#LeftShark Cocktail

This cocktail is dedicated to my friends Ilana Watson and Amanda Anderson whose love of blue drinks and Left Shark awesomeness inspired it's creation. 

#LeftShark Cocktail

Lately I have found myself fascinated by the internet wonder that is the Left Shark, also known as #leftshark. If you do not know, the Left Shark was a backup dancer for Katy Perry's half-time show. During the song "Teenage Dream", Katy had two backup dancers dressed in bright blue cartoon-ish "shark" costumes. The shark on the right was perfect, every dance move in step and smooth. The shark on the left was out of sync and kinda awkward, but it didn't matter, he was just having a good time. 

Left Shark

The internet exploded with love for Left Shark posting memes, hashtags, even tattoos, featuring this new champion of seemingly, “dancing to the beat of your own drum.” It was inevitable. I had to create a #leftshark cocktail. It needed to be blue, tropical and boozy, but most of all it had to be fun! I wanted a cocktail that captured the spirit of celebration that was Left Shark. It is my hope that this cocktail will inspire people to let their own inner Left Shark come out to play. Yes, I am an enabler.

The #leftshark cocktail is a variation of the traditional Blue Hawaiian. You may recall I did a blog post on the Blue Hawaiian back in 2013. First off you have 2 oz of Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum. This gives you a nice base spirit with a spicy sweet flavor. Then you’ll add 2 oz of pineapple juice and 1 oz of Malibu Pineapple Rum. This gives you a little natural tropical flavor, and a big dose of candy sweet pineapple boozy-ness. Now, add in 1 oz of coconut cream, (I use Coco-Real) bringing your flavor balance back to a nice pineapple and coconut pairing. For your final base ingredient add 1 oz Blue Curacao. Then shake and strain into a tall Collins glass with ice. 

You should have a nice slim blue cocktail with some room at the top. Now do a float of heavy whipping cream to fill up the rest of the glass. Do the float just like you would for an Irish Coffee by pouring it over the back of a spoon and letting it literally float and build up on top of the cocktail. When finished you should have a tall blue cocktail with a white cap on top. Garnish with a speared pineapple or cherry. Or to really kick up the kitchy-ness of this masterpiece garnish with a gummy shark. You can usually find gummy sharks at the supermarket (try the bulk candy section), or a specialty candy store like Sweet Factory in the mall)

#LeftShark

2 Oz Spiced Rum
2 Oz Pineapple Juice

1 Oz Malibu Pineapple Rum

1 Oz  Coco Real

1 Oz Blue Curacao

-----

In mixing glass Add Rums, Pineapple Juice, Coco Real & Blue Curacao

Add ice and shake till frosted

Strain into tall Collins glass with ice

Float heavy whipping cream to fill the rest of glass

Garnish with Cherry or Pineapple spear or if possible a gummy shark!

I large straw

Serve with a smile and some good tunes. The party has begun. 

P.S. eat the gummy shark first!

Autumn Breeze for Heidi Davis

Autumn Breeze

 Recently my friend Heidi Davis gave me a bottle of Crater Lake Sweet Ginger Vodka. The following cocktail creation is for her. My friends I give you, The Autumn Breeze.

     First off we have the Sweet Ginger Vodka. Heidi, loves her vodka, and she loves baking. The more exotic the flavor pairings, the better.  My first introduction to her was a Chocolate, Orange, Chipotle cupcake. So this Sweet Ginger infused Vodka is just her thing. Note, when you consider ginger in reference to a cocktail you often think of a ginger ale or a ginger beer. However, the sweetened or candied aspect of this Sweet Ginger Vodka lends itself more to visions of ginger snaps and gingerbread cookies. This particular bottle was made by Bendistillery in Oregon. But there are other Ginger Vodkas out there, though they may be a bit rare to find. I know Skyy makes a Ginger infused Vodka.  

     To this we’ve added Aviation Gin, which is made by House Spirits Distillery here is Portland. This is a special cocktail, after all. I like Gin and Whiskey in the fall. Summer is filled with Rum, Pirate drinks with lots of citrus fruit and tropical awesomeness. But to me there is something about drinking a Blue Hawaiian in the fall that is taboo as that whole wearing white after Labor Day thing. During the Summer you want a cocktail they will cool you off and relax you. During the fall you want something that will warm your insides. But, it’s not time for hot toddies hot ciders and Irish Coffees yet. Though in my opinion any evening is fine for Irish Coffee…digressing. Warm the insides, play with the pallet, and mellow out the brain cells.

