Cocktail Expedition: Flora

Flora by pixieclipx

On Saturday I finally got out to one of the cocktail joints I’ve been wanting to try since I moved out here. I’d like to start out by apologizing for not having any pics, but the camera on my current phone is really lame and my portable camera is without a charge (and the charger is still missing after the move).  Anyway, on to the drinks!

Located in an old flower market, Flora takes its name and sign from the building’s old vocation. It’s got a subtly retro, low-key vibe that I like. It was also quiet enough for conversation at the bar, which is even better. The bartenders all dressed in black and white, and it was very obvious they care about the drinks they’re making. I had a guest with me, so I didn’t get to chat with the bartenders as much as I usually would have. I’ll do that next time.

I started things off with something I’ve mixed at home the Clover Club Cocktail. It was just as I’d made it at home: frothy, citrus-tart, with a touch of berry sweetness. Not a bad start to the night (And a dessert for the dinner I’d eaten before heading out.) My friend ordered Flora’s signature cocktail, Carter Beats the Devil, named for the Bay Area-native stage magician from the first half od the last century. I had a couple tastes, and it wasn’t bad. I’m not the most avid fan of tequila, so a smoky Margarita with a chili tincture warmth isn’t something I’ll flat out love. I do find myself wanting to go back and order one for myself to get the full effect.

My last drink at Flora was an Old Fashioned made with Sazerac 18 year old rye. I didn’t have to tell my bartender how to make an Old Fashioned right, he just did it. It was perfect. A think of beauty to behold and taste. The perfect one inch cubes of ice, the spicy-sweet taste, the orange nose from the peel garnishing the drink. It was out of sight.

An update

I’ve been neglecting this page for a few month now, so here’s an update for anyone paying attention.

This weekend I’m moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, Oakland to be precise. Expect abouth a month more of neglect as I settle in, then I will be posting about new bars and what-not.

In the mean time, here’s a drink I invented at my birthday party.

The Errol Flynn Fizz

• 2 oz white rum
• 1 oz fresh lime juice
• 1/2 oz falernum
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• 1 egg white
• soda water

Put everything except for the soda into your shaker. Dry shake without ice to get the egg white frothy and mix things together. Add ice, and shake to chill. Pour into a champagne flute and top with the soda.

Aviation Cocktail

Excuse the crappy photography.

Today I went shopping for some booze as a later Christmas present for myself. I picked up several things, but two of them were some ingredients I’ve been wanting to get for quite some time. There are several drinks I want to use them for, but the main drink I wanted to try is this one, The Aviation Cocktail.

Most of the time when you get an Aviation in the 21st century it’s a mix of gin, lemon juice, and maraschino liqueur. Starting from at least 1930 that was the “standard” recipe. The original recipe dates back to at least 1916 and had one other ingredient, creme de violette. Let me tell you, the creme de violette adds so much to the flavor of this drink, and don’t even get me started on the beautiful color it gives the cocktail. If you make the drink, that’s the way you should make it. I plan on pushing it hard at my cocktail party tomorrow night.

Aviation

• 1-1/2 oz dry gin
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz creme de violette

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

For more on this drink, and a tasty variation, check out this article from Gary Regan.

Ramos Gin Fizz

Ramos Gin Fizz Photo by Michael Dietsch

The Ramos Gin Fizz is a drink I’ve been wanting to try for some time now. At my last cocktail party, about halfway through the night, I realized that I finally had all the ingredients on hand for this one at one time. I grabbed everything up, and put everything but the ice and club soda into my shaker tin. I gave that a vigorous shake to start the eumulsification. Then I added the ice, closed the tin back up and had my guests start the stopwatch. I grabbed the shaker firmly and set to shaking for a straight 120 seconds. By the time I was finished my arms were killing me and my hands were stuck to the metal tin with frost.

I popped the mixing glass off the top and looked inside to see that the drink had literally doubled in volume from all the shaking. I strained it into two tall glasses and topped those off with seltzer. The garnish was a half an orange wheel on each glass.

I kept one for myself and passed the other around to my guests. The reaction was mixed. Some really loved it, some though it was almost good, but were put off by the floral scent and taste from the orange flower water. Mywelf, I loved it, and plan on having one at my holiday party later this month.

Ramos Gin Fizz

• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz cream
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1/4 oz orange flower water
• Fill seltzer water

Rum Flip & B²C²

At the cocktail party I had on Saturday, Mike agreed to try a real old-timey sailor’s drink. We both tried it an pronounced it good. I thought I’d share it with you here, since I bet most of you already have the ingredients for it at home.

Rum Flip

• 2 oz rum
• 1 raw egg
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake egg and rum, first without ice, and then with, and strain into a glass. If you don’t have the bitters you can be even more traditional and just top it with some grated nutmeg or some other spice.

Another old drunk we tried was the B²C². Legend has it that this was invented by American GIs during WWII after they had liberated a cache of French booze that had been secreted away by some Nazi.

B²C²

• 1 oz brandy
• 1 oz Benedictine
• 1 oz Cointreau
• 2 oz champagne

Build the first three ingredients in a short glass over ice and stir. Top with the champagne.

Planter’s Punch

For this weekend’s party I plan to have a bit of the tropics in late November. I’m making some punch!

Planter’s Punch

• 5 cups dark rum
• 2-1/2 cups lemon juice
• 2-1/2 cups lime juice
• 1-1/4 cups grenadine
• 2/3 cup simple syrup
• 1/2 oz Angostura bitters

Mix all in punch bowl. Allow to cool for at least one hour. Ice bowl with a large block. Top with club soda, lemon-lime soda, or ginger ale if desired.

Clover Club

At my last cocktail party I mixed up a couple of Clover Club Cocktails for myself and one of the guests.

Clover Club Cocktail

• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• 1 egg white

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

The only grenadine I had on hand was Rose’s. As you may know, Rose’s grenadine isn’t what it used to be. There’s not much pomegranate flavor at all and it’s sweetened with high fructose corn syrup rather than cane sugar. This lead to a drink that was refreshing, but not particularly inspiring.

I recently picked up some pomegranate concentrate and for this upcoming weekend I’ll be making some of my own grenadine. I aim to try this drink again. I’ll let you all know how it goes. I also picked up some raspberry syrup. Since I’ve read that this drink was made with that rather than grenadine in some books, I will try both and also report those results.

Little Devil

It’s been quiet here at the Den. I’m looking forward to another round of Drinking Skeptically tonight. To get in the mood and to keep you folks reading, here’s a variation I’ve come up with from The Savoy Cocktail Book.

The Little Devil

• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz light rum
• 1/2 oz Cointreau
• 1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass full of fresh ice. (The original is smaller and served up in a cocktail glass.)

Iron Mixology Recap

First off, I’d like to thank all the attendees, in order of arrival: Elizebeth, Shane, Tamie, Kris, Catherine, Mike, Summer, John, and Kevin. I had a really good time, and I hope you all did as well.

What did people bring and what did I make with it? Here’s a list, again in order of arrival:

Read the rest of this entry »

Pink Baby Cocktail

I’ve heard it said that modern drinks are much sweeter than the classics. In The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930) I found a cocktail that gives that the lie. It does have an ingredient that you don’t usually see in modern drinks, though.

Pink Baby Cocktail

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• 1/2 oz sirop de citron*
• 1 egg white

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. When shaking egg into a drink it’s best to shake all the ingredients with out ice first, then add ice to do your full shake. This helps emulsify everything into a nice silky drink.

* Sirop de citron is a sweet lemon syrup, similar to Rose’s Lime Cordial.

I want to test this out with some sweet-toothed drinkers sometime.