Quantcast

QUENCH YOUR THIRST WITH BEVERAGE KNOWLEDGE



Posts Tagged ‘bitters’

What to Drink when You Overeat

by Dennis Mayer on November 16th, 2011 | Liquor
This column's going to be a bit of a departure, in that it's not a cocktail recipe as much as it's a prescription. But chances are, you'll need it. Because we know you'll overindulge on Thanksgiving, no matter how many Web articles try to advise you not to, or how many times you coach yourself through eating reasonable portions.

So: what to do Thanksgiving evening, after dinner, drinks, and dessert, when even the prospect of shifting your newly augmented weight slightly on the couch is painful?

  • In this situation, nothing beats Fernet Branca, an Italian herbal liqueur designed to aid digestion
Read More

Using Aperol

by Dennis Mayer on October 27th, 2011 | Ask the Bartender
I have seen Aperol on more bar shelves lately.  I would like to try using it in cocktails, but I do find it to be quite bitter.  Do you have any recipes for a cocktail that will allow the Aperol to add some bite without making the drink overly bitter?

Aperol, along with its fellow bitter liqueurs Campari and Fernet, are enjoying a bit of a renaissance. Bartenders and their customers are rediscovering classic cocktail recipes and developing an enjoyment of more complex, less sweet flavors and drinks. (Bartenders in particular love Fernet because its extremely bitter blend of herbs
Read More

Sazerac

by Dennis Mayer on August 26th, 2011 | Cocktails, Mixed Drinks
Most people who would know agree that the Old-Fashioned was one of the first (if not the first) cocktail ever regularly prepared and served. It was a simpler drink then, not weighed down by the cherry or orange that have become de riguer in the modern version. Then, the drink was strictly whiskey (or brandy), bitters, sugar, and, if you were in the mood, just enough soda water to make the thing lively. (You can watch Jon Hamm make an Old-Fashioned on Mad Men here - he acts like he knows what he's doing.) I've even read theories that suggest
Read More

Satan’s Whiskers

by Dennis Mayer on June 28th, 2011 | Cocktails, Martinis
Vermouth has lost a lot of its charm in the last 50 years or so of popular drinking. Today, it's used almost exclusively in the making of martinis and manhattans - with a short pour for the manhattan, and just a couple of dashes for the martini. In fact, so-called "sophisticated" drinkers will order their martinis "dry" (for just one dash), "extra dry" (for even less), or "bone-dry" (for no vermouth at all.)

This all confuses me, since a martini is supposed to be a cocktail, of which vermouth is a crucial (if not secondary) ingredient. I would think a sophisticated
Read More

I’m a Bitters Old Man

by Jason Lightner on June 15th, 2011 | Cocktails, Liquor
This is what happens when I make threats, apparently. Here I sit, listening to The Beatles' first album and mulling over what I could possibly do to review bitters. For the uninitiated, bitters is an infusion of several herbs and botanicals that come together to craft a spirit with a distinctly bitter taste. Mainly used as a flavoring agent and not a drink in and of itself, bitters has a variety of great uses in both cocktails and cooking.

I've got a bottle of Angostura Bitters sitting here – an unassuming little bottle with a yellow top.
Read More
Page 1 of 212