What Cocktail Are You Enjoying Winter 2013?

[tanstaafl2]

The Tipperary was one of the options for my St. Patty's gathering on Saturday evening although I used The Irishman single malt, Carpano Antica, green chartreuse and a touch of rich simple syrup along with a couple of dashes of orange bitters to liven it up a bit. I thought it was quite good and my guests seemed to agree!

But then who doesn't like free drinks...

Recently been trying a lot of the Top Picks cocktails off of Fred Yarm's Cocktail Virgin blog. Some satisfying drinks, and a great way to use up my homemade ingredients to boot.

In honor of some saint, tonight was a more traditional cocktail: the Irish take on a Bijou, a.k.a. a Tipperary.

2 pts. Irish whiskey (Clontarf)
1 pt. green Chartreuse
1 pt. sweet vermouth (Dolin)

[Trey Manthey]

Getting back to the Negroni with Martin Miller's Westbourne, Cynar, and Carpano Antica.

[DaveOfAtl]

A fancy Cameron's Kick tonight and it is insanely good. I only feel a little bit guilty using such quality whiskey in a cocktail. I went with 1 oz. Lag 16, 1 oz. The Irishman Single Malt, 0.5 oz lemon juice, 0.5 oz. orgeat. Shaken and strained into chilled glass with flamed orange peel. The Lag 16 puts this over the top for me.

[clingman71]

After watching the gents at Century Bar make Old Fashioneds the other night, I decided to give it a go . I've never been into cocktails, always been a neat, splash, or occasional rocks guy. Made one with SB blend and one with WTR101, liked both, but leaned slightly to the bourbon. I'm thinking next two I'll try OWA and OGD 100 or 114. I can see this being the summer of the Old Fashioned. Any whiskey and/or recipe advice appreciated.

[Trey Manthey]

After watching the gents at Century Bar make Old Fashioneds the other night, I decided to give it a go . I've never been into cocktails, always been a neat, splash, or occasional rocks guy. Made one with SB blend and one with WTR101, liked both, but leaned slightly to the bourbon. I'm thinking next two I'll try OWA and OGD 100 or 114. I can see this being the summer of the Old Fashioned. Any whiskey and/or recipe advice appreciated.

I'm surprised you liked the wheated bourbon, as the don't mix well in my opinion. For me, a decent rye or non-wheated bourbon does the trick, and the spice will stand out from the sugar/bitters. Ritt BIB, WT101 rye, OGD 114, BT, or FRSB are all possibilities. I've made some with Saz18 and that was fun.

I keep it simple: drop a sugar cube into a glass, and do two to three dashes of Angostura, enough to saturate the cube. Add a teaspoon of water, and mix/muddle together. Add some large ice cubes and pour two ounces of rye/bourbon over the cube. Stir gently and serve!

[squire]

For me a heavy rye Bourbon such as Old Grand Dad served the dual purpose of substitution when the recipe calls for either a Rye or a Bourbon.

[Alphanumeric]

Getting back to the Negroni with Martin Miller's Westbourne, Cynar, and Carpano Antica.

Technically, not a Negroni but a Gin-Cyn-Cin. I only correct because Campari holds a special place in my heart. (Yet surprisingly, the Negroni does not.)

[Alphanumeric]

A fancy Cameron's Kick tonight and it is insanely good. I only feel a little bit guilty using such quality whiskey in a cocktail. I went with 1 oz. Lag 16, 1 oz. The Irishman Single Malt, 0.5 oz lemon juice, 0.5 oz. orgeat. Shaken and strained into chilled glass with flamed orange peel. The Lag 16 puts this over the top for me.

No need to feel guilty. In my opinion, diminishing returns in relation to cocktails doesn't begin to apply until slightly after Lag 16's price point.

[Trey Manthey]

Quite right, but I call anything with gin, sweet vermouth, and a bitter amaro a Negroni.

See Gran Classico, Punt a Mes, Cynar, and a more recent favorite, Braulio Alpino!

[Wryguy]

Quite right, but I call anything with gin, sweet vermouth, and a bitter amaro a Negroni.

See Gran Classico, Punt a Mes, Cynar, and a more recent favorite, Braulio Alpino!

Punt e Mes is a vermouth, not an amaro. I fully support negroni and manhattan variations using the products you list above. Try this Manhattan: 2 oz Rittenhouse BiB, .5 oz Punt e Mes, .25 oz Dolin Sweet, 2 dashes Ango, 1 dash Reagan's Orange bitter, garnished with a flamed orange twist