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Welcome to Cocktail Hound, serving up the best in mixology for the home cocktail aficionado. Sit down, pour something tasty, and enjoy as we explore the delicious world of cocktails!

Cocktail Hound

The Green Goddess

02.02.2012

Business travel is usually a fairly thankless undertaking. From repeated harassment and fondlings by the TSA to cramped rental cars with broken AC, it is far less glamorous than one would image. For every Paris, there’s three Peorias.

Occasionally however, I can string some fun into an otherwise routine business trip, and managed to shoehorn 18 hours in New Orleans on the tail end of an otherwise lackluster trip to the back woods of Mississippi. Upon arrival at the W Hotel in the French Quarter, I hit up my trusty cocktail-finding friends: Chowhound.com and Google maps.

After an OK dinner, I headed over to Green Goddess, a not-quite bar, not-quite restaurant that fit into some ill-defined niche that held instant appeal when I saw the eclectic collection of booze and kitchen staff that outnumbered the patrons (for the moment).

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The barkeep, one “Scotty,” had spent time in our home state of South Carolina, and survived the early 90′s “tini” trend, as well as the more “demanding” over-exuberance in mixology. He served up a workable Aviation, followed by an excellent play on a Manhattan. Enjoying the vibe of the two-seat bar, I enjoyed a Bacon Sundae — yes it was as good as it sounds — complimented with a Trader Vic Macadamia Liqeur, which, while a bit sweet worked with the sundae. I finished up with a drink that i believe was called the “Boulevarier” (my notes are a bit hazy at this point) which was essentially a Negroni with Bourbon and a good bitter digestif to settle the stomach.

While a bit off the beaten path, excellent food and some nicely updated classic cocktails will bring me back to the Green Goddess again, hopefully with Mrs. Cocktail Hound in tow!

Cocktail Hound

A Sad Day

01.29.2012

I nearly shed a tear over the loud groans of our tape gun, as it laid a final stripe of packing tape over the last box of liquor to be extracted from our bar. Our rather lackluster posting performance has been due to some moving and shaking on the home front, as we’re embarking on building a new house. As one would expect, we’re also selling our current house, and it went under contract right after Christmas, several months earlier than we were expecting.

This brought home a stark reality: an entire home’s worth of possessions needed to be sorted, “bagged and tagged,” and placed into storage while simultaneously dealing with work, family, and the administrative overhead of moving. Moving day is only a couple weeks in the future, so hopefully we’ll be reporting soon from our temporary digs after establishing our temporary bar. Until then, bottoms up!

Cocktail Hound

Flying High with the Aviation Cocktail

12.27.2011

I finally sourced all the ingredients for the Aviation cocktail, and Mrs. Cocktailhound and some Christmas guests enjoyed several of them over the holidays. I discovered this cocktail in a Vegas casino of all places, while making my annual pilgrimage to Vegas with my father a few years ago.

Needing a respite from the craps table, I strolled into a nearby bar in the Mirage, which was carefully decorated, staffed by model-quality bartenders, and featured a euroclub-style “endless bass track” in the background. Assuming the bartenders specialized in crapatinis and the usual vodka/schnapps nonsense, I ordered a Manhattan and was pleasantly surprised when the bartender added bitters without me requesting them, and stirred the drink rather than shaking it.

After enjoying a fine Manhattan, I asked if she had an specialties, and was again surprised when she said she had several, and asking what base spirit I wanted. I requested gin, and was presented with my first experience with the Aviation.

Our guests enjoyed the cocktail, even though several claimed the did not like gin, one guest remarking that she never would have guessed there was gin in the cocktail. The crème de violette and Luxardo combine with the juniper flavor of a good gin producing what one might describe as springtime in a glass, a nice reminder of sunny days to come in the midst of winter, and a drink I’d highly recommend even if you have to work a bit to source the Luxardo or crème de violette.

Cocktail Hound

Drying Out

10.20.2011

After several “long” weekends, culminating in the Charlotte Oktoberfest during which Mrs. Cocktail Hound and I attempted to sample every one of the over 200 beers, we’ve spent some time “drying out”. The Mrs. is an exceptional cook, so reduced booze and “healthy” meals are not much of a sacrifice.

