Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 20: Sake-tini no. 1

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A bottle of sake was at the front of the liquor cabinet when I opened it this week and that seemed good enough reason as any to make that the theme ingredient. The harder part was narrowing down one recipe I wanted to make. Sake, it turns out, makes a myriad of interesting cocktails.

Sake-tini no. 1 II

But I was particularly drawn to the simplicity of this one, the Sake-tini no. 1, and also because I immediately thought it would be a great way to use some of my delicious Sheringham Distillery Kazuki gin, which features cherry blossom petals, yuzu peel and green tea leaves and flowers. I love a theme, so matching a Japanese-inspired gin with sake — rounded out with a little Cointreau — sounded lovely.

Sake-tini no. 1 ingredients

I’m sure any dry gin — which is what the recipe calls for — will be great, but this seemed near magical with the Kazuki. Light and delicate, with just the subtle hint of orange liqueur to amp up the yuzu flavour.

I thought the cucumber was kind of an odd garnish, but it was refreshing.

10/10 didn’t think I’d like this as much as I do. The first one went down easily — so much so I put all the ingredients away to force myself to wait for a second….

Sake-tini no. 1 I

Sake-tini no. 1 III

Sake-tini no. 1

  • 2 1/2 ounces sake
  • 1 ounce dry gin
  • 1/2 ounce Cointreau or Grand Marnier
  • cucumber slice to garnish

To a cocktail mixing glass (or I used my shaker vessel), add a handful of ice and top with sake, gin and Cointreau. Stir until well chilled, about 30 seconds. Strain into coupe glass and garnish with cucumber slice.

 

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Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 14: Bourbon Sidecar

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I needed an easy one this week, so it was time for the Bourbon Sidecar.

Three simple ingredients, one quick shake with ice, presto: cocktail.

I think I had my first Sidecar thanks to a recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten. When it came time to put it in my own cookbook, I had to experiment to find the exact proportions of lemon, Cointreau and Cognac that I liked since research showed some variations. (In the end, I didn’t like any of the three I tried, so I dumped them into a pitcher and drank that, only to find it was the exact taste I had wanted. I then had to mathematically reverse engineer the recipe — worth it.)

Trying a bourbon version seemed a no-brainer. I like Sidecars. I like bourbon. Done.

Bourbon Sidecar II

Spoiler alert: this was, very unexpectedly, not my favourite.

It tasted good, don’t get me wrong. But I think it was a little less nuanced than the traditional version with Cognac. Something about it felt a little… plain.

Given how many cocktails in just 14 weeks have involved lemon, Cointreau and something else, I think I just wanted something more from this one.

Good, but probably not going to make it into the regular rotation. Care to disagree? I’d be eager to hear what you all think if you make it. Let me know!

Bourbon and Cointreau

Bourbon Sidecar III

Bourbon Sidecar

  • 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
  • 1/2 ounce Cointreau
  • 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

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

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Drinks, Lockdown Libations

Lockdown Libations no. 10: White Lady

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I’ve never heard of a White Lady before. That’s not the start to some Karen joke, I swear.

White Lady - with egg white

Which is surprising given it is described as a gin-based Sidecar — hello! — and seems to be in the vicinity of a classic sour.

Although initially looking for a vodka recipe, nothing felt particularly inspiring, but when I searched for gin cocktails, this one popped up and I was game — even though I feel like I am, at this point, abusing my poor Cointreau bottle quite a bit.

The original White Lady, the creation of a bartender named Harry McElhone, was a combination of Cointreau, lemon and … creme de menthe. Which, no. A decade after that he realized what I would consider the error of his ways and replace the creme de menthe with gin. (There is some contention in its history insomuch as the American Bar at the Savoy Hotel credits the creation to one of their bartenders, Harry Craddock.)

Empress Gin and Cointreau

Given it’s a classic, I was surprised to discover how many variations there were when it comes to measurements.

Some recipes called for two parts gin to one each of lemon and Cointreau. Others skewed more to the gin. Some called for simple syrup, some for egg white and others for neither of those ingredients. (Egg white was a later addition to the recipe. Neither of the so-called original versions used it.)

I tried both with egg white and without. You know, for SCIENCE!

I do enjoy the smoothness the egg white brings to a cocktail, especially when you use a dry shake method to really froth things up. But there was also some pleasure in the simplicity of preparing the drink without the need for the two-step shake. The flavour of the White Lady without the egg white was sharper, brighter. With it, the drink was gentler. I’m not convinced one is noticeably better, just different.

White lady - with egg white

The White Lady made with egg white is smoother in texture and flavour.

White Lady - no egg white

Made without egg white.

I wanted to pull out my Empress Gin for the first time in the Lockdown Libations challenge. I thought a slight purple hue to the drink would be a nice touch, but it was lost in the egg-white version. It did cast a slight pink (because of the interaction with the acid of the lemon) to the non-egg white version, which was quite pretty on an otherwise dreary afternoon.

White Lady

  • 1 1/2 ounces dry gin
  • 1 ounce Cointreau — or another orange-flavoured liqueur
  • 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce (about 1 teaspoon) simple syrup
  • 1/2 ounce egg white*

*The egg white of a typical large egg is 1 ounce. So, to make a single batch, you want half of an egg white. Of course, you could make it easy on yourself and mix two at once and just use the whole white. ;)

To a cocktail shaker, add the gin, Cointreau, lemon juice and simple syrup. Shake without ice until the white is frothy. Add the ice cubes and shake again until the drink is chilled.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The egg white is optional, of course. If not using, skip the dry shake and just add all the ingredients, along with ice, to the shaker and then shake until well chilled.

Writing and drinking

Writing while sipping…..

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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. 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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Drinks

Sidecar

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I love a good retro cocktail.

Sidecar III

Though, truth be told, some times I like just about any kind of cocktail. At Milk Tiger Lounge — where, let me tell you, they make a mean cocktail — I’m particularly prone to ordering the Champs-Élysées. Or, uh, several.

Ahem.

And sometimes I’ll order a Sidecar.

Sidecar IV

But, where the Champs-Élysées is made with ingredients I’m unlikely to ever have in my liquor cabinet — yellow chartreuse is a good example — those in the Sidecar are pretty standard: Cointreau, Cognac and lemon juice.

The thing I don’t usually have is, strangely, ice. My freezer sucks all the moisture out of it and leaves tiny, misshapen cubes with a disgusting aftertaste. So, I rarely make shaken cocktails at home, since it seems a bit silly to buy a giant bag of ice for a drink or two and then have it take up valuable space in my freezer. But I had friends over for dinner last weekend and I knew that gin and tonics would be in order and that would mean ice. And that meant some leftover ice. And that meant it was cocktail time.

Enter the Sidecar.

It’s tart, yet sweet, citrusy and smooth.

And it goes down dangerously easy. Please consider yourself warned.

Sidecar I

Sidecar II

Sidecar

  • 3/4 ounce Cointreau
  • 1 1/4 ounces Cognac
  • 3/4 ounce lemon juice
  • sugar and additional lemon juice for sugaring the rim

Rub the rim of the glass with lemon juice and then dip in sugar.

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the Cointreau, Cognac and lemon juice. Shake well and strain into prepared glass.

 

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