     Then we have our cranberry juice. Cranberry juice and vodka, cranberry juice and gin, both are just tasty, so, why not have both? Cranberries are definitely an element of fall and the holidays. Tart and sweet. And paring sooo nicely with our Sweet Ginger.

Lastly, our garnish. A flamed orange peel. Run the peel over the rim of a chilled martini glass. Then lay into the drink after it’s poured. The sweet and citrus really brings out the flavors in the gin, and my friend Heidi loves to chew on the orange peel in a cocktail. This cocktail is for her, so, orange peel.

     The Autumn Breeze is served up after being stirred or swirled in a cocktail shaker and strained into a martini glass, giving it a very classic look and feel. Enjoy.

---

In a shaker with ice combine

1 ½ oz Sweet Ginger Infused Vodka

1 oz Aviation Gin (a good American Gin will do the trick)

2 oz Cranberry Juice

now swirl the shaker or use a bar spoon to stir it thoroughly chilling the drink

using a paring knife or peeler cut a small section of orange peel

run the inside of this along the rim of a chilled martini glass

strain the cocktail into the glass and lay the orange peel on top

AMF

AMF

So Friday night I posted the pic at the right  with the following caption.

"This particular cocktail is called an AMF. Which stands for Adios My Friend, or another MF variation. Right now I'm claiming it stands for After My Friday. Yay much needed weekend..."
 
Several of you inquired about the ingredients so, my friends I give to you the AMF.  I first discovered the AMF whilst performing a Murder Mystery at some hotel in Portland. I was waiting outside for my fantastically over the top death scene when a waiter walked by with a tall pint glass of something blue. My first thought was "Romulan Ale???" Ner the less, I had to know. I mean …it was blue.  This was in the early stages of my mixology ventures so I was not familiar with the kitschy wonder of Blue Curacao. Soon as the show was over I cornered the waiter and inquired about the blue drink. He relayed to me that it was basically like a long island iced tea with sprite or a suicide of booze, blue curacao, and sprite. It was called an AMF. Adios M***** F*****, or some call it Adios My Friend. Like I said it was kitschy..and blue.

I then went home did a bit of research jotted down a few recipe ideas and then pretty much forgot them. Honestly, the AMF became more of a joke around my bar. It was the crazy drink that I'd never actually make. First of all the name, and the ridiculous amount of booze going on. Well a few weeks back I was feeling crazy making up some cocktails for neighbors when someone asked if I could make them an AMF? So, I found my recipe notebook and set to work. The recipe I used for that first AMF was the most common you'll find. It is simply this, 1/2 oz of each of the following Light Rum, Silver Tequila, Gin, Vodka, and Blue Curacao. Pour each into a Pint Glass of ice. Then add 2 oz of Sour Mix, and top off with Sprite. Stir & Serve with a lemon wedge. It was definitely boozy but not very blue. it was satisfactory for a first go, but I knew I could do better. Not to mention I found the taste left much to be desired. I'm just not a "let's choke this down in hopes of getting blitz-faced kinda guy," which led to the following adjustments

Use a Shaker Glass with ice.
That's right we're gonna do some shaking. I'll explain more in a bit.

Drop the Tequila.
Here's what I've found. Tequila can get some folks really squeemish, too many "bad memories", and the flavor can be overbearing and not very complementary to the cocktail.

Increase the portions of the three remaining pure spirits.
Use 3/4 oz of each of the following spirits Light Rum, Vodka and a decent Gin. There is no need to use real expensive spirits here. Don't use up a good, what I call "Martini" Gin ie: Bombay Sapphire or Tanqueray on a mixed drink like this. Now, while we have dropped 1 spirit, we have also increased the amount of the other three. So instead of 2 oz of pure spirits we now have 2 1/4 oz. Plus, by increasing the measures you can now actually taste the rum, the vodka, and the gin. They create a much more interesting and satisfying flavor pallet.

