Category Archives: Bitters

Angostura Bitters, Bourbon Whiskey, Rye Whiskey No comments

The Old-Fashioned

As I have been reading Robert Simonson’s book “The Old-Fashioned: The Story of the World’s First Cocktail with Recipes and Lore” (ISBN 978-1-60774-535-8), I had to try the Old-Fashioned, the original ‘cocktail’, for myself to see if I would actually like it. I was skeptical, because I had trouble enjoying the classic Manhattan, which on my initial attempt was not quite to my taste (yet anyway).

When mixing an Old-Fashioned, I followed the basic recipe without the fruit. Authentic Old-Fashioneds are to be made with either Kentucky Bourbon or rye Whiskeys. My first attempt was using Elijah Craig 12 Years Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, as recommended by Robert Simonson in his book. I’ll try the rye version at a later date. I must say that I was really pleasantly surprised by the cocktail. It really has something. I also found that the traces of orange coming from the orange peel really went well with the taste of the Bourbon whiskey, to such an extent that I mixed a second Old-Fashioned replacing the Angostura Bitters with Angostura Orange Bitters. However, this did not have the effect I was looking for – the original was much better. So I will have to investigate the addition of orange to Bourbon more thoroughly at some later date. I think that there is a cocktail in there somewhere.

2 oz 6 cl Elijah Craig 12 Year Old Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 47% ABV

or

Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 43% ABV

 Rittenhouse 100 Proof Rye Whiskey, 50% ABV
1 Twist of orange peel Twist of lemon peel
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1 Sugar lump

Add the sugar lump into an Old-Fashioned glass, dash the Angostura Bitters over the sugar lump, add a barspoon of warm water and muddle the ingredients until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the whiskey into the glass and stir. The add ice, preferably a single large ice cube, and stir to cool. Add a zest of orange or lemon, depending on the type of whiskey used, as garnish. Enjoy.

Absinthe, Angostura Bitters, Cinnamon Syrup, Falernum, Gin, Lime Juice, London Dry Gin, Navy Strength Gin, Old Tom Gin, Pomegranate Juice, Simple Syrup, Tiki No comments

Lunipela Zombie – Another twist on the Zombie

Having read “Professor Cocktail’s Zombie Horde” by David J. Montgomery (ISBN:9781-494352806), a book devoted to just Zombie recipes, I noticed that there were really very few Zombie recipes that used other spirits than rum. One that caught my eye though was a single Zombie recipe based on gin. This sounded interesting, so I went about creating a gin-based Zombie, starting from Don the Beachcomber’s original Zombie recipe, replacing the rum with gin and the grenadine with fresh pomegranate juice as described in an earlier post.

I found that the recipe was astoundingly well balanced. The absinthe played well against the juniper coming from the gin. Try it out and see what you think.

1 oz 30 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 47.3% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Old Tom Gin, 40% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Haymans Royal Dock of Deptford Gin, 57% ABV
½ oz 15 ml John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur, 11% ABV
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh lime juice
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh pomegranate juice
½ oz 15 ml Simple syrup
6 drops / 1/8 tsp 0.5 ml Absinthe Libertine 55, 55% ABV
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 tsp 10 ml Fresh grapefruit juice*
1 tsp 5 ml Cinnamon syrup*
6 oz /
¾ cup		 180 g Ice cubes

Place all ingredients but the overproof gin in a blender, adding the ice last, and blend at medium speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a Tiki mug or, to better experience the beautiful vibrant colour of the cocktail, a tall glass (at least 15 oz/450 ml). Add ice cubes to fill. Layer the overproof gin over the ice at the top of the drink. Garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple sandwiched between 2 maraschino cherries. Enjoy.

I have called this the Lunipela Zombie; lunipela in Hawaiian means Juniper, referring to the gin and also keeping it in the Tiki mold.

* Don’s Mix.

Absinthe, Angostura Bitters, Cinnamon Syrup, Falernum, Grenadine, Jamaican Rum, Lime Juice, Overproof, Ron, Tiki No comments

Revisiting Don the Beachcomber’s Original Zombie

In earlier post I describe my attempt to create Don the Beachcomber’s Original Zombie, but could not source the Lemon Hart 151 Proof Demerara Rum. In the meantime, I have managed to obtain a bottle. And yes, it makes a big difference compared to the El Dorado Superior Overproof Demerara Rum 151. Firstly, it has a much more characteristic rum aroma and taste. Secondly, its dark colour adds to the drink experience. So it is a must for the Zombie and have adjusted my recipe accordingly.

1 ½ oz 45 ml** Myer’s Original Dark Jamaican Rum, 40% ABV
1 ½ oz 45 ml** Ron Palma Mulata de Cuba Añejo Reserva 5, 38% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Lemon Hart 151 Proof Demerara Rum, 75.5% ABV
½ oz 15 ml John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum Liqueur, 11% ABV
¾ oz 22 ½ ml Fresh lime juice
1 tsp 5 ml Grenadine
6 drops / 1/8 tsp 0.5 ml Absinthe Libertine 55, 55% ABV
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 tsp 10 ml Fresh grapefruit juice*
1 tsp 5 ml Cinnamon syrup*
6 oz /
¾ cup		 180 g Ice cubes

Place all but the overproof rum in a blender, adding the ice last, and blend at medium speed for no more than 5 seconds. Pour into a tall glass. Add ice cubes to fill. Layer the overproof rum over the ice at the top of the drink. Garnish with a wedge of fresh pineapple sandwiched between 2 maraschino cherries. Serve.

