Tag Archives: gin

Apr26

Checking out Tanqueray Malacca Gin

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Tanqueray Malacca

Tanqueray Malacca

Tanqueray produced their Malacca gin in the late 90s and early 00s. Here’s Inu a Kena’s informative review.

They recently brought back Malacca but it is still scarce. I’ve heard rumors it’s at this bar or that, the second shipment to California was lost, reps saying they see it in the system but can’t find it… which leads to even more curiosity. The latest rumor is there are 20 bottles heading to K&L. Now, don’t shoot the messenger if they’re not there.

I do know that I did taste it on two occasions and both times were in San Diego for Bartenders Weekend. If you’re in LA, there might be some left at Cole’s but I somehow doubt it.

Over at Noble Experiment in San Diego, I asked for a taste of the Malacca which was innocently sitting on the backbar. My initial thought was it’s a lot spicier than the regular Tanqueray London Dry.

Tanqueray gin tasting - 10 AM

Tanqueray gin tasting – 10 AM

Then I actually got up bright and early one day to the Tanqueray tasting.  Yeah, baby, gin tasting at 10 a.m.  I’m a professional. Er…trying to motivate myself to sample more of this exlir was pretty tough with Bartenders Weekend events lasting to the wee hours of the night.

menu

menu

We had a choice of Tanqueray and tonics or Red Snappers. I went with a Red Snapper which I had free reign to garnish with beef jerky and spicy pickles.

Red Snapper with Malacca

Red Snapper with Malacca

Wooh boy, it was even spicier with the pickles but it was the perfect eye-opener. I’ll have another.

Now how to get my hands on a bottle in LA…

Tanqueray

Bartenders Weekend

More posts about Tanqueray from The Minty/ LA Cocktails

All posts about Bartenders Weekend by The Minty

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2013

 

Feb1

Los Feliz: Cocktailing at Big Bar

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Most Interesting Cocktail In the World by Matt Schaefer

 

I just got word Big Bar is rolling out their new cocktails soon. Hurry over to try these before these are gone.

Matt Schaefer isn’t at Big Bar anymore but he did leave behind the legacy of the curiously or maybe not so curiously named:

Most Interesting Cocktail in the World -Mezcal Vida, lime, cinnamon, chocolate chili bitters

I hope they keep this cocktail on the menu. As promised by the name, it is very interesting with a blend of smokey, tart and a dash of sweet to balance it out.

Bollywood Style! Prom at Big Bar on Valentine's Day, February 14

Bollywood Style! Prom at Big Bar on Valentine’s Day, February 14

 

If you don’t have any Valentine’s Day plans, Dan and Eugene at Big Bar invite you to their annual Prom shindig. This year’s theme is Bollywood. Expect some shenaningans.

 

Sal Paradise

Sal’s Paradise – Oro Torontele pisco, grapefruit, lime, honey, sour cherry bitters

Whenever I’m feeling like I should take it easy, I turn to my buddy pisco. At Big Bar, there’s an easy sipper called Sal’s Paradise that does the trick. But because it’s so easy to drink, expect this to go faster than a Manhattan or another stirred cocktail. Insert a lip smacking “ahhhh” here.

 

La Rosita

La Rosita – Partida reposado tequila, Campari, Dolin dry vermouth, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth

Do you love Negronis? I’ve been replacing the gin with other spirits and one of my favorites is a reposado tequila. This is a classic cocktail known as a La Rosita. I like that it uses both dry and sweet vermouth so it’s not entirely too cloying.

 

Selero Gin Fizz

Selero Gin Fizz

 

Selero Gin Fizz – Plymouth gin, Green Chartreuse, lime, celery, egg white

If I sat at Big Bar and counted up what was the most popular drink off the current menu, I would have to go with the Selero Gin Fizz. I finally tasted one earlier last month and I don’t know what took me so long to get around to it. It certainly has some of my favorite ingredients like Green Chartreuse and I love fizz drinks with egg whites (I also love flips and sours). This is a savory cocktail that would be great during brunch as well.

