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.

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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!

What a great episode this one is!  This time around, the Gents have a guest with them.  Who is it you ask?    None other than Kate Stadel and guess what?  She has her own podcast too.  You can check it out right here.  It's called Missed Cues.  As their website says, "Missed Cues is a podcast where we talk about theatre over drinks. Why does theatre matter in the 21st century? What ancient relics are holding our industry back? How do we create a vibrant community that challenges the most pernicious aspects of our society."  Give it a listen!

Kate actually asked to be on the show and once the Gents agreed she also let them know that she would like to cocktails with rosé wine.  According to Wikipedia, "A rosé is a type of wine that incorporates some of the color from the grape skins, but not enough to qualify it as a red wine."  As long as it has alcohol in it, the Gents are in!

First up is The Rosé Bouquet.  Its got a little bit of everything in it.  Let's try it out.

The Rosé Bouquet

3 ounces rosé
1 1/2 ounce gin
3/4 ounce Lillet Blanc
3 ounces ruby red grapefruit juice
Rosemary Sprig

Build over ice in a tall  glass.  Stir and serve with a small grapefruit wedge and rosemary sprig.

Not bad.  Not bad at all.  Plus you get to use some of that rosemary you've got growing in the yard!

Next us is a drink for the whiskey lover in your life.  The whiskey lover that also likes their whiskey mixed with rosé wine.  Probably a slightly smaller market but they will like it.  It's The American West Sour.  It actually calls for Tin Cup Whiskey but the Gents did not have that particular libation available.  They substituted Woodford Reserve and it worked out great!

The American West Sour

2 ounces Tin Cup Whiskey (we used Woodford Reserve)
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
3/4 ounce simple syrup
1/2 ounce dry rosé wine
Lemon peel for garnish

Shake the whiskey, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.  Slowly pour the wine over the back of a bar spoon onto the surface of the cocktail to create the layering effect.  Squeeze a lemon peel coin over the cocktail, and skewer with a cocktail pick for garnish.

Kate herself made this drink while the Gents gave directions.  Not surprisingly, the Gents gave lousy directions and they missed out on the layering of the rosé wine and instead told her to shake the whole thing.  Guess what?  It still works and it's a great drink!

Thanks again Kate for gracing the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure with your company and making episode 81 so great!  Try the drinks out everyone and be sure to leave a comment below.

It's Negroni Week again!  In fact, if you're reading this on the 29th of June (like you're supposed to) you have one more day to find your local Negroni Week supporter and go have a drink for charity! Just think of it.  Drinking to help others, instead of for your own selfish reasons!  

If you can't get out though, here's a couple of unique twists on this classic cocktail for you to drink on your own.  First up is an unusual Negroni called, the Unusual Negroni.  This one comes from a book called "The Negroni: Drinking to La Dolce Vita, With Recipes & Lore" by Gary Regan.  In this drink, Aperol replaces the Campari and Lillet Blanc is used in place of sweet Vermouth.  Plus, Hendricks gin has a bit of a cucumber flavour.  You have to try this one!

Unusual Negroni

1 ounce Aperol
1 ounce Lillet Blanc
1 ounce Hendrick's Gin

Small grapefruit slice or grapefruit twist for garnish

To serve "on the rocks" (with ice cubes), stir Aperol, Lillet Blanc, and gin with ice in an Old Fashioned glass, then garnish with a grapefruit slice and serve.

To serve "up" (without ice cubes), stir Aperol, Lillet Blanc, and gin with ice in a mixing glass, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a grapefruit twist and serve.

Either way this is a tasty drink that is much less assertive than the traditional Negroni.  One could drink these by the mugfull!  Should you?  I don't know.  Depends on your day.  You going someplace special?  No?  Grab a mug.

Next up is another drink that will use up some more of that Sloe Gin you bought.  This one is from Robby Nelson and was featured on the Imbibe Magazine website.  It's the Sloe-groni!

Sloe-Groni
by Robby Nelson, NYC

1 1/2 ounce London dry gin
3/4 ounce Campari
3/4 ounce sloe gin

a flamed orange twist for garnish

Add all of the ingredients to a mixing glass with ice, then stir to chill.  Strain into a chilled coupe, then garnish with the flamed orange twist.

How do you flame an orange twist you ask?  Check out this video right here.

Easy right?  Soon you'll be flaming orange twists over everything from your breakfast cereal to the cat's dinner!

