Digging into the guts of eGullet for this one, a drink that was posted by Alchemist last September 30 — far too late to enjoy as a summer drink, especially here in Seattle, where it was already drooping toward a rainy, windy autumn.

But now that we’re seeing the mid-90s in June (for you non-Pacific NW-types out there, that’s a BIG deal here), it seems like the perfect time to dig into the archives of “tall, cold drinks I mean to try” and pull out this recipe for the Prince Parker Swizzle.

Why difficult? Well, a couple of reasons — first, there’s the recipe requirements, which dictate mandatory waiting periods in the mixing of the drink, for the purposes of blending the flavors, and chilling the entire concoction to the requisite sub-Arctic level. Then, there are the ingredients: rich demerara syrup, crushed ice, precisely prepared fresh mint leaves — nothing too complicated, granted, but still, items that require advance preparation and careful handling. This ain’t just knocking together a whiskey and soda. Finally, the preparation: as the name indicates, this drink requires swizzling. Assuming you haven’t just returned from the Caribbean, toting several classic swizzle branches, this means you’ll be studiously spinning your bar spoon between your palms in order to generate the proper mix, and the proper icy freeze, that a swizzle drink requires. Could you just stir the damn thing and be done with it? Sure — but, as with making a proper Mojito or Mint Julep, small steps make all the difference in quality.

I meant to post a photo for this, but the aroma and appearance of the drink were too much, and I dove in before I could break out the camera. Maybe Rick over at Kaiser Penguin could snap one of his gorgeous shots of this drink, but of course, that would mean he’d have to summon more willpower than I could, faced with this frigid, friendly drink.

Prince Parker Swizzle (posted by Alchemist at eGullet)

• 1 ounce light rum (I used Matusalem Platino)
  
• 1 ounce aged rum (Alchemist suggests Matusalem; I used Appleton Extra)
• 1/2 ounce rich demerara syrup
• 3/4 ounce fresh lime juice
• 7 mint leaves

Gently bruise the mint leaves in a highball glass then, using a muddler, lightly swab the sides of the glass with the oils from the leaves. Add the rum, lime juice and demerara syrup, and let sit for a few minutes while the mint infuses the liquid. Fill the glass with crushed ice and swizzle until ice starts to form on the outside of the glass. Fill again with crushed ice, then drip three drops of Angostura bitters and one dash of Peychaud’s bitters on the top of the drink. Let the glass sit for one or two minutes, while the ice develops on the exterior. Take another few mint leaves, place them in the palm of one hand then slap them with the other to release their aroma, and adorn around the top of the drink. Add a straw. Be thankful that it’s summer.

Tags: Drinks, Rum by Paul
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Another great turnout for Mixology Monday, and a bunch of intriguing recipes for aperitifs. Thanks to Jimmy for hosting this round; be sure to check out the wrap-up of posts for this month’s event.

The next Mixology Monday will take place July 17. The host for this event will be Jonathan at Jiggle the Handle; Jonathan has chosen the theme Lemon for MMV, so start thinking about your sours, collins, limoncellos and other citrusy beverages, and join up with everyone on July 17. Additional details may be posted over at Jonathan’s blog.

And break out your cognac, sherry, port, grappa or other libation from the fruit of the vine for Mixology Monday VI, scheduled for August 7. The host for this round will be Rick at Saving the World, One Drink at a Time, and Rick has chosen Grape-based drinks for the topic of MMVI (though Rick has asked participants not to use wine for your entry; there are plenty of wine blogs out there — let’s hear about what else the vineyard can do).

Want to host an upcoming event? Let me know, along with your preferred date and topic.

Tags: Events, Mixology Monday by Paul
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This week-or-so lapse in posting is brought to you by the good folks at Martini & Rossi who — having got wind of Jimmy’s proposal to focus on aperitifs for this round of Mixology Monday — kindly invited me to visit their vermouth factory in Italy, then sent me on to Noilly Prat’s facility in Marseillan just so I could have a well-balanced post.

Okay, that’s not what really happened, but I did actually spend part of last week in Turin, the birthplace of vermouth, where I had the pleasure of touring Martini & Rossi’s facilities and taking part in a tasting of assorted wines, essences and other ingredients that go into their rosso, bianco, rose (only available in Europe) and extra dry vermouths, before moving on to spend a couple of days in the small French resort town of Marseillan, where Noilly Prat vermouth has been made since the early 1800s. While I was there working on a story assignment, the timing of the trip so close to Jimmy’s aperitif event seemed too good to pass up.

For most North Americans, vermouth is an afterthought — few people have tasted it straight, usually out of some baseless fear that vermouth is a sort of nasty elixir that corrupts martinis. But in much of Europe vermouth is a part of daily life, consumed chilled or over ice as an aperitif, or as part of a simple cocktail in which it appears in a starring role, not just the walk-on it typically has in the U.S.

