Grandma’s Whiskey Sour

Meyer lemons are in season, which means it is time to make whiskey sours!  The whiskey sour gets a bad name due to the preponderance of the pre-made sour mix unfortunately used in so many college bars, dorm rooms and fraternity houses.  A true whiskey sour though balances the sweet and sour tastes as an undertone to the true star of the show, whiskey.  Besides, if they were good enough for your grandma, they are good enough for you!

The sour as a style of drink goes back to the mid 1850s and was covered in Jerry Thomas’ “How to Mix Drinks” in 1862.  I found a crazy tale about an Englishman creating the whiskey sour in Peru in 1872 as reported by an Argentinian newspaper in 1962, but that seems a little far from home for a simple bourbon based drink to come to life.  Fortunately, the famous Wisconsin paper, the Waukesha Plaindealer, mentioned the Whiskey Sour on January 4th 1870; returning this American classic to its rightful home.

I like my whiskey sour heavier on the prior and lighter on the latter so proceed with caution.  This is also one of the few times I have found Colin Field and David Embury in agreement on the proportions.  Start with one ounce of fresh squeezed meyer lemon juice in a shaker.  Add two teaspoons of superfine sugar.  Lastly, add four ounces of your favorite whiskey, Gentleman Jack works for me.  This is only the second time I have condoned using them, but the bright red color of maraschino cherries shows through the drink like a ruby red setting sun, place three of them in an old fashioned glass then fill with ice. Fill the shaker with ice and give it a good shake to make sure the sugar dissolves.  Strain into the ice filled glass and serve.  I have been asked about building it in the glass instead of shaking the drink; it can be done this way, but the shaking better dissolves the sugar and adds a slight froth from the agitation which I think makes for a better drink.  You can also add a dash or two of bitters to this drink if you are feeling adventurous!

Whiskey Sour

4 oz whiskey

1 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

2 tsp superfine sugar

Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker, strain into an ice filled old fashioned glass.

Eggnog

No list of Christmas cocktails would be complete without this merry classic. I know a few of my faithful followers are wondering if this is THE eggnog recipe, and the answer is no, I’ll take that one to the grave with me as it is my signature Christmas gift and if I gave it up, I would be forced to use my creative juices on Christmas shopping for my friends every year, thereby further neglecting my duties here. This is however a great version steeped in history and suitable for a single cup or as a large batch (my recommendation). Before we get to the details, a little history.

Once again we are presented with a handful of tales, innuendo and flat out lies about where this drink came from. One version has it as a drunken conjunction of “egg and grog,” easily slurred to eggnog after a few merry rounds of rum based heaven by a mutinous crew. In the more civilized version of the story it came across the Atlantic to the colonies from England in the 18th century where it was popular with the aristocracy who were the only ones able to get eggs and dairy products, they mixed it with brandy and sherry. In the new world it was mixed with rum due to its abundance and low cost. After the Revolutionary War, locally produced spirits were substituted.

This would explain why there is no definitive liquor choice when it comes to eggnog. Rum, brandy and bourbon are all good options individually or in some combination. As a true patriot I am going to use bourbon, but as the picture above illustrates rum is a great option. I am going to once again rely on my old friend David Embury here, as his recipe provided a starting point that I fine-tuned to my liking. He also has some good pointers on how to properly mix the ingredients. Start by cracking an egg into a cocktail shaker, add two teaspoons of superfine sugar, whisk together until the egg is slightly frothy. Add six ounces of half and half and bourbon (or your liquor of choice). Fill with ice and shake, pour into an old fashioned or Tom Collins glass (never serve over ice), garnish with some freshly grated nutmeg. This recipe is for a single cup, but should be increased to match the size of your gathering using a large pitcher. Eggnog is a drink made for sharing with friends, although it is also a welcome companion when you are awake at 1:00 AM Christmas morning, trying to put together that god damn, million piece train set for your kid who will be jumping on your bed in three hours.

Eggnog

1 egg

2 tsp superfine sugar

2 oz bourbon, rum, or brandy

6 oz half and half

Place egg and sugar into an empty shaker (or large pitcher for multiple batches), whisk until frothy. Add bourbon, half and half, ice and mix. Strain into individual glasses or a serving pitcher. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Tom & Jerry

Egg Nog may get all the glory, but the Tom & Jerry deserves a place at your holiday table. This heated cousin of Christmas’s most popular beverage is a complex combination of flavors, textures and spirits. It takes a little advanced preparation, but the result is well worth it.

