by Anthony Russo from the New York Times review of Rules of Civility.

I am honored once again to be a part of the Deschutes Public Library’s Novel Idea Program. Just what is A Novel Idea (other than just another novel idea!)? It is one of the smartest library programs I’ve ever heard of. Every year Deschutes Public Library chooses one book and then spends a month bringing that book to life in every dimension imaginable. They will hold discussion groups about the book, show movies and documentaries that pertain to the genre or era of the book, encourage reading of similar books, have storytellers tell their tales related to themes in the book, invite the author to speak about his/her book, and lastly have a food and cocktail demonstration pertaining to the book’s genre. This year the book is Rules of Civility by Amor Towles, which is a post-prohibition tale of two young women, Katey and Eve, finding their way in New York City Society in 1938. Both girls fall for a dashing young banker named Tinker Grey and throughout the year they both have their chances with him, usually eased with a cold gin martini. As this novel centers around a few central characters, I thought it would be fun to name the cocktails after them – so we have the Tinker Grey Toddy and the Miss Kontent (pronounced Kahn TENT). As Mr. Grey is warming and cordial – so is his cocktail. (As a small trivial note to those who have read the book, I also chose tea to work with since when Katey and Anne Grandin make amends over their relationship with Tinker they do so over a couple of cups of hot tea. Other than gin and bourbon, tea is the only other liquid that the characters imbibe!)

The Tinker Grey Toddy

In order to make the Tinker Grey Toddy, you will need to infuse a bottle of Crater Lake Vodka with earl grey tea bags (found at nearly every grocer). Place three tea bags in one bottle (750 ml) overnight. No need to try to remove them, as they might break in the process and blight your bottle of vodka. (If you just would like to make a smaller batch the tea bag to vodka ratio is one tea bag to one cup (eight ounces) of vodka.

In a mug or other type of glass made for hot drinks, please add

3 teaspoons honey
2 ounces lemon juice (the juice from one lemon)
2 ounces Earl-grey infused vodka
4 ounces of boiling hot water

Stir all of the ingredients together and enjoy. If one wishes, add a tad of half-and-half or milk after mixing.

a little side note :: What is a hot toddy? The hot toddy is one of the most loosely defined cocktails needing only to contain a spirit, a sweetener, and a warm base. Toddies can be made from tea, coffee, apple cider, sugar, syrup, brandy, bourbon, or rum. But the most traditional toddies are made from honey, lemon, hot water, and bourbon. Want to know the history of the hot toddy? Click here

Everyone in the book has a penchant for gin and it is on very rare occasion that everyone isn’t enjoying a cold gin martini. I thought it would be fun to play around with the gin martini, making it a little more feminine in honor of the beautiful and daring Miss Kontent.

The Miss Kontent

To make the Miss Kontent you will need to first make rose-petal syrup.

How to Make Rose Petal Syrup :::::::

This syrup has just a hint of rose petal flavor to it, as petals often have a lot of tannins in them and can make syrups bitter. Rose Petal Syrup 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 1/8 cup rose petals (Rose petals can be found at most herbalists and often times you can find rose hip tea bags at the grocer or at a health food store. If you use the tea bags, the ratio is one tea bag to 8 ounces of water.) Bring to a boil, remove from heat. Strain off rose petals and allow to cool. I recommend making this syrup the night before if possible (especially if you are making a larger batch), that way it will have plenty of time to cool.

In a shaker, mix the following:

2 ounces of Cascade Mountain Gin
1 ounce Rose-Petal Syrup
1 ounce Grapefruit Juice
1 Splash of lemon
1.5 ounce of Soda water

Add ice to the shaker, shake and strain into a cocktail glass or a coup.

If you are daring – this cocktail tastes delicious with an egg white. Just add the egg white to the mixture, shake without ice and then add ice. A gorgeous frothiness will brighten the flavor and create a silkiness that is very becoming.

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

Almost all of these drinks I made this week have Batavia Arrack in them. If you aren’t familiar with Batavia Arrack, it is nasty rum made in Indonesia, which is special order in Oregon. Its flavor profile is abominable combination of rubbing alcohol and burnt sugar and quite honestly I can’t think of anything that can make it taste good. I made the cocktails with Batavia Arrack – only to be disappointed. I immediately made the drinks again with Pyrat (my favorite rum for the money) and was pleasantly surprised. Simple but perfect for summer – enjoy this week’s installment of the Jerry Thomas Project (most likely substituting the Batavia Arrack for a good rum).

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Trivia Note: Thomas called for a measurement, liqueur glass that I hadn’t seen before. After a bit of research I found it to be 30 grams, which equals about one ounce.

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Tip Top Brandy

(for a party of four)

28 oz champagne (one bottle)
56 oz soda water
1 oz of curacao
2 table-spoons of powdered sugar
1 slice of pineapple cut up

Put all the ingredients together in a small punchbowl, mix well, ice and serve in coup glasses.

This drink is poorly titled, as it does not contain any brandy and honestly it tastes like watered down champagne.

Tip Top Brandy

(for one)

4 oz of champagne
8 oz of soda water
1 dash of curacoa

Stir, add ice and garnish with a pineapple slice in a coupe glass.

