Cucumber-Rosemary Gin & Tonic

For many Thirsty Readers, the beginning of summer marks the beginning of Gin and Tonic Season.  And, with good reason. The G&T is tasty, light, refreshing and super easy to make.

For the past several years, when I've made G&T's at home, my tonic of choice has been Canada Dry Diet Tonic. I know that is a cringe worthy choice to many; I'm hoping you'll forgive me. I had read about the highfalutin pricey tonics such as "Q Tonic" and had rolled my eyes at their $7 price tag. I mean, really? Seven smackers for tonic? I'm all for small manufacturers and fine quality, but I couldn't wrap my mind around expensive tonic.

But, now that I am educating myself about all things cocktails, and have discovered an appreciation for various gins, I decided that I ought to break down and try the lofty "Q". Tonight's cocktail is mixed with Q and the recipe for the drink is from the Q website. It's a good tasting tonic. Not as sharp and familiar as the pedestrian type I'm used to. Apparently, it's also better for you  because it uses none of the dreaded high fructose corn syrup and certainly no artificial sweeteners. That's all fine and dandy, but let's keep our perspective here. We're drinking L I Q U O R, which arguably is not the healthiest thing to be pouring down one's gullet. So whether a mixer has corn syrup isn't all that critical to me. Its like organic vodka. Really?

Will I buy Q again? Probably not. But, that's only because I actually prefer the crummy mass produced tonic at this point. Or at least I like it just as much. Call me low-brow. I can take it.

Sorry for that little rant. I'm a bit cranky this evening. I'm not saying its because the checkout guy at the liquor store, darling young man that he is, said to me in a sympathetic tone that I looked "weathered".  I gently replied that it was ill-advised to use "weathered" as a descriptive term for any woman to her face, especially one who is north of 50. Then, he sweetly apologized (a few times) and said, "I should have said tired. You looked tired."  I offered to hand him a shovel to help him with the hole he was digging.

To be fair, I had just gotten out of the pool after swimming laps for an hour so my eyes were framed with goggle marks. Furthermore, his use of weathered was probably spot on. But, no woman is going to put up with that kind of honesty, right? This kid needs to learn how to talk to the ladies if he expects to get anywhere. I'm hoping that my gentle feedback helps him find his way in life.

Now, to the drink. It was good, because it's difficult to ruin a gin and tonic. But it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary; it didn't pack the cucumber/rosemary flavor punch I was looking for. I enjoyed it, but I think the recipe needs tweaking. As I write, I'm aging a rosemary "tincture" in my pantry. (fresh rosemary soaking in high proof vodka). A few drops of that might really give this cocktail some life. I'm going to try it next time.

Picture and recipe follow. And, then, I'm off to bed because clearly I need my beauty rest.

Not a cloud in the sky.

Cucumber-Rosemary Gin and Tonic

Peeled cucumber slices

Lime wedges

Rosemary Sprigs

2 oz. Gin (I used the delicious Greenhook Ginsmiths)

4 oz. Q Tonic

ice

In a highball glass, add three slices of peeled cucumber, 1 sprig rosemary, juice from a lime wedge and 1 ounce gin. Muddle with the back of a spoon.

Strain through a mesh strainer into a second highball glass. Add several cubes of ice, and three slices of unpeeled cucumber. Top with remaining gin and tonic, and serve garnished with cucumber, rosemary or limes.  Enjoy!

Cheers!

The Last Word

I know, I know, Thirsty Readers. I never let anyone have it. The Last Word, that is. But, this is a cocktail that I would let everyone have, as long as I had enough for yours truly. It is entirely delicious and I do believe it has made me a rather big fan of Chartreuse. It is, perhaps, love at first taste. It may not last, but it is an exciting kind of love, no?

As you can tell from the photo, this is a cocktail that I did not make myself. Why?  I am (as I write) at The Uptown Bar in Bloomington.  It is a terrific place to get a well made cocktail. The bartenders know their stuff; they're smart, charming and knowledgable about all things cocktail. I am here to meet one of my very best friends for dinner in a bit. I didn't realize that it was the opening game of the World Cup when I made the date.  The Uptown (and probably every other bar in town) is packed with very enthusiastic people wearing soccer jerseys and shouting a great deal.