We did indulge in one of the “lady” cocktails, the White Lady, yesterday evening, and the Mrs. reveled in my repeated “white lady”jokes (i.e. I never expected a pair of White Ladies to join us for dinner, etc). Inexplicably her eyes tend to roll during my best one-liners, and based on the quantity of eye rolling I was at my finest. While lacking a photo until we have the cocktail photo studio back in operation, here’s the recipe. Eventually we’ll work through the rest of the lady series, both on the cocktail and humor fronts.

Cocktail Hound

Passion on the Vine

09.30.2011

This is another book that’s not directly related to cocktails and spirits, but one that should appeal to any “bon vivant” who enjoys food, travel, and wine, and even those with an entrepreneurial bent. The book recounts Sergio Esposito’s adventures as he travels through Italy and the surrounding country on wine buying tips for his store in Manhattan, integrating wine knowledge, his family’s migration to the US, his career trajectory, and mouth-watering descriptions of wine tastings and exceptional meals.

Having spent six months living in the Abruzzo region of Italy, I can vouch for the fact that Mr. Esposito’s descriptions of food and drink are the next best thing to the seven hour flight, minus the jet lag and calories. The writing, while colorful, never gets overly pretentious, and there were no belabored and painful descriptions of “murky tastes of swamp water from the northeastern bogs of Lombardy on a cold third Tuesday in fall” or the usual overdrawn wine “tasting notes” nonsense. You can however sense Esposito’s joy at the stuff, and the reader feels like he being taken on a tour by a friendly guide who loves what he is sharing with you.

If you’re planning a trip to Italy, or merely a fan of armchair travel, this is a great read, although you may be hit with a sudden urge to sell everything you own, hop on a plane, and open a wine store!




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Passion on the Vine: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Family in the Heart of Italy (Hardcover)

By (author) Sergio Esposito
List Price: $24.95 USD
New From: $1.09 In Stock
Used from: $0.01 In Stock
Release date April 22, 2008.
Cocktail Hound

Premium Rum Showdown

09.23.2011

Since reading And a Bottle of Rum my interest in rums has increased dramatically. It’s an interesting spirit on a number of fronts: one can’t help think of warm winds and sandy beaches when quaffing rum, its birth as a commodity is intractably tied to the Americas, and even the “high end” rums we sampled for this showdown are quite affordable, the most expensive in our trio checking in at a reasonable $45.99 (on sale for $24.99).

Our trio of rums (L to R: Plantation XO 20th Anniversary, Pyrat Planter's XO, Babancourt Estate Reserve)

I first experienced “premium” rum at a lovely beachfront dinner at the Westin on Grand Cayman. Our waiter was incredibly knowledgeable, and suggested a Venezuelan rum (I forget which) to end the meal. That rum opened my eyes to the subtle smoothness of a good rum, versus the industrial taste of mass-produced products that are often no more than a “relaxation accelerator” for your favorite beach-front umbrella drink.

There was nothing particularly scientific about the rums selected for this showdown, although they ended up being very different and respectable in their own right. I already had a bottle of Barbancourt’s Estate Reserve ($37.99) in the cabinet, and had recently enjoyed the Plantation XO 20th Anniversary ($32.99) while in travelling on business and since it was unavailable locally, turned to the interwebs. The sale price of Pyrat Planter’s XO placed it in my cart to spread shipping costs, and offered a chance to sample a new entrant into the rum market ($45.99 marked down to $24.99, no link since Pyrat’s web site is some interactive mess that doesn’t actually show you their products).

We followed our blind tasting method, and sampled each of the three from brandy snifters. My notes were as follows:

Barbancourt Estate Reserve

Nose of sweet wood; definitely not an oak but more along the lines of a port-wood. Smooth caramel taste with a slightly harsh finish. Great mouth feel, like your tongue rolling around in olive oil (in a good way).

Plantation XO 20th Anniversary

Sweet nose with a with a hint of coconut and vanilla; smells like the beach! The coconut continues in the mouth, with a subtle sweetness and smooth finish.

Pyrat  Planter’s XO

Strong fruit nose, apricots and floral that comes on almost a bit too strong. Just short of being cloyingly sweet in the mouth.

