Bottle Swap: St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur

It's high time that Mr. Muddle and I did another bottle swap! This is when we each buy a bottle of something new for our bars and trade half. If you've got friends who like making cocktails at home, this is a great way to try twice as many new ingredients! In the past we've swapped Ancho Reyes, The King's Ginger, Suze, and Giffard Banane du Bresil. Today's bottle is the perfect holiday liqueur, St. George Spiced Pear.

If you're not familiar with St. George Spirits, they're a California-based distillery that produces some incredible stuff. They're probably best known for their gins, but you may have seen their Bruto Americano, Absinthe, or Green Chile Vodka on the liquor store shelf as well. Their Spiced Pear Liqueur is another winner. To make it, they start with their Pear Brandy and add additional fruit juice and spices. It's positively bursting with fresh pear, cinnamon, and cloves, and has just the right amount of sweetness to be sipped on its own or mixed into a cocktail.

St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur

Alcohol content: 20%
Price: $40
Popular cocktails: Check out St. George's suggestions here

My cocktail with this liqueur is a little riff on the classic Philadelphia Fish House Punch. This is a drink with a long history, going back to the early 1700's. It's traditionally made with aged rum, Cognac, peach brandy, lemon, and sugar, and served in a large format from a punch bowl. For my Spiced Pear Punch, I replaced the peach brandy with the Spiced Pear Liqueur, used maple syrup as the sweetener, and added a dash of vanilla. Since it was just me drinking this one, I stuck to a single serve, but this would be a great big-batch cocktail for your next holiday party!

Spiced Pear Punch

1 oz. aged rum (Jamaican recommended - I used Appleton Estate Signature Blend)
1/2 oz. Cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
1/2 oz. St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. maple syrup
1 dash vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a punch glass or rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a pear fan.

Check out Mr. Muddle's cocktail, the Decoder Ring!

Almond Brother

Last week I mentioned a cocktail recipe from the Death & Co book that showed me how well tequila and amaretto can work together, so I figured this week I ought to share it! I give you the Almond Brother. I think amaretto is a seriously underestimated cocktail ingredient. Sure, it's crazy sweet, but it can add such great flavor to a cocktail in small quantities. This one ramps up the almond flavor with some sweet, nutty orgeat as well.

Apricot really compliments amaretto, and this isn't the first time I've used them together. Unfortunately I still don't have a bottle of apricot liqueur - I had plans to finally buy some on my last trip to the liquor store, but they didn't have any. Soon! But until then, my usual substitute of apricot preserves seems to work quite well.

This cocktail smells heavenly, like almonds and citrus with hints of vanilla. Kind of like a citrus pound cake. But the nutty angel's food flavor of the amaretto and orgeat is tempered by the tequila and lime for a perfect balance of sweet and sour. It's one of those cocktails where the ingredients really sing.

History: This recipe was created at Death & Co in new york by Jason Littrell in 2011. Though the Death & Co book doesn't specify, it's pretty clear that the name is a reference to the Allman Brothers band.

Almond Brother

2 oz. tequila reposado
1/4 oz. amaretto
1 tsp. apricot liqueur (or 1/2 tsp. apricot preserves)
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz. orgeat
1/4 oz. maple syrup (I used Noble Chamomile & Vanilla)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe. No garnish.

Recipe from Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails.

Pear Tree

I've got some very exciting news! I've been selected as one of Drizly's Top Shelf Bloggers. I kind of can't believe that I'm on the same page as so many awesome cocktail blogs that I've been following for a while: Apartment Bartender, Gastronomista, Holly & Flora, Stir & Strain... the list goes on! Be sure to check out some of the other bloggers on the list. And, seeing as it's freeze-your-nosehairs cold in much of the US right now, don't forget that Drizly will deliver booze right to your door!

Yes, the temperature has dropped and the holidays are here. I kind of can't believe it. I usually spend so much time looking forward to Christmas, and this year we didn't even get a Christmas tree! I'm seeing festive cocktails popping up left and right on Twitter and Instagram, and I haven't really had time to get into the holiday spirit cocktail-wise. So during last night's frenzy of packing - we're flying home to spend the holiday in Louisiana with our families, where I believe it's a balmy 60 degrees - I made this holiday-appropriate cocktail and named it in honor of the Twelve Days of Christmas. I even came up with a little verse for it:

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

A cocktail made with sherry!

I'm pretty sure you could write a whole song here... Four Roses, Three Olives, Two... um... well, I haven't really thought it all through yet.