Pre-dating the cartoon of the same name by over one hundred years, this holiday hangover cure was created in the 1820’s by sports writer Pierce Egan. It is a reference to Egan's book, Life in London, or The Day and Night Scenes of Jerry Hawthorn Esq. and his Elegant Friend Corinthian Tom.

David Embury has outdone himself and I have found no reason to stray from his formula. The following measurements make enough for a crowd, so mix up a batch and invite all of your friends over for some holiday cheer. Start by separating a dozen eggs. Beat the whites to stiff peaks and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the yolks with ½ pound of sugar, one tablespoon each of allspice, cinnamon and ground cloves. Then gradually pour in four ounces of dark rum; Myer’s is my personal choice. Gently fold the whites into the yolk mixture. When ready to serve, place about ½ cup of the batter into a large mug, add two ounces of your favorite bourbon, and fill the mug with hot milk. Stir until the whole drink foams. Float one teaspoon of cognac on top and dust with freshly grated nutmeg.

Tom & Jerry

Batter:

1 dozen eggs, separated

½ pound sugar

1 tbl allspice

1 tbl cinnamon

1 tbl ground cloves

4 oz dark rum

Each Drink:

2 oz bourbon

hot milk

1 tsp cognac

nutmeg

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks with the sugar, allspice, cinnamon, and cloves. Add rum. Fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.

For each individual drink, place ½ cup batter into a large mug, add bourbon and fill with hot milk, stir vigorously, top with a cognac floater and freshly grated nutmeg.

Sazerac

Imagine yourself in pre-Civil War New Orleans; walking down the street you have the sudden urge to wet your whistle. You come upon the Sazerac Coffee House. Similar to its use in Amsterdam today, coffee house was a kind euphemism, except in the mid-1800s the drug of note was alcohol. Once inside you belly up to the 125 foot long bar and one of the dozen or so bartenders would have gladly made you a Sazerac cocktail. A bold cocktail, not for the faint of heart; the intense flavor rivaled only by the difficulty in making it.

The bar’s owner’s, Antoine Amédée Paychaud, had started his life in the Big Easy in the late 1700s as an apothecary, after migrating from the West Indies. In the 1830s, Pharmacie Peychaud’s proprietary cure all, Peychaud’s Bitters, quickly became a very popular ingredient to his late-night patrons. The Sazerac was initially made with an imported cognac named Sazerac de Forge et Fils, hence the name, but overtime the cognac was replaced by locally produced rye whiskey. Also of note is Peychaud served the drink in egg cups known to the French as coquetiers, it is believed that the word cocktail derived from the inability of most Americans to pronounce this word properly. Recognizing that he was onto something, Peychaud opened his “Coffee House” in 1852.

If you want to truly impress your friends while introducing them to a true piece of American history all while getting them highly inebriated, read these instructions carefully, this will quickly become your go-to cocktail for the fall. Start with two old fashioned glasses for each cocktail you wish to make. Pack one full of crushed ice and let it sit. Take the other glass and add ¼ ounce of simple syrup, three dashes of Peychaud’s bitters, and two ounces of rye whiskey. Many recipes call for only 1 ½ ounces, but my good friend David Embury suggests 2 to 2 ½ ounces, and I like his style. I have been using High West’s Rendezvous Rye with favorable results. Next add ice to the glass containing the mixture and stir to chill. Going back to the first glass, empty the crushed ice and add ¼ ounce or so of absinthe and swirl around, coating the glass with the green fairy and dispose of the rest. Strain the contents of the second, whiskey filled, glass into the absinthe glass and garnish with a twist of lemon. Embury suggests serving the cocktail with an ice water chaser, but I say drink it strait.

