Gismondi has recently been trouncing on BC’s draconian liquor laws - huge markups. Even worse, which he hasn’t been touching on, is that our liquor distribution board (LDB) doesn’t actually bring any value beyond distribution. It’s up to agents to import liquor into BC which the LDB markups up; they get their cut. And our liquor laws prohibit anyone but an agent from importing liquor in. So if I’m looking for orange bitters I basically have to make it myself. Or improvise.
The Manhattan is one of the classic martini’s. Rye, vermouth, a dash of bitters. Generally more rye than vermouth, 2:1. Except for the New 1920’s cocktail (a Manhattan) which calls for a 1:1 ratio of rye to vermouth. Unless you’re in BC and can’t get orange bitters.
So you improvise:
1 oz rye (Crown Royal, b/c we’re in Canada)
0.5 oz dry vermouth
0.5 oz orancio
perhaps a dash of benedictine for spice
And the consequences aren’t bad…
Simple, sour, sweet.
2 ounces whiskey - rye, scotch, bourbon. Whatever you’ve got.
1 ounce lemon juice
1 tsp - 1 tbsp sugar depending on taste
I like to put the sugar in first so it might dissolve more, then ice.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
While the summer comes to a close, and behind the scenes we’ve been through about 1/2 a dozen decent drinks as we enter fall I’ve been taken by a quite powerful martini. Now, I’m a bit of a purist when it comes to martini’s, poo-pooing adding anything beyond some olive juice to make a Dirty Martini. But this one is….interesting. The hard part was finding the molasses which my wife suggested Meinhardts would have and as usual, she was right. This more than fills the martini glass and is a bit dangerous, so tread carefully.
Pomegranate Smack
3 ounces vodka
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon simple syrup
Splash of soda water, optional
I love the sour hit with sweet undertones. I’ve been making it 1 part molasses, 1 part simple syrup to 3 parts vodka so it comes out a bit different. A perfect fall drink as our weather starts to turn.