I just love the flavors in this cocktail. Amontillado sherry is one of my favorite new ingredients, and I think it works really well here, adding its nutty and fruity flavor without contributing too much sweetness. It blends beautifully with pear juice and bourbon. In lieu of regular maple syrup, I used some Noble Chamomile & Vanilla Maple Syrup, which was a subtle but nice touch - their Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup would also be awesome. And it turns out all the syrups at Muddle & Stir are 25% off right now! Use the discount code syrup25. If you need some stocking stuffers, the Noble Maple Syrups are perfect.

Happy holidays!

Pear Tree

1 1/2 oz. bourbon

3/4 oz. Amontillado sherry

3/4 oz. lemon juice

1/2 oz. maple syrup (I used Noble Chamomile & Vanilla Maple Syrup)

1/2 oz. pear juice

1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a candied pear*.

*For the candied pears, I adapted recipe from Adventuress (albeit in a very haphazard way - read on, but don't expect a precise recipe). I sliced the pear as thinly as I could, sprinkled both sides of the slices with sugar, and baked them on parchment paper at 300 degrees for at least an hour, maybe longer (it's going to depend a lot on the thickness of your slices). I checked them and flipped them roughly every 10 minutes. After 20 or 30 minutes, they had released a lot of juices, so I drained and replaced the parchment paper. I think I sprinkled on more sugar at 40 minutes or so. It took a long time to get them stiff enough to hold their shape when placed on the rim of a cocktail glass, and the thinner parts threatened to burn, so even slices is a must. Also, FYI, after 20-30 minutes they may not be stiff but they are delicious. Throw a few extra slices in for eating. :-)

Autumn Cocktail #2

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! We're having one of the quietest ones we've had in a while. GarnishGuy is working a half day and we don't even have dinner plans yet. I've got a lot of work to do myself, so it doesn't really feel like much of a holiday. But I don't mind. We had our share of fun last weekend, when we went to New York with my sister and her husband. My travel companions let me drag them on a frantic quest to visit as many iconic cocktail bars as possible in three evenings. And we did a pretty decent job: Amor y Amargo, Death & Co., Dead Rabbit, Mother of Pearl, Mayahuel, Attaboy, PDT, and Dear Irving. Kind of a dream come true.

I think Attaboy was the highlight of the trip. From the hidden entrance and the atmosphere to the impeccable cocktails, it was just perfect. The drinks were even more impressive given that there wasn't a menu. I've had mixed success with that format at places like Drink in Boston, but our bartender at Attaboy was an utter genius; in the words of my sister, "He saw into my soul." For my first drink, I requested something bourbon-based with amaro, and he made me a drink called a Paycut with Fernet-Vallet, a Mexican(!) amaro I've never heard of. Every sip was heaven. I've got to figure out the recipe.

After drinks like that, my own offering for a fall cocktail feels a bit inadequate, but it's nice to have something to aspire to. Last year around this time I made my Autumn Cocktail #1, a fall-appropriate mixture of bourbon, apple cider, maple syrup, lemon, and cinnamon. For #2 this year, I kept the maple syrup and cinnamon and went with Laird's Applejack to bring in some apple flavor. The maple syrup makes this drink particularly special, because it's not just any maple syrup - it's Noble Bourbon Barrel Aged Maple Syrup.

Guys. This maple syrup. Oh my gosh. If you'd told me prior to tasting it that I'd be recommending a $27 bottle of maple syrup, I'd have said you were completely nuts. But this stuff is spectacular. Other maple syrup pales in comparison to its rich, deep flavor. It's incredible in cocktails, and as a big fan of all carby breakfasts I'd really like to try it on some pancakes. If you want to snag your own bottle, you can get it at Muddle & Stir. If you're in Boston, I also recently saw it at Boston General Store in Coolidge Corner.

After the Applejack, syrup, and cinnamon, I tried a few different ingredients in this drink, and I did not expect Cynar to be the one that worked. As I mentioned in my post on amari, this is a bitter, artichoke-flavored liqueur that's somewhat like a more vegetal Campari. It's surprisingly versatile, and I love the way it works with the other flavors, adding a wonderful bitterness and depth to the cocktail. It's a fragrant glass of apple, cinnamon, and spice - perfect for fall!

Autumn Cocktail #2

1 1/2 oz. Laird's Applejack or Apple Brandy
1/2 oz. Cynar
1/4 oz. maple syrup (preferably Noble Bourbon Barrel Aged)
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients, including the cinnamon stick, in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube. Garnish with an apple slice and a fresh cinnamon stick.

Hot Toddy

In the search for a good winter cocktail, it's just about impossible to beat a Hot Toddy. Warm and strong and citrusy, it's the cure for chill and gloomy days, the ideal libation after a foray out into the snow and slush. It will warm you up through-and-through.

