SPOILER ALERT !  These drinks are good.  I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "Of course they're good.  Why would the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure make drinks that were less than good?"  Well, believe it or not, the last few drinks we've made have not been hits. These drinks however, are HITS, and they should be because we chose them based entirely on their "guitar" based names. As a bonus, they're both really easy to make too.  Let's get started.

First up is an old old drink called the Gibson.  It's name is lost to time with several conflicting stories suggesting that the drink could have been named for the artist behind the Gibson Girls or a Dr. Gibson who believed eating onions was good for your health (even if they're swimming in gin and vermouth).  No matter what it's origins, if you are a fan of a dry gin martini, you are going to be a fan of this drink.  You may even like it better!

The Gibson

2 1/2 ounces gin
1/4 ounce dry vermouth

1 to 3 picked onions 

Combine the gin and vermouth in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake until chilled (or for a crystal clear drink, stir with ice until chilled).  Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with 1 to 3 pickled cocktail onions.

Why 1 to 3 pickled onions?  Because that's part of the conflicted history of the drink.  Some people say if you're basing the drink on the Gibson Girls, you've got to use 2  like we did.  Other's say it's bad luck to use and even number.  Who knows?  Either way, even though this looks like it's going to be just a Martini, with an onion instead of an olive, it's not.  That little change to the pickled onion from the brined olive gives a fun little jolt to the taste buds.  If you're not a fan of vermouth, that trace of pickling liquid cuts the vermouth and lets the gin shine through.  Ryan Reynolds would love for you to try this drink with his Aviation Gin!  The fact that the onion is more "crunchy" than the an olive gives a more textural quality to this drink too.  What are you waiting for?  Get some pickled onions and try this drink!

There is no Fender cocktail to go with the Fender guitar company.  There is a Fender Bender cocktail though!  In fact, there are several Fender Benders.  We chose the one that we could get the ingredients for.  The "easiest" one if you will, and are we ever glad that we did!   So simple, but a wonderful way to drink whisky!

Fender Bender

2/3 ounce Yukon Jack
1/3 ounce Cutty Sark whisky

Pour the ingredients over crushed ice in a rocks glass and stir.  

We garnished it with an orange peel because we thought it looked nice.  You should too.

What is Yukon Jack?  The internet says, "The self-styled 'Black Sheep of Canadian Liquors' is a highly potent liqueur, based on Canadian whisky blended with honey."  The Gents would agree.  It's sweet but pairs wonderfully with the Cutty Sark scotch.  Does it have to be Cutty Sark?  We don't know.  The recipe says to use it and so we did.  If you feel like you want to experiment with another type of scotch, go ahead.  Leave us a comment and let us know what you think.

​See you next time!

I know what you’re thinking. You’ve got too much grapefruit juice left over from Halloween haven’t you?  Every year it’s the same old story.  You buy gallons of the stuff and then you realize, “Oh yeah.  Nobody really likes grapefruit juice, do they?”  No they do not. Nobody likes it. And why don’t they like it?  Could it be because it’s bitter, and messes with peoples medications?  Maybe. What about the way it’s acidic unpleasantness upsets people’s stomachs?  That could be it too.  I guess those are all valid reasons.  But what about the good times you’ve had with grapefruit?  Like the time someone served you a half of one, and then, when you put your spoon in it, it squirted juice in your eye?  That was fun, right?  No?  Well alright then.  Let’s just use this crap up!

First of all, let’s head down south to where citrus fruit grows in abundance. That’s right, we’re heading to  Florida baby!  We’re making the Palm Beach Special!

Palm Beach Special

2 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce grapefruit juice
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth

Shake with ice in a cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass

Look at that.  You’ve already used almost a whole ounce of grapefruit juice. 
​That jug will be gone in no time!

Let’s see what else uses grapefruit juice.  What about the Seventh Heaven?  Let’s try it!

Seventh Heaven

1 3/4 ounces gin
1/2 ounce maraschino liqueur 
1/4 ounce grapefruit juice 

Shake all ingredients with ice in a cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a sprig of mint.

​There you go.  That 1/4 ounce makes one FULL ounce of grapefruit juice you’ve used.  Now make both these drinks twenty more times!

Please leave a comment about anything at all.  Let us know what you thought of the drinks or maybe give us some suggestions on how we can use up the rest of our grapefruit juice!  See you next time!

