Tag: cherries

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Cherry Blossom Cocktail

one and a half slices the cherry blossom cocktail mocktail recipe local washington dc
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

The Cherry Blossom Cocktail/Mocktail

This spring I’ve been pretty clean (you know, #equalpartsdisciplineandindulgence). When I’ve been indulging I’ve been making new friends; namely, Bo & Ivy Distillers who recently opened their tasting room and released their first bourbons out of Ivy City. After quickly snagging a bottle of the Distiller’s Reserve bourbon, I was gifted a bottle of their Spring Gin which has undertones of cherry, rose, and bergamot. Hmm… what to do with that?! The answer came easily enough since I had recently mastered a new go-to spring mocktail leveraging one of my all-time favorite cocktail ingredients: Damask Rose Water. The result is that this indulgence comes in two forms: cocktail and mocktail. This, my friends, is springtime in a glass. If you need to freshen up, leave the gin. If you’re down, 1oz of Bo & Ivy has you covered.

what you need

1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon fresh rose water (lately I am in love with all things Erbology)

2 oz plain tart cherry juice (no juice blends please)

1 demerara sugar cube or a teaspoon of unrefined sugar 

6 oz sparkling water (I use Perrier)

(optional) 1 oz Bo & Ivy Spring Gin (or floral gin of choice)

how to make it

[ mix ] stir lime juice, rose water, cherry juice, and sugar together in a stemmed glass

[ top ] add several 1/2 inch ice cubes and then the sparkling water, and then mix until just combined

[ garnish ] with a lime wedge

[ enjoy ] fresh

🍒🍒🍒
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Cocktail

Manhattan

manhattan whiskey bourbon cocktail recipe one and a half slices
OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Perfect Manhattan

While we have been on a bit of an Old Fashioned kick recently, early endeavors to capitalize on my love of whisky always led me to the Manhattan. Still the drink I’ll usually order out, I’ve perfected the ability to make one at home (and my mother has contributed a variation on the theme with her signature French Manhattan!). If you’re looking for a perfect way to end your week, start your weekend, or deal with an idle Tuesday, try my Perfect Manhattan recipe. And if you’re a Northern Virginian-er, I highly recommend trying Clarity’s signature Manhattan selection in Vienna, VA for a top notch libation.  Note that I like my Manhattans on the sweeter side, juxtaposed with the drier, rye-based Manhattan garnished with a lemon or orange twist, not a cherry. 🍋🍊🍒🥃 

what you need

🥃2 parts (2oz) bourbon of choice (I like Woodford Reserve, Angel’s Envy, or Breckenridge, though Michter’s is also a good option).

🍷3/4 parts sweet, red vermouth. (I prefer Dolin Rouge).

🌿2 dashes bitters. (Bitters are part of what give your cocktail character. For a standard, sweet, herbaceous Manhattan, stick to Agostura Aromatic Bitters. To deepen the flavor, I will turn to Scrappy’s or Angostura’s Cocoa Bitters, or Fee Brothers Black Walnut Bitters [careful, these are strong!]. The final standby, to liven your cocktail up a bit, are Peychaud’s Bitters which add a distinctly bright citrus quality).

🧊1 large ice cube.

🍒1 cocktail cherry. (see notes below on cocktail cherry options) 

how to make it

Place one large ice cube (I have 2″ cube trays) or two small ice cubes (1″) in your cocktail glass. 

In separate glass, pour in the bourbon, vermouth, and bitters. Stir gently. Do not shake. 

Pour cocktail over the ice cube into the cocktail glass. Garnish with 1-2 cocktail cherries on a toothpick. 

🍒Special notes on cocktail cherries. There can be a lot of kerfuffle around cocktail cherries. Suffice it to say that the standard, radioactively pink maraschino cherry has never been my thing. Originally, maraschino cherries were simply Italian Marasca cherries macerated and preserved in sugar and some form of alcohol along the Croatian coastline. Today, the bastardized maraschino cherry that sits atop a Dairy Queen Sunday is a prime example of what the United States is capable of doing to foreign delicacies by sprinkling them with a little mass production.

