Where to begin…
Posted: June 12, 2013 Filed under: alcohol, bitters, Cocktail recipe, cocktails, drinks, Food and drink, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, spirits, Uncategorized | Tags: amaro, Bar Keep, Billiken, blueberries, Boker's Bitters, gin, grapefruit juice, honey syrup, lavender bitters, lemon juice, Lillet Blanc, Little Man, Matt Seiter, Meletti, orange bitters, Plymouth Gin, rye whiskey, Sanctuaria, simple syrup, St. Germain, Still 630, Summer Relief, The Billiken Leave a comment
Where to begin this SMcG post? It’s my first post since December of last year, and a lot’s happened and changed since then. Most significantly, I’m a dad now! My wife and I had our first baby on May 23rd, and his name’s Elliott. If you do the math, he’s not even 3 weeks old yet, and I’ve been off on leave of absence from work this whole time (I go back to work this Friday).
So although I’ve got numerous new cocktails I’ve tried since December 2012 to write about, I guess it’s only fitting that I start with an original one I created specifically to mark the occasion of our little man Elliott’s birth… It’s called “The Little Man”. In addition to this drink (the most important one to me), I’ve got 19 other new drinks I’ve mixed up for the first time, and one delicious punch on top of that, since my last entry. There’s no way though that I’d want to even write about that many all in one post, nor could I even do so if I wanted to, what with the 3-week old baby in the house and all. So I’m going to keep this post really short and sweet, in hopes that by doing so, I’ll be more inclined to write more frequently than I’ve been doing recently.
So for sake of brevity, I’ll keep this post to two drinks – two cocktails that I invented in fact… “The Little Man” and “The Billiken”. Although the Little Man is the drink closest to my heart, the Billiken is the original creation that I’m most proud of simply because it’s a damn good drink (if I do say so myself). The Billiken was created back in March during the NCAA March Madness college basketball tournament in tribute to my hometown school and alma mater college basketball team of Saint Louis University.
“The Little Man”
1.5 oz Still 630 rye whiskey
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz Meletti amaro
2-3 dashes of simple syrup
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash lavender bitters
Shake well with ice and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with an orange twist
Many of these ingredients play a specific role in the characteristics of a drink created in homage to my baby boy Elliott…
The Still 630 rye whiskey because his dad loves rye whiskey and this particular rye because it’s a great St. Louis whiskey. I love my hometown of St. Louis, and I’m excited to share my love for this town with little Elliott. The lemon and amaro because when Elliott’s throwing a fuss, he can be a bit sour and bitter. But then you add the simple syrup and lavender bitters because in the end, he’s just a sweet little baby who happens to smell like flowers (at least to his parents). (The orange bitters and garnish don’t have any special meaning.)
But above all cheesy symbolism, the drink’s a fun one to drink. It’s a refreshing drink that I think would appeal to many different folks… it’s a sour while still being a mellow, smooth drink. I think that the variety of ingredients, from the amaro to the simple syrup to the lavender bitters to the lemon create a few different layers of subtleties, and offer a little bit of something for everyone’s tastes. A good drink for a great time in my life. Cheers to Elliott!
“The Billiken”
1 1/2 oz Plymouth gin
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
1/4 oz St. Germain
1 dash of Boker’s bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel hugging 3 blueberries
Of all the spirits to choose from, I figured gin spoke to me most when it came to basketball. (Whiskey just doesn’t seem like a basketball liquor.) The particular ingredients in this drink are fitting because, like SLU, none of them are particularly cheap (inexpensive). Also, these specific ingredients (ie. Lillet, St. Germain) tend towards the fancier and “less rugged” persuasion, I guess you might say… also similar to SLU and its student body. Lastly, the blueberries fit the school colors and may serve as a loose reference to basketballs. But most importantly, it’s a well built and tasty drink. I think of it as sort of an “elegant Corpse Reviver”… light, fancily delightful and delicious… like a ballet or a good game of college basketball.