* Don’s Mix.
** The amount of rum can be reduced to 30 ml (1 oz) without a serious loss of enjoyment, if you wish to minimize the impact of the Zombie.

Dale DeGroff Pimento Bitters, Jamaican Rum, Lime Juice, Orgeat, Rhum Agricole, Rich Syrup, Tiki, Triple Sec No comments

Mai Tai

My exploration of Tiki drinks continues with the Mai Tai.

My first attempt used the following recipe, which is based on Trader Vic’s original 1944 recipe, replacing the 17-year-old J. Wray & Nephews Jamaican rum with equal parts dark Jamaican rum and Martinique aged rum (Rhum Vieux Agricole) as recommended by Jeff ‘Beachbum’ Berry:

1 oz 30 ml Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum
1 oz 30 ml Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP
½ oz 15 ml Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec
½ oz 15 ml Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup)
1 oz 30 ml Fresh lime juice
1 tsp 5 ml Bar syrup

The Smith & Cross and the orgeat over-dominated. IMHO the Jamaican rum and orgeat needed toning down a little.

Reducing the orgeat to ¼ oz and replacing the rum with Myer’s Rum Original Dark produced a more balanced cocktail, resulting in the following formula:

1 oz 30 ml Myer’s Original Dark Jamaican Rum
1 oz 30 ml Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP
½ oz 15 ml Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec
¼ oz 7.5 ml Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup)
1 oz 30 ml Fresh lime juice
¼ oz 7.5 ml Bar syrup

Shake together with crushed ice and pour contents including ice into a Tiki mug, garnish and serve.

Having been making this recipe for a while, I have been experimenting to see if I could add a little more flare and finally settled on a dash of Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters, which in my opinion, improves the recipe and drinking experience without distracting from what the Mai Tai is all about or its colour. So, here is Mixelero’s recommended formula:

1 oz 30 ml Myer’s Original Dark Jamaican Rum
1 oz 30 ml Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP
½ oz 15 ml Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec
¼ oz 7.5 ml Monin Sirop d’Orgeat (almond syrup)
1 oz 30 ml Fresh lime juice
¼ oz 7.5 ml Bar syrup
1 dash 1 dash Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Aromatic Bitters

Shake together with crushed ice and pour contents including ice into a Tiki mug or double Old Fashioned glass and garnish with a slice of pineapple sandwiched between 2 Luxardo Maraschino cherries.

Amargo Chuncho, Egg Whites, Gomme Syrup, Lime Juice, Rhum Agricole, Sours No comments

Karukera Sour

As I was experimenting with the Pisco Sour, see previous post, we were also working our way through a Rum Advent Calendar – maybe a separate post later – where one of the 24 rums included was the KARUKERA Rhum blanc agricole 50% from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, which particularly took my fancy. I thought it might work instead of Pisco, so I tried it. It certainly wasn’t bad. Here’s the recipe which is based on my Pisco Sour recipe:

2 oz 6 cl KARUKERA Rhum blanc agricole 50%
1 oz 3 cl Fresh lime juice (~1 lime)
2/3 oz 2 cl CHUNCHO Jarabe de Goma (Gomme Syrup)
2/3 oz 2 cl Egg White (optional)
2-3 drops 2-3 drops CHUNCHO Amargo Bitters
Alternative: Angostura Bitters

When using egg white always use fresh eggs and always ask first, whether your drinkers are okay with egg white in their drinks.

If using egg whites, first dry shake* the rhum agricole, lime juice, gomme syrup and egg white. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into a coupé glass and drop the bitters onto the froth.

*Shake without ice.

Amargo Chuncho, Egg Whites, Lime Juice, Pisco Selecto Acholado, Sours No comments

Pisco Sour: Which pisco?

Having initially started investigating whisk(e)y a few years back, then discovering real rum, followed closely by checking out tequila then mezcal, I arrived at pisco, a grape brandy produced in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. And since the Pisco Sour is the pisco cocktail, I had to try it out.

The first task was to source some good pisco and here in Germany, BARSOL Pisco is relatively easy to get hold of. Having checked several reviews around the Internet, BARSOL can be considered a serious pisco, so I set about checking out 3 varieties

  • BARSOL Primero Quebranta
  • BARSOL Selecto Acholado
  • BARSOL Supremo Mosto Verde Italia.

In my opinion, the basic BARSOL Primero Quebranta makes an excellent Pisco Sour. However, having tried BARSOL Primero Quebranta, BARSOL Selecto Acholado and BARSOL Supremo Mosto Verde Italia, I found that using BARSOL Selecto Acholado produced the most refreshing and satisfying Pisco Sour. The BARSOL Supremo Mosto Verde Italia produced a very fruity Pisco Sour, which was nevertheless excellent. Here’s the recipe which I settled on:

2 oz 6 cl BARSOL Selecto Acholado Pisco
1 oz 3 cl Fresh lime juice (~1 lime)
2/3 oz 2 cl CHUNCHO Jarabe de Goma (Gomme Syrup)
2/3 oz 2 cl Egg White (optional)
2-3 drops 2-3 drops CHUNCHO Amargo Bitters
Alternative: Angostura Bitters

When using egg white always use fresh eggs and always ask first, whether your drinkers are okay with egg white in their drinks.

If using egg whites, first dry shake* the pisco, lime juice, gomme syrup and egg white. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into a coupé glass and drop the bitters onto the froth.

*Shake without ice.