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There’s More Than Just Whiskey at Tuthilltown

Chuck GrimmettLeave a comment

Amanda and I drove up to Tuthilltown Distillery this past weekend. I’d been there once before a few years ago with my friend Jason Kelly for their gin launch party, but they’ve really stepped up their game since then.

Tuthilltown is best known for their fantastic line of whiskey: bourbon, rye, and unaged corn. Any liquor store worth its salt carries at least one of their five varieties:

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When I say their line of whiskey is fantastic, I mean it. I’ve tried the whole line at least once and have had four out of the five on multiple occasions. I even keep a bottle of their unaged corn whiskey on my shelf to show people what whiskey is like before it goes into charred oak barrels.

Their whiskey has won many awards and accolades, but Tuthilltown isn’t resting on its haunches. Their distillers have been busy trying out some new things: Cassis, Cacao, Triple Sec, and bitters.

The Cassis is made from locally harvested blackcurrants and is less syrupy than the more common Creme de Cassis liqueurs you might have tried. It is aged in their whiskey barrels and has an incredible depth of flavor: tart, earthy, toasty, jammy, and packed full of berry flavors.

The chocolate notes in the Cacao Liqueur rival high-end dark chocolate. It is slightly syrupy but easy to pour and it is good enough to drink straight. This was my favorite sample of the day. I was blown away by its flavor. Every other chocolate liqueur I’ve tried seems to be grain alcohol with chocolate favoring added in at the end (i.e. chocolate-flavored rubbing alcohol), but not this. Tuthilltown distills their Cacao Liqueur directly from Peruvian and Dominican cacao beans. It is incredible.

We didn’t get to try the Triple Sec, but we were told that it has a wonderful citrus flavor, having been distilled from bitter orange, lime, and valencia orange zest. It is also a lot stronger than most triple secs I’ve seen. This clocks in at 80 proof, whereas the stuff you usually toss in your margarita is 40-50 proof.

I tried a few dashes of Bitter Frost, the first release in their soon-to-be-growing line of bitters. It is nowhere near as strong as your typical Angostura, but it does have a nice warming flavor. It can be added to many different cocktails without fear of overpowering lighter spirits. I tasted hints of sarsaparilla, maple, cardamom, and vanilla. Maybe a hint of clove, too.

Did you know that the state of New York considers bitters a food product instead of an alcohol? That means you can buy Tuthilltown’s bitters on their website.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention their Half Moon Orchard Gin. It is distilled from local apples and wheat with 8 other botanicals, including elderberry and almonds. It is still a dry-style gin, but the hints of apple, bergamot, and caradmom make it unlike any other gin you’ve tried. After tasting it Amanda said, “Let’s get a bottle of this. It makes me want to become a gin drinker!”

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We were fortunate enough to get to meet one of Tuthilltown’s cofounders, Ralph Erenzo. He came into the tasting room while we were there. He was incredibly nice and hospitable–taking the time to pour us tastes and chat with us about what he’s made–even while his family was visiting. When I asked him what his favorite thing to do with the Cacao Liqueur is, he paused, smiled, and said, “Pour it over ice cream with espresso.”

Amanda and I tried just that a few days later and Mr. Erenzo is right; it is delicious.

In addition to picking up three new bottles of liquor (gin, cacao, and cassis), I impulse purchased a set of charred oak staves that fit down inside a bottle. I’m currently using one to age 24oz of Negroni. I’ll report back in two weeks on the taste!

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If you get a chance to visit Tuthilltown, you can’t pass it up. The tastings are enlightening, the tour is informative, and the grounds are gorgeous. They converted a gristmill built in 1788 into a restaurant. The old sluice is a perfect place for a panoselfie:

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Tipple Tuesday: It’s Negroni Week!

Chuck Grimmett1 Comment

Let’s get right to business: Equal parts gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth. Make it even better with orange bitters and an orange peel. If the bitterness of the classic Negroni isn’t your thing, use Lillet Blanc instead of Campari to make a French Negroni.

June 6-12 is Negroni Week, a time to sip one of the best cocktails we can imagine and support some great charities.

Save these recipe cards to your iPhone and import them into the free Highball app.