“Summer Relief”
Why not throw one more drink in to this post for good measure, now that I’m on a roll (and the kid’s being good and napping)! (kind of like a bonus hidden track on a ’90’s cd, eh?)
I don’t want this post to be only drinks I made up, so here’s a good one as we hit our summer stride… the “Summer Relief” from Matt Seiter’s book “Sanctuaria: The Dive Bar of Cocktail Bars”. This drink is downright delicious! It’s one of the heartiest gin drinks I’ve ever had. The grapefruit, honey syrup and surprisingly the St. Germain all add up to provide a substantial body for the drink. It’s a substantial and hearty drink, but also kind of a “girly” drink. But I don’t use the adjective “girly” to mean anything but awesome. I mean it in the highest form of praise that I can… like a fashion model with great style and amazing perfume. (I know that that is probably the absolute weirdest description of a drink that you’ll find in this entire Scientist McGee blog, but it’s in my notes and I trust my notes and my seemingly tipsy self from February, and it does ring a bell and I remember feeling strongly about this, so there you go! ha! ha!)
1 1/2 oz gin
1 oz grapefruit juice
1/2 oz honey syrup (1:1 water:honey)
1/4 oz St. Germain
Shake well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass
Garnish with grapefruit
(“Sanctuaria: The Dive Bar of Cocktail Bars”)
Been a long, long time…
Posted: November 11, 2012 Filed under: cocktails, drinks, Food and drink, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, on the rocks, Uncategorized | Tags: Angostura, apple brandy, Art of the Bar, Benedictine, bitters, Campari, Cointreau, creme de violette, David Wondrich, dry vermouth, french vermouth, Galliano, genever, genever oude, gin, green Chartreuse, Harvest Moon, Improved Gin Cocktail, Irish whiskey, italian vermouth, Junior, lemon juice, Lillet Blanc, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, orange bitters, orange curacao, oude style, Paddy Wallbanger, PDT Cocktail Book, Redemption Rye, reposado tequila, Rosebud, Rosita, silver tequila, simple syrup, sweet vermouth, triple sec, Water Lily, Weeski 4 Comments
After what I think is the longest stretch of time without a new Scientist McGee post, I’m back with a fair share of new drink recipes. It’s been nearly 3 months since I last wrote, and in that time I’ve mixed up 8 new drink recipes and also become the proud owner of an all-new bar in my home! I had outgrown my old bar which was an old victrola record player. The victrola was a good bar and did a good job, but with the accumulation of more and more ingredients, and more and more glassware, I was sort of taking over our dining room 
table and buffet. I was getting sideways looks from my wife, and I knew something had to be done to organize my growing hobby. Lo and behold, as I’m mowing my lawn one nice Saturday, I go out to the alley in the back of my house, and I find the answer to my problem… an old cupboard of some sort. Problem solved! I LOVE my new bar! Plenty of space for all my glasses, punchbowls, books and ingredients, with room for growth to spare! Did I mention that I LOVE my new bar?
Any ways, it’s been 3 long months since I’ve done a new post, so it’s about time I get on with posting some new drink recipes. I’ve got 8 for you, so here goes nothin’…
“Water Lily”
From my most beloved cocktail book, The PDT Cocktail Book, comes the first of eight cocktails. The Water Lily’s a very well-rounded drink, albeit a bit candy-ish. “Buyer beware.”
Equal parts…
gin
creme de violette
triple sec
lemon juice
Shake well with ice, and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.
“Improved Gin Cocktail”
This recipe comes from David Wondrich’s wonderful Esquire magazine articles. With my recently acquired first bottle of genever, the predecessor to gin, I was on the hunt for a good drink to introduce myself to this spirit. I tried this drink with my new bottle of Boomsma brand genever, Oude style. “Oude” meaning aged in oak barrels, and a bit of smokiness not typically associated with gin.
To be honest, my first taste of genever didn’t tell me if I loved it or not. Maybe it’s an acquired taste? I’m not sure, but it was OK.. It reminds of me of Calvados or apply brandy actually…. smoky and whiskey-like, but with a little bit of a flat or shallow element and a lackluster sting at the end (?). This one’s a simple drink, with just a nice taste of the maraschino. With the smokiness and “woodsiness” of whiskey and the “bite” of gin, it’s a real go-between of the two. Hmmm… time will tell, I guess.
