Halloween

A few suggestions for seasonally spooky drinks for this weekend:

Pumpkin Spice Old Fashioned

A flexible syrup to be used in place of simple syrup in your Autumn drinks.  Try it in drinks based on dark spirits such as the Old Fashioned, Sazerac or Sidecar:

1. Add 165g brown sugar and 200g granulated sugar to 350ml of water and stir over a medium heat to dissolve.
2. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg, 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves and 85g pumpkin puree and whisk well.
3. Simmer for eight minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Strain through a muslin cloth, add 1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract once cool and keep refrigerated for up to three weeks.

Corpse Reviver #2

Appropriately named, but delicious all year round:

1. Shake 25ml gin, 25ml Lillet Blanc, 25ml Cointreau and 25ml fresh lemon juice with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled absinthe-rinsed coupe.
3. This time of year we like to top this with a thick green absinthe foam, whipped up strong enough to suspend a few spooky jelly sweets.

Nosferatini (Tony Conigliaro, Drink Factory)

Just the right side of disturbing, this is the drink Dracula would make himself after a long night out feeding:

1. Make a ‘blood solution’ by crushing an iron tablet and adding three teaspoons of red food colouring and one teaspoon of caster sugar.  Stir well.
2. Add 50ml London dry gin and 15ml dry vermouth and stir with ice.
3. Strain into a chilled martini glass and add two drops of the blood solution.

Photo courtesy of Jon Joh, some rights reserved.

Black Tot Day

Today is Black Tot Day and the 45th anniversary of the last ever daily rum ration served to sailors in the Royal Navy. After over three hundred years of tradition, at six bells in the forenoon watch (11am) on 31 July 1970, ‘Up Spirits’ was piped on the Bos’n’s call and the grog tub was rolled out for the last time across the British fleet.

The rum ration had held a sacred place in the hearts of Navy sailors since it was first introduced in 1655 as part of the standard Navy rationing of beer, wine and spirits in place of tea, coffee, cocoa and water on all shifts. Until 1740 each sailor was entitled to half a pint of neat rum (40% proof) and a gallon of beer if they wanted it – and most did. 

The rum ration in particular was doled out in a ceremony announced by the Bos’n piping “Up Spirits”. At this call, senior crew members would convene at the door of the Spirit Room, the heavily padlocked home of the ship’s casks of hard liquor. Inside, the Butcher tapped a cask and drew off the day’s ration for the entire ship’s company. Neat tots were issued for the Chiefs and Petty Officers and then the remainder, in a padlocked cask or breaker, was carried to the rum tub.

At Rumcall (played on the bugle) the breaker was unlocked and emptied carefully into the oak tub, with the company arranged in reverence to its shining brass hoops and inscription of “The King – God Bless Him”.

At this point the Petty Officer would consult his ledger and grandly announce the number of tots to which each mess was entitled. Once served, the remainder was poured away down the scuppers (or snuck back to the officers’ cabins).

By 1740, however, Admiral ‘Old Grogram’ Vernon had decided that drunkenness was a scourge up with which the Navy should not put and introduced a ‘Grog’ of 4 parts water to 1 part rum.

However even this dilution was not enough to keep the sailors in a shipshape condition. By 1745 the Navy had decided to cut back on mixing their drinks and moved to issue beer and spirit rations on alternate days. Eleven years later, the thoughtful addition of lime to the rum further mitigated the effects of the Grog and also had the benefit of guarding against scurvy, although it did give the British the nickname of Limeys.

By 1810 it was clear that the Admiralty was taking its dipsological responsibilities seriously as they codified the rum blend to be used across the fleet (thus creating Navy Rum and a recipe still used by Lamb’s to this day) and by 1824 space considerations were clearly more of a concern and the ration was halved to a quarter pint per man (also known as a tot). This freed up more space in the hold for limes, cannonballs, cabin boys and all the ephemera of a modern naval force.

Again, in 1850, Parliament raised concerns about the level of drinking on the high seas and proposed the abolition of the rum ration. Fortunately common sense prevailed and in some presumably excellent negotiations, the decision was made to merely halve the ration to 1/8 pint per sailor per day, to be served once a day, rather than twice, at noon.

Finally on Black Tot Day the ration itself was abolished in an occasion of great solemnity and mourning; some sailors wore black armbands, and some tots were buried at sea.  It was widely accepted that the extra can of beer that had been added to daily rations was scant compensation.

Genuine Navy Grog

1. Add four parts water to one part navy rum.  Add lime (post 1756) and enjoy.

Modern Navy Grog

1. Dissolve three teaspoons of honey in 50ml rum.
2. Add 10ml fresh lime juice, two dashes of Angostura bitters and 50ml water.
3. Add cubed ice and shake for twenty seconds.
4. Strain into an ice filled old fashioned glass and garnish with a wedge of lime

Election Night

It’s Election Day in the UK and while voters shuffle to the polls to put a cross in a box and thus become entitled to complain about the Government for the next five years, The Times asked Luca Corradini, bartender at The American Bar at The Savoy to create a drink for each of the main UK parties.

As several Election Night traditions revolve around waiting up for the results and toasting the demise of some of the best-loathed members of the political establishment we provide reviews of each below and, with a nod to the democratic spirit of the day, give you the chance to vote for your favourite.

