Montana Sours

Sours are an easy go to during quarantine. They are light, not too boozy, and more or less are a vitamin C delivery system after one's normal intake of vitamin C during the day has passed. I've been working on a recipe that is somewhat idiosyncratic, as we will see, but not hard to replicate, season to season or otherwise.

(For 2, I use a 1 1/4 inch jigger)

3 parts orange juice (fresh squeezed, usually two oranges, although three will make 6 parts for refills)

3 lemon ice cubes

2 parts amaretto

1 part Bulleit bourbon

mix all ingredients in a Boston shaker with no ice cubes. serve in a roly poly or old fashioned glass over ice. garnish with orange peel.

The lemon cubes are a staple for us because we have, it would seem, always had a lemon tree in the family, somewhere. It used to be my mom's, and now it is my wife's mom's, and once the lemons drop, there is nothing to do but juice them and freeze them. I'm not sure how much volume is in the cube, but no matter. The sour mix can be adjusted however one likes.

The oranges come from the Santa Monica farmers market. The valencias are in season in December, really juicy and sweet. 

To make this drink, I start by putting out the glasses and the shaker. Before juicing the oranges, I use a mandoline to separate a pith-less bit of peel from the orange. Do it over the cocktail glasses, and it mists them with a nice citrus perfume. Then juice the oranges.

I drop the lemon cube into the shaker, add the orange juice, and then add the amaretto and bourbon. If I need to do anything else, I do. It gives the lemon cube a moment to dissolve. Then I shake it down, until the lemon cube is all but gone. I wait until the last minute to put ice in the glasses, then I pour out the drink (sans strainer!), reserving the froth to garnish both glasses. Then I express the orange peel and drop it on the top. 

I prefer Bulleit Bourbon because it is less oaky and sweet than Woodford or Maker's Mark. Buffalo Trace would work well in this. Definitely steer clear of rye. I prefer Disaronno because the bottle looks pretty, and I haven't yet found a cheap Amaretto that didn't somehow taste cheap. Fresh orange juice is a must, but that goes without saying.

The drink takes its name from the street we live on, where we are spending a good amount of our time these days, or at least crossing, on our walks, during the great pandemic of 2020.

Spicy Tarts (Cardamom, Cinnamon Cognac Cherries)

So here's the recipe for the Spicy Tart

1 1/4 cup water
scant 1 cup sugar
(this sugar water hits the spot. A 1 to 1 ratio is too dense. This ratio produced a beautiful syrup, but my guess is that an even thinner syrup will do just as well)

Dissolve sugar in water. Add:

2 cinnamon sticks
5 green cardamom pods
3 cloves

bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Then, add

1/2 cup cognac (and a little more cognac...)

Stir in, turn off heat, let cool.

Prepare eight four ounce jars with dried tart cherries, leaving room for the cognac mixture. Then, pour into the jars.

UPDATE

New recipe features heavy use of spices.

  2 cinnamon sticks
12 green cardamom pods
  8 cloves

Will check back and see, but I think I nailed this one.

Cocktail cherries

Here's a new recipe for quick cherries for cocktails.

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
(bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer)
add 2 cinnamon sticks and a few cloves (six, about, depending on size and strength).
Simmer 5 minutes
Add
1/2 cup Cognac

Pour over dried cherries, cap, let cool, then refrigerate.

I filled one pint jar and two half-pint jars with cherries. Lots of cherries.

It is not overly spiced. I did not have cardamom pods, so I obviously couldn't include them. I did have star anise, but didn't want to go that heavy. Cinnamon and cloves seemed enough.

A Sour Season

Our holiday cocktail will be the sour. Amaretto and bourbon are the starting points here, but I am hoping to introduce at least a couple of others this time around. Stay tuned.

Summer Sour

Nothing too special, but really enjoyed this on a warmish May night, following the frost. Seriously, it was warmer on Thanksgiving last year than this past weekend. Glorious, I say.

2 1/2 oz. whiskey 2 and a splash, or not...
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. pineapple sage-mint syrup

The Foot Soldier's Ward 8

Alright, experimenting with ward 8 recipes, thanks to the fact that no sugar syrup is available to make a proper whiskey sour. The first "Foot Soldier" recipe:

3 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. orange juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
maraschino juice

a disaster of a recipe. tasted dull and unbalanced. Not quite sweet, not quite sour, with an unpleasing aftertaste.

Second "Foot Soldier" recipe:

2 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. orange juice
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
splash grenadine

This one works, but isn't all that different from a ward 8. The proportions are worth noting, however. And I think this would take a better bourbon than Jim Beam, which is why this gets the "Foot Soldier" designation. Actually, I know it will. Must. Collect. Better. Bourbons.

Third "Foot Soldier" recipe:

3 oz. whiskey
2 oz. lemon juice
2 teaspoons powdered sugar
splash grenadine

This is the best one. I'm starting to think that the orange juice ward 8 may not be a sign of sophistication. This allows for a more naked whiskey, and even the Beam shines through. Imagine a serious whiskey. Of course, this is now differentiated from the whiskey sour only by its lack of sugar syrup and splash of grenadine.

The Whiskey Sour Recipe

WHISKEY SOUR:

2 1/2 oz whiskey
2 oz lemon juice
2 oz sugar syrup
1 small spoon powdered sugar.

This is simply too tasty. One does need the extra whiskey, or to eyeball smaller portions of lemon juice and syrup and sugar in order to balance properly. I have yet to try a whiskey sour with a serious whiskey, and I would guess that (like the Ward 8), it would require a rye, or something that imparts a spice flavor.