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Bimbo Punch

(for a party of 10 – 12)

Too bad Jerry Thomas doesn’t tell us the history of this cocktail’s name!

32 oz of brandy
4 oz of Batavia Arrack
6 lemons
1 pound of sugar
32 oz of boiling water

Cut the lemons into thin slices, and steep them in the brandy for six hours. Remove the lemons without squeezing them. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add it while hot to the brandy and Batavia Arrack. Then let it cool. Ice and serve.

Bimbo Punch

(for one)

2 oz of lemon-infused brandy
1 dash of rum
2 oz of simple syrup

Add ice and enjoy

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Cold Ruby Punch

(for a party of 20)

32 oz of Batavia Arrack
32 oz of port wine
48 oz of green tea
1 pound of sugar
12 oz of lemon juice
1//2 of a pineapple in small pieces

Dissolve the sugar in the tea, add the other materials. Serve iced.

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Trivia note: How much juice does one lemon make? Approximately 2 ounces.

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Cold Ruby Punch

(for one)

2 oz of rum
2 oz of port wine
3 oz of green tea
4 sugar cubes
1 oz of lemon juice

Stir all of the ingredients together. Add ice. Garnish with a pineapple.

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Imperial Arrack Punch

(for a party of six)

32 oz of Batavia Arrack
6 lemons
1 pound of sugar
32 oz of boiling water

Cut the lemons into thin slices, and steep them in the Arrack for six hours. Remove the lemons without squeezing them. Dissolve the sugar in the water, and add it while hot to the Arrack. Then let it cool. This makes a fine liqueur, which should be thoroughly iced before serving.

Imperial Arrack Punch

(for one)

2 oz of lemon-infused rum
2 oz of hot water
4 sugar cubes

Place sugar cubes in hot water and allows to dissolve. Add lemon-infused rum. Add ice and enjoy.

Lemon-infused Rum
(one bottle)

Pour one bottle of rum into a glass or stainless steel a closed container. Cut up five lemons. Allow to steep for at least six hours but no longer than overnight.

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Arrack Punch

(for a party of 10)

4 oz Batavia Arrack
6 oz of Jamaica Rum
4 oz of lemon juice
4 oz of simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)
4 oz of water

Stir ingredients together and serve over ice.

Arrack Punch

(for one)

2.5 ounces of rum
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
1 oz water

Stir ingredients together and serve over ice.

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Link to Batavia Arrack
Link to Jerry Thomas (pre-prohibition liquid) Measurements
Link to the Jerry Thomas Project Index

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www.qmixalot.com :::: a bartender blog

I would like to briefly apologize for falling off the face of the earth, but I found that taking a true break from all of my responsibilities was the best thing that I’ve done for my health in a very long time. I’ve been spending a lot of time with dear friends and family and it has reminded me of the importance of food and drink and how warm meals can bring cultures together, a simple punch can turn a get together into a party, and that preparing dinner with a friend can lead to a heart-felt candid conversation that would never happen otherwise.

Which is why I’m saddened that I can’t be with my dad this Father’s Day – a perfect day to spend with family over bbq’d spare ribs and limey gin and tonics. A father is who makes you strong and teaches you to stand up for your beliefs. A mother’s love is unconditional – but a father attaches many conditions to his affection. For the most part, I knew that to ensure an endearing father I needed to never borrow his scissors; have a deep personal scorn for moneyed Republicans; and have a penchants for knowledge (preferably narrow-gauge railroad history, but I’ve found that knowing the story behind the gin and tonic has sufficed).

Some time during my youth, my father read an article about how to raise successful daughters which glamorized father and daughters doing typical male activities. From that point forward he referred to the article in order to get me to partake in filthy, dirty, nasty chores such as changing the oil on his 64 Chevy pickup (a government-orange beater with the silver bumper’s letters retooled so that the bumper now stated HERO instead of Chevrolet); and helping with the wood pile, which was always filled with spiders and vermin.

Bizarrely, even when I was old enough to understand that the supposed key to success was really just a ploy for free child labor – I realized that these were special times with my dad. I was really helping him and he honestly appreciated it and enjoyed spending time with me. And although there were times when I had wished he had never read that  article – like the time we were locked out and he persuaded me to go down the coal shoot (my parents live in a turn-of-the century Victorian) or the time when he wedged the 64 Chevy on the edge of a cliff on Mount Princeton and warned me to get out while he wielded it further up the mountain – I would never give up these special moments with my dad.

Happy Father’s Day Dad!

my dad

For those who can spend the day with their father and want to make him something special. Or for those dad’s who would like to celebrate with a drink – I include three easy recipes below, one for every type of dad.  Perhaps make them a little stronger – for the man who made you a little stronger.

Ginger Bee

For this drink you need to make an easy-to-concoct ginger syrup (recipe follows)

2 ounces of whiskey (my dad personally loves rye)
the juice from half of a lemon
1.5 ounces of ginger syrup

Stir and add ice

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Ginger syrup

Go to the grocery and somewhere in the tea aisle you will see either a ginger tea or a lemon ginger tea – buy a box of whatever is the least expensive.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
3 tea bags

Bring to a boil and immediately take off of the heat. Allow to cool – strain out the tea bags.