But, back to this fabulous drink. I must tell you that the photo below does not capture the alluring, electric, color of the libation. The hue is fetching yet mysterious, as a compelling woman is.

That is no ordinary cherry. It's a sour cherry soaked in brandy. 

The man who made the drink is this man below. His name is Rob Williamson. He is very good at his craft.

Handsome and such a dazzling smile, no?

Now, the soccer game is over - Brazil won - so, the bar is no longer filled with fans. My friend Lauren has arrived for dinner and we must talk and talk and talk, like women do. So, without further delay, I give you the recipe for this very-worth-making drink. Or if you don't feel like making one, order one the next time you are in the Uptown. You'll thank me.

The Last Word Cocktail

3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse

3/4 ounce gin - Rob recommends a "soft" gin, like Aria

3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur 

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

Combine ingredients in a shaker glass filled with ice. Shake until blended and chilled. Double strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a lime peel or (preferably) a brandy soaked cherry - because, you know, we all have them around the house, right?

Enjoy this fabulous drink. Cheers!

The Old Hickory Cocktail

I wish I could truthfully tell you, Thirsty Readers, that The Old Hickory Cocktail was good to the last drop (phrase courtesy of  Maxwell House), but alas, I cannot. I can't even say with experience that it was good until the fourth drop, because I confess that I poured the drink down the drain after three valiant sips.  I'm sorry, Old Hickory. I guess I just don't like vermouth. Or maybe I have crappy vermouths in my inventory. Since the possibly crappy vermouths are all I have in the house, I can't very well tell if it is the former or the latter that is the problem with this Godawful drink. Tomorrow, when I am out with my friend Lauren, I shall consult a knowledgable bartender about it. Until then, I can only assume. And you know what happens when we assume.

It's a shame about the cocktail, though, because I could have used a good one tonight, after spending what seemed like an eternity sitting through the movie of a book that should never have been made into a movie.  It was, except for the two far too brief scenes with Willem Defoe, a completely tedious story with no dramatic tension or arc. Yes, I'm embarrassed to say I went to see The Fault in Our Stars. There.  Now you know.  It's not the type of movie I would generally see, but I was dragged. Enough. Of. That. (And poor, poor Laura Dern. The material she was given to work with was DREADFUL.)

So, back to the Old Hickory Cocktail. I'm going to share with you the customary photo of the beverage along with the recipe, but unless you love vermouth, don't make this drink. It's a waste of perfectly good ice and bitters.  My apologies to my Bitters hero, BT Parsons. This recipe is from the otherwise (so far) right on the money collection of cocktail recipes in his brilliant book, Bitters.  Have I mentioned a hundred times how much I like this book? 

I bet ground-up pages of this book taste better than The Old Hickory.

The Old Hickory Cocktail

1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth 

1 1/2 ounces sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Garnish: Lemon Twist (I used Grapefruit. Hey, it's all I had.)

Pour all the ingredients except the garnish into an old-fashioned glass filled. Stir and garnish. Pour down the drain.  I mean, enjoy.

Cheers!

The Salty Dog

Good Evening, Thirsty Readers. I write to you on a gloomy evening. No patio photographs for today's featured libation, I'm sad to say. Tonight, I needed a super easy cocktail because I find myself a bit tired out, in part, because of Tyler Ferguson's AWESOME Tuesday Noon Shockwave Class at the Bloomington Body Bar. It's a 45 minutes, take-no-prisoners class, but Tyler accomplishes the almost impossible.  She makes very strenuous exercise fun.  I felt like a bazillion bucks for most of the day. But now, I'm just tired. In a very good way.  Tyler is my Roller Derby hero, by the way. She has offered to train me for the game and has named me Cranberry Crush, after a drink on this very blog.  Tyler will be a guest blogger in the near future when we showcase her own original recipe for the Hairy Cicada Cocktail. We'll be blogging that piece live from Viewtopia, her outdoor wonderland she sets up at her house for watching The World Cup. 

But, I digress.

Tonight's very simple drink is the Salty Dog. I made one alteration to the classic (and rather boring, albeit refreshing) original recipe; I added some bitters. Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters. Just a dash.  I'm becoming a die-hard bitters convert, thanks to my drink hero, BT Parsons. Bitters add that special something to almost any cocktail. Don't believe me? Try it and  you'll see.

