Sake Amai

Sake Amai

This is something that I threw together while several cocktails into the night. Having recently went through the stress of moving apartments, a LOT of drinking has been in order. Of all the drinks that came out of this recent evening of drinking, this was the most successful!






Before we get into this, let's talk about Sake. Ever keen to learn, I went on a tour of the most excellent Ontario Spring Water Sake Company (find out more about them here http://ontariosake.com/), which is conveniently about 2 blocks from my new pad. Of course, we picked up a few bottles to take home while there. We chose 2 bottles of their Teion Sakura sake.









So, sake has 4 ingredients.

1. Rice
2. Water
3. Koji
4. Yeast

Sake is a brewed beverage, more akin to the process of making beer than a spirit. Of these 4 ingredients, you'll likely be unfamiliar with Koji. It turns out that Koji is a special mould that grows on rice. It has a nice high sugar content, which when combined with water and yeast helps create the magic of fermentation!

The Teion Sakura Sake is uniquely suited to this drink because it has a high Koji to Yeast ratio, and is brewed at a lower temperature. Ergo, the yeast doesn't eat too much of the Koji leaving a higher sugar content and weaker ABV!

So sweet, light and delicious are the characters you'll find in this beverage. OK! Onto actually making a drink with this stuff!

Ingredients

1. 2 OZ Sake (Teion Sakura if you're lucky enough to be able to get some!)
2. 1 OZ Lime Juice
3. 1/2 OZ Rosemary Syrup
4. 1/4 OZ Dubonnet
5. 2 Dashes Fee Grapefruit Bitters

Method

This one is real simple. It had to be. I was half-cut while making it! Just add all your ingredients, give them a good 10 second shake with ice, and fine-strain into a coupe/martini glass! The result should be a refreshing, low alcohol/big flavour cocktail with a bright pink colour from the Dubonnet (you can switch it for vermouth if you prefer). Sake is really wonderful stuff, and I'm really only scratching the surface with it. I'm looking forward to finding great new things to with it, and I'll keep you posted.



Slainte, Salut and Cheers!

Suebak

Suebak


Ingredients - 2oz of Soju
                         The juice of half a lime
                         Fresh Watermelon Slices
                         1/4oz of Sugar Syrup (or to taste)
                         Watermelon Chunk to garnish


About the Drink


This one is real simple, summery and tasty. Even though it's not summer yet. But you can pretend! It's essentially a Watermelon Martini, but made with Soju instead of Gin or Vodka. Soju for those that aren't in the know, is a delightful Korean spirit. It's essentially a slightly sweeter version of vodka, with a lower ABV and a nice clean finish. It's usually served neat, but it mixes really well too! And the Korean people take it seriously. REALLY seriously as Jinro Soju is the number one selling spirit brand IN THE WORLD. That's right, even more than Smirnoff! It's pretty easy to find in the West these days, and it's tasty and inexpensive to boot. But I digress...





Method

Start off by squeezing your lime juice into your Boston/Shaker. Then add a few chunks of Watermelon and muddle it to get the juices flowing nicely.
Add your sugar syrup (and be sparing! The watermelon will be sweet as it is!).
Throw in your Soju, add ice, and shake it up!

Double strain the mix into a chilled Coupe or Martini glass and garnish with a little slice of Watermelon.

A drink like this is perfect for making on those hot summer days (if they ever come) as it's a pretty low alcohol content, with all the great flavour of delicious Soju.



Slainte, Salut and Cheers!

Brandy Sour

Brandy Sour


Ingredients - 2oz Brandy (Your preffered brand and nationality)
                     The juice of half a lemon
                     1 egg white (optional, but preferred!)
                     1/4oz of Sugar Syrup (or to taste)
                     Lemon Twist and/or Maraschino Cherry to garnish.

About the Drink

Hello! Today, I'm writing on how to make a Brandy Sour. Mainly because I want to drink one. Because they are tasty. So, firstly let's discuss what a "Sour" is. By definition, a Sour is a drink containing a base spirit, lemon juice, sugar and egg white. There are a whole host of different Sours out there and you really can't go wrong with one if you follow the basic formula that here. The Brandy Sour has a couple of incarnations in and of itself such as the Cypriot Brandy Sour, which requires a generous helping of bitters, and no shaking it up. There are loads of different ways to do it, but this is the way I like to make them, and drink them!



