Post your cocktails and wines! | Page 2 | GTAMotorcycle.com

Post your cocktails and wines!

Re: Post your cocktails!

Other than an occasional ceasar as an aperitif at restaurants, I'm more of a straight-up consumer. A nice wine in this instance.

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Re: Post your cocktails!

I think my wife was having a wine spritzer here. Possibly one of those little italian bottles of sweet stuff that you add to wine...
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thats a cat picture and a wine spritzer in the same post...... just sayin.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Damn that looks good, my go to cocktail. Shame too many bars butcher it.
My first post and far to good to not make the effort at home. Cheers

freshly made mojito...the taste of the islands for me
I love mojito's :agave: . I've only really known and experienced them in the last few years or so, and haven't made them at home yet :rolleyes:. It's a go-to cocktail when I'm relaxing in the sun in the Caribbean. I've enjoyed many excellent mojito's at AI resorts as well..... both super fresh and super well-made. The local bars around me only make an average and expensive version in my experience. At a quality establishment ask for double (doble in spanish) premium white rum (bacardi blanco is a great start) and less sweet (menos dulce in spanish). It's a great drink and better balanced this way, including lots of fresh fresh mint, fresh fresh lime, soda water and a smaller amount of simple syrup (the sugar). That's where the bar is set for me :).

The only reason I grow mint in my garden... Fresh margaritas made with freshly squeezed lime juice and grand marnier with a decent tequila too.
Fresh mint in the garden. Great suggestion! Will try if I can. Fresh margaritas when summer gets hot :agave: ! I've spent some time deep diving this drink and will post a few up at some point.

scotch old fashioned - gotta use a sweeter single malt tho, like a 15 yo Glenfiddich

Mojito - i also grow mint in the garden just for that reason

Aperol Spritz - ice, 1 part Aperol, 3 parts Prosecco, squeeze in an slice of orange, dash of club soda - great before dinner
Nice! Thx :) . Wicked version of an old-fashioned.


If I'm in the mood for a sugary drink (i.e. Not beer) my go to drinks are;


Moscow Mule- preferably with The Great Jamaican Spicy Ginger Beer, 2 oz Vodka, and half a lime


Gin and Juice- My "juice" is lemon San Pellegrino, and I've always used Bombay Sapphire gin.
Nice! Thx :) .

Gin & Tonic, tall glass no ice. Hendricks gin, fever tree Indian tonic... if 2/3rds of your drink is mix, use the best mix available, could be more important than the booze grade.
A detailed gin and tonic, It's a classic and fave. I'll post up a few at some point. Great great cocktail.

You're Canadian? (Drambuie and Crown Royal)
For the purists:
(Johnny Walker Black and /Drambuie)
Nice suggestions. I've had similar and appreciate the appeal; it reminds me to circle back to this drink... been a long time since I've had one (or similar), years.

Other than an occasional ceasar as an aperitif at restaurants, I'm more of a straight-up consumer. A nice wine in this instance.
Great cat in that picture :). I'm first and foremost a beer enthusiast. The world class beer selection and reasonable prices in ON and Canada has been an amazing experience, and unrivaled compared to the wine and spirits markets. World class beer was my first real deep dive.

Wine was my second deep dive and I've been a big fan for years now. I've visited dozens of ON wineries and there's some great stuff out there.

I'm now into cocktails. There's a lot of history with cocktails I didn't know about, as well as amazing variety (including when compared to wines); there's a lot of opportunity to find some great drinks. As for straight liquors, very enjoyable. I've posted some world class straight liquor drinks here on the forum, such as Ardbeg scotch, etc.. Cheers and post them up. I love a great Caesar cocktail as well, and lots of local bars do a great as well as inventive versions. Check it out in TO. alone...https://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_caesars_in_toronto/
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

Cheers to all the posts. Here's another cocktail suggestion, Negroni! Different from the Old Fashioned, yet a bit similar too. As a foodie, it was actually Anthony Bourdain who introduced me to the Negroni.

