Hey,
What a month! I am glad it is behind me. Presidential election, dog surgery, Thanksgiving, painting the dining room, snow, ebook launch with Gents Cafe...it has undoubtedly been a busy month.
Thanks for taking the time to join me for another Cocktail Doodle Review. I spend all month with my ear to the ground listening for neat boozy news stories and new products that you might find interesting!
I would love to welcome all the new readers that joined last month. There are a whole bunch of you! Hello, I am glad you are here.
Well, let's get to it!
The CD Review
Drinks From November
This month aside from my usual Martinis, I fell into some seasonally appropriate drinks. I picked up a few Sherry, Port, and Madeira bottles in preparation for Thanksgiving, and the Sherry has been popping up in my cocktails.
Jabberwok
In a chilled and iced mixing glass:
30 ml Amontillado Sherry
30 ml Cocchi Americano*
30 ml London Dry Gin
2 Dashes Orange Bitters
Stir/Strain-Chilled Coupe/Lemon Peel
*I subbed Cap Corse Blanc for the Cocchi Americano because I rarely keep Cocchi around. I guess I am more of a quinquina guy than quinine.
I love this drink, and it is easy. I have been seeking out these lower proof drinks for Tuesday cocktail hour because I do The Nightcap Show later that night.
Another drink that has popped up a few times this month is a classic gimlet. Now, I know people get all bent out of shape with gimlet specs, but I am a traditionalist, and I like a stirred gimlet with a lime cordial rather than a shaken gimlet with fresh lime and sugar. I would consider the latter a gin sour rather than a gimlet. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Also, I rarely ever make one without adding a dash of Angostura bitters. Some people call a lemon sour with Angostura a Fitzgerald. If you are having gimlets at my house, they will most likely come pink due to bitters.
Gimlet
In a chilled and iced mixing glass:
60 ml Plymouth Gin
15 ml Lime Cordial
[Optional] 2 Dashes Angostura Bitters
Stir/Strain-Chilled Coupe/No Garnish
I find the brightness and bite of the lime cordial helps on gloomy weather days, and November was full of those! Lime cordial is easy to make and this is the recipe I usually follow.
For more cocktails, check out The Cocktail Doodle Cocktails Google doc.
Cocktail Vignette: Hot Toddy
The first snow of the year sat on the ground, with frigid grass poking through the thin spots like a threadbare elbow on a well-worn shirt. It would be gone in a few days, but it was a tease of what was to come as winter slowly took hold.
Yesterday he raked the leaves for the last time now that only a few stragglers were holding on up in the branches. Each trip to check the mail or to walk the dog through the park felt colder and colder. He felt chilled to the bone from this particular walk by the time he made it back home.
On the kitchen counter sat the hardest working appliance in the house--the electric kettle. He checked to make sure it had water inside and flipped the switch. Soon it gurgled to a boil, and he filled up his favorite dainty teacup, the white one with the blue toile pattern, with steamy water to warm while he collected the other ingredients.
When the cup was hot to the touch, he poured out the water and spooned in a generous helping of honey. The warmth of the cup liquified the amber sweetener, and it settled in the bottom. To that, he poured a heavy dose of peated Scotch whisky and topped it off with more hot water.
He grabbed a cinnamon stick as he walked out of the kitchen to stir the brew as he looked out the window at the lazy snow. The thin patches in the yard were gone. He took a slurpy sip that almost burned his tongue and immediately realized he skipped a squirt of lemon juice. He wouldn't forget tomorrow.
Books
I picked up some great books this past month:
CO Specs: Recipes & Histories of Classic Cocktails by Cas Oh
The Office: Classic Cocktails by Grant Achatz, Micah Melton, Allen Hemberger
Bar L.M. by Lindsay Matteson
I am excited to read through them and send you my takes throughout the coming month.
Also, Lindsay Matteson, who was a guest on the show a few weeks ago, is doing a new painting and cocktail recipe each week in December. Check her out!
New Products
Compass Box unveils Magic Cask whisky
Stone Features & Benefits IPA
Appleton Estate releases limited series of rare pot-still rums
Bacardi taps into at-home cocktails with Twistails pods
In Other (Booze) News
Walmart wants to sell liquor in Texas. The U.S. Supreme Court said no
Michigan Winemakers Are Making High-Quality Wines With Locally Grown Vinifera Grapes
Impractical and unrealistic: why an Indonesian bill to ban alcohol would cause more problems than it solves2
Put a cancer warning on alcohol, consumer and public health groups urge
Hanyu Ichiro’s Full Card Series breaks auction record
Campaign launched to ban all alcohol advertising in Scotland
City Winery will soon require $50 on-site COVID-19 test for patrons
King of Wine Fraud Facing Freedom / Another Twist in Rudy Wine Fraud Saga
China's tariffs (212%) slam door shut on Australian wine's biggest export market
Study shows that clingfilm can remove cork taint / Related
LVMH appoints new Moët CEO: Berta de Pablos-Barbier
Well, that does it for me! I hope you enjoyed the monthly review and I wish you a great week to come. Thank you to all the supporters of this newsletter. Those of you that pay to support Cocktail Doodle keep new and interesting books on my shelf and you keep my whistle wet! If you’d like to pitch in I ask for $5/month or an even better deal of $50/year.
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