They say that 50 is a golden anniversary.  50 years!  Certainly worth celebrating.  But what if it’s only 50 episodes?  Furthermore, what if those 50 episodes happened over a period of less than 2 years?  What do you do then?

You make Golden Cocktails, that’s what you do!  Plus you talk about liquid nitrogen and butterflies and John Goodman and a bunch of other fun stuff.

The Golden Martini is found in “the canon cocktail book” by Jamie Boudreau and James O. Fraioli.  If you still haven’t been to canon in Seattle, I do not know what is wrong with you.  Go there now.  If you can’t get there, the least thing thing you could do would be to buy the book.  You can get it right here.

The Golden Martini calls for liquid nitrogen.  We did not have liquid nitrogen nor could we get liquid nitrogen.  YOU should also NOT use liquid nitrogen.  If you want this drink with liquid nitrogen, go to canon in Seattle.  They know what they are doing.  YOU USE ICE!  OK?

Good.

Here it is, the way we made it.

The Golden Martini
by Jamie Boudreau from canon in Seattle, Washington.  Printed in “the canon cocktail book” by Jamie Boudreau and James O. Fraioli

1 1/2 ounces Old English gin (We used Old Tom gin)
1/2 ounce Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Blanc (We used Noilly Prat vermouth)
1/4 ounce Goldwasser liqueur (We used Goldschläger.  The closest thing we could get. Did we really even make the drink?)
2 dashes orange bitters

lemon twist for garnish

Add all ingredients (except the lemon twist) to a chilled mixing glass.  Stir well with ice until really, really cold. (DON’T USE LIQUID NITROGEN!  REMEMBER?)
Strain slowly into a chilled cocktail glass.  Be careful not to lose too many of the gold flakes!  It is the Golden Martini after all.
Garnish with the lemon twist


This is a complex drink.  First you taste the cinnamon from the Goldschläger.  Then it disappears and you get a little bit of sweetness from the gin and then some fruitiness from the vermouth.   Up next, orange from the bitters, which is the final taste that slowly dissipates leaving you with the desire to take another sip.  If you like interesting cocktails, you will like this drink.  If you’re not crazy about a lot of different (possibly bitter or dry) tastes, you might not like this drink.  Either way though, you should definitely give it a try.  You know you have a bottle of Goldschläger somewhere in the liquor cabinet.

Years ago, Gentleman Dave had a dream.  A dream that Gentlemen Fred and Jason should do a podcast about booze.  Now, 50 episodes in, his Golden Dream has come true!  In honour of that, we dip again into Beachbum Berry Remixed for the Golden Dream.  

Golden Dream
-1959 by Leroy Sharon of the Porpoise Room cocktail lounge at Marineland of the Pacific.  From "Beachbum Berry Remixed" by Jeff Berry

1 1/2 ounces fresh orange juice
1 ounce Galliano
3/4 ounce Cointreau
3/4 ounce heavy cream
6 ounces (3/4 cup) crushed ice

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.  Strain through a fine mesh wire sieve into a chilled cocktail glass.

This is a boozy Orange Julius.  If you like frothy, creamy, orange drinks, you have just met your new best friend.   Seriously.  This might just replace that old friend from college.  Make it now and when you’re in New Orleans, go by Latitude 29 in person and thank Jeff Berry for rediscovering this drink and making it known to the world.  

See you next time!

OH!  By the way, if you were ever wondering why our show sounds so crummy, here we are in action!

Do you have “Beachbum Berry Remixed” yet?   You don’t?  Well go get it!  We’ll wait right here.

You have it now?  Great!  Now let’s get on with these fantastic drinks that you can make with gin! 

Gentleman Dave likes his gin.  Gentleman Dave was also recently in Hawaii.  Therefore, it seemed like a logical choice to combine this very British spirit with Polynesian Pop!  Enter the Beachbum and these two great drinks.

First up is the Honolulu Cocktail.  This couldn’t be simpler and answers the question, “What would a tried and true gin drinker drink in a Tiki bar where most of the drinks are made with rum?”  

The Honolulu Cocktail
by Jeff Berry from “Beachbum Berry Remixed” possibly from the Brown Derby in Hollywood, California, USA circa 1940.