2 oz. genever
.5-1t simple syrup
1t orange curacao, triple sec or maraschino liqueur*
2 dashes of bitters
(*I chose maraschino)
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
With a lemon peel, rub the rim, then squeeze and drop in to your cocktail.
“Rosebud”
From the great book, “The Art of the Bar”, comes this drink that all I can say is, “Ehh, not that great.” I’m not a fan of the tequila and sweet vermouth combo. Maybe you are?
1.5 oz. silver tequila
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1 dash of Campari
Rinse a chilled cocktail glass with a dash of rose water;
Stir the tequila and vermouth with ice and then strain in to the cocktail glass;
Flame an orange zest over the drink and then float it on top;
Lastly, add a few drops of Campari to the surface.
“Ehh”
“Junior”
This is a pretty solid cocktail. I like it… It’s like a mellow sour. The lime hangs in the background and gets pushed a little in to the shadows by the aggressive rye whiskey. All four ingredients blend however in to a unique, unified flavor, almost a grapefruit-like flavor. Interesting, and pretty solid.
2 oz. rye
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. Benedictine
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
(PDT Cocktail Book)
“Rosita”
This is a tasty, “sophisticated” old-fashioned-type tequila drink. A good drink, with a lot of balance between the sweetness of the tequila and the Italian vermouth and the dryness of the French vermouth, Campari and bitters. It’s a very smooth drink, with just a nice bit of bitterness and a slight smoky/sweet flavor of the reposado tequila. Good!
1.5 oz reposado tequila
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/2 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Campari
1 dash of Angostura bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.
(“PDT Cocktail Book”)
“Weeski”
This drink surprised me… I thought it was very good. This drink’s from the “PDT Cocktail Book” too. However, the only reason I even tried this drink was because it came from David Wondrich, a man I respect and a cocktail expert I trust whole-heartedly. Had it not been accompanied with Mr. Wondrich’s backing, I would’ve been too skeptical of the Irish whiskey – triple sec combo. But I tried it, 
and I was pleasantly pleased. It’s smooth, elegant and refreshing like a gin drink, but with the whiskey solid base. It’s a damn good, easy-drinkin’ cocktail!
2 oz. Irish whiskey
3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz. triple sec
2 dashes of orange bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.
“Paddy Wallbanger”
Ehh again… Not a very good drink, in my opinion. I think it was kind of flat and “emotionless”. It was mainly the dry vermouth… The whiskey and Galliano were OK together, but I feel like the vermouth is just a flat and bland connector between the two. I won’t be making this one again. Oh well.
1.5 oz. Irish whiskey
1.5 oz. dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Galliano
2 dashes of orange bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
(“PDT Cocktail Book”)
“Harvest Moon”
This drink is pretty good. It’s nothing magnificent, but it is a good drink. The ingredients make for a pretty unique, interesting flavor. It’s a somewhat sweet drink, but with the slight aromatics of the green Chartreuse seeping through.
1.5 oz. rye
1 oz. Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz. apple brandy
1/4 oz. green Chartreuse
3 dashes Abbott’s (or in my case, Angostura) bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with an orange twist.
“Mamie” was a “Liberal”, used to throw “Paper Planes” off the “South Slope”. One day, tuckered out, she laid down for a “Siesta” and slept like a “Corpse”. (You’ll have to pardon me… I had no good title for this post.)
