur to the cocktail for additional sweetness and color.

Originally, bitters were considered an integral part of any cocktail, as the ingredient that differentiated a cocktail from a sling. Over time, those definitions of cocktail and sling have become archaic, as sling has fallen out of general use (other than in certain drink names), and cocktail can mean any drink that resembles a martini, or simply any mixed drink. Accordingly, bitters are frequently omitted from a Manhattan unless specifically requested; purists, however, maintain that bitters are required to offset the sweetness of the whiskey and vermouth.

Using more vermouth and less whiskey to create a milder Manhattan may actually make the drink taste stronger to some drinkers because of the intense flavor of sweet red vermouth.

The classic preparation utilizes Rye whiskey. The drink originated on the east coast, and that was simply the type of whiskey they used due to regional availability. You can make a perfectly acceptable Manhattan using Bourbon or Canadian whiskey.

Mixology:
2 parts whiskey
1 part sweet vermouth
2 dashes bitters
Shake with ice, serve straight up in a martini glass or over rocks in a rocks glass.
Garnish with Maraschino cherry

Other Resources:
How to make a classic Manhattan Cocktail – About.com
Manhattan Cocktail Recipe – Drinksmixer.com (With Video)
Manhattan Cocktail – Epicurean.com
The WikiTender entry for Manhattan Cocktail