For once the surplative-laced descriptions on the bottles were faily accurate, and upon reading them Mrs. Cocktail Hound and I were both readily able to link the mystery glass with the correct rum. Neither of us have expert or particularly sensitive pallets, so that gives an idea of how distinctly different these rums are. My favorite was the Barbancourt, while Mrs. Cocktail Hound found the Plantation picking up her #1 spot and Barbancourt in last place. The Barbancourt had a stronger alcohol taste, and probably appealed to me since I’m usually a fan of digistifs consumed neat, while the Mrs. is more of a mixed or sweet post-dinner drinker.

I was least impressed with the Pyrat, and thought the fruit notes were a bit overdone and bordering on a synthetic, medicine taste. That’s probably a small criticism at this level of rum, and the Pyrat would probably impress if you used to the usual “industrial” rum. I’d drink the Pyrat with a chocolate dessert, the Babancourt with something caramel-based, and the Plantation with fruit or coconut cake. The latter two would be a pleasure for a liquid dessert by themselves.

I don’t know that I’d be in a rush to put any of these rums in a cocktail, although our research lab is hard at working looking for something to enhance one of these rums without it getting lost behind a mixer. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comments!

Cocktail Hound

Around the World in 540 Minutes

09.20.2011

I often get a strange look when I tell people one of the most enjoyable drinking experiences I’ve ever had has been at a resort better known for mice and children’s entertainment: Walt Disney World. Mrs. Cocktail Hound, some friends and I recently embarked on a journey “around the world” at the EPCOT resort’s “International Showcase”, one of my favorite aspects of the entire theme park. Essentially, the international showcase is a collection of 11 different countries, each with mockups of historical buildings and shopping, staff, food, and drink from that country. The buildings and rides are pure Disney, and the food varies from decent to pretty poor, but the staff make the experience worthwhile.

Kampai!

While not sanctioned, endorsed, or promoted by Disney, with 11 countries that each feature local drinks, there’s bound to be those that attempt to drink at each location. There’s not much in the way of cocktails, as one would expect with college-age folks tending the various beverage carts, but the staff in each country is actually from that country, as doing the equivalent of an internship at Disney. This makes the experience quite enjoyable, since most of them have done the trip around the world, and all are quick to share some anecdotes about their country, or teach you a phrase or two.

The beverage staple in EPCOT is beer, with a full range of mainstream local beers represented, but there are also some passible wines and frozen drinks on offer. Of course, if you’re attempting the full 11 country trip, quality generally seems to be of less import by the 3rd or 4th country.

If you do decide to make the trip around the world, be mentally prepared for some sticker shock (I joke that this is the only bar with a $85 “cover charge” for admission), and spend the time to talk with the folks in each country. You’ll encounter the fair share of rowdy youngsters pounding shots along the way, but can also have a fairly enlightening and uplifting cultural experience in what many regard as a cultural black hole.

Cocktail Hound

French Cowboys and Pyrats

09.14.2011

Tonight’s cocktail tasting has us reverse-engineering a cocktail I enjoyed at Houston’s Philippe Restaurant. The restaurant, like the cocktail attempts to combine southwestern and French cooking, and I thought the most effectively executed original cocktail was the French Cowboy, which was billed as containing Bourbon, Lillet, and Agave Syrup. I’ve never worked with Agave Syrup, and have added orange bitters but we’re still working on the ratios and might switch out the bitters (and of course need to take the requisite cocktail glamor shots), so watch for a final recipe in the coming weeks.

We also have a rum showdown in the works. After reading And a Bottle of Rum we’ve been on a bit of a rum kick lately, and sipping rums are a nice addition to any bar. Most are devoid of pretentious marketing, and the high-end stuff clocks in around forty bucks. We have Babancourt Estate Reserve on hand, and ordered Plantation 20th Anniversary and Pyrat Reserve to complete a trio. How did we pick this combination? Using our patented scientific methodology: the Babancourt was already in the cabinet, I’ve had Plantation 20th and really enjoyed it (although admittedly after several cocktails, so I wanted to verify my initial reaction), and the Pyrat snuck in to spread shipping costs, and is distilled on the island of Anguilla, where Mrs. Cocktail Hound and I spent our honeymoon. Stay tuned for the throwdown!