Posted: August 26, 2012 Filed under: alcohol, Cocktail recipe, cocktails, drinks, Food and drink, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, spirits, Uncategorized | Tags: absinthe, amaro, Aperol, bourbon, Campari, Corpse Reviver #2, gin, ginger ale, ginger beer, grapefruit juice, Herbsaint, Jim Meehan, lemon juice, Lewis Osterweis and Sons ginger beer, Lillet Blanc, lime juice, Mamie Taylor, orange bitters, orange curacao, Paper Plane, PDT Cocktail Book, rye whiskey, Schlafly, scotch, Siesta, silver tequila, simple syrup, South Slope, sweet vermouth, Ted Haigh, tequila, The Liberal, triple sec, Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails 2 Comments
The conclusion that you might draw from the lame title of this post is that there’s no real overarching them to this post’s drinks. You’d be right! I present to you 6 random drinks that feature random ingredients, with nothing in common with each other, other than the fact that they’re all pretty damn good. A couple of them feature Lillet Blanc, which is a new ingredient for my home bar. Lillet is a delicious French aperitif wine. It’s rather sweet and fruity, consisting of a blend of mostly Bordeaux wines and some citrus liqueurs. One of its most famous roles being that of a key player in a cocktail with one of the best names ever, the “Corpse Reviver #2”. (I actually went out to get my first bottle of Lillet Blanc, specifically so I’d be able to make this drink.) Another new ingredient featured in this post is ginger beer. I love ginger ale, but this is the first time I’ve ever tried true ginger beer. Ginger beer is what ginger ale used to be like, back in the olden days. Ginger beer actually has ginger in it, and quite the spice you’d expect from a soda made with real ginger. A lot of classic cocktails call for ginger beer, so I picked up a bottle of “Lewis Osterweis & Sons” ginger beer, made by The Saint Louis Brewery (aka Schlafly). It’s not something I’d necessarily want to drink every day, but it’s definitely worth keeping a bottle or two in the house for when you do want one.
“Corpse Reviver #2”
What a delicious drink! I love the taste of the lemon with just a slight underlying flavor of absinthe, mmmm! I might actually think this drink is a little heavy on the lemon, and I might like it more with a little less, but nonetheless, it’s delicious! It’s very smooth and easy to drink, but also a bit complex in its flavor mixture, with the Lillet and a little bit of the absinthe (Note: 3 drops means just that, 3 small drops, not 3 dashes). Love it!
1 oz. gin
1 oz. Lillet Blanc
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. triple sec
3 drops of absinthe
Shake well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a cherry
“The Liberal”
I’ve been wanting to try this drink for some time, as I love its name too. It’s a pretty good drink. It’s got a unique taste. The amaro wrestles with the sweet vermouth, pinning the vermouth’s sweetness and adding a bittnerness, while the orange bitters and bourbon stand on the side lines cheering and encouraging the fight. Good drink indeed.
1.5 oz. bourbon
1.5 oz. sweet vermouth
6 dashes amaro
2 (healthy) dashes of orange bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a cherry
The good version of “The Liberal” from “Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails” by Ted Haigh (above)
There’s another recipe for “The Liberal” that’s actually more common on the Internet. I, for one, am not a fan of this version. I highly recommend following the recipe above instead.
More common recipe (echh):
1.5 oz. rye whiskey
1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
1/4 oz. amaro
2 dashes or orange bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist
The not-so-good version more commonly found on the Internet (below)
“South Slope”
This drink is delicious! It’s dry, citrusy, bitter and smooth, all in one! It’s a really nice cocktail, a perfect blend of tastes and senses. 
3/4 oz. gin
3/4 oz. Aperol
3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz. orange curacao
1/2 oz. lemon juice
Shake well with ice and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon twist
(“PDT Cocktail Book”)
“Mamie Taylor”
This is a good drink, with quite a unique flavor combination with the smokiness of the scotch and the spiciness of the ginger, pulled together by the unifying lime juice. It works very well together though! It’s quite a unique summer-time refresher. Ted Haigh writes in his book that this drink was considered a fancy drink back in its heyday, and I understand why… the scotch soothes the soul while the ginger excites the heart, and the lime keeps it all in perspective.
2 oz. scotch
3/4 oz. lime juice
ginger beer (not just ginger ale)
Pour the scotch and lime juice into an ice-filled highball glass, and fill to the top with ginger beer, and then stir gently.