​

Happy Halloween.  Sure it's a little late but maybe you're having your Halloween party tonight.  It's Saturday after all.  Either way, the Gentlemen of Elephant Pleasure are here again with a couple of dark spooky cocktails for your ghoulish festivities.

You'll have to listen to the show to know how they were!  Please make them both and leave a comment!

Oh my goodness!  What a week.  Yours truly has been overwhelmed with stuff these past couple of days.  What drinks did the Gents do?  What did they look like?  You'll have to wait I'm afraid.

All we can tell you now is that they were both great drinks and you should try them out.  The recipes are here in 2 separate pictures.  Both of these drinks are from the Prestige Decanter catalog brochure and since the Gents like their products so much, they thought they'd try the drinks!  The drinks are by the Mixology Brothers and you should check out their fantastic website by clicking this sentence here!

​The first on is called the Interpol.

​The second is called the Kentucky Smoke Truck.  Give them both a try soon!  You'll be glad you did.

Come back in a few days for pictures of the drinks.  In the mean time, why don't you give the show a listen and leave a comment below.

Have you ever wondered what the difference between a cotillion and a debutante ball is?  Well the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure did, and you know what they found out?  One has gin and the other one has bourbon!  There might be some other differences to. Check out the Southern Living website if you want to know actual details about cotillions and debutante balls.   If you’re just thirsty however, let’s make some drinks!   

First up is the Cotillion. This yummy treat was found on the Imbibe magazine website and you know what’s neat?  Both these drinks would be perfect for your fall gatherings!   Yellow and red will complement any fall table setting!

Cotillion
Scott Kennedy, Café Cancale, Chicago

1 oz. bourbon (Kennedy uses Old Forester 86 proof, the Gents used Wild Turkey)
¾ oz. aged rum (Kennedy uses Angostura 5 year, the Gents used Havana Club 7 year)
½ oz. dry curaçao
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. fresh orange juice

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice, then shake to chill. Double strain into a chilled glass. 

Mmmmmmm.   Nice right?  

Up next is the Debutante Cocktail.  This ones been around since the 30s and the Gents chose the recipe from the Barman’s Journal website. 

Debutante Cocktail
Robert Sharp, the Barman’s Journal website

2 oz. Gin
3/4 oz. Fresh Lime Juice
1/4 oz. Simple Syrup
2 Tsp. Grenadine
1 dash Orange BittersCombine all ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Shake vigorously until well-chilled, then double-strain into a coupe. Garnish with a cherry.

This one is a little sweeter than the Cotillion.  Very, very nice. 

​Try them both and let the Gents know what you think!

Have you ever wanted to listen to two guys try a bunch of different types of tonic water, decide which one tasted the best, and then use that same tonic to make two drinks?  If the answer is a resounding “yes!” then this episode is for you, weirdo. 

Based on a description of a particular mezcal that said it had gin like flavours, the Gents set out to see how a gin and tonic compared to a mezcal and tonic.

The classic gin and tonic is an almost perfect cocktail.  It’s refreshing and has a lot of interesting flavours.  You all know what it tastes like.  It’s great!

Gin and Tonic

1 1/2 ounces gin
tonic water
lime wedge

In a tall glass filled with ice cubes pour in the gin then top with the tonic.  Garnish with the lime wedge.

This cocktail tastes so good and more than makes up for it’s lack of photographic appeal.  Looks like a glass of water doesn’t it?

So then the real test.  Does Pierce Almas mezcal have enough gin like qualities to make a mezcal and tonic comparable to a gin and tonic?  The short answer is yes.  The long answer is in the actual episode.  You’re going to listen, right?

Mezcal and Tonic

1 1/2 ounces Pierde Almas Mezcal
tonic water
lime wedge

In a tall glass filled with ice cubes, pour in the mezcal then top with the tonic.  Garnish with the lime wedge.


​

Hmmm.   Looks like another glass of water, but tastes like something else. It’s Ginny but definitely Mezcally too.  If you’ve never tried mezcal, this is a great way to introduce it to your mouth!

Please give them them both a try soon!

They say their ain't no cure for the summertime blues, but the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure have found one!  Blue cocktails!  If that doesn't cure what ails you, there is also another exciting "Tale of Eddy" in this week's episode!  Let's get mixing!