I can mildly recommend this drink for summer. I give it the grade Meh +. The grapefruit juice (always freshly squeezed at Chez BloomingtonGirl) is delightful, but that's about all I can say for this one. The Salty Dog is similar to someone nice but rather dull. It's pleasant to see him or her occasionally, but you don't seek him or her out for snappy repartee. 

The gin I used this evening was a bit insipid - Tanqueray - but I didn't want to waste my precious and delicious Greenhook Ginsmiths Gin in a juicy-juice mixed drink. 

A "nice" drink. Pretty and easy on the tastebuds.

The Salty Dog

2 ounces gin

4 ounces grapefruit juice 

Coarse Salt for the rim

1 dash Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters (optional, but please add some kind of bitters to liven up this party)

Garnish, though truth-be-told, this drink doesn't merit the effort.

Salt the rim by moistening it and then pressing it into a bowl or plate of salt. Add ice. Add gin and grapefruit juice. Mix it up. Garnish if you must. Drink it and say, "Meh. Maybe Meh Plus."

Cheers!

The Boulevardier

Hello, Thirsty Friends. Tonight, I have for you, The Boulevardier.  That's a big name to live up to and I'm happy to report that this cocktail indeed does. According to Paul Clark, writing on Serious Eats, The Boulevardier was first mentioned in print in 1927 in a book called Barflies and Cocktails. I had to include a photo of the cover - it's really fabulous. 

I mean, really. Isn't this the best cover ever?

I guess one could say that The Boulevardier is basically a Negroni but with Bourbon standing in for gin.  On one hand, that is sort of correct. But in no way is this wonderful concoction an also- ran, or a son-of. It's a delicious drink in its own right and need not be in the shadow of the (also fabulous) Negroni. The Bourbon adds a compelling bottom note to the mix that the gin does not.  Let's call them fraternal twins. Of a piece, but different at the same time.

Here are a couple photos of The Boulevardier. It is contained in my Mom's delightful cocktail glasses. I like these glasses because they hold a smaller amount than the contemporary Martini glass, but they are cone shaped and thus, a bit more practical than the coupe.  As usual, the cocktail is photographed on what I shall begin to call the Best Little Patio in Bloomington (the description reminds me of my friend, the gifted novelist John Reimringer' screened porch in St. Paul. Order his book right now. It's one of the best novels I have read in the past several years. Truly.)

Delicious and Beautiful

I really like the etching on this glass.

Without further delay - because frankly, I want to brush my fangs and go to bed - here is the very simple recipe for this perfect libation. I made it exactly how directed to do so on Serious Eats. I don't think it needs anything else.

The Boulevardier

1 ounce Bourbon (I used Wild Turkey)

1 ounce sweet vermouth

1 ounce Campari

Mix ingredients in a mixing glass filled with shaved ice (or as I did, with very tiny ice cubes made from an adorable tray from Bed Bath and Beyond).  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a citrus peel (I used Grapefruit) or a cherry.

Until tomorrow, Cheers!

The Strawberry Cooler

Greetings, Thirsty Ones. Tonight's cocktail was inspired by the motherlode of strawberries that have been making their way out of our garden into my kitchen this summer. They were, at first, puzzlingly lack lustre, but then my mother-in-law advised us that we were picking just a bit too soon. Wham! Now we have the most amazing, delicious, gorgeous berries that you could imagine. If you only know strawberries from the ones you buy at the supermarket, you don't know strawberries. Stop by our house and treat yourself to the real deal.

I'd like to say that tonight's mixture was as good as the strawberries themselves, but alas, it was not. I chose a vodka cocktail from Imbibe Magazine and I chose it because it has strawberries and because it was easy to make. It was a Vodka based drink and I thought since we hadn't done one, I ought to.  Vodka was my go to drink for many years, but I'm not going to lie. I've moved on. Sorry Vodka. I've discovered more exciting spirits. It isn't that we won't have occasional flings, but I can't remain committed like I once was. 

