[Adapted from the show script]
At the end of a stunning week, here's how you make an Improved Whiskey Cocktail.
This is a Jerry Thomas drink that dates back to the 1870s. A 19th century "whiskey cocktail" is what we now call an Old Fashioned: whiskey with sugar and bitters. An improved whiskey cocktail is that, but with the addition of two other sweetening agents in very small proportions.
First:
- Swirl absinthe in glass, throw out the absinthe and fill the glass with ice
In mixing glass:
- 2 dashes Angostura Bitters
- ¼ oz. simple syrup (sugar water)
- ¼ oz. Maraschino
- 2 oz. bonded rye
Add ice to the mixing glass and stir.
Strain into your prepared glass.
Add a lemon twist to the drink as a garnish.
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Ok I'll play...try this one on for size
2nd Dragoons Regimental Punch
To the Regimental Punch Bowl add one bottle each of:
Cold Duck ( Champagne and Red Wine )
Rye Whiskey
Tequila
Kahlua
Southern Comfort
Bacardi’s Rum
Vieux Bordeaux
Napoleon Brandy
Vodka
Rhine Wine
Evian Water
Two Sharp’s Non-Alcoholic Beers
Slivovitz
And no I'm not kidding
http://history.dragoons.org/2004/01/17/regimental-punch-and-ceremony/
Whooo-eee! potent potables for a thousand Alex. And for a true Daily Double…. what is 2nd Dragoons Regimental Punch?
Prepare to Mount!!!
Raise the Grog bowl!!!
Mount!!!
Try this. Glass of ice, add Woodford Reserves. Sip. Repeat.
Do you drink the punch or poison your enemy with it?
So that's why the military adopted a smoking ban (just kidding).
Swirl absinthe in a glass, pour out the absinthe. No way! We need to change that line to "swirl absinthe in a glass, drink the absinthe." get a good start on the weekend. LOL
I realize if you're doing this professionaly, as at a bar, you can't do this due to health codes .... but if you're doing it at home, is there any reason not to pour the excess absinthe back into the bottle?
Other stuff maybe no reason, but absinthe will go cloudy with contaminants.
There is another method of discarding though.
Down your throat.
That makes sense. Thanks.
Isn't absinthe that stuff that was illegal in the US for a long time? So people would get rip roaring drunk on cruise ships and fall off the boat and stuff? Down your throat makes sense to me.
Rachael's whiskey sour recipe makes my mouth water...and I'm not that fond of bourbon.
She did not use bourbon. She used rye. This is just a very slight variation on the Sazerac, a very old and classic New Orleans cocktail.
Not bourbon. Rye.
By the way, there is a great deal of variation in Ryes- the kind of variation you get in single malt scotches. From the sounds of this recipe a suitable and commonly available 100 proof rye is made by Wild Turkey. I like a lot of the specialty ryes and prefer them unpolluted, but to be honest, some ryes have the smoothness of oven cleaner.
So be careful out there about buying an expensive bottle of some unknown stuff.
One thing is for damn sure...I need to get some Absinthe.
Rachel seems to use Rittenhouse Bonded a lot of the time which I have to say is delicious. Unfortunately very few british bars seem to stock Rye of any kind which is bad. I'm usually the first to salute british pubs as the best in the world but their lack of Rye is to my, admittedly biased, eye indefensible!
I like Rye. My dad used to get bottles of Rye for Christmas presents from other company employees, and he never drank it, so i sneaked drinks of it for the whole year. By the time christmas came around, the bottle was almost empty and I don't think he knew what I was doing. (he probably did and didn't care, lol). I can't drink Scotch or bourbon, even Crown royal or Jack Daniels. I throw it up. but I can drink rye. Isn't that weird?
Sazerac…. no cherry juice or ice.
YES!
I didn't have all the fixins, but I was enticed to fix a drink. Nothing like that drink, but it's not bad. Ahhhh!
Nice, but I don't have that much patience. Cocktail glass, ice cubes, two ounces of good whiskey, diet Coke, stir and swallow. I'm already polluting my brain cells while you're still reading the directions.
Sazerac… great cocktail, very similar no maraschino
I suspect they cannot get Peychaud hence the other stuff they put in it. This was, in essence, a Sazerac. Who let those Yankee interlopers get a hold of our beloved cocktail, Beauregard?