First up is a cocktail called the Bluegrass.  The Gents hope you like tart drinks because this one is loaded with citrus.  It should have been called the Farewell Scurvy.

Bluegrass

1 ounce bourbon
1 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce lime juice
1/2 ounce blue curaçao
1/2 ounce Southern Comfort

lemon peel and maraschino cherry for garnish

Shake the ingredients together with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a highball glass with fresh ice.  Add the lemon peel and maraschino cherry to the glass.

Wooeeeeee!   That's tart!   The drink is almost 1/2 citrus juice!  Too much?  Maybe.  Make it and try it and let the Gents know.  As it is it would be the perfect drink for a Bluegrass Festival where you're expected to yell "Wooeeeee!" a lot.

Up next is a drink that Gentleman Fred found on the world wide web.  Have you heard of this thing?  It's crazy.  Be careful what you type into it though.  It'll turn up the most horrendous things.  Anyway, Fred found a delightful drink called Dark Magic.  You know what's really magical about it?  The recipe is written in milliliters!

Dark Magic

40 ml gin
20 ml Blue Curaçao
20 ml Raspberry Syrup
100 ml Pineapple Juice
1 egg white

Shake all the ingredients together vigorously with ice for 20-30 seconds and strain into a tumbler with fresh ice.  Garnish with 3 fresh raspberries.  Serve with a straw.

First of all, this drink was designed to be sipped from a container that you can't see through.  The extra long shaking makes a wonderful foam that you can't see though.  The drink creator served it in a dark metal can with a black titanium straw.  The whole idea was that out of this mysterious darkness came this light fluffy raspberry delight.  It still works in a regular glass but if you couldn't see the contents it would be quite a surpise!

Gentleman Dave thought that the drink was a little too sweet and so Gent Jason mixed the two drinks together and that turned out to be really good too.  One of those "greater than the sum of it's parts" situations.

Try them both and mix them together and leave a comment.

,
It's getting to be that time for putting up preserves.  Isn't that how they say it?  In this episode, the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure pull out some marmalade and crab apple jelly, and mix them with some amber spirits to warm your hearts and tickle your taste buds.  Also, Gentleman Jason recounts another "Tale of Eddy" this time featuring Jason himself!

First up is a cocktail created by Dale DeGroff.  He created it for the Crown Royal folks and it's a different take on an Old-Fashioned.  It's the Royal Gingersnap.  This drink is a little complicated because of the frosting of the glass which should be done a few hours ahead of time. 

Mix equal parts superfine sugar and ground cinnamon together in a small bowl or saucer.  Then take a small orange wedge and rub it around the OUTSIDE of the rim.  Wherever the orange touches, so will the sugar, so don't go too thick with your orange rubbing.  It is helpful to hold the glass upside down so that the juice doesn't run down the outside of the glass.  If that happens, when you make the drink you can easily end up with a sticky glass which is something that no one wants.  Dip the rim of the glass in to the sugar/cinnamon mixture and tap the glass to shake of any excess then set the glass aside at room temperature.  The sugar will crystallize after a couple of hours and then, when you make the drink, the sugar will not come off with every sip as it would if you put in on fresh.  It seems like a lot of work but it really isn't, and it really does make all the difference in the world as you will hear in the show. 

Royal Gingersnap
by Dale DeGroff, from "The Essential Cocktail - The Art of Mixing Perfect Drinks"

Superfine sugar, for frosting the glass
Ground cinnamon, for frosting the glass
2 slices orange
1 Marashino cherry
1 teaspoon orange marmalade
1/4 ounce Domaine de Canton (ginger liqueur)
2 ounces Crown Royal
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Flamed orange peel for garnish

Frost the outside of the glass as described above with equal measures of superfine sugar and cinnamon and using one of the orange slices.
In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle the remaining orange slice and the cherry with the marmalade and ginger liqueur.  Add the whiskey, bitters and ice cubes and shake well.  Strain into the frosted glass over fresh ice, and garnish with a flamed orange peel.

This not surprisingly is a wonderful drink.  It would have to be to make it worth all the prep work.  First you smell the orange as you go in for your first sip.  You taste a little sweet orange and cinnamon as your tongue  touches the rim.  Then you get your gingery whiskey goodness (with a bit more) orange as you actually take a drink.  Really, really good.  Please don't be scared of the prep work.  Try this drink as soon as you can.

