Posts Tagged ‘Bourbon’

The following are all excerpted from the The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender's Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy by Jim Meehan. For more on this upcoming bible for cocktail afficionados, read the previously posted review of The PDT Cocktail Book by Christine Sismondo here.

Author Jim Meehan told me himself that the first recipe, the Benton's Old Fashioned, is currently the most popular cocktail at PDT (Please Don't Tell) his well-celebrated New York City speakeasy cocktail bar. He also provided us with a recipe for his bacon-infused bourbon, recipes for his French Maid cocktail and the housemade ginger beer the French Maid includes, plus a recipe for the Little Bit Country cocktail. Enjoy!

The PDT Cocktail Book: The Complete Bartender’s Guide from the Celebrated Speakeasy; By Jim Meehan; Illustrations by Chris Gall; Sterling Epicure; $29.95; 368 pages

Benton’s Old Fashioned

(Don Lee, Winter 2007)

2 oz. Benton’s Bacon Infused Four Roses Bourbon
.25 oz. Deep Mountain Grade B Maple Syrup
2 Dashes of Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled rocks glass filled with one large cube.

Garnish with an orange twist.

Benton’s Bacon Infused Bourbon

1.5 oz Benton's Bacon Fat
750 ml bottle of Four Roses Bourbon

On low heat, warm bacon fat in a small saucepan. Stir until it becomes molten, about 5 minutes. Pour liquid fat into a large, non-reactive container. Pour bourbon into the container with the fat. Stir. Cover and let stand for 4 hours. After 4 hours, place the container in the freezer for two hours. After 2 hours, remove solid fat. Strain through a terry cloth or cheesecloth. Pour contents back into the original bottle and label.

Yield: 24 oz.

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Today we feature a guest post by Matt Jones, a Maker's Mark Distillery Diplomat and bourbon expert. Take it away Matt.

"The distilled spirit of a nation captures its culture, geography, economics, natural resources, commercial, and political history.” (F. Paul Pacult, American Still Life, 2003). It’s spirit, if you will.

Bourbon on the rocks.

In 1964, with the help of incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson, bourbon was first legally defined as the 'Native Spirit of America,' the only spirit that can trace its origins to American soil. A congressional resolution to the Constitution of America declared bourbon a distinct product of the United States.

There was a long list of what defines a bourbon. We’re just going to distill it down and give you the A, B, Cs.

What is bourbon?

A: It must to be produced and bottled in AMERICA. While it does not need to be produced in the defined region of Kentucky, 98 per cent of the 200+ bourbons on the market come from the state of Kentucky. Bourbon County, KY, is of course the birth place of bourbon. Incidentally, the county lines have shifted over the centuries, and there is no longer any bourbon actually being produced in Bourbon County!

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The kind folks at Maker's Mark have sent along some recipes to enjoy during the Memorial Day weekend, all of which feature their wonderful bourbon. And no, I have not been bribed to say that or to post these recipes. Honest.

Spring-Time Manhattan

Spring-Time Manhattan

Recipe created by Josh Lewis, general manager and mixologist, Blush (Santa Barbara, CA)

Ingredients:
1-1/2 parts Maker’s Mark
1/2 part Maurin Quina liqueur
1 bar spoon Stirrings Ginger
4 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
1 heaping bar spoon of orange marmalade

Preparation:
1. Combine all ingredients in a shaker.

2. Fill with ice and shake until frost forms on the shaker.

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

4. Garnish with a fresh orange twist.

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Here are some cool links I've stumbled across in the last little while.

Two Australian entrepreneurs are working on a beer that people can drink in space. Seriously.

Beer in space? I'll drink to that.

Crazy or crazy good? I don't know yet, but Imbibe's Avocado Daiquiri is making my weekend Drinks to Try list. Doesn't seem right on the surface, but I admit I'm intrigued by the idea. And hell, God hates a coward.

Over at Cask Strength, Andrew gets his nationwide bartender re-education program underway. For this month, he'd like us all to help bartenders learn to make a proper Daiquiri. It's a noble cause. (But I'm still going to try the previously mentioned Avocado Daiquiri. At home, of course. In the dark. Alone. No witnesses.) More to Andrew's point though, I gave up trying to find a generic Daiquiri photo in the online database I use. It's all pics of frozen strawberry slushies and Margaritas. Ridiculous.

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My first ever Mixology Monday! It's a great idea and a good way to discover some great writers and fantastic booze blogs. Check out the Mixology Monday homepage for all the details.

This month's theme is Flores de Mayo – Floral Cocktails. This month's host is Dave at The Barman Cometh blog.

I thought about going Aviation or Blue Moon so I could use crème de violette, but instead thought I would do something original. I've been toying around with one of my favourite drinks lately: the Crusta. I usually go traditional and use brandy as my base spirit, but my better half Donna has recently fixated on making them with bourbon.

Bourbon Bloom

The bloom in the Bourbon Bloom. Sugared rim is optional.

Preparation
1. Pre-chill your cocktail glass in the freezer.

2. Using a vegetable peeler, or paring knife if you have the skills, peel an entire lemon, keeping the peel in one long piece. If you mess up, two long peels can work also. Avoid too much pith on your peel. It's bitter.

3. Remove your cocktail glass from the freezer and give it a sugar rim (optional). Tightly wind the lemon peel into a spiral. You will see that it has the appearance of a flowering rose. Drop this in the bottom of your cocktail glass and return to the freezer.

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