Cocktail No 86 Martini on the Rocks

Slight spin on the classic. The traditional Martini is stirred or shaken on ice to chill it and the strained into a cocktail glass. The objective is to chill it rapidly and get it off the ice before it can melt and dilute the spirit. This version will get gradually diluted depending on how long you take to drink it.

Same flavour as the classic Martini, so look that up for tasting notes, but with the volume of vermouth this is very dry!

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
50 ml Birkdale gin
5 ml Noily Prat (or any vermouth if you want it sweeter)
1 lemon slice

Put ice in small tumbler with gin and Noilly Prat. Stir. Garnish with lemon slice and stir.

Cocktail No 65 - Cooperstown

Having launched the Churchtown Deli Gin last night, which ended up being a very late night, 5 pm could not come around soon enough today for this most welcome pick-me-up.

A variation on the Martini, a dominance of gin, supported by both dry and sweet vermouths and lifted with a sprig of crushed mint leaves.

Visually, its a beautiful drink crystal clear with the faintest hing of green. The first taste is the sweetness of the Bianco vermouth, then the herbs come rushing through and suddenly you realise that you are tasting the Noilly Prat over and above the Bianco. The gin is there of course as a master slug underpinning everything with the faintest hint of mint finishing the taste profile.

A very welcome to the start of the end of a glorious sunny day.

Recipe

25 ml Birkdale Gin
15 ml Noilly Prat or Dry Vermouth
15 ml Bianco Vermouth
1 sprig of mint

Put ice in a mixing glass along with Birkdale Gin and both vermouths. Stir well and strain into a Cocktail glass. Decorate with the sprig of mint.

Cocktail No 62 - Bronx

The rosso vermouth is the first taste to come through, giving that caramel herbal flavour. Then orange blasts across the mouth, followed by the dryness and cleaness of the Noilly Prat competing for attention. The aftertaste reminds my slightly of the Dry Martini with the gin becoming noticible.

Don't think this is one for me.

Recipe

1 measure Birkdale Gin
1 measure Noilly Prat (or Dry Vermouth)
1 measure Rosso Vermouth
1 measure Orange Juice
1 dash Angustura bitters
Spiral of orange peel

Add Ice with gin, vermouths, orange juice and bitters to shaker. Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. Spear orange peel on a cocktail stick and use to garnish

Cocktail No 61 - Bloodhound

I nearly didn't make this today as it calls for strawberries and strawberry liqueur and I have neither. Then I remembered the stewed straberries in the freezer from last year and the strawberry spirit produced from strawberry wine. Its possibly sweeter than the original, but as I haven't tasted strawberry liqueur, I can't say.

Its like a slushpuppy with high octane. The complexity of flavours and organoleptic (mouth feel) qualities of the drink are quite extraordinary.

The dash of strawberry spirit dominated the initial taste, but in a great way - none of the harshness that accompanies some Eau de Vie drinks. Immediately next is the strawberry fruit followed by sweetness. Then a warmth boosted with the herbs from the vermouths floods over the roof of the palate. The clean high notes of the Noilly Prat are clearly discernible, but so is the caramel and the earthiness of the Rosso. The Birkdale Gin is not noticible, but binding everything together we presume.

I am not normally one for sweet drinks, but the complexity and the kick of the Strawberry spirit makes this one to try. Will be fantastic on a summer's evening when the strawberry plants are fruiting.

Recipe

4 ice cubes
1 part Birkdale Gin
1 Part Noilly Prat or dry vermouth
1 part rosso vermouth
2-3 dashes Strawberry Liqueur
4 Strawberries.

Crack ice. Put half cracked ice in an electric blender with gin, vermouths, strawberry liqueur and 2 strawberries.

Blend briefly and strain into a cocktail glass. Add remaining cracked ice and decorate with remaining strawberries.

Serve with straw and a spoon.

Cocktail No 31 The Stem Cell

My own creation based on the research we are doing to harvest stem cells from liposuction waste (body fat is very rich in stem cells and everyone thinks that research will be improved if you use fresh stem cells straight from the body instead of growing them through culture which changes them - end of science lecture).

The squeamish won't like the next bit, but I was really going more for an optical feel than taste. I wanted a milky reddish tinge to the drink to reflect the combination of fat emulsion and traces of blood in the washings from the lipoaspirate. So a mix of cream, with a splash of Pernod and water from sugar syrup creates the right emulsion and Rosso Vermouth and Angostura Bitters gives the red tinge. The pearl onion is the single stem cell in the mix - it doesn't really work like it does in the Gibson, but its white like a stem cell.