1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice
1/4 ounce orange juice
1/4 ounce pineapple juice
1 1/2 ounces gin
1 tsp powdered sugar (do NOT substitute granulated)
1 dash Angostura bitters

Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice, then shake everything with ice cubes.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Isn’t that something?  Like a Tom Collins Plus.  Or a gin Screwdriver.  It’s a little drier than your average tropical cocktail, but it’s sure to please the gin drinker in your group.

Next up is the big one, and we mean BIG!  Like "8 1/2 ounces of liquid" big.  This is the Bali Bali from the Bali Ha’i at the Beach in New Orleans.  You may have to prepare a little shopping list for this one but it is definitely worth the extra work.

Bali Bali
by Jeff Berry from “Beachbum Berry Remixed” from the Bali Ha’i at the Beach, New Orleans, circa 1950’s.

1 ounce fresh lime juice
1 ounce fresh orange juice
1 ounce unsweetened pineapple juice
1 ounce dark Jamaican rum
1 ounce light Virgin Islands rum
1 ounce gin
1 ounce Cognac
1/2 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce falernum
1/2 ounce passion fruit syrup

Shake well with ice cubes.  Pour unstrained into a tall glass.

We know we’ve said this before but . . .HOLY MACKEREL THIS IS A GREAT DRINK!  There is nothing not to like about this cocktail.  First of all it’s huge!  Over a cup of drinking pleasure for you.  It’s not super sweet, it’s fruit juice sweet.  The booze in it can’t overpower the fruit juice flavours.  They get along together like a house on fire.  Sure, you can’t drink a bunch of these, but why would you want to?  Have one and see where it takes you.  I’m guessing it takes you to a sun kissed shore where palm trees sway and sea birds slowly circle overhead.

See you next time for our 50th Episode!

Is it always easy to do the right thing?  Of course not.  

A while ago, a listener left a comment on our blog page (as we would like you to do too) wondering if we could do some easy drinks for newcomers to the world of cocktails.  We gladly obliged and did a few shows that featured drinks that were very easy to make and only had a few ingredients.

This is not one of those shows.

Was it the right thing to do?  Of course.  Is it always easy doing the right thing?  Of course not!  It’s practically killing us just to be gentlemen!  But we do it.  We do it for you.  These two drinks are going to require a little prep work from you.  One of the drinks only has 3 ingredients.  One of them is rum.  You’ve got rum.  If you don’t, you know where you can get it.  You also need lime juice.  Get the limes while your out getting your rum.  The final ingredient is butter syrup.

Uh oh.  You don’t have butter syrup do you?  Neither did we.  This is that prep work we were talking about.  This is the ONE hard part in the Cold Buttered Rum by Dave Arnold and found in his mind warping book Liquid Intelligence.

We could explain to you the concept behind it all, but we don’t know it ourselves.
You know who does?  This guy.  Click on the YouTube clip below and he’ll walk you through we we had to do

Here’s the recipe for the syrup and the drink

Butter Syrup
-by Dave Arnold and found in his book, Liquid Intelligence

200 grams water
150 grams melted unsalted butter
200 grams granulated sugar
3 grams Ticaloid 210 S
10 allspice berries, crushed

1. Heat the water and infuse allspice berries for 5 minutes at a simmer, then strain out the allspice
2. Hydrate the Ticaloid 210 S in the allspice water using the hand blender
3. Add the melted butter and blend until smooth
4. Add the sugar and blend until smooth

Store outside the fridge until needed

Cold Buttered Rum
-by Dave Arnold and found in his book, Liquid Intelligence

2 ounces spiced rum
1 Fat ounce (1 1/8 ounces) of butter syrup
1/2 ounce  freshly strained lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker
Add ice and shake for about 15 seconds
Double strain into a chilled old-fashioned glass

Check out that creamy, buttery goodness!  The kicker in this drink is that little bit of lime juice.  The citrus cuts through all the richness and reminds you that you are drinking a rum drink after all.  The lime juice kind of elevates the whole experience and takes the drink beyond just a sweet creamy drink.  You will LOVE this drink.  Go get your Xanthan Gum and Gum Arabic right now!

This is what Wikipedia has to say about our next drink, Coquito!