Which is about 3 hours from now.  Because of the frosting of the glass.

Next up is a drink that Gentleman Fred came up with.  It is a disaster.  Fred found a few different recipes but couldn't settle on just one so he improvised and took a little from this one and a little from that one.  This is not necessarily a bad thing to do.  This is how great new cocktail recipes are born.  It is however, not a great thing to do for the first time, live on a podcast.  What is the recipe you ask?  I'm afraid you'll have to listen to the show to find out.  Fred named it the Crabapple Cove in honour of Hawkeye Pierce, everybody's favourite M*A*S*H character.   Also because it has crab apple jelly in it.

Crabapple Cove
by Fred Partridge

Bourbon
Crab apple Jelly
Lemon juice
Angosturra bitters (although Fred had orange bitters and Peychauds with him)

Listen to the show and hear what Fred did. 

It's a not a bad drink at all.  It just needs a certain something else ingredient-wise.  Either that or the proportions need to be tweaked.  Maybe try mucking around with it yourself and then leave a comment with your recipe. The Gents will mix it up and try it on the show!

Fred Update
So here is the thing; I have identified at least three things that I did wrong with my improvised crabapple cocktail:

1. I didn’t beat the egg white first, as discussed by Jeffrey Morgenthaler in his tome The Bar Book (page 156-7 to be exact).
2. I let the egg white sit in alcohol for about 3 minutes, which partially ‘cooked’ the egg white.
3. I did the dry shake, but I didn’t shake it with ice – I blame Royal Gingersnap!

I still think there is a good cocktail in there somewhere and I will try to perfect it before our next show and report back!  The Crabapple Cove Cocktail will rise again!!
Or my name isn’t Hawkeye Pierce.

Thanks for listening and tune in next time for another exciting episode of "Tales of Eddy"!

In this episode the Gents tackle a couple of easy cocktails and pass the richness on to you.  

Leonard Cohen invented a cocktail back in 1975.  He called it the Red Needle.  Would you like to try one?  You should.  It's so easy and so tasty, you'll be shouting Hallelujah!

The Red Needle

 2 ounces tequila
cranberry cocktail
lemon slice

Fill a tall glass 1/2 full with crushed ice.  Add the tequila and then fill the rest with cranberry cocktail. Garnish with a lemon slice.

It couldn't be easier could it?   It's a very good drink too.  If you're looking for a chance to get more tequila into you as fast as possible, this is the drink for you.

Well, the Gentlemen are in to week two of iTunes not picking up their podcast.  Hopefully you’re all finding your way here and downloading them from the “Audio Files” page.   Or better yet, just listen to it right here!

This time out, the Gents are bringing back an easy classic from the early 1900’s.  It’s the Gin Buck and all you need are a couple of ingredients.  Gin and ginger ale.  It’s like a gin and tonic but with ginger ale!   

The Gin Buck

2 ounces gin
3 ounces ginger ale (or to taste)

Fill a Collins glass with ice and add the gin and ginger ale.  Stir briefly.

On one website, it said if you add a splash of lemon juice to this drink, it becomes a Leap Frog.  The Gents added it anyway and they’re still calling it a Gin Buck!   This drink is light and refreshing and you should probably be making one right now!

Next up is a variation on the Gin Buck called Get Buck In Here.  This comes from the book, “Experimental Cocktail Club”.   This wonderful book has cocktail recipes from their bars from all around the world.  Check out their website right here.  These folks have bars in London, Paris, New York and Ibiza!

Get Buck In Here

1 ounce Hendrick’s gin
1 ounce Suze
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
6 dashes of absinthe 
Fever Tree ginger ale, to top up

Place all the ingredients (except the ginger ale) in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice cubes. Shake and double strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice and top up with ginger ale.  Garnish with a long piece of pared grapefruit rind. 

​Yum, yum.  The Gents did not have any grapefruit rind but this drink is still exceptional.  The herbal flavour of the Suze combines with the anise flavour in the absinthe to kick this drink into a completely different cocktail realm.   It’s a tasty drink that will be unlike anything you’ve ever had. 

​Hopefully, the Gents solve their iTunes problem soon.  In the meantime, thanks for visiting and check back in two weeks for the next episode!