Sazerac

2 oz rye whiskey

¼ oz simple syrup

3 dashes peychaud’s bitters

¼ oz absinthe

Place the first three ingredients in an empty old fashioned glass, add ice and stir to chill. Pour the absinthe into a second, chilled old fashioned glass, turn to coat the glass, and pour off the excess. Strain the whiskey mixture into the absinthe-coated glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

Daiquiri

No treatise on rum would be complete without discussing the Daiquiri. I am not talking about the cheap rum spiked slurpees so popular at every all-inclusive resort south of the Mason–Dixon Line, I am talking about the sophisticated concoction that was a favorite both John F. Kennedy and Ernest Hemingway. Forget everything that you think you know about a daiquiri and read on for a brief education on a true classic.

It is difficult to pin down the exact origin of this godly nectar, as sugar, lime and rum were combined in various ways throughout the Caribbean and South America since the beginning of time. For the purposes of our discussion we will focus on the Cuban origins. Daiquirí is the name of a beach near Santiago, Cuba, as well as an iron mine in the same area. Around the turn of the century a group of American mining engineers were in the Venus bar in Santiago and they are credited with inventing an early variation of this drink that was served over ice in a tall glass. Over time the drink evolved into one that was made in a shaker and served in a cocktail glass. The drink spread to the US early in the 20th and slowly gained popularity.

David Embury lists this drink as one of his six basic cocktails and there is little need to diverge from his original recipe. In a cocktail shaker start with ¼ oz of simple syrup, add ½ oz of fresh lime juice and 2 oz of white rum. Embury calls for a Cuban rum, but unless you have some pre-embargo stuff lying around we will need to use something else. Basic Bacardi is prevalent and will make a passable cocktail. As this is drink is almost all rum though, consider using something a little nicer such as Cruzan Estate Light Rum. Fill the shaker with ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Serve this with the smugness of knowing that you will never again stoop so low as to consume the common bastardization of such a great cocktail.

Daiquiri

¼ oz simple syrup

½ oz lime juice

2 oz white rum

Mix all ingredients in an ice filled shaker. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks

This being my first non-drink post, I felt it only fitting to pay tribute to one of my most prized resources on the cocktail. I have had this book in my possession for many years. I do not remember exactly where or when it was acquired, but I am pretty sure it belonged to one of my grandparents based on the date of publication. It is none other than David Embury’s classic dissertation on cocktails, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.

I have a dozen or so different books, another dozen websites bookmarked, and multiple apps on my phone that I use as a reference when trying new drinks or just looking for variations on old favorites, but Embury’s is by far my favorite and most used resource. It was not until recently that I realized that this book really is a treasure. One day when looking through it, I had the great idea to pick up some copies and give them as gifts to some of my friends. I figured that I could probably pick them up on Amazon for a couple of bucks each. Boy was I wrong! I quickly realized that my 1958 edition is by far the most valuable book I have ever owned. Depending on the edition and condition of the book, they sell for well over a thousand dollars. Needless to say my friends did not receive copies as gifts. If you are not lucky enough to find one in someone’s basement there is a 2008 edition available from Amazon.

Regardless of its monetary value, its true value is that it can take you back in time. Embury’s work of art was written at the pinnacle of cocktailing. When cocktail hour and cocktail parties meant something. His recipes are not written by the beverage companies looking to promote their wares or the bartenders trying to make a few extra bucks. Perhaps I am a purist, but I like to taste drinks as they were meant to be made, before looking at the changes that have been make in the ensuing decades and passing judgment.

As I have stated in the past, many of the current recipes attempt to mask the taste of the alcohol. The perfect recipe should balance the flavors so that they complement not only each other, but most importantly, the key ingredient. Even with something as simple as a gin and tonic, I want to be able to taste the gin, but not be overpowered by it, the taste of the tonic and lime need to be in perfect balance with the gin.

The Old Fashioned is a perfect example. I have held off from writing on this classic due to the sheer number of variations in how it is made, and what is included. Depending on the source and the year published you may find a drink made with bourbon, rye or Canadian whisky. It may call for soda, sprite, water or grenadine. While some of the variations are quite good, it is hard to know where to start with so many versions available. Starting with a very simple recipe makes the search for the perfect recipe much easier.

If you are fortunate enough to have a copy in your possession, look up your favorite drink and see what David has to say about it, give his recipe a try and see what you think. If nothing else, you have expanded your horizons and spent sometime with one of the classics of American literature.