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Agave Agent

2 ounces of tequila
2 ounce of honey
the juice from half of a lemon
2 ounce of pomegranate or cranberry juice

Stir and add ice and top with a little splash of soda water

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for the teetotaler dad

Strawberry Lemonade

For most of the country – it is strawberry season, so why not make your dad the best strawberry lemonade ever.

For this recipe you’ll need an easy-to-concoct strawberry syrup (recipe follows)

3 ounces strawberry syrup
2.5 ounces of lemon juice (best if you can use fresh-squeezed – and the lemons are really juicy this time of the year)
3 ounces of water or sparkling water

Stir and add ice.

Strawberry Syrup

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1.5 cup cut up strawberries

Bring the ingredients to a boil. Allow to cool. Either run it through a blender or a food processor until smooth.

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Later this week, I’ll be back with more from the Jerry Thomas Project – as I’ve been toiling away (only hitting a road block or two).

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

Oh Jerry Thomas, you really did love the punches!

La Patria Punch

(As with many of Jerry Thomas’ drinks, why this one is named La Patria is a mystery. La patria means fatherland or homeland in Spanish – not quite sure why he named the drink that. My guess is that it was already named by H.P. Leland, who was most likely a lawyer. Although, nothing else is known about him.)

(For a party of ten according to Jerry Thomas.)
(From a recipe in the possession of H. P. Leland, Esq.)

3 bottles of cold champagne
28 ounces of cognac (1 bottle)
4 oranges
1 pineapple

Slice the oranges and pineapples in a bowl, pour the
Cognac over them, and let them steep for a couple of
hours, then pour in the champagne and serve immediately.
Serve with ice. (But don’t add to punch, as it will lose it’s effervesce.)

La Patria Punch

(For one person)

6 oz champagne
1 brandy-soaked orange slice
1 brandy-soaked pineapple slice

Allow pineapple and orange to soak in brandy for a couple of hours. Pour a glass of champagne, add brandy-soaked fruit.

The Spread Eagle Punch

(For a party of 25)

Take 1 bottle of Islay whiskey
(I like Laphroaig 10, it’s peaty like a good Islay Scotch at a very good price.)
1 bottle of Monongahela whisky
(Which was a rye whisky that was hardly aged that was popular at the beginning of the 19th century. As I don’t have a barely aged rye whisky, I used half House Spirits White Dog and half Rittenhouse Rye.)
the peel from one lemon
1 cup sugar
4 cups water

Boil water with sugar and lemon peel, allow to cool. Add bottle of Scotch and bottle of Rye Whiskey. Stir and enjoy over ice.

The Spread Eagle Punch

For one person

1 ounce Islay whiskey
1 ounce whiskey
1 squeeze lemon
1 sugar cube
1 ounce water

Stir ingredients and serve over ice.

Rochester Punch

(For a small party)
(From a recipe in the possession of Roswell Hart, Esq.)

Take 2 bottles of sparkling Catawba (as this is very hard to find, I recommend two bottles of sparkling rosé)
2 bottles of sparkling Isabella (which is a sweet sparkling wine)
(as Isabella is hard to find, I recommend a sweet prosecco as they are inexpensive and easy to come by)
1 bottle of Sauterne
4 ounces of Maraschino liqueur
4 ounces of Curaçao

Mix ingredients together and flavor with ripe strawberries. If you live in a place where you can’t get strawberries year round, add a few drops of peach or vanilla extract to add more flavor.

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Link to how to make extracts

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Rochester Punch

(For one person)

6 oz sparkling wine
Teaspoon Maraschino liqueur
Teaspoon Curaçao
Garnish with strawberry. If you would like add a splash of your favorite extract or bitters.

Non-Such Punch

(I cut this recipe waaaaay back. Jerry Thomas’ recipe is enough for a party of 200, this would be good for a party of ten people.)

14 oz. of claret (or any red wine)
14 oz. of soda-water
14 oz. of brandy
14 oz. of sherry
4 oz of green tea
2 ounces of lemon juice
2 ounces of simple syrup
½ of a pineapple cut up in small pieces

Mix all of the ingredients. Allow them to steep overnight. Strain the pineapple off and bottle for your party.

Non-Such Punch

(for one)

1 oz claret
1 oz brandy
1 oz sherry
1 squeeze of lemon
1 teaspoon pineapple juice
1 sugar cube
2 oz. soda water

Mix the claret, brandy, sherry, lemon juice, pineapple juice, and sugar cube. Add ice and top with soda water.

Canadian Punch

(Once again Mr. Thomas. Why oh why is this called Canadian Punch. There is absolutely nothing Canadian about it!)
(This makes enough for a party of 20)

64 ounces of rye whiskey
8 ounces of dark Jamaican rum
6 sliced lemons
1 sliced pineapple
32 quarts of water.

Stir ingredients together. If you desire, add a bit of sugar to taste. Ice before serving.

Canadian Punch

(for one person)

2 ounces of rye whiskey
¼ ounce dark rum
1 squeeze of lemon
1 sugar cube

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Link to other Jerry Thomas Recipes.

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The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

I really loved all the Jerry Thomas drinks I made this time, they were all quite light and delicious! I gave directions for one drink or for bulk – as is often the case that one wants a drink without throwing a party.