🍒

So which cherries are suitable for a cocktail as elegant as a Manhattan? The answer is the same for vermouth… and the same for bitters… the Italian ones. Some of my favorites are Fabbri Amarena cherries, which are small, sour cherries that are delivered to you in an ornate white and blue vessel. The sweetest and arguably most authentic are the Luxardo marasca cherries. These will always have a place in my fridge. Finally, a viable option, and the ones that are most like regular American cherries if the candied cherry thing turns you off, are the Jack Rudy Bourbon Cocktail Cherries, made with Oregon cherries and Kentucky bourbon.🍒
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Smoked Old Fashioned

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Smoked Old Fashioned

one and a half slices smoked old fashioned recipe bourbon

Imagine your favorite bourbon (or rye) poured over that 2 inch ice cube – that satisfying crack the ice makes when the liquid hits its surface. Knowing that your drink only gets sweeter the closer you get to emptying your glass because the sugar crystals tend to collect at the bottom. A deeply caramelized orange peel rests on top; notes of burnt sugar and citrus fill your nose every time you take a sip. And your cherries of choice – fresh cherries in the summertime settled in your fridge in a cocktail of cinnamon and maple syrup, Luxardo Amarena (a classic cocktail favorite), perhaps Jack Rudy’s… either way, your drink is perfect and your evening complete. Now, let’s take this classic cocktail to the next level with… smoke. Smoked Old Fashioneds have become somewhat of a popular thing around the five star dining scene but it is surprisingly not that difficult to replicate at home. All you need is a small blow torch like this one and some wood (I know, right?! Added bonus). If you want to completely ignore the smoked bit and just use the recipe to make an Old Fashioned, that’s fair game as well.

Looking for other variations? You could always give the Burnt Peach Old Fashioned or the Classic Manhattan a try. 

what you need

2oz bourbon or rye whiskey of choice (if you’re at a loss, check out my Whiskey Post)

2 dashes bitters of choice

1 sugar cube

1 orange slice

1 cocktail cherry

1 large ice cube

(optional) 1 orange peel slice

(optional) additional sugar for caramelizing 

For smoking:

1 cedar plank. You can order these on Amazon; they are the same ones used to make cedar plank salmon

1 small blow torch

Some good bitters!

how to make it

Smoke your glass: Pick a spot on the cedar plank and get the blow torch going in a circular motion. Work up a good flame and put the flame out by placing the glass over it. Let stand ~3-5 minutes. Do not remove glass until ready to pour the cocktail. When you remove the glass, quickly insert the large ice cube into the glass and spin it 1-2 times. The smoke is absorbed into the ice.

(optional) Caramelize your orange peel: On the other side of the cedar plank, rub the backside of an orange peel on the orange fruit to get it wet, then coat is generously with sugar. Use the blow torch to caramelize the sugar on top, again, being generous with the flame.

Muddle and Mix: You can make your drink right in the drinking glass or in a separate mixing glass. I like to make it in my mixing glass and strain the mixed beverage over the ice cube. Place an orange slice, a sugar cube, and two dashes of bitters in a glass and muddle well until combined. Add the bourbon, stir with ice, and strain into the glass over the smoked ice cube. Or just follow my basic Old Fashioned recipe. 

Serve: Garnish with cocktail cherry and the caramelized orange slice, if you so chose.

Backstory

After making it 30 years on the planet, I’ve discovered a handful of universal truths. Prices will rise. Politicians will philander. Brown liquor is better than clear. Jose Cuervo and I had a disagreement in college that put me off tequila forever and somewhere in the void between my apologetic youth and womanhood, I discovered whiskey. How I discovered whiskey is the story that follows.

The year is 2014. I am 24 with a very fancy title. My first job out of graduate school is as the Deputy Director of Operations at a large company in Washington D.C. My boss, a stately, reputable, metrosexual gentleman with a very large collection of perfectly tailored suits, had read a Harvard Business Review article about prioritizing talent over experience. Graying and midway through his years of mentorship, he decided to give me an opportunity and bring me into the brave new world of Govcon (government contracting).  I was excited to be there, star-struck by the fancy dinners and plethora of BMWs, and had absolutely no idea how to do my job. A few weeks into my new role, and after the purchase of a lightly used all black Cadillac ATS, we won a contract. Or lost a contract. I don’t actually remember. My boss (the Vice President of Operations) saunters into my office around 4pm on a Thursday to announce the news – again, good or bad, I couldn’t say. 

“This calls for something special!” he announces, loudly. “You drink whiskey, yes?”

“Of course!” I sputter, attempting to be nonchalant. And he proceeds to pull a bottle of Laphroaig Quarter Cask from his bottom desk drawer and retrieve two glasses from the communal kitchen. For those of you who have read my Whiskey Post, you know that Laphroaig has a reputation as one of the peatiest scotches one can purchase. It’s basically like learning to MMA fight first time go in a UFC ring. I was brazen. 

He handed me a healthy pour and downed his in a single gulp, slamming his cup to the table and reaching for the bottle to refill. I, not wanting to seem timid but also not knowing what to expect, sloshed half the liquid haphazardly into my mouth and held it there for a second. My tongue ached and the peat hit the back of my throat like liquid fire as I clumsily swallowed my share. I tried not to let my eyes water or sputter or wince, but I’m sure it was all over my face. It was terrible. I finished my glass and accepted another. 