Negroni RecipeFrench Negroni

 

The simple recipe is easy to remember, easy to make, and great to experiment with. Have some fun this week. Here are some ideas:

Negroni variations

Sip a tasty Negroni this week and donate to a good cause.

Tipple Tuesday: French Negroni

Chuck Grimmett1 Comment

Regular readers know how much I love the classic Negroni. That wonderfully bitter flavor profile from the Campari isn’t for everyone, though. If you prefer something sweeter that still has a lot of complexity, the French Negroni might be the drink for you.

The French Negroni subs Lillet for the Campari in the original recipe. This adds a sweeter floral flavor to the drink.

I learned about the French Negroni from the Speaking Easy Podcast (which you should definitely listen to):

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French Negroni

  • Mix equal parts sweet vermouth, Lillet Blanc, and dry gin. Add in a dash of orange bitters and stir well.
  • Garnish with an orange peel or twist.

It is normally served up, but it is also pretty good over ice. If you choose to serve it over ice, switch to a rocks glass.

Save this recipe card image to your iPhone and import it into the free Highball app.

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By the way, here is how you can use the rest of that bottle of Lillet.

Tipple Tuesday: Negroni

Chuck Grimmett3 Comments

In my opinion, the king of all summer drinks is the Negroni, which is said to have been born in 1919 when Count Camillo Negroni asked the bartender at Caffe Casoni to replace the club soda in an Americano with gin. The result is boozy, bitter, and wonderful.

The simple equal-parts recipe of gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth is a great base for young cocktail artisans to experiment with. Here are some ideas:

  • Add a few couple of dashes of orange bitters (my preferred recipe)
  • Try different gins
  • Swap Aperol for Campari
  • Swap Cappelletti for Campari
  • Replace gin with bourbon for a Boulevardier (this my go-to drink in the winter when I’m not drinking whiskey neat)
  • Try different sweet vermouths. Carpano Antica and Punt e Mes are particularly good.
  • Swap rum for gin and East India sherry for vermouth for an East India Negroni

Save this recipe card image to your iPhone and import it into the free Highball app.

Negroni Recipe

 

Negroni

 

Do you want a clear ice cube like this? Get the Neat Ice Kit.

Tipple Tuesday: Watermelon Refresher

Chuck GrimmettLeave a comment

Keeping with last week’s theme of local in-season ingredients, this week’s tipple was inspired by the beautiful watermelons available at last week’s farmers’ market.

Notes

  • Be sure to wait until the watermelon is ripe and flavorful before you use it for this cocktail, otherwise you won’t taste it.
  • I used IKEA’s elderflower syrup. You could use 2:1 simple syrup instead, but the elderflower gives it a wonderful flavor.
  • The fresh mint is a must, but you could substitute lemon juice for the lime juice depending on your preference.
  • A floral gin is nice with this, but a dry one works, too. Use what you have.
  • You could muddle and mix this in another glass and strain the fruit and seeds out, but I think there is something to be said for the simplicity of muddling in the same glass you from which you consume the drink and straining the fresh fruit through your teeth. You get to experience the ingredients rather than just taste them.
  • If you have ice molds, freeze some chunks of watermelon in with the water.
  • This is meant to be sipped outside in the sun.
Watermelon chunks in a rocks glassfresh mintmuddling

Save this recipe card image to your iPhone and import it into the free Highball app.

Watermelon Refresher recipe Highball card

Tipple Tuesday: Blackberries Three Ways

Chuck GrimmettLeave a comment

I like strong warming drinks in the winter, but when the heat rolls in I prefer light refreshing drinks made with in-season ingredients. Blackberry season is in full swing right now, so here are three refreshing drinks made with fresh blackberries. All three have different liquors and flavors, but each is refreshing in its own way with a wonderful blackberry base.

One is made with gin, one with rye whiskey, and one with vodka and St-Germain. Each of these drinks contains simple syrup. If you need a refresher on how to make it, I’ve got you covered.

Save these recipe card images to your iPhone and import them into the free Highball app.

Blackberry Gin & Tonic:

Blackberry G&T

 

Rye Whiskey Blackberry Smash:

Rye Blackberry Smash

 

St-Germain and Vodka Blackberry Smash:

St-Germain Blackberry Smash

 St-Germain Blackberry Smash 

Tipple Tuesday: Starting a Home Bar

Chuck GrimmettLeave a comment

This post is for people who want to put the days of drinking handles of Kamchatka and Ten High behind them. You’ve probably had a few craft cocktails at cool bars and are hooked. You want to learn more and start making them at home, but don’t really know where to start.