It’s a shame that vermouth has reached such a sorry state in the U.S. It was one of the earlier cocktail mixing ingredients, appearing in Jerry Thomas’ bar guide, among many other early tomes in the profession. And taken straight, vermouth — good, quality vermouth, well-chilled and well-cared for — is an enchanting beverage. Simply white wine flavored with bundles of different botanicals and fortified with a little neutral spirit (and sweetened, for the rosso and bianco, and colored with caramel, for the rosso), vermouth has an impeccable pedigree. Originally blended by such maitre d’licoristes, or “master drink-makers,” as Giuseppe Carpano and Alessandro Martini (the latter apprenticed at the same Turin bar as Gaspar Campari–the bar’s no longer there; I looked), vermouth was originally created as a way to take a mediocre wine and make it more palatable. Over time, the quality of the wine improved, and along with it, the quality of the vermouth. Today’s vermouths, when treated right, are of impeccable quality, blends of marjoram, cinnamon, chamomile, cloves, quinine, wormwood, and many other ingredients that add layers of spice and bitterness to the finished product. Sipped chilled before a meal or mixed in respectable measure in a cocktail, vermouth is the perfect aperitif.

To see what the Europeans are getting at, it’s a good idea to take a fresh approach to vermouth. Start with a new bottle, and keep it chilled. Vermouth is a flavored and fortified wine, so it’s perfectly acceptable to pour it neat into a wine glass or over ice in a rocks glass, and maybe garnish with a piece of lemon (for a dry or bianco) or orange (for rosso). If you find the sweetness of the rosso or bianco a bit cloying, try lightening the drink with a splash of club soda. (And as a fortified wine, vermouth also has a limited life span — after opening a bottle, keep it refrigerated and try to finish it off within a couple of months; dry vermouth is excellent as a cooking wine — try it when steaming mussels or making a white clam sauce — and this is a good way to use up old vermouth.)

Cocktails that put vermouth at center stage are memorable drinks. One of my favorites is the Red and White (aka the Duplex, the Half-and-Half and the Addington, depending on which cocktail manual you’re using) — easy to make, easy to like, and not so much alcohol that it knocks you off your stride while cooking dinner. My wife’s favorite aperitif cocktail is the Bamboo, another easily mixed drink that is made bone-dry by combining dry vermouth with a fino sherry. And to put a little jazz in it, try the Trilby, a vermouth-based cocktail with Cointreau and Peychaud’s for depth and attitude, with a float of Your Favorite Whiskey to put a snap in its sails.

Red and White

• 1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth (Noilly Prat is my house brand)
• 1 1/2 ounces rosso vermouth (Martini & Rossi or Cinzano, as the mood hits; you can also play around with Carpano Antica or Punt E Mes, for additional bitterness, or — go for broke — pick up some Vya)
• 1-2 dashes orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (or pour into an ice-filled rocks glass), and garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Bamboo

• 1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth
• 1 1/2 ounces dry, fino sherry
• 1-2 dashes orange bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a lemon twist.

Trilby

• 3 ounces dry vermouth
• 1 dash Cointreau
• 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
• 1/2 ounce whisk(e)y (I like a blended Scotch for this, but Maker’s Mark also works well)

Stir the vermouth, Cointreau and bitters with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glass. Float the whiskey on top, and garnish with a lemon twist.

This round of Mixology Monday is being hosted by Jimmy over at Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour. Be sure to stop by and see what other folks are posting.

Next up: Mixology Monday V, hosted by Jonathan over at Jiggle the Handle, on July 17. Topic: Lemon.

Tags: Drinks, Mixology Monday, Vermouth by Paul
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Last summer, I embarked on a somewhat lengthy adventure with the Barbados liqueur-slash-sweetener, falernum. Feeling my way through the flavor, playing with different recipes (some posted, some — the best ones — not), trying different drinks in order to figure out what was the best or “true” falernum flavor — the whole deal.

I should have just waited.

Today, over at Martini Republic, the good Dr. Cocktail tackles the various falernum questions and puts them to rest — where did it come from? which is better, John. D. Taylor Velvet Falernum or Fee’s West Indies Style Falernum? what the hell is the difference? which should I use? (Doc’s answer, of course: “it depends”)

I still maintain that the last batch I whipped up was fresher (if not more authentic) in flavor than either commercial brand I’ve tried, but I yield to Dr. Cocktail’s mighty, mighty research powers in explaining exactly what you should put in your drink.

Tags: Falernum by Paul
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After a couple of weeks when I’ve been too busy to even breathe, it was good to break away, albeit briefly, to post for the most recent Mixology Monday. Even better, I wasn’t alone: 15 participants mixed up cocktails with mint. Click on over to Kaiser Penguin for the full wrapup, and thanks to Rick for hosting this time around.

Mixology Monday IV is scheduled for June 26. Hosting this round will be Jimmy Patrick over at Jimmy’s Cocktail Hour, and Jimmy has selected aperitifs as the theme. So break out the Lillet and start experimenting with that vermouth — I’m really excited to see what comes out of this round.

UPDATED – NEW THEME
And to keep the ball rolling, Jonathan over at Jiggle the Handle has stepped up to host Mixology Monday V. This round will take place July 17, and in the spirit of summer, Jonathan has chosen Lemon as the theme for MMV.

Want to host an upcoming round? Fill me in.

Tags: Events, Mixology Monday by Paul
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