Project Drinking: The Semi-Finals
I would hereby like to announce that my summer-long project to find a new standard bar drink (replacing the gin & tonic) has officially reached the semi-final stage. After two months of sampling drinks both tasty (the Alabama slammer) and terrible (that Tabasco thing), I have narrowed the candidates to the following eight libations:
1. Whiskey Sour: One of only two whiskey-based drinks that managed to disguise the whiskey fully enough to become palatable (unlike, say, the Manhattan or the Rob Roy). The danger here is apparently that many bars make these drinks with a mix or something, meaning that the quality may vary widely.
2. Gin Rickey: A very good drink that may very well bear too close a resemblance to the gin & tonic to move past the semi-finals.
3. Old-Fashioned: The second whiskey drink and the second drink encumbered with a mix in many bars. To speak in statistics, the quality likely has a high variance.
4. Daiquiri: I'm not talking about the super-sweet strawberry thing, but rather a traditional daiquiri made from white rum, lime juice, and a small amount of fine sugar. My Esquire magazine told me that it is a drink on the verge of hipness.
5. Black Russian: I never actually got around to sampling this one this summer, but it is a drink that combines my enjoyment of drinking with my love of coffee. It must be considered.
6. Tom Collins: Another drink that I never got around to trying, but it certainly sounds good -- and it doesn't seem to quite cross that precarious frontier into girly-drink territory.
7. Gimlet: A simple drink. But simple is often what one wants in a standard drink.
8. Negroni: Yes, it tastes like ass. But it's interesting and perhaps it's one of those things that grows on a person.
So that's the list. Comments and tasting outings are both welcome and encouraged. Finalists will be announced in August and will be served at a party in my new apartment.
1. Whiskey Sour: One of only two whiskey-based drinks that managed to disguise the whiskey fully enough to become palatable (unlike, say, the Manhattan or the Rob Roy). The danger here is apparently that many bars make these drinks with a mix or something, meaning that the quality may vary widely.
2. Gin Rickey: A very good drink that may very well bear too close a resemblance to the gin & tonic to move past the semi-finals.
3. Old-Fashioned: The second whiskey drink and the second drink encumbered with a mix in many bars. To speak in statistics, the quality likely has a high variance.
4. Daiquiri: I'm not talking about the super-sweet strawberry thing, but rather a traditional daiquiri made from white rum, lime juice, and a small amount of fine sugar. My Esquire magazine told me that it is a drink on the verge of hipness.
5. Black Russian: I never actually got around to sampling this one this summer, but it is a drink that combines my enjoyment of drinking with my love of coffee. It must be considered.
6. Tom Collins: Another drink that I never got around to trying, but it certainly sounds good -- and it doesn't seem to quite cross that precarious frontier into girly-drink territory.
7. Gimlet: A simple drink. But simple is often what one wants in a standard drink.
8. Negroni: Yes, it tastes like ass. But it's interesting and perhaps it's one of those things that grows on a person.
So that's the list. Comments and tasting outings are both welcome and encouraged. Finalists will be announced in August and will be served at a party in my new apartment.
posted by OleNelson at 12:51 AM
18 Comments:
gimlet! gimlet! gimlet!
and don't add anything to whiskey.
the daiquiri sounds like it might be limited to summer -- are you really going to order one in a madison winter?
the tom collins -- delicious, but i think it was mark bittman who, i think rightly, commented that it was a drink for young boys or old men. but: style be damned!
and what about a martini? -- but if you come back here having decided on a sour apple martini, or some such nonsense, so help me...
finally: why have only one drink? why the need for standardization? hooray for variety!!!
To answer your questions:
1. I hold no silly notions of whiskey purity.
2. I think only the sugary strawberry martinis are summer-only drinks. This traditional type would probably work in other seasons (although perhaps not in the DEAD of winter).
3. Style be damned, indeed.
4. I tried martinis (and LOVED the sidecar), but they are (a) expensive, (b) clumsy to carry, and (c) borderline girly.
5. Perhaps one must first have a standard in order to then make any legitimate claims of variegation.
My vote is for the gimlet as well. Old fashioneds are nice; however, I must tell you that in the hinterlands of Wisconsin they do not make this drink the way you think it should be made - instead it involves a cinnamon stick and brandy, not exactly what you are looking for.... So make that two votes for the gimlet!