The Hot Toddy is a well-known cocktail for which I'm not sure there's really a definitive recipe. There are a ton of variations on the general theme of booze + citrus + sugar, and even the ones that call themselves "classic" vary greatly in their ingredients. Notably, a lot of them contained tea, which I didn't think was traditionally a part of the Hot Toddy. I ended up cobbling together my own recipe based on what I always thought a real Hot Toddy ought to be. I kept it simple, with nothing but bourbon, lemon, honey, hot water, and a cinnamon stick. I could definitely see playing with the base spirit and adding tea or other flavors, but for now this is utter perfection.

If this recipe isn't quite enough to stave off the winter cold, check out the round-up post for Mixology Monday CV over at Doc Elliot's Mixology!

History: The Hot Toddy as we drink it today probably comes from Scotland, originating around the 18th century. That makes plenty of sense, given the popularity of Scottish whiskey and the fact that the weather there begs for a nice warm beverage. The name may come from Tod's Well in Edinburgh. There's a poem by Allan Ramsey called "The Morning Interview" written in 1721 that refers to its water being used to make tea. In the passage, he describes how everything for a tea party has come from afar: the table from Japan, the tea set from China, the sugar from Amazonia. Only the water comes from Scotland:

Here Scotia does no costly Tribute bring,
Only some Kettles full of Todian Spring.

Tod's Well was a major source of water for Edinburgh. So it follows that if people began drinking warm water from the "Todian Spring" mixed with Scotch, they might begin to refer to them as "hot toddies."

However, like any good cocktail, the Hot Toddy's origin isn't so clear. It may actually originate much further back - and farther away - than the Todian Well. There are records from as far back as 1638 that refer to an Indian coconut tree as the "Toddy Tree." Its sap was used to make liquor called arrack (I've written about it before) that became very popular in punches.

Interestingly, there's a pretty big gap between either of these possible sources for the word "toddy" and any record of someone actually drinking a cocktail called a "toddy." The earliest use appears in the 1784 book A Tour of the United States by J.F.D. Smyth. He writes that between noon and one o'clock, the typical Southern "gentleman of fortune" would drink "a draught of bombo, or toddy, a liquor composed of water, sugar, rum, and nutmeg, which is made weak, and kept cool." This does help explain why the modifier "hot" needed to be added later on.

One of the earliest mentions of a "hot toddy" actually comes from a scientist, Yale chemist Benjamin Silliman, in 1808. On a visit to Britain, he wrote, "Both dinners and suppers, when they are meant to be hospitable, are here concluded by the drinking of a hot toddy." He describes how guests mix their own hot water, whiskey, and sugar in pint-sized glasses. "The ladies are not supplied with foot-glasses," he writes, "but the gentlemen occasionally lade out some of their own hot toddy into the wine glasses of the ladies, who thus partake of this beverage, although with much moderation." Hmph.

In his 1862 classic How to Mix Drinks, Jerry Thomas equates hot toddies with hot punches. This seems like further evidence that the toddy may have a direct link to arrack, the classic punch ingredient.

Thanks to Wonderland Kitchen for most of this historical info!

Hot Toddy

2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. honey (maple syrup also works nicely)
5 oz. boiling water
1 cinnamon stick

Add bourbon, lemon juice, and honey to the bottom of a warmed mug. Top with boiling water and stir briefly. Add the cinnamon stick. Garnish with a lemon peel if desired. Stay warm.

Autumn Cocktail #1

When we got back to Boston after our vacation at the end of September, it was quite clear that autumn had begun while we were away. There was that hint of coolness in the air. The leaves were beginning to change. Even though fall is usually my favorite season, at first I resisted what I saw as an inevitable lead-in to another snowy, dark winter. But over the past few weeks I've finally accepted and embraced it. I've broken out my coats and boots, made hot spiced apple cider, and started thinking about the upcoming holidays. So I knew it was time for this cocktail.

I made up this recipe, or something very much like it, last fall. I wrote it down and tucked it away, only to realize that I'd completely lost it some time in the past year. Probably the result of one of my rare but overzealous cleaning sprees. But I've done my best to reconstruct it, and though I don't know if this cocktail is the same one I made last year, I do know that I like it. Bourbon is a perfect spirit for fall, and apple cider is a great mixer. I have a feeling I'm going to be trying out some other autumn-inspired recipes with other ingredients (Applejack and Allspice Dram come to mind), so this may be the first of several.

Autumn Cocktail #1

2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. apple cider
1/2 oz. maple syrup
1/2 oz. lemon juice
cinnamon stick

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a cocktail or coupe glass and garnish with the cinnamon stick.