cocktails

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
I started learning to make cocktails, got as far as doing a respectable dry martini, and then kind of lost the impetus to learn any more because they probably aren't going to be as good as a dry martini.

I ought to figure a couple more - maybe bloody marys and a whisky sours or something.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
My brother is mad on this shit. He gave me a cocktail set for Christmas the year before last and later gave me a book of recipes for my birthday. It's not that I'm ungrateful and I do intend to have a go at some point, but you've got to layout a fortune to buy even a fairly basic set of spirits and mixers. I'm generally just happy with beer or wine. Good scotch is as far as I usually go with spirits. I should just buy some booze and give it a shot. Bloody Marys are brilliant, for a start, but you don't need fancy kit to make them.

Old Fashioneds are great, I should try some of those.
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
i've been recently getting into them a bit, i mean i love beer, ale would be my desert island drink but sometimes you do want something a bit different.

bloody marys are absolutely brilliant when done properly and don't need a big investment

Manhattans are nice and not too complex - 5 parts whiskey or cognac, 2 parts red vermouth, a dash of bitters, ice and a dash of sugar syrup (optional).

margaritas are of course amazing and not too hard to make, tho triple sec is quite dear.

this place Bourne and Hollingsworth cocktail bar is very nice if you can get a seat - bare rammed.http://www.qype.co.uk/place/198387-Bourne-Hollingsworth-London. Worth stealing a menu as they have loads of interesting cocktails, some lovely ones and they tasty properly strong which is of course essential, there's no place for a weak cocktail.
 
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luka

Well-known member
'Dr Neil Da Costa, an expert on the chemical analysis of flavours, is employed by the company International Flavours and Fragrances in New Jersey, USA, and now declares the Bloody Mary to be the world’s most complex cocktail.'

my making it at home recipe is 1 third vodaka i third v8 one thrid tabasco but i usually have them out for breakfast.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
Tequila has got to be the cocktail spirit, as only a madman would drink it neat.A decent Margarita beats everything.
 

viktorvaughn

Well-known member
'Dr Neil Da Costa, an expert on the chemical analysis of flavours, is employed by the company International Flavours and Fragrances in New Jersey, USA, and now declares the Bloody Mary to be the world’s most complex cocktail.'

my making it at home recipe is 1 third vodaka i third v8 one thrid tabasco but i usually have them out for breakfast.

In what sense complex though? i do like it with horseradish in.
 

baboon2004

Darned cockwombles.
prob in terms of the variety of tastes. Tomato and Worcester sauce are by themselves v complex tastes - it covers all the sweet sour bitter salty umami hot bases.
 

Slothrop

Tight but Polite
i've been recently getting into them a bit, i mean i love beer, ale would be my desert island drink but sometimes you do want something a bit different.

bloody marys are absolutely brilliant when done properly and don't need a big investment

Manhattans are nice and not too complex - 5 parts whiskey or cognac, 2 parts red vermouth, a dash of bitters, ice and a dash of sugar syrup (optional).
Yeah, Manhattan would be good too. I quite fancy learning to make a couple more of the classic short sharp strong cocktails. It's probably a bit pretentiously retro but I am kind of a sucker for that sort of stuff. Do you make the sugar syrup or buy it?

this place Bourne and Hollingsworth cocktail bar is very nice if you can get a seat - bare rammed.http://www.qype.co.uk/place/198387-Bourne-Hollingsworth-London. Worth stealing a menu as they have loads of interesting cocktails, some lovely ones and they tasty properly strong which is of course essential, there's no place for a weak cocktail.
There's something satisfying about a drink that tastes properly strong - like you know you're going to end up with a filthy hangover so you might as well make sure you really enjoy the drink. A sort of built-in memento-mori. A lot of the stronger Belgian beers are like that, too...
 
I think this fetishising of the mixing of drinks is absurd, almost as daft as homeopathy.

Here's the worst cocktail I've had, served at Roast in Borough Market as the opener to an execrable meal last September

Smoke on the Water £11
Honey water, Islay whisky, home-made smoked vodka garnished with a
smoked tomato

The smoked tomato was actually a squashed sun-dried cherry tomato looking like a dropped turd at the bottom of the glass. The overall taste resembled a fire in a soap factory.
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
Vodka mixed with whisky sounds pretty gross before you even start dicking about with 'smoked tomatoes', jesus...
 

STN

sou'wester
I once tried a similar cocktail called a "Roztail". 2 inches of gin in a pint glass topped up with White Lightning. It resulted in unwellness and angry flatmates and didn't taste all that nice.

Beyond this, I quite like a whisky sour, when I'm down at the country club.
 

dd528

Well-known member
Recently started drinking way more cocktails than is probably healthy (for wallet or body). At home and out and about. Basically anything short, very strong, and not too sweet. Martini, Manhattan, Daiquiri, Old Fashioned, Bourbon Sour, Gimlet, Margarita, Rob Roy. Any of those are winners as far as I'm concerned.

Can have a cocktail party at home where everyone brings a bottle of spirits and a couple of other ingredients and you'll spend less that a night out on the lash, get way more pleasantly steaming, and learn how to make some new drinks. The fact that I know quite a lot of bar staff might help a little bit though.
 

routes

we can delay.ay.ay...
the 1 surefire thing that makes a good bloody mary great is a teaspoon of horseradish sauce stired through.
 

alex

Do not read this.
I made my own cocktail that resulted in me nearly being run over by a police van. I asked for it in a bar once and received a concerned look.

Twatted Astronaut :

1 part Absinthe
3 parts Special Brew
Ice

Served in a pint glass

reminds me of mixing vodka & stella together after the night's gone on abit too long and there isn't much left to drink
 

Mr. Tea

Let's Talk About Ceps
The Good Mixer in jolly old Camden Town serves cocktails called the 'Rickstasy' (invented by a guy called Rick, I guess) which are served in a half-pint glass and have Bailey's as their least alcoholic ingredient. They actually taste fucking lush despite containing Southern Comfort, which is pretty impressive. Disturbingly easy to drink. I had four or five of them one night about six years ago, which I think is the last time I was sick from alcohol alone.

Where's the link to that page where you type in the name of a singer or band and it generates a cocktail with that name?
 
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