It's as good as Bourdain says :). Negroni is a classic cocktail. The Negroni Is a Perfect Cocktail . The purist recipe is often described with 1 oz quality gin, 1 oz campari, and 1 oz sweet vermouth; it's a century old excellent drink. And many recipes also add an orange twist. I just did my first Negroni with a fresh orange twist tonight :agave:.
And there's more, here's an enthusiast's modern recipe for negroni :agave:! How To Make An Even Better Negroni . Excellent, and here's a picture!
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The fresh orange twist (twisted peel as seen in the picture) makes a huge difference to this drink. Done with west indian orange bitters as well :). As I mentioned only last weekend, I've just recently learned about orange twists. And I'm going back to cocktails I enjoy that use them and will post.

Lots of different and interesting cocktails posted already. Cheers!
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

Been quiet, ;), don't let my hyper detailed posts stop any discussion - let's talk cocktails! Be it more good drinks or related feedback, it's all interesting and appreciated.

As rolls another Friday, here's another drink I'm posting (hyper-detailed about) and continuing in the general style of the Old Fashioned and Negroni,... the Boulevardier.

The drink is very popular amongst enthusiasts, but not well known by the public. Check out this enthusiast's acknowledgment of the Boulevardier drink. :) Rediscovering The Boulevardier Cocktail

It's on serious eats. Boulevardier Recipe

It's on Bon Appetit. The Boulevardier Is Winter's Ultimate Cocktail
Check out this professional super enthusiast video on the Boulevardier drink. Impressive and entertaining. :agave:

The drink is even featured on the Today show website, lol.

The Boulevardier is a great and easy drink to make as well. The classic recipe is four basic ingredients:
1 part rye whiskey (or bourbon)
1 part campari
1 part sweet red vermouth
Served with an orange twist in a cocktail glass with an oversize ice cube

Some people will serve with a cherry instead of an orange twist, or in addition to it. Or a lemon twist. A more modern enthusiast take will serve it with 1.25, 1.5, or even 2 oz rye whiskey (or bourbon) instead of one oz. Some will do it with bourbon instead of rye whiskey (it's a little less interesting but even smoother).
It's an amazing drink. Here's the one I made today. :agave::agave:
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet red vermouth
1.25 oz Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye Whiskey (or bourbon)
An orange twist
With a large ice cube in a cocktail glass.

I went with Crown Royal Northern Harvest because it's a great value Canadian rye whiskey (one of the liquor styles done well in Canada) that works great in this drink. You can run this on endlessly and go with basic Crown Royal (or flavored), or Forty Creek, or Bulleit Rye, etc., etc.. A bourbon version is also nice and a good change from time to time, but the added depth of using a rye whiskey is generally the way to go.

My own added enthusiast take (and other's do similar) is to make sure there is minimal white pulp on the rind before I twist over the drink and add it :agave:. This improves the amount of orange oil that gets put into the cocktail. Depending on the orange, at times I literally shave it off with a butter or steak knife.
The Boulevardier for tonight! :agave::agave:
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Check out the crystal cocktail glass. I find it very artistic and unique; love how the liquor reflects down on the hand blown bottom glass. The glass is the Orrefor's On the Rocks line. You see the liquor reflections down onto the bottom glass edges which presents a rocky mountain appearance and a detailed reflective texture. Very appealing to me (and with lots of literal experience).

FWIW, there are reasons purist recipes even describe the size of the ice in the drink. A large ice cube slows down the melting of the ice into the drink (which adds water) compared to regular ice cubes.

I'm always learning about cocktails and happy to share. Tell us about cocktails enjoyed! Cheers! :) :)
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

I put a G&T together last night using Dillons gin, Ontario product, felt I should support Ontario industry. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good. So now i have 95% of a bottle left, for making G&T's for company. Hey, you have to try this Canadian product..........
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

I put a G&T together last night using Dillons gin, Ontario product, felt I should support Ontario industry. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good. So now i have 95% of a bottle left, for making G&T's for company. Hey, you have to try this Canadian product..........