This ritual repeated itself almost every Thursday or Friday for several years. As time wore on and my boss and I grew closer – like friends – we went out whiskey tasting, scotch tasting, cigar smoking, and I was gradually inducted into the secret world of Gentlemen. It felt a bit like Mad Men but I wasn’t opposed. It took me four years to tell my (now former) boss that I had never had whiskey when we met.

A few weeks before the Laphroaig incident I had wandered into a liquor store looking for a bottle or two of something to have on the shelf for ‘entertaining.’ I had a brand new, modern-styled, Arlington apartment, and had it in my head that I was going to host dinner parties and happy hours like an adult. Why I thought the rarified air of Washington D.C. was suddenly going to make me a raging extrovert, I’m not sure, but somehow I saw myself abandoning videogames and quiet evenings writing on the deck for the parties thrown by John Cusack’s ex-girlfriend Charlie in High Fidelity. This didn’t turn out to be the case. Here I am eight years later, in a nicer house with an even nicer Cadillac, still playing videogames on a Friday night. 

Anyway, I had selected from a shelf of libations, none of which I recognized save the Cuervo and the Cruzan, a large bottle of Woodford Reserve Double Oaked Bourbon Whiskey. Why? I liked the bottle and needed something that would look nice on my kitchen counter. Again, for ‘hosting.’ The bottle had been sitting unattended on said bar for several months. One particularly lonely Friday evening several months into my D.C. residence (after the Laphroaig incident), I decided to give it a try. After all, it had to look like I actually drank the stuff when someone came over. I poured some over a few ice cubes and started to sip. 

For several months after, I drank whiskey ginger – Woodford Reserve with Maine Root Ginger Beer. It was kind of like a Dark and Stormy – a drink I had come to appreciate in graduate school along with the local Erie bartender’s version of a Hemmingway (my version coming soon to the blog). Eventually my tastes became accustomed to straight bourbon whiskey, scotch, and the like. Today, it is obviously my favorite beverage, but it definitely took some acclimation. I am proud to say there are several whiskey converts out there in the world due to my influence – an ex boyfriend or two, my 21 year old nephew, a former intern-turned-friend. My shelf is filled with smooth scotches and interesting bourbons, and my recipe book filled with Manhattans, Boulevardiers, Sazeracs, and Old Fashioned smoking techniques. It has been a journey but, in the end, I’ve found my flavor. For now. They say your taste buds change about every seven years. 🥃

Categories
Cocktail

Whiskey

OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

The Whiskey Post

OneandahalfSlices is starting to go rogue with cocktails. A couple gems await you all in the near future. But one thing is for certain – there will be a lot of whiskey-based beverages. For that reason, I decided to kick off our foray into the vast and captivating world of libations with a What’s On My Whiskey Shelf post to familiarize you all with some of my favorites. Seemed like the perfect thing to post on a Friday night! So pick your favorite and get ready to whip up my signature drink – the Smoked Old Fashioned. For the more adventurous, we’ve also got the Burnt Peach Old Fashioned, the Ginger Peach Smash, and the Paper Plane.

Bourbon

Of the three main whiskey/y varietals (bourbon, scotch, and rye, for our purposes), bourbon is by far my favorite. It is the sweetest and tends to be the smoothest, though ‘smoothness’ typically has more to do with age than anything else. Bourbon, by law, must be distilled in the United States and is native to the Kentucky/Tennessee area. Us Virginians make some passable bourbon but some of my favorites hail from Colorado. Also by law, bourbon has to be >51% derived from corn mash (as opposed to some form of grain mash). For an awesome overview of the process for those Virginia-dwellers, I highly recommend a visit to Copper Fox Distillery in Sperryville (followed by lunch at Penn Druid Brewing expertly concocted by upstart pop-up cook Sumac VA). Now, without further ado, the list…

#1 Jefferson’s Ocean is a unique bourbon – sweet, smooth, and just beautifully drinkable. What most people know from the Jefferson Distillery is Jefferson’s Small Batch, which is also good, but Jefferson’s Ocean is aged at sea!!! Maybe that’s why I like it – my soft spot for the sea… It has to be labeled “blend of straight bourbon whiskeys” even though it isn’t technically blended because the final batch is created from the contents of several different barrels that have spent months – sometimes years – on container ships charting course through the Atlantic. $70-90.

#2 Angel’s Envy is what happened when long-time Woodford Reserve distiller Lincoln Henderson got bored. Woodford is a staple of mine and typically what I use to make cocktails such as an Old Fashioned, a Manhattan, or a Sazerac. Woodford is a robust yet smooth bourbon that is only mildly sweet. But Angel’s… Angel’s is lighter still and while it tastes somehow younger and crisper than the heavier Woodford, it is smooth all the same. It is by far Lincoln’s finest work, evidenced by the fact that it is frequently out of stock on liquor store shelves. $50-60.

