Wet by Beefeater

Wet by Beefeater

My local Albertson’s Liquor Store is closing and they are having an inventory closeout sale. I’ve seen this Gin around but didn’t research it much. I figured for 10% off, I would be a sport and try it out. I should have at least read the back of the bottle before I purchased.

A pear infused gin does not make a good dry martini. Maybe this would be good as a variation on the Bellini. Substituting the pear flavor for the peach puree.

The only other drink I could find that used pear is this one:

Margaes Cocktail

Shake in iced cocktail shaker & strain

1 1/2 oz gin

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz pear juice

sugar to taste

Serve in a cocktail glass

A French 75 and The Forbidden X

The French 75

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
• 3/4 oz simple syrup

shake with ice

strain into champagne flute

top with champagne

garnish with lemon twist

The French 75 is a very tasty cocktail. I enjoyed the sweet and sour combination of the lemon juice and simple syrup. The gin came through as an undertone with the champagne giving the drink one last kick. Even my Wife, who is not a fan of either Gin or Champagne said the cocktail was “not bad”. A stellar review from her if there ever was one.

Tubed Platinum edition “Forbidden X”

Length: 6 ¼ inches
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Opus X rosado sungrown
Binder: Opus X rosado
Filler: Opus X blend

The tobacco for this cigar is a little different than a normal Opus X. It is aged up to 10 years, and is finished by curing it in Calvados barrels, giving the cigar a unique taste.

In my opinion, the Fuente Fuente Opus X line is one of the finest brands ever. While this cigar was not the little spice bomb that is the signature flavor of Opus X, I could taste the pepper albeit, a bit subdued. Whenever I smoke an Opus, I’m reminded of a fine steak, grilled to perfection. The odors and taste of the cigar is like nothing else and hard for me to put my finger on. It is just the ultimate in pleasure and enjoyment.

Sewer Water

1 splash Grenedine

1 oz. 151-proof Rum

1/2 oz. Gin

3/4 oz. Melon Liqueur

Pineapple Juice

Lime Juice

In a hurricane or parfait glass, splash grenadine. Add ice,  then rum, gin and melon liqueur. Fill with pineapple juice and float lime juice on top.

My wife isn’t a big drinker but she does enjoy an occasional Melon Ball. I picked up a bottle of Midori and some pineapple juice last night so I could mix her a drink. But, what was I going to do with liqueur after that? I also had that bottle of 151 Rum that I wasn’t sure what to do with either.

I took out the latest edition of the Mr. Boston book (Platinum Edition) and started to thumb through the recipes. I like this edition of the book because everything was re-vamped and all references to sour mixes and other pre-packaged ingredients have been replaced with fresh squeezed juices and other natural ingredients.

This drink is built right in the glass you are going to drink it in. The grenadine lies in a small red puddle at the bottom giving the drink a cool look. The pineapple juice really cuts the 151 rum so you don’t feel it burn.  This is a very sweet drink with a bit of a kick. A couple of these and I think that 151-proof rum will sneak up on you.

Head to Head Gin Challenge - Triple Threat !!

Here it is, the long awaited Second and Final Round of my Head to Head Gin Challenges. It’s the final challenge because my local liquor store only carries a handful of Miniature Gin bottles.

My first challenge pitted Bombay Original London Dry Gin against Plymouth English Gin. Plymouth won that challenge quite handily. Tonight, I put the Round One Champion up against Bombay Sapphire AND Tanqueray.

The first phase of the challenge is a half ounce of spirit mixed with a half ounce of mineral water. The second phase of the challenge is mixing a martini using a 3:1 ratio of Gin to Dry Vermouth and two dashes of orange bitters. There will be no garnish tonight because I forgot to pick up a lemon at the supermarket.

Without further ado, here are the results:

Plymouth English Gin - with the 50/50 mineral water / gin mixture, I detected a flowery perfume at first followed by juniper when I sniffed the glass. With each sip, there was a smooth juniper flavor. Over all I felt Plymouth had a creamy, smooth mouth feel, a clean finish, with no after taste at all.

Mixed as a Martini, this cocktail had a cold, clean, smooth and creamy mouth feel. The Gin seemed to have a “fuller, more rounded” taste overall.

Bombay Sapphire - mixed with the mineral water, I detected an initial juniper flavor with strong corriander as a finish. It had a tart taste, much stronger than Plymouth, with a slight sour after taste.

As a Martini, there was a very strong juniper taste, which I think was accentuated by the vermouth and bitters. I felt a slight burn in my mouth, but it wasn’t too bad.

Tanqueray - In Phase One I tasted what I could only describe as a citrus flavor and then juniper when I swirled the glass and sniffed. It felt fairly smooth in my mouth, I tasted juniper but then also a medicine like flavor. It had a clean finish, not much after taste at all.