Increase the amount of Blue Curacao.
There are 3 primary draws to this drink. The blending of the multiple spirits, the quantity of said spirits and the blue color. So increase the Blue Curacao to 1 oz. The drink will be much more aesthetically pleasing, and you will have even increased the liquor content a bit.

Cut back on the Sour Mix. Use 1 1/2 oz Sour Mix. The Sour Mix is fulfilling our citrus ingredients so we want a decent amount but 2 whole oz of Sour Mix strikes me as an attempt to cover up bad flavor. It's overkill and wasteful.

Shake it up
You now have your pure spirits, your liqueur in the Blue Curacao as well as the Sour Mix for your citrus element. The general bar tending rule is stir pure spirits, shake citrus & juices. By shaking this cocktail you'll chill it more effectively, you'll truly mix the spirits together allowing their individual characteristics to really come out and you'll get some foam and fizz from citrus element of the Sour Mix.

Pour the shaken cocktail over ice in a pint glass then top it with Lemon-Lime soda.

Garnish with a small orange wheel
I like the look of the orange with the blue and it is highly unlikely that someone is going to squeeze a wedge of lemon into this drink like a Long-Island Iced Tea.

So in simplest of terms here is my recipe for the AMF. 

---

3/4 Oz Light Rum

AMF...  good times to ensue!

3/4 Oz Vodka
3/4 Oz Gin
1 Oz Blue Curacao
1 1/2 Oz Sour Mix
Sprite
Orange wheel for garnish

In a shaker glass 3/4 full of ice add 3/4 Oz of the following. Light Rum, Vodka and Gin. Now add 1 oz Blue Curacao and 1 1/2 Oz Sour Mix. Shake and strain into a Pint Glass with ice. Top with Lemon-Lime Soda. Serve with an Orange Wheel garnish.  Enjoy!

Orange Creamsicle

Orange Creamsicle

     Ah, Summer. Yes, I know we are in the latter end. Ner the less I had to share the following tasty summer treat. The Orange Creamsicle. The words immediately spark your taste buds. And much like the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. Your expectations of how this is gonna taste are spot on.


     So, things finally fell into place and the perfect summer weekend was approaching. It was my 41st birthday and we were having a few friends over to celebrate, enjoy the river, and lift some libations to the goodness of life. My friend Leia, who you may recall from the entry about the Irish Coffee texted me the following


     “I’ve been daydreaming of a cocktail that tastes like a grown up orange creamsicle...Could you mix such a beauty?”


     Challenge accepted.  


     First up. Vanilla Vodka. My preference is Burnett’s. It’s cost effective and tastes great. You may recall how well this worked with the Pineapple Upside Down cake. As I began to research the variations of this type of cocktail I found many recipes recommended using Whipped Cream Vodka. Let’s address this. The essential flavors I recall from enjoying an orange creamsicle as a kid are sweet orange and vanilla. A creamsicle is not sweet orange and whipped cream, it’s sweet orange and vanilla ice cream. So, instead of using Whipped Cream Vodka, I use Vanilla Vodka.


     Next, we have Orange Curacao. Curacao is an orange flavored liqueur, a popular variety is Triple Sec. We’ve used Blue Curacao in the Blue Hawaiian. Where Blue Curacao is blue in color, Orange Curacao is, well...orange. So not only are we getting that nice sweet orange flavor, but we’ve brought some color to the mix as well. Color is key in presentation. It prepares the senses and enhances the experience. So, now we have a good combination of spirit and liqueur giving us a nice alcohol profile without being too boozy in it’s flavor. But be forewarned, it will sneak up on you. Yay!


     I always find that a great cocktail is a good combination of spirits and fruit juice, especially citrus fruits. So to help add volume, flavor, color, and that citrus zing I use a little bit of Orange Juice. This also helps bring an even more natural orange flavor to the cocktail. And hey, Orange Juice means Vitamin C right? Cuz, that’s healthy???