This post isn’t for those who consider themselves knowledgable about liquor and mixing drinks. If you are one of those people, check out the other posts in the Tipple Tuesday archive.

If you are ready to step into the world of mixing drinks at home, I recommend you start small, learn the flavors, and learn how the flavors change and interact when mixed.

Start Small

Going into the liquor store and buying one of everything to impress your friends won’t get you anywhere. You’ll end up broke and staring at a shelf full of spirits you have no idea how to mix. No fun.

Instead, pick 1-2 spirits you want to start with. The best way to do this is to make a list of cocktails you like (or cocktails you’ve heard of and want to try) and look for recurring items in the ingredient lists. Then pick a drink that uses one of those ingredients. This drink can be from your list or you can do some searching to figure it out. I prefer starting with classic cocktails, but remember that the end goal is to find something you will enjoy and actually make.

Once you’ve picked your starting cocktail and have the necessary ingredients, own it. Make it a few times as-is, try swapping individual ingredients out and seeing how the flavor changes, try adding additional ingredients, and try making it for friends. Really get to know the cocktail and become comfortable with it.

What I Would Choose

The Ingredients

I need to start out by saying I’m a big fan of purchasing good ingredients. Your cocktails will be better and you will be happier. If the majority of your cocktail is made with paint thinner that came out of a plastic jug, your finished product won’t be much better. That isn’t to say you need to spend $50 a bottle—you can get good mixing spirits for $25-35 a bottle.

I’d start with these two spirits:

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  1. Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
  2. Plymouth Gin

I’d also purchase these ingredients to mix with:

  1. Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth – Essential in a Manhattan and a Martinez, but this brand is good enough to sip on its own. This also sets you up nicely for expanding into other classic sweet (red) vermouth cocktails like the Negroni or the Bijou when you are ready to expand your liquor selection.
  2. Angostura Bitters – The classic, go-to bitters. Essential for lots of drinks (including some below) and very handy to have on the shelf. Trinidad and Tobago’s best export. Before you use it, try some on the end of your finger to get an understanding of what it tastes like. If you get hooked, read this to take a deep-dive into the world of bitters.
  3. Fresh limes – Please throw away the little green bottle in your fridge shaped like a lime holding some acidic liquid. When at all possible, use fresh lime juice that you just squeezed from real limes.
  4. Fresh lemons – See above. Use actual fresh lemons if at all possible. The taste is so much better.
  5. Superfine sugar – You can use regular sugar in cocktails, but superfine sugar dissolves better.
  6. Tonic water and club soda – Look for the small glass bottles with the yellow and blue labels respectively.

The Cocktails

Given the ingredients above, here is what I’d begin making, as well as good ways to experiment with each of them. Before you make a cocktail, try tasting each of the individual ingredients so you can get a better understanding of what they are and how they work in the drink.

  • Manhattan – Experiment by changing the ratios of the ingredients and take notes on the taste. Also try swapping regular bitters for orange bitters and noting the taste.
  • Rye Old Fashioned – Experiment with different amount of bitters, different amounts of sugar/simple syrup, and different garnishes.
  • Gin & Tonic – Try different ratios of gin to tonic, try different brands of tonic, and try adding a small amount of lime or lemon juice.
  • Gimlet – Try different ratios and try making your own lime cordial.
  • Martinez – Try changing the ratios of ingredients and using different garnishes.
  • Pink Gin – See how the flavors change as you add more and more bitters to this drink.
  • Gin Fizz – Try using lime juice, swap simple syrup for sugar, or try adding egg whites.

Note: The links below are affiliate links. If you buy from one of these, you help support this blog. Thanks!

Essential Tools

  • OXO Measuring Jigger – You’ll need something to measure your ingredients with. I like this jigger because it can be read from above.
  • Boston Shaker – You’ll need something to mix/shake your cocktails in. This is the classic.
  • OXO Cocktail Strainer – Once you mix your cocktail,
  • Lemon/Lime Juice Press – This isn’t entirely necessary, but it sure makes juicing lemons and limes faster, cleaner, and more effective than you can achieve by hand. Besides for making cocktails, I cook with lemons and limes a lot, so I use this multiple times a week.