Garnish with a lime wedge
“Paper Plane”
This is a pretty good drink. It’s a bit too lemony perhaps, but a nice flavor, all in all. All the different flavors (a little bitter meets a little tart) blend very well in to a good single, unified flavor. Definitely not a bad drink (but nothing that special either).
3/4 oz. bourbon
3/4 oz. amaro
3/4 oz. Aperol
3/4 oz. lemon juice
Shake well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
“Siesta”
And last but not least… Definitely NOT least! This drink is absolutely AMAZING! This is one of the best drinks around. This drink is so good and delicious! The smooth, sweet tequila, with the tart grapefruit juice and the bitter Campari, smoothed out in relief of the simple syrup… Mmmmmm… a perfect mix of flavors! It’s a complex drink that’s both an “easy goin’ summer-time drink” and a “sophisticated cocktail” at the same time. Write this one down, then drink it down, folks!
2 oz. silver tequila
1/2 oz. Campari
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
1/2 oz. simple syrup
Shake well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a grapefruit twist (I used a lime twist)
(“PDT Cocktail Book”)
Two Veterans and a Rookie
Posted: May 30, 2012 Filed under: alcohol, bitters, cocktails, drinks, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, Uncategorized | Tags: Blinker, Blood & Sand, Blood and Sand, chartreuse, cherry brandy, Cherry Heering, Clifton Heights Cocktail, dry gin, gin, grapefruit juice, Official Mixer's Manual, Patrick Gavin Duffy, PDT Cocktail Book, raspberry preserves, rye, rye whiskey, Savoy Cocktail Book, simple syrup, sweet vermouth, Xanthia Cocktail, Yellow Chartreuse Leave a comment
Well, I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day holiday weekend. I sure did! Today was my first day back to work after a really nice, long 5 day weekend. I really didn’t make many new cocktails over the holiday weekend however, instead focusing more on drinks best suited for brunches and do-nothing relaxation such as the Bloody Mary and Mimosas. Now that I’m no longer just lounging around with nowhere to be at any certain time, and back to keeping a schedule, I need drinks better suited for enjoying after a long day of work, unwinding in the evening time.
In this post, I have 3 good cocktails to share with you… two of them, the “Blinker” and the “Xanthia Cocktail”, being very old drinks from books of mine and the 3rd being one of my own creation, named 5 minutes ago after my St. Louis neighborhood – the “Clifton Heights Cocktail”.
“Blinker”
I found the Blinker in my PDT Cocktail Book, which coincidentally comes from a book I just recently picked up at a used book fair, Patrick Gavin Duffy’s “Official Mixer’s Manual”. The Blinker’s a pretty good drink, and a very easy one to drink. It’s a cocktail that’s heavy on the fruit flavor, but in a very smooth, subdued and subtle way. The raspberry preserves add a real big fruit punch, while the simple syrup tones it down and keeps the fruitiness in check. The grapefruit also keeps the fruitiness in check with its light characteristic mellowing it all out. And as you may or may not have picked up along the way, reading my blog, I love rye whiskey and I also love a drink with grapefruit juice! All-in-all, a pretty darn good drink.
2 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. grapefruit juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup
1 bar spoon of raspberry preserves
Shake well with ice, then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
(“PDT Cocktail Book” and “The Official Mixer’s Manual”)
“Xanthia Cocktail”
The Xanthia Cocktail is not one of my favorite drinks, but it’s a decent one. I picked this one out of “The Savoy Cocktail Book”. The yellow Chartreuse definitely takes center stage in this aromatic drink with a kick. The cherry brandy and gin hang in the background, blending nicely and both slightly mellowing and propping up the Chartreuse front and center. If you want a Chartreuse drink, this is it for you. If you’re not in the mood for a Chartreuse drink, this is not it for you.
