Bubbles: The Mimosa

By msarko on 1/8/09 8:54pm
1 Comment

Last week was New Year's. All the holiday festivities got me thinking about champagne, that most famous of sparkling wines. While a good bottle to share with friends and family can be nice on its own, the unique, complex flavor and distinct texture of champagne makes it an ideal candidate for a number of interesting mixed drinks. By simply using champagne in places where you would use another spirit, say vodka, you can make a cocktail that is at once light and stimulating. That's why today, I'm going to delve into the deceptively intricate beauty of champagne's most famous mixed iteration.

The Mimosa

This is the simplest of all champagne cocktails. Just mix three parts champagne and two parts orange juice (fresh, if you've got it). Now, some recipes call for pouring the orange juice first. I think this is a mistake. Whenever mixing two liquids together for a cocktail, you want to add the heavier of the two liquids to the lighter of the two. It's simple physics.

Read more >

Dirty Sue

By msarko on 12/30/08 3:02pm
3 Comments

Dirty Sue is the very definition of a product fit to a niche market. At first it may seem like a frivolous bar accessory meant to collect dust next to the specialty glasses designed for the drink-of-the-week. Speaking as a former bartender and a frequent appreciator of the Dirty Martini, I can say that Dirty Sue is a welcome addition to any bar.

Dirty Sue is high-quality olive brine bottled for improved taste and convenience. For any bar that makes a high volume of Dirty Martinis, or for the people who drink them regularly, it’s a messy and often wasteful process to build the drink. In any jar of Spanish olives, the ratio of olives to brine makes it so just a few Dirty Martinis will leave the olives on the top without any brine in which to soak. Life outside of the brine isn’t kind. Nobody likes the look, let alone the taste, of a dry, shriveled olive. Busy bars often end up losing the majority of a given jar this way.

Read more >

Christmas Drinks

By msarko on 12/24/08 8:11pm
2 Comments

Merry Christmas, everybody. I hope you're all having a relaxing holiday and enjoying some of your favorite treats, liquid and otherwise. The holiday season is a time when people are willing to step away from their simple stand-by drinks and make room for something with a little more pizazz. Now, I generally advise people away from complicated drinks for a number of reasons. Alcohol doesn't usually play well with others when too many ingredients show up to the party, especially when those ingredients are powerful spices and sweet things. These holiday drinks are the exceptions to that rule. That doesn't mean I'm lifting my recommendation that you approach them with moderation in mind, both for the sake of your stomach and to keep that holiday cheer at a reasonable level.

Traditional Egg Nog

We've gotta start with the most iconic of Christmas drinks. It's complex, it's strange and it's definitely an acquired taste. For those who love it, egg nog is Christmas in a cup.

Read more >

Madeira: A History of Abuse

By msarko on 12/23/08 2:06am
Add Comment

Portugal is home to some of the most interesting wines in the world. It lends its name to the most popular of fortified wines, Port, but there's another star among its products that deserves as much attention. Whether it's in the distinct flavor, the unique method of crafting, or its special tie to American history, Madeira is a drink not to be missed.

One of the things that sets Madeira apart from other fortified wines is its resilience. Granted, fortified wines are crafted to last much longer than regular vino, but Madeira beats them all. It is because of the strength of the grapes used to make it that Madeira is even around today, though the medical history of Madeira is a rocky one.

The story starts in the mid-1500's when Portugal, like many European countries, was in the middle of a booming maritime exploration period. Long trade voyages to Asia, Africa and the New World made keeping wine on ships next to impossible. It was in this period that fortified wines became the standard.

Read more >

Macallan and the 12-Year Argument

By msarko on 12/17/08 11:35pm
Add Comment

Macallan is one of the finest, most consistent go-to single malts for serious scotch drinkers. Since 1824, the various owners of the Macallan distillery in the Scottish highlands near the river Spey have been making what is, in my opinion, the epitome of what scotch should be.

At least at the 12-year standard.

Like a lot of scotch makers, Macallan generally markets to those who have the mind and the money to drink fermented prestige. That would explain the variety of rare and exceedingly old batches they've been trotting out over the past few years. They tout what they're calling "Macallan Fine and Rare", which is essentially a line of 30 to 70-year-old batches. In addition, there are now a variety of younger (8 to 30-year-old) scotches from the company that experiment with different varieties of barrel. Some are worthwhile, like the Fine Oak batches that take advantage of the mild but complex flavors lent to scotch by classic European wood. Others, like the 18-year Sherry Oak aren't really worth the price tag.

Read more >

3 Drinks to Warm Up Your Winter

By msarko on 12/16/08 3:08am
2 Comments

Welcome, everyone to Liquid Sexy. My name is Michael and I'll be your bartender twice a week. In this blog, we'll be sampling all there is to love and appreciate about drinks with spirit. There will be reviews of particular brands, recommendations, step-by-step instructions on how to build the perfect cocktail and more.

Tonight, I can't help but notice a nip in the air, which makes me want to take a nip of my favorite wintry drinks. If you'd care to join me, I can make a few suggestions.

Frangelico and Coffee

Frangelico, for those of you not fortunate enough to have tasted it, is hazelnut liqueur. It's sweet, has a lovely golden-brown hue and tastes exactly like what it's made from, which is more than we can say for other nut-based spirits. It is this superb nuttiness that makes Frangelico such a great fit for a variety of desserts and after-dinner drinks. Try it on top of a good Turkish almond pudding, it's worth running through traffic to get a spoonful. The recipe for a good Frangelico and Coffee is simple.

Read more >