The whole craft/local thing is getting out of hand I think. It’s good that we have a big choice but quite a few of these places have no clue what they are doing and their products are in some cases just nasty. Not far from Kingston are the vineyards of Prince Edward County and while there’s a few half decent wines there’s also a lot of terrible stuff made by people who liked the idea of owning a vineyard but don’t really have any skill.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

I put a G&T together last night using Dillons gin, Ontario product, felt I should support Ontario industry. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't that good. So now i have 95% of a bottle left, for making G&T's for company. Hey, you have to try this Canadian product..........

reminds me of Glen Breton whiskey
distilled on Cape Breton Island
about as close as you can get to being in Scotland this side of the Atlantic

anyway, distillery there opened up awhile back making scotch style whiskey
they ended up winning an award for something
it was very hard to get, had to order from the LCBO and wait
and it was expensive
FIL who is a whiskey snob ordered a bottle
he shared at a Xmas thing
was without a doubt the worst single malt I'd ever tried
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

We have an sort of annual meeting of the "clans" here at the house. I know which whiskeys I like , Glen Breton isn't top of that list. But throw some Drambuie in there and mitt full of ice and its a pretty nice Rusty Nail. Which for a cold ****** easter eve is the right cocktail.

It fits the Easter theme, take something that's out of favor, stir it up a bit and its redeemed as a thing to be celebrated. Sorry Christians.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

More drambuie posts. Sounds great.

I tend to stick with my premium vendor products or more std faves but one should try a new brand from time to time. I sample new beer far more than liquor though too. When one has premium faves already, sometimes they win and sometimes they lose on a new tasting. It's still more than worth it to try new stuff. And I love alcohol's whole scene where it's now re-embracing craft and world-wide vendors. The sheer addition of new product inevitably leads to some pretty great liquor for everyone.


FYI, I edited my last post discussing the boulevardier with the simple youtube version of that video. Did you see the flaming orange :blob6:? Wild, never heard of that before. And yes, there are youtube videos showing you how to flame an orange :).

Here's a great negroni vs boulevardier cocktail enthusiast discussion. Enjoy. :happy8: https://talesofthecocktail.com/behind-bar/bitter-rivals-boulevardier-versus-negroni


Here's an example of my additional prepping of the orange twist, scraping the white pulp which is almost complete in the picture :agave:...
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Cheers!
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

More drambuie posts. Sounds great.

I tend to stick with my premium vendor products or more std faves but one should try a new brand from time to time. I sample new beer far more than liquor though too. When one has premium faves already, sometimes they win and sometimes they lose on a new tasting. It's still more than worth it to try new stuff. And I love alcohol's whole scene where it's now re-embracing craft and world-wide vendors. The sheer addition of new product inevitably leads to some pretty great liquor for everyone.


FYI, I edited my last post discussing the boulevardier with the simple youtube version of that video. Did you see the flaming orange :blob6:? Wild, never heard of that before. And yes, there are youtube videos showing you how to do a flaming orange :).


Here's an example of my additional prepping of the orange twist, scrapping the white pulp which is almost complete in the picture :agave:...
attachment.php


Cheers!

just get a zester tool....it works really well.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Glen Breton - I've been there a few times. Drank with their head guy. Not sticking up for the place as I tend to like different scotch styles than theirs but for someone to say they tried a Glen Breton once and it was horrible so their stuff is overrated is like saying you did a trackday on a NC700 and it was bad so Honda is overrated.
Only GB product I've seen in the LCBO is their Fiddlers one which I've had and it's horrible. Had a few others at their place that were excellent. Most of their whiskey is sold before it's even bottled. Take the tour if you're ever in Inverness (I'll be there again in June).
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Here's a blood orange boulevarier :)! Lots of enthusiast options.
https://stripedspatula.com/blood-orange-boulevardier-cocktail/
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just get a zester tool....it works really well.
A zester tool. I only learned about such things a few months ago. I think you mean citrus zipper tool. A true and excellent way to get a moderately sized skin for a twist. Haven't gotten it yet, but want to. Even with my detailed posts I don't have such tools, but some people here should have them I'd guess :). Who's an automatic cocktail lover (zester or zipper tool owner) :)?

Cheers!
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

zester tool is a basic bar tender tool, there are probably a half dozen laying around here. They are really handy for a lot of other cooking recipes since they are just faster. Get one with a channel cutter if you can. Channel cutter looks like a vegetable peeler and cuts the nice wide slices for garnish twists.

you can do the same thing with a decent vegetable peeler, or a micro plane for zests, or careful work with a really sharp paring knife.

i think you can find them for $3 at the Dollarama or $50 at Williams Sonoma , and all prices in between. Buy a decent one since they last forever.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Another old fashioned this weekend. It's an amazing cocktail with so much depth and complexity when you go premium. I'm still using the fabbri amarena wild italian cherries in syrup to great effect.