Imperial Punch

(for one person)

3 oz of claret (any dark red blend will do)
3 oz of soda water
1 sugar cube
1 pinch of nutmeg
1 teaspoon of Maraschino
1 piece of muddled cucumber

Allow the sugar cube to dissolve in the soda water. Muddle the cucumber. Add all the ingredients together including the soda water. Strain.

Imperial Punch

(according to Jerry Thomas)

28 oz of claret (any dark red blend will do)
28 oz of soda water
4 tablespoons of powdered white sugar
¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 liqueur-glass of Maraschino (how much is a liquor glass)
3 or 4 slices of cucumber rind

Allow the sugar to dissolve in the sugar water. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Thirty-Second Regiment Punch aka Victoria Punch

(for one person)

1 piece of lemon peel
1.5 oz brandy
1.5 oz Jamaica rum
2 sugar cubes
2.5 oz water
¾ oz of steamed milk

Muddle the lemon peel with the brandy and rum. Strain. Add sugar cubes, water, and steamed milk. The drink WILL curdle. Strain through a cheese cloth (which was brilliant and opened my eyes to a lot of other possibilities that I have steered away from because of curdling). Stir and enjoy!

Thirty-Second Regiment Punch aka Victoria Punch

(according to Jerry Thomas)

(Recipe taken from the late Wiliam H. Herbert, Esq.)

Six lemons
32 ounces of brandy
32 ounces of Jamaica rum (I used Myers)
1 pound of white sugar
56 quart of water
16 oz of boiling milk

Cut the lemons into slices and allow them to steep in the brandy and rum overnight. Then add sugar, water, and milk. Once it is well-mixed strain through a jelly bag (don’t have a jelly bag, you can just use cheese cloth and honestly most people who make jelly prefer an old pillow case to a jelly bag anyhow).

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What is a jelly bag? It is a bag made out of muslin or another thin material where one puts ripe fruit in a manner so that the bag hangs and the fruit juice drips out from the bag into a collection bowl.

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This punch may be bottled, and can be drank hot or cold.

Light Guard Punch

(for one person)

2 oz of champagne
½ ounce sherry
½ ounce cognac
½ ounce of white wine
1 piece of pineapple
1 piece of lemon

Light Guard Punch

(for a party according to Jerry Thomas)

84 oz of champagne (3 bottles)
28 oz of pale sherry
28 oz of cognac
28 oz of Sauterne
1 pineapple
4 lemons

Cut the pineapple into small pieces. Slice the lemons. Mix all the ingredients together in a very large container (you will need a three-gallon container to make this punch recipe). Add the sliced fruit. Add sugar if desired. As for the punch bowl, place it inside another punch bowl packed with ice and rock salt so that the top bowl is nestled within the larger bowl.

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

(From a recipe in the possession of Charles G. Leland, Esq.)

(Jerry Thomas says this recipe should be “generally sufficient for one person”) I personally think this recipe is sufficient for three or four people.

The Fish House Punch is one of the oldest cocktails in American history, and was first concocted in 1732 at the Schuylkill Fishing Company (a men’s only club where George Washington liked to chill). The punch was created to celebrate the first time women were allowed in the club (but only for a day) at the annual Christmas Party. It was supposed to be just “something to please the ladies palate but get them livelier than is their usual wont.”

5 ounces lemon juice
5 ounces of simple syrup
8 ounces of cognac
4 ounces of peach brandy
4 ounces of Jamaican rum
20 ounces of cold water

Mix ingredients and serve in a punch bowl.  Should be served with ice.

Philadelphia Fish House Punch

(For one person)

Here is a bit different recipe for one person and I do believe a bit more accurate, as Fish House Punch typically has black tea in it.

1 ounce of lemon juice
1 ounce of simple syrup
2 ounces of cognac
¼ ounce of peach brandy
¼ ounce of dark rum
3 ounces of chilled black tea

Stir ingredients, add ice, and enjoy!

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Link to more info on Fish House Punch.

Link to other Jerry Thomas Recipes.

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The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing (also sometimes titled The Bon Vivant’s Companion) in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

Who the hell was Christian Schultz?

A man by the name of Christian Schultz came to my attention the other day, much to my embarrassment as it appears that the back third of Jerry Thomas’ book was actually written by him. It is Christian Schultz who wrote the part of Thomas’ book that does not pertain to booze. Titled, “A Manual for the Manufacture of Cordials, Liquors, Fancy Syrups, etc,” it is located in the end of Thomas’ Bartenders Guide.

Schultz is an absolute mystery. Wondrich doesn’t mention him once in Imbibe, an entire book written about Jerry Thomas. Wondrich claims that Thomas completed his book while living in New York City, so I would assume that Schultz also lived there in the early 1860s and that he was in the bar or restaurant business – probably a friend of Thomas’s. Perhaps more of a chef than bartender, since his recipes tend to come from the kitchen, but my guess is we’ll never know.

Anyhow, this evening I made a couple of new Thomas recipes that I haven’t worked on yet: Maraschino Punch, Champagne Punch, Mississippi Punch, and Rocky Mountain Punch. My favorite was the Rocky Mountain Punch, as it was light and refreshing from the bubbles but with a little bit of depth from the caramel-colored rum and Maraschino. I’d love to know Thomas’ rationale for naming this drink after my birth place, as it was the height of the gold rush when his book was published and I don’t see this being popular in the mining camps – seems a tad bit too fancy.

