a wee cocktail

Nothing says fun like a girl and her chard frond.  
I made a drink. I finally made a drink I liked Chartreuse in. So that is exciting. And I also made a drink using this scrumdiddlyumptious ginger limeade that the lovely people of Evolution Fresh sent me.
I mean, I like the lime aid on its lonesome too. It is fresh and spicy and I could guzzle it. Or I could add booze. I added booze.
Gin-Gin Lime
2 1/2 oz. Evolution Fresh Ginger Limeade
1 oz. gin
1/4 oz. green Chartreuse
1/8 oz. Fernet Branca
ginger ale (preferably Vernor’s in my household)
Shake up all but the ginger ale. Strain into a glass and top with ginger ale to your taste.

Dunham Daiquiri

I have major issues spelling daiquiri. And I am generally a good speller. But I keep getting tripped up on this one. I keep wanting to add a c. I think that is because there is a thing called a dacquoise. It is layers of meringue and buttercream and I really want to make one. And maybe I will have time now that my web series is done.

Done for now. This was the “Girls” series finale drink! But I plan to keep making funny drink-making videos maybe every month or so.

I wanted to make something to honor Lena Dunham. Since she is a writer I thought a riff on a writer’s favorite drink would be apropos. I recently discovered the joys of a well-made daiquiri, and since Ernest Hemingway has one named after him I thought a Dunham Daiquiri was in order.

I turned to my arrangement of random booze and started playing. Then I asked the cocktail subreddit if they had ideas. Then I experimented more. This involved multiple tries to get a good balance. But I think I have it.

One more note–in the video somehow me adding the lime juice got edited out. But I did add it.

Here ya go:
Dunham Daiquiri a variation by moi
2 oz. rum (the clear type–I used Bacardi which is not fancy but not bad)
1 oz. freshly squeezed lime juice (don’t use pre-squeezed, if you do you may as well not bother)
1/2 oz. demerara simple syrup (combine two parts demerara sugar to one part water in a small saucepan and heat and stir until it is dissolved–don’t let it boil!)
1/2 oz. tawny port
1/4 oz. fernet branca
Shake it up.

For Eeyore not eyesore

Last week, like a dutiful parent, I left you guys with a sandwich, whilst I went out to cavort over craft cocktails for my birthday. One of said cocktails had Cynar in it. Which is my new bar toy. So I’m bringing the party back to you this week. Sandwich not included.

I get obsessive with particular ingredients and with particular recipes. After buying this beauteous bottle of Cynar ( a bittersweet artichoke liqueur), I scoured the web for appealing recipes.

The recipe obsession with Cynar is less time consuming, but more dangerous than, say, the Summer of Tamale Pie I once weathered, or Autumn of Chia Seed I’m about to embark on. But it is at least as exciting as my Annual Pumpkin Weeks in Spring.

This recipe also taught me something: even wicked things are good in small amounts. The wicked thing of which I refer to is my loathed gin. I actually like gin in this recipe, which I found on The Straight Up. Campari is the main alcohol, or base spirit (and we all know alcohol is oh-so base) in it and the herbal gin plays off it in a very subtle way.

I was also excited for this recipe since it would use my other new bar toy: big ol’ bottle of Fernet Branca.

I’ve no idea why this is named after Eeyore being as it is a merry red color, and makes me happy.

But now I have a very good reason to visit the Violet Hour in Chicago, the bar Toby Maloney created the drink for. Not that I lacked reason to go before. I’ve heard good things about that place.

Oh, the places I’ll go.

Eeyore’s Requiem (based on this recipe)
1.5 oz. Campari
.5 oz. gin (I used Bombay Dry)
.25 oz. Fernet Branca
.25 oz. Cynar
.5 oz. white vermouth (they call for Dolin Blanc, I used Martini and Rossi)
15 drops of orange bitters
3 orange twists
Stir all but the twists over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist your twists over the drink to get the oils out and discard. Sip.

Strength

Strong drinks, strong woman. See how powerful I’ve become? Lifting whole boulders I am. And…lifting a microphone again. Next Monday April 1st I’m doing stand-up again at the Comedy Store, 9pm. Yikes.

What goes with comedy? Drinks, dang it.

Recently in all my mixing it up at home I’ve made awesome things, and made drafts of blog posts for them. Then before I can post them, boom, another big popular site like Bon Appetit will feature the same drink and I see little point in posting my “discovery”. Last time it was the New York sour.

SO! I am posting the Godfather AND the Dobbs, and actually kind of hope they show up everywhere. After I post this. Then I can pretend like it was all me, trailblazer that I am.

The Godfather.

Can I get a fuck yah?
It’s like an amaretto sour for people who are awesome.
If amaretto sours had bourbon in them.

Godfather from the Bartender’s Choice app, in my own words
2 1/4 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. amaretto
2 dashes angostura bitters
Put a big ass ice cube in a chilled glass. Add everything. Everything. Stir. Sip.

And now the Dobbs! Can I tell you the happiness of not spending 30 bucks for a bottle of Fernet Branca that it would take a lifetime to use? I was so happy to see a tiny sized one, since about a teaspoon, if that, is all you need.

If you make this: Don’t be designated driver.You might be drunk on the Dobbs. Brought to you by the letter D and me, the letter after D, E.

Dobbs from The Bartender’s Choice app, inspired by Short Order, and garnished by moi
2 oz. bourbon
1 oz. sweet vermouth
A goodly rinse of Fernet Branca
2 cherries, but only if they are tasty ones like Luxardo
Chill the cup you’d like to drink from and a cup to mix in.
Pour somewhere between a dash and a dosage of Fernet into the drinking cup and rotate to coat the sides and bottom. There should be a very, very tiny bit of Fernet, but don’t dump it. In the mixing cup add the bourbon and sweet vermouth. Add ice, give it a good stirring, then drain into the drinking vessel. Drop in the cherries. Delightful. Done.