1 oz. Cherry Heering
1 oz. yellow Chartreuse
1 oz. dry gin
Shake well with ice, and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
(“The Savoy Cocktail Book”)
“Clifton Heights Cocktail”
Last but not least… actually this one’s my favorite of the three. I’ve been experimenting lately with modifying one of my favorite cocktails, the “Blood & Sand”, by tinkering with its 4 ingredients (1:1:1:1) and switching out different ingredients a couple at a time. Rather than starting a completely new drink totally from scratch, this tinkering method is a nice, easy and safe foray in to creating my own cocktails. The “Blood & Sand” is made of equal parts scotch, Cherry Heering, orange juice and sweet vermouth. In follow-up to my recent reminder of the fact that I love rye and I love grapefruit, surprise… I worked those two favorite ingredients of mine in to the classic B&S recipe! I swapped the scotch with rye whiskey and the orange juice with grapefruit, keeping the Cherry Heering and the sweet vermouth. And it turns out to be a really great drink! It’s still got the rich, dark sweetness of a Blood & Sand because of the Cherry Heering, but because of having grapefruit instead of orange, it’s not quite as sweet. It’s less of an “out there” flavor combination than the Blood & Sand, and more of a familiar, common sense flavor mix. While I love the Blood & Sand because it’s kind of a crazy mixture of unique, vibrant flavors, I like this drink a lot because it’s got some of the same elements while being a really great balance of a smooth, no-nonsense flavor combination. I’m proud to say that I really like this cocktail. And since I couldn’t think of a clever name that’s a fun twist on the Blood & Sand moniker, I stuck with just naming the drink I made up, derived from one of my favorite cocktails, after the St. Louis neighborhood I live in and love, Clifton Heights.
Equal parts…
-rye whiskey
-Cherry Heering
-grapefruit juice
-sweet vermouth
Shake well with ice, and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Springtime Splurge Activated!
Posted: April 30, 2012 Filed under: alcohol, bitters, Cocktail Book, Cocktail recipe, cocktails, drinks, Food and drink, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, summer drinks, Uncategorized | Tags: absinthe, absinthe-rinsed coupe, anejo tequila, Angostura bitters, Aperol, bitters, Blood & Sand, Blood and Sand, chartreuse, Cherry Heering, Eclipse Cocktail, etsy.com, Fee Brothers, gin, green Chartreuse, Improved Whiskey Cocktail, lemon juice, maraschino, orange bitters, orchard pear, PDT Cocktail Book, pear liqueur, Rhubarb & Rye, Rhubarb and Rye, rhubarb bitters, Rothman and Winter orchard pear, rye, rye whiskey, Scientist McGee, Scientist McGee's Cocktail Glass Emporium, simple syrup, spring cocktails, springtime drinks, Statesman, summer cocktails, summer drinks, vintage bar ware, vintage cocktail glasses 1 CommentIn my last post, I declared winter to be officially over and introduced some new ingredients that I splurged on to inspire some new springtime drinks. Well, these ingredients are gleefully being used! I’ve got four new great cocktails for you featuring anejo tequila, Aperol, Rothman & Winter orchard pear liqueur and rhubarb bitters! All four of these cocktails are top notch, and so fortunately, I’m now sitting back, enjoying the beautiful weather and feeling very good about my bulk booze purchase.
(Side note: In my last post, I mentioned how I don’t normally drop that kind of money to buy this much alcohol all at once. So to see how I’m digging myself out of the debt I now owe to the household budget, see my new business venture selling vintage cocktail glasses at http://www.etsy.com/shop/ScientistMcGee?ref=si_shop)
“Eclipse Cocktail”
The first cocktail, and definitely my favorite of the four, is the Eclipse Cocktail. This drink is SOOOO good! It kind of reminds of me of the Blood & Sand cocktail (one of my favorites!) in that the smokiness of the anejo tequila reminds me of the B&S’s scotch with lemon instead of orange, Aperol instead of sweet vermouth, and of course the Cherry Heering as Cherry Heering. This drink is mighty good. It’s got a fresh kick of tequila shrouded in a velvety curtain of citrus and cherry… mmmm.
2 oz. anejo tequila
3/4 oz. Aperol
3/4 oz. Cherry Heering
3/4 oz. lemon juice
Shake well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel.
