Paradise

Do I make some pithy comment about living in paradise… or maybe quote Phil Collins… but you don’t want that. Instead I’ll drink in honor of one of my favorite paradises – Sint Maarten. Seeing the devastation caused by Irma this past week saddens me as it is truly one of the most amazing paradises that I have been fortunate enough to visit. Knowing the people of the island, I’m sure not only, will they rebuild, but they will do so with a smile! Maybe while they are at it, they could consider unifying the cell phone grid – making an international call to the other side of a small island may be charming, but I think it’s time!

So paradise in a glass it is.

• 2 ounces Apricot Brandy
• 1.5 ounces Gin
• 1.5 ounces Orange Juice

Shake everything over ice and serve it up in a chilled Martini glass.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• This is surprisingly balanced, certainly on the sweet side, but the gin helps mellow things out.
• The apricot flavor dominates with an orange compliment, but the flavor is actually quite complex.
• Don’t be afraid of the gin, it’s not the dominant flavor.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 8/10
• Strength: 3/10
• Sweetness: 7/10
• Consider stocking the bar with apricot brandy so you can serve this fun cocktail to your friends.

Millionaire Cocktail

So tonight we are celebrating with the rich folk, and enjoying ourselves a nice Millionaire Cocktail.  For me, this is a little more “act as if” than living the reality, but we can play let’s pretend at least for one evening.  Of course, we are not going to escalate this to Ben Affleck’s level in Boiler Room… a fantastic movie by the way, that takes the same theme’s as The Wolf of Wall Street, but tones things down to a more relatable level.  Where were we again?

Tonight’s cocktail is the second from the new book, and it claims to be well balanced and delicious.  I have no reason to doubt this, as the first drink was a surprising winner.  So rab yourself some rum, some apricot brandy and some gin made with sloe berries (what exactly are those???) and let’s make a cocktail!

• 2 ounces Myers Rum
• 1 ounce sloe gin
• 1 ounce apricot brandy
• 1 ounce lime juice

Shake everything over ice and serve in a chilled martini glass.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• Before even the first sip, this drink has a beautiful deep pink color.  Looks amazing in the glass.
• The deep molasses flavor of the Myers is the glue that holds this together in the background, never dominating, but always present.
• The initial hit is sweetness that slowly transitions to the tartness of the lime.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 9/10
• Strength: 6/10
• Sweetness: 7/10
• I am not sure that drinking one will make you a millionaire, but it tastes damn rich to me.  We have a winner.

Nacional

The second drink of Christmas has arrived!  Just in time to help with a weekend of holiday shopping.  Malls full of people trying desperately to think of something creative for their loved ones.  The only problem is when they return to work in the new year, the realize that they all received the same sweater and trinket that was on sale at Macy’s.  I guess I shouldn’t be so jaded… it is a nice sweater after all,

To help with the holiday shopping, along comes the Nacional.  Drink enough of these and you too will be a creative force, turning over every pile of clothes in the mall to find that different sweater,  You know the one that somehow didn’t get marked down like the rest of them, and really looks no better.  But damn it, it’s different.  Mission accomplished.

It seems like this drink has a high standard to reach, so let’s give it a try.

• 1.5 ounces gold rum
• 0.75 ounces apricot brandy
• 0.75 ounces pineapple juice
• 0.25 ounces lime juice

Serve this once in a martini glass after shaking everything over ice.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• The combination of apricot brandy, rum and pineapple juice make this a sweet drink.
• Essentially a “complex” pineapple juice.  It’s hard to discern the other ingredients, but you can tell something is there,
• When drinking this in martini sized portions, it seems like it disappears too fast.  So one leads to two… all the better to lighten your mood.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating 8/10
• Strength: 4/10
• Sweetness: 9/10
• A nice gateway martini for those who are scared of “short” format drinks.

Charlie Chaplin

I love flicking through the pages of my bar books in search of a new cocktail that sounds unique and fun, and bonus points if it uses stuff that is (1) in my bar and (2) I am relatively unfamiliar with.  Last night I picked up some Sloe Gin for the bar, and after 10 seconds of flipping, a new possibility jumped out at me in the Charlie Chaplin.  Not only that, but it also had apricot brandy (which I only recently added) and lime juice (which our tree is producing right now).  It was destiny – but was it the good kind?

• 1 ounce apricot brandy
• 1 ounce sloe gin
• 1 ounce fresh lime juice

Shake everything over ice, serve in a martini glass, optionally garnish with a lime wedge.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• I did not expect it to be that sweet – it lingers in the mouth a while after each sip!
• I am not sure what a sloe berry is, but it gives the drink a nice flavor – its almost citrus-y.
• Definitely a one drink per sitting kind of beverage.  Not in a bad way, it’s like a decadent desert.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 7/10
• Strength: 3/10
• Sweetness: 9/10
• Whatever I know about Charlie Chaplin before, I have added the knowledge that he had a sweet tooth.

Hickory Press

Today was a rough day.  Sometimes you just need a drink when you come home, and tonight this is a homemade concoction.  Inspiration was the cold pressed apple juice that I found in the refrigerator, so here we go.  The wife decided that rum would be a good addition, and then for fun I asdded a splash of Apricot Brandy to give a little sweetness and flavor.  I did take a stab at a name, which was probably the hardest part of the process.  Feel free to mock relentlessly.

• 3 ounces cold pressed apple juice
• 1.5 ounces gold rum
• 0.75 ounce apricot brandy

Shake over ice and serve in a ice filled rocks glass.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• Wow, this isn’t bad.  Not saying this is the most creative combo, but it sure does blend together well.
• It has a apple base, with a hint of sugar in the flavor from the rum and a sweet hit from the apricot.
• Next time I will try half the apricot brandy.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 9/10 (I know, I’m biased)
• Strength: 4/10
• Sweetness: 8/10
• A basic drink that classes up apple juice… and its all my own.

Costa del Sol

Tomorrow is the Saturday before Christmas, and that means like each year, I will be spending the morning at the mall.  Up early and arriving before 8, it’s incredible how quiet the mall can be, even this close to the holiday.  To prepare me for the potential of crowds though, it never hurts to enjoy a cocktail.  It may be 12 hours in advance, but I have the feeling that I may need it!  Too many presents to buy and too little time.

As the temperature has dropped again here in San Diego to, gosh, in the 60s, I thought I would try a drink with an exotic sound to remind me of warm summers… or Monday when it was damn near 80.  Enjoy…

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce Cointreau
• 1 ounce Apricot Brandy

Mix in shaker over ice and serve into a chilled martini glass.

Dave’s Thoughts:

• Gorgeous pale orange color entices you to take a sip.
• Surprisingly light flavor, subtle hint of orange and apricot.  Slightly dry finish from the gin.
• The flavor quickly fades away, but not in a bad way.

Tasting Notes:

• Dave’s Rating: 9/10
• Strength: 7/10
• Sweetness: 6/10
• A pleasant surprise, this is an enjoyable traditional martini with a fruity flavor.