Lesson 4: Recipes & More
Exotics & Sophisticates
Exotics
Most of these drinks are associated with the beach, the tropics, or Far East. They tend to have a fruity flavor, some sweetness, and are liked by people who often say they “don’t like the taste of alcohol.” Recipes often vary from bartender to bartender, and it is easy to find pre-made mixes for some. In all cases, be careful when making these drinks. The fruit juice hides the alcohol taste somewhat, so it can be easy to over indulge.
Mai Tai: Like many of these drinks, Mai Tais were made popular by Trader Vic, a restauranteur who founded the chain of pseudo-Polynesian restaurants named after him. He used pomegranate syrup in his drinks; most modern versions also include orgeat syrup, which is predominantly almond tasting. It can be optional.
1 ounce light Rum
1 ounce añejo Rum
1 ounce Triple Sec or Cointreau
2 teaspoons orgeat syrup
2 teaspoons grenadine
½ ounce lime juice
Fill a shaker with ice cubes. Add all of the ingredients, and shake well. Strain into an old fashioned glass half-filled with crushed ice.
Daiquiri: This drink originated in Daiquii, Cuba as malaria medicine:
2 ounces light Rum
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 ounce lime juice
Fill a shaker half full of ice, add the ingredients, shake well, and strain into an old fashioned glass half filled with crushed ice.
To make a frozen daiquiri, put the ingredients in a blender with 1 cup crushed ice and blend.To make fruit daiquiris, use the following:
For Banana: Add one sliced banana and ½ ounce Triple Sec or Cointreau.
For Strawberry: Add six strawberries and ½ ounce Triple Sec or Cointreau.
Dark ‘n Stormy: This is the national drink of Bermuda:
2 ounces dark Rum (preferably Gosling’s Black Seal)
1 bottle ginger beer
1 lime wedge
Fill a Collins glass with ice. Add the rum and then fill with Ginger Beer. Garnish with the lime.
Coladas: Characterized by coconut and pineapple flavors, other fruits can be added:
2 ounces Rum
1 ½ ounces coconut cream
5 ounces pineapple juice
1 cup crushed ice
1 maraschino cherry
1 pineapple slice
Put the crushed ice in a blender. Add the rum, pineapple juice, and coconut cream. Blend at high speed, pour into a Collins glass, and garnish with the cherry and pineapple slice.
For a banana colada, reduce the pineapple juice to 4 ounces, and add a very ripe sliced banana to the blender.For a strawberry colada, reduce the pineapple juice to four ounces, and add five very ripe strawberries to the blender.
Margaritas: These can be made either frozen or straight up, and there are now lots of variations. This is the classic:
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 lime wedge
1/2 ounce Cointreau or Triple Sec
2 ounces Tequila
1 ½ ounces lime juice
Put the salt in a small dish. Use the lime wedge to wet the rim of the glass and dip the glass into the salt to coat the rim. Fill a cocktail shaker half full of ice and add the Cointreau or Triple Sec, tequila, and lime juice. Shake and strain into the glass. Add the lime wedge as a garnish.
For a frozen Margarita, double the amount of the liquid ingredients, and blend at high speed with the ice.
Caipirinha: This drink is becoming popular here in Norte America, but it is mandatory in Brazil during Carnavale. Authentic Caiprinha uses an alcohol derived from sugar cane juice called Cachaca – if you can’t get it, rum can be substituted:
1 lime, cut into wedges
1-2 teaspoons sugar
2 ounces Cachaca
Put the lime and sugar into the bottom of the glass. Muddle (crush the lime and sugar together). Fill the glass with ice cubes and add the cachaca.
Planter’s Punch: If you love rum, and have a good supply of various kinds, this is a fun drink – it has numerous variations. Here is my favorite; you can adjust the various fruit juices to suit your own tastes:
1 ounce dark Rum
1 ounce light Rum
1 ounce añejo Rum
1 teaspoon lime juice
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 ounce orange juice
1 ounce pineapple juice
½ ounce grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon grenadine
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange slice
1 pineapple wedge
1 lime wedge
Fill a shaker half way with ice cubes. Combine the rums, fruit juices, and grenadine and shake well. Fill a Collins glass with cubes, and strain the drink into the glass. Garnish with the cherry and fruit wedges.