(“The PDT Cocktail Book”)
“Rhubarb & Rye”
This next drink is an interesting one for me. It’s very heavy on the rhubarb, which at least in my town of St. Louis, is not the most common flavor. Yes, I see a rhubarb pie from time to time, but when I do it’s usually a pleasant surprise and seems like a rare opportunity. In fact, I’d never tried rhubarb until I was an adult. I like rhubarb though. Something… maybe its obscurity, maybe the fact that it’s a vegetable but it tastes like a fruit, I don’t know… but something about it kind of freaks me out in a good way. I like it though, and I like this drink that is definitely heavy on the rhubarb… an entire half-ounce of the rhubarb bitters in fact! The first time I made this drink, I scaled the use of the bitters back to 5 dashes (which is still typically a liberal amount of bitters). The second time I made it, I went for the entire half-ounce, as the recipe calls for, and it was a good call. The rhubarb definitely takes a front seat, but that’s the point I guess. It’s a very refreshing, springtime whiskey drink. The rye definitely plays in the distant background and the rhubarb, along with its citrus friends of lemon and orange, takes center stage. Very nice!
1.5 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. Aperol
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. rhubarb bitters
Shake well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel.
(http://www.kindredcocktails.com)
“Statesman”
This was an interesting drink too. It reminded me of a Martini. It was good, and had the crisp bite that a Martini delivers. The Chartreuse, oddly enough, takes the place of the Martini’s olive(s), and the pear liqueur smoothly and effortlessly takes the place of the dry vermouth. If you like a Martini, but are open to something new, give this one a try.
2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. Rothman & Winter orchard pear liqueur
1 bar spoon of green Chartreuse
1 dash of orange bitters
Stir well with ice and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel.
(“The PDT Cocktail Book”)
“Improved Whiskey Cocktail”
Last, but definitely not least, is the “Improved Whiskey Cocktail”. This is a very good drink! The maraschino and absinthe rinse add a real depth and very subtle complexity to the nice and smooth whiskey base. The whiskey’s nice and smooth because of the simple syrup. This is a very good whiskey drink that goes down very nicely.
2 oz. rye whiskey
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
1/4 oz. simple syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Stir well and strain in to a chilled, absinthe-rinsed rocks glass.
Add a few ice cubes and garnish with a lemon peel.
(“The PDT Cocktail Book”)
Money well spent indeed! Spring is here!
Introducing “Scientist McGee’s Annual Cocktail Menu: 2011 Edition” – Now you can play along at home with the Scientist!
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: alcohol, bitters, Cocktail Book, Cocktail recipe, cocktails, drinks, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, spirits | Tags: absinthe, Angostura, Aviation, Benedictine, bitters, brandy, Brigadier, Campari, chartreuse, Cherry Heering, cocktails, creme de violette, dry vermouth, Ernest Hemingway, gin, grapefruit juice, green Chartreuse, Harry Craddock, Havana, lemon juice, lime juice, liquor, Manhattan, maraschino cherry, maraschino liqueur, Margarita, Martini, orange juice, Peter Heering Cherry Heering, pineapple juice, rum, rye whiskey, Savoy Cocktail Book, Sazerac, scotch, simple syrup, St. Germain, sweet vermouth, Tanqueray, tequila, The Last Word, triple sec, Vanilia Vodka, vermouth, whiskey, whisky Leave a commentWelcome to 2012, the second year of Scientist McGee! This blog was created on March 6, 2011. It’s hard to believe that it’s only 10
months old.
I’ve had a lot of fun along the way, trying new drinks and sharing them with all of you! All of you have been really nice and supportive, excited to 
see what new concoctions the Scientist would post next. It’s fun enjoying the drinks and it’s also fun to document them so that I can refer back to them later on, but it’s obviously a whole lot more fun to do, knowing that my friends and some like-minded strangers are actually reading it and getting a kick out of it too!
So thanks a lot for having fun with me, and I hope you tag along for some more cocktails in 2012 as well.
To celebrate the close of the first year of the Scientist McGee blog, I’m starting what will hopefully be an annual tradition – a recap of the cocktails shared on the blog in that year, in “Cocktail Book” form!
