100 Days of Summer

I'm coming in on five weeks 'til Exam MFE/Models of Financial Economics. It is October, all the kiddies are back in school, and it is still 100 degrees outside. This  weather is miserable, studying is miserable, and it is time for a drink! Some people are already drinking pumpkin spice lattes, but I don't see that happening at all this year in southern California, another mild winter is predicted. So, here we go, something autumnal, with seasonal fruit, but long and refreshing.

Between us, I'm calling it "Who Dat?" I yet don't know what it means to miss New Orleans, but hopefully spring next year, I'll be able to make a trip. I used bonded rye, 100 proof, so bump it up to 2 oz if you're using 80 proof rye or bourbon.

1.5 oz rye

2 oz orange juice

.5 oz French vermouth

1 tsp Benedictine

1 tsp grenadine

Shake well, and serve over ice.

Time to Raid the Cabinet

Oh, lordy, this thing is dead, isn't it? Well, I've something for you that is totally worth reading. It's an original of mine, so far as anything in food or drink can be considered original.

Taking the winning formula of the Last Word, 1/4 oz each of gin, Green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and lime, I decided to make some substitutions. Chartreuse and chocolate are classic, so I switched the maraschino for clear creme de cacao. Chocolate being central/south American in origin, I decided to get rid of junipery, herbal gin for peppery, vegetal tequila. Finally, the lime is replaced with lemon. Really delicious.

The Shelf and The Drinks

The Esquire drinks database has been down for weeks! It was really useful for keeping track of what I could and couldn't make, but for now, I'm going to be writing a lot on this blog to keep it all on track.

Spirits
Monopolowa vodka
New Amsterdam gin
1800 Reposado tequila
Rittenhouse 100 BIB rye
Evan Williams bourbon
Korbel VSOP brandy

Liqueurs
Green Chartreuse
Luxardo maraschino
Cointreau
Chambord

Vermouths
Noilly Prat dry vermouth
Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth

Bitters
Ramazzotti
Regan's Orange bitters
Angostura bitters

Syrups
agave nectar
homemade grenadine

And now, the drinks! These are the drinks that I can make with what is on my shelf, with sometimes a rough substitution.

Aviation (recipe unperfected)

The Last Word
.75 oz gin
.75 oz maraschino
.75 oz Green Chartreuse
.75 oz lime juice

Bijou (not recommended in any proportions, drink Ramazzotti instead, perhaps strengthened with gin a la Negroni)

Martinez
1.5 oz gin (Old Tom, preferably)
1.5 oz sweet vermouth
1 tsp maraschino (2 if using New Amsterdam gin)
1 dash bitters

Dry Martini
gin
dry vermouth
dash orange bitters

Tommy's Margarita
1.5 oz reposado tequila
.75 oz agave nectar
.50 oz lime juice

Sidecar
1.5 oz brandy
1.0 oz Cointreau
.50 oz lemon juice

Manhattan
rye
sweet vermouth
dash of bitters

Scofflaw
1.5 oz rye
1.0 oz dry vermouth
.50 oz grenadine
.50 oz lemon juice
1 dash orange bitters

Fancy Free (untested)
1.5-2 oz bourbon
.50 oz maraschino
1 dash orange bitters
1 dashe Angostura bitters

Whiskey Sour
1.5 oz bourbon or rye
.75 oz simple syrup
.50+ oz lemon juice

Red Hook (Martinez/Manhattinez variant)
2.0 oz rye
.50 oz Punt e Mes (substitute a combination of red vermouth and Ramazzotti)
.50 oz maraschino

How I Discovered the Secrets of the Negroni

I have a fascination with equal-parts drinks for their ease of execution, but it is so easy for all of the competing strong ingredients in a Negroni to be overwhelmed by each other. This is not a drink that you can successfully eye-ball pour. I've ordered four Negronis over the past four months, and I think I finally got my favored proportions.

The first Negroni was your basic 1 part gin:1 part red vermouth:1 part Campari (free-poured.) This was a good baseline for comparison. Honestly, it was a little bit difficult to drink because of the bitterness from the Campari.

The second Negroni was of unknown proprtions, Death's Door Gin with Carpano Antica vermouth. Delicious, and most importantly, balanced. Less strong on the vermouth and Campari than the first.

The third Negroni was free-poured with Bombay Sapphire, Martini & Rossi vermouth. Ok, but no sparks going off.

The fourth Negroni was with Tanqueray and Antica, 1.5:1:1. I picked Tanqueray since it is so strong, hoping that it wouldn't get stomped on by the Antica and Campari, since I felt that all of the gins previously used were overshadowed. This time, the Campari was a bit lost, with the vermouth in the forefront!

Finally, I read Marco Dionysus' recipe in an interview; 1.25-1.5:1:0.75. Sounds perfect to me.

The Last Word

Was originally introduced to me by Phillip at Mesa, after Paul asked for a drink similar to the Aviation, but different. This was what we got:

3/4 oz gin
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino
3/4 oz lime juice, or a bit less

Money Matters

So, shortly after I was hired for a 35-hour per week position, my time was cut to 21-hours/week, a 40% cut. I haven't yet talked to management about it, because I'm too shy, and I hate awkward moments. And because I'm a good person and can't imagine not talking to someone whom I had just cut their hours by 40% and trying to come up with a way to make it better. Its not just the monetary loss that bothers me, but its also lost time in the kitchen that I could be gaining to be a better cook. Options, options...

Updates

Guess I've been busy, so little blog love lately, but here goes:

I've now been employed at Haven for over a month now. My take-home pay is less than $1000 a month, which is damn pitiful, and I'm trying to spend enough time on the line to not feel like an utter newb and gain some composure and style before finding somewhere else to work. Reading Shuna's blog, eggbeater, I'm convinced that I'm not setting myself up for where I want to be in the food world, and I need to dream big and get back out there. Or finally get a "real" job where I'd be using my math degree.

Huckleberry Cafe on Wilshire is totally the emperor's new clothes. I ordered a cookie, a muffin, a chocolate croissant, and a cherry almond custard tart, and nothing warranted the long lines. Go to Amandine or Anisette!

In related news, the $16 burger at Rustic Canyon Winebar, sister restaurant to Huckleberry, is similarly forgettable. Still loving The Office Burger, though.

And then my brother's high school graduation is coming up! The menu is:

avocado, cucumber, and romaine salad with home-grown green goddess dressing
carnitas tacos with beans and grilled corn
blackberry custard gratin

I love my brother.