"Coquito is a coconut-based alcoholic beverage traditionally only served in Puerto Rico, similar to eggnog, hence it is sometimes called Puerto Rican eggnog. It is always made with rum, coconut milk, sweet condensed milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves"

We know it’s not Christmas right now, but the pairing of these two creamy rum cocktails was too good to pass up.  There are recipes all over the internet for this classic holiday treat.  We chose the one from Allrecipes.com and we are glad we did.  Now like we said . . . there is a bit of prep work.

Coquito Recipe (approximately 10 servings)
-from allrecipes.com

2 egg yolks, beaten
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14 ounce) can cream of coconut
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup white rum
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In the top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks and evaporated milk. Stirring constantly, cook over lightly simmering water until mixture reaches a temperature of 160 degrees F (71 degrees C).
The mixture should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Transfer mixture to a blender, and add cream of coconut, sweetened condensed milk, rum, water, cloves, cinnamon, and vanilla. Blend for about 30 seconds. Pour into glass bottles and chill overnight.

Jiminy Christmas!  Forget your regular old egg nog.  The Puerto Ricans have got it going on!  You'll never go back to that store bought swill again.  It will be all Coquito all the time from here on end.  We promise you.  We know what some of you are thinking.  You don't like coconut.  We don't like it either! (Except Fred)  Don't give it a second thought.  It's in there but it's not overpowering in any way.  Make this for a crowd in the summertime and see what they think.  Say it's Christmas in July!

As we said in the show, the world may be losing yet another of it's mid century tiki palaces.  This time Don the Beachcomber in Huntington Beach may be on it's way out.  Check out this video tour posted by one of our favourite YouTubers, Justin Scarred.

And finally, the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure have been featured in print!  The spring issue of Indulge Magazine is out, and the Gents are featured in an article about podcasting.  Our big thanks go out to the Peace Arch News for inviting us to be a part of there great magazine.

If you don't happen to live in the White Rock/ South Surrey area of BC, you can have a peek at the electronic version right here.   Peace Arch News eEdtions     Please give it a read.

Until next time, keep on drinking!  

And reading . . .

What was “Pickfair” exactly?  It was the palatial spread that Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. and Mary Pickford lived in in Beverly Hills.  Gentleman Fred thought we owed everyone an apology of sorts after “celebrating” Errol Flynn in our last episode.  After drawing attention to that noted rapscallion, he thought we should pay tribute to some more deserving Hollywood royalty.

First up is the Fairbank cocktail.  Note the missing “S”.  It’s not actually known if this drink is named after old Doug himself or whether it’s named after Charles Warren Fairbanks, Teddy Roosevelt’s vice president.  We figured it was close enough and chose the recipe from Ted Haigh’s “Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails". 

Fairbank Cocktail

1 3/4 ounce gin
3/4 ounce dry vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters
2 dashes creme de noyeaux.  (We substituted Amaretto. Creme de Noyeaux is tough to find!)

Stir in a mixing glass with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cherry.


If you’re a fan of the Martini, we think you’ll probably like this drink.  It’s very similar.  There’s also a chance that you won’t like it, because it’s not similar enough.  As you’ll hear in the recording, we were split 50/50 on it.  Gentleman Jason liked it because of it’s similarity to the Martini with the orange bitters and Amaretto adding an interesting but dry touch to the already dry Martini.  Gentleman Fred, who is not a fan of vermouth, had the same problem he has with a Martini with a little extra vermouth.  He is a silly person, but we all have to learn to get along.  Try it and see if you’re with the 50% or the other 50%.  It’s win-win really.

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. was married to Mary Pickford.  Mary Pickford was such a huuuuuuuuuuuuuggggggeeee star, she warranted a cocktail.  Fittingly, it’s a great cocktail.

Mary Pickford

1 1/2 ounces white rum
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened pineapple juice
1/4 ounce grenadine
1 barspoon (1 teaspoon) maraschino liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cherry.

This drink is so nice.  So dainty too.  Like Mary Pickford herself.  It’s like a tiny tiki drink.  It’s a little sweet (be careful with the grenadine) and a little tart.  Just like Mary Pickford herself.  If you drink too much and become an alcoholic, you’ll also be like Mary Pickford herself.  So be CAREFUL!  Seriously though, this is a fantastic drink, and Gentlemen Jason just had three of them as he is writing this.  You should too.  The pineapple juice makes for a fantastic froth on top of this drink and the maraschino liqueur adds just the little dry surprise something.