St. Anne’s Helper

St. Anne’s Helper – Eagle Rare 10-Year bourbon, Carpano Antica sweet vermouth, Amaro Meletti, Forbidden bitters

My first love though are still brown, bitter, stirred drinks. And St. Anne’s Helper fits the bill perfectly. Plus it has one of my favorite amari, Amaro Meletti.

See you Valentine’s Day! Now I have to find a sari…

 

Big Bar at Alcove

1927 Hillhurst Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90027 — (323) 644-0100
 

© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2013

Jan28

The Minty Mixes: Caorunn Cocktails plus Ramos Milk Punch at Bagatelle

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Caorunn Gin

Caorunn Gin

When I talk to people about gin, they are often surprised how enthusiastic I am about Scottish gins. And then I tell them that one of their favorite gins is actually Scottish, they’re floored. When you think gin, most think London dry style. But there are plenty that are soften, more floral. Caorunn gin I’ve found lends itself very well to fruit forward cocktails. At a gin tasting last year, I really liked the Caorunn drink with apple.

Caorunn has an unique system to infuse the botanicals into their gin. They spread the juniper and other botanicals on trays and when the gin is distilled, the vapor meets the botanicals and picks up the various flavors. This is different from how some gins infuse the botanicals directly into the gin. By spreading the bontanicals around and away from the gin, only the vapors mixes in which is why it’s lighter in character.

Caorunn punch

Caorunn Ramos Milk Punch

 

At Bagatelle last Fall, I tried the Ramos Milk Punch made with Caorunn.

This was a take on a Ramos but made punch style. Along with the Caorunn, there was both lemon and lime juices, simple syrup, vanilla almond milk, orange blossom water, grated nutmeg and soda water. And if it’s a birthday, light up sparklers like Bagatelle. It’s just so festive.

 

Punch makes people smile

Punch makes people smile

 

I was playing around with Caorunn and came up with a cocktail using Caorunn and a few things I had picked up from Tales of the Cocktail.

Shiso Lovely

  • 2 oz Caorunn gin
  • 1 oz Berentzen Pear liqueur
  • 1 oz Dry Sack sherry
  • .75 oz lemon juice
  • . 25 oz agave syrup
  • 3-4 leaves shiso
  • 3 dashes Jerry Thomas Own Decanter bitters

 

Muddle the shiso with lemon juice and agave syrup in a mixing glass or tin. Add the gin, pear liqueur, sherry and ice.  Shake hard (for about 40 seconds), strain and serve up. Add a few dashes of bitters.

I don’t like sweet cocktails but if you like it sweeter, add more agave. The shiso adds a not uncommon but different herbal flavor.

 

Caorunn Gin

Bagatelle

755 N La Cienega, Los Angeles, CA 90069 — (310) 659-3900

© The Minty  // LA Cocktails 2013

 

Nov30

New Tequila, Gin, Vodka and Rum from The 86 Company

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Simon Ford for The 86 Co

Simon Ford for The 86 Co

Simon Ford (most recently known as Plymouth Gin brand ambassador) and Dushan Zaric (co-owner of Employees Only and Macao Trading Company bars in NYC) co-founded The 86 Company offering Tequila Cabeza, Ford’s Gin, Aylesbury Duck Vodka and Cana Brava Rum.  They were in Los Angeles recently promoting the brand and did a stint at the R&D Bar at Harvard & Stone.

I’ve seen Simon a few times in my booze travels  and it’s hard not to be happy around him. He has an infectious grin and I enjoy his wring on Liquor.com and Food Republic. Also, this video I took of him and others at Tales of the Cocktail was probably one of the highlights at the Absolut party (see pics).

Dushan and Jaymee at Tales of the Cocktail -- Absolut Party

Dushan and Jaymee at Tales of the Cocktail — Absolut Party

I’ve been to both Employees Only and Macao Trading Company but I know Dushan best from Tales as well. He also was at the Absolut party bartending along with one of nominated The Minty Hot Bartenders, Jaymee Mandeville from Drago Centro.

With Simon and Dushan highly respected in the Industry, their spirits offerings were highly anticipated.

The 86 Co tasting

The 86 Co tasting

I got to Harvard & Stone a bit too late to try the offerings from The 86 Co but I’ve tasted the Cana Brava Rum a few times and tasted the others in cocktails.

