OT: Cocktail Versatility Advice
TL;DR - What's your most versatile mixer/ingredient?
Full story: The wife and I are headed to a "Stock the Bar" couples shower this weekend and I'm more of a "beer & wine" guy than a liquor drinker. As is the groom-to-be (we're good friends). He mentioned that part of what he's excited for with the Stock the Bar thing is getting more things to use when hosting, the ability to make cocktails when entertaining, etc. I plan to buy a bottle of Koval Whiskey (not sure what kind yet) http://www.koval-distillery.com/newsite/ as it's local and fancy enough, but I was hoping to get a couple of ingredients/etc. to go with it. Do I do a fancy bottle of simple syrup and some bitters? Or are there better suggestions out there?
To be fair, I have not tried Koval's four grain. Just their standard whiskey.
For my 40th birthday, my wife threw me a surprise party where all of our friends showed up with a bottle of whiskey to open and share. By almost unanimous popular acclaim, Koval was on the bottom. I keep the bottle around becuase I like to have a supply of bad whiskey to pour for people, so they can contrast it against the good stuff.
Yes, basic cocktail mixers would include both a dry and a sweet vermouth, bitters and grenadine. I would add lime juice (Rose's Lime Juice) for a gimlet.
Skip the simple syrup, though; that's incredibly easy to make at home (1:1 sugar & water, heat the water & stir in the sugar until it dissolves; refrigerate after).
That's absurd. Cynar has been the leading artichoke-based liquer for decades.
It's a multi-decade trend!
I tend to stock:
one bottle of Bourbon (usually Makers Mark),
one bottle of single malt (any of the "Glens"),
one bottle of Vodka (who cares?), and
one bottle of gin (exclusively Hendrick's).
Of these, I find that scotch is my favorite, that Bourbon is the most versatile, and that gin--as far as personal taste goes--is the one for which there is the largest difference between brands**.
**(Of course, there's an even larger difference between, say, Johnny Red and Glenlivet, but I deliberately specified the scotches to be single malts)
You probably mean a single malt produced in speyside- like Glenlivet. Even Glenlivet is a giant distillery producing many different single malts.
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I would buy rhum agricole from Martinique. Unlike most all other rum, this is produced from actual sugar cane rather than processed molasses. It has a refreshing, sweet, grassy sort of taste and is great in a simple daquiri. Just make sure it is from Martinique. They still produce under the French A.O.C. system, which also governs wine. Therefore its geographic provenance and production are monitored. Clement is perhaps the brand most often available in the U.S.
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The Koval four grain or rye are my favorites of their stuff.
can't go wrong with bitters. There are some good sample packs out that have multiple flavors.
Leopold Bros. Apertivo is a good alternative to Campari, which is the mixer in negronis.
I'd say a good vermouth, but even though people keep bottles of it forever it has a limited shelf life once opened since it is wine.
You can just pop into a Binny's and they have a great aisle of mixer type stuff.
also ginger beer, either reeds or goslings. I love a bourbon buck.
sherry is also a great and very underrated mixer for whiskey based drinks. But like the vermouth has a shelf life.
If you're doing ginger beer, maybe go for some copper moscow mule mugs
Fever Tree is the best ginger beer. And seconded on the mule mugs - even if you're not making mules, they get your mixed drinks nice and cold.
You and the groom already have no balls.
The older I get the more I enjoy the beguiling charms of Gin. I find a gin and tonic to be a nice for all occasions sort of drink and when I’m feeling particularly fancy I will go for a Vesper.
It's a great drink when sitting outside on a spring night, or as an end of the week drink. Big fan, although my tastes have shifted more to straight whiskey, the wife still loves G&T's.
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that mint plant is a great idea
One of the benefits of Florida living: I'm growing my own mint, lemon and lime trees and have a passionfruit vine started. Fresh ingredients and quality booze are essential to a good cocktail.
If you want to look like you know better than anyone:
It's a company in NY but with Michigan roots and their products are great. In general though, whatever non-standard liquor you put on a bar should be designed to look good covered in dust.
Grass Widow is a really good bourbon out of Detroit
Grass Widow is fantastic, but it is a sourced and aged bourbon. I'm interested to see how their originally distilled whiskey tastes.
The aging in wine barrels is an awesome touch and I think adds a unique flavor.
I don't know that I'd use it for cocktails as it's extremely expensive(for a bourbon), so perhaps not the best gift for a "stock the bar" type party.
Agree with the Tito's recommendations. I would also suggest a wheated bourbon like Maker's Mark and a rye whiskey or rye-forward bourbon, like Rittenhouse or Wild Turkey Rye or Four Roses Single Barrel.
I don't know much about gin but Tanqueray is a good according to my gin friends and family. I would also suggest a light rum as it has more versatility than a spiced dark rum. Bacardi works well enough for mojitos and daiquiris.