A General Election of booze – what’s not to like?

Conservatives

As the largest party in the Government that has run Britain for the last five years, the Tory drink is called Current No 10.  A floral gin-based drink with a hint of spice from the Kummel.  Many will find this one difficult to palate.

1. Stir 50ml gin, 15ml creme de violette, 10ml kummel, 10ml Cocchi Americano and a dash of rose water with cubed ice for sixty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with dried lavender.

Labour

The main challenger (at the ballot box at least) and determined to show their leader has what it takes to be taken seriously on the world stage.  The Labour drink is called the Anything But Mili-bland and is a bitter sweet combination of characters, so it’s a relief to see this one end up moderated somewhat with soda water.

1. Shake 50ml vodka, 10ml Campari, 30ml fresh lemon juice and 15ml grenadine with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled highball glass and top with soda water.
3. Garnish with a lemon twist and a raspberry.

Liberal Democrats

Once the darlings of the disaffected, but now battered and bruised by a punishing five year stint as junior coalition members.  Hoping their pleas to be allowed to moderate the extremes of the major parties will encourage the electorate to let them have another go in charge, albeit under close supervision.  The drink, the Señorita tries to appeal to a broad range of tastes, but ends up putting a lot of people off as a result.  Some of its decisions may take a long time to be forgiven.

1. Shake 50ml tequila, 15ml elderflower, 10ml fino sherry, 30ml pineapple juice and 15ml (2:1) pineapple syrup with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a cobbler glass with ice.
3. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and mixed berries.

UKIP

Angling to replace the Liberal Democrats as the protest vote for those disaffected with the ‘old way of doing things’ UKIP advocate a return to a more insular protectionist time when Britain still had an Empire. The Love It Or Hate It shows a nod to this with a combination of dark rum, spice, egg white and pale ale which will make a handful of adherents go crazy, but leave most people mildly disgusted and hoping it will go away.

1. Shake 50ml dark rum, 15ml Grand Marnier, 10ml pimento dram, 20ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup and 10ml egg white with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled pint glass and top with pale ale.
3. Garnish with a small broken meringue.

Green Party

Hoping to build on the breakthrough the made in 2010 winning their first MP the Green party is striving to move away from its single-issue image with some daring economic policies.  The drink appears to be the most attractive of the lot, and as a result is unlikely to garner much attention and will be largely overlooked on a menu of brash extremes.

1. Blend 50ml vodka, 10ml green Chartreuse, 20ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml sugar syrup, four basil leaves, three dashes of absinthe and an egg white and then shake with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with a basil leaf.

SNP

The Scottish Nationalists have been the rising stars of British politics since coming so close to achieving their main aim of secession in the 2014 referendum.  Having dropped their promise to abstain on non-Scottish matters in Westminster they look set to wield real influence in the next Parliament.  This drink, Sturgeon’s Sharper, serves as a reminder of what the UK would lose if Scotland went its own way.  Built on reassuringly familiar foundations, the addition of cacao seems a rash decision, and an unnecessary amount of sugar, which may have far-reaching consequences.

1. Stir 50ml Mortlach 13yo whisky, 20ml Grand Marnier, 15ml creme de cacao and 10ml Cocchi Americano with cubed ice for sixty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
3. Garnish with an orange zest.

Plaid Cymru

The Welsh national party is not going to cause as much of a stir on the Westminster stage as the SNP, but a strong showing could eat into the Labour vote and make another Conservative-led coalition more likely. The Red Dragon is a welcoming and quite one.  While cynics may say it is just here to make up the numbers, if they were to look a little more closely they may well be surprised by how much they like what they see.

1. Blend 60ml Penderyn Welsh whisky, 30ml fresh lemon juice, 15ml calvados, 10ml raspberry eau de vie, half an egg white and a small piece of red apple and then shake with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain into a chilled coupe.
3. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice.

Now, for the enfranchisement – vote for your favourite below:

Amaretto Sour

So who knew there was a National Amaretto Day? As far as I can tell it just ‘applies’ (such as these days ever really apply to anyone) to the USA, but far be it from us to shy away for any reason to celebrate alcohol, especially alcohol as versatile and delicious as Amaretto.

Amaretto is a sweet almond flavoured liqueur made from apricot pits and/or (not surprisingly) almonds. It has been produced in Saronno since the early sixteenth century.

Anyway, we can celebrate Amaretto Day in a number of ways – perhaps a dash in your morning coffee, or an Amaretto and Coke (which, to be fair, sounds disgusting to me). However, if you’re looking for a more grown up drink there can be only one choice: the Amaretto Sour. 

We’ve discussed the sours family before and noted that for every spirit there is a sour, usually made in a 4:2:1 ratio of spirit, lemon juice and simple syrup. As Amaretto is a very sweet liqueur feel free to dial back the sugar syrup, I feel the recipe below gives a more balanced drink:

1. Shake 50ml Amaretto, 25ml lemon juice, 5ml sugar syrup and 25ml egg white with cubed ice for twenty seconds.
2. Strain back into the shaker and dry shake (no ice) for a further twenty seconds. 
3. Double strain into a chilled rocks glass over ice and garnished with a slice of lemon and a cherry.

The combination of sweet almond and sour lemon makes this a perfect drink for the springtime evening of National Amaretto Day – let us know how you’ll be celebrating…