You’ll see a lot of other cocktail tools like muddlers, mixing glasses, mixing spoons, and more, but they are just nice to have. They aren’t essential to starting out. I listed the essentials above. If you are on a tight budget or find yourself somewhere without any of these items, you can always get crafty and improvise.

Digital Resources

  • Martin’s Index of Cocktails – $9.99 iPhone app, but totally worth the price. It is the most complete database of classic cocktails I can find with excellent filtering and search options
  • CocktailDB – Based on the same dataset as Martin’s Index and available online for free, but without as many filtering options or a user-friendly interface.

Books

Please let me know what you think in the comments. If you have any questions about getting started, let me know!

Tipple Tuesday: Infusing Gin with Rose

Chuck Grimmett1 Comment

“Infusion” is one of those words that sounds more complex than it really is. Infused spirits are all the rage right now at cocktail bars, but you don’t need to go out to enjoy them. You can make your own infusions with your preferred ingredients at home.

There are three main ways to do infusions:

  1. Classic immersion method: Mixing the ingredients in a glass gar and letting them sit for a few days to a few weeks in the dark at room temperature. Better for fruit and herbs.
  2. Heat infusions in a sous vide: Heat speeds up infusions (think coffee and tea) and using a sealed bag in a sous vide helps keep the alcohol from evaporating. This method is better for spices, but can be used for some fruit under a time crunch.
  3. Rapid infusion with a whipped cream whipper: To quote Dave Arnold, “Rapid infusion makes flavored liquors almost instantly using nothing more than an iSi whipped cream whipper.  This technique works really well, and anyone can do it.  Briefly: put any porous item into a cream whipper, charge it with N2O, swirl it for about a minute, vent, strain, and drink.”

This time around, I’m using the classic immersion method. In the near future, I’ll walk you through the sous vide method, and in the meantime I’m going to experiment with the rapid infusion method in an iSi whipper.

Classic Rose-Infused Gin

  • Mix some high-quality rosebuds with a good gin of your choice in a glass jar or an old liquor bottle. I got my rosebuds from Spices and Teas(e) and I used Berkshire Mountain Greylock, a nice London dry style gin. Use the ratio of 1 cup of dried rosebuds per 750ml. This makes it easy to infuse a whole bottle or to do some quick math and scale it for less than a bottle.
  • Shake up this mixture and set this jar in a dark place at room temperature. I put it in our liquor cabinet.
  • Shake it a little each day. After 5 days, strain it through a filter into a bottle. (These Bormioli Rocco glass flasks are fantastic for this.) Make sure to squeeze out the rosebuds, as they will hold a lot of liquid after straining.

Do you want ideas on how to use it in drinks? Scroll to the bottom of this post!

Infusing is forgiving. You can taste it after a few hours, or after a few days, or after a few weeks and decide what kind of flavor intensity you like. You can also dial the ratio of rose to gin up and down to see what happens. If the flavor is too intense for your tastes, you can always cut it with more gin.

I used 200ml of gin and 0.267 cups of dried rosebuds. 200ml doesn’t sound like much, but this will make a few good cocktails, but isn’t so much that it will sit on the shelf for a few months until we get a taste for rose-flavored spirits again. If we do, it is easy enough to infuse that I can make another small batch.

Here is how the rosebud gin infusion should look when it is shaken up (it will only look like this for a few minutes before the buds turn yellow/brown, so snap your photos quickly):

Rose-infused gin

More gin infusion ideas:

 

Rose-infused Gin Cocktails

Rose Gimlet

  • 1 oz rose-infused gin
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • 1 oz fresh lime juice
  • Splash of soda water

Shake with ice, strain into a martini glass, and garnish with a fresh rose petal or dried rosebud.

Rose Gin & Tonic

  • 3 oz rose-infused gin
  • 6 oz tonic water

Serve in a collins glass with ice and garnish with a lime wedge.

Lillet Blanc & Rose Gin

  • 3 oz Lillet Blanc
  • 1 oz rose-infused gin

Shake with ice, strain into a martini glass, and garnish with an orange peel.