The Cana Brava Rum Daiquiri

Daiquiri Classico

That evening, I tried the Cana Brava in the Daiquiri Classico. The Cana Brava works best in cocktails. On its own, I felt it’s a bit sharp but the general consensus is it’s a great mixing rum.

Mum's Apple

Mum’s Apple Pie

That was evidenced in the Mum’s Apple Pie. Here, the Cana Brava is mixed with apple cider, lemon, Demerara syrup and ground cinnamon. It was the perfect Fall cocktail. I could have had another and considered the other drinks on the menu; the Tom Ford Collins made with the Ford’s gin and West Side Cocktail made with the Ayelesbury Duck vodka. That was basically an Eastside but with vodka.

But alas, I had to call it an early night so I’ll have to try to catch the Ford’s gin and Tequila Cabeza at some other point. I’ve seen the Cana Brava at a number of LA bars now including most recently at the Varnish.

The 86 Company

Harvard & Stone

5221 Hollywood Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90027-4908 - (323) 466-6063

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

Nov1

Tanqueray University of Bartending with Angus Winchester

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antique jigger at Tanqueray

A few weeks ago, Tanqueray set up shop in Downtown Los Angeles inviting the bartending community to several classes taught by “Professor” Angus Winchester. Angus is the Global Ambassador for Tanqueray. He travels so much and doesn’t call any one place  home anymore. It was very fun though to leaf through his cocktail books and look at his memorabilia including some fascinating jiggers and other bar tools. I particularly liked this martini scale.

Tonight we Tanqueray

I didn’t get to the earlier class but I did catch some finishing up their cocktails as every class had a drinks making component.

oh, to own a bar kit like this

When I saw this bar kit, I thought this would be the sort of thing bartenders would carry if they had an espionage bent. Instead of instruments of torture, you got instruments of (drinking) pleasure.

Professor Angus Winchester’s Traveling Tanqueray Gin Devotional

Check out more memorabilia pictures here in my flickr set.

Cocktail Families

Angus began the University of Bartending with an introduction to gin. Briefly, it’s a neutral spirit with botanical and juniper is the dominate botanical.  But these days there are many gins on the market where juniper isn’t the dominating botanical. We’ll talk about these new world styles later.

Then we went into a bit of history of gin. There were about 8 good gins about 80 years ago. Now there seems to be new gins on the market every day. Gin is in (again). It seemed it wasn’t as popular after the 50s when “kids” didn’t want to emulate their parents. Then came vodka, the ready made drink mixes, the 70s-80s were some dark times for gin.

We also talked about some trends including Japanese bartending. But Angus is really jazzed about Australian bartending. He thinks they’re so far ahead of what we’re seeing these days in America and Europe. Then we had a good shudder over cocktails made with chicken blood and White Russians with human breast milk. Surprisingly, he’s been offered this several times in several places.

There are a couple of ways to distill gin. You either add the botanicals in the still the first time around or you do add it to a neutral spirit and let it steep. Tanqueray is made the first way. And now there is another way. Another option is to suspend a basket of botanicals in the still and as the liquid heats up and then turns to steam, it picks up the flavor and when it eventually reformulates to liquid, it has picked up some of the flavor. Obviously a juniper forward person would find this offensive and even the adding botanicals to an already distilled spirit causes some grumbling. It draws to mind flavored vodka.

We covered a few other topics including how a bartender should ask a guest how they’d like their martini (what gin, wet or dry, shaken or stirred, olive or twist). For the record, I’m open to the gin (though I like juniper forward), wet, stirred and it depends if on the time — I might have an olive during the day and a twist at night. I’d be glad if a bartender asked me those questions.

To continue with the idea this was an university, we talked a bit about psychology and in particular, body language. Angus mentioned the Sullivan nod, named after Jim Sullivan. If a bartender approached you and reeled off a list of cocktails, you might order the drink he told you about and nodded about. In fact, something like 65% guests will. I tend to employ the smile and nod while gesturing with my camera if I could take a photo. Almost always will someone nod, smile and agree to a photo.

