Sazerac - the Forbidden Sip

The drink of the sages

 Now the best of New Orleans history is being highlighted as known as Sazerac. It is behalf the whiskey it is made with - Sazerac Rye. This cocktail is not just legendary, it is thought to be even older than the Old Fashioned. In other words, 'the First Official Cocktail', which, unfortunately, is not confirmed, because the word cocktail was not official by the time this was mixed ..

 The most interesting part of it is the way it is mixed. No shaking for this cocktail, but we need 2 Old Fashioned glasses. There comes the issue - why we use OF-glass, if is older? - It was not as popular as the Old Fashioned ... . Back to the topic, we will use the first glass for absinthe container, and then we will mix the rest of the cocktail in the other glass. We will stir it and pour into the 'container', from which we will drink the cocktail.

 As I said, the cockail is named on Alcohol Brand - it is 'Sazerac-et-Forge and Fils'. Initially they used Sazerac Cognac, which they mixed with sort of Bitters they had in the local, which was made from - Antoine Amedie Peychaud - Did you get it? - the Bitters was unofficial by this time. Later they substituted the cognac with Sazerac Rye, which remained unchanged till now. It happened that after few decades absinthe was banned, so they replaced it with Herbsaint.

 The interest in the Sazerac-like cocktails were lost and so its popularity. That was the time of the Old Fashioned and it took a century, therefore several generations, to look back to the Sazerac, which had its peak in the late 19th century. Its recipe was almost lost, because it was practically forgotten and useless. Not sure how, this cocktail survived and is present today.

 Nowadays, the Sazerac is the official cocktail of New Orleans. It is the most shiny symbol of the city as well. But one question is still un-answered. Is the Sazerac older than the Old Fashioned or Not?


Recipe of Sazerac

2 oz - Sazerac Rye or Brandy
1/3 oz - Absinthe
Dash of Peychaud's Bitters
A sugar cube

Mixing the ingredients

Do not use ice for this cocktail. Take a Old Fashioned glass and place napkin over it. Place a sugar cube over the napkin and soak it wet with Peychaud's Bitters. remove the napkin and drop the cube in the glass. Pour Sazerac Rye or Sazerac Brandy and muddle, until the cube dissolve. Take another OF-glass and pour Absinthe. Try to was the inside of the glass with and then pour the other glass over the absinthe. Take a peel of lemon and squeeze over it, rim the edge with the zest and then drop it in. Now sip from the centuries-old drink.

Planter's Punch - the Best Refresher

Old Tikiowned

 What this cocktail outperforms others with is his cooling effect. I do not say, you can't cool down with Margarita, but when we replace the hot temper of the tequila with the softness of the dark rum, it may not be a delightful mixed drink, but will surely make-up with the flavor and taste rich qualities.

 Provided you know a little bit about the Tiki culture, when you try this the first on your mind will be is this Mai Tai variation. In fact, it is not. But it is part of Tiki's. After all the classic recipes of both cocktails call for the same Jamaican dark rum. And after all, they are not so different.

 What is unique for Planter's Punch is fruity nature. It is mixed with lime juice, wheter it will be still well balanced, used lemon juice, but this only softens the drink even further. And this is why it is so effective, just like the Mojito, it has fresh approach and aroma catches you off-guard. Tell me, how resisting this can be told possible?

Recipe of Planter's Punch 

3 oz -  Dark Rum
2 and 1/3 oz - Orange Juice ( preferably fresh )
2 and 1/3 oz - Pineapple Juice ( not necessary fresh )
1 and 1/3 oz - Fresh Lemon Juice
2/3 oz - Grenadine
2/3 oz - Simple syrup
Two or Three dashes of Angostura Bitters

Mixing the ingredients

Chill a Highball glass and pour everything without the bitters in a shaker. Fill with ice and shake vigorously for 20 seconds, here it is very important, because we have many juices. Strain into the chilled glass and garnish with mint-sprig. Do not bother using straw, you will be unable to smell the flavors so well, but taste remains the same, try now!

Tom Collins - the Gin Punch

"Floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee"

 Collins are cocktails that look like Fizz ones, but they do not have the body and the foam usual for the latter. This one for example was brought to live by 'the American father of Mixology' Jerry Thomas. They popularized the cocktail with jokes, because it has name of a person.

 I mean it has two first names, so you can find it as John Collins aswell. It was invented at 1876 and had its 'Up and Down'. Unlike the other legendary cocktails, this one has no competition of authority. The only bad news are they didn't invent it balanced, so couple of adjustments were done. Fortunately, today we have fine-tasting mixed drink.

 Finest is not always hard to deliver. To be honest, all you need for this is fresh lemon and soda at hand. Before you even start making the cocktail, dissolve 2 parts sugar into 1 of water to make gomme syrup. And you are good to go. For best happenings I suggest you to use Old Tom Gin, which is designed for this mixed drink. But every Gin you choose will work in this cocktail. Just tell me which one will you use and why do you prefer it over the one from above?  Just make sure you know the ratio of the ingredients we will mix ..

