For their birthday, Caeli challenged several of us to create a cocktail for them to judge. My entry is the Silas Octakiseron, a milk-washed spin on the Necromancer containing gin, absinthe, elderflower liqueur, Cocchi Americano, and lemon juice, served with a bloody float of Peychaud’s bitters.
This year’s advent calendar is loose leaf tea from Friday Tea, who appear to specialize in themed fandom blends inspired by everything from Journey to the West to Gideon the Ninth.
Day 1 is “Gleam’s Glow” for Catherynne M. Valente’s Fairyland series, which I have not read. This lightly sweetened blend contains rooibos, roasted green tea, ginger, and orange peel. Steeping in 500 ml of 185°F water for four and a half minutes produces a beautiful amber brew. The roasty hōjicha dominates so I can’t pick out the notes in rooibos that I normally dislike. If the orange and ginger are doing anything it’s subtle, but it’s very enjoyable overall.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
So. Much. Garlic.
After reserving some for replanting I ended up with three and a half pounds of peeled Argenta Gold. Did a sous vide confit with some of it, dried some, and the rest is in white wine in the refrigerator. (This method of preservation is endorsed by the University of California, but I’ve never done it before.)
I also have about a pound of German Extra Hardy (not pictured) that we’ll probably just use fresh.
Head to head comparison of L’Excuse from @uglydogdistillery and green Chartreuse in the Last Word. Opinions were mixed: some members of the tasting panel preferred the spicier, more in-your-face herbaceousness of L’Excuse, while some preferred the original. Overall, though, both made for very tasty and fairly comparable cocktails.
Day 1: Berry Sage.
Magic Doors: vodka, lemon juice, orange curaçao.
Two in the Bush: half and half (sub non-dairy milk), muddled blackberries, club soda.
(I had a sister go through the recipe booklet to compile a list of ingredients, and this endeavor demands a very well stocked bar.)
Another year, another advent calendar. This one contains twelve 2-ounce bottles of syrup and a booklet containing recipes for two cocktails and a mocktail per syrup. I’m planning to split the cocktails between two days (twelve days just isn’t enough) and let the mocktail float as it will.
Murder in the Dark cocktail no. bonus: Sylvanus Sling
The novel does not actually contain a recipe for this drink, just the following passage:
“No point in messing about in this climate,” said Sylvanus, nodding to the boy to put the jug down into its ice bucket and allowing him to hand out glasses. “You have a superlative barman, Gerald, and a very tasty one as well. Arms like a wrestler. Just the gentlest beading of honest sweat upon his manly bosom. Said bosom, half bared, was at lickable height and I almost swooned while waiting. He concocted them for me. Singapore slings just like Raffles used to make. Bottoms up,” he encouraged, and drank down his glass.
Phryne sipped. Cherry brandy, gin, lemon juice? Tonic water certainly.
While Ngiam Tong Boon’s original spec for the Singapore Sling that he served at Raffles has been lost to time, either Phryne is being unusually fallible or this is a significantly different drink. It lacks the pineapple juice, lime juice, and Bénédictine that are in every documented version that Raffles has served, and adds tonic water in place of the plain soda water. Sans tonic water this could be Craddock’s version in The Savoy Cocktail Book, but the quinine is a drastic change all on its own.
My interpolation of this is:
- 3 parts gin
- 1 part simple syrup
- 1 part cherry liqueur
- 1 part kirsch
- 1 part lemon juice
Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice, and top with tonic water. Garnish with a macerated cherry.
Murder in the Dark cocktail no. 4: Cognac
The Joker drank one small glass of cognac to compose his nerves.
(I waffled about whether to include this; it’s part of a chapter bumper like the others, but it’s not really a cocktail or a recipe. On the other hand, it is a drink and it does list all of the ingredients.)
Gimmicky? Yes. But I’m a sucker for anything related to gin, both beers are really interesting on their own, and they’re delicious mixed together. (I had to completely redo this photo after I lost the first to technical difficulties, so I kept things interesting and layered a couple of ounces of Q tonic water below the beer.)
