In this episode the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure return to the islands. Which ones? It doesn’t matter, we’re going! Tradewinds and grass skirts are beckoning us. We do have to make one short stop in outer space though. What?!?!? Read on . . . The Shameful Tiki Room in Vancouver, B.C. recently had their 4th anniversary, and one of their featured drinks on their anniversary menu was a gin classic from 1967 called the “Saturn”. This drink was created by J. “Popo” Galsini and it won him that year’s IBA World Cocktail Championship. It’s not too sweet, and just a little bit tart, and perfect for that drinker who may be spooked by a bad time with rum in high school. They know who they are. Grab yourself a blender and get mixin’! Saturn by J. “Popo” Galsini, 1967. Adapted from Jeff Berry, “Beachbum Berry’s Taboo Table” 2005 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice 1/2 ounce passion fruit syrup 1/4 ounce falernum 1/4 ounce orgeat syrup 1 1/4 ounce gin 1 cup of crushed ice Put everything in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour unstrained into a pilsner glass or other tall glass. Next up is a drink featuring one of our latest purchases, Plantation Rum’s O.F.T.D Overproof Rum. O.F.T.D. stands for old fashioned traditional dark and is the delicious result of 7 “rum geeks”; Alexandre Gabriel (from Plantation Rum), Jeff “Beachbum” Berry (Latitude 29 in New Orleans), Martin Cate (Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco), Paul McFadyen (Trailer Happiness in London), Paul McGee (Lost Lake in Chicago) Scotty Schuder (Dirty Dick in Paris) and David Wondrich (sprits and cocktail historian and author). Plantation’s previous overproof rum contained some pot still rums that could be as much as 20 years old. Supplies of these older rums were becoming harder to find, so a reformulation was needed and these were the guys to do it. After tasting several old, overproof historical rums, and then comparing them to several modern formulations, this was the one that won out. You can read more about it here. Here's a picture of what you're looking for in the store. Now this wonderful rum has been used in “Mister Curtis”, a drink that sits quietly on the menu at Latitude 29 just between the “Old Fashioned Rum Cocktail” and the “Queen Annene”. The description below it says it all; “Adventure is his meat, and this is his drink. East Indian spices and West Indian rums, shaken with lime.” Find yourself a bottle of Plantation’s O.F.T.D and make this drink!
Mister Curtis Jeff Berry, Latitude 29 New Orleans, taken from Imbibe Magazine Jan-Feb 2017 1 1/4 ounce Demerara Rum (Berry uses El Dorado 8 year old. We used Lemon Hart) 1 ounce Chai syrup (Yes there’s a recipe afterwards) 1 ounce fresh lime juice 3/4 ounce Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof rum Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lime wedge and a pirate flag. Chai Syrup In a sauce pan, combine 32 ounces (1 carton) of liquid chai concentrate (Berry uses Oregon Chai Original, so we did too) with 20 ounces of gold turbinado or demerara sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring regularly, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, let cool, and bottle. Keeps refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.
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First, let us send out our hugest apologies to David Wolowidnyk. Not only did we probably butcher his name on the podcast, we also incorrectly said he was the head bartender at West. He used to be, and while we think everybody should do their very best to get to West for an amazing dinner, we should give a shout out to Mr. Wolowidnyk’s next big adventure which is Botanist. Botanist is a brand new restaurant which will be located in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel. Read all about it here or here. We can’t wait to try it out! In this episode, the Gentlemen try out a couple of green drinks. Not because it was St. Patricks Day a couple of weeks ago but because Dave’s wife used to drink Midori Sours and asked if we would make one on the show. The problem with the Midori Sour is that there seems to be multiple versions that all compete for top billing. Never mind, we chose one for you to try and we think you’ll like it very much. Midori Sour 1 1/2 ounces Midori Melon Liqueur 1 ounce vodka (we used Absolut) 2 ounces sour mix (Recipe below. Yes, we make our own sour mix) 1 1/2 ounces lime juice a dash of Sprite or other carbonated lemon-lime soda Combine first 4 ingredients and pour over ice. Top with soda and garnish with a cherry if you feel so inclined. Sour mix 1 cup water 1 cup sugar 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice Combine sugar and water in sauce pan and bring to a boil to dissolve sugar. Let cool. Juice citrus fruits and strain in to syrup to remove the pulp. Wow. Imagine a pitcher of these on the sundeck this summer. Nothing wrong with that. Next up is David Wolowidnyk’s (soon to be of Botanist fame) Melon Crush Cocktail. We got this recipe out of the BC Liquor Store’s Taste magazine. You can view them online right here. Melon Crush Cocktail by David Wolowidnyk 2017. Taken from Taste Magazine Spring 2017. 