So, I'll share with you the original recipe of the cocktail from Imbibe, although I really don't think it is worth the work to make it. It is called the Strawberry Cooler.  I should have known it might be disappointing when I saw there were no bitters in the mix. I took a couple of liberties, which I shall note. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing unpleasant about this cocktail. It's just not demanding enough for my palate.  It doesn't have the depth to carry on a good conversation with my taste buds. What can I say? I'm a girl who needs that to stay interested.  It's weirdly reminiscent of those kind of drinks you order when you're renting a beach house for the summer with three of your work friends from General Foods in Delaware and you're 23 and still drinking Miller Lite. That said, this version is a step or two better than that because of the fresh ingredients.

It's pretty, but looks aren't everything.

The Strawberry Cooler

2 ounces vodka

3/4 ounces Dolin Blanc vermouth 
         (I used Martini & Rossi dry. So sue me.)

1.5 ounces fresh strawberry puree *

3/4 ounces fresh Meyer lemon juice (I used regular)

3/4 ounces rich simple syrup (I used cranberry syrup**)

1 dash rose water (really? who has that in their pantry?)

1. 5 ounces seltzer

Lemon and mint to garnish.

Combine all ingredients except seller in a mixing glass and stir to incorporate. Add seltzer and pour into an ice-filled Collins glass. Garnish.

*throw some strawberries in a blender and mash 'em up. If you have a Vitamix, don't bother to strain. If you don't, you might want to strain out the larger particles.

** Cranberry Syrup (also used in the delicious Cranberry Crush)


1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 cup cranberries (frozen or fresh)
1 cinnamon stick (I think this could be omitted with no impact)

In a small saucepan, bring sugar, water, cranberries, and cinnamon stick to a simmer, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar and pressing the cranberries with the back of a wooden spoon to release to help break them down. At the first crack of a boil, remove from the heat. Once cooled, pour the syrup through a strainer, discard the solids (they do taste pretty good, though) and store in a glass jar. The syrup will keep in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Until next time, Cheers!

The Abbey Cocktail

Good Evening, Thirsty Ones. Tonight's cocktail comes once again from BT Parsons' Bitters. I've practically been glued to this gorgeous volume since I purchased it. The prose is lovely, the photographs beautiful and the content is just plain interesting, informative and entertaining. I've enjoyed each cocktail I made from this book - the rather unappealing Chrysanthemum Cocktail featured on this blog was from a different source, just so you know. I was very excited the other day to learn that Mr. Parsons himself followed me on Twitter after I won the book Proof: The Science of Booze from a little contest he held.  It made my day, I'm not going to lie.

So, tonight's drink is The Abbey Cocktail and it is the first cocktail in Parsons' "Old-Guard Cocktail" section of his book. My three tasters (myself included) loved this potion. It is very fresh tasting and light, but with enough of a spirit kick to remind you that you're drinking a grown-up beverage.  And bonus, it's pretty easy to make. The recipe called for a garnish of an amarena or marasca cherry, neither of which I had in the larder. I considered substituting a maraschino cherry, but thought it would ruin the elegance of the drink. Instead, I used some strawberries from our berry garden. For the drinking vessel, I chose a dessert glass handed down from my mother-in-law that I thought made a good coupe. See? 

The Beautiful Abbey Cocktail on my Mother's Vintage Tray.

This is a delightful summer drink and I can imagine it making an excellent impression at a Ladies' Bridge Luncheon or Hospital Fundraising Guild Brunch. I will never host such delicate affairs, but if you are so inclined, this will win you gloved applause and polite raves from your lady friends.  

Here is a photo of how I set up making multiple cocktails of this type. The little vessels in front of the iced coupes are Traders Point Creamery Yogurt Containers. I have about thirty of them, so I am ready to tend bar efficiently at my next patio party. I measure my ingredients into the containers and then shake or stir (on ice) each one separately. The mixture to the right is darker in color because I ran out of navel oranges and used blood orange juice.

All Ready to Shake

The Abbey Cocktail

1 1/2 ounces gin

3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc

3/4 freshly squeezed orange juice

2 dashes orange bitters 

Garnish: amarena or marasca cherry (or a berry from your garden)

Combine all the ingredients except the garnish in a cocktail glass filled with ice. Shake until chilled and strain into a chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry.

See how easy?  Cheers!