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Vodka is making a comeback - Zyr Vodka
Vodka is probably the most disliked or hated spirit by serious mixologists - myself included. Then there are some mixologists who like vodka but they appear to be in the minority.
Perhaps Zyr vodka will make you reconsider vodka as a spirit worth taking seriously and not “Gin without pants” as Gabe over at Cocktailnerd says. I received a review sample of Zyr vodka a short while ago and let me tell you this - Zyr Vodka is one damn fine vodka.
Zyr [ZEER] Vodka is made from a unique combination of wheat and rye which comes packaged in a distinctive light blue bottle. What made me sit up and take notice was the rye, as gin happens to be my overall favorite base spirit.
The Rye imparts a somewhat sweet and spicy profile to the wheat vodka which makes for a spirit that is better off used for sipping vs mixing in a cocktail - we’ve got Smirnoff for that. Zyr vodka is produced in an area outside of Moscow and I was pleased to learn that Zyr oversees the entire chain of supply from harvesting the grain to bottling. That’s dedication, people.
Personally, I enjoyed Zyr vodka the most by sipping it neat - ice cold. I also tried it in a cocktail and it blended effortlessly, disappearing into the background, like a really great vodka should. It’s almost as if it wasn’t there, which is exactly how the base liquor in a well crafted cocktail should be. Zyr has received nods from the Robb Report, Playboy and the Wine Enthusiast to name a few.
Best enjoyed ice cold, on the rocks. Sweet and spicy. Please don’t waste this vodka on people you hate - this is delicious vodka. MSRP of $32 for a 750 ml bottle.
Distribution for Zyr Vodka appears to be mostly on the East coast at the moment, but if you have the opportunity to sample some, come back and tell us about it in the comments.
More Resources:
Startup Drinks Blurb - Baltimore
I’d like to announce that i’m a contributor to the Baltimore version of StartupDrinks.com. We will be having a first meetup sometime soon around the Inner Harbor, if you would like to attend or become a sponsor (hint hint liquor company marketing dept / PR) contact me via the contact form on this site.
What if Tony Soprano drank Negronis?
At the Casoni Bar in Florence, Italy around the 1920s - Count Camillo Negroni asked his bartender to add gin (our kind of guy) to the most popular drink at that time, the Americano (1 oz Vermouth + 2 oz Campari). The Count reportedly wanted something with a little more kick. Like all wise bartenders, his reached for a bottle of gin and made history.
A Negroni is one part each of gin, red vermouth and Campari. It’s traditionally served on the rocks in a tall glass, but it’s much better prepared in a martini fashion.
The Negroni is a wonderfully complex drink that will knock you down if you try to have more than 3. It’s an all out slugfest from the botanicals in the gin vs the spicy
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Now that the Sopranos is over … CAO Boss Sopranos Cigar
..what’s a Sopranos addict to do to fill that wide gaping void in your life every Sunday night from 9 - 10pm? Here’s one suggestion - pour yourself a Negroni and light up a Boss Sopranos Cigar from CAO International. 
The Sopranos Edition family comprises three sizes, each available in boxes of 20: Associate, at 5 x 52 (standard robusto); Soldier, at 6 x 54 (toro); and Boss at 7 x 56 (double corona). In my opinion the jewel of the trio is the Boss - I’ve had the associate and soldier and like Bevilaqua and Big Pussy, these ones are better laid to rest.
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Knowing your main base liquors in cocktails - Vodka - 4 of 6
So far we’ve covered Gin, Rum & Brandy. Next up is Vodka …
Vodka’s [wódka] first written record dates to the early 15th century in Poland and about the same time, in Russia, a group of monks returned from Italy (always with these monks and alcohol) with secrets of distillation that allowed them to begin producing a similar ‘water of life’ from which the term ‘vodka’, a diminutive of ‘voda’ (water), derives. Some cite the skimming of lighter and pure alcohols off of vats of frozen wine in the 9th (!) century as the first incidence of vodka production. As far as whether the Poles or Russians first developed what we think of as vodka today, I’ll let them sort it out; they’ve been fighting for centuries anyways. If you happen to be a Pole or Russian, maybe you can set the record straight in the comments section ….