Maraschino Punch

1 teaspoon simple syrup
2 ounces of brandy
2 dashes of Arrack (I used Goslings instead as it is more flavorful as I find the bottle of Arrack I own to be terrible)
½ ounce of Maraschino
½ ounce of fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Fill the tumbler with ice, shake, and strain with topping with a few pieces of shaken ice. Garnish with fruit and berries. Garnish with a straw.

Champagne Punch

Thomas’ recipe is enough for a small dinner party, I am however alone. Thus I made a bit less.

Champagne Punch
(for one person)

6 ounces of Champagne
1 sugar cube
1 orange slice
2 pineapple slices
1 squeeze of lemon
¼ ounce of raspberry syrup

Stir sugar cube, syrup, and lemon juice together. Drop in fruit. Slowly add Champagne (it is going to want to bubble over). Allow to sit for a couple of minutes so the ingredients blend a bit. Enjoy!

Champagne Punch
(according to Jerry Thomas)

1 bottle of Champagne
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 sliced orange
2 ounces of lemon juice
½ pineapple cut into small pieces
2 ounces of raspberry or strawberry syrup

Stir ingredients together. Garnish with seasonal fruit. Serve in coupe glasses.
Want to make more – double or triple the recipe.

Mississippi Punch

2 ounces of brandy
½ ounce of Jamaica rum
½ ounce of Bourbon
1 tablespoon of simple
½ fresh-squeezed lemon juice

Fill the glass with ice, shake well, pour with ice, and garnish with seasonal fruit.

Rocky Mountain Punch

Rocky Mountain Punch
(for one person)

6 ounces of champagne
1/2 ounce of Jamaican Rum (I used Appleton Estate)
¼ ounce of Maraschino
1 lemon slice
1 orange slice
1 sugar cube

Stir sugar cube, syrup, rum, and Maraschino together. Drop in fruit. Slowly add Champagne (it is going to want to bubble over). Allow to sit for a couple of minutes so the ingredients blend a bit. Enjoy!

Rocky Mountain Punch
(for a mixed party of twenty)
(from a recipe in the possession of Major James Foster)

5 bottles of Champagne
1 bottle of Jamaican Rum (I used Appleton Estate)
16 ounces of Maraschino
6 sliced lemons
4 sliced oranges
Sugar to taste

Mix the rum, maraschino, lemons, and sugar in a large punch bowl. Place this bowl in a larger bowl, pack the space between the bowls with ice and rock salt. Add the wine to the top bowl. Stir with the ingredients. Add slices of orange and lemon. Enjoy!

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Link to other Jerry Thomas Recipes.
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There’s no doubt that there were disagreements this past week about what the better man drinks, Jameson or Bushmills. It is a timeless argument, which merits some attention, as it is rare that a Jameson drinker will toss back a Bushmills and I have never seen a Bushmills connoisseur toast with a Jameson. Grey Goose drinkers will drink Ketel One, and Crown Royal drinkers will drink Pendleton – but the Irish whiskey drinker always stays in his brand.

Supposedly it is because Bushmills is the Protestant whiskey, as the company sits in the heart of Northern Ireland and its production (perhaps the oldest commercial distillery in the world) was first licensed by King James I. Yes, the same one that loved the Bible so much that he had a new translation published under his reign. The Jameson distillery sits in the south of Ireland in the heart of Catholic Country, it however wasn’t first licensed by the Pope – and right there the religious argument starts to lose some credence.

The best selling Irish whiskey in Ireland is Powers, and the average Irishman wouldn’t have a clue what you are talking about if you tell them of this Jameson/Bushmills debacle. Supposedly America is this grand mixing pot – but instead the arrival of Irish whiskey showcased another way of shoving ourselves into castes. Honestly, it should be a moot point, as both distilleries are owned by two gigantic corporations, Bushmills by the largest liquor company in the world, the English-based Diageo and Jameson by the second-largest liquor company in the world, the French-based Pernod-Ricard.

Regardless of which Irish whiskey is your claim to fame, everyone does love a good Irish Coffee. Most likely the Irish Coffee was invented in the 1940s by Joseph Sheridan, the chef at Foynes in the Shannon Airport in Dublin. The story goes that when Joe was asked to make a warm drink for a group of cold passengers from a Pan Am flying boat, he put some good Irish whiskey into their coffee. A guest approached the chef and thanked him for the brilliant coffee and asked Joe if he used Brazilian Coffee. Joe smiled and jokingly answered, “No, that was Irish Coffee!”

Irish Coffee (The Sheridan Recipe)

Warm a stemmed whiskey goblet
Add two ounces of Irish whiskey
Add a teaspoon of brown sugar
Fill with good black coffee

Top with lightly aerated heavy whipping cream

This was first Published in The Source Weekly

- Columbine Quillen

The Jerry Thomas Project is the re-creation of all of Jerry Thomas’ cocktails from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide: Receipts for Mixing in their purest form. Jerry Thomas is considered America’s father of mixology publishing the first cocktail book in 1862.

I’m back on with The Jerry Thomas Project, and to all its fans – sorry for the hiatus.

