I realized that I don’t know squat about sherry as a cocktail ingredient, but would like to learn more. And I found I wasn’t alone. Several of our friends had a hankering for a sherry tasting, so we got a group of people together who each brought a bottle or three. We also collected a number of cocktail recipes containing sherry to experiment with. Much like a wine tasting, we started with the driest finos and progressed to the sweeter amontillados, olorosos and the the dessert stylings of Pedro Ximénez. Here are my notes from that fun evening.
by sylvan on January 22, 2010
I’ve always like the apricot brandy and dry vermouth combo (ie Darb, Frankenjack from the Savoy Cocktail Book) and wanted to see if sherry could stand in if some bitters were added. Cocktail recipe included.
by sylvan on August 24, 2009
The Whiskey Sour is a true classic that has somewhat fallen out of favor because it is very difficult to get made well in a bar. Even if your bartender isn’t using commercial sour mix, he or she has to be willing and able to adjust the sweetness to your taste. Much like lemonade, everyone has a slightly different preference between mouth-puckeringly sour and syrupy sweet and so this is really a drink that you need to adjust to you or your customer’s taste, recipes aside. However, as a starting point, I humbly submit mine to be used as a starting point for your own.
by sylvan on June 25, 2009
For those readers that are not regular scourers of the cocktail blogs, I wanted to let you know that SeanMike over at the Scofflaw’s Den has just posted about a drink named after yours truly, the Sylvania.
by sylvan on May 14, 2009
While I feel like I buy bourbon whiskey more often than other spirits, I can’t say that bourbon is my favorite spirit to mix with; I’m much more likely to drink it on the rocks or in a Whiskey Cocktail (basically an Old-Fashioned without fruit). But there are a few drinks that I make regularly using bourbon.
by sylvan on February 28, 2009
New Orleans has been on my mind this week, with Mardi Gras being this last Tuesday and all. I’ve found that one of the more elusive classic New Orleans drinks to get out on the town is the Vieux Carré. It seems that few bars, even at Southern or Cajun/Creole restaurants, deem it necessary to [...]
by sylvan on February 10, 2009
There was a time not too long ago when rye whiskey almost disappeared, another victim of Prohibition. It didn’t, though, and thanks to the internet, rye has enjoyed something of a revival in America. So much so that there have even been shortages caused by its rapid return to semi-popularity. However, despite this new popularity, [...]