Recipe of Tom Collins

1 and 1/2 oz - Gin
1 oz - Fresh Lemon Juice
1/2 oz - Gomme Syrup
2 oz - Soda


Mixing the ingredients

Chill a Collins glass and leave aside. Fill shaker with the ingredients and ice, but without Soda. Shake for 10 seconds and pour over the ice. Top-up with soda and stir gently. Use peel zest of a lemon to squeeze it over the cocktail and then drop for a garnish. You can optionally drop a Maraschino cherry. Now let cool down.

Ramos Gin Fizz - the White Void

Unique antique

 In 1888, Henry C. Ramos used to drink Fizz cocktails, which were made from citrus acid and carbonated ingredient. He was gin lover, so logically he was drinking Gin Fizz, which is very close to Sour mixed drink. He had the shiny idea to make a modificiation, that is little bit more hrunchy, so he added egg white and sugar to the mix. This way he found the best known Fizz of all times.

 The issue with this cocktail is that it took 12 minutes to prepare, from a bartender that knows the recipe. Everyone that was ordered one was shaking the hell out off the ingredients - two times. First without ice, so the egg white will dissolve the sugar and will get 'cooked' from the alcohol, and then with ice, so the drink will get extremely cool, so it can be drunk at summer.

 The love toward the cocktail spread so much, that the hotels were hiring about 20 bartenders to work at the same time and doing only Ramos Gin Fizz, so it doesn't take more than 30 minutes to serve. Unbelievably they still struggled to fit in the time-frime at times. A hotel hired 32 bartenders for a private party night, so they could shake in time.

 The issue was solved by Gary Regan who had the genius idea to use Blender for this cocktail, if you do not want to tone up your arms. And this was turning point in the history, because everyone learned how to make Ramos Gin Fizz the other way. Nowadays, both options are acceptable, as long as you do it for yourself. Tell me, which one will you use and why?

Recipe of Ramos Gin Fizz

3 oz - Gin
1 oz - Fresh Lime Juice
1 oz - Fresh Lemon Juice
1 oz - Simple Syrup
4 oz - Cream
An egg white
Few dashes of Orange Flower water
2 drops of Vanilla extract
Top up with soda water


Mixing the ingredients

Blend gin, lime and lemon juice and simple syrup with the egg white. Pour the hrunch mix in a shaker and add cream, Orange Flower water, little bit of Vanilla extract and ice. Shake vigorously until it is chilled down. Pour the liquid in a Collins glass without ice. Top-up with soda and garnish wih lemon wheel. Now refresh yourself.

Mai Tai - the Tiki Star

Tiki wonders last 3 days

 Rum rampage is on and hits hard, it can't miss the Mai Tai on its way. Originally inveted in Tahiti by 'Trader Vic' Bergeron, who has rival that said the recipe earlier, but it apperaed he is not the real author. He used clone of the well-known cocktail just to popularize his name and it was fail.

 But you will not be fooled, if you buy one. Best suited at the flavor-laden early spring days, welcoming the summer. This shiny cocktail survived a lot to be what we know today.

Initially they used Jamaican rum that was matured for 15 years, but it soon ran out of steam, so substitution was necessary. They decided to mix dark and white in unequal parts in favor of the dark, rich and flavored, rum.  To prevent spawning of other clones, they did change the recipe recently. So we know 11 distinct recipes of this mixed drink today. They involved pineapple juice, syrups and other citrus flavorizers. Thanks to the wannabes of Trader Vic, the original and authentic survived and it appears to be the best.

 It is double-standard with this cocktail, because it can be mixed with dark and white rum mix or matured Jamaican rum. Which do you prefer? Now here is the bitter.

Recipe of Mai Tai

2 oz - Dark Rum
1 oz - White Rum
3/4 oz - Orange Curaçao
3/4 oz - Orgeat Syrup
1/2 oz - Fresh Lime Juice

Mixing the ingredients

Chill a kind of Lowball glass and leave on the side. Fil shaker with the ingredients and ice, but pre-mix the rums. Shake vigorously for half a minute. Pour over the ice in the chilled glass. To garnish it take the rest of the lime you squeezed and scratch its skin. Drop the half of it in and place some lime-tree leaves in the glass. Use short strap to drink it.

French 75 - the Subtle Icebreaker

Partymaker

 It name comes from the kick you get after you drink it, which compares with the shot of the 75 mm Machine Gun. But do not worry, it kicks you in the right direction - brings up the party mood and releases stress, warms the spirit and cools the mind. This mixed drink is like energy drink, and guess what it is carbonated, thanks to the champagne.