The Gentlemen hope you try both of these drinks as soon as possible.  When you do, raise a glass and give a proper toast to Doug and Mary.  They deserve it! 

See you next time!

There are gentlemen.  There are gentlemen of elegant leisure.  Then there’s Errol Flynn.  He seems like he should have been a gentleman of elegant leisure but he wasn't.  He wasn’t a gentleman of elegant leisure at all.  He was a creepy pervert!  He could  probably out “Weinstein”  Harvey Weinstein!  Yikes.  He also died right here in Vancouver, B.C.  so there's a nice local connection.

We gentlemen didn’t think of that though.  We were looking for drinks with Cognac in them, and we found them.  Both of them come from “Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean”.  The first one is called Errol Flynn's Pick Me Up, and just because it's is named after Errol Flynn doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t make it.  It just means that you should make if first.  Errol used to visit Havana, and when in Havana he would visit the famous Sloppy Joe’s.  The folks at Sloppy Joe's often named drinks after celebrities of the day, and this one is Errol’s!

Errol Flynn’s Pick Me Up
-likely invented by Fabio Delgado Fuentes from Sloppy Joe’s in Havana, Cuba. 
Taken from Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean.

1 1/2 ounces cognac
1 1/2 ounces Dubonnet
6 drops (1/8 teaspoon) Pernod (We used Absinthe)
1 egg white

Shake well with ice cubes.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This is our first drink with egg white.  DON’T be scared.  It’s not slimy.  It’s not poison.  What it is, is frothy, silky smooth fantastic-ness.  The Dubonnet is sweet, and the cognac tastes like brandy.  It is brandy.  The whole thing is actually quite well balanced and the anise taste of the Absinthe kind of hangs around on the outskirts.  You know it’s there though.  Watching  you.  Watching you like creepy Errol Flynn at one of his Hollywood parties.  He was really gross but the drink is not.  It's really good. Plus it’s a cool red colour.  Try it immediately!

Wikipedia says that ...

“Cognac (is a variety of brandy named after the town of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime.  Cognac is a type of brandy and, after the distillation and during the aging process, is also called eau de vie. It is produced by doubly distilling white wines produced in any of the designated growing regions.  Cognac production falls under French Appellation d'origine contrôlée designation, with production methods and naming required to meet certain legal requirements. Among the specified grapes Ugni blanc, known locally as Saint-Emilion, is most widely used. The brandy must be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels from Limousin or Tronçais. Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wine barrel age, and most cognacs spend considerably longer "on the wood" than the minimum legal requirement.”

It’s really good in cocktails as well.  This next one is called a Night Cap an also comes from Sloppy Joe’s in Havana.  It dates back to 1935!  Lets see what the dirty Thirties used to taste like.

Night Cap
Recipe from A 1935 season Sloppy Joe’s souvenir pamphlet
Taken from Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean.

3/4 ounce white crème de cacao
3/4 ounce cognac
3/4 ounce dry gin
3/4 ounce fresh lime juice

Shake well with ice cubes and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

We’re not sure why this delicious yellow drink is called a Night Cap.  If anything, it seems like a surefire summer patio hit!  The chocolate flavour blends so well with the citrus that it helps you finally understand the appeal of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges!  Kind of.  It’s similar to the 20th Century cocktail that we did way back in Episode 5.  The citrus pops by first, and the chocolate lingers afterwards.  In a pleasant way.  Not like Errol Flynn would have...

Both these drinks are very good and even though they both have cognac, they’re both completely different.  Please try them both and in case we haven’t mentioned it enough, go buy Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean.  Not only is it full of great drink recipes from the past 500 years (seriously), it also has great pictures and is amazingly well researched.

Oh!  Also, if you'd like to see a picture of Mr. Flynn just before he left Vancouver you can click right here.

See you soon!

Don't let the title of this episode fool you.  These are very nice drinks.  We were a little unsure about the second but it turned out to be the big winner for us.  Along the way we talked about Jack Webb's acting, tablespoon equivalents, Little Pete and much much more!  Come along won't you?

