Tag Archives: gin

Spot at the Bar: Bénédictine D.O.M.

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The distinctive bottle of Benedictine (image from Crown Wine and Spirits)

A bottle of Bénédictine D.O.M. proved to be a little more difficult to obtain than you’d think. I figured walk into any liquor store and you could score a bottle easily. Not the case here in New Orleans. You’ll certainly find Bénédictine in just about every liquor store, only you’ll be getting it in the form of B&B, Bénédictine and Brandy. After I was able to finally score a bottle from Vieux Carre Wine and Spirits, the tasting was on.

Bénédictine is, at least superficially, reminiscent of Chartreuse: It was initially created by French monks, uses a ton of herbs, and said monks ran into a heap of trouble along the way. But that is about where the similarities stop. Bénédictine blends a mere 27 herbs to Chartreuse’s 132, which I found noticeable in the complexity on a head to head tasting. The Benedictine monks had their monastery destroyed in the French Revolution and their property plundered, while the Carthusian monks got expelled and their property seized.

Although not quite as complex as Chartreuse, Bénédictine is still a complex liqueur with a strong herbal smell and flavor. It is also rather viscous. This thickness and the pronounced flavor make Bénédictine a likely companion to mix with “stronger” liquors, Scotch, Brandy, etc. Bénédictine is a popular ingredient in many a classic cocktail, such as the Vieux Carre, the original Singapore Sling, Bobby Burns, etc.

I’ve found that a Bénédictine on the rocks isn’t bad, but it certainly takes a little getting used to. Of course, I’d recommend sticking to mixing this spirit.

Since the traditional Bénédictine cocktail recipes are pretty easy to find, here’s one I’ve created which I call Last Rites.

Simply add equal parts Luxardo, Gin, Bénédictine and lime juice (sounds pretty familiar? It is a Last Word subbing the Chartreuse with the Bénédictine)

Luxardo, Bénédictine and Death's Door Gin

Normally, I’d have made this with fresh lime juice, but Cupcake needed the limes we had on hand for dinner. Which means it was time to improvise: enter a bottle of Nellie and Joe’s Key West Lime Juice. While a nice fix in a pinch, I find that fresh lime juice makes this a better drink.

No limes? No major problem

Nellie and Joe’s is a great back up system to always have on hand. It will stay fresh in the fridge for about a month and provides you some great versatility. No time to juice limes or simply no limes at all? Break out the bottle, but when you can go with the fresh squeezed stuff. When making drinks for people, I find it is important to be flexible and always have a backup plan!

The Last Rites--The Nellie and Joe's tints the color a bit more than fresh lime juice

It certainly gives you a different flavor profile than a Last Word would and, in my opinion, isn’t as nicely balanced (due to Bénédictine’s strong presence). But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a tasty drink.

Spot at the Bar: New Amsterdam Gin

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Photo from New Amsterdam Gin

I was first introduced to New Amsterdam Gin at a Tales of the Cocktail event hosted at MiLa. The gin hadn’t particularly made it onto my radar, but we had been to plenty of special dinners at MiLa and have always been pleased, so we figured we’d give it a shot.

As far as gin’s go, New Amsterdam falls into that catch-all category of New American (or New Style) gins, which basically means it isn’t a London Dry, Genever or Plymouth gin. That New Amsterdam is unlike most any other gin you’ve had is obvious from the get go. While not all gins are dominated by juniper flavors, New Amsterdam basically forsakes it all together. The result? A citrus focused gin that boasts the ability to be enjoyed straight. While few outside the frat houses would typically have the desire or fortitude to take a slug of warm gin, new Amsterdam’s smooth candied orange flavor actually make this an accomplish-able feat for most people (of course, not that you should). Best of all is New Amsterdam’s low price, we were able to pick up a liter bottle from the Rouse’s for a mere $19.99.

This isn’t to say that New Amsterdam is the kind of gin you go looking for to use in classic gin based cocktails. It isn’t. But it is a great change of pace to vodka in many citrus driven cocktails and as an easy re-introduction for those who have sworn off gin entirely. I’ve found it the New Amsterdam to bring in rave reviews for cosmopolitans and, in most instances so far, preferred by vodka drinkers instead of their normal vodka cosmo. At such a cheap price, its basically a no-brainer.

My New Amsterdam Cosmopolitan
1.5 ounces New Amsterdam Gin
.75 ounces Cointreau
.25 ounces fresh squeezed lime juice
1 ounce cranberry juice (I prefer to use the tarter 100% cranberry juice, if you prefer a sweeter drink go with the cranberry cocktail)

Shake over ice, strain into a chilled glass. Orange peel for garnish. Enjoy!

