Gin Bucks and Other Ways to Use My Liquor

We have a really big bottle of Jim Beam here at Erin's Kitchen. A reeeeeaaaaallllllyyyy big bottle--1.75 liters--and it's 75% full. It made the trip from Washington, DC to LA with us nearly 5 years ago, and I'll be damned if I'm dragging it back across the country.

In addition, our liquor cabinet boasts (or perhaps sheepishly admits):

• Beefeater Gin
• Hendricks Gin
• Monopolowa Vodka
• Sauza Tequila
• Patron Citronage
• Maker's Mark
• Pernod
• Campari
• Sweet Vermouth
• Dry Vermouth
• A smidge of Kahlua

And in the strange and shameful and undrinkable category:

• Not one, but two bottles of Bailey's Irish Creme (they were gifts!)
• Not one, not two, but three bottles of middling brandy for cooking (I should check the cupboards before I shop)

J also owns three nice bottles of scotch, and those can make the trek. The rest? We've gotta finish them, and I need your help. Without the purchase of additional liquor (mixers are okay), what would you make out of the above motley list?

So far, we've found Negronis very efficient--1 part gin, 1 part Campari, 1 part sweet vermouth. This Gin Buck is quite tasty too, especially with Australia's fab Bundaberg Ginger Beer, but not as helpful at reducing our wares.

Gin Buck

1 shot gin
juice of 1/2 a lime
ginger beer or ginger ale
lime slice for garnish

Pour the gin over ice in a rocks glass, add lime juice and stir. Fill glass with ginger beer or ale. Stir, add lime slice, and contemplate your liquor cabinet.

A Sparkling Summer with Prosecco Cocktails

This Kumquat Sunrise would've been prettier if I'd had ruby port instead of tawny.

I can't escape from prosecco this summer (though I'm not sure I want to). First I was beguiled by the Rainwater, then I sampled the Indochine, and this weekend J and I explored the recipes in the recent LA Times article, "So, this Prosecco walks into a bar."

Making French 95s.

Saturday night we sipped French 95s--bourbon, lemon juice, orange juice, simple syrup, prosecco and an orange twist. Sunday was a bit sweeter as we drank Kumquat Sunrises-- muddled whole kumquats, simple syrup, prosecco, and tawny port (the recipe calls for ruby). Both might have been better without the simple syrup, especially the kumquat, which was plenty sweet without the extra sugar. The French 95 will be making a repeat appearance in my kitchen, if only to help finish off our bottle of Makers Mark before we move.

The LA Times reports that prosecco cocktails can be found at Hatfield's, Rustic Canyon and the Huntley Hotel's Penthouse. A little research of my own reveals that in my-soon-to-be home, NYC, you can tip back these bubbly babies at Morandi, Franny's (scroll to #9), and Gusto Restaurant and Bar.

Learning to Like Campari

My first sip of Campari was nearly my last. Vaguely recalling a Travel Channel show about Italy where the host lauded this herbal aperitivo, I ordered a glass at a bar, straight up. Blech. It was bitter beyond belief.

Thanks to my boss, however, I've been reintroduced to this Italian beverage in the form of a delectable cocktail featuring grapefruit and prosecco. J and I made a batch of Rainwaters (named after the boss, of course) this evening, a bracing coda to the first hot, sunny weekend of the spring.

The Rainwater

1 cup fresh grapefruit juice
a little less than 1/4 cup Campari
ice cubes
1 cup prosecco
2 lime wedges

In a cocktail shaker, shake, shake, shake the grapefruit juice, campari and ice cubes. Strain into two glasses. Split the prosecco equally between the glasses. Squeeze in your lime wedge, stir, and enjoy.

Prosecco photo by Ms. Tea, grapefruit photo by x-eyed blonde, and lime photo by darwinbell.

Apple Beer

Want a crisp, cold drink of fall? If you're in LA, then you have to hustle yourself over to the Hungry Cat and hope that they still have Delerium Tremens' apple beer, Floris Pommes, available. A relatively low alcohol content plus a smooth taste means you can put away more than few if you're so inclined. Drink blog Days that End in Y gives a great tasting description here.

Rhubarb Schnapps

Finally! It was hard to wait the recommended 6 weeks to taste my rhubarb schnapps, but made cracking open the jar late this afternoon all the more fun. The light, aromatic liquor tastes like sweet-sour cotton candy. I drank my first taste straight, but think it would work nicely with soda water on a hot day or over ice cream.

As long as you have patience, the process couldn't be easier. I took my recipe from Nigella Lawson's How to Be a Domestic Goddess, and the ratio is approximately 2 lbs rhubarb to 1 1/2 cups sugar to 1 liter vodka. Cut the rhubarb into 1 1/2 inch pieces, place in a sterilized jar, add sugar, pour vodka over to fill the jar, cover tightly, and shake, shake, shake. Put the jars somewhere cool and dark for at least 6 weeks (I put mine in the fridge), and shake it well on occasion. And force yourself to wait!

Aperitif: Pernod and Tapenade

Pernod with water, fig and walnut tapenade and extras

Oh, the civilized world. In America, we have "Happy Hour"--aka cheap and copious high-alcohol drinks, high-fat foods, and high-likelihood of drunken debauchery. In France? There they have aperitifs--low-alcohol, appetite-piquing drinks with small snacks, designed as a social prelude to the meal, not a replacement.**

Earlier this summer I picked up the book Aperitif: Recipes for Simple Pleasures in the French Style by Georgeanne Brennan, a laudatory and useful guide to this tradition. So far, the drinks section has held my attention and I plan to try my hand at some vins maison later this fall. But first, I'm learning to love pastis, anise-flavored alcohol, created through the maceration of herbs and spices (Pernod is not technically pastis due to its distillation, but I didn't realize that when I bought it).

Pastis is basically the wormwood-free version of absinthe, the scourge of early 20th century teetolaters. Hence, no Toulouse Lautrec-type hallucinations, but the flavor is similar. Pastis is usually served with water, at a ratio of 5 (water) to 1 (pastis). As a martini-swilling American, the, well, watery-ness takes a bit of getting used to, but with some snacks, it's a pleasant way to begin the evening.

The book recommends a dish of small green olives with your pastis, but the only olives I had were in some leftover walnut and fig tapenade. This has been an easy favorite of mine for ages--a food processor and quality ingredients are all you need. Plus some goat cheese and bread to serve it on!

Walnut and Fig Tapenade
Based on this recipe from Bon Appetit, which I use when feeling less lazy

Can of black olives, drained
1/2-3/4 c. of chopped walnuts
1 c. dried figs, roughly chopped (Trader Joe's has 'em)
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2-3 tbsp. olive oil

Whir the first 5 ingredients in your food processor. Taste and adjust accordingly, adding more of any ingredient you wish. With the processor running, add olive oil in a steady stream through the open top thingy. When tapenade reaches your preferred consistency, stop, even if it's before 3 full tablespoons. Remove from processor to serving dish, and spread on baguette rounds that're already spread with some goat cheese.

**don't get me wrong--I've enjoyed plenty of happy hours in my day and have the pictures (unfortunately!) to prove it.

Champagne + Stout = Good (and drunk)

This weekend J's company hosted its annual holiday party. The food was once again quite good, but the best (and most surprising) treat of the evening was one of the featured drinks at the bar--Black Velvet. It was 1/2 stout beer, 1/2 champagne, and boy was it tasty. I have always been skeptical of mixing beer with anything, but this worked. The tart and sparkly champagne cut and complemented the hoppy beer flavor. I think this may become a holiday staple.

Photo by Mandolux, used with permission.