The Bon Vivant’s Companion

It’s fall and the mind turns to crisp cool air, fuzzy sweaters, and crackling fires.

Not in LA. Here the October winds are hot and thick, short-shorts are acceptable after labor day, and crackling fires…well, if you check the news, we seem to have that covered.

Having come from the Midwest (and never having been a short-short kind of girl) I miss cold weather, changing leaves, and fire in actual fireplaces.

I’ve been working on a cocktail that captures a little of that fall feeling. I intend to serve it this year at my West Coast Thanksgiving.

I use vodka as the base, add brandy and Licor 43 for a blend of warm flavors that are sweet without being cloying, and top off with a slice of apple.  For the syrup I used a cinnamon cider syrup I found at a specialty food store (pictured below).  It’s a reduction of apple cider, maple syrup, and cinnamon.  You can find specialty syrups like this one all over in October and November.  In a pinch, cinnamon simple syrup works well in this cocktail.  When making simple syrup, add a cinnamon stick as it is simmering for a similar flavor.

Licor 43 is a particularly interesting mixer. A Spanish liqueur with gentle vanilla undertones, it’s made from 43 ingredients (hence the name). Exactly which 43 ingredients is not quite clear –the recipe is a carefully guarded secret which dates back 1000 years.

Autumn Harvest Cocktail
1 ½ oz Grey Goose Vodka
½ oz Licor 43
½ oz Cinnamon Cider Syrup*
½ oz Brandy
¼ oz lemon juice
Apple for garnish

Pour all ingredients into a Boston shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a slice of apple.

When life gives you lemons – put them in booze.

You know the economy is bad when Confederate dollars are worth more than GM stock, and Monopoly money is up 2 to 1 against the US dollar. (Apparently, Monocle Guy did not get into sub-prime mortgages. He stuck to a strict “four houses for one hotel” policy.)

What are the rest of us to do? Sell a railroad? Learn Hobo code? Hope someone lands on Baltic Avenue and pays rent on our one mangy house?

I suggest we do what they did during the last Great Depression – drink copious amounts of American gin (minus the still in the bathtub).

In my search for an American solution to an American problem, I came across a small batched gin called Leopold’s. Handcrafted by Master Distiller Todd Leopold, this gin has a smooth blend of floral and citrus flavors. It impressively rivals Hendrick’s (a top notch British import) in complexity and character, and features nicely in my “Bailout Lemonade” cocktail.

To build yourself a Bailout, combine homemade ginger syrup with lemon juice in a Boston shaker. Muddle mint and cucumbers into the mix. Add Leopold’s Gin and shake.

For fun (and blatant social commentary) serve the Bailout over ice in a mason jar (a handy bit of glassware no depression era household should be without).

Bailout Lemonade

2 1/2 oz Leopold’s Gin

1 ¾ oz Ginger Simple Syrup

½ oz Fresh Lemon Juice

Soda Water

1 Slice Cucumber

2 Sprigs of Mint

Extra Cucumber and Mint for Garnish.

Put ginger simple syrup, lemon juice, mint and cucumber into half of a Boston shaker, and muddle ingredients together. (Muddling is the act of crushing ingredients together to release natural oils and flavor. The bar tool designed for this purpose is conveniently called a muddle or muddler. In a pinch, use a wooden spoon.) Add ice to ingredients and shake. Pour entire contents of shaker into a small mason jar. Add additional ice if needed. Top with soda water. Garnish with sprigs of mint and small pieces of cucumber.

Ginger Simple Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
One small piece of ginger cut into slices.
Combine sugar and water in a small pot. Slowly bring up the temperature dissolving all of the sugar. When the mixture begins to simmer add slices of ginger to taste. Simmer for 5 minutes.

This will make about 1 1/2 cups of syrup that can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.

*Cocktail Notes:

This recipe calls for a lot of lemon juice. I want every drink to be consistent so I use organic Lemon Juice from the bottle. Juice squeezed from lemons can be hit or miss in amount and intensity. If you miss the real thing, add some to the garnish.

*No-Bartender, Party Friendly Version:

In a pitcher pour in a quart of the highest quality lemonade you can find. The lemonade will have sweetness so add ginger syrup to taste.  Stir in cucumber and mint (you can give this a little muddle before you drop them in). Make the lemonade mixture first, put the Leopold’s and soda water on the side.  Your guests can help themselves.

Michigan Ave

Did you spend election night dancing in the streets?    Does your head hurt from all of the excitement?

Well, whether you’ve been screaming in celebration or smashing things in anguish, I have a morning after cocktail “experience” for you – how about a bloody Mary the size of your car?  That’ll fix what ails you….

Stanley’s Kitchen and Tap, has been dishing out soul food in Chicago’s Lincoln Park since 1993.  The place is kitschy watering hole designed to feel like a ramshackle Louisiana shack (the pre-Katrina, Disneyesque version), complete with gingham curtains and Christmas tree  Stanley’s has a full menu, a weekend brunch buffet, and plenty of high tops and big screens for sports watching.  So go ahead and torture yourself with (insert name of Chicago sports team here)  while sipping bourbon, and munching ribs.  If you feel like a little heavy lifting, belly up to their “build your own” Bloody Mary bar for a Bloody Mary experience (yes, I am going to keep calling it that).

You begins with a Big Gulp sized paper cup filled with ice, 3 ½ shots of vodka, and a straw for your sipping convenience.  Next, take the cup to the main bar where you’ll find every Bloody Mary ingredient known to man.  Want Tomato juice?  Clamato?  Both?  There’s plenty of room in that cup, so knock yourself out.  I lumped horseradish, worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco into my cocktail, and finished it off with pickles, and a shake of black pepper.

On the way back to the table I grabbed a heaping plate of fried chicken and waffles, and settled in for one of the most pleasant (if not calorically shameful) breakfasts of my life.

I plan on stealing the “build your own” idea for my next brunch.  Lining up condiments in a thoughtful way is very easy to replicate at home. It’ll get my guests moving, and keep me from playing bartender all day.

Now, how to replicate the fried chicken experience….

For those who have not voted:
What the Sam-hell are you doing reading this? Log off your computer, tell your boss you’re taking an early lunch, and get down to your polling place!

For those who have voted:
Way to be civically minded. You may continue reading…

The electoral cocktail votes are tallied:

Through random searches, stumble upons, and google inquires, you have overwhelmingly chosen the Obamartini as The Companion’s most popular Candidate Cocktail.

McCain’s “Maverick” experienced a late surge in popularity, but it was not enough to pull off an upset. And in the VP category, The Biden Beer Bomb took top honors, besting the Yukon Sarah by a wide margin.

The Sarah is a tasty cocktail, but its namesake is a drag on the drink’s popularity. To gain wider acceptance, I might rename it the “Tina Fey-tini,” or “The Cocktail that Replaced Elizabeth Hasselbeck on the View.” (A gig Ms. Palin should consider if she doesn’t break her neck leaping over Ted Stevens for his Senate seat.) I would much rather hear Ms. Palin talk diet tips and new fall fashions than foreign policy.

If wishes were horses….

I am not posting new recipes today, just links to the existing Partisan Pours. Throw your support behind one or more of these cocktails, and win or lose, they’ll get you through election night.

We’ll discuss the hangover tomorrow…

Candidate Cocktails:

The Obamartini
The Biden Beer Bomb
McCain’s Cocktail: The Maverick
Yukon Sarah