Blood Orange Bitters Begins

It's blood orange season!!

Of course that means a whole new set of cocktail ideas. Since I am a firm believer in bitters as a vital component in drinks I decided to start an infusion for blood orange bitters.

Start with a clean glass container & some blood oranges.

Choose a spirit to infuse the oranges into. I chose to use a little bit of silver tequila (for spice, herbaceousness & vegetal characteristics) & vodka (for neutrality so as not to get in the way of the blood orange flavor).

Slice off the peel (but little to no white pith if possible) of two oranges with a vegetable peeler & add that to the container.

Fill 1/4 of the container with silver tequila (I used El Ultimo Agave Blanco). Add the juice of one blood orange & top the container off with vodka (I used Svedka). Screw the lid on tight, shake it up & label it. Wait at least 2 weeks & then we will get to blending with the bitter agent.

Bitter is Better

We just got home from a nice quiet little dinner. It was time for a nightcap so I went into our bar to see what would inspire. I saw Chartreuse (from our friends Petya & Kyle), Salerno Blood Orange Liqueur (from our friend Tara) & some 209 gin. I coated & washed 2 glasses with the Chartreuse & set those aside. In a shaker I added 2 oz of Punt e Mes vermouth, 3 oz of 209 gin, 2 dashes of Fee Brothers Grapefruit bitters, 2 dashes of Regan's Orange bitters & 1 oz of Salerno Blood Orange. I shook that up, poured it into the iced down, Chartreuse washed glasses & garnished that with a flamed lemon peel. Bitter, sweet, pungent & refreshing.

Poached in Booze

There is no excuse to use those HIDEOUS "maraschino" cherries that are nuclear red & soaking in corn syrup. It's incredibly easy to make uniquely delicious cocktail garnishes with very little effort. I've been experimenting with garnishes for awhile now. My first foray into it was comprised of dried cherries soaked in brandy. It worked pretty well & they were quite delicious. However, it wasn't enough for me so I continued to experiment. More recently I had some more successful garnishes. In the summer when cherries were fresh Kelly & I bought a whole hell of a lot. I poached them in Buffalo Trace Bourbon & Rothman & Winter's Cherry Liqueur. They turned out perfect! The fresh snap of fruit with the sweet heat potency of the elixir was so delightful in a manhattan & in some gin based drinks too.

When cherry season was over I turned to organic frozen cherries. I poached them in a mixture of Benchmark Bourbon & Luxardo Maraschino liqueur. Absolutely delightful.

One garnish that I am very proud of are the blueberries I recently made. In a pan I warmed Don Q silver rum & the zest of one meyer lemon. As soon as it came to a simmer I turned it off & dropped in the blueberries. They cured in the warm rum & zest & leached out some nice purple color from the skins. Once it cooled I dropped them in jars & set them in the fridge. I gave a jar to my friend Dustin last weekend when we stopped by for brunch at his house....ok we stayed for hours drinking mimosas. After a few mimosas it was time for a proper cocktail. I wanted to do something with the blueberries of course. In the bottom of a rocks glasses I added 3 blueberries, a teaspoon of the elixir, a slice of orange & Angostura bitters. After muddling that all together I topped it with Gentleman Jack, crushed ice & a splash of club soda.

What I came up with was a slight twist on an Old Fashioned & it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Throw those disgusting "maraschino" cherries away & add something delicious to your drink!

Important Ingredients

Making great cocktails is much like cooking a delicious dish in that it is all about quality ingredients. One overlooked ingredient is vermouth. The integral component to a true martini can add so much to most any drink. My favorite inexpensive vermouth is Dolin. This french vermouth producer makes a Rouge, Dry & Blanc. At $12.99 there is absolutely no excuse not to have them in your home bar. Whenever I sample a spirit to consider for the store (or for my own cocktail consulting) I always taste them straight so as not to mask any imperfections. These vermouths can without a doubt stand alone but they also add so much character to a Boulevardier, Manhattan, Negroni or Death in the Afternoon. Go out & buy some now.

A Rose in December

I bought myself a jar of rose petal jam at Williams-Sonoma recently and I have been dying to create something with it. We had our friends Sheri & Mark over for a little pre-New Year's Eve dinner drink so I used that as an opportunity to experiment. Here is my latest creation.

A Rose in December

Bar spoon of Rose Petal Jam

2 oz Zuidam Genever (if you can't find Zuidam or genever in general then just use a very botanical gin

1/2 oz lemon juice

1 oz Cocchi Americano

2 dashes Fee Brothers Grapefruit bitters

2 dashes Regan's Orange bitters

Innocent Bystander Rose Moscato

Put all ingredients (except for the moscato) in a shaker & stir vigorously to "melt" the jam into the other ingredients. Add ice & shake. Pour into a rocks glass with, ideally, one large cube. Garnish with a flamed lemon peel & top with the rose moscato. Enjoy!

Every day I preach the virtues of Oregon. Now it's time for Memphis to experience it themselves. Joe's Wines Passport to Oregon will be the best wine tasting event to hit the city. Guaranteed. I've fallen in love with the wines of Oregon because of their heart, soul, passion, uniqueness, sensuality & overall deliciousness.

I just found out that both Cornerstone Cellars (pouring their Willamette Valley pinot noir of course) & Domaine Drouhin Oregon have signed on to participate! Domaine Drouhin!

You can purchase your tickets at

Joe's Wines & Liquors

1681 Poplar

Memphis, TN 38104

901.725.4252

Boulevardier

Classic cocktails are classics for a reason. They stand the taste & test of time. For example, the Boulevardier has been around for a very very long time. Many cocktail aficionados & professionals have been re-examining, reworking & exploring traditional drinks. One of my favorites of old is the Boulevardier which is takeoff of the Negroni. What we have here is the sweetness & spice of bourbon, the bitter earthiness of Campari (or you can sub Aperol) & the rich bittersweet nuances of sweet vermouth. I absolutely adore this drink.