     In addition to the suggestions of using Whipped Cream Vodka, I found another recipe suggestion that I wanted to avoid, the use of Ice Cream. As I stated before, the flavor you get from an orange creamsicle is sweet orange and vanilla. So the natural standout for many people is to use ice cream. This just doesn’t sit right with me. I want a cocktail, not a booze milkshake. However, there is something very satisfying and reminiscent in the sweet, cool, creamy texture you get from ice cream. Therefore, I use Heavy Cream, and a little Simple Syrup.


    Before we build, lets talk a bit about glassware. The more I play with cocktails the more I find that the glassware is such a key component in the drink itself. The right glassware can convey so much. In the case of the Pineapple Upside Down Cake we use a Martini Glass, which displays the layering of the pineapple juice and the cherry with the grenadine centered on the bottom. A Pina-Colada is big, bold and celebrational, it looks great in a Hurricane Glass. A Zombie is more about flavor profile and effect, and always looks mysterious in a Tiki Glass. I think you catch what I’m saying. The Orange Creamsicle is fun, it’s a party cocktail. You wanna get out in the sun and just have a good time. A Martini Glass is too sophisticated, and can spill easily. A Rocks Glass, is just too ordinary. For me, I love to use a Collins Glass. It’s easy to hold on to and the tall shape and clarity of the glass really shows off the orange creamy color and texture. It says, “Look what I’m drinking. Yes, I’m having more fun than you!”


     Alright, lets build this. Fill your Collins Glass with crushed ice. If you don’t have crushed ice, regular ice will have to do. Now in a shaker with ice add 1 oz Vanilla Vodka, 1 oz Orange Curacao, 1 ½ oz Orange Juice, 1 ½ oz Heavy cream, and ¾ Simple Syrup. Shake till good and cold.  Strain over the ice in your Collins Glass. Serve with a speared cherry and a bendy straw. There you have it. The Orange Creamsicle. The taste is truly, as my friend Leia said...“Summer in a glass!” Enjoy!
------
Orange Creamsicle

Leia says, "It's Summer in a Glass!"

1 oz Vanilla Vodka
1 oz Orange Curacao
1 ½  oz Orange Juice
1 ½ oz Heavy Cream
¾ Simple Syrup
-------
Put all ingredients in shaker with ice,
shake & pour in Collins Glass with crushed ice.
garnish with speared cherry and serve with a bendy straw

Irish Coffee

Irish Coffee

I first discovered Irish Coffee while rehearsing for a murder mystery at Kells Irish Pub in Portland Oregon. I was always mistakenly under the impression that Irish Coffee contained Baileys and therefore just did not hold as much interest to me. However, when I discovered that this was not the case my curiosity was all the more piqued. I then watched as the bartender prepared this masterpiece. A spoonful of brown sugar, some Jameson Irish Whiskey and then coffee. What he did next forever sealed this as my favorite hot cocktail. He took a spoon, rested it on the edge of the glass and slowly poured heavy whipping cream over the top. It cascaded down and floated perfectly on top of the coffee. And the taste was amazing. Warm, sweet, sipping the coffee through the rich cream with the right smoothness of Jameson to finish off every sip. My friend Leia was with me and as she saw the magic taking place she also ordered an Irish Coffee. And yes, the second one, for each of us, tasted just as good as the first. And it was one of my favorite rehearsals ever. 



The beauty of the Irish Coffee is the simplicity of the ingredients and their preparation. There is no need to buy a bunch of fancy syrups or liqueurs. No need for a tremendous amount of juicing or muddling. However, you do want to make sure you use the correct glassware. The key is thick glass with a handle or a strong solid stem as you will be holding a hot beverage. Thin glass can crack, or simply become too hot to hold.  Also, much like chilling a glass for a colder cocktail you’ll want to warm the glass for an Irish Coffee. This is best done by pouring hot water into the glass a minute or so before you prepare the cocktail itself. 



While it is the last ingredient added to the Irish Coffee it is best to prepare the cream first. You just want to whip the cream ever so slightly, all you want to do is mix air into the cream giving it a lighter texture so that it will float on top of the coffee. The common errors are to either not whip enough in which case your cream simply sinks into the glass like a typical everyday cup of joe. Or you whip it too much and now you have a thick blob of cream that you have to scoop, dollop, or jiggle into the glass, which often spills some of the coffee making a mess and then floats in the middle of your drink like an iceberg of shame. For a single coffee I recommend mixing about 1 oz of heavy whipping cream and a ½ oz of simple syrup in a small glass. To whip the cream use a small whisk or fork to stir vigorously, or ideally use a small battery powered hand mixer like you would use to froth a cup of coffee. Alright, if the cream is ready it’s time to build our cocktail.