There were a few more esoteric subjects best for the advance student. For now, it’s time for a meal break….and a cocktail.

Tanqueray

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

Sep14

Mixing it Up with DRY Soda

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Dry Soda

Sadie seems like the place to be these days for cocktail events. I recently was invited to a DRY Soda event to learn more about the all natural soda.

Rue & Barb

 

Since DRY Soda has less sugar, it’s the perfect mixer for those who like high balls. Sadie’s Beverage Director Giovanni Martinez gave his spin on DRY Soda with a bit more flair. We started with the Rue & Barb (Rhubarb DRY Soda, Lillet Rose, strawberry, lemon). I liked the tangy flavors and it’s a good opening cocktail to rev up your appetite.

Lavande

Our next cocktail was Lavande (Lavender DRY soda, Scotch, honey, lemon, absinthe spray). This was my favorite of the evening. Sometimes lavender can be hit or miss with me in food and drinks. While I love the smell (it reminds me of my Grandfather and his love of Yardley’s English Lavender soap), I don’t want my food or drinks to taste like soap. Instead of soapy, Giovanni’s cocktail was perfectly balanced, herbal and sweet.

Piccadilly

 

Gin has always paired well with cucumber. For DRY Soda’s Cucumber, Giovanni added Old Tom gin, lime and simple syrup to make the Piccadilly. This was a refreshing cocktail and would be very simple to recreate.

Machu Picchu

I also really liked the Machu Picchu, a drink with DRY Soda’s Wild Lime, pisco, mint, falernum and lime.

Now I’m wondering how I’m going to mix the sodas I have. I’m very interested in whether the Juniper Berry soda would go with the gin (too much juniper?) or maybe add some Fernet Branca with the Vanilla Bean soda. And then there’s Blood Orange soda. What would you make with it?

 

DRY Soda

Sadie Kitchen & Lounge

1638 N Las Palmas Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90028 — (323) 467-0200

© The Minty // LA Cocktails  2012

Jul16

Spirits of the Times Gin Tasting at Hotel Juniper

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Crater Lake Gin from Oregon

Recently I attended Spirits of the Times, a gin tasting at Hotel Juniper, the not-yet-open new venue from the Houston Brothers (La Descarga, Harvard & Stone, Pour Vous). The gin tasting was sponsored by the LA Times and Liquor.Com. Six gins were featured including Crater Lake, Caorunn, Oxley, Nolet’s, Junipero and No. 3 gins.

I tasted all the gins straight first and then sampled the cocktails. First I tried Crater Lake Gin from Oregon. Small batch distilleries really appeal to me and I could see and taste the indie spirit (pun intended) of the gin. It’s a bit rougher than I like and welcomed it being mixed.

Caorunn Gin

Caorunn Gin also describes itself as an indie spirit. This one is from Scotland. We tried the Mid-Summer Dream (Caorunn gin, lime, apple-infused simple syrup, honeydew melon, apple slice). I’m allergic to honeydew but gave this a whirl anyway. It was crisp like the apple in the gin and quite perfect for the evening. The tasting was very inexpensive and included fare from the Vizzi Truck. Having Caorunn with my tacos was a great pairing.

Oxley Gin

Oxley was featuring their take on an Aviation, the Royal Airforce (Oxley, lavender syrup, lime, maraschino liqueur).

Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin- Japanese Breakfast

People were also invited to vote for their favorite cocktail. It came down to Nolet’s Japanese Breakfast and the Dover Calais Tonic with No. 3 gin. The Japanese Breakfast won by just a few votes.

Japanese Breakfast – Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin, yuzu marmalade, lemon, shiso, lemon peel.

Read more about my recent dinner with Nolet’s Silver Dry gin here.

Junipero Gin

Anchor Distilling brought two gins to try – Junipero and No. 3. Junipero is made in the classic dry style, distilled at their facility in San Francisco. No. 3 is a London dry style and is distilled by one of London’s oldest wine merchants. Although I like both, my heart is with No. 3 which I know makes a wonderful companion to Campari for my favorite Negroni.