I’m still in the midst of what seems like 1001 punches, not a surprise as Thomas had to name many a drink and although innovative to say the least, my guess is that even Thomas had trouble coming up with an original moniker for all of his creations. Nonetheless, my belief is that when Thomas ran out of names, he conceded to the all-encompassing title of “punch.”

You may talk of brisk Claret, sing Praises of Sherry,
Speak well of old Hock, Mum, Cider and Perry;
But you must drink Punch if you mean to be Merry.

- late 18th century song taken from Punch by David Wondrich

St. Charles Punch

2 ounces of port wine
1 ounce of brandy
1 ounce of fresh-squeezed lemon
1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of water

Stir the sugar and water together. Add the other ingredients, shake with ice. Garnish with seasonal fruit and serve with a straw.

I was a bit baffled when I made this cocktail, as I wondered if I should be using ruby or tawny port wines.

If you don’t know much about ports they are sweet dessert wines that come from the Duoro region of Portugal. There are five different types of port: white, ruby, tawny, late bottled vintage, and vintage.

White: Is made from a blend of white grapes varieties and then is aged and fortified (a fancy term for adding more sugar). It can be made sweet or dry, although most varieties in the U.S. are sweet (but for the most part you see almost no white port in the States.)

Ruby: Is made from a blend of red grape varieties and is aged less than three years. It tends to be fruity with little tannins.

Tawny: Is a ruby port that has been aged in small oak barrels, which gives the wine a nutty caramel flavor. It is usually aged between six and twenty years.

Late Bottle Vintage: Is a tawny port that has the sediment removed from the bottle, so that it has a longer shelf life.

Vintage Port: Is the best of the best. The bottle must contain grapes from one single harvest; the wine is then aged in oak and aged in the bottle. After purchase, the consumer should then let the bottle sit for another ten to thirty years until it is considered ready to drink.

I tried to do some research as what type of port Jerry Thomas would have used and I don’t think anyone really knows. But my guess is that he would have used a ruby port, as it was less expensive and easier to come by. I however, don’t care that much for ruby port, so I used the Taylor Fladgate 10 year, which is a good standby as almost every bar has it.

Seventh Regiment National Guard Punch

2 ounces of brandy
2 ounces of sherry
1 ounce of raspberry syrup
1 ounce of lemon
dash of Jamaican rum
1 teaspoon of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon of water

Stir the sugar and water together. Add the other ingredients, shake with ice, and pour into glass with ice. Garnish with seasonal fruit (preferably orange, pineapple, and berries), top with dash of Jamaican rum, and serve with a straw.

Sixty-Ninth Regiment Punch

1 ounce of Irish whiskey
1 ounce of Scotch whiskey
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 lemon twist
4 ounces of boiling hot water

Dissolve the sugar in the boiling water. Add whiskey.

Punch Grassot

(side note made by Thomas: The following recipe was given by M. Grassot, the eminent French custodian of the Palais Royal, to Mr. Howard Paul, the celebrated “Entertainer,” when performing in Paris.)

2 ounces of brandy
1 teaspoon of Curacoa
1 drop of acetic acid (please use a drop of vinegar)
2 teaspoons of simple syrup
1 teaspoon of strawberry syrup
4 ounce water
1 small lemon sliced into pieces

Mix all of the ingredients together in a large glass or goblet with ice. Garnish with a slice of peach or apricot. This drink can be served hot or cold (use hot or cold water).

I liked this drink, I used a splash of balsamic vinegar (as acetic acid is the acid in vinegar) and I thought the balsamic would flatter the strawberries.

All in all, one of the better rounds of Thomas drinks – as I liked them all.

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Link to other Jerry Thomas Recipes.
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In a world where Reidel Crystal uses science to create tulip-shaped fish bowls perfected to enjoy the delicacies of an Oregon Pinot and sexy hour-glass stemware flawlessly crafted so that neat spirits can scintillate one’s palate, one must wonder why the coveted glass of the cocktail lounge isn’t one of these modern day marvels – but rather a glass purportedly created as a replication of Marie Antoinette’s perky A cup.

The coupe glass, a small round bowl on a long stem (a necessity to serve champagne throughout most of the 60’s) has made a serious comeback since it was created in 1663. The triangular cocktail glass that infiltrated the American psyche and created martini bars in even the dankest of towns might soon have to take the backseat to a glass created for smaller cocktails with more booze, less mixer, and bitters.

It is the revival of the great American cocktail that is bringing this small goblet back into fashion. Mango basil margaritas shaken up with chili verde spicy salt move over as the cocktails that fill the coupe glasses are typically made of strong whiskey, cognac, dark rum, and bitters. Flavored vodkas almost never have a home in the coupe glass – as they don’t carry the respect needed to pull off the great-grandfather of the stemware collection. It is a fine glass made for sipping. It is sophisticated and timeless. It is not the vial for pink cosmopolitans and Sex in the City, but rather brown cocktails doused with absinthe and 100-year-old sherry.

Seventh Regiment Cavalry Punch

The history of this cocktail is not entirely known, but it is believed to be in honor of the Seventh Regiment during the battle of Little Big Horn in 1876.