Irish Coffee
2 oz Irish whiskey
1 tsp brown sugar
4-5 oz hot coffee
Heavy cream
-------------------------
Mix 1 oz heavy whipping cream with ½ oz simple syrup in a separate small glass. Pour hot water into a thick handled or thick stemmed glass. Let sit while you brew about 4-5 oz coffee. Pour out hot water, scoop 1 spoonful brown sugar, add 2 oz Irish Whiskey. Stir. Add coffee. Stir. Using warm spoon on edge of glass pour cream over spoon as it floats on top of the coffee.  


If the coffee is not yet brewed, now is the time to do so. You’ll want to stay away from flavored coffee’s. A nice medium or dark roast should do you nicely. I prefer Starbucks Pike Place roast, but I leave that to your coffee palate. Now, while waiting for the coffee to brew fill the glass about ¾ full of hot water. The glass will steam up and this is a good sign. After about a minute or once your coffee is brewed pour out the hot water. Now scoop 1 spoonful of brown sugar into your glass and add 2 oz of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Use the spoon to break up the brown sugar and stir slightly into the whiskey. Now pour about 4-5 oz of the hot coffee and stir once or twice. You should have about 1/2 an inch or less to the top of the glass. The perfect place to float the cream. Now place the warm spoon upside down on the rim of your glass. And gently pour the cream over the top of the spoon. It should cascade down the spoon and float on top of the coffee giving it a nice frothy head, much like a fine stout. Once it reaches the top, remove the spoon and serve.   

Pina Colada

Pina Colada

The Pina Colada is truly a classic cocktail. Deliciously sweet, fruity, and creamy, it even works well without any rum. But this is my blog. There will be rum. The Pina Colada was created by Ramon Marrero at Puerto Rico’s Caribe Hilton in 1957. Supposedly it is also written somewhere in cocktail lore that Trader Vic was not favorable to the name Pina Colada because it did not sound “tiki” enough and actually referred to it as the Bahia. Yet, this is in my opinion the cocktail most often identified with “tiki.”
The simplest version of the recipe is as follows. 1½ oz light or gold rum, 2 oz cream of coconut, 3 oz pineapple juice. Add all the ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake very well, strain into a tall glass with fresh ice, garnish with pineapple & cherry. Or you can blend the ingredients with crushed ice, and then pour into a tall glass, garnish with pineapple & cherry as well. As I said this is the simplest version. However, if you are looking for a tropical cocktail with amazing flavor, texture and a little complexity then allow me to share with you my favorite Pina Colada recipe.

This recipe comes from the book The Craft of The Cocktail by Dale Degroff. It is this book that introduced me to my love of cocktails & mixology. Special thanks to my longtime friend Bryan for buying it for me.
 
First up light rum. This is a crisp clean sweet spirit from molasses and sugarcane juice. Light rum is fermented and filtered in steel helping maintain it’s purity and clear coloring. It is this crispness and sweetness that makes light rum so popular in mixed drinks. In fact the original daiquiri was little more than light rum, lime juice and a little sugar or simple syrup.  

Next we have Dark Rum, I prefer Myers Dark. Dark Rum is stored in charred oak barrels much like bourbon thus taking on those bold and rich flavors.

To this you want to add Cream of Coconut. This is not coconut milk, coconut flavored water or coconut flavored rum. Cream of coconut is what gives you that rich, full coconut flavor and texture. As with my other cocktails I use Coco Real.

Following this we have 1 oz of heavy cream. This really enhances that creamy buttery texture. This drink just melts on the tongue, and this is why. Some people will even add ice cream to a pina colada. I do not.

Add your pineapple juice. As with most pineapple drinks you want to use the freshest unsweetened concentrate you can find. If you actually have access to freshly squeezed, extracted pineapple juice, by all means use it.