No. 3 – Dover to Calais Tonic

The Dover to Calais Tonic featured kaffir lime leaves infused No. 3, Maurin Quina and Fever Tree Tonic.

No 3 Gin

I hope there will be more of these tastings. They could even do a few more gin tastings with the explosion of new gins out there.

See all photos of the gin tasting including pics of not-yet-open Hotel Juniper

Hotel Juniper

6541 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 — (323) 465-1902
 
© The Minty // LA Cocktails 2012
Jun14

MCC: High West Distillery & Oxley Gin Tasting Rooms

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High West whiskeys

Part of the fun of Manhattan Cocktail Classic‘s Industry Invitational are the tasting rooms. I hit up High West and Oxley Gin for a taste.

I am familiar with High West, the distillery in Utah. I enjoy their Son of Bourye and Double Rye. I tried their new Rendezvous Rye and Campfire. While the Bourye and Double Rye are very smooth, I felt the Rendezvous was a bit rougher. I was told it’s a blend of whiskeys that haven’t been aged as long. And if you are a fan of peaty Scotch, then Campfire is for you. It is a blend of Scotch, bourbon and rye.

High West vodkas

 

I didn’t realize they made vodka as well. I recently met someone from Utah who enjoyed their Peach vodka.

High West silver whiskeys

High West also has silver whiskeys; Western Oat and OMG Pure Rye. The OMG stands for Old Monogahela rye. The Monogahela is a river in Western Pennsylvania where there were many distilleries in the 1800s. High West uses an old recipe for its 80% rye and 20% malted rye OMG.

Although the words “liquid fire” come to mind, I didn’t mind it but I’d like to try an aged version.

 

Jonathan Pogash for Oxley Gin

 

Next door mixologist Jonathan Pogash was speaking about Oxley Gin. He recently edited the 75th edition of Mr. Boston Official Bartender’s Guide. He mentioned updating some drinks to reflect the modern palate.

 

pea soup at Oxley Gin

 

I have mentioned this before but I really did love how everyone had some sort of food and the trend of pairing food with cocktails. As I enjoyed my Southside cocktail, I also had a very nice pea soup with mushrooms. At High West, I had an Australian Meat Pie from a local NY shop.

 

High West

Oxley Gin

The Minty’s article for Tasting Panel Magazine

Manhattan Cocktail Classic

Index of MCC articles by The Minty

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

Jun8

Manhattan Cocktail Classic 2012 Gala and After Parties

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New York Public Library

Last month’s Manhattan Cocktail Classic kicked off the five days of seminars, tastings, spirited meals and competitions with the opening night Gala. After checking out Mandarine Napoleon earlier in the night, I popped across the street to join the fun.

live music

MCC took over the four floors of the New York Public Library, decking out the normally quiet halls with brilliant sashs, food and of course, drinks. I was very excited to receive a bracelet from Tasting Table that promised to keep track of the drinks I was imbibing. First you had to register the bracelet on your smart phone via a Facebook login (you have a smartphone, right?) and then tap the bracelet at the boxes at each station. As I didn’t receive an email detailing my drinks and the promised recipes, it’s a good thing I did snap a few photos.

Buffalo Trace Smash

My first drink at the Gala was Buffalo Trace‘s Buffalo Smash (Buffalo Trace, peach nectar, ginger ale). It was a light drink to begin my night of serious tasting. I skipped up the stairs to the various floors, tasting and eating my way to the top and then back down to the basement.

Danny Ronen going Brit for the night

I found myself in the vodka room. I stopped to say hello to a few people including Danny Ronen but I was in search of something new to me. Next I found a room full of rum but even then I kept going thinking I would come back to try the Caliche drink Ezra Pattek was serving up.

Chartreuse Meets Mercy

On the second floor, I met the Mercy lady. I found it hilarious how the man with the Chartreuse apron was giving Miss Mercy quite the stare. You think he was checking out her cans?

Hal Wolin for New Amersterdam

 

I was about to turn away from the corner where the men’s room was located but noticed barbers actually giving gents haircuts. Then I saw the New Amsterdam Spirits. Of course I had to try a cocktail from Hal Wolin whom I met at Portland Cocktail Week last year.