1 1/2 ounce Bacardi Maestro Rum 1 ounce Bols Melon Liqueur (but we used Midori!) 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice 8 green grapes plus extra for garnish. (Garnish is optional) 1 melon slice for garnish (again, optional) Place grapes in a cocktail shaker and muddle well. Add rum, melon liqueur and lime juice and shake with ice until very cold. Double strain over new ice into a collins glass and garnish with grapes or melon slice if you like. (We used grapes) This is a great drink. The flavours are nicely balanced and it doesn’t come off as sweet as the Midori Sour. If you really want to impress Mr. Wolowidnyk, when Botanist opens up, order one of these and say you heard about it on “The Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure” podcast! Cheers! Galliano? Gallian-yes you mean! This time around the Gentlemen of Elegant Leisure dust off that old, tall, bottle at the back of the liquor cabinet with the mysterious yellow liquid in it. You know the one. Your parents had one, your grandparents had one, and now you’ve got one. Time to crack it open and see what it’s all about. (If yours happens to be the one your grandparents had, and it already has been opened, you NEED to get a new one!) Along the way the Gentlemen talk of Dale DeGroff, Kathy Tong, the perils and pitfalls of planning Christmas parties, Fred gets a new nickname and Jason invents the Golden Mulata on the spot! No wonder Jason is called the Prime Minister of Cocktails! On with the recipes! First up is a Cocktail that Fred found on the internet. We didn’t want our Galliano cocktails to be something as common as a Harvey Wallbanger and the one Fred found does not disappoint. It’s called the Mulata Daisy and was the winner of the 2009 Bacardi Legacy Cocktail Competition in the UK. It’s described as a “modern interpretation of one of the most classic of Bacardi cocktails, the Daiquiri.” You can see it here. (You'll have to give your date of birth to the Bacardi people) Mulata Daisy Agostino Perrone, The Connaught Bar, London England 2009 2 parts BACARDÍ Superior rum 1 part freshly squeezed lime juice 1 bar spoon caster sugar 1 bar spoon fennel seeds ½ part dark crème de cacao liqueur ⅓ part Galliano liqueur Garnish with a lime and cacao rim Squeeze the lime juice into a cocktail shaker with the caster sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the fennel seeds and gently press with a muddler (or spoon) to crack and open the seeds. Pour in the crème de cacao and Bacardi Superior rum before shaking with ice cubes until the cocktail shaker is cold. Rub a lime wedge around the edge of the glass and carefully dip into dark cacao powder. Add the Galliano liqueur to the serving glass and fine strain the drink over the top. Fred wanted us to include a link to Agostino making this fantastic drink so here it is. What an incredibly balanced drink. So so so so good!
The Gentlemen then moved on to the Golden Cadillac. This drink comes from Poor Red’s BBQ in El Dorado, California. Apparently, in 1952, a young couple popped in for a drink to celebrate their engagement. They had just purchased a golden Cadillac and with all this good news decided they should also have a cocktail created just for them. The bartender was Frank Cline, the rest is history. Whenever you’re in El Dorado, do drop by Poor Red’s. They’re still there. Here’s their website. Golden Cadillac Frank Cline, Poor Red’s Bar-B-Q, 1952. This version from Dale DeGroff’s “The Essential Cocktail" 1 ounce Galliano 1 ounce white crème de cacao 2 ounces heavy cream ground cinnamon for garnish Combine the Galliano, crème de cacao, and cream in a shaker with ice and shake, shake, shake! Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon. Holy cow! Holy crème de ca-cow! What a wonderful treat. Next time we’ll make it as a milkshake and spend the afternoon with it! You should too! Please try both these drinks and give Galliano the shot it deserves. Oh, and if you listened to the podcast and also wondered how Kathy Tong was doing, here is her imdb page. She's doing alright! She's come a long way from local theatre in White Rock, B.C. Until next time, tip big! |
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A great selection of Absinthe for purchase.
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