1 ounce brandy
1 ounce sherry
1 dash of sugar
1 splash lemon juice
1 splash raspberry syrup
one dash of dark Jamaican rum

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

This was first Published in The Source Weekly

I had the treat of going to Portland this week and making the Hood River Distilleries fall and winter portfolio of cocktails for all of their regional sales reps. (The recipes follow.) I was also able to meet Ken Wyatt, who is one of the owners of 44 North Vodka – made right next-door in Idaho.

What was really embarrassing after spending the entire evening with everyone (and let’s just say these guys don’t go to bed until there is really no other option) is how little I knew about the Pacific Northwest’s oldest distillery, Hood River Distilleries. Hood River Distilleries opened in the small town of Hood River, which sits at the base of Mount Hood on the Columbia River. If you have never been to Hood River, Oregon – you are missing out on one of the most enchanting locales in the entire nation. It has a charming downtown, rich in Victorian buildings and cute urban shops that house boutique bakeries and outdoor stores. The Columbia River is visible from many places in town and on a warm and windy day you can see kite boarders’ pink, green, and yellow sails glide by on a river so big it has white caps and small waves breaking.

Hood River Distilleries began in 1934. (To give you an idea of what was happening during this time – The U.S. was in the midst of The Great Depression with unemployment at 22% – it’s currently around 9%. Adolf Hitler declared himself the fuehrer of Germany – now google and facebook just knows everything you do and when you do it. And, the U.S. Midwest was experiencing the dustbowls, where 35 million acres of farmland were destroyed – now half of the nation doesn’t even eat food grown in fields, so this might matter less to us today.)

Hood River Distilleries began as a way to use the fruit waste that was being disposed of in the river, as the valleys around Hood River are quilted in apple and pear orchards. In 1968, Hood River Distilleries moved to its current location (you can actually see it as you breeze by on the interstate). They no longer distill old fruit waste, but rather bottle Pendleton Canadian Whisky, Yazi Ginger Vodka, Knickers Irish Cream, Broker’s London Dry Gin, and ULLR (which is a cinnamon peppermint schnapps). I also learned how much Pendleton they sell compared to anything else and how popular Pendleton is on the rodeo circuit – which was fascinating. Pendleton is the official spirit of ProRodeo and does all the big cash prizes for bareback buck riding, saddle bronc riding, and bull riding. Hood River Distilleries has also invested a lot of money to keep the facilities for the Pendleton Round-up in prime condition. If you are like myself and don’t travel much in the rodeo circuit, The Pendleton Round-up is Oregon’s biggest rodeo which started in 1910 and every September attracts the world’s greatest cowboys to ride on the world’s meanest bulls.

Pendleton is an aged and blended Canadian whisky that took many years of trial and error to create what many believe is the best Canadian whisky in the world. (I am not a Canadian whisky fan, but the Pendleton has a rich vanilla undertone that differentiates it from most of the swag available at the same price point.) They don’t do the blending on premise, but rather it is blended in Canada to their specifications and then brought to proof with Mt. Hood glacial water. Before Hood River Distilleries bottles Pendleton Whisky (which is about every six weeks) a sample is sent and a panel of tasters including the owner of the company, Ronald Dodge, and the vice president, Lynda Webber, taste it to ensure that it tastes like every ounce of Pendleton that’s ever been sold. The spirit is shipped by train across the country – which can take many weeks and can affect the product if the train car gets too hot or too cold – which means that the whisky will have to re-blended. So it’s a delicate process, but it ensures quality and consistency.

I also got to meet the original Pendleton Posse Member Mindy Davis, who is absolutely gorgeous, ridiculously charming, and a sicklingly good dancer. I you are not familiar with the Pendleton Posse, it is a group of talented young women who grew up in the rodeo community and travel to help promote Pendleton Whisky and the spirit of the American West. Seems like a pretty good gig, made me wish that I knew how to actually ride a horse and I owned some bigger belt buckles.

Hood River Distilleries also just picked up 44 North Vodka, which is made in Rigby Idaho. They have two types – their flavored vodkas (huckleberry and rainier cherry) that are distilled from potatoes, in honor of Idaho being the home of famous potatoes and a winter wheat vodka (the winter wheat is also grown in Idaho but without the hoopla). I’ve had the huckleberry vodka numerous times over the years and I’ve always loved the flavor – plus too, there just are no other huckleberry vodkas. Unfortunately, I believe that cough syrup has destroyed the cherry flavor for me as cherry lollipops, cherry Popsicles, and cherry vodka tend to remind me of sick days as a child. Not to say that’s not to say there isn’t a positive, as my many of my favorite memories from childhood are sucking on Luden’s cherry cough drops while watching Wheel of Fortune and enjoying the luxury of sleeping on the couch – it’s just not necessarily the feeling I want while I’m in the bar. Nonetheless, I hate to say it but it makes a damn good cherry coke. The winter wheat drinks sweet as most winter wheat vodkas do.

Anyhow, it is always fun to learn something new – especially about a brand that I see all the time.

As for Hood River Distilleries Fall and Winter Cocktails, please help yourself.

The drinks are tiered as the first drink of each group is the easiest to make.

The second drink might have harder ingredients to find, but you should be able to get everything you need at a regular grocery and liquor store.

The third drink might involve a special grocery or a nicer liquor store.

Cheers!