To add just a hint of spice, and taste bud teasing use 1 dash of bitters. I use Angostura. I personally have not taken the time to play with the myriad of flavored bitters making their way into cocktail culture. For me, for now, this classic standard of Angostura is quite sufficient.

Pina Colada
1 ½ Oz Light Rum
1 Oz Dark Rum
2 OZ Coco Cream
1 Oz Heavy Cream
4 Oz Pineapple Juice
Dash of Bitters
1 Cherry Speared
------
Combine all ingredients in cocktail shaker, add ice and shake very well. Pour into cocktail glass. Add speared cherry.

For most the pina colada is a coconut/pineapple slushie with rum added. If this is what you seek I recommend getting some pre-made mix, adding your ice & rum, blend it up and party on. However, if you really want to experience the layers and textures of this drink, then you want to shake this drink. The blending process has a strong tendency to dilute your drink and most of the flavor gets lots in the best attempt to avoid a brain freeze. Here’s what I do encourage. Try both. Experience the difference for yourself.
Okay, so lets build. Combine all ingredients: Light Rum, Dark Rum, Cream of Coconut, Heavy Cream, Pineapple Juice, & a dash of bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add crushed ice and shake very thoroughly. Pour this into a tall glass and garnish with a speared cherry. If you have fresh pineapple to add to the spear, this is a bonus. My friends, enjoy!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Wow, Labor Day, really? It seems the summer is nearly through, but before the leaves turn there is still celebration & libation to be had. This week's cocktail is a fantastic summer-celebrating fruity treat, with a delight of sweetness and a tease of the tastebuds. My friends I give you the Pineapple Upside Down Cake. This is a particular favorite during a party because it does not take long to make, the presentation is fantastic, and you have the added bonus of hearing people say “Wow, it really tastes like  pineapple upside down cake!” because, trust me, it does.

The ingredients for this one are simple. First off, pineapple juice. I use frozen concentrate. I’m sure if you did use fresh squeezed it would be a case of awesome made awesom-er, nevertheless for me, for now concentrate is sufficient. One thing I will say in regards to this is it is best to use unsweetened pineapple juice as there is plenty of other sweetness we will be adding along the way.

Since we are using pineapple juice it will be best to garnish this drink with a cherry at the bottom. This is best done right before mixing your cocktail. And I love the way a cherry sits at the bottom of a martini glass, soaking up the cocktail ingredients for a delightful chewy huzzah at the end.

Next up vanilla vodka. I have learned to make peace with the crazy array of infused and flavored vodkas making their way into cocktail culture. Though I've yet to see what will be done with “Salmon Vodka.” I kid you not. No need to go too expensive with the vanilla vodka, but at least consider a mid range brand. I use Pinnacle. It’s readily available, cost effective, and they really seem to be one of the more popular infused / flavored vodka brands, especially in the range of dessert vodkas.

To help bring that baked crust taste you want to use amaretto. Amaretto is essentially a sweet almond flavored liqueur.  The most common of these is Disaronno. For my first go round making the pineapple upside down cake I used Gozio Amaretto and found it worked quite nicely.  To give the cocktail some color and a little more sweetness, this is based on a dessert after all, you will add a small splash of grenadine which also helps enhance the pineapple upside down cake appearance.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
1 ½ Oz Vanilla Vodka
3 Oz Pineapple Juice
½ Oz Amaretto
Splash of Grenadine
1 Cherry
----
Prep Martini Glass with Cherry. Combine Vodka, Pineapple Juice and Amaretto in cocktail shaker. Add ice & shake well. Strain into martini glass, add small splash of grenadine.

So, the build on this is fairly simple. First, prep a chilled martini glass with a sizable maraschino cherry at the bottom. Now, in your cocktail shaker add 1 ½ oz of vanilla vodka, 3 oz of pineapple juice and ½ oz of amaretto. Add ice and shake till chilled. Strain into martini glass. You will see a thin layer of foam at the top because of the pineapple juice.

Now add just a splash of grenadine in the middle while still maintaining the foamy layer. The grenadine should sink down around the cherry. The cocktail should now have a fun layered look of cherry on the bottom, a yellowish vanilla, amaretto, pineapple layer in the middle and a thin foamy white top with a hint of pink in the center where the grenadine splashed through. Enjoy!