This one I made bourbon style:
2 oz bulleit bourbon (good value option)
1 sugar cube muddled
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 fabbri amarena cherry in syrup
1 orange twist (with added rind scraping)
1 oversize ice cube.

Again in the orrefors on the rocks crystal cocktail glass. Cheers and enjoy! :agave:

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I bought a muddler and have standard sugar cubes in the house just for this cocktail. This cocktail also inspired me to get an oversize ice cube mold, buy angostura bitters, and learn what an orange twist is. I sourced fabbri amarena cherries for this cocktail too.

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Re: Post your cocktails!

So my experience and enjoyment of negroni and boulevardier cocktails has sent me down a new rabbit hole. I'm deep diving all about amaro, bitters, aperitifs and digestifs. Really interesting!

I really enjoy the variety and taste that a bitter and complex cocktail/drink brings to the palate. It was news to me, but the bitter liqueur scene has a long history in Europe and especially Italy, with some aspects over 150 years old now. It's also huge and varied with hundreds of options available, even make-your-own home enthusiast guides. I had no idea about all this.

The renaissance in the cocktail scene over the last decade has very much extended to amaro, bitters, aperitivos and digestifs. It's everywhere if one makes the effort and looks. I've found internet links from Vogue, Forbes, Globe and Mail, National Public Radio, etc.

I'm just starting this new experience but I've done a lot of research already. And I've picked up some things to try out over the year. I obviously have Campari, but I've also sourced Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Rouge which is a more premium and unique sweet vermouth, plus Aperol, Peychaud's Aperitivo and Amaro Nonino Quintessentia. The Amaro Nonino Quintessentia can be very hard to find in much of Canada, so I tip my hat to the ON LCBO for carrying such items. I've also found some DIY sweet vermouth recipes that I'm interested in at some point in the future.

I really enjoy variety, I really enjoy trying new things. This is going to be fun and interesting. Really interesting!

Here's a bunch of articles I enjoyed reading.

Everything You Need to Know About Bitters (and the Perfect Winter Cocktail Recipe)

Guide to Amaro

https://saltmagazine.asia/drink/boozy/bittersweet-symphony-drinking-amaro-2/

The Favorite Drink Of Italian Grandpas Gets An American Revival

Amaro: A Bittersweet Obsession

Aperol Versus Campari: Pick Your Bitters

https://talesofthecocktail.com/behi...g-appreciation-bitter-flavors-hesitant-guests

https://www.nightclub.com/operations/aperitivo-lesson-5-bittersweet-bottles-and-how-to-use-them

Battle Aperitivo: Peychaud’s Aperitivo vs. Aperol

Aperol Spritz Recipe

https://www.nightclub.com/operations/aperitivo-lesson-5-bittersweet-bottles-and-how-to-use-them

Three Italian cocktails you need to try this summer

Cheers!
 
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Re: Post your cocktails!

Has anyone heard of a drink called a "Bye Bye"? I had one of these in Costa Rica recently and as I recall it was blue on colour and had 3 types of rum in it. No mint or fruit. Just curious.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Has anyone heard of a drink called a "Bye Bye"? I had one of these in Costa Rica recently and as I recall it was blue on colour and had 3 types of rum in it. No mint or fruit. Just curious.

Was it at an all inclusive? The ones I went to often had their own names for various cocktails...some of which were explicit.
 
Re: Post your cocktails!

Glen Breton - I've been there a few times. Drank with their head guy. Not sticking up for the place as I tend to like different scotch styles than theirs but for someone to say they tried a Glen Breton once and it was horrible so their stuff is overrated is like saying you did a trackday on a NC700 and it was bad so Honda is overrated.
Only GB product I've seen in the LCBO is their Fiddlers one which I've had and it's horrible. Had a few others at their place that were excellent. Most of their whiskey is sold before it's even bottled. Take the tour if you're ever in Inverness (I'll be there again in June).

Mine just says rare on the bottle, so I can't say whether it's Fiddlers or not, but it seems fine. I'm not a snob though. I'll check it with one later. It goes great with Drambuie.
 

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