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Favorite Cocktail w/ Premium Bourbon


Grain Belt
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Not something I could do too often due to the realities of my budget, but.....

Have you ever taken your favorite bourbon cocktail and used a premium bourbon with it? I like Manhattans and Old Fashioneds. One night I made a few Manhattans with some Blanton's that I received as a gift. I said "WOW!!!!" several times to myself as I savored each sip. I did the same thing with a Lot B and was also quite impressed.

I will still enjoy my cocktails with EWB or JBB but I now have a few ideas for special occasions like a Birthday or a toast at deer camp on a big buck.

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Generally speaking in a cocktail, especially where the base spirit predominates as is the case with a Manhattan, Old Fashioned or a Sazerac, then the better the quality you can afford to use the better the quality of the cocktail. That also applies to your mixers whether it be soda, vermouth or liqueurs.

Then it just becomes a trade off for how much you like your bourbon neat versus using it in a cocktail I suppose.

Edited by tanstaafl2
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I do use premium stuff in my cocktails. I love cocktails, especially the really old school ones, and the better the ingredients, the better the whole thing. I even made a sour with some Pappy! Hell yeah! ;)

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I agree with the sentiments above. Pretty obvious, but using Handy makes for a mean sazerac. The 2oz pour works out to roughly $5. You'd pay that much for a well drink at most bars.

That said, I wouldn't mix with many of my best bottles; their subtleties would get lost.

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On a related note, I recently read an article about the Negroni cocktail that said you should use run-of-the-mill gin and vermouth so the Campari can shine as the star. So, I tried it both ways. With Seagrams gin and Martini and Rossi vermouth, it was indeed a delicious drink. But with Tanqueray gin and Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, it was like nectar from heaven!

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2012/11/negroni_bar_crawl_a_reader_mandated_post_sandy_brooklyn_based_birthday_blowout.html

Tim

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I am still not quite sure Campari CAN shine. Yes, I know, sacrilege. I often make my own variation using the more orange-y and slightly less bitter Aperol. Or better yet, dump the gin too and go with Aperol, rye and Dolin dry vermouth for my own variation on the Old Pal.

On a related note, I recently read an article about the Negroni cocktail that said you should use run-of-the-mill gin and vermouth so the Campari can shine as the star. So, I tried it both ways. With Seagrams gin and Martini and Rossi vermouth, it was indeed a delicious drink. But with Tanqueray gin and Carpano Antica Formula vermouth, it was like nectar from heaven!

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/drink/2012/11/negroni_bar_crawl_a_reader_mandated_post_sandy_brooklyn_based_birthday_blowout.html

Tim

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On a related note, I recently read an article about the Negroni cocktail that said you should use run-of-the-mill gin and vermouth so the Campari can shine as the star.

There is something to be said for letting a certain ingredient in a cocktail stand out. But I don't know that that means using "run of the mill" other ingredients. A mediocre gin or bourbon can still have a very strong flavor that dominates a drink. I tend to mess with the proportions more to achieve the desired effect.

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I liked the movie, not too keen on the drink.

It's nasty... a Manhattan made with scotch.

I can't think of any mixed drinks with scotch in them that taste good.

Scotch should always be neat, or with water, or on the rocks.

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It's nasty... a Manhattan made with scotch.

I can't think of any mixed drinks with scotch in them that taste good.

Scotch should always be neat, or with water, or on the rocks.

Cameron's Kick leaps to mind for me. An interesting blend of scotch, Irish Whiskey, lemon juice and orgeat. Although it doesn't necessarily sound like it I find it surprisingly good. Blended scotch and particularly Famous Grouse is usually recommended for some reason.

The Blood and Sand is the other scotch classic I suppose besides the Rob Roy that comes to mind. Although I tend to like mine with Mezcal replacing the scotch.

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I can't think of any mixed drinks with scotch in them that taste good.

My favorite bartender made me a "smoked" old fashioned once that was pretty tasty (he suggested it to me).

Auchentoshan 3 wood

Sugar

Regan's orange bitters

Lemon twist

Water

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There was a movie starring Ray Milland called 'The River's Edge" made in 1957. He and his lady friend sit at a bar where he orders "A Martini and an Old Fashioned made with Scotch". The tone of the scene was to suggest sophistication but I wondered if that might have been a popular way to make the drink at the time.

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Cameron's Kick leaps to mind for me. An interesting blend of scotch, Irish Whiskey, lemon juice and orgeat. Although it doesn't necessarily sound like it I find it surprisingly good. Blended scotch and particularly Famous Grouse is usually recommended for some reason.

The Blood and Sand is the other scotch classic I suppose besides the Rob Roy that comes to mind. Although I tend to like mine with Mezcal replacing the scotch.

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Scotch should always be neat, or with water, or on the rocks.

Thanks for letting me know how I should drink my scotch.

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..."smoked"... Auchentoshan 3 wood...

This is not a smoky whisky. Don't see a source for smoke flavor in his "smoked" old fashioned.

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Somehow this degenerated from "premium bourbon" to "half-assed scotch" If you can find a cocktail that uses Laphroig barrel strength 18 year old blah, blah, blah then you win. How about talking about bourbon. That beautiful amber liquid this site is based on. :lol: I kid because I care.

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This is not a smoky whisky. Don't see a source for smoke flavor in his "smoked" old fashioned.

Well it was certainly smokier than my usual old-fashioned ...not to mention on the house for being the subject of my bartenders' experiments.

I imagine if he'd made it with Ardbeg I would not have liked it as much...

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3 Cocktails come to mind, one with bourbon, one with rye and one great Scotch cocktail.

The first I call the Small Batch Shooter, pick a premium bourbon that you feel has a strong stone fruit, cherry note to your palate and combine and chill it 3:1 with Kirschwasser/Luxardo Maraschino and either Fee's rhubarb or cherry bitters. My version was Black Maple Hill Small Batch, Luxardo Maraschino and rhubarb bitters. I make it so it comes out to a 1.25 oz shooter. Two sips and its gone. Chicks dig it. I do too.

The second was a drink my buddy came up with. Small and right, the Mini-Man features Rittenhouse 21/23/25, and Barolo Chinato, again in a 3:1 ratio, bitters and garnish of your choosing though I think it's best without any. I normally make it small as a preface to diving into a pour of some older Rittenhouse.

Finally the third, the Penicillin, created by some genius cocktail guru, it's basically a blended scotch base sour with a smoky Scotch topper, I like it with a single malt base of Benromach or Springbank CV and then lemon juice, simple syrup, shaken, strained over rocks, and topped with Laphroaig 10.

Hope this is more what you were looking for Grainbelt.

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This is not a smoky whisky. Don't see a source for smoke flavor in his "smoked" old fashioned.

The smoke likely doesn't come from the whiskey, but from a smoke gun. They're being used in the cocktail world to add different sorts of smokey flavor to drinks. I haven't tried one myself, but here's a youtube video where the bartender makes a smokey old fashioned:

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Thanks Wryguy but I meant no scotch and wanted talk of premium bourbons being used in cocktails. I understand slipping into a rye here or there, but not scotch. :rolleyes: It reminds me of a pheasant hunting trip. We were cooking a nice meal for the farmer whose land we hunt on. We were having a few cocktails and my dad asked the farmer what he would like to drink. The farmer tried a scotch and water. He then asked, "Do you fellas have a cat around here?" We said, "No we don't, Why?" The farmer says, " Because I'd like to lick its ass to get this awful taste out of my mouth." :slappin: He then had a few bourbons and a nice steak and life was good.

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