You should try a Makers Mark Manhattan! Up. That's my fav drink and I don't think I'll ever switch that up. They make the best one at Bemelman's Bar at The Carlyle in where else? Manhattan!
"silly" notions of whisky purity aside, if you are concerned about the girliness of a drink, I don't think a whisky sour is the way to go. moreover: a martini girly? please! I invite others' thoughts on this outlandish volley. expensive? yes: all the more reason to make them part of a variegated repertoire. clumsy to carry? perhaps, but if pulled off, incredibly cool to carry (but again: style be damned).
I wouldn't rule out pure grain alcohol. It'll protect your precious bodily fluids and enhance your purity of essence.
ummm...
ok, I was pretty much with you all the way... especially about rediculous notions of purity. eleitism sucks.
I even glossed over the use of the word girly (implying weak and diluted), which was used with little if any irony at all. (We have nine times the pain threshold of men, you know :)
However, you lost me at martini: girly.
Have you ever seen a James Bond movie, ever?! Shaken not stirred? Can he be any more manly?
You had me at "project."
You lost me at martini.
Good point. I only fear that "real" [read: irony-heavy non-girly] martinis necessarily involve olives and nasty, nasty olive juice. Under no circumstances do I eat olives or drink olive juice, so the only martinis that I like are the cosmo (yum!), the espresso martini (yum!), and the sidecar (yum!).
Oh, and by [insert irony] "girly" I actually mean "tastes good."
Those are girly indeed. And tasty! Except maybe the cosmo can be deemed metrosexual, and therefore saved from having its gender singularly marked.
More importantly though, I'm really thirsty now. How about we meet for a drink soon? Where should we meet? How about on the corner of 14th and 5th. I think there's a great little bar there that serves both cosmos and gimlets.
Consider this:
gimlet = dry (no vermouth) martini on the rocks with a splash of lime.
Wow, B-lish brought out the street corners, thats rough. I need a clarification, is this drink going to be what you always order? Or your default drink when you don't know what you want? Either way....
That said, NEGRONI????? Are you crazy?
Also, N.H Correspondent is completely right in bring up the seasonal issue.
How about a sidecar? Cognac-y goodness plus lemon.
Gimlet good.
And agreed don't add anything to whiskey (though I do like 7 & 7 on occasion).
And to clarify, WI Old Fashions are usually, though not always, made with Brandy. I prefer this. And put olives in mine. You olive whimp.
Well, east coast native, this is intended to be more of a default drink for those moments when I am paralyzed by indecision at a bar.
And secretly, I would love to walk into a bar someday and say, "Oh, I'll have the usual" and have them pour whatever the default drink is.
Bone - I've been thinking about this, and not only have I decided that you shouldn't take points away from drinks that may have a high variance in quality, I think that is a reason to advance them to the finals.
Here's my logic - you order a Budweiser (well, _you_ don't, but somebody does), you know what you're getting - every time, every place. On the other hand, like rats in an experiment or old ladies at the slots, if you don't quite know what to expect the next time to push the food button with your nose, pull the big arm, or order your Whiskey Sour, there's a chance that it'll be the best Whiskey Sour you've ever had. There's a chance it'll be the worst, too, but that's part of the game. You don't want to become bored with your signature drink, right? And, slowly, you can learn what distinguishes a terrible from a decent from a fantastic drink, so that eventually, you'll find yourself a connisseur. And a conniseur is a fine thing to be. I wonder if I'm spelling that right.
Good point, J. Bro. I will take this into consideration.
BTW, who is this mysterious Hearter of WI? I have a guess, but do you care to leave any clues?
Oh come on t-bone, I danced with you this past weekend! How quickly you forget a pretty face. Or maybe you didn't recognize we with painted nails and a little eye shadow. Former "girls' night" participants would not believe it. I'll send pics.
I heart WI should be known only because the Old Fashioned was her choice of cocktail during a notorious cocktail party. Plus she orders them all the time.
As my other half would likely say, you should go with the old fashioned or the sidecar -- two of his standbys if he deems the establishment worthy of creating them. After all, he's converted many to drinking the old fashioned in particular and has taken to making them at home, muddler and all.
Otherwise, Leine's all the way.
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