The Impatient Chef Cocktail Concoction: The Modified Moscow Mule

The Moscow Mule is all the rage these days, and I have to admit that I like them.  The problem is that I suck them down way too fast.  They go down like, well, ginger ale.  A local Distillery, one that I have no problem shamelessly plugging every chance I get, called New Deal Distillery, that resides in Portland, Oregon, has a Ginger Liqueur, and a fine vodka.  Now, I have no use for vodka in anything other than the Moscow Mule and pie crust, but it's okay in the Mule.  New Deal puts a Moscow Mule recipe on its bottle, and it consists of lime squeezin's, vodka, Ginger Liqueur, and soda water.  You can find the recipe here, or buy a bottle to get it (preferred).  I started thinking about how to make this into a cocktail rather than a fizz.  Here's what I came up with:

Ingredients:

2 oz Vodka (New Deal Portland Vodka works well)
2 oz New Deal Ginger Liqueur
1 oz fresh lime juice
raw sugar + boiling water (see directions), or 1/2 to 3/4 oz simple syrup (depending on your taste)

Directions:

In a measured shot glass, add raw sugar to the 1/2 oz mark.  If it is coarse raw sugar, fill it slightly higher.  Fill with water to the 1 oz mark.  Microwave for about 20 seconds.  Less may be necessary.  You just want it to be warm enough to dissolve the sugar.  Stir to dissolve.  Set aside while making the rest.
In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, vodka, and Ginger Liqueur.  Add ice.  Then add the sugar water.
Shake until the shaker is frosted.
Serve in a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a twist of lime.

Tasting notes.
This is not a sweet cocktail.  The New Deal Ginger Liqueur packs a whollop.  The sugar mellows it a little.  It's a sipping cocktail like I wanted.  It's a little puckery because of the lime, and the ginger is real, and pronounced.  It passed my wife's "Oh my God, it's good" test.

Enjoy.

The Impatient Chef Cocktail Recipe: The Bitter Old Man

So, The Impatient Chef ran out of his favorite cocktail gin on Thursday.  Friday evening rolled around, and the medicine cabinet still was a bit bare in the gin department.  Not only that, but the cocktail books did not reveal anything that looked appealing without a good gin.   Did that stop The Impatient Chef?  

Almost.

But, necessity is the mother of invention, and there was a liquor that I wanted to try, and I actually had it.

It’s called “Torani Amer”.  Not to be confused with the Torani syrups you may order in your latte, this is a tad astringent, and a little bitter.  I bought it a few years ago for a drink that I never got around to making.  Sans gin, I still couldn’t make it.  

What next? 

Invent a cocktail.

First the base spirit.  I was considering Old Tom Gin, or Laird’s Applejack. I smelled the various ingredients, and went with Applejack.  The drink would have three bitter parts: Torani Amer, Green Chartreuse, and Orange Bitters, and then the name struck me.  It would be called The Bitter Old Man.  Laird’s Applejack is a very old spirit, but Old Tom Gin would have worked with the name as well.  

Here Goes:

Ingredients:

• 2 oz Laird’s Applejack
• 1/2 oz Torani Amer
• 1/2 oz fresh orange juice
• 1 oz Lillet Blanc
• 1 bar spoon Parfait Amour
• 3 dashes orange bitters
• 3 dashes Green Chartreuse
• Lemon juice
• Lemon peel

Directions:

1. Even though this has orange juice in it, I decided to stir it instead of shake it.  So stir everything but the lemon juice and peel with ice, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Cut a lemon in half, and squeeze it briefly over the cocktail, getting perhaps 10 drops.  Garnish with a twist of lemon.  
2. This cocktail is not for the faint of heart, not because it tastes strange, or weird.  It does taste similar to other cocktails I have had.  Where it is quite different, and where fans of dark chocolate, black coffee, and the negroni will perk up and listen, the aftertaste changes flavors at least three times, getting more bitter and astringent for about 10 seconds.  It isn’t overwhelming, but it’s a noticeable, and interesting sensation. 
3. Enjoy if you dare.