Loss of Power Does Not Mean Loss of Cocktail Recipes

We're taking a short hiatus this week without power in Morristown... That said, I've put together a few of my favorite cocktails that, in a perfect world, just about any bartender can make!

My first cocktail is the Tropicalista. Anyone can make this with ingredients found nearly everywhere. If you don't have coconut water, go over to the and buy a can of Goya Coconut water.

Tropicalista

This island-esque cocktail is basically a tropical mint julep — substitute Cruzan white rum for the rye whiskey and lime for blood orange slices. It’s cool, crisp, tangy and refreshing.

1. Muddle fresh blood orange slices or lime chunks if you don't have oranges (they add a nice color and spark), spearmint leaves and coconut-water ice cubes* together.
2. Add a bit of superfine sugar and continue to muddle, adding more ice, and a splash or two of Cruzan white rum.
   
3. Add a touch more rum, some ice, some sugar, some spearmint. The cup should frost up nicely when finished.
   
4. Top off with another splash of rum. Use about 2 to 3 shots total for this drink.
   
5. Finish with a tiny piece of a rosemary sprig and more coconut-water ice* which has been crushed in a hand-cranked ice crusher (it cleaves the ice instead of smashing it). Very retro.

*Freeze coconut water into ice cubes — mix it up by using a funky-shaped tray. Get the coconut water variety with chunks in it. They add texture. Think Bubble Tea.

Friends of mine attended the Tecate 500 off road race in Mexico. They scoffed at all the attention Mexico has received, often unfairly over the last few months. Mexico is a place of many incongruities. Our newspapers shout about how dangerous it is, but in Baja, California, it’s the same as it ever was … A mixture of ex-pats from the United States and back to the future locals who live on surfing, fish tacos and fine locally produced rose' wines. Beer is popular too, as refreshment against the relentless sun. Lime is good for food and beer to raise the flavors up to higher levels (plus it acts as a preservative) and rum, as we all know is safer to drink than the local water.

The grueling, off-road car and motorcycle race known as the Tecate 500 is one of those events that make you thirsty before you even get out of the air-conditioning in your hotel into the blistering heat of Baja, California.

The 500 Cocktail

• 1 Tecate Mexican Beer
• 2 shots White Rum
• 1 lime, quartered
• 2 splashes simple syrup
• Fresh mint

1. Muddle mint with lime chunks and simple syrup to a nice paste in a cocktail shaker.
2. Add some ice and the rum.
3. Shake, pour into a chilled glass and top with Tecate or your choice of beer (Lager works best)

So, we don't have electricity and I feel like Rye Whiskey. Don't you?

I came up with this little beauty while fishing some leaves out of my pool on an unusually hot day — Make a drink and relax for a while.

The Early Fall Cocktail is based on the premise of a cold winter coming. Days before the Labor Day holiday, it’s like summer here in the Northeast and I wanted to concoct something truly American for the upcoming holiday.

The anchor of this cocktail is the Tuthilltown Manhattan Rye Whiskey, redolent with the flavors of late summer, and it’s easy to produce in large batches. Peaches are fresh now and grill beautifully.

The Early Fall Cocktail

• 3 shots Tuthilltown Manhattan Rye Whiskey
• Splash Vya Sweet Vermouth
• 2 medicine droppers of Bittercube Lemon Tree Bitters or Angostura Bitters and some lemon zests
• Crushed ice
• Grilled peaches (about 2 of them, grilled until caramelized, then puréed)

1. Heat a charcoal grill. Grill slices of peaches until uniformly brown and caramelized.
2. Add ice, rye and vermouth to a cocktail shaker with ice.
3. Chill, don’t shake. Add bitters.
4. “Purée” the peaches with a cocktail muddler. Add 2 tablespoons of the grilled peach mash to a glass mixing cup and add some crushed ice.
5. Pour rye and vermouth mixture into the a mixing
6. Mix carefully with a wooden mixer — never use metal
7. Serve with grilled corn and barbecued ribs that have been marinated with peaches and rye whiskey.

I love Vietnamese food. If there is good Viet food to be enjoyed, I’ll travel long distances for it. Summer rolls, a spicy combination of rice noodles, steamed shrimp and lettuce wrapped in rice paper is a fine way to start a meal on a hot, steamy day. One of my favorite drinks to pair with them is a freshly squeezed glass of sweet-salt-tart Vietnamese lemonade, a perfect balance to their heat.

The other day, I tried Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. It has a backbone of spicy young ginger, laced with 80-proof French cognac. The taste is sweet at first, but has a finish that’s deep, dark and full of heat from the cognac.

The complex flavor profile inspired an exotic and transporting new drink to sip with my summer-roll cravings: the Vietnamese Ginger-Lemonade Fizz. It starts with the classic Viet lemonade, combined with a citrus-based gin, such as Tanqueray Rangpur, a splash of Canton and a ginger beer floater. The Viet-style lemonade and ginger are all you will taste, making each rock-filled highball a touch on the dangerous side.

Vietnamese Ginger-Lemonade Fizz

Try not to imbibe more than four of these potent cocktails. If it’s hot and sticky weather out, this drink can really work its magic.

• 4 ounces Vietnamese Lemonade, or to taste (fresh squeezed lemons are a MUST)
• 3 ounces Tanqueray Rangpur or Tanqueray Gin
• 1 ounce Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur (Essential)
• Sea salt for the rim of the glass
• 1 small bottle Fentimans Botanically Brewed Ginger Beer
• Lemon slice and superfine sugar, to garnish

1. Prepare a batch of Vietnamese-style lemonade with freshly squeezed lemons, superfine sugar, a dash of sea salt and cool spring water. Adjust sugar to taste, keep chilled until needed.
2. Add fresh ice, freshly made lemonade, gin and ginger liqueur to a cocktail shaker and shake well.
3. Prepare a tall glass by wetting the rim with a bit of lemonade, rolling it in fine sea salt and filling with freshly cracked ice. Strain the shaker into the glass and top with a small bottle of ginger beer.
4. Garnish with a slice of lemon rolled in superfine sugar.

All in all, these cocktails are very easy to make. Almost too easy.  Creativity is the key word. When you use good ingredients it's easy to make simple things taste good. Just remember, I like a STRONG cocktail, with very little ice in the correct glass.