Cocktails

[dubsola]

Rum and coke can be a delicious drink, and this is someone who enjoys rum by itself.

Speaking of which, I bought a bottle (duty free! only 16 bucks!) of Gosling's Black Seal for the purpose of Dark & Stormys, I had an extremely tasty one once using two shots of that rum, a lime, and a splash of ginger ale. I attempted to make one last night and it wasn't as nice, but I didn't measure the rum and just used cheap ginger ale.

[rrwoods]

Rum and coke can be a delicious drink, and this is someone who enjoys rum by itself.

Speaking of which, I bought a bottle (duty free! only 16 bucks!) of Gosling's Black Seal for the purpose of Dark & Stormys, I had an extremely tasty one once using two shots of that rum, a lime, and a splash of ginger ale. I attempted to make one last night and it wasn't as nice, but I didn't measure the rum and just used cheap ginger ale.

Stewart's ginger beer makes these absolutely divine. Equal parts.

[Bakemaster]

Yeah, I don't know what ginger ale is like in the UK, but on this side of the pond most ginger ale doesn't really have any ginger flavor. Ginger beer is where it's at.

[bigglesworth]

Ginger ale is for when you want to taste more of the liquor's flavour.

[Azrael]

Schweppes is acceptable with lime and a medium-dark rum, even as far as a Demerara, up to about a 50-50 mix. Most non-generic ginger-ales will provide some improvement in the quality. But with Gosling (or Blackstrap, or ...) you really need that bite from Ginger beer to cut through the molasses taste. Although you can cut back on the soda significantly.

[Bakemaster]

Well, and the Dark 'n' Stormy is meant to have a strong ginger flavor. It's the complementary blend of several flavors that's the goal of this particular drink, which to me feels distinct from the "X and Y" formula of, for example, rum and coke.

I don't feel like a drink made with a less-than-fully-dark rum is even a true Dark 'n' Stormy, to be honest. After all, the name not only implies what it is, but also how it's prepared. Then again, opinions! We've all got 'em.

[Azrael]

I don't feel like a drink made with a less-than-fully-dark rum is even a true Dark 'n' Stormy, to be honest.

Nope, it's not. Doesn't mean it isn't good, though.

[dubsola]

I tried it again with Fentimans, an absolutely delicious ginger beer. This time I think I put too much ginger beer in - it was much improved, but a little too gingery. I'll get there!

[charolastra]

I could live on Pimm's Cups, or the various incarnations that occur with my lack of materials. It's Pimm's (a flavored gin- and I hate gin typically) with European lemonade (clear and carbonated versus syrupy) and some chopped up fruit and cucumbers. Typically I mix it up a bit with some ginger ale, a squeeze of lemon juice, and a hit of muddled mint.

My bar go-tos if I'm not drinking beer are Tom Collins- particularly with sweet tea vodka, Long Island Iced Tea, and jack and coke.

[Azrael]

My bar go-tos if I'm not drinking beer are Tom Collins- particularly with sweet tea vodka...

How could it possibly still be a Tom Collins if you're swapped out the gin with sweet tea vodka? That's an alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

[charolastra]

My bar go-tos if I'm not drinking beer are Tom Collins- particularly with sweet tea vodka...

How could it possibly still be a Tom Collins if you're swapped out the gin with sweet tea vodka? That's an alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

Err.. meant an Arnold Palmer. I hate cocktails named after people.

[Rackum]

My bar go-tos if I'm not drinking beer are Tom Collins- particularly with sweet tea vodka...

How could it possibly still be a Tom Collins if you're swapped out the gin with sweet tea vodka? That's an alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

A John Daly, perhaps? Hehe.

[Bakemaster]

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, GOLF JOKES, ON THE XKCD FORUM

PLEASE REMAIN CALM

OR AT LEAST, APPLAUD VERY CALMLY

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

How could it possibly still be a Tom Collins if you're swapped out the gin with sweet tea vodka? That's an alcoholic Arnold Palmer.

A John Daly, perhaps? Hehe.

Yes, actually.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Daly_(drink)

[Edit: Dammit, could have sworn there was no reference to the drink in that first wiki link. ]

[Azrael]

And this is where I laugh at just how poorly you read the previous link.

[lewismd]

Most of the time I'm pretty boring and drink Manhattans, Old Fashioneds, or Gin and Tonics. So nothing fun there. Hearkening back to college, though, here's an excellent dessert cocktail, a variation on a white russian:

3 parts vanilla vodka
2 parts kahlua
1 part frangelico
top with cream

If you're feeling adventurous, shake it, strain into a glass, and drizzle some Chambord on top for a dash of fruit flavor. Very much a dessert cocktail, and very filling.

[CHL]

I've always been fond of sour cocktails, myself; in fact, I'm working on my second brandy daisy as I write this.

One of my friends had a tradition of coming up with bizarre cocktail recipes and naming them after "three-name" celebrities. For some reason, it's more fun to drink something when it's named after Michael J. Fox or Sandra Day O'Connor.

I'll see if I can't bother him for the Jennifer Love Hewitt recipe again, as I remember it being quite tasty.

[Bakemaster]

That makes me want to invent a cocktail named the Major Major Major Major.

I'm not sure exactly how I'd name the non-alcoholic kiddie version... Minor's Major Major Major Major? Or perhaps just the Minor Minor Minor Minor.

[lewismd]

I think a Major Major Major Major would have to be something like:

1 part whiskey
1 part whiskey
1 part whiskey
1 part whiskey

Serve on the rocks.

[Bakemaster]

I'm not sure Major Major Major Major would have the spine for straight whiskey.

