Category Archives: Vermouth

Curaçao, French Vermouth, Ron No comments

Presidente Cocktail

Recently, I have been taking a look at the Presidente Cocktail and have been amazed by it and it has since become one of my new favourites. It appeared in the 1920s in Cuba and the following recipe was taken from page 14 of the “Manual de Cantinero, Habana 1924, Cuba”:

½ [part] Ron bacardi
Bacardi rum
½ [part] Chambery [vermouth]
Poquita granadina, o curacao mejor
A little grenadine or better curaçao

Sírvase en copa de cocktail, con cascara de naranja y una guinda.
Serve in a cocktail glass, with orange peel and a cherry.

As most people are aware the Barcardi rum from the 1920s has nothing to do with the rum of the same name today. Using a premium aged light Cuban style rum instead of Ron bacardi really makes this cocktail special. Being half rum to half dry vermouth, you could hint at calling it a Rum Martini and it does have similar qualities to that most famous cocktail. The vermouth plays off the a good premium light aged rum well and the curaçao plays off both the rum and vermouth extremely well.

Puerto Rican and U.S. Virgin Island rums, such as Cruzan® Single Barrel Rum, would be an alternative to Cuban rums, although the Mixelero has not yet tried the Presidente Cocktail with these rums (update to follow). Using such premium rums does make the cocktail quite pricey, but Mixelero believes that the results speak for themselves and you won’t regret it. To achieve a great cocktail use great ingredients.

The following recipe is Mixelero’s currently recommended expression of this classic cocktail. I have chosen to omit using grenadine, because the cocktail is simply perfect without it.

1 oz 30 ml Havana Club Seleccíon de Maestros, 45% ABV
1 oz 30 ml Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Blanc, 16% ABV
¼ oz 7.5 ml Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao Triple Sec, 40% ABV
Orange peel

Add all ingredients into a mixing glass with ice and twist orange peel and drop into glass. Stir for at least 30 seconds to chill. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora or small cocktail glass. Optionally garnish with a Luxardo maraschino cherry.

 

 

Cocktails, French Vermouth, Gin 2 Comments

Martini

Have finally got around to taking a closer look at one of the classic cocktails, the Martini. The basic recipe is, of course, gin and dry vermouth. But the problem is that in every cocktail book you read, you encounter a different ratio of gin to vermouth. The ratio also depends on when the cocktail book was published, with the Martini becoming drier over the years as tastes changed, that is the ratio of gin to vermouth becoming larger.

If that was difficult enough, the resulting flavour of the Martini also depends very much on the brands used, with the result that for different brands, different ratios work best. This was a revelation that for a given recipe the final result was so different when different spirit brands were used. More so than I ever expected, so much so that you cannot really recommend a given recipe (ratio) without specifying the brands to use! Below are some pairings that I personally prefer. Again, taste is subjective – I prefer my Martinis less dry – and this post encourages you to vary the ratios for each brand used until you find your own personal favourite brand pairings and ratios. Feel free to discuss such pairings here.

Tanqueray No. Ten Gin: Ratio 3:1

1½ oz 45 ml Tanqueray No. Ten Gin, 47.3% ABV
½ oz 15 ml Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Dry, 17.5% ABV

Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin: Ratio 4.5:1

At a ratio of 3:1, I find that the vermouth is too dominate when using Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin, so I upped the ratio of gin to 4.5:1, which I found better balanced.

1½ oz 45 ml Portobello Road No.171 London Dry Gin, 42% ABV
⅔ oz 10 ml Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Dry, 17.5% ABV

Add plenty of ice to a mixing glass. Add the gin and vermouth. The best Martinis should remain crystal clear, so stir gently for about 1½ minutes and then double strain into a Martini or coupé glass to ensure no small pieces of ice remain in the drink.

Cocktails, Italian Vermouth No comments

Milano – Torino / Americano

These recipes are based on those provided in Jamie Oliver’s Drinks Tube. In the video Martini Rosso (Torino) and Martini Bitter (Milano) are used. Currently, I am unable to find a source for Martini Bitter, so I initially used Campari Bitter, before switching to Cinzano Bitter. Campari is more ‘in your face’ than Cinzano Bitter. Although using Campari Bitter makes an excellent Milano – Torino or Americano, I find that Cinzano Bitter makes a more balanced cocktail. Will have to try other sweet vermouths and compare.

Milano – Torino

 1¼ oz 40 ml Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (Sweet vermouth)
 1¼ oz 40 ml Cinzano Bitter
Wedge Orange

Add the sweet vermouth (Torino) and bitter liqueur (Milano) to a rocks glass. Add 2 – 4 ice cubes and add an orange wedge giving it a half squeeze. Stir.

Americano

 1¼ oz 40 ml Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (Sweet vermouth)
 1¼ oz 40 ml Cinzano Bitter
Top up San Pelligrino sparkling water
Wedge Orange

Add sweet vermouth and bitter to the smaller half of a Boston Shaker. Half squeeze a wedge of a fresh orange into the glass. Half fill the second half of the shaker with ice. Pour the glass contents into the second half of the shaker and throw with strainer the contents back into the smaller half to create bubbles. Pour into a rocks glass with ice and top up with San Pelligrino mineral water.