The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess
Recipe
The Mahogany Cocktail
- 1 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
- 3/4 oz Benedictine
- 3/4 oz J�germeister
- add ice, stir
- strain into glass misted with cinnamon tincture
garnish: lemon twist
glass: antique or martini
tools: channel knife, bar spoon
Cinnamon Tincture
- fill pint jar with cinnamon sticks
- fill jar with vodka or high proof liquor
- let sit covered for 2 weeks, shaking once or twice
Mahogany
There are times when we may have conceptual problems with different ingredients. I ran into this with Jägermeister. I just couldn't take it seriously, at least not until a friend challenged me to try to make a classically styled cocktail with it. The result was the Mahogany which, quite frankly, I think works pretty well at properly showcasing Jägermeister in a cocktail that doesn't appear to be created by or for frat boys.
Comments
I guess I’ll be buying a mini or two of J
Love the new player on Cocktail Spirit! I’ve already purchased some Jager and bar accessories through your site and can’t wait to get started! Great show Robert, look forward to the next.
I just wanted to thank you that you mixed a drink with an ingredience (J
Great looking cocktail, I think i’ll use that cinamon tincture in some ideas of cocktails i have. You ‘re going to have a book? Were can we get that details?
Tinctures made from various ingredients can be quite handy. I sometimes combine different tinctures together in order to test the flavor profile of different bitters I might try making, but they can also be simply dashed into cocktails straight in order to add a particular flavor element.
My book is “The Essential Bartender’s Guide”, which you can find available for pre-order on Amazon, or you can order it directly from the publisher here:
http://cocktailkingdom.com/content/the-essential-bartenders-guide
...where you can also find a nice little collection of several long out-of-print classic cocktail books, including “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks” by David Embury.
-Robert
A great cocktail. A perfect combination of all its ingredients!
Both my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. We agree with your comments about J
Two things:
One, just made and drank the Mahogany without the cinnamon. Very tasty. I expanded the lemon zest, emulating your wide zest from the Old Fashioned. I wanted a little more tart wihout adding clouding juice.
Two, Mr. Wagner. My wife and I are Negroni (Camapri cocktail) addicts. It was, in fact, the cocktail that launched us into discovering and making new cocktails. Robert has been invaluable and particularly dangerous as our liquor cabinet expands beyone intended volume…. But I digress. The bitterness of the Negroni is not for everyone, but if are made one you like, you will be hooked forever. Here is our take on it. 1.5 ounces Beefeater, 1 ounce Campari, 1 ounce sweet vermouth “typically martini and rossi”, 1 dash orange bitters (Fee Brothers preferred though the new Angostora is quite nice). Add ice, stir and strain into chilled glass. Garnish with long orange peel twisted around spoon handle. Most Negroni lovers will tout the 1—1-1 ratio, but we have found the extra 1/2 ounce of gin works for us. The brand of gin will make tremendous diffence in your Negroni.
Cheers!
I think I’ve figured it out, but for the purposes of clarity, how do tinctures differ from flavored/infused vodkas, and how do each differ from bitters?
Thanks, Robert. And congrats on conquering the J
A tincture is a highly concentrated “infusion”, and ideally it is made with something higher than 80proof. I think I’ve heard someplace that for most purposes 164 proof (82 percent) works the best.
Bitters are “essentially” a combination of different tinctures, but there is also often additional process steps used to make bitters, while a tincture is often made through simple maceration.
-Robert
Perry: Fortunately, I had the exact ingredients for your drink which I made the other night. Though it was “nice”, the Campari bitterness was still too much for us. I made it again using Tanqueray 10 and half the amount of Campari and it was better.
As you said, “The bitterness of the Negroni is not for everyone.”
But I will keep trying because once I can get beyond the bitterness, I do like the taste of Campari.
It’s getting better. I tried it again using equal amounts of Campari, sweet vermouth, and Plymouth Gin and Regan’s Orange bitters. Added these to a glass with lots and lots of ice, stirred it for a long time. The result WAS perfection and something I really enjoyed. Maybe the taste has finally got to me, but I think it was the gin and the bitters and extra water added from the ice. I am now a new fan of the Negroni. Enjoy!
Roy,
First, I apologize to everyone for having somewhat “hijacked” this thread to discuss Negroni Cocktails.
I am so happy you found a version that works for you. I have just started purchasing Plymouth for my martinis, and though it is a bit pricier than the Beefeater I usually keep on hand, I am beginning to warm to it for mixing as well.
Glad to see your persistence paid off. An extraordinarily long orange peel, spiraled and hanging over the side makes it fancy for weekends if your feeling particularly artistic.
The bar I’m tending serves Zwack, and we aren’t selling it at all. Could this idea be used with Zwack (which I’m told is similar to Jager)? Keep the ideas coming!
Matt, Zwack is similar to, but still different from, Jagermeister, so while you might be able to effectively substitute Zwack for the Jagermeister here, it would have a different taste.
Thank you!
Robert,
Are there some spirits you just won’t touch? I’m a huge Scarlet O’Hara fan and I’ve been wondering what you’d be capable of with Soco.
The Brute
Adam, Yes, there are some spirits/products which I really don’t feel bring anything at all to the table, and haven’t (yet) been able to find a way to incorporate them into a drink that is worthwhile. Sometimes it is because the product is just -bad- (I won’t mention any names here), but other times the product is one that I like by itself, but it just overpowers a drink if you add enough of it to bring its character into play. The (now defunct) Starbucks coffee liqueur was one of these (and being a Seattleite, that’s not easy to say). I liked it by itself more than Kahlua, but when mixing in a drink, Kahlua just “plays well with others” better.
SoCo (or “Southern Comfort”), while far from one of my “go to” products, isn’t one that I specifically avoid. I think there are places where it can be used reasonably well. The one drink I’ve done so far with it I call the “Southern Beauty”, which is equal parts brandy and Southern Comfort, topped with lightly whipped cream. Clearly a desert drink (which I rarely do), and not necessarily one of my better inventions, but it does the job.
Nice. Robert, thanks so much for your input!
Robert! Nice drink!
Tried it without the tincture, I can’t get over-proof vodka here in Ontario. Used a LARGE lemon peel instead, and was delightful.
Is over-proof rum alright to make tincures? I have access to Bacardi’s 151-proof (not to brag about our right to buy “evil” cuban products) and Wray and Nephew’s White Overproof, but will that impart too much flavour in my tinctures?
If you can’t find overproof vodka, then Wray and Nephew’s White Overproof should work, or frankly regular vodka might work pretty well too, but the higher alcohol does do a better job at extracting flavors.
(FYI: Barcardi’s isn’t a cuban product anymoe, Bacardi left Cuba when Castro took over. It’s “Havana Club” that is the cuban rum of note - which I believe you also are able to get, and we aren’t… at least not easily.)
Thanks Robert! Will get to work on trying that out.
Looking at my Bacardi bottle right now, and it says: “Casa Fundada En Cuba”. My Spanish is no good, but I assumed that meant made in Cuba? Maybe some advertisement white lies?
In all honesty, I bought the Bacardi White to use in your Pina Colada recipe! Best I’ve seen (and tasted) around, so thanks again.
Whoops! Just checked a translator.
“Established in Cuba”. Hahaha! Now I’m getting it,...
Suicide Jagermeister drinks Bomb recipe:
Ingredients to use:
125mL Jagermeister
1shot Red Bull
Directions:Opposite to a Jager Bomb. Pour 125mL of jagermeister into a glass (the equivilant of half a can of redbull). Then pour a shot of redbull. Drop the shot into the glass and chug/scull.
http://www.whatisguide.net/0129-jagermeister.html