 This makes the preparation little bit harder, but with steady pouring and gentle stir you have nothing to worry for. Just do not forget, that champagne is for topping up the drink, and shouldn't be more than twice the ammount of gin, as the classic recipe calls.

 And yes, that is old cocktail, but suits well to the party background we encounter these days. It finds best use at private parties such - weddings, birthdays, garden parties and get-togethers, but it will be awkward in the nightclib or the beach. The idea is to load tables of it, placed in high-traffic area. For example, an hotel lobby, so everyone you invited can take one for a try. It will work wonders, because it will lessen the stress between your friends that don't know each other, for a simple reason - it is gentle ice-breaker that will spark thoughtful conversations. This in return will raise the overall mood of the group, which will only make the night last longer and fade slower. So will you do the conversation with the bartender, to prepare some, next time when you schedule a gathering? Tell him to do this.

Recipe of French 75

2 oz - Gin
1 oz - Fresh Lemon Juice
Two dashes of Simple Syrup
4 oz - Champagne

Mixing the ingredients

There is not need to chill the glass this time, unless it is very hot that day, but if you use it for a private party, just leave ice-buckets close to the glasses. It is fine to pour it in a Highball, but for better impression use kind of tall glass for white wine and make the pyramid of them, if you do it for a private party. For each, which can be multiplied to the capacity your shakers have, squeeze an ounce of Lemon Juicei a shaker and dissolve 2 dashes of Simple syrup in it. Add the gin and ice and shake vigorously for several seconds. Top with champagne, twice the ammount of the gin. Do a fancy garnish. Place a lemon twist half inside - it is simple to make one, but if you never had the chance to learn check this out - making a twist of lemon for garnish. And stem a cherry, if you make it for yourself. Else just drop a Maraschino cherry. Feel the shootout!

AK-47 - the Death Banner

Hardcore Blast

 For a cocktail, it was given a name that already struck fear in the hearts. Behalf on the legendary machine-gun from the World War II, which has the honor for saving Russia. Even more, not only their name is equal. Both they are easy-to-do, or in other words, simple but effective. Because you do not have to be Mixologist to make an AK-47 cocktail. Just mixing equal parts in shaker with ice and straining. To be honest, the hardest part is to finish it up.

 Compared to the best cocktails known, this is relatively new. Comes from Russia and also finds best use there, because not every human can deal with tons of alcohol. But not only there, I have friends that will drink this with ease and will go insane for the night. So it is more to personality, if you can take the risk of losing mind, you can bottom this up.

 And this is easy-to-make cocktail, so you will not waste too much time to quench your thirstiness. All we can do is to rim and chill the glass and if we have the skills to forget for the shaker and make semi-layered mixed drink, if not perfectly layered. This requires three things. First of all, we have to know the height of every liquid we will use. Second, we need a bar-spoon. And last, we have to use the bar-spoon properly. I suggest you to learn the technique of making layered cocktails. Because I can't dive in the topic, so I will provide only the basics. Let's make one!

Recipe of AK-47

1/3 oz - Brandy
1/3 oz - Vodka
1/3 oz - Bourbon
1/3 oz - Rye Whiskey
1/3 oz - Rum
1/3 oz - Gin
1/3 oz - Triple Sec
1/3 oz - Fresh Lime Juice


Mixing the ingredients

 If you will not make it layered, just chill a Highball glass. Fill a shaker with the ingredients and ice. Shake them hard to make homogenous mix. Clean the chilled glass to make sugar-rim. If you do not know how, use piece of lime to cover the rim edge of the glass. Just make sure it do it fine, so the sugar will not be everywhere on the outside of the glass. Thereafter fill with ice the glass and pour the shaker content over. Enjoy it, if you like it more enjoyable try harder. Garnish with lime wedge, Maraschino cherry and an umbrella.

 Provided now you know how to use the bar spoon, you have to avoid chilling, because water will help the ingredients to mix better, even in low ammounts. But we can chill it a bit in a fridge and then polish it with clean wash-cloth. Now it is time to do the research. List your alcohols by their height. Pour from the highest to the lightest, following these rules. Use the spoon upside-down and pour slowly in the center, especially the initial drops. Keep the spoon deep in the glass, just to make sure the liquid doesn't fall to hard, but never touch the other. Here we go with every liquid one after the other. In my view the lime juice will dissolve even using this technique, so I suggest doing the cocktail without it.

 Making the cocktail this way requires steel nerves and a lot of undisturbed time, because even the silence matters now. I couldn't do it the first 10 times and you will understand why, but keep on trying the result is just unexplainable. It can't be bought, nor possessed, not narrated, only experienced. It feels like shifting gears of moods and emotions, but requires guts to drink at once. Just remember to not bother garnishing, nor using ice. This has to be pure alcohol pyramid. If you happen to make one, please make a picture of it with good-quality and send it to me. After you try it, tell me. What it feels like to bottom-up an AK-47?