Possible Cocktail Recipe Boo
I would love Milk Street to produce a cocktail book with a useful tips on creating a pantry of spirits, liqueurs, mixers. Then it would be great to get some cocktail recipes by type of spirit and variations on the theme. It would need a good index by ingredient as well as cocktail name. It could even include recipes for specialty simple syrups, cocktails for a crowd, and a section on recipes for holidays and seasons. Might this be possible?
Comments
Hi Carol - You've come to the right place at the right time! Our Editorial Director, J.M. Hirsch, just published a book that covers exactly what you want. You can find his book, Shake Strain Done: Craft Cocktails at Home, here. I'm a bit biased, obviously, but it's probably the most easy-to-follow cocktail book I've seen. It covers all the basics - how to set up a bar, garnish, shake/stir, etc. But I love that the drinks are organized by liquor type *and* characteristic. So, for example, if you know you want bourbon, but it's a hot summer day, you can flip through the bourbon cocktails until you find one that's labeled "refreshing" or "fruity" to match the day. I'm also personally fond of the fact that the cocktails are labeled with a "strong" tag to make sure I don't get ahead of myself when day drinking. :-) J.M. has mixed up some of his cocktails on our Facebook and Instagram pages for our Milk Street at Home videos (his Apple Cream Pie cocktail is perfect for the holidays!). Go check them out! Best, Lynn C.
I bought the book, it's fantastic.
I've tried some of J.M.'s cocktails from his book and online class and they are great. I have a question - is there any chance that Chris Kimball would post his recipe on how he makes an Old Fashioned? He brings it up often and I would love to know the details.
Thanks so much.
Also, I would like to know Chris' brand choices for the liquor, bitters, etc. in the Old Fashioned.
Here you go - my old fashioned recipe: 1 ounce bourbon, 1 ounce rye, 1 raw sugar cube, few drops bitters (I mix orange bitters and Angostura), 1 tbsp water. Pour the liquor over large ice cubes in a shaker. Put sugar, bitters and water in smaller half of Boston shaker. Muddle sugar mixture. Assemble shaker and shake 20 times. Strain into a large old-fashioned glass over medium-size ice cubes. Do not use the typical freezer cubes or small cubes for shaking or serving - they melt too quickly. I prefer Willet Bourbon (a fairly low proof which I prefer to the high proof brands.) and High West rye. Oh, and drink it "cold and fast." (The shaking helps dilute the alcohol so that you can taste the other flavors - anything above 85 proof and it is hard to taste anything but the heat of the alcohol.)