Thursday, May 31, 2012

Hummin' along

As we quickly approach the summer months here in Chicago, it is perhaps with no better timing that the hum Spirits Company announced a contest in search of a signature cocktail for the season...

hum (no caps here) is a 70 proof spirit produced by cold tea maceration of four very distinct botanicals - hibiscus, ginger, cardamom, and kaffir lime - in pot still, cane sugar rhum.  Founded and developed by Chicago mixologist Adam Seger (formerly of Nacional 27, Tru, and The French Laundry), hum is reminiscent of Italian-style amari, possessing a slightly bitter, yet sweet profile with tons of depth and herbaceous complexity. 

Thursday, May 10, 2012

XXQC - Sidecar

In reference to cocktails, sours are generally comprised of a rough ratio of 2:1:1, spirit:sweet:sour, with some subtle variation.  The existence and possibilities of combinations when considering such proportions and ingredients are simply endless.  From the most basic whiskey (whiskey, simple syrup, lemon) and pisco (pisco, simple syrup, lime) sours, to derivations such as the Caipirinha (cachaça, simple syrup, lime), Margarita (tequila, Cointreau, simple syrup, lime), and Daiquiri (rum, simple syrup, lime), or even further removed modifications with the addition of soda such as the Tom Collins (gin, simple syrup, lemon, soda) and Mojito (rum, simple syrup, lime, soda) to only name a handful.  And while the existence of such sours dates back to the mid 1800s, perhaps one of the most popular to have arisen since the times of Prohibition is the Sidecar...yet another of the XXQC.