We also have panama red infused too our angostura here , so yankee on that confederate
Rachel,
After this week, you probably need more than one!
How it's really done...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sfhaxHYb46E
After extensive absinthe research (I know...but someone had to do it) I strongly suggest once you finish pouring that St. George down the drain (please save the bottle...see below) you put up a bottle of Clandestine Marie for the holidays.
I realize that switching to a 200 year old brand from Switzerland (but available here) may be taking American jobs, but we are talking sort of medicinal, n'es pas?
As for the now empty St. George bottle, please pour the Clandestine Marie into it after each application & recycle, as that is a treasure that should not go to waste.
Better yet mix it with some simple syrup & poach a few peeled pear halves in it until just tender. Let cool in liquid, refrigerate (if you've the will) & serve with a chocolate macaroon. Poaching liquid can be used again...or better yet make more Improved Whiskey cocktails.
Great job these last few months.
I ain't much on mixed drinks but dang if this pear prep didn't make my mouth water.
After extensive absinthe research (I know...but someone had to do it) I strongly suggest once you finish pouring that St. George down the drain (please save the bottle...see below) you put up a bottle of Clandestine Marie for the holidays.
I realize that switching to a 200 year old brand from Switzerland (but available here) may be taking American jobs, but we are talking sort of medicinal use, n'es pas?
As for the now empty St. George bottle, please pour the Clandestine Marie into it after each application & recycle, as that is a treasure that should not go to waste.
Better yet mix it with some simple syrup & poach a few peeled pear halves in it until just tender. Let cool in liquid, refrigerate (if you've the willpower) & serve with a chocolate macaroon. Poaching liquid can be used again...or better yet make more Improved Whiskey cocktails.
Thanks for the great job these last few months.
I have been using the plastic lemons filled with pre-squeezed lemon juice for a long time now, hoping that Rachel will be hiding in my car or under my bed to attack me. So far, she's a no-show. Rachel, do you need my address?
GOP: How to Properly Perpetuate Hatred and War = Never forgive. Never forget.
Demo: How to End the Insanity = Forgive, but still, Never Forget.
Test: See if your mom still remembers when you did some stupid mean thing when you were a kid. You know she does !! But she forgave you. So Obama is your Mama ? Well no, but he does act a bit like it. . . . Just saying. . .
Dear TRMS, Your Friday closer format: lets mix a drink ? About time. I have missed it. Did you know that most of our forefathers best conversations occurred in pubs ? Patrick Henry worked in a pub and learned law while serving drinks. Must have been some interesting cliental back in those days. Wonder if they were good tippers ?
When I wake up at 2:00 am, I get some bourbon with a couple of ice cubes (it's a lot less work and good). After a couple drinks I think "I want to see what Madddow has to say". It's 3:48 now. The longer I read, the more I drink and the worse I spelll.
Love you Rachel.
Later
Booze? Considering that marijuana was just legalized in CO and WA, I think it would have been cooler if you had lit up a (pretend) joint and feigned kicking back with that instead. Check out Bill Maher's show tonight (11/9) and the discussion about pot vs. alcohol.
Great shows this week.
The only problem with pot is that those half hour shows just go on forever. And that things magically disappear from my refrigerator and cupboards.
Seems Mad Dog Maddow would be more suited to prune juice mixers to match her expression!!!
Love this!!! I am so going to make this now. Thanks for a new Whiskey drink idea!!!
That Rachel :) Isn't she wonderful!
Why ruin good whiskey or bourbon by mixing it with other ingredients?
I say some Basil - Hayden over ice.
To understand is to have new respect for.... the garnish.
~successfully rehab'd garnish-eater
I usually miss Rachel on Friday nights but caught the "Cocktail Moment" last evening. Very cool. Keep it smart, keep it fun!
The 9-1-1 (also known as the Dead German):
1 shot Jagermeister
1 shot Rumple Minze
1 shot Goldschlager
Rachel, cocktails aside, I credit you with making politics palatable to me-and that's something. I'm enchanted by this cocktail--it's kinda haunting historically, and of course, nothing less than 100 proof will do after this election. Cheers!
A big shout out to the 4000 folks in Alabama holding the light. May your tribe increase!
Lets commemorate Mitt's loss with a Flaming Jesus.
Blow out before shooting. Warning: this drink is an IQ test. Click here to see how the drink got its name.