The Satan's Monobrow

The Satan's Monobrow

This is a cocktail Dave created after trying to make a Satan's Wiskers cocktail but discovering we were lacking almost every ingredient.  This is the first original cocktail recipe posted on this blog!  Go Dave!  Recipe to be added soon.


The reviews: 
Yum Yum and super yum.  It has a grapefruity goodness that makes it exceptionally refreshing and no sweetness overload despite the pink color, which comes from Dave's addiction to Campari in cocktails.

The Negroni

The Negroni

The recipe is here.
Yes, you can have a negroni in a double old fashioned glass with ice, but it is also acceptable to serve it shaken in a chilled cocktail glass.  I think it is prettier this way, well, until I got some classy new double old fashioned glasses a few weeks ago.  But this is an old photo.

The reviews:
We both love it.  This is an absolute classic cocktail and with good reason.  This drink started Dave on a love affair with Campari which he is using a lot when making up cocktails.

The Hanky Panky

The Hanky Panky

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
I adore this drink.  It has become one of my favorites when I don't know quite what I want to drink.  It sounds like it would be odd, but I think the Fernet Branca draws the sweet vermouth and gin together with a nice nuttiness that makes me crave it.  Don't forget the orange peel, twist it over the glass so the oils grace the surface of the drink with their fragrance.  Yum.  Dave agrees with me on this one.  Delicious and with a name like the Hanky Panky, how can you not adore it.  Also notable, this drink was created by a female bartender.  That makes it even more awesome in my book!

The Blue Moon

The Blue Moon

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
I liked it so much I went in and mixed another.  I may have a thing for Creme de Violette, something about the floral almost perfume-y flavor mixes so nicely with the citrus...summer days and warm weather, happy drinks on the patio.  Dave enjoyed his as well, maybe less effusive, but you have to give him credit for not balking at a lavender drink when I handed it to him.  Deceptively sweet looking but the flavor is much more interesting than it appears in the glass.

The Barnum Was Right

The Barnum Was Right

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
I liked it.  Didn't love it, but would drink it again.  Maybe because the name is awesome, maybe because it was a nice balanced cocktail.  Dave felt similarly.  Other cocktails are nicer, more memorable, but still a nice one to have in rotation.

The Aviation

The Aviation

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
This is a classic.  The Creme de Violette is beautiful here, not overwhelming, but a nice support to the Marischino. This is not a girlie drink, long on the liquor, short on the sweet.  I really liked it.  Dave did too as I remember.  We've made them a few times since.

The Jasmine

The Jasmine

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
I love this.  Fresh and tart, but not sour.  I great summer afternoon drink.  I would absolutely make this again.  I can't remember what Dave thought, but probably because I didn't care.  I will assume he liked it because it contains Campari, one of his favorite ingredients.  I liked it enough to fold the corner of the page in the cocktail book.

The Bijoux

The Bijoux

The recipe is here.

The Reviews:
If I liked cough syrup, this would be delicious.  I do not, so this was not.  It felt kind of out of whack, but I wanted to use something that called for Chartreuse and this is what I tried.  Not likely to be tried again.  Dave and I were in agreement about this one.

The Lumière

The Lumière

The recipe is here.


The Review:
I liked it.  A bit sweet, a bit floral, a bit tart.  Very refreshing.  I could imagine drinking it before a screening.  Not my favorite, but I'd make it again.  Dave was not as positive.  Too sweet.  Not memorable enough. Perhaps I was somewhat emotionally attached due to the name's connection to film, but whatever.  I'd still drink it again. 

Bronx Bomber

The Bronx Bomber

1 1/2 oz gin
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz orange juice
1/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz simple syrup
Orange twist

Mix ingredients (apart from the orange twist) in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with orange twist.  Enjoy.

Review:
I really liked this.  Not super sweet due to the vermouth, but sweet enough.  I was worried that Dave would think it was too sweet, but he liked it as well. He joked about renaming it the Bronc's Bomber, after his beloved Broncos and making it his regular. 

We like gin.

It's that simple.  We like gin.  I like making cocktails and somewhere along the line Dave has decided mixing cocktails is a hell of a lot of fun too.  So what are we going to do about it?  Well, we are going to be tracking our adventures in gin-based cocktails on this here blog.  Why?  Well, why not?  It might be fun to keep track of all of the things we've tried and liked or altered or whatever.  If you're a fellow gin lover, feel free to tag along.

So let me give you some points of reference. I am a fan of cocktails of all varieties.  I prefer them to be well balanced and not overly sweet. 

Dave prefers his cocktail not at all sweet.  A hint of sweetness is as much as he can tolerate.  He likes the bitter, sour or herbal to take the lead.