Tuesday, June 11, 2019

Squid Mixes: Bronx Cocktail

A Bronx Cocktail combines gin, orange juice, dry vermouth and sweet vermouth.  I got my recipe from Eric Felten's How's Your Drink?  It might be better with fresh OJ but otherwise it's fine, though uninteresting.  It tastes like orange juice with some stuff in it.  The booze brings a little bitterness.  While I enjoy Felten's book immensely, he tends to leave the garnish out of the list of ingredients, in this case an orange slice.  I didn't have an orange so we went without.

I find my personal tastes are starting to take focus.  That's not to say I won't continue to experiment but at this point, I feel I have a pretty good handle on how the major players among both liquors and mixers function.  And I know what I like.  I'm a whiskey person, particularly rye, though scotch is certainly nice when drinking it straight.  I prefer gin as a mixer to vodka.  Tequila is intriguing.  I like lime and I like bitters.  Manhattan is still my favorite. 

More importantly, I can now look at a list of ingredients and have a pretty good idea of how the combination is going to taste.  As such, I feel I've reached a new stage in the hobby, one that might require an altered approach.  Stay tuned.

10 comments:

  1. I really haven't tried enough different things, though I do try to get things I haven't had before when we go out.
    So far, though, I'm a pirate at heart and like my rum.
    It's pina colada season for us.

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    1. I'm not really a pina colada person though I've also never had a good one. I'm only so-so with coconut in general.

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  2. I should follow your mix techniques...hope, it work for me.....

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    1. I'm not sure I have much in the way of technique - yet. I've watched professionals and I can't tell you what, if anything, they're doing differently from what I'm doing. They certainly work more efficiently and that alone would be worth learning. Bartenders use ice more liberally than I do though I expect the reasons are primarily economic.

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  3. Your taste bud now recognize the drinks contents must be a whole new direction.

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    1. I suppose it's a little like learning a language. I feel I have a mastery of the basic vocabulary and grammar. I'm ready to take some risks in conversations with the natives.

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  4. I might try this as I like Gin but it's close to a screwdriver but that's with vodka. You might need to make those drinks that look colourful and even light up.

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    1. Actually, I think my explorations are likely to go in simpler, more conservative directions. Neither of us is particularly keen on exotic drinks and managing the ingredients can become its own burden. Instead, I'd like to refine a few simpler recipes: our family staples, if you will. It will mean tinkering with brands and proportions. Less obvious sex appeal for the outside observer, perhaps, though hopefully more satisfying for us as consumers.

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