First up is an old classic.  You're right, it's a Sour.  A GIN sour to be exact.  Following the proportions laid out by our old friend Jerry Thomas.   We didn't just use regular gin though, we used Queensbourough Gin from Central City Brewers + DIstillers.  This yummy stuff is made in Surrey, B.C. and has the usual botanicals plus a little pine, rosemary, jasmine and cassia.  It's really, really good.

Gin Sour
-Jerry Thomas, from Imbibe by David Wondrich

2 ounces gin
1 ounce water
I teaspoon granulated sugar
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Dissolve the sugar in the lemon juice in a cocktail shaker,  Add the gin and water and shake with ice.  Strain into a highball glass.  Rub the rim of the glass with lemon.

It's not going to win any cocktail competitions in the near future, but it doesn't have to.  This is a classically proportioned cocktail.  Its got spirt.  It's got sweet.  It's got sour.  It's got weak.  You can make this with any kind of spirit you want.  Grab the bourbon.  Try it with scotch.  Play around with it.  You'll be glad you did.

Also, don't throw out those spend lemons.  Instead go to the Trash Tiki website.  These folks were at Science of Cocktails here in Vancouver and Fred said they were doing some neat things with stuff we normally throw out.  Avocado Pit Orgeat anyone?

Next up was the tricky one.  This one we were not sure about at all.  The reason for our concern was a tricky little gin called Defender Island Gin.  Gentleman Jason inherited the bottle from his boss, who inherited it from someone else.  It is not your average gin.  It's a smoked rosemary gin.  Trickier too, is the fact that it's not available any more.  It was made by Legend Distilling in Naramata, B.C.  We'll put a link at the end of the blog.  We think this is it's successor though, and certainly would be worth trying!  It's called Black Moon Gin and is made by the same distillery.  We chose a recipe called the Sour Defender that we nicked from the Rum Howler Blog.  It looks like it's credited to Chip Dykstra, and that's good enough for us!

Sour Defender
by Chip Dykstra, found on the Rum Howler Blog

1 1/2 ounces Defender Island Smoked Rosemary Gin
1 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
1/2 ounce orange liqueur (he calls for Legend's Manitou Orange Liqueur.  We used Cointreau.)
1/2 ounce sugar syrup
Fresh Rosemary sprig for garnish

Add the ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice.
Shake until the outside of the shaker begins to frost.
Strain into a Cocktail Glass

Garnish with fresh rosemary sprig

We didn't think it would work.  We thought it would be too smoky and "burned bush-y".  We were wrong.  It was magic.  The citrus and the sweet combined to tame the smoky and draw more of the botanical niceness out of the smoked rosemary.  It was greater than the sum of it's parts.  It was chemistry.  It was alchemy!  It was like what fire did to a Flaming Moe (actually a Flaming Homer. Hopefully you're all fans of the Simpsons), and we were immediately sad that we would not be able to get anymore Defender Island Smoked Rosemary Gin.  Hopefully we can try it with the Black Moon Gin and get similar results.  Otherwise, you can probably find some sort of smoked rosemary recipe on the web.  Let me look . . .

Yes.  Here's something . . .

For Smoked-Rosemary Citrus Syrup: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and zest and juices from 2 small limes and 2 medium lemons. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to just under a boil, then remove from heat and cover. Meanwhile, hold rosemary sprig over an open flame using heatproof tongs, turning continually, until it begins to smoke. As soon as it starts to smoke, uncover syrup and place rosemary in saucepan. Cover again and let steep 30 minutes. Strain solids out and reserve syrup for the punch in an airtight container. The syrup will keep for up to a month in the refrigerator, but flavors will be best if used within 2 days.

See if you can't make that into something.  Leave us a comment if you do!

Oh and also . . .

Fred went to this - Science of Cocktails
​and stayed here - The Sylvia Hotel

​Dave drank here - Botanist at the Fairmont Pacific Rim

​Jason drank here - Hjuz (the H Tasting Lounge) at the Bayshore Inn

​and if you ever find yourself in Naramata B.C. visit Legend Distilling

 What is this?  Didn't the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure already do an Episode 42?  OF course they did, but it didn't take!  There was a microphone "issue".  It was a complete disaster, but then, fate stepped in.  The timeline is as follows . . .