The drink is really good too by the way.  This one is much closer to the original Negroni with the only real difference being the sloe gin used instead of the vermouth, and the proportions being skewed in favour of the gin.  Usually, a Negroni is made with the ingredients measured in 3 equal parts.  Try it today!

​Oh!  If you're wondering if the Gents themselves flamed their orange peel twist, here's the photographic proof!  Why not spark one up for Canada Day or the Fourth of July?  See you next time!

Have you ever wanted to sponsor an episode of the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure but you had no idea how?  Well, just do what what Gent Jason’s uncle did, and donate a bottle of your favourite liquor and see what they do with it!   It’s just that easy.


Turns out that Uncle Jack recently visited the multi award winning Sheringham distillery on beautiful Vancouver Island, and brought back a bottle of their Seaside Gin. What makes it especially “seaside” you ask?  Kelp!  Here’s what their website says about it.


SEASIDE GIN
Citrus, floral and notes of the sea make our Gin as refreshing as a seaside stroll.
Elegant for sipping and noble in your favourite cocktail…clean as the South Island surf.
Made from B.C. white wheat, B.C. malted barley, natural botanicals and sustainable hand-harvested local winged kelp (Alaria marginata).


AWARDS
WORLD GIN AWARDS WORLD’s BEST CONTEMPORARY GIN 2019
CASC GOLD MEDAL 2018
ALBERTA BEVERAGE AWARDS JUDGES SELECTION 2018
TASTE BC GOLD MEDAL 2018
SAN FRANCISCO WORLD SPIRITS COMPETITION 2017 SILVER MEDAL
B.C. DISTILLED 2017 2ND PLACE GIN AUDIENCE FAVOURITES
B.C. DISTILLED 2016 2ND PLACE GIN AUDIENCE FAVOURITES
VISC WINNER 2016 GIN CATEGORY


Obviously, the Gents couldn’t wait to taste it, and they chose a recipe from the Sheringham website to try it out.


TAJ MAHAL SUNSET
By Terence Fitzgerald / Spirits Consultant / Maple Bay, B.C. 

​2 oz. Sheringham Seaside Gin
¼ tsp Turmeric
¼ - ½ of a Lime
2 oz. Ginger Beer
⅛" thick Lime Slice
Combine gin, ginger beer and turmeric into a shaker and give a good shake. Juice the lime into the shaker, add ice and shake again, making sure all turmeric has dissolved. Strain into a lowball glass and garnish with lime slice.


The only thing the Gents would do differently in this tasty recipe would be to stir the ginger beer in afterwards because when they shook it, the ginger beer fizzed up and shot turmeric tinted liquid out of the sides of the shaker!  To be fair, the Gents had doubled the recipe for sharing purposes so it’s possible that for a single serving, it would shake up just fine.  Give it a whirl and let the Gents know.   Please send all of your dry cleaning bills to “Terence Fitzgerald / Spirits Consultant / Maple Bay, B.C.”

That’s two more great drinks this time around.  If you’re in the greater Victoria area make sure you head over to the Sheringham distillery for a visit!  Tell them “The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure” sent you.   They’ll have no idea what you’re talking about!   Big fun all around!

​Also, I’d you want to sponsor an episode, do what Jack did and send along a bottle.  It’s just that easy!

Two exciting drinks this week!  One with Aquavit and one with Akavit.  The Gents know they're the same thing but it makes it more exciting.

How about trying a a drink that makes you think of the Northern Lights?  Not because of it's dancing spiraling colours, but because it's literally called the Northern Lights!

Northern Lights

3/4 ounce aquavit
3/4 ounce Canadian whisky
1 tsp grenadine
1 dash Angostura bitters
soda water for topping up
lemon wedge and orange slice for garnish

Shake all the ingredients, except the soda water, together with ice, and strain into an ice filled glass.  Add the fruit garnish to the glass and top with soda.

There's a refreshing little sip.

But what if your bottle doesn't say "aquavit" on it?  What if it says "akavit"?  Then try this next one.

Midnight Sun

1 ounce akavit
2 tsp grapefruit juice
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar syrup
2 dashes grenadine
1/2 slice orange to garnish

Shake all the ingredients together with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.  Perch the slice of orange on the rim of the glass.

Wow!  Remember when you thought that first drink was a refreshing little sip?  Now what do you do? Try them both again and leave a comment below.