For many years vodka was used primarily as a medicinal substance and was often, and still is, infused with many herbals, fruits, and botanicals; especially in Poland. Several traditional flavors you’ll find in vodka’s native lands include:
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Knowing your main base liquors in cocktails - Brandy - 3 of 6
First we covered Gin and Rum. Our third base liquor is Brandy. Brandy is distilled wine, i.e. brandy comes from grapes and can be produced anywhere in the world where grapes are grown. Some of the best brandies in the world are made right here in the USA, France and Greece.
American manufacturers usually start out with distilled grape wine that’s close to 170 proof - and they bring this value down to around 102 by adding water. Then the product is aged in white oak barrels, and caramel is added to increase the color. Brandy must be aged a minimum of two years, but is more commonly aged from three to eight.
Brandy may also be produced from wine made of other fruits beside grapes. You can have cherry brandy, apple brandy (very popular), blackberry brandy etc. If it’s a fruit, you can make brandy from it. Then you also have fruit flavored brandies, which differ from fruit brandies in that the former is flavored with the stated fruit in the bottle.
Cognac is nothing but fine, french brandy. However not all brandy is cognac. Huh?
Knowing your main base liquors in cocktails - Rum - 2 of 6
Since you’ve already been acquainted with Gin, our second base liquor is Rum. Rum has a dark and murky past dating back to the 17th century when it was the drink of choice for pirates, slave runners, American colonists and the British Navy. Rum was created in the Caribbean (credited to the arrival of Christopher Columbus - who planted the plant there), when sugarcane plantation owners realized they could create a unique liquor from adding water to the juice of the sugarcane plant.
All rum then by default comes from sugarcane by-products - fermented sugarcane juice, sugarcane syrup or sugarcane molasses. Rum is usually broken into two classes, light or dark. Light rum is typically young (may be aged in un-charred oak barrels) or un-aged rum perfect for mixing in cocktails. Dark rum on the other hand derives its color as a result of aging in charred oak barrels which imparts a more pronounced flavor. Deeper colored rums have usually been aged longer and should be sipped straight like fine cognac.
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Knowing your main base liquors in cocktails - Gin - 1 of 6
There are six main base liquors you should be familiar with, and these are Gin, Rum, Brandy, Vodka, Tequila & Whiskey.
Gin is probably the most misunderstood of the major base spirits. Vodka, considered by some to be the best of all spirits couldn’t be any further from the truth. Here, gin is king of all the liquors. It has a strong profile - taste, aroma and a world of exotic profiles that differ from one gin to another depending on the herbs and spices used in it’s distillation. Gin is not your father’s drink anymore. Get familiar.
It’s widely believed that the English invented gin. No - the Dutch did. It was discovered in the 17th century by Franciscus de la Boe (aka Dr. Sylvius), a Dutch physician at the University of Holland. English soldiers returning from the 17th century war brought the drink back with them to England where it soon became the national drink.
007 gets his martinis with vodka - but martinis traditionally call for gin. Plus 007 likes his martinis shaken and not stirred - (also wrong, or right) but let’s save that debate for a later post, shall we?
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Cocktail Base Liquors - Gin Whisky Vodka Cognac Scotch Tequila Rum - Building a home bar - part 3 of 3
In Part 1 we covered Home Bar utensils and in Part 2 we looked at Bar Glassware. Here’s the third and final part of the home bar series - liquor.
This is not a definitive list. There are a lot of excellent brands that are not mentioned here, and more are launched frequently. Don’t be afraid to experiment with any of the numerous other brands and tell us about your experience.
Pick and choose from my recommendations below to help you stock your home bar. I have added flavors to some of the items to help you choose the ones you can start out with based on your preference. Everything in the modifier section is essential, items 1 -10 in the color/flavoring section are strongly recommended. Favorites are italicized.