Perhaps the viscosity could be increased, so addition of an egg white would turn it into a Stem Cell Fizz.

The Squeamish can now start reading again.

Tastewise it works rather well. Really minimise the Pernod, otherwise it overwhelms the drink - you just want a hint of aniseed in the background. The Rosso Vermouth balances the drink surprisingly effective considering the small amount added. Its a little sweet, velvety and wonderful aftertaste. There will probably be several iterations of this until I perfect it.

Recipe (Working)

Add to a shaker 2 measures of Gin, a capfull of Rosso Vermouth, a teaspoon of Pernod, a teaspoon of single cream, a splash of sugar syrup and Angostura Bitters. Shake on ice and strain into a Cocktail glass. Garnish with a pearl onion.

Cocktail No 24 Island Highball

Simple to make. Pleasing on the eye. Some bubbles and a complex but balanced taste - what's not to like about this one. As with all Highball's the base alcohols are diluted with non-alcoholic mixer making them less concentrated than most of the posts to date.

Wikipedia entry on Highball Cocktails

I can't precisely taste the Gin, but there is a sharpness to the Rosso Vermouth, which I think comes from the combination of the Gin and the Carbon Dioxide in the Soda water. I can't taste the Brandy at all - as I said bell blended together.

A consistent, light drink that is probably better on a warm summers night instead of a cold rainy evening in Lancashire.

Recipe

Put2-3 ice cubes into a tumbler with equal measures of Brandy, Gin, Rosso Vermouth and a splash of Orange Bitters. Stir and top up with Soda Water to taste.

Cocktail No 13 Manhattan Dry

I couldn't just pass away the Sheep's Head as a Manhattan copy without giving into the temptation to do a direct comparison. Tonight is obviously Bourbon night!

Its amazing how different two drinks which on the surface contain similar ingredients in similar ratios. The real differences here are the Vermouths. The Rosso in the Sheep's Head give a deep and rich flavour, almost molases in its intensity. The Dry Vermouth is clean, pure and a faint resemblance of a fino sherry note.

I could drink a Manhattan Dry all night, but could only manage one or two of the Sheep's Head. Yes the Manhattan remains one of my favourite cocktails, almost, but not quite equaling the Dry Martini.

I am very surprised at the difference between the two.

Recipe

Add ice to mixing glass with 1 & 1/2 measures Bourbon Whisky, 1/2 measure Dry Vermouth and a splash of Angostura Bitters. Stir well and strain into a goblet.

Cocktail No 12 Sheep's Head

Don't be put of by the macabre name, this is just a variation on the Manhattan family. Bourbon based, but adding sweetness and herbal aromatics through Rosso Vermouth and a teaspoon of Bénédictine. Finished of with a twist of lemon to infuse with those wonderful citrus oils.

Tastewise, apart from the similarity to the Manhattan's its a little difficult to characterise. Its actually very well balanced, so nothing strongly stands out as a dominant note, but that is actually a good thing. The Rosso is definitely present. If you know the ingredients you can identify each one, although the Bourbon is surprisingly masked, but I am not sure I could have identified them from a blind tasting.

Recipe

Add 1 & 1/2  measures of Bourbon Whisky to a mixing glass with 1/2 measure Rosso Vermouth (careful not to over do this) and 1 teaspoon of Bénédictine with ice. Stir and strain into a small tumbler, or in my case one of the 2 remaining wine goblets from my parents' wedding gifts.

Twist a piece of lemon peel to release the citrus oils and drop on top. Decorate with a Cocktail Cherry.

Enjoy.

Cocktail No 6 Havana Club

Getting back to the classics, which to be honest is the majority of cocktails that I drink.

Havana Club - how to describe it - the molasses from the rum gives a great warm under belly to this drink. I used spiced rum, which gives an extra kick whilst the original calls for white rum.

The rosso vermouth has a strong flavour so be gentle on the measure. It provides a complexity of flavour from all the herbs and aromatics - too much will create bitterness and cloying sweetness. The ratio of 2:1 is about right IMHO.

Shame I have run out of rum - a second one would be most welcome. This one is a keeper in my books.

Recipe

Add 2 measures of White Rum and 1 measure of Rosso Vermouth to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. Decorate with a cocktail cherry on a stick.