Method

Start of by squeezing the juice of your lemon into your Boston Glass/Shaker. Remember to get a nice slice of the zest for your garnish first!
Next up, add your sugar. This depends on your taste. I like my drinks nice and strong (my sweet-tooth phase is over!) so I only add a teaspoon of sugar to the drink. If you don't have sugar syrup, just add some regular sugar to the citrus juice and stir it up to dissolve it.
Add your Brandy next! The choice of Brandy is really important as it's going to be the main flavour so make sure it's a brand you enjoy. I love Courvousier personally so that's my go to Brandy for everything, though the drink works great with any quality spirit.
Next, add your egg white. Now, you don't have to add egg white. But it really does help. Adding egg white to your drink is extremely safe, and it doesn't alter the flavour profile of your drink at all. What it will do, is emulsify with the alcohol creating a beautiful velvety texture that really enhances the experience. Give it a try! You will not be disappointed.

At last, give the drink a generous firm shake with plenty of nice, dry ice, then strain the contents into your glass. Oh, the glass. Ok. Again, this is a matter of preference. Technically, a Sour should be served in Rocks glass with ice. However, I like to serve it in a Coupe or Martini glass for two reasons.

1. I like my drinks a bit stronger, and don't want the extra dilution.
2. This Sour will only last about 3 minutes for me until it's all gone and i'm firing up another.

Whatever you choose, i'd recommend that you chill the glass down in your freezer for an even better drinking experience. The little 3oz Coupe that I used here came from BYOB at Queen and Shaw in Toronto.

Finally, gently massage your lemon twist to release those zesty oils and set it in the drink. You can also add a little Maraschino for a flourish of colour.


And that's it! This recipe can be used with just about any spirit, and there are also many great liquers that can be added to it too to create new drinks. Enjoy! Any alternate recipes, feedback and suggestions should go in the comments section below. I'll be adding more new drinks in the coming days including some really nice original drinks that you may not have come across before!

Slainte, Salut and Cheers!

An introduction, and a beverage.

Hello!

So, here we are. Another blog. Another page cluttering up the internet. However, the world can't have enough tasty cocktails, wines, beers and spirits and I'm making it my mission to share the love that I have for all manner of tasty libations! 

A little bit about me. I am a career bartender from Scotland, recently moved to Canada with my wife who is a Canuck! After many years of happy living east of the pond, we've moved to Canada to try our fortunes here. And as long as I have the time to do so, I intend to dedicate this blog to cocktail recipes, reviews of bars and restaurants, and little tidbits about the most important social lubricant that the world has ever known. I'll also be taking you through the process as I stock my bar at home into one of the finest little collections of fine spirits in the world!

And so, lets begin with a drink. 

GRAPEFRUIT DAIQUIRI

Ingredients - 2oz of Rum (based on your preference, but we'll get to that in a minute!)
                     1 Whole Pink Grapefruit
                     1 Whole Lime
                     1 Teaspoon of Sugar

About the Drink

Well then. They don't come much more simple than this. The term "Daiquiri" might bring a lot of different images to mind depending on who your talking to and where they are from. Some are served doused in fruit and sugar in a slushy like manner (very tasty for the sweet toothed drinker!)
However, this Daiquiri shares more with the classic "Hemingway Daiquiri", which was purportedly Ernest Hemingway's beverage of choice during his time in Cuba. It's a tangy, boozy, classic cocktail.
Generally, all that we'd put in this drink would be Rum, Lime and Sugar. But I love grapefruit. So, grapefruit it is! The most important thing about this drink is of course, the Rum. Most would say use a light Rum. It really is up to you though! I chose Havana Club Anejo Reserva, because it's a flavoursome, but soft blend. I also choose to serve this in an Old-Fashioned glass with ice. Straight up in a Martini glass is standard but this my own preference. 

Method

1. Squeeze the juice of the whole lime into your Boston Glass (I always prefer Boston Shakers, but you can use whatever you like!). 

2. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the lime juice, and stir to dissolve. 

3. Add the juice of half a grapefruit. 

4. Add your rum. 

5. Add ice and shake for around 15 seconds.

6. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a generous twist of grapefruit zest. 




There we are! Easy huh? What you should be left with is a boozy, zesty citrus beverage that is much more than the sum of it's parts! If you choose to serve it "Straight Up" in a Martini style, I'd recommend fine straining the drink (strain the drink a second time over the glass with a tea strainer or the like), to get a smoother and prettier drink.


I'll be posting more recipes and in the near future so keep your eyes open.

Slainte, Salut and Cheers!