The new Fatty ‘Cue gives good ice.
thebluehour asked: Since M (and you by default) are the Tumblr Cocktail aficionados, what are your (his) thoughts on whiskey stones? Worth it? A fad?
Let me take you back to Christmas 2009. It was the first that M. and I spent together and it was critical that I earn awesome-girlfriend chops by getting him snazzy gifts. One of those (or so I thought) was a set of whiskey stones. We tried them that New Year’s Eve with champagne and … they made our champagne taste like rocks. We gave them another shot with whiskey and … they made our whiskey taste like rocks.
So I would say — no, not worth it.
Instead of whiskey stones, I recommend these, ahem, cool gifts for the whiskey or cocktail aficionado in your life:
Tovolo King Cube Ice Trays: the large cubes melt slowly, keeping your whiskey or cocktail (any Collins, any highball drink) cold without watering them down too much. (We also use the regular-size Tovolo Perfect Cube trays for everyday ice.)
Spherical Ice Trays: they perform the same function as King Cubes but they’re round and very attractive in the glass. The Japanese store MUJI sells lovely silicone versions.
Polar Ice Tray: ice trays that promise “beautiful crystal clear ice” (the Holy Grail of cocktail geeks) in pebbles, cubes, rocks, or triangles. I haven’t seen it in action, but I’m very curious.
For more inspiration, I rounded up the essentials of a well-stocked cocktail bar and six classic cocktail recipes that can be endlessly improvised upon.
Hope this helps!
I’d be remiss if I didn’t give a shout-out to the beautiful ice shards that fill every water glass at Aviary, an echo of the Alinea centerpiece. (If there’s one thing us upper-Midwesterners know, it’s ice.)
Ice turned [the barkeeper] from a host and server…into a juggler, a conjuror, and an artist. Iced drinks had always been available for the few, but in the 1830s with the burgeoning trade in fresh, clean New England ice, delivered by horse-drawn carts from insulated central warehouses even in the hottest months of the year, ordinary people started getting used to the stuff, expecting it, calling for it in their drinks. Suddenly, the bartending game was entirely transformed.
Ice turned [the barkeeper] from a host and server…into a juggler, a conjuror, and an artist. Iced drinks had always been available for the few, but in the 1830s with the burgeoning trade in fresh, clean New England ice, delivered by horse-drawn carts from insulated central warehouses even in the hottest months of the year, ordinary people started getting used to the stuff, expecting it, calling for it in their drinks. Suddenly, the bartending game was entirely transformed.David Wondrich (via caryrandolph)
A bartender uses ice like a chef uses flame.
Get yer ice porn here and here. How to make block ice here. How to terrify your girlfriend with it here. Ideas for its use here and here.
And a tip: if the bar has a Kold-Draft machine, it’s always worth the trip.
Spherical Ice Tray ($16): the smart way to chill sipping spirits and spirit-forward cocktails. (Way smarter than those rocks.) The larger the ice, the slower it melts. Alternately: Tovolo King Cube Extra Large Silicone Ice Cube Trays.
It should come as no surprise that we have both. If you think my boyfriend is obsessed with ice (he is), get a load of those crazy Japanese: $2000 spherical ice molds are par for the course (catch one in action Stateside at PDT). Whenever she returned from trips to her mother’s homeland, our former roommate brought back assorted ice toys for M., including a spherical tray. If nothing else, it’s pretty (be sure to use boiled water).
(Via heyyoushouldbuythis.)
For perfectly clear ice cubes (and why wouldn’t you want your ice cubes to be perfectly clear?), boil the water and let it cool before pouring into trays.
In related news, while we were hanging out on the terrace yesterday evening, he got chilly, so he went in to get a jacket (a particularly soft and handsome one by Mr. Oscar Udeshi). But before he puts it on, he puts on a beautifully understated silver tie.
“Are you going out?” I ask.
“No, I just hate wearing a jacket and collared shirt without a tie.”
I start laughing uncontrollably. (I am wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt, ready for our cozy night in.)
He smirks, sees himself (for a moment) as I see him. “What am I, a farmer?”
PS: That’s homemade bergamotcello (like limoncello) in the Beefeater bottle. I’ll post the recipe sometime.
Bar porn: a glorious hunk of perfectly clear ice. To achieve, they start with hot water and agitate the tank as it freezes. M. says you can use vibrators for the same effect.
“Waterproof vibrators?” I asked. “I mean, I’ve heard they exist.”
Our invitation to the Obamas’ state dinner seems to have gotten lost in the mail (sigh! I do rather think we’d make a grand duke and duchess to their glamorous king and queen), so we’re having a quiet noche a casa.
As you know, a quiet noche chez M&N is not complete without a round of de-luscious cocktails. I offer you tonight’s recipe, for it is quite possibly the most fabulous use of Thanksgiving leftovers you good pilgrims will taste….
The Duke and Duchess (for two)
3 ounces apple brandy (Laird’s will do)
3.5 ounces mulled apple cider
2 tbsp. cranberry sauce (or .5 ounce syrup drained from cranberry sauce)
Optional: Angostura bitters
Place cranberry sauce in a cocktail shaker or large tumbler and muddle for about 1 minute. Add brandy and cider and stir until thoroughly blended. (If using syrup, simply combine all ingredients at once. If you’re using apple cider that is not mulled, you may want to add two dashes of Angostura bitters at this point.) Place a piece of block ice* in two rocks glasses (or place two ice cubes, each, in the glasses). Strain the cocktail through a chinois (fine metal mesh) or similar (note that straining is not critical if you used syrup instead of sauce). Cheers!
* Block ice, being bigger and “harder” — less air bubbles — melts much more slowly than standard cubes, making it ideal for manly, stirred drinks like Manhattans and the Duke and Duchess. You can make your own using water, a 2-inch-deep metal pan (about 6” x 6”), and a freezer, as M. does (but I must again remind you that despite what you may have read in the Gray Lady, this is not a chore he performs “daily”). Once frozen, invert the tray and pop the ice block out, or partially immerse it in hot water and then pop it out. Using a very sharp chef’s knife and a healthy sense of caution, cut into chunks that are about the size of your glasses.
I am dating a maniac, part 3. (Yes, that’s ice. And, no: despite what you may have read in The New York Times, he does not make “his own block ice, daily.”)
The Great American Cooking Project