the last drink i had at work
I'll still be drinking but I don't work there anymore...!
This past month I had an old pal who was NOT my friend, made a Ramos (vodka) fizz and had a life-changing Elote liquor…
Chrysanthemum: Continuing my fascination with benedictine, this is made with benedictine, dry vermouth and a splash of absinthe. There’s a world in which this is my perfect cocktail but I just found it a tad too sweet and missed a little bitterness. 4/5
Ramos Vodka Fizz (kind of): a Ramos Gin Fizz is usually made with simple syrup, egg white, cream, gin, lemon juice and club soda. I had some freezer vodka to get rid of and had just made a batch of earl grey bay leaf honey syrup so I subbed those and skipped the club soda. I love a drink with froth. My only issue is that the honey kind of overwhelmed the other flavors but I added a lot of orange bitters to compensate. 4/5
!!!! Nixta Elote Liquor: I tried this at my last Courtland tasting with Casa Lumbre. Everything was amazing, but the Elote liquor was life-changing. Laura made it into a cocktail with coffee liquor and (I want to say) whiskey. On my very last shift I asked Kayla for a Corn Colada (just a Pina Colada but adding Nixta) and it was perfection. 5/5
my dad holding up a menu in the background to get the lighting right lol (Bad) Old Pal: I went to Al Forno with Claudia and my dad and confidently ordered an Old Pal after reading about it in the cocktail book Laura got me as a goodbye present (amazinggg gift). It just drank like lukewarm rye and I concluded the drink might not be for me until I ordered a Negroni and the ratio was wayyy off. This was somewhat vindicating. (An Old Pal is a riff on a Boulevardier which is a riff on a Negroni, all of which are traditionally made with a 1:1:1 ratio of their three core ingredients). Hopefully I’ll try a real Old Pal soon, at least the glass was massive… 2/5
Coconut Aminos Bourbon drink: I don’t remember whether I got this idea from instagram or it just came to me, but I wanted to use a few dashes of coconut aminos in a drink for umami. I landed on a drink that was equal parts bourbon and Cardamaro with a few splashes of the coconut aminos. I’ve enjoyed using my pantry as a resource for cocktails especially since we’re moving soon and I can’t be adding more bottles to our bar cart… 4/5
Pale Fire: This name is my own invention for a drink Laura made that’s supposed to encapsulate me in a cocktail. (What an honor!!!). I won’t give away the proprietary recipe but it’s made with gin, Strega, Amaro Nonino, dry vermouth and orange bitters. I wish I could order this everywhere I go. 5/5
Uncle Matt’s Negroni, Santa Fe Cut Crease and 50/50 Martini: These are three cocktails Claudia and I shared at Anoche in Portland— Each was more perfect than the last. I’m not a mezcal lover, but the Santa Fe Cut Crease with mezcal, dry curaçao, ancho reyes, and orange bitters is probably the best mezcal drink I’ve ever had. 5/5
