Bacon, Bacon, Bacon...BACON!!!

While there has certainly been a fair amount of talk over the last few years about bacon and its related products...some for good reason (artisanal/gourmet bacon and pork products, ie. Nueske's)...some questionable (Bakon vodka)...and others definitely not so much (Jones Bacon Soda)...the cocktail has been one particular focal point.  Those in the bar and at home have taken to creating tipples full of fatty goodness, often with varying ranges of success, at least in my experience.  It therefore comes as no surprise that with the fast approaching Baconfest Chicago, a bacon cocktail contest sponsored by the Chicago Reader has surfaced for enthusiasts to showcase their stuff, as written by the Reader's lead restaurant critic Mike Sula....

Cabin Fever Cocktail Challenge

As the majority of these past few weeks in Chicago have been exceptionally warm for the month of March (temps in the 70s/80s vs historical average in the low 40s - apparently referred to as 'season creep' among climatologists), it is fitting to have recently come across the 'Cabin Fever Cocktail Challenge' sponsored by Drinking In America.  As described on their site:


Spring has arrived and we’re ready for a toast to the season. This month’s challenge is to create the ultimate springtime drink. Give us your best recipe for kicking the last of this cold weather to the curb...

All entries must be submitted by March 28th before 5:00 pm EST. From there, Mike Cerretani, bartender at Bitter Bar, will judge the recipes. He’ll be looking for overall creativity based on the following:

• Best use of flavor/combination of spirits (taste) 
• Best representation of springtime theme

Hail The King

I love ginger.  The aroma, the spice, the slight hit of heat...and the way that it matches well with so many other flavors.  As a result, in the early stages of building up my collection of spirits and liqueurs, a bottle of the ginger profile was a necessity on the list.  And while it took a little longer than planned, I finally secured it.  I spent some time debating between two of the most popular bottles, Domaine de Canton and The King's Ginger.  While both were liqueurs that I had enjoyed in a variety of cocktails, I ended up going with The King's Ginger for a couple of reasons.  Perhaps most importantly, the more mellow and rounded ginger flavor of King's.  True, it lacks the brighter, more pungent, and slightly sweeter profile of Domaine de Canton, but I figured a touch of ginger syrup could help provide that additional fresh kick if I really needed without a bottle of Canton on hand.  Another noticeable distinction between the two lies in their composition.  While both begin with their ingredients in a base of neutral grain spirit, King's distillate of fresh ginger and lemon is finished off by the addition of a single malt whisky (82 proof).  On the other hand, Canton's recipe of crystallized ginger, orange blossom honey, and vanilla is finished with a V.S.O.P. cognac base (56 proof).  At the end of the day, the higher proof King's Ginger had the more straight-forward profile I was looking for, so the decision was made.  And while Domaine de Canton will likely be added to my shelf at some point, there is always the option of making your own version, an endeavor I'm sure I'll be taking on in the near future.

XXQC - The Sazerac

Simply put...controversy and varied opinions abound when it comes cocktails, be they with respect to origins, recipes, variations, or preparation.  We need look no further than the recent introduction to the 'proper' preparation of an Old Fashioned put forth by Martin Doudoroff at Old Fashioned 101.  While certainly biased by my own views, Doudoroff makes what I consider to be very good points on the ingredients and methods when it comes to this most classic of cocktails, yet as highlighted by Chuck Cowdery, a raging debate was quickly raised by Kevin Kosar.  As far as Kevin sees it, Doudoroff's rigid approach and the New York Times favorable review of his site unfairly cast a shadow on other versions of this cocktail.  All contention aside, I merely raise the issue when reflecting on the relative lack of controversy as it relates to yet another classic cocktail, the Sazerac, perhaps one of the least contentious of the XXQC.

No time like 'Island Time'

Under the gun after having just arrived back from a two week hiatus in no other than Maui and Lana'i, I've managed to conjure up something for this month's very fitting MxMo Tiki theme hosted by Doug over at The Pegu Tiki Blog.  As described by Doug:

The Tiki scene, like classic cocktails in general, is reviving nicely these days. The lush, decadent marriage of tropical flavors and exotic kitsch carries us away to a better, less dreary place. Please join in and add your words, images, and offerings to the Tiki Gods on the 20th. Since Tiki is more than just the drinks, feel free to post on whatever Tiki subject floats your outrigger canoe. I suspect most of you will want to offer up delectable drinks, but feel free to wax eloquent on aloha shirts, exotica music, decor, garnishes, food or whatever else moves you to enter the Tiki spirit.

Thai Time

From time to time I like to experiment with the concept of converting flavors from the culinary world to their counterpart equivalent in the glass.  Recently, this led me to the exploration of one my favorite cuisines, the fragrant dishes of Thailand.  Possessing character that spans sweet, sour, salty, and spicy, the bright layers of herbs and piquant spices lend themselves well to how I envisioned a parallel universe of Thai flavors in a cocktail.  

XXQC - Vieux Carré

Bourbon.  One of my favorite aged spirits, and truth be told, the reason I stumbled into the world of mixology.  Yes, were it not for my interest to branch out and discover what other components played nice with my beloved whiskey, I might still be only sipping the stuff neat or on the rocks...not that there's anything wrong with that at all.  But after my inaugural venture with the preparation of an Old Fashioned (albeit with the high rye bourbon, Basil Hayden), I was hooked.  Naive enough at first that the intended rye whiskey was a foreign spirit, I pressed to discover what other drinks married with this relative of bourbon.  The Manhattan and Sazerac, largely as expected, showcased the spicy rye in all its glory...but in seeking something entirely different, I eventually was introduced to the Vieux Carré (voo kah-ray).  'The what?', I thought.  Thankfully, however, I gathered up the missing components and mixed one up.  Mirroring my inaugural enthusiasm for the interplay of spirits, bitters, and liqueurs, this was a definitely a cocktail that further fueled my interest and inspiration.  The Vieux Carré, a simple yet distinct blend very much worth your time, and another of the XXQC.