25 Days of Cocktails - Day 4

The Algonquin Cocktail

• 1 1/2 oz rye
• 3/4 oz dry vermouth
• 3/4 oz pineapple juice

This one is a touch heavy on the rye. Both Aimee and I prefered it with a few dashes of peach bitters turning it into a Queen Anne.

25 Days of Cocktails - Day 3

Millennium Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz VSOP
• 1.5 oz Pinapple juice
• 1 oz Orange Curacao
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters

Garnish

• Flamed orange twist
• freshly-grated nutmeg

This cocktail made Aimee's book.  It is a great, approachable winter cocktail with a tropical twist.  Shake all ingredients in a tin, pour into a cocktail cup, garnish with a flamed orange twist and dusting of freshly-grated nutmeg.

25 Days of Cocktails - Day 2

Straight Sling

• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz Benedictine
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
• Soda Water

Shake everything except the soda water in an iced cocktail shaker

Strain into a sour glass or a schampagne flute

Fill with soda water

Garnish with an orange wheel and a lemon twist.

25 Days of Cocktails - Day 1

Many traditions suround the Christmas season but one of my favorites has always been the Advent calendar. You know what I mean. The box that sits on the counter with the doors that have the days numbered on them. You open the door each day to find an activity or a small present. Well, we decided to do an Advent calendar with cocktails.

We've selected old classics and new experiments. To start the season off, we've chosen the classic, Egg Nog. But this isn't the store egg nog, we're going to show you how to make homemade egg nog in the traditional sense with as little fuss as possible.

Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Egg Nog

• 2 Large eggs
• 3 oz (by volume) granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
• 2 oz brandy
• 2 oz rum (I used Mount Gay Eclipse)
• 6 oz whole milk
• 4 oz heavy cream

Beat the eggs in a blender for 1 minute (medium speed)

Add the sugar in small batches and blend for 1 minute.  I usually add a bit of sugar, blend for 10-15 seconds and repeat.  Shoot for 1 minute of total blending time.

Add the nutmeg, brandy, and rum. Blend to combine.

Add the milk and cream and barely blend to combine.  You do not want to beat the cream into whipped cream.  This step should not take more than a few pulses.

Chill throughly

Tom Collins - The Ultimate Summer Drink

As summer starts, friends ask us about our favorite summer drinks. This is an important question, here in the South, where humidity makes the air sticky, and the temperature reads hot, sweltering, or unbearable. We at Serious Amateurs almost always respond, "Have you met Tom?" We make a Tom Collins one of two ways depending on the base liquor. The base recipe is:

• 2 oz Gin or Vodka (I like Plymouth Gin or Ketel One Vodka)
• 1 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• splash of soda

Combine the gin or vodka, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice and shake. Place fresh ice cubes in a tall glass and strain the mixture into the glass over the ice. Add a splash of soda water and stir gently. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

For an interesting variation, try a Hendrick's Collins. Hendrick's describes themselves as a most curious gin. It has a complex flavor with hints of melon. Because of its unique flavor, using Hendricks in any cocktail means you must adjust the other components to accommodate it. After experimenting with several iterations, we found slightly pulling back on the lemon allows a lovely subtle melon to shine through. This is our Hendrick's Collins:

• 2 oz Hendrick's Gin
• 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• splash of soda

The procedure is the same as that for a regular Collins.

Now, if only there were some way to incorporate blueberries ...