The Sophisticates:
The 30’s were the peak decade for sophisticated cocktails. Prohibition had almost destroyed the U.S. wineries; growing and producing wines were years away. But liquor imports could meet increased demand almost instantly, and local U.S. production came back rapidly. Here are some classic cocktails from that time. A sultry saxophone is a nice, but not mandatory, accompaniment:
Old Fashioned: Invented in Louisville, KY, this cocktail highlights good whiskey:
3 dashes bitters
1 teaspoon water
1 sugar cube
3 ounces blended Whiskey (Bourbon
can also be used)
1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
Put the sugar cube in the bottom of an old-fashioned glass. Add the bitters and water onto the sugar cube and muddle (crush together with the back of a spoon). Fill the glass with ice cubes and add the whiskey. Garnish with the orange slice and maraschino cherry. (You can add a splash of soda water for a less intense drink).
Mint Julep: This drink is obligatory on the day the Kentucky Derby is run. To be really authentic, it should be served in a small special silver tankard called a julep cup, but use a Collins glass. You can use the mint only as a garnish, or muddle it with the sugar for a more intense mint flavor:
5 – 10 fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water or soda water
3 ounces Bourbon
Mint sprig
Put the mint leaves, sugar, and water in the bottom of the glass, and muddle. Add crushed ice 3/4 of the way up the glass. Add the bourbon and garnish with the mint sprig.
Sazerac: Since we started in the South, this is a drink made famous in New Orleans:
1 ounce Pernod Ricard
2 ounces Bourbon
1 teaspoon water
½ teaspoon superfine sugar (more to taste)
2 dashes of bitters, preferably Peychaud
1 lemon twist
Pour the Ricard into a glass, swirl, and pour out any excess. Put the sugar, bitters, and water into the bottom of the glass and muddle. Fill the glass with ice cubes, add the bourbon, and garnish with the lemon twist.
Tom Collins: Named for Old Tom Gin, this drink does have variations (John Collins is made with bourbon and Vodka Collins is made with vodka):
2 ounces Gin
3 ounces club soda
1 ounce lemon juice
1 maraschino cherry
1 teaspoon superfine sugar
1 orange slice
Fill a shaker half way with ice cubes; add the gin, lemon juice, and sugar. Shake and strain into a collins glass filled with ice cubes. Add the club soda. Garnish with the cherry and orange slice.
The Manhattan: According to Regan, this drink was invented for Lady Jenny Churchill, Winston Churchill’s American born mother:
2 ounces blended Whiskey
3/4 ounce Sweet Vermouth
3 dashes bitters
1 maraschino cherry
Fill a shaker half way with ice cubes and add the whiskey, vermouth, and bitters. Stir and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.
Variations:
- To make a “Dry” Manhattan, use less sweet vermouth or use dry vermouth; garnish with a lemon twist instead of the cherry.
- To make a “Perfect” Manhattan, use equal amounts of sweet and dry Vermouth.
- To make a “Naked” Manhattan, do not use any vermouth.
Rob Roy: This is the classic Scotch drink using Sweet Vermouth:
2 ½ ounces Scotch
1 ½ teaspoons Sweet Vermouth
1 maraschino cherry
Fill a mixing glass half way with ice cubes. Add the scotch and sweet vermouth, and stir. Garnish with the cherry.
Variations: The same variations apply as with the Manhattan.
Highball:
This is really a generic term referring both to the glass and a category of drinks – basically, it’s whatever liquor you like mixed with a standard mixer like water, soda water, tonic water, or ginger ale. Ice and garnish are optional.
These don’t really require a recipe but David Rosengarten - an excellent food writer and contributor to the Food Channel recently wrote this tribute to the classic Gin & Tonic in his column Tastings (see David Rosengarten). I quote his introduction and his recipe:
“Oh, yes, Champagne's a great way to start any evening's gastronomic activities. But I, on a warm summer's night, in the gathering twilight, on the verandah, wearing my crisply pressed white dinner jacket, chatting with Noel Coward about cricket, reach far more often for a gin & tonic, surely one of the most refreshing, palate-opening cocktails ever invented.The Frosty Plymouth Gin & Tonic
4 Schweppes Tonic Water Ice Cubes (see NOTE)
3 ounces Plymouth Gin
4 ounces Schweppes Tonic Water
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
lime wedge for garnishPlace the ice cubes in a tall, narrow, chilled glass (the cubes should come near the top.) Add the gin, then the tonic water, then the lime juice, stirring well. Garnish with lime wedge, and serve immediately. White dinner jacket is optional.
NOTE: To make the ice cubes, simply fill an empty ice cube tray with Schweppes Tonic Water, and let the cubes freeze. It takes just a few hours. Covered well, the cubes will remain fresh-tasting in the freezer for at least a few weeks. “
