Here are some of the more interesting items that have come to my attention this week.
Pliny the Elder Double IPA
I am not a beer drinker, but this is one of the best beers I have ever had. It begins with a beautiful tangerine and grapefruit bouquet. It is bitter but not astringent. Perfectly balanced, as the bitterness is slow on the palette with light malt. Nice crisp bubble structure with medium mouth feel make this one sensational beer. Do try do try! I like it better on tap than in a bottle – maybe because it opens up a little more.
Hard to find bitter ingredients
Ah bitters! I have been trying to make some of the classic bitters such as Boker’s bitters and Boudreau Bitters No.2 to find that the ingredients are almost impossible to find. I went online to find quassia, catechu, and calamus with not much luck. I found catechu but I had to order a pound of it (only need three ounces). Looks like a lot of these items are used in acupuncture, so perhaps I can get them that way. I’ve also contacted a girl from where I used to live who is an herbalist, so perhaps she can be of help to me. For the meantime, I’ll experiment with some different ingredients.
The tic tac craze.
I had not heard of this drink a month ago and now it is the new hot item amongst the late night crowd. I guess as long as you get to drop something into red bull – it’s good?!?!?!? I’ve always joked that people will buy anything that comes out of the fryer and better yet if you put it on a stick. The same rings true with anything with red bull in it and then anything where you get to put a little glass inside of a big glass.
My HOT drink right now is El Scorcho, easy to make.
EL SCORCHO
1 ounce ginger syrup
1.5 ounces fresh-squeezed lime
1 ounce pineapple
2.5 ounces habeñero infused vodka
Ginger syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
1 cup peeled and cut fresh ginger
Bring to a boil, let sit for two hours. Do not let sit overnight as the ginger will instill a bitter heat into the syrup.
Habeñero infused vodka
Cut one habeñero pepper in half. Put into a fifth of vodka and let sit overnight. Obviously the longer you let the pepper stay in the vodka the hotter it will get. But after one day, most of the heat is released into the alcohol.
- Columbine Quillen I am a mixologist bartender and this is my blog.