Cocktail Recipes Tonight

[Evelyn]

I am just sorry I was late to this...because I for sure would've been your enabler. Glad you didn't need me 😋

[small h]

I will keep you in mind for next time. Count on it.

[bloviatrix]

I'll admit to being a bad influence. Hope you enjoyed.

[StephanieL]

I think Tadich Grill might serve the perfect martini.  At least perfect for me.  Not too dry, and not served in a bathtub-sized glass.

[Sneakeater]

Lord Fletcher's in Palm Springs.

Trust me.

[hollywood]

Unfortunately Lord Fletcher's in Rancho Mirage closed in around 2019.

[Sneakeater]

AAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Life isn't worth living anymore.

[hollywood]

You need a martini.  Wet or dry?

[Sneakeater]

You KNOW the answer to that, hollywood.

[StephanieL]

The Lion's Tail:

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 3/4 oz. allspice dram (we have a version N made)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tbsp. simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The recipe says you can use less allspice dram if you want, and I will the next time I make this.  The allspice flavor overwhelmed everything else.

[Sneakeater]

Wow.  N made Allspice Dram.

Wow.

[Sneakeater]

Nobody currently living in my apartment is going to make Allspice Dram.

Although, don't get me wrong, the bottle of St. Elizabeth I have is good enough for my purposes.

But wow.

[Sneakeater]

Mellow Corn Rickey

This was, of course, brought to mind by recent conversations here with and around @Wilfrid, who dogmatically resists sugar in cocktails.

Rickeys were invented in Washington, DC, in the 1880s, at the behest of Col. Joe Rickey, a famous lobbyist of the time.  He was famously averse to sugar.  One hot Washington afternoon he went into Shoemaker's, a famous bar with a famous bartender named George Williamson, and asked for something refreshing.  Williamson poured some club soda into some bourbon, over ice.  Another customer, watching and noticing some limes on the bar, suggested adding some lime juice.  Rickey liked it.

Soon, people were asking Williamson for Rickey's Highball.  And a classic was born.

Rickeys are most famous now made with Gin.  But the original was made with Bourbon.   It makes sense, since Bourbon has a sweetness that counteracts the lack of sugar.

I had a Road To Damscus moment today:  what about a Rickey made with Mellow Corn whiskey?

Mellow Corn is a corn whiskey from Bourbon Country.  Unlike most corn whiskeys we know, it isn't raw:  it's bottled in bond.  It's aged in young-wood barrels that were used once and only once to make Bourbon.  It tastes sort of like Bourbon, but sprightlier.  You'd think it would be great in a Rickey.

There are probably three reasons Mellow Corn has caught on fairly recently:  (1) it has a jolie laide retro label, the same as has been used since its introduction in the ''40s; (2) it is very high alcohol, 100 proof; and (3) it is very cheep:  less than $15 a bottle.  Oh, and it tastes good, too.

Now I think Rickeys are pretty gross as a rule.  I think sour citrus (lemon/lime/grapefruit -- not orange/tangerine/mandarin) requires sugar to balance it.  (Gin & Tonics don't disprove this, as tonic water contains sugar.) (Gimlets don't disprove it, either, since they're gross if made with lime juice rather than a cordial.)  But Mellow Corn has enough vanilla flavor in it that you don't miss the sugar in this drink.

I definitely prefer this to Gin Rickeys.  (I don't think I've ever had an OG Bourbon Rickey.)  This is a keeper.

2 oz. Mellow Corn whiskey

1/2 oz. lime juice

Club soda

Muddle the whiskey, the lime juice, and the remnants of the limes in the bottom of a Collins glass.  Add ice.  Top with club soda.

[Sneakeater]

You know, this Lord Fletcher's thing is rough.  I stopped going out to Rancho Mirage when my in-laws died.  So I don't need it any more.

But I felt better knowing it was there.

AGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH.

[Sneakeater]

It wasn't just the Martinis, either.

The roast beef was great.  The sand dabs were great.

But visiting her parents, my wife and I found we needed the Martinis.