Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 8: Campari-Gin Old Fashioned

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If you know me, you know I like bourbon. If you know I like bourbon, you can guess I love an Old Fashioned. (I do.)

It’s one of the few cocktails I’ll make on the regular, partly because they’re so damn easy. And you get a lot of bang for a small-effort buck.

It never occurred to me to make one with something other than brown liquor. It certainly never would have crossed my mind to use gin.

Gin-Campari Old Fashioned I

Gin is mostly for fizzes and tonic and martinis, no? Apparently not.

I decided to focus on Campari this time around as I have two bottles (one mostly finished, in my defence) and one yet to be cracked. I keep them on hand for Boulevardiers and Negronis, but wanted to see what else this bittersweet, beautifully coloured liquor could do.

Gin-Campari Old Fashioned ingredients

I actually stumbled on this one for a Campari-Gin Old Fashioned last week but was missing an orange and didn’t want to make any substitutions since I had an inkling this needed all the right bits to make for a balanced cocktail. It was at the top of my grocery list this week.

orange peel

It’s a quick and straightforward cocktail but has lovely depth of flavour. I like how the sugar and orange lifts the bitter of the campari and plays up the flavours in the gin. I went with Eau Claire Distillery’s Flourish and it was a perfect match.

The result is a highly sippable, sweet, bitter, fruity drink that I think really exemplifies something being greater than the sum of it’s parts — Hi, Gestalt! Thank you, Grade 12 psychology.

And while I suspect it would be good at any time in the year, I feel this will be a dangerously delightful addition to drinking on my balcony this summer.

(Aside: the original recipe called for a splash of soda water, but I didn’t think that would benefit the drink at all — just water it down. So I skipped it. And I have zero regrets.)

pre-muddle

muddling

muddled

Gin-Campari Old Fashioned IV

Gin-Campari Old Fashioned II

Campari-Gin Old Fashioned

  • a sugar cube
  • 1 piece of orange peel
  • 1/2 ounce Campari
  • 2 ounces dry gin
  • ice

In a rocks glass, muddle together the sugar cube, orange peel and Campari until the sugar has mostly dissolved.

Add the gin and stir to combine. Add ice and stir until chilled.

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Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 7: Sidecar 75

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An almost-finished bottle of Courvoisier, a neglected half a lemon in the fridge and a little googling led to this week’s Lockdown Libation and I couldn’t be happier.

Sidecar 75

I love a Sidecar — it’s included in Pucker for a reason. And, really, it’s the reason I have a bottle of cognac to begin with. So, I was sorely tempted to just make one and call it a day. But that sort of defeats one of the main objectives of this project — to expand my cocktail horizons — and if I relent on that goal only six short weeks in, then I’m in a world of trouble once we get to week 20.

In looking for interesting cognac recipes, though, almost every single one required some bottle of liquor I, shockingly, don’t already own. Yes, sure, I’d love to make a Sazerac (no absinthe) or the intriguingly named Between the Sheets (fun fact: that was the title of my masters thesis exploring the role of sex columnists in contemporary Canadian media), or even my old standby the Champs-Elysees (no green chartreuse).

And then I came across this recipe for a drink that combines two old favourites: the French 75 and a Sidecar.

A traditional French 75 takes lemon, cognac, Brut champagne and a little simple syrup to create a bubbly and bright lemon drink. The Sidecar, with its cognac, lemon and orange liqueur, is a little more balanced though, obviously, non-bubbly. Combining the two seemed so smart I wondered why I’d never heard of such a thing before.

Sidecar 75 ingredients

Given my healthy supply of Brut sparkling wine — owing to a subscription I had for two years with Fitz Wine, which I loved — and the fact I actually had all the things needed, this was a no-brainer of a decision.

Fitz sparkling wine

This will most definitely be going into the regular rotation….

Pouring the bubbles

A note: the original recipe calls for orange bitters, which I don’t have. But I have Lemon Marrakech ones and I figure amping the tartness wouldn’t be a terrible idea, all things considered.

Sidecar 75

  • 1 1/2 ounces cognac
  • 3/4 ounce Cointreau — or another orange liqueur
  • 3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • dash orange or lemon bitters
  • 1 ounce sparkling wine

To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the cognac, Cointreau, lemon juice and bitters. Shake vigorously for 15 to 30 seconds, until the vessel is cold to the touch.

Strain the drink into a champagne flute. Top with sparkling wine. (I skipped any garnish — a lemon twist would be oh-so elegant — because that lemon really had been neglected and wouldn’t have given me any usable peel.)

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Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 6: Lime Drop Martini

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This week has felt like a month and there is nothing I want to do more this afternoon than shut down my computer, text some friends to see who’s around and go for a cocktail.

But, you know, pandemic.