#3 Breckenridge (yes, like the brewery, and yes, like the ski resort). Breckenridge makes some heady stuff. Sweet, bold, powerful. I like just about everything Breckenridge makes. Pictured here is the quintessential bourbon and the PX Cask Finish. The Port Cask Finish and the High Proof Blend are also both fantastic. There is also an elusive Breckenridge that I am simply dying to try but haven’t for my unwillingness to spend $400 on an unknown bottle. Once you hear the name you’ll understand the nature of my intrigue – Breckenridge: Dark Arts. Distilled from Malt Mash. So, yes, naturally I want to try it. $30-60.

Honorable Mention. Arguably the best bourbon on this list was introduced to me by the Piemaker – Blanton’s. Blanton’s is easily recognizable by its squat little geometric bottle with a galloping horse on top. It will set you back upwards of $200 but that isn’t really the problem – finding it is the problem. Most liquor stores are restricted to a 1-2 bottle quota per shipment and it will be gone within 10 minutes of delivery. It’s that good. The second honorable mention is likely more elusive still than the first. The Kentucky-born Willet Distillery puts out all kinds of bourbons but one, in particular, caught my taste buds at the DC classic Jack Rose Dining Saloon (with over 2,500 bottle of whiskey on the shelves!). Willet Milk and Cookies Bourbon might as well have been dessert. It was sweet and very complex – slightly spicy and very bold. 

Scotch

Scotch is a different animal – peaty and harsh, scotch tastes like yesterday’s burnt out campfire… in a good way. By law, scotch has to be produced in Scotland, like Champagne has to be produced in the Champagne region of France, Prosecco in Italy, Cava in Spain, Bordeaux wines in Bordeaux, so on and so forth. Some are harsher than others – Laphroaig and Lagavulin (considered “lowland” scotch) hold the reputation for being the peatiest where highland scotch like Oban can be a bit smoother. Then there’s Speyside scotch and Islay scotch… there’s a whole map… it’s a whole thing. Anyway, I’ll typically take a good bourbon over a good scotch any day but these have captured my taste buds and proven themselves to be some of the most expertly distilled spirits I have encountered.

#1 Scapa The Orcadian is distilled on the northernmost Orkney Islands of Scotland and comes in two varietals: Skiren and Glansa. It is considered highland single malt scotch. Skiren is delicate, smooth, and exceptionally creamy, where Glansa is peaty, spicy, and bold. Both Skiren and Glansa are Old Norse terms to describe the skies – skiren the glittering, bright, summer skies and glansa, the tumultuous, stormy-weathered skies over the sea. Skiren is my favorite but pictured here is Glansa. Note that you can only get this in D.C. proper. $80-100.

#2 You’re going to want to write this one down, if for no other reason than you are never going to remember how to spell it, much less pronounce it. Brook-lah-dee comes in an iconic, sea-blue-green bottle inside a same-colored can, and is also best procured inside D.C. city limits. It is probably the most expertly crafted spirit I have ever tasted and is considered an Islay scotch. Light, smooth, and exceptionally drinkable, it makes a lovely nightcap. $60-80.

#3 Finally, if you’re looking for a more traditional scotch, this is my pick. If you haven’t noticed by now, smooth and sweet is my jam. The Lagavulin 16 year is exceptionally smooth and levels out its heavily peated body well. Many will argue that Lagavulin 10 year is one of, if not the best scotch on the market, and it may very well be for the price, but if you find this one on sale, it’s worth it. $70-100.

Rye

As I mentioned, I’m not big on rye. Period. The whole Whistle Pig thing was just lost on me. But here are two noteworthy exceptions. Possibly, the only two exceptions. 😁 

#1 Basil Hayden’s is a good stand-by bourbon for cocktail making and I’ll drink it straight any day of the week. But this Basil Hayden’s is unique. This Caribbean Reserve Rye isn’t just aged in rum barrels, it has rum blended in! It is very sweet and makes for an excellent dessert. $30-50.

On another note, who knew that rum could be just as enjoyable to sip as whiskey? Even more so when sitting on a beach. Don’t believe me? Try a <$30 bottle of Zaya Gran Reserva dark rum. 

#2 Here we have saved the best for last… or certainly the most grandiose. A Midwinter Night’s Dram (hat tip Shakespeare) hails from Park City, Utah and, as of 2021, will no longer be available in retail stores! It is dark, stormy, complex, and beautiful, and will only be available at the distillery. This bottle of Act 8, Scene 1 set me back $475 and will be consumed sparingly, caringly, on cleansed palettes over the next several years.

Are you sure

That we are awake?

It seems to me

That yet we sleep, we dream.

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