Spot at the Bar: Speakeasy’s Lavender-Infused Gin

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A few weeks ago we reviewed Speakeasy, which contains not only a bunch of great recipes and drink making tips, but also a bunch of recipes for homemade syrups, cordials, infusions and accompaniments. One big drawback of these recipes is that the directions are not nearly as precise or detailed as they are for the drinks. Which has led to some colossal failures, such as the spicy ginger beer, and some successes, the lime cordial and the lavender-infused gin.

The lavender gin is required to make one of the drinks in Speakeasy, but is also a nice change of pace in your normal gin cocktails. A Darren Sproles for your Pierre Thomas or Mark Ingram, if you will. Best of all, it is easy as can be to make, as the hardest part might be gathering the lavender. While the off-the-wall ingredients normally required for a Speakeasy recipe can usually be wrangled up at Whole Foods, not so with the Lavender. Instead, we stumbled across the last jar in the store at Williams-Sonoma. Other than that, you’ll need a bottle of Plymouth gin, which you can find at most liquor stores, but not most grocery stores, and a cheesecloth, available just about everywhere.
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Tools of the Trade: Fever Tree

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I don’t give two hoots about the Summer Solstice, the long hot New Orleans summer has arrived in full force. Any time you’ve got 75% or more of the forecast showing highs in the 90s or above, it’s summer. One of the great things about summer, besides that it means Saints football is getting closer (don’t you guys screw this up), is that a gin and tonic makes the move from tasty beverage to survival necessity. That’s great by me, because I love a good gin and tonic, especially now that I’ve taken some extra steps to spice up the relationship. Now, gin and tonics and I didn’t really hit it off at first. We had a rough introduction in high school. It was Mardi Gras, we were on a balcony on St. Charles and we had scored a fifth of Seagram’s gin. The rest we probably shouldn’t talk about.

Fast forward a few (or more) years and gin and tonic is something you know you can always get and be happy. But, like a relationship that has settled into a deep rut, you aren’t overly excited about it but it sure beats trying something else. I mean, what if you don’t like whatever you order? Then you’re stuck having paid for something you don’t like and that’s not fun. Plus, you’re used to the gin and tonics idiosyncrasies and now you’d just have to learn to deal with some new weird things the new drink does. So you stick with gin and tonic and make yourself believe you’re really happy. Well you can be happy, truly happy. You just need to learn to treat your gin right. Because all this time, you’ve been a bastard and didn’t even realize it.

Mass produced tonic, the kind you find in most grocery stores is overly sweet (yes even the diet stuff) and masks or dulls the gin’s flavor. What you want, no need, is a tonic that will compliment your gin, not overpower it. This is where Fever Tree comes in. While Fever Tree does have a full line of drinks, we’re here to save your relationship with the gin and tonic.

By blending fabulous botanical oils with spring water and the highest quality quinine from the fever tree, we have created a delicious, natural tonic with a uniquely clean and refreshing taste and aroma.

This tonic sure is lonely (Photo Credit Liquormart.com)

What that all translates into in plain English is, Fever Tree gives you a cleaner, crisper, less sweet gin and tonic. Rather than muddling the natural flavors of your gin and hiding them behind a overly sweet blanket, Fever Tree looks to elevate your gin. I’m sure at this point you’re probably convinced this specialty tonic is about as special as a bottle of Dasani filtered tap water. I mean it’s tonic, how different could some bubbly water with quinine be? I’ve learned the difference is massive. In a recent side-by-side taste test, I couldn’t even bring myself to finish the “regular” gin and tonic (at least not until the Fever Tree one was gone–look I’m not about to waste it). It was way too sticky and sweet, lacking in flavor, character and nuance. All things I never knew I was missing.

So reignite your relationship with gin and tonic and pick up a Fever Tree. No need to thank me, seeing happy drinkers everywhere is my reward.

Spot at the Bar: Port of Barcelona Gin

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Port of Barcelona's unique squat bottle should be relatively easy to spot

Port of Barcelona gin comes from the Esmeralda Distillery, which produces the award-winning Obsello absinthe. A triple distilled malt gin, Barcelona features 13 different botanicals. The distillation process, malt base and 13 botanicals lead to an incredibly unique gin. Continue reading →

Spot at the Bar: Gin’s Grandpa–Bols Genever

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While combing the gin aisle at a local liquor store in search of strange and unusual gins, I spied a tall, slender bottle that for some reason had not caught my eye before. I was even more surprised by the date on the bottle, an impressive “Est. 1575.”
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