Cocktail Hound

A Review of St-Germain

09.13.2011

It’s difficult to visit a cocktail bar these days and not see the ubiquitous art-deco “torpedo” St-Germain bottle in all it’s pale green splendor. Looking like a Jules Verne sketch of a surface to air missile, the bottle is nothing short of splendid, and one can practically hear accordion music and buttery-smooth syllables of la langue maternelle de l’amour merely by gazing upon it.

The Art Deco Torpedo

Aside from the iconic bottle, the rest of the St-Germain “experience” is a case study in the new category of stupor-premium spirits: slick and well-executed marketing, a quaint backstory and associated photography of rural Frenchmen, teleported from the 1800s to gather rare flowers and transport them via bicyclette for your spirituous enjoyment, and that magical “right around twenty bucks” price point. Once one weeds through the marketing BS, essentially St-Germain is macerated elderflower in eau-de-vie, literally translated “water of life” and the wonderfully French way of describing what is the brandy-equivalent of grain alcohol. Throw in some sugar and the required “secret process” and you’re done. So far, we’ve waded through a lot of le fluff; does St-Germain live up to the hype? Well, kind of.

If your life has long been complete, save for a source of the light and crisp taste of elderflower, St-Germain is the answer to your prayers. It does deliver on its promises of fresh, subtle floral notes, but once the novelty wears off, you’re left with a fairly niche product that is easily overwhelmed by other spirits. This is further handicapped by a limited offering of cocktails from the manufacturer, most of which are old staples with a standard ingredient replaced with St-Germain. We sampled one of the few unique cocktails, the Vieux Mot, and while tasty, it was missing something on the finish that takes a cocktail from OK to exceptional. As you’ll see in the recipe, we tried Orange Bitters and a dash of Pernod, but I’m still not satisfied. Even reading the recipes it’s clear the marketing department invested more in cheeky comments than assembling some good, original drinks.

In the right hands, there’s potential for some nice spring/summer cocktails, with a good gin gaining a floral compliment from the St-Germain, but it seems of limited utility to the home mixologist, and in danger of becoming just another flavoring agent to be fortified with vodka to create the “Tini du Jour” in your average cocktail bar. Frankly, if you want something French and fruity, there are far more interesting possibilities with Chambord, Calvados, or Cointreau, and that’s just the letter “C”. That said, if you’ve got $20 burning a hole in your pocket and explored some of the more traditional fruit liqueurs, that funky bottle and a chance to “remix” some classic warm-weather cocktails might be worth the price of admission.

Cocktail Hound

Imbibe!

09.10.2011

David Wondrich’s Imbibe! traces the career and drinks of pre-prohibition bartender, and author of one of the first reference books on cocktails, Jerry Thomas. One need not know much about Jerry Thomas to enjoy the book, and the author provides a vivid description of this larger-than-life personality, and his swashbuckling around the US of the late 1800’s perfecting his craft. Wondrich also attempts to recreate and modernize The Bartender’s Guide, Thomas’ seminal collection of American cocktails, providing current measurements and equivalent ingredients where necessary, while staying as faithful to the originals as possible. He also frequently discusses historic bartending equipment, and its evolution or more recent equalivent.

While Thomas provides a cohesive theme to tie the book together, I read it more as a chronicle of pre-Prohibition drinking life in the US, at a time when the country was growing explosively and full of possibility, and as major cities like New York and San Francisco began to take their dominant roles as American cultural centers. The author uses a highly-readable informal tone, so don’t expect a dry history text.

The recipe section, a bit unwieldy on the Kindle version I read, provides an interactive window to the period, as well as some modern takes on old classics. Don’t expect flavored vodkas or bubble-gum cocktails here, most are robust traditional cocktails. There are also interesting “throwback” drinks that are rare today, like many of the punches (the predecessor to the cocktail) and egg-based drinks, something uncommon in today’s cocktail bar.

Recommended.




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Imbibe!: From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to "Professor" Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar Featuringthe ... and a Selection of New Drinks Contributed in (Hardcover)

By (author) David Wondrich
List Price: $25.00 USD
New From: $12.60 In Stock
Used from: $13.60 In Stock
Release date November 6, 2007.
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