Jan 6 - Gentleman Jason is a guest on the Sneaky Dragon podcast, episode #318. While on the podcast, the hosts David Dedrick and Ian Boothby promote their "Personal Podcast" contest.

Jan 8 - Elvis Presley's birthday.

Jan 9 - The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure record their episode #42, "Are You Thirsty Tonight?"  The "theme" is Elvis Presley inspired cocktails.  They record the entire show on the wrong microphone.  They do not notice.

Jan 13 - The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure's upload day!  During the upload, the error in recording is discovered.  At first there is sadness followed by anger, but then . . .INSPIRATION HITS!   Jason records a super short, super quick version of Episode 42, and more importantly, ENTERS the "Personal Podcast" contest.

Weeks pass.

Feb 3 - The unthinkable happens.  Jason wins the "Personal Podcast" contest!  Dave is sad.

Feb 8 -   The Sneaky Dragon podcast records a new G of EL episode #42. 

The Gents will call it Episode 42b.  The Sneaky Dragonistas will call it Episode 322b.  You will call it whatever you like.  Please listen to ALL of the Sneaky Dragon podcasts.  Just click on that blue printing.  Then leave comments everywhere!  Scatter them willy nilly all over the World Wide Web! 

Then buy this book.  Ian Boothby wrote it!  Nina Matsumoto illustrated it!  David Dedrick coloured it!

If you would like the recipes for the drinks in this episode, read on MacDuff . . .

The Burnside Cocktail

1 ounce gin
1 ounce dry vermouth
1 ounce sweet vermouth
1/2 teaspoon cherry brandy
1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain over fresh ice in a high ball glass.

Kentucky Colonel

2 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Bénédictine

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice.


Oh! Finally, if you absolutely want to hear the original poorly recorded "lost" episode #42, "Are You Thirsty Tonight"?.  It's tacked on to the end of the show!

Thank you Ian and Dave for a fantastic job!

Happy early Valentine’s Day!  In this episode, the G of EL talk about everything from Ricky Gervais to Christopher Columbus, and from Charlie Chaplin to anaphylactic shock!  All that AND it has a Valentine’s Day theme as well.  Please read on.

Wouldn’t it be fun to surprise your significant other with a bright pink cocktail on Valentine’s Day, or just to have one for yourself?  Sure it would.  Well good luck.  Turns out it’s a little trickier to find a truly pink drink without adding some kind of food colouring.  The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure got close though, and these two drinks will be sure to have your honey forgetting about that dinner reservation that you forgot to make in the first place.  Let’s get started!

First up is a drink that was printed in the July/August 2016 issue of Imbibe Magazine.  The recipe itself is attributed to Alex Smith from Whitechapel in San Francisco.  It’s called the Italian Gin and Tonic.

Italian Gin and Tonic
by Alex Smith, Whitechapel, San Francisco.  Printed in Imbibe Magazine, July/August 2016

2 ounces London Dry Gin
1/2 ounce Campari
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
Chilled tonic water (Whitechaple uses Lurisa brand.  We used Canada Dry)

Rosemary sprig and orange peel

Combine the first three ingredients in an ice-filled highball glass and top with chilled tonic (to taste).  Stir to combine then garnish with the Rosemary sprig and orange peel.

This tastes like a lighter and more refreshing Negroni.  The Campari's bitter/sweet flavour and the vermouth seem to love hanging out with the tonic water and the gin likes hanging out with everybody in this drink.  Perfectly balanced, this drink just begs you to have another one.  Be forewarned though, it made us pepper our conversation with a lot of bad puns.

 
Next up is an old, old drink that dates back to 1932.  This drink was served at the Queen’s Park Hotel in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad.  It’s printed in the extremely cool book, "Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean - 500 Years of Tropical Drinks and the People Behind Them" by Jeff Berry.  You can buy a copy for yourself right here.  The drink is called the Queen’s Park Hotel Super Cocktail.

Queen’s Park Hotel Super Cocktail
circa 1932- printed in Beachbum Berry’s Potions of the Caribbean, 2014 Cocktail Kingdom.

1 1/2 ounce gold Trinidad rum
1/2 ounce Italian vermouth
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/2 ounce grenadine
4 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake with ice cubes and strain into a cocktail glass.

