A Derby Cocktail

After reading the Cocktail Hacker post on the Derby mash-up drink, I was intrigued enough to want to make a few.  They fit his billing exactly - close enough in flavor to a whiskey sour that it would be tough to call out the vermouth without knowing it was there.  With the ingredients he listed, however, I think you would be hard pressed to list any flavors but lime!  Maybe it was because I used my well bourbon, or maybe it was because the drink was 40% citrus flavor, and only 40% whiskey.

The Derby Cocktail (Cocktial Hacker)                  Derby # 2
1.5 oz Bourbon                                                          1.5 oz Bourbon
.75 oz Sweet Vermouth                                           .75 oz Sweet vermouth
.75 oz Lime Juice                                                      .5 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz Triple Sec                                                       .75 oz Triple Sec

Either way, the drink satisfied its purpose - cooling me down on a hot afternoon/evening.  After a sweaty afternoon, I was wishing hard for a cocktail to cool me down, and the Derby did just that.  But since I wasn't satisfied, I did what I usually do, I tweaked until I got to the cocktail I liked best.

It might just be that I recently made orgeat, but I felt the need to try out the Derby with a little nutty (and more importantly, non-citrus) flavor added.

Derby # 3 
1.25 oz Bourbon
.25 oz Applejack
.75 oz Sweet Vermouth
.5 oz Lime Juice
.75 oz Triple Sec
.5 oz Orgeat

My first response to this one: "Wow"
The applejack brings out just a little apple flavor, and the orgeat allows the complexity of the vermouth to come through.  All without losing the dark and sour complexion of the whiskey and sour.  I don't think I can honestly call this a derby though, so if I end up having a bunch more of these in the next few weeks, I'll have to give it a new name.

Satanic Cocktails, Diabolo Part II

I try to give each drink I make for the first time a fair chance.  I've long since discovered that some tastes build on you, and it may take until the second or third try on a cocktail to appreciate the taste.  I'm going to do that for the Diabolo - yesterday I made two of them, and was quite unimpressed, so today I am making several more.

My first impression yesterday was that the 2:1 dubonnet rouge to gin was way off.  Too much dubonnet, and not enough chance to taste the orgeat.  So after the first one, I tweaked the recipe - lowered the dubonnet, increased the gin until it was 1:1.  I added a dash or so of peychaud's bitters just for kicks (and because the color without the peychaud's had been close to crimson, and I thought it only fair to make a cocktail named diabolo a more hell-and-brimfire hue.

Diabolo #1 (Cocktaildb.com)                  Diabolo #2 (Dubonnet Correction)
1 1/4 oz Gin                                               1 3/4 oz Gin
2 1/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge                          1 3/4 oz Dubonnet Rouge
1/2 oz Orgeat                                             1/2 oz Orgeat
                                                                   2 Dashes Peychauds Bitters

Yesterday's second try had the distinction of no longer tasting only of dubonnet.  However, it also tasted like a dishwater cocktail - no distinct flavor or direction.  So, today I decided to try it first with the 1:1 ratio without the peychauds, to see if I could stick to the spirit of the drink, but fix the problem from the first try.  The first sip was great, but I soon noticed what the peychauds had covered up on the second try - too much bitter gin flavor.

Diabolo #3 (A New Look)
1 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge
1/2 oz Orgeat

Well, next up I decided to push a little more towards the original, but to increase the orgeat presence.  So I went with:

Diabolo #4
1 1/4 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge
2/3 oz Orgeat

This combination did for me what a decent drink often does - it slipped by without note.  I fairly slopped it back without hesitation or remark.  Almost as though I might have gotten the mixture right.  I'm guessing that my orgeat is less sweet than what is usually used.  Or, using brown sugar instead of regular sugar changed things up.  Either way, this seems to embody what the cocktail was originally.

Just to keep things fresh though, I'm trying it one more time, this time back to the 1:1, but with a spoonful of ouzo floated on the top.

Diabolo #5 (EU Bailout Special)
1 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Dubonnet Rouge
1/2 oz orgeat
1/4 oz Ouzo

If only I had a particularly German ingredient in there... Add everything but the ouzo, shake and twirl, strain, then float the ouzo.

Well, that's one good drink with which to finish this installment of Satanic Cocktails.  The ouzo completely takes over the scent, and adds a distinctive burn at the end, but the strength of the dubonnet and the gin preserves the Diabolo's original flavor. 

Satanic Cocktails, Diabolo Part I - Orgeat

It always slightly embarrasses me when I think an ingredient I've been reading about but have never used is something totally different than it ends up being.  I'd always had this nebulous impression that orgeat was just another orange flavored liqueur, but with some kind of nutty twist.

Well, after I promised that the next Satanic Cocktail would be the Diabolo, I was a little chagrined to be unable to locate orgeat at any local liquor establishments, or in the supermarket.  Four or five online recipes later, I was not at all excited about the idea of steeping crushed almonds in hot water for hours on end.  So I put off the Diabolo.

That is, until my mom asked me if I had any need for the organic almond butter she'd just gotten for my dad.  So now I had the impetus to make some orgeat without the tired process of steeping and draining.  What follows is my first attempt at making some orgeat liqueur. 


Redface's Orgeat Liqueur #1

2 cups water
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup organic almond butter
4 oz Vodka
2 oz Brandy

Heat 1 cup water to boil, add the sugar and reduce heat  Once sugar is fully mixed, add almond butter.  Simmer, adding 1/3 cup water every 15 minutes for 45 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool 30 minutes.  Add vodka and brandy, strain thoroughly (and repeatedly).

The taste was quite surprising in the end.  I opted for vodka and brandy to minimize the possibility of brandy taste overpowering almond.  Probably could have added only brandy, but the result was satisfying.   With a mild but persistent almond flavor, the orgeat didn't overpower the taste buds, but certainly has a distinct profile.

I also saved the leftover almond butter mixture.  It tasted smooth, with a distinct alcohol aftertaste.  It seemed like something I should try on crackers or something with a drink.  

Coming next - Bringing together the Diabolo Cocktail, and a Redfacery take on the recipe.