Brokers Gin Cocktails

Gin and Juice
2 oz Broker’s Gin
3 oz Juice Love

Mix in glass, add ice, and stir.

Juice Love Recipe

Juice Love (this is built to 28 ounces – the size of a storm pourer or a recycled/re-used liquor or wine bottle) I recommend that if being used at a commercial level that the bar premix the juice, as they will find it will add to speed and efficiency.

7 ounces pineapple juice
7 ounces cranberry juice
6 ounces oj
2 ounces grapefruit juice
3 ounces lime juice
3 ounces simple syrup

Gin Gin
2 oz Broker’s Gin
1.5 oz mint syrup
1.5 oz lime juice

Mix in glass, add ice, and stir.

Mint Syrup
4 cups mint (you can use the entire sprig, no need to tear the leaves off)
6 cups water
6 cups sugar
Bring to a boil, take off the heat and let sit overnight. Strain and serve.

Postmodern Pimms Cup
1 oz Broker’s Gin
.5 oz St. Germain
.5 oz Pimms
1/2 oz cucumber puree or 4 slices of muddles cucumber
2 oz of lime sour
.5 oz of soda
2 shakes of Angostura bitters

Mix in glass, stir or shake, add ice, and serve.

Lime Sour
2 cups warm water
1 cup sugar
14 ounces fresh-squeezed lime
2 ounces of oj

Cucumber purée is simply cucumbers that have been ran through a blender

Yazi Cocktails

Hard Bitters and Soda
2 oz Yazi
3 oz of soda
3 shakes of Angostura Bitters (or any flavor bitters you have)

Mix in glass, add ice, and stir.

Yazi Toddy
1.5 oz Yazi
.5 oz brandy
1.5 oz honey syrup
1 squeeze of half of a lemon
splash oj
2 oz hot water

Build this drink in a coffee cup stirring until all the ingredients are mixed.  You most likely will need to steam or microwave this drink to warm it up before serving.

Honey syrup is just 2 parts honey to 1 part warm water – it makes the honey much easier to use for cocktails. I would recommend making a squeezie bottle of honey syrup for speed’s sake.

Ninja Ginja
2 oz Yazi
1 oz Monarch triple sec
1 oz Gimple
1 oz lemon juice

Gimple (Ginger Syrup)
4 cups water
4 cups sugar
Your choice of 2 cups peeled and cut ginger or 8 bags of ginger lemon tea

Bring to a boil and take off the heat. Strain the ginger or tea bags out and let cool. (DO NOT allow the ginger to sit overnight – the syrup will take on a lot of spiciness)

Pendleton Cocktails

Pendleton Smash
(this is a very old pre-prohibition cocktail made with Pendleton)

2 oz Pendleton (that’s been steeped in mint)
2.5 oz water
teaspoon of fine white sugar (Baker’s sugar)

The easiest way to steep the Pendleton with mint is to add two mint teabags to a bottle of Pendleton (especially if this drink is on the cocktail list and you are pouring through a lot of Pendleton). Otherwise, allow 2 oz of Pendleton to steep with fresh mint sprigs for 10 minutes up to overnight (but don’t leave it any longer or it will turn a nasty color).

Pendleton Sidecar
2 oz Pendleton
1 oz Monarch Triple
2 oz Lime Sour

Build drink in a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Lime Sour
2 cups warm water
1 cup sugar
14 ounces fresh-squeezed lime
2 ounces of oj

Tim Buck 2 (Let’er Buck)
2 oz Pendleton
1 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 oz Soda

Vanilla Syrup
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/8 cup vanilla extract

Bring the sugar and water to a boil, take off the heat. Let cool and add the vanilla extract (if you add the extract when it’s hot the vanilla extract will evaporate)

Knickers Cocktails

The Wired
1.5 oz Knickers
.5 oz Coffee Liqueur
2 oz Espresso
.5 oz Chambord
.5 oz half and half or heavy whipping cream

Build drink in a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.

Coco Fizz
1.5 oz Knickers
1 oz Amaretto
1 oz coconut cream or coconut milk
2 oz cola

Build drink in a collins glass adding all ingredients except for the cola.  Stir, add ice, and top with cola.

The Ultimate Chocolate Martini
1 oz Knickers
.5 oz vanilla vodka
1 oz creme de cocoa
1.5 oz Ghirardelli Chocolate Syrup
1 oz half and half or heavy whipping cream

Chocolate Martinis are a great place to play around with some fun rimmers – go down the candy aisle and blend up M&M’s, Heath Bar, or Butterfinger. Use chocolate syrup to make the rim sticky and dip it in your crumbled candy choice.

ULLR Cocktails

Viking Bomb
2 oz of ULLR dropped in a pint glass filled with half Red Bull (or another energy drink) and half lemonade

Caribbean Bulldog
1 oz ULLR
1 oz coconut milk or coconut cream
1 oz vanilla vodka
2 oz soda
grate a bit of fresh nutmeg on top (if you have some lying around)

Mix in glass, add ice, and stir. (Some people are not so keen on the soda in this drink, so if that is you – please enjoy soda free.)

Silky Sin
1 oz ULLR
1 oz Yazi
1 oz half and half or heavy whipping cream
1 oz simple syrup
2 shakes Angostura Bitters
1 squeeze of lemon

Build drink in a shaker, add ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.