You can make simple syrup easily enough so I wouldn't go there (2 cups sugar dissolved in 1 cup boiling water IIRC). Fresh lemons and limes are always good, but don't stay very long -- never use sour mixes. Instead of primary liquors you can get some secondary ones like Pernod, Triple-Sec, or vermouth (sweet and or dry). Aperatifs or digestifs like kirsch or grappa are always good as well.
http://drinkwhitewhale.com/
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LOVE Campari..... Fernet is a wilder acquired taste (think menthol toothpaste) and maybe better for someone to buy on their own, when they are ready. :)
Campari is a great idea. Boulevardier is an easy twist on really common ingredients. Great gift idea.
If they are doing a stock the bar, then they must be interested in real cocktails, so definitely no flavored mixers or spirits. (bleh).
I prefer Rye - it's hearty enough to stand up to a variety of other liquors (bourbon can edge towards too sweet). You can't go wrong with high-quality gin too. If you are in Michigan, you could send some Gin from the new Ann Arbor Distillery, which is AWESOME.
Here are a couple of favorite recipes that fulfill a variety of tastes - you could give the recipe(s) with all of the ingredients. :) The ingredients are pretty common ones, and should be available in any quality booze store.
Sazarac (seriously the best)
- 2 oz rye
- 1/4 oz simple syrup
- 4 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
- rinse glass with absinthe
- combine all ingredients with ice, stir, strain into glass, garnish with lemon twist
Cocktail a la Louisiane (Sazarac variant, but sweeter and yummy)
- 1 oz rye
- 1 oz Benedictine
- 1 oz sweet vermouth
- 4 dashes absinthe (~1/2 tsp)
- 4 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
- combine all ingredients with ice, stir, strain into glass, garnish with brandied cherry
Southside (like a gin mojito!)
- 2 oz gin
- 1 oz lemon juice
- 3/4 oz simple syrup
- 4-5 mint leaves (plus 1sprig to garnish)
- combine in shaker w/ ice. Shake, strain, garnish with mint sprig
Blanche Dubois (sooo good. sweet. sort of like cotton candy in a boozy way)
- 1 strawberry
- 2 oz gin
- 1/2 oz orange curacao
- 1/2 oz Orgeat
- 3/4 oz lemon juice
- 6-8 mint leaves (+ 1 sprig to garnish)
- muddle strawberry in shaker. add remaining ingredients to shaker with ice. shake well, double strain into ice-filled glass. Garnish with mint sprig)
man these all sound so amazing
I'm a homebrewer, but I like alcohol in other forms too e.g., salad (grape salad, fermented) and concentrated (liquor). My favorites of the later category are:
- Bulliet Rye Whiskey - good alone or as a Manhattan or Whiskey Sour
- Patron Tequila
- Titos and Tonic
- Sapphire and Tonic
- DonQ for Rum and Coke or Mojito
- Cachaca (Leblon is pretty generic, but the best I can find in the states) for Caiprinihas
- Speyside Scotch, neat.
For mixers, always keep simple syrup (recipes in posts above), sugar in the raw syrup, lemons and limes, soda and tonic water, Coke (the pop, not the blow, unless you're into that thing), passionfruit juice*, mint (just grow a plant in a pot, it's voracious), and cherries.
* If you've never had passionfruit rum, do yourself a favor and get a bottle. DonQ is the best, but hard to find.
I largely agree with your recommendations, but I'd recommend many gins over Sapphire for the price. If you're looking for a classic gin, Hendrick's beats the crap out of Sapphire or Tanqueray. Or there are any number of small-batch botanical gins that aren't too much more expensive and have great flavor.
I'll have to give the Hendrick's a try.
But each time I just end up drinking it and have to restock.
1) First thing I grab from the back of the middle shelf in my fridge.
2) Mysterious bottle I found in someone's garage.
3) Holy Water
4) Oil of Bergamot
5) Unholy Water
6) Tears of my enemies
7) Eye of Newt... Gingrich's dog.
8) Breast Milk (nearest fresh supply)
9) Mouthwash
10) Fresh-Squeesed Bear Saliva.
Get a bottle of Jeppson's Malort:
Regardles of what you think of it on its merits, malort is the opposite of a versatile liquor.
Any well stocked bar needs a bottle of quality sweet vermouth and it would be a perfect complement to the whiskey you intend to bring. The Carpano Antica Formula is a classic and will probably be the easiest to find. Makes for an especially nice looking gift if you can find it with the metal can/packaging...
Scotch:
Glenlivit 18 ($90-$100) OR
Macallan 18 ($200-$225)
Bourbon:
Bookers (~$60)
Rye:
Michter's Single Barrel (~$90)