A basic cocktail may consist of:
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Cocktail Basics - Building a home bar - part 2 of 3 - Glassware - Martini Glasses, Cognac snifters etc
In Part 1 we covered basic utensils and barware - items such as Boston shakers, Hawthorn strainers, muddlers etc.
Now it’s time to take a look at the second part in our home bar series, glassware. Buy the best quality you can afford, and always wash glassware by hand to prevent chips and cloudy build-ups. Stick to the sizes shown so that your drinks look right in the appropriate glassware. Bottoms up!
1. Martini glass: 4 - 6 oz
2. Old fashioned / rock glass: 8 - 10 oz
Cocktail Basics - Building a home bar - part 1 of 3 - The Utensils
Setting up a home bar is all about having the right equipment and ingredients. In the first part of this series, we’ll cover the essential utensils you’ll need. Part 2 will cover glassware and Part 3 will cover liquor.
Stock up on these essentials and don’t cut corners on quality.
You’ll soon be the toast of your town, or city, or suburb…
- A Boston Shaker. This is the professional version that most bars use. 2 pieces, a pint-size mixing glass and a stainless steel shaker cup. We prefer this type over the more common 3 piece stainless steel types because the clear glass in the Boston Shaker allows you to see what you’re mixing and let’s you know if your proportions are right. We like the Rosle Boston Shaker. Get a Boston Shaker here.
- A Hawthorn Strainer.
A basic strainer shaped like a spoon with a spring edge. The Hawhorn Strainer ensures that you don’t get any bits of ice in your drinks. Fits over any size glass. Always strain your drinks from the mixing tin. This way if you’re off on your measurements, nobody else will be the wiser. Get one here as part of the Oxo 7 Piece Stainless Steel barware set.
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Red Lion Cocktail
So far you’ve had a Sidecar, tasted a Between the Sheets and met Tom Collins. Without further ado - drum roll please, let me introduce you to the Booth’s Gin cocktail competition first prize winner - The Red Lion. Oh and the year was 1933. But trust us, there’s nothing old school about this cocktail.
The Red Lion was created by a British barman, Arthur Tarling. The drink was soon adopted by Grand Marnier for promotional use in the 30’s and is actually still being promoted up to now as you can see from their website. That’s been over 70 years! Talk about a cocktail with staying power.
In a Boston shaker with ice, combine:
2 oz Gin (Tanqueray #10)
1 oz fresh lemon juice (no subsitutes)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz Grenadine
Strain into a chilled martini glass.
Optional sugar rim.
5 Classic Cocktails you should be drinking now - Tom Collins - 3 of 5
So far you’ve had the Sidecar and the Between the Sheets. Now I’d like to introduce you to Tom Collins. if you haven’t met already. Not to be confused with his cousins John, Joe, Mike, Jack, Sandy, Pedro or Pierre (you’ll meet the rest of the Collins’ family in due time).
Tom Collins is called so because this cocktail was traditionally made with Old Tom Gin, a sweetened London dry gin rarely seen on the market today.
Think of a Tom Collins as supercharged lemonade - perfect for a hot summer day. This is traditionally a “tall drink”, because it is usually
served in a tall glass (a Collins glass) that can
hold anywhere from 12 - 16 oz.Here’s how to make a superior one.
Fill a Collins glass with ice all the way to the
top. Add:2 oz Gin (Bombay Sapphire)
1 oz fresh lemon juice (no substitutes)
1/4 oz simple syrup
dash of bitters (Angostura)
Fill with Club Soda. Optional lemon garnish. Stir with a straw. Kick back and ponder.
