Miscellaneous: Yet Another New Cocktail (February 29, 2012)

Rare it is to witness the birth of a classic. Presumptuous it is of me to think that this new cocktail I've concocted will become a classic, but, I rather like it, and I have high hopes for it. I've even decided to call it by my own name: The Talcroft. Here is the recipe.

The Talcroft
1 oz quality Vodka
1/2 oz Gin (I prefer Bluecoat American)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (I prefer Noilly)
1/4 oz Averna Amaro Siciliano
1/4 oz Malibu Coconut rum (but see below)

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until thoroughly chilled. Strain into a well-chilled martini glass. Garnish with a paper-thin wheel of lemon.

This drink, like a classic Manhattan, perfectly balances the sweet and the dry, and spicy herbal flavors (in this case, the gin and the dry vermouth) with the sweet and the exotic (the Averna and the coconut rum). In short, it is a delectable opposition of disparate flavors. Making cocktails, I've decided, is very much like painting, but it's an exercise in painting with flavors rather than colors and textures.

Important note: the proportions above assume the use of the very distinctively flavored Bluecoat gin. A more neutral gin might require using a little less vodka and a little more of the gin. (The Bluecoat is delicious in martinis, too).

I imagine this drink could be made with a coconut-flavored vodka instead of the coconut-flavored Malibu rum, but I don't want to buy a whole bottle of coconut vodka just to try that out, and I suspect that using only coconut Vodka would make the coconut flavor too strong. The thing to remember is that the coconut should be in the background; its presence should be just apparent. It should be the sort of flavor that sends the mind searching for a name--something familiar but not immediately obvious. It should add an element of mystery rather than make a statement.

[Update: I bought a bottle of Bacardi Coconut Rum following this post and compared it to the Malibu Coconut Rum. The latter seems coarse and excessively sweet in comparison. I tried the Talcroft using the Bacardi Coconut Rum and it results in a drier, altogether more subtle drink. I would now recommend making this drink using Bacardi Coconut Rum rather than the Malibu Coconut Rum.]

Miscellaneous: New Cocktail (December 21, 2011)

Cocktails have never been my thing, really. I've always been a wine drinker, but recently I've become curious and done a little research (the seed was planted several years ago when, driving on a whim across the country, I spent two nights at the ancestral Ohio farm of a college associate. He made us martinis on the porch. Then, this summer, I met up with my first college roommate for the first time in decades, in Seattle. He introduced me to the Zig-Zag Café and the wonderful and mysterious concoctions made there).

So far, a classic Manhattan is my favorite mixed drink, although I can appreciate a classic Martini as well (sorry, Mr. Bond--stirred, not shaken--and made using a good, distinctively flavored domestic gin--about one part gin to 1/2 part dry vermouth--none of that silly I'm-so-manly-I-need-no-vermouth routine; if you want straight gin, don't call it a Martini). When I say a "classic Manhattan," I mean a Manhattan made with rye (not bourbon), red vermouth, and Angostura bitters--nothing else--garnished with a real Marasca cherry (expensive, but tasty--the cherries, that is).

There are so many cocktails, though.... It becomes fascinating (and daunting) rather quickly. I wish I weren't such a lightweight. My experimenting is, of necessity, going at a measured pace. Tonight, trying a little alchemy, though, I hit upon a combination I rather liked. Try this: I call it a "Fertile Eve" (Eve because of the Calvados and apple connection, fertile because of the Grenadine, derived from pomegranates, traditionally considered a symbol of fertility).

Fertile Eve (by Colin Talcroft)
1.5 oz Calvados
3/4 oz Red Vermouth
1/2 teaspoon Grenadine
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Juice of a quarter lemon

Place ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice (squeeze the juice into the drink and drop the slice in the glass). You can adjust the sweetness of this drink. If it's too sweet for your taste made according to the recipe, use a little less Grenadine, a little more Calvados, and a add a little more lemon juice.

Try it. You might like it.