Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label, called Red Hook Rye, and has been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
While unpacking into my new home in Mexico, my drink making options remain limited. We still await the delivery of my wine and spirits collection. No drinks possible with original Amer Picon, Red Hook Rye or Old Schiedam genever just yet.
I have grown accustomed to having hundreds of bottles of liquor and wine on hand to experiment with every day. When faced with limited supplies, our creativity can often open up combinations we normally would not consider. However, I've just honestly been too exhausted from this move to get very creative these past few weeks. Having easy yet delicious old favorites on hand gets us through hard times.
All the stress from this major over-the-border move from New York to Baja, Mexico, has taken its toll on my body. I cannot afford a real spa visit, but I have a spa-mix recipe. Bartender Alberta Straub's famous "Spa Mix" is one of those easy standby's that's healthy and so versatile when you don't have a pantry full of esoteric liqueurs and bitters on hand.
The world's bartenders and classic cocktail devotees are swallowing some bitter news.
The global supply of angostura bitters, a unique-tasting herbal additive to cocktails like the Manhattan and the Old Fashioned, is drying up after its manufacturer's financial woes caused a production shutdown at the sole plant that makes it in Trinidad and Tobago, the Guardian reports.
Patrick Sepe, chief executive of the US distributor, Angostura USA, told the Guardian that production halted in June and is just now getting back on track. "There has been a shortage," Sepe told the newspaper. "You can't just turn on and off supply of bitters. It's not like producing bottled water; it's a very delicate, intricate process."
Mixologist Scott Beattie, author of the cocktail how-to "Artisanal Cocktails," told Slashfood that for most bars, the angostura variety, invented in 1924, is the only type of bitters stocked and that a shortage will have an impact on cocktail drinkers everywhere.
Can you identify the ingredients in a martini, cosmopolitan, Manhattan, Mai Tai, Long Island Iced Tea, Harvey Wallbager and more? See how well you know your cocktails.
Cocktail Ingredients Quiz
Crazy for Cosmopolitans? You'll need vodka, Cointreau or triple sec, lime juice, and one other ingredient to shake 'em up at home.
Grenadine
Orange juice
Cranberry juice
Pink grapefruit juice
Some folks get fancy with the recipe, but a traditionally-made Mai Tai gets its signature flavor from lime juice, dark rum, grenadine (or simple syrup), curacao and what other key ingredient?
Almond syrup
Mango juice
Coconut milk
Orange juice
Shaking up vodka, cream, and this variety of liqueur results in a White Russian.
Coffee
White chocolate
Vanilla
Peppermint
The rim of a Sidecar glass is coated in what tasty substance?
Sugar
Salt
Cocoa
Honey
The non-alcoholic classic Shirley Temple contains ginger ale (or lemon-lime soda), orange juice and a sweet splash of what?
Fruit punch
Cranberry juice
Grenadine
Pineapple juice
Vodka or gin would need just this ingredient to be shaken or stirred into a gimlet.
Roses Lime Juice Cordial
Olive juice
Fresh lime juice
Pickle juice
Rye (or bourbon), vermouth, bitters and a cherry are the components of which classic cocktail?
Negroni
Old Fashioned
Manhattan
Rob Roy
Mix up rum, lime and Coca-Cola to make this drink.
Cuba Libre
El Presidente
Bronx
Corpse Reviver
Mint, sugar, lime, soda water and this liquor come together to be muddled into a mojito.
Cachaca
Tequila
Rum
Pisco
Standard ingredients in a Negroni include gin, vermouth and what other liquid?
Lemon juice
Egg whites
Angostura bitters
Campari
It's not just a punchline -- the Harvey Wallbanger is a fern bar staple featuring vodka, orange juice, and this odd liqueur.
Goldschlager
Rumplemintz
Galliano
Peach Schnaaps
When this is popped into a Martini in lieu of an olive, it becomes a Gibson.
Jalapeno pepper
Lime wedge
Gherkin
Cocktail onion
James Bond may be more commonly associated with the Martini, but writer Ian Fleming also had him slugging down Vespers, which are concocted from Lillet Blanc and which two liquors?
Brandy & Scotch
Gin & Vodka
Vodka & Bourbon
Bourbon & Brandy
Mix orange juice and this spirit for a hard-hitting Screwdriver.
Rum
Vodka
Champagne
Whiskey
Sure, you could ask for a vodka & cranberry with a lime wedge, but it's much more festive to order it this way:
Greyhound
Salty Dog
Cape Cod
Madras
If you've got bourbon, mint, and a splash of soda, you're on the right track to make the Derby Day classic, a Mint Julep. What's still missing?
Lime
Sugar
Bitters
Nothing
The Bloody Mary is a brunch standard, but this addition transforms it into a hearty Bloody Bull.
Beef broth
Red Bull
A whole hot pepper
Pepper vodka
Creme de menthe and cream are terribly tasty together, but if you want a Grasshopper, hop to the store for a bottle of:
Vanilla vodka
Creme de Cacao
Green food coloring
Mint extract
A Greyhound gets its distinctive flavor from vodka and this mixer:
Sweetened lime juice
Pineapple juice
Cranberry and orange juice
Grapefruit juice
We all know that a Long Island Iced Tea has no tea in the mix, but what liquor isn't part of the standard recipe?
Margarita made with Partida Elegante tequila. Photo: Winemeup, Flickr.
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
Is a spirit ever too good to use in a mixed drink? My answer to this question is inspired by Julia Child, who taught us that, when cooking with wine, use a wine you would be happy to drink, not just some cheap plonk.
And just because you are making a margarita doesn't mean you should grab the cheapest rot-gut tequila. I'm not saying that you have to break your family savings to drink well, but I am saying that I feel no guilt when I use a rare spirit in a cocktail.