So, instead, a martini while texting it is! And, of course, the next episode of Drag Race. It’s the little things.

I bought some limes the other day — I actually don’t remember what I had planned to do with them, so this week I wanted to do something that would take advantage of that bounty. And, let’s face it, use them before they go bad. Related: why is that lemons have so much more lasting power than than green-skinned cousins?

Sliced limes

I have cranberry juice, so I was thinking of doing a Cosmopolitan. I suppose they’re on my mind because of the announcement Sex and the City is coming back. (And… no. Can we not just make NEW shows with new characters? Please?) But I nixed it because the point is to try new things and I most definitely have had a Cosmo or two in my life.

But the idea of vodka and lime intrigued, which is what led me to the Lime Drop Martini.

Lime Drop Martini III

I already love a lemon drop, so I don’t know why I was a) surprised a lime version existed and b) I hadn’t thought of it myself.

In looking up various versions, though, I was puzzled that most called for the addition of superfine sugar instead of using simple syrup. Or, if they did use syrup, it had been infused with mint, which, as far as I’m concerned, makes it a very different drink. Since I don’t think most of us have superfine sugar lying around, I’m using the normal stuff for the rim and simple syrup, which mixes in with a cocktail much more easily, for the drink itself.

It is, in a word: delightful.

I hope you’ll agree.

Vodka and Cointreau

Sugaring the glass

Lime Drop Martini II

 

Lime Drop Martini

  • 3 ounces vodka
  • 1 ounce Cointreau — or another orange liquor, such as Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
  • 1 1/2 ounces fresh lime juice
  • 1 to 1 1/2 ounces simple syrup —
  • sugar, to rim the glass
  • lime wheel for garnish

Set a couple of tablespoons of sugar onto a small plate.

Rub the squeezed lime around the rim of a martini glass. Swirl the rim of the glass through the sugar — you can do the entire top of the glass or just half, whatever you’d like.

To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, Cointreau, lime juice and syrup. Shake vigorously for 15 to 30 seconds, until the vessel is cold to the touch.

Strain the drink into the glass.

Garnish with a lime wheel, if desired.

 

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Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 5: Whisky Daisy

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I have made a few resolutions — of all sizes, so at least some will be easily achieved — for the new year.

You know, drink more water, read 20 books before the end of 2021, do the NYTimes crossword every day. Channel more drag queen confidence. The usual.

via GIPHY

Can a resolution be to continue something you already started? Because I want to stay committed to Lockdown Libations and, let it be known, I’ve got enough liquor to get us through at least 52 more weeks of this. (Though, admittedly, I laughed when I saw I only posted cocktail recipes in 2020, so I will try to get some food posts going again too. Oh! Like this amazing scallion and lemony yogurt dip I got addicted to in the summer….)

After gin, vodka and tequila, it was time to dive into the brown liquor side of the cabinet. I’ve got a solid little collection of bourbon — naturally — but also Canadian rye and whisky, American whiskey and even some from Japan.

Typically, I’m reaching for those bottles to make Boulevardiers (a negroni, but swap the gin for bourbon), classic sours or, of course, a Paper Plane. But the point of the project, beyond drinking down the liquor cabinet, is to try new recipes and, with a little searching, I found the Whisky Daisy.

Whiskey Daisy I

Mostly, I was charmed by the name, which I kept saying in my head like “oops-a-daisy.” But the fact it uses lemon was a bonus. You know I can’t resist citrus. And the idea of augmenting an otherwise straightforward sour with a further punch of citrus by using Cointreau appealed.

Whiskey Daisy ingredients

Although this cocktail was described as a “true classic,” I find myself surprised to have never heard of it. (And even more so that it’s a whole family of cocktails — just swap the main liquor for another like, say, gin.) A shame because it hits all the marks with a nice punch of citrus playing against the slightly spicy rye I went with.

I’ll be trying this again with other whiskeys in ye old cabinet of wonders because I’m interested to see how the different liquors play against the rest of the ingredients. (I may even skip the sparkling water, which I’m not convinced was necessary.)

UPDATE: I skipped the soda/sparkling water during my Global Edmonton gig by complete mistake and, whoa, so much better! Take a sip of it before adding the soda; you may find you like it well enough without.

Pour

Use fresh lemon

Whiskey Daisy II

Whisky Daisy

  • 2 ounces whiskey or rye
  • 1 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/2 ounce Cointreau (or another orange liqueur — use what you have!)
  • 1/4 ounce simple syrup*
  • sparkling water

Add the whiskey, lemon juice, Cointreau and simple syrup to a shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously until chilled.

Strain into a chilled glass. Top with a splash of sparkling water.

 

*To make simple syrup, simply combine equal parts sugar and water in a small pot and warm gently over low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Cool. Store in the fridge.

 

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