It couldn’t be easier and it couldn’t be better!  Sweet and tart and rummy.  We loved this cocktail.  The first sip grabs you by the lapels and says, “This is a rum drink!”.  But don’t get scared.  The grenadine and lime juice guide you over to the vermouth and everybody gets along.  This drink is so good it would make you forget all about the bedbug infestation in your hotel bed (that collapsed the previous night) and that fact that you have to share your bathroom with 20 other guest rooms!  Well, maybe two of these drinks would make you forget that.

We hope you make these drinks for whatever occasion you have going on.  They are certainly "pinkish" which was what we set out to do, and they really would be a big hit on Valentine's Day!

Have a happy one!  Cheers!

ps.  You know what would make a great Valentine's gift for the cocktail person in your life?  I'll give you a hint, it's in the picture below.

Hey! How’d you like a nice non-Hawaiian Punsch?  You would?  You want a Swedish Punsch?  Fantastic.  You’ve come to the right place, because Swedish Punsch is featured in both of the drinks in this latest episode.

What is Swedish Punsch exactly?  Well, as it says on the Kronan Swedish Punsch website,

RICH HISTORY. BOLD FLAVOR.

Created from sugar cane spirits from the East and West Indies, KRONAN Swedish Punsch offers a rich, full-bodied rum palate with complex notes of toffee, smoke, molasses and leather.
The history of Swedish punsch dates back to 1733 when the Swedish East India Company started importing the main ingredient – the sugar cane spirit Batavia Arrack. Since that time, punsch has held a unique place in Swedish culture. Originally it was mixed using heat to melt the sugar into the alcohol and served while warm. With bottled commercial versions appearing around 1840, it became more common to serve it chilled.
By the turn of the 20th century, Swedish punsch found its way to America, where it became an essential ingredient in numerous classic cocktails. In the turmoil of prohibition and global war it disappeared from the market until the launch of KRONAN Swedish Punsch in 2012.

Doesn’t it seem like a mistake not to make a drink with this stuff?

Both of our drinks come from the first cocktail book that Gentleman Jason ever bought on eBay!  The wooden covered book is called “Just Cocktails” and was edited and compiled by W.C. Whitfield.  This book dates back to 1939 so you know the tastes you’ll be tasting are truly vintage.  Let’s give them a whirl.

First up is drink called “The Lasky”.  We don’t know who it is named after for sure, but we decided that it was probably named after a professional boxer named Art Lasky.  Even if it wasn’t, this drink is a real knockout!  

(pause for extended laughter)

The Lasky
-from Just Cocktails, 1939, compiled by W.C. Whitfield

1 ounce gin
1 ounce Swedish Punsch
1 ounce grape juice

Shake ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Gin and grape juice?  Yes!  It works!  In fact it all works.  The Swedish Punsch has this warm rummy flavour that sort of gloms on to the tartness of the grape juice, making the Punsch itself a little fruitier.  Then along comes old man gin just to remind you that this truly is a cocktail after all.  Really neat and a taste you haven’t had since the second world war.

After that, why not try a “Volstead”?  This drink is cheekily named after Andrew Volstead, the U.S. Congressman who sponsored and championed the bill that brought about Prohibition in the United States.  Take that Mr.Volstead!  Oh, excuse me . . . Congressman Volstead.

The Volstead
-from Just Cocktails, 1939, compiled by W.C. Whitfield

1 ounce Swedish Punsch
1 ounce rye
1/2 ounce orange juice
1/2 ounce raspberry syrup
dash of anisette

Shake ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

We’ll tell  you up front, this is a sweet drink.  Everything in it is already kind of sweet, and it all adds up quickly.  It works though.  The raspberry syrup and the orange juice can both be tasted and don’t try to out flavour each other.  Any edges the rye might have are smoothed off by the rummy, toffee goodness of the Swedish Punsch.  Could it benefit from a little splash of club soda?  Maybe.  Give it a try and let us know.  Maybe a twist of lemon too.  Maybe lime.  Something a little tart to slap the sweet in the face with!

Speaking of sweethearts (see what we did there? Tart?  Sweet?  Sweethearts?), join us next time for a couple of pink drinks that are sure to be the highlight of your Valentine's Day!   Until then, TIP BIG!!