My man and I recently closed on a cozy little house in La Paz, Mexico. To celebrate, we popped a bottle of Partida Elegante tequila. Priced upwards of $300, this is not an everyday sipper for most of us.
Recipes: Spicy Baby Back Ribs with Orange Glaze, Cool Summer Garlic-Lily Soup with Almond Pesto, White Gazpacho with Almonds and Grapes, Seafood Kebabs with Zucchini and Yellow Squash Rice, Garlic Shrimp with Unripe Mango Curry, Any Fruit Coffee Cake and Pollo Con Naranjas, Grilled Tomato Sandwiches with Blue Cheese Spread, and Mesclun Salad Pizette with Peaches and Pecans
What do you do when you get a bottle of Tru Blood -- the real blood-orange soda inspired by the synthetic blood vampires like Bill Compton drink on HBO's "True Blood"?
If you're me, you head to a bar with a sinister name in an isolated part of town and see what a brilliant bartender can do.
Dutch Kills bartender Giuseppe Gonzalez happens to be a fan of the Southern Gothic tale and was downright delighted to play around with this new sweet soda, which has a faint, bitter caffeine aftertaste that goes well with bitters but can be problematic with other players on the liquor cabinet shelf.
Get the Dutch Blood recipe and more after the jump.
Some fresh fruit juice shots. Photo: Jennifer Iserloh
My neighbor Susan recently gave me this charming book about old fashioned cocktails. The author stresses throughout the book that the base of a delicious mixed drink comes from premium spirits and fresh juices -- no bottled mixes. He's got some real concoctions in there from what he considers a "gentler" time when specialty cocktails and sophisticated entertaining reigned supreme.
I really like the idea of a homemade drink, especially when it comes to entertaining. But I've never been able to handle those bar shots that people try to get you to down when you're out for a night on the town.
Alabama-born LeNell Smothers defines herself first and foremost as a bartender, but she's been called many things -- most recently, the proprietress of LeNell's liquor store. She's owned her own whiskey label called Red Hook Rye and been recognized by her home state as an honorary Colonel. Other interests include gin, sin and men.
"How about a French Kiss?" I love to ask my dinner guests.
That usually gets someone's attention. One of the simplest, yet most delicious concoctions one can make to start off a party is a mixture of sweet and dry vermouths called a French Kiss. Vermouth is a classic ingredient in many aperitif cocktails, but many folks don't realize it's actually quite delicious just on its own with a few ice cubes.
If you are ever looking through old cocktail books and see "French" vermouth listed, it means dry vermouth. "Italian" in old books means the sweet version. (My mnemonic secret to help me remember which is which is to think of a "Dry-fel" Tower.)
The weekend may be over, but the snapshot of this spicy, saucy elixir from New York City eatery Smith & Mills lets us hold on to that lackadaisical Sunday morning mood just a little bit longer.
It almost makes us forget we're sitting in front of a computer, transporting us instead to a lively brunch table crowded with beverages: coffee mugs, water glasses, orange juice and that ubiquitous and beloved brunch standby -- the Bloody Mary.
A meal in its own right, a proper Bloody Mary is refreshing yet savory, sometimes piquant and often full of surprises. Lurking within the tomato juice and vodka potion might be a crisp stalk of celery, a pickled green bean or a plump olive (as shown here). Best of all, it's one of the few cocktails that's regularly served in a pint glass, giving new meaning to "the more the merrier."
Shaken and stirred at Tales. Photo: Sara Bonisteel
Well another Tales of the Cocktail has come and gone, and Slashfood made it through relatively unscathed. New Orleans was filled with the world's best bartenders who met to tipple together and share a bit of their mixology wisdom for throngs of (slightly tipsy) fans during the five-day bacchanal.
We're not the only ones itching to get out the door and toast our friends in the Old Country (or the wonderful eats and drinks they've sent our way). For those who will celebrating the occasion at home, Chow has recipes for three lovely terrines; Serious Eats discovers the tapenades of Provence; and one of Slashfood's own beer columnists breaks down Saison style beer at Gourmet while his colleague tackles eight great aperitifs, several of which are French.
Perhaps the triumph of the online articles, however, is France Magazine's enormous feature on aperitifs. From Lillet to Suze to Noilly Prat, it's all there, and we'll be printing it out and tucking it into our bag. (They've just unlocked the online files especially for Slashfood.) Happy celebrating!
One staffer's devotion to Dad is well-documented. Photo: Sara Bonisteel.
Nationwide, Dads are opening boxes and saying, "Another tie ... great!"
Well, not that these propensities are limited to those with a Y-chromosome, but in the hot months we Slashfood staffers have spied our fathers grilling, talking about grilling, mowing the lawn, golfing or standing about yakking.
And why not? It's Father's Day. Dad's entitled. So whip up a Pop-Tail for the Father's Day brunch (if your dad does that) or simply hand him one of these Slashfood-approved elixirs while he's doing any of the above. Top ranking in the favorite son or daughter continuum is now assured. Kat Kinsman Dad won't mind being put to work on his special day if it means he gets a chance to man the grill. (Well OK, mine hates grilling, but s'OK. A girl can 'cue for her dad, right, ladies?) Smoked fruit -- like lemons and cherries -- brings a satisfying Scotch-like note to summery drinks like lemonade and margaritas. And hey, so long as you and/or he are spending time smoking, you might as well toss a brisket or pork shoulder on the grate. It'd be a crime to waste all that wood. Try my recipe for Smoked Lemonade.
Rachel Been Billy Been is a simple drinker and a gardener, and usually goes for one of two drinking options -- a cold Foster's or a easy mixture of Scotch and soda. He always lets the ice melt a little too much, which seems to take the edge off of the beverage and the sight of his dying asparagus plants.
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