Thirsty Barber

I had the Thirsty Barber which is New Amsterdam Gin, dry vermouth and my choice of bitters. I opted for the Bittermens Grapefruit and Hops bitters since I’ve never had those before and they sounded interested. Hal had recommended the standards like Angostura, Peychaud’s or Regan’s orange bitters but I wanted something different. I met some gentlemen from New Jersey while waiting for my drink and they were just so excited to be there. They had rented a car and came with their wives not knowing what to expect. One asked how does one become a cocktail writer- does one drink a lot in college. Sure…that’s one way to go. Well, moving on…

I tried quite a few more cocktails including a classic Negroni from Campari while running into pals from around the country. It was so much fun to see everyone, many I haven’t seen for months — not since Portland Cocktail Week, Arizona Cocktail Week or Nightclub and Bar. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the next big shindig, Tales of the Cocktail!

 

Tanqueray Ginstitute

After the Gala, we went to the Tanqueray Ginstitute after party at Fatty ‘Cue. There I tried three cocktails including a martini, the Green Snapper and the Calcutta Collins. The Green Snapper was my favorite.

Calcutta Collins

 

Calcutta Collins – Tanqueray London Dry gin, caraway seed, bay leaf, mystery tea syrup, lemon juice. Whatever that mystery tea syrup was, it wasn’t my favorite though a friend said hers was good.

 

Green Snapper

Green Snapper – Tanqueray London Dry gin infused with Sichaun pepper corn, sugar cane syrup, celery juice, tomato salt. Delicious!

We had a great time at Fatty ‘Cue. Lots of good appetizers to get the thirst back up.

Next we hopped over to Daddy-O for the Zacapa Rum after party.

Ron Zacapa

 

Like Fatty ‘Cue, it was a tight squeeze inside Daddy-O but we made it just in time to snag some food as well. They had some amazing meatball sandwiches. That was the one thing that tied all the events together- great food at every event to go with the fantastic drinks.

 

drinks with Ron Zacapa

 

My last drink of the night was from Zacapa. What a wonderful way to welcome MCC!

 

The Minty’s article for Tasting Panel Magazine

Manhattan Cocktail Classic

Index of MCC articles by The Minty

 

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012

May2

Checking Out Scotland By Way of Edinburgh Gin

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Edinburgh Gin

While I was in Las Vegas for Nightclub & Bar, I had stopped by the regional Speed Rack competition where I experienced the joy of a Chartreuse luge. After chatting with the importer, he mentioned they also will be importing Edinburgh Gin. I tried some really liked the more floral (versus juniper) notes. They kindly sent me a bottle and I tried a couple of cocktails.

Royal Gin Gin

 

I had some sweet limes on hand and decided to do a mix of Edinburgh gin, King’s Ginger liqueur and sweet limes. I also added some agave and a couple dashes of Angostura bitters. Once I took a sip, I knew I shouldn’t have used the agave. It was too sweet so I added ice and topped it off with ginger beer. After some adjustments, here is the recipe

  • 1.5 oz Edinburgh Gin
  • .75 King’s Ginger liqueur
  • .75 sweet lime juice
  • Shake, strain, top with fresh ice and ginger beer, add bitters

Negroni with Edinburgh Gin

 

The traditional Negroni recipe is equal parts gin, Campari and sweet vermouth. I have played with the specs and generally I like it with a bit less sweet vermouth so I can get the most of the bitterness. However, for this Negroni with Edinburg Gin, I decided to try it with equal proportions. It made a lovely Negroni and the floral characteristics were not lost at all.

  • 1 oz Edinburgh Gin
  • 1 oz Campari
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth

Stir for about 40 rotations. I like them up so strain and garnish with citrus peel. I know there’s a hot debate about the citrus peel. Most prefer orange to match the bitter orange Campari but I like the lighter lemon. In this case, I used a sweet lime peel (which is yellow).

I’m going to have fun playing around with this gin. I imagine it’ll make a lovely French 75, Aviation or perhaps a Last Word– now if only I had some Chartreuse to find out (grin).

 

Edinburg Gin

More photos here.

 

© The Minty // LACocktails.com 2012