Part of the preparation needs to involve throwing something out the window.

[bigglesworth]

How about:

1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely

[Mr. Mack]

I'm not sure Major Major Major Major would have the spine for straight whiskey.

Part of the preparation needs to involve throwing something out the window.

Funny you should mention that. I had to look up Major Major Major Major on Wikipedia, which resulted in Catch-22 being added to my reading list, and afterwords I came up with what I thought the Major Major Major Major cocktail would be.

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, 0.5 ounces sweet vermouth (15 mL), and two dashes of orange bitters.
Shake vigorously for 30 seconds.
Pour down the drain.
Take shots of single malt Scotch until drunk.
Repeat needlessly.

[Belial]

How about:

1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely
1 part whisky
Drink leisurely

[Dark567]

I prefer the Churchill martini.

1. Get some cold gin and vermouth.
2. Pour gin into cocktail glass.
3. While staring at vermouth, drink martini

[lewismd]

I always thought it was "bow to France" for the vermouth...

[Ulc]

I always thought it was "bow to France" for the vermouth...

There are a number of different methods for adding the vermouth, some prefer to let the suns rays shine through the vermouth and down on the gin, others prefer to stare intently at the vermouth, some bow to France.

Personally I'm in the "think really hard about the vermouth while drinking the gin" camp - even if I occasionally add it in a 1-5 amount to the gin.

[lewismd]

As I enjoy this Old Fashioned made with Rittenhouse 100, it occurs to me that this may be the absolute peak of cocktail perfection. So simple. So good.

On a different note, and more relevant to the current topic, Churchillian jokes aside, I don't really know that I can get behind calling a glass of cold gin a "martini". I mean, at least a drop of vermouth needs to be there. Otherwise it's just gin.

[bigglesworth]

Ah, but is it a martini if it's gin with an olive?

[Dark567]

Ah, but is it a martini if it's gin with an olive?

Is it in a Cocktail glass?

Because thats really all gin needs to be considered a martini.

[Bakemaster]

Someone on INTERNET! said it was reasonable to make an aviation with Magellan instead of gin + creme de violette, because of its iris infusion. Thoughts? We can't find creme de violette aaaanywhere; the best the BevMo had to offer was creme yvette but 1) it was pretty expensive, and 2) it's supposed to be pretty different even if it was traditionally an acceptable substitute, so maybe we wouldn't even like it?

We did get a little 50 ml bottle of Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur to try. I feel like I could do better by making my own ginger-infused vodka, as the Canton had a bit of a sickly flavor and not quite enough bite. It wasn't terrible with Tanqueray, but it tended to sink to the bottom which made for an interesting but not entirely welcome journey from gin to something decent to something gross.

[lewismd]

BevMo doesn't carryR&W Creme de Violette? I find that hard to believe. It's in the nicer liquor stores up here in the frozen north, and we don't have the equivalent of BevMo, which I understand is like the Mecca of liquor stores out there. Perhaps try other specialty/high-end liquor stores? It seems to be pretty widely available, from what I've seen.

[Bakemaster]

...so, according to Wikipedia, your metro area contains over 3,000,000 people in 6,364 square miles. My county contains under 50,000 people in 6,347 square miles. Re-evaluate your definition of "widely available" in that context, maybe.

[PictureSarah]

Yeah, we had to drive an hour and 15 minutes to get the BevMo, and it's really the only liquor store with an extensive selection of *anything* that we've found in this area. Also, there isn't a lot of call for specialty cocktail ingredients in this area, so even the well stocked liquor stores aren't too inclined to carry it.

[CleverNamePending]

I have a drink I make called "Girls Night In" which is Bailys, Kaluha, Chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, then garnished with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

I have primarily male friends so I don't get a lot of excuses to make them. D=

[lewismd]

Other than college, I've never lived outside a major metro area, so my mindset is kind of stuck there. But I really am surprised that BevMo wouldn't carry it. Binny's, the Chicago equivalent, does. But you are correct, outside of a major metro, I assume it's quite a bit harder to find things like Creme de Violette.

[bigglesworth]

My GF just made the perfect White Russian. But I'm working and so can only have a sip! D:

[Belial]

I have a drink I make called "Girls Night In" which is Bailys, Kaluha, Chocolate milk, chocolate ice cream, then garnished with whipped cream and chocolate sauce.

I have primarily male friends so I don't get a lot of excuses to make them. D=

I have the dangly genitalia, and I would drink the hell out of that.

It's basically just a mudslide milkshake without the vodka, though.

[Bakemaster]

Each BevMo is not stocked identically, either. This one is in a city, sure, but the surrounding area is relatively rural and it's a newly-opened store. They might be playing it safe until they get a feel for the demand?

I don't remember whether we found Creme de Violette at the BevMo in silicon valley when we were down there last. I think we did not. But I was mostly preoccupied with the one bottle of a'bunadh someone had hidden way in the back of the locked case...

There are a few nicer resorts in the area, it seems as though they must have fancy cocktail ingredients in stock. I wonder where they get them? I suppose it's possible they make the trip to Sacramento or something like that every now and then, get everything they need at once.

[dubsola]

I have the dangly genitalia, and I would drink the hell out of that.

Me too, sounds delish.

[lewismd]

There are a few nicer resorts in the area, it seems as though they must have fancy cocktail ingredients in stock. I wonder where they get them? I suppose it's possible they make the trip to Sacramento or something like that every now and then, get everything they need at once.

Most of them probably get their booze from wholesalers. Indeed, in many states it's illegal to buy booze from anywhere BUT a wholesaler, if you're a bar/restaurant. That wouldn't help you much.