The Daily Tippler

All though we got pretty complex yesterday, and I promise we will again later this week, most classic Beer based cocktails are pretty basic. As we saw on Monday you can combine Beer with a little something extra to spice it up and give it some heft. The Trilingual Belgian is really based on something the Belgians have been doing or years; adding flavored liqueurs to their excellent beers. The Black Velvet dates black to London in the latter half of the 1800’s. I’d go with a Champagne or Sparkling Wine somewhere in the mild, not to sweet or dry.

Black Velvet:

-5 oz. Champagne or Sparkling Wine
-5 oz. Guinness or Stout

Half fill a Collins glass with Stout and pour the Wine over the back of a spoon into the glass.

Chartreuse has been showing up, lately, on a lot of reputable cocktail menus.  This french liqueur produced by Carthusian Monks first shows up in print around 1605. The recipe of 130 herbs and flowers is known by only three monks at any given time. The flavor is definitley an aquired taste, but is quite dynamic and can be used to spice up a variety of drinks. Give this a shot with a sweeter champagne.

Chartreuse & Champagne

-1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
-1/4 oz Cognac
-Champagne (to fill)

Combine ingredients in a champagne flute. The bubbles will stir it for you. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Today’s toasting tipple is almost like a Champagne Milk Shake. The Flip has been around since the publication of the first cocktail books and usually has, at least, cream if not some part of an egg. I would lean Brut again; but since I do liken it to a milk shake feel free to go a little sweeter if you like. And as always any drink with egg should have the Hell shaken out of it.

The Champagne Flip:

-3/4 oz Brandy
-1 dash Triple Sec
-1/4 oz Cream
-1 Egg Yolk
-1/2 Tsp Sugar
-Champagne (to fill)

Add the yolk to a shaker and break it. Add the sugar and stir them a bit. Add the brandy & triple sec and shake thoroughly. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and carefully fill with Champagne.

Today in addition to giving you a drink to toast with I’ll give you a reason to toast; It’s World Cocktail Day. Today is the last day of World Cocktail Week and the day on which we celebrate the invention of the cocktail in America.  According to my research this year is the 203rd Birthday of the cocktail. I’m not sure how accurate the dates and information are; it is pretty tough to pinpoint the inception date and when and where things really happened. It seems to be more of a widespread movement then a single definite A-Ha moment. But, none the less it is great to have a day to celebrate and nice that they picked a Wednesday instead of a weekend. 

In honor of Cocktail Day I have designed a celebratory Champagne Punch. Seems incongruous to toast the cocktail with a punch; but who better to give your birthday toast then your father. This is one well established fact we can take from the lexicon of cocktail history, punch begat cocktails. The first steps of the recipe below, involving the lemon peel, sugar and hot water, is how you create the base for most old timey punches. 

Cocktail Day Punch:

-18 oz. Spiced Rum
-4.5 oz. Orange Curacao
-3 oz. Creme de Cassis
-2 oz. Calvados
-4.5 oz. Hot Water
-1 Tbsp Sugar
-18 Dashes Regan’s Orange Bitters
-The peel of half a lemon without pith
-Champagne to top

Heat the water to boiling and allow to cool. While the water is cooling, in a punch bowl, muddle the lemon peels in the sugar until all of the oil is extracted. Add the hot water and stir until sugar is dissolved; fish out the lemon peels.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir. Chill in the refrigerator until it is time to serve. Add a large ice block to the punch to keep it cool. Serve in punch mugs; topped with 1 oz champagne. Serves 8.

With graduation and wedding season upon us you may have more occasion for toasts then usual so I thought I’d try to offer some dressed up options. 

So, far I have given recipes for champagne based cocktails, so today I turn to the idea of making a cocktail “Fancy” by adding champagne. The French 75 is like a Gin Fizz, but instead of using soda water for the bubbles you use champagne; it’s genius.

But here’s the catch:  originally concocted by the Franco-American World War I flying ace Raoul Lufbery it may have been made with cognac. This would make sense as cognac was probably more available in WWI France then gin. At the same time I think gin makes a better drink, but you can be the judge. The drink got it’s name because it was said to have the same kick as being shelled by a 75mm French Howitzer. This recipe has sugar in it, so I would lean toward a Brut and you probably want to use real champagne for authenticity’s sake. 

French 75:

-2 oz. Gin
-2 Teaspoons Sugar
-1 oz. Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
-Champagne to fill

In a Collins Glass stir the sugar in the lemon juice. Add the Gin, fill with ice and stir. Top with Champagne and garnish with a lemon wedge.

As I mentioned on Friday the Champagne Cobbler was going to be my segue into this weeks theme: Champagne Cocktails. With graduation and wedding season upon us you may have more occasion for toasts then usual so I thought I’d try to offer some dressed up options. 

Champagne as an additive was used from the early days of cocktail making in order to make almost any regular cocktail more “fancy.” Today we have a lot of cocktails that use champagne as a base and then have their own additives. I’ll offer a mix of both and give recommendations on what bubbly to use. Which brings me to an important point: just because they are called Champagne Cocktails doesn’t mean you have to use champagne. In many cases you will be able to find better quality in your price range by looking at Cava, Prosecco or American Sparkling Wine.

Since we are in the throes an Absinthe resurgence I’ll start with Death in the Afternoon. Another Hemingway favorite it gets it’s name from his book on Spanish death ceremonies. Go with a Brut or something akin to it, sweetness will really throw this one out of balance. Also, the greener the Absinthe the nicer your final color will be. 

Death in the Afternoon:

-4 oz. Champagne or Sparkling Wine
-1 Tbsp Absinthe

Pour the Champagne into a chilled flute and add the Absinthe. No real need to stir the bubbles should do the work. 

I’ll use today to provide a more refreshing option for your summertime toasts, give you an idea for Mothers Day and segue into my theme for next week; three birds one stone, not bad.  If you have an occasion to toast this summer and you’d like to dress up the bubbly here is a nice idea that has been around for a long time, but we don’t see much of; The Champagne Cobbler. You don’t need actual Champagne any sparkling wine on the dryer side will do. This is great because it improves a lower end Sparkler and makes it more palatable in the hot weather. I wouldn’t have too many as I can only imagine that the added sugar packs a walloping hangover. 

The Champagne Cobbler:

-4 oz Champagne
-1 Teaspoon Sugar
-2 Teaspoons Water

In a champagne glass dissolve the sugar in the water and add the Champagne. Garnish with an orange peel and a lemon twist, seasonal berries are also a nice touch.