Brandy Alexander Cocktail

A great night for LSU! They won the Cotton Bowl (Geaux Tigers).

We got home from watching the game with a great bunch of friends and fixed a 'Brandy Alexander Cocktail'. It was a good after an excellent jambalaya dinner.

The recipe from page 47 of the Bartender's Guide:

1/2 oz Créme de Brown Cacao (Dekuyper)
1/2 oz Brandy (E&J XO)
1/2 oz Heavy Cream (I used 2% milk!)

Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

It was a very refreshing drink.

Salud!

Oriental Cocktail

A tart cocktail. I used the amount of lime juice specified but should have used about half as much, at most. I must change my routine to one where I taste fruit additives like this to make sure I don't add too much.

This 'Oriental Cocktail' is found on page no. 132 in the Bartender's Guide. Despite being tart, the drink was pretty good. I would try it again with less lime. The whiskey taste came through, which I liked.





The recipe:

1 oz Whiskey (Old Forester Bourbon)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Triple Sec (LeRoux)
Juice of 1/2 lime

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.

Cheers!

Harvard Cocktail

Last night (trouble on the blog prevented posting yesterday) I chose a 'Harvard Cocktail' from page no. 96 in our Bartender's Guide. It was a pleasant drink, not as good as many of the others, but still very drinkable.

1 1/2 oz Brandy (E&J XO)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1 dash Bitters (Angostura)
1 teaspoon Grenadine
2 teaspoons lemon juice (Still using Meyer)

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. I garnished with an orange slice.

Cheers

Highland Fling Cocktail

As you can see from the picture, tonight's choice is another Scotch-based cocktail (page 97 in the Bartender's Guide).

I thought the cocktail was good and would have another. Olga, however, doesn't care for scotch (she drank it, anyway).

I liked it!

The recipe for a 'Highland Fling Cocktail'.

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1 1/2 oz Scotch (Dewar's)
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into cocktail glass.  Serve with an olive.
(As you can see, I chose not to use an olive as a garnish.)

Cheers!

Hole-In-One Cocktail

Tonight I chose a 'Hole-In-One Cocktail' on page 97 of my Bartender's Guide.  With thoughts of my return to the golf course after hip surgery, this one sounded appropriate.

The recipe:

1 1/4 oz Scotch (Dewar's White Label)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1 dash Orange Bitters (Fee Bros.)

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. I garnished it with an orange slice.

I thought the drink was pretty good but Olga didn't care much for it. Of course I do like scotch. I would have this one again.

One note: the recipe in the guide just specified "vermouth". I researched it on the internet to try to determine whether sweet or dry was called for. I finally found one reference for "dry", which I used. Does anyone have any better info?

Salud!

Bloody Mary Cocktail

Tonight we chose a 'Bloody Mary Cocktail'.  My great son-in-law gave me an Absolut Vodka/Bloody Mary kit and it was a good night to use it. Those of you who don't live in Louisiana need to look for a mix called ZingZang for your Bloody Marys.  It is the best!

The recipe I used was loosely based on the Bloody Mary cocktail shown on page no. 42 of the Bartender's Guide.





The Recipe:

1 1/2 oz Vodka (Absolut)
3 oz. Bloody Mary mix (Zing Zang)
1 Dash Lemon Juice (Meyer)
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp Horseradish (Prepared)

Shake (well) with ice and strain into old-fashioned glass over ice cubes. A wedge of lime may be added.

As can be seen, I used a taller glass along with a lemon wedge! The drink was excellent. We shared the drink with our neighbors who also really enjoyed it. Since I have a lot of mix and vodka, I will definitely have more of these.

Resolute Cocktail

Today was the time for a 'Resolute Cocktail'. This one seemed appropriate since I couldn't find a "Resolution" cocktail! The recipe is on page 146 of the Bartender's Guide.

The recipe:

Juice of 1/4 Lemon (I use a Meyer)
1/2 oz Apricot Brandy (LeRoux)
1 oz Gin (Booth's)

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass. I chose to garnish with an orange slice

This was a very nice cocktail, maybe a little tart for those not favoring that quality in a drink. I liked it and would have it again.

Cheers