As a Martini, Tanqueray became more balanced with the addition of dry vermouth and bitters. It still had a strong citrus taste at first.

So, after about 6 ounces of Gin (which isn’t so bad, I guess), here are the results of my two rounds of Gin Challenges:

#1 - Plymouth English Gin

#2 - Bombay Sapphire

#3 - Bombay Original London Dry Gin

#4 - Tanqueray

I really didn’t like the flavor of Tanqueray. It made me cringe when I drank it. Bombay Sapphire was good but, there was a bitter aftertaste that I did not enjoy all that much. It was slight but I could taste it. Plymouth English seems so sophisticated. It is a very smooth gin that has a great flavor and no aftertaste. I have truly enjoyed Plymouth and I feel it makes for a far more balanced cocktail.

There you have it. Feel free to perform your own taste tests. After all, it’s what you like best that counts the most.

Head to Head Gin Matchup - Round One

There are so many Gins out there and so little time to enjoy Martinis. Which Gin to choose? Which Gin is the best? I have decided to test several popular brand names and see which one I like the best. You can join me if you like. You may not agree with my results but at least you’ll know what you like best.

Round One:

Plymouth English Gin  vs Bombay  Dry Gin

Price per 750 ml bottle: $19.99 each

This is a two phase challenge.

In Phase One, I pour 1/2 ounce of spirit and 1/2 ounce of mineral water. In Phase Two I mix a Martini. It’s a 3:1 ratio of Gin and Dry Vermouth with two dashes of Orange Bitters and a lemon peel as garnish.

Phase One Results:

After swirling the Bombay around the glass I could smell avery strong, almost medicinal aroma. The Plymouth, on the other hand, was much milder and had a “cleaner”, crisper aroma to it.

Next, I tasted each spirit.  The Bombay Dry Gin had a strong, burn to it. There was a bitter after taste as well. The Plymouth English Gin, was definitely smoother, and had a clean, not bitter aftertaste.

Phase Two Results:

Now, I have been mixing Martini’s with the Bombay Dry Gin for some time. I’m using Martini and Rossi Dry Vermouth. So far, so good. I’m drinking a very nice Dry Martini. Sidling up to my old faithful is the Plymouth Gin Martini. As with the results in Phase One, Plymouth made for a smoother, enjoyable cocktail.

After finishing both cocktails and reviewing the results, I declare Plymouth English Gin the winner of Round One !!

Stay tuned for next week. When I will put Plymouth English Gin against Bombay Sapphire.

Celebrate Repeal Day !! - December 5th

Mark your calendars now !

Celebrate your 21st Amendment Right to consume spirits of any kind !!
Click Here for more info.

The Aviation

The Aviation

2 oz Gin

1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur

1/4 oz fresh lemon juice

add ingredients to a mixing glass with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Garnish with a Maraschino cherry.

This drink has been on my “to try” list for quite some time. It took me awhile to track down the Maraschino liqueur.

While there is no mistaking the base spirit in this drink, I enjoyed how the fresh squeezed lemon juice and the liqueur balanced things out. As I put the glass to my mouth the aroma of juniper berries was unmistakable. The first sip gave a swirl of flavor: the crisp flavor of gin first, then some cherry sweetness and a lemony citrus kick at the end.

In the picture above, the drink looks a little cloudy. That just because I had the cocktail glass in the freezer for about four hours before I made this drink. The glass got a little frosty when it hit the air.

Also, I’d like to point out my circa 1920’s hand juicer. You can see a hint of lemon peel showing through between the two halves of the juicer. I picked that up on ebay. It’s cast iron and had a little bit of rust. A little cleaning up, a coat of primer and Rustoleum Metallic paint and I think it is a fine addition to my growing collection of bar tools.

All in all, I think this is a fine cocktail. It has an excellent juxtaposition of flavor that goes down easy. In fact, I think I have time for one more before I call it a night…..

The Sweet Martini

I couldn’t christen my new cocktail glasses with just one martini. I mixed a sweet martini to balance the dry martini from my earlier post. The dry martini was a double, I kept this to the ratios dictated by the recipe.

I used Angostura  bitters since I cannot find a local source for Orange bitters… yet. I’m still searching.

I think the use of bitters really made both the Dry Martini and the Sweet Martini. I feel these were truly balanced cocktails, not one ingredient over-powered the other.

1 1/2 oz. Gin

1/2 oz. Sweet Vermouth

1 dash bitters

The Dry Martini

I doubled up on this recipe .

3 oz. Gin
1 oz. Dry Vermouth
dash of Angostura Bitters

This was by far the best Martini I have ever mixed.