Click on the 2 links below to access a printable version of all the cocktails (except for one bad vodka drink I choose to forget, and therefore removed) from the Scientist McGee blog in 2011. The book is separated in to two documents, and put together make a very handy guide that I hope you all will enjoy. (Makes a great gift too – ha! ha!)
Scientist McGee’s 2011 Cocktail Menu COVER, TABLE OF CONTENTS and MEASUREMENTS
Scientist McGee’s 2011 Cocktail Menu
Thanks, and cheers!
SMcG
Let’s get snooty and drive around town!
Posted: January 22, 2012 Filed under: alcohol, bitters, cocktails, drinks, liqueur, liquor, mixed drinks, mixology, Uncategorized | Tags: Algonquin, Angostura bitters, brandy, Cherry Heering, cognac, lemon juice, Night Shade, Savoy Cocktail Book, Sidecar, simple syrup, sugar rim, The Sidecar, triple sec, Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt cocktail 1 Comment
It’s been nearly 2 months since I last added something to the ole SMcG blog, and it’s because of two reasons… 1- the holidays – I haven’t been experimenting and trying new drinks with all the running around, and I’ve been guzzling the old classic stand-by of brandy and eggnog, along with the classic champagne cocktails for the new year, and 2- bad fortune – The drinks I have tried, I haven’t been too crazy about, except for 2 that wound up being among my list of favorite drinks – “The Vanderbilt” (the “snooty” tongue-in-cheek reference of this post’s title) and “The Sidecar” (the “drive around” part of the title – I love the visual of drinking this cocktail whilst sitting gleefully in a motorcycle side car)!
As my readers may have come to know, I love cocktails with just a few ingredients the most. Nothing against drinks with a laundry list of ingredients, they can be great too. But there’s something about enjoying the simple combination of 2 or maybe 3 ingredients, that allows you to really enjoy the taste of each individual ingredient. Plus, unlike some “showmen” of the drink slinging business/hobby, I like quick and simple drinks to throw together. I like to have a drink come to mind, and have it in my hand in just about 5 minutes, enjoying instant gratification. Both of these drinks (the Vanderbilt and the Sidecar) fit that description.
For these 2 drinks that I love, I also tried 2 drinks that I did not care for much – the “Night Shade” (1.5 oz bourbon, 1/2 oz sweet vermouth, 1/2 oz orange juice and 1/4 oz yellow Chartreuse, served on the rocks with a half slice of orange and a half slice of lemon for garnish) and the “Algonquin” (1.5 oz rye,3/4 oz dry vermouth, 3/4 oz pineapple juice and 2-3 dashes of orange bitters, served up). The Night Shade was OK, but the Algonquin was really terrible.
“The Vanderbilt Cocktail”
The “Vanderbilt” however – oh wow! What a good drink! This is another one from the Savoy Cocktail Book. It’s a smooth, warming drink, good for the cold months of January and February. It’s a stiff drink, but one that’s softened up by the cherry brandy and the simple syrup. If you like brandy, but you want a softer drink, try this. It’s not overly cherry-ish or sweet, just a smooth brandy cocktail that’ll warm you up. Delicous! (Plus it’s fun to drink something called the “Vanderbilt”, makes me feel classy, and a little snooty – ha!)
1.5 oz. brandy or cognac
1/2 oz. Cherry Heering
3 dashes of simple syrup
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
Stir well with ice and then strain in to a chilled cocktail glass.
(“The Savoy Cocktail Book”)
“The Sidecar”
The Sidecar’s another great brandy drink. It’s not as wintery of a drink, but still gives you that nice smooth brandy taste. It’s almost a brandy margarita, only with a delicious sweet sugar rim instead of salt. It’s sweet and sour, and super refreshing! Brandy is quickly moving up my list of favorite base spirits in my cocktails!
1.5 oz. brandy or cognac
3/4 oz. triple sec
3/4 oz. lemon juice
Shake well and strain in to a chilled cocktail glass that’s been rimmed with sugar using a wedge of the lemon.