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2008 Rolls Royce Phantom Coupe
The Rolls Royce phantom coupe was unveiled today and the car itself really doesn’t need much introduction. This is the last model to complete the Phantom line. A few interesting features on The Phantom Coupe are:
- Hundreds of twinkling fibre-optic lights around the headlining
- 250mm (wheelbase) shorter than the Phantom
- Stiffer Chassis - the coupe’s ride is less sportier than other models in the Phantom line
- The fuel tank has a range of 372 miles
For more details, visit our friends at Autoblog
5 Classic Cocktails you should be drinking now - Between the Sheets - 2 of 5
Now that you’ve had a few Sidecars, here’s another one you should become familiar with. This is by far our favorite. A couple of these and it may very well become yours too. Easy on the palate, fresh and citrusy from the lemon juice. A very strong subtle undertone from the brandy and rum, subdued in a very good way by the Cointreau and lemon. A very superb combination of all elements.
In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine:
- 1.5 oz brandy ( Martell V.S.O.P.)
- 1.5 oz white rum (Havana Club)
- 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice (no substitutes)
- 1/2 oz Cointreau
- 1/4 oz simple syrup (optional)
Shake all ingredients and strain into a chilled martini glass.
Sobieski Vodka
Continued from Agrandioseblog.com, see the first part here … however after sampling Sobieski Vodka I realized that it was a really decent vodka and given it’s extremely low suggested retail value of $10.99 - this is a vodka that warrants a place in your mixology cabinet.
Sobieski vodka is named after the 17th century King Jan III Sobieski, and is made from Dankowski rye, the highest quality vodka grain in Poland. The rye imparts an almost gin-like, spicy, pronounced sweetness to the flavor. I wouldn’t classify this as a sipping vodka - vodkas that come from a potato base usually tend to fare better as sipping vodkas - but rather as a mixing vodka, perfect for parties.
Sobieski vodka positions itself as a value vodka, it has all the qualities you can find in premium brands like Belvedere, Gray Goose etc but at 1/4th the cost. This is good news for consumers - pretty soon that happy hour cosmo / kamikaze with rail vodka won’t taste like crap anymore (as long as they use a value brand like Sobieski).
The Beverage Testing Institute said it best, “An incredible value in a world of high priced vodkas.”
Sobieski Vodka, $10.99 for a 750 ml / $19.99 for 1.75L.
5 Classic Cocktails you should be drinking now - The Sidecar - 1 of 5
Tired of that thousandth Long Island Iced Tea? No more apple martinis say you? Here are 5 classic cocktail recipes that you should become very familiar with. Now. Come back and thank us later.
1. The Sidecar
Ther
e are tons of stories out there in regards to the origins of this drink. What we do now is that it originated in Paris during the first World War. The version we like says that the drink was created by a Parisian military officer who rode back and forth in a chauffeur-driven motorcycle sidecar to drink this cocktail at a bar. Sweet from the Cointreau, cool and refreshing from the lemon, strong from the cognac - God bless that Parisian officer for combining all three. In a Cocktail Shaker with ice, combine the following:- 2 oz V.S.O.P. grade Cognac ( Hennessy Privelege)
- 1 oz cointreau
- 1 oz fresh lemon juice (no substitute)
Optional sugar rim, shake all three ingredients and strain into a chilled martini glass. A votre sante!
Bang!
Betas. They’re everywhere. You probably came across one last night at the bar, or saw one on your way to work this morning. You went to school with a couple. You’re probably talking to one on the phone right now. You will most definitely meet at least one this weekend. You could very well be one yourself.
Bang is Roosh V’s debut hilarious, intelligent and very blunt manual/book/how-to/self-bio/guide on the art of getting laid. A scientist by day and
a playboyAlpha male at night, Bang is the culmination of the personal dating experiences of Roosh and you won’t be able to put it down once you start. Roosh recently quit his well paying job (he needed a break) and toured South America starting in Colombia and working his way through Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela - now that’s Alpha. Read all about his experiences here.Betas are bad. Alphas are good. According to Bang, you’re either one or the other. That corny guy that butts in while you’re trying to score? Beta. The guy that sees it coming and shuts him down even before he’s had a chance to … Alpha. The kind of guy that women walk all over? Beta. The kind of average joe that women fawn all over - Alpha. In a world of Alphas and Betas, which one would you rather be?
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