Drinks


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Valentine’s Special: Endless Wines

Let’s  be honest. You haven’t planned a thing for Valentine’s Day yet, and the odds that you’re actually gonna whip up some fancy-pants desserts are lower and lower by the hour. Restaurants on Valentine’s are the WORST, so we’re back to the only thing any lover (or single person) really wants for V-Day: some vino.

To mark the occasion, ES is giving you another chance to pick up some deeply discounted wines, on us. As those of you who ordered our ES Christmas gift know, NakedWines.com is an awesome new company that invests in independent winemakers. By cutting out the middlemen, they can offer bottles at a serious discount. And Endless Simmer is one-upping that and giving you $100 off your Valentine’s case of wine. That comes out to about $60 for a custom case of delicious wines, no hidden shipping fees or anything

Just click the image below (or here) to redeem your $100 voucher off of any order.

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Cocktail O’Clock: Brothers’ Quarrel

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With the Super Bowl just around the corner, this drink, which comes from the W Austin, is a good pleaser. It’s manly enough for a football party (Bourbon-based) but sweet enough to please those of us who are manly enough to admit we’re in it for the taste. It also pays homage to this year’s brother vs. brother Super Bowl coaches plotl ine by mixing St. Germaine and Canton, two liquors made by two different brothers. According the legend:

The maker of Chambord liquor had two sons. He gave each of his sons a sum of money and said “I want you to take this money and go out and make a liquer better than mine. The catch is that I want you to make a liquer better than each other’s.” With the money in hand and passion in their hearts, each son created a great spirit, one making St. Germaine and the other Canton. Much like the whiskeys also found in this cocktail, an American Bourbon and an English scotch, the brother’s quarreled over which is better.

Who’s right? We have no idea, but this drink sure is a strong one!

Brothers’ Quarrel

1.5 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon
.5 oz st. germain
.5 oz canton ginger
.25 oz pineapple

Shake all, pour over rocks in rocks glass. Then Spritz with Laphroaig and garnish with burnt lemon.

 Find more party drink ideas in Endless Cocktails.

(Photo courtesy W Austin)

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New Obsession: Black Cat Classic Espresso

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I recently picked up a bag of  this Black Cat Espresso (one of the offerings of Intelligentsia’s Black Cat Project). This is not your over-roasted-to-mimic-flavor Starbucks espresso. The beans are a fairly light Latin American blend, with hints of caramel, brown sugar, chocolate and cherry. With a splash of milk, it’s a perfect mid-afternoon pick-me-up.

Most of the at-home espresso machines I’ve used make a dark, bitter, unappetizing shot. I prefer using a french press, which I feel makes it easier to control the outcome of the espresso–I get a rich cup with a fair amount of crema on top. Plus, they are about 90% cheaper than most espresso machines.

To brew espresso at home using a french press:

  1. Measure out 1/4 cup beans. Grind them slightly finer than you would for a typical press (about a medium grind).
  2. Measure 1 cup of cold, filtered water and heat in a tea kettle or saucepan until it starts to boil. Remove from heat (cover if using a saucepan) and let sit for 3 minutes.
  3. Pour the water over the ground beans and give it a quick stir and cover. Let steep for one minute, then press the plunger down. Pour immediately into a short mug (4-oz. mugs work the best). Try it with a swirl of honey, a splash of milk, or just on its own. Serves 2.
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Artsy Cocktail of the Day

Genki

The Genki, from Jasper’s Corner Tap and Kitchen in San Francisco.

Inspired by a dish at Makoto, a traditional Japanese restaurant in Fairfax, Virginia, bartender Kevin Diedrich’s Mexico-meets-Japan cocktail combines Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Partida Blanco, Combier, togarashi syrup, lime juice and egg white, with a sprinkling of matcha salt on top.

More beverage porn in Endless Cocktails.

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Resolving to Make My Own Gin

Everything is DIY these days. People brew their own beer. Urban farmers with backyard chicken coops and beehives are multiplying exponentially…or at least, here in Austin they are. It was only a matter of time before Americans took certain matters into their own hands and started distilling their own homemade liquors as well.

Luckily for us agriculturally-challenged folks, the dudes at the Homemade Gin Kit have our backs. No Boardwalk Empire bathtub swill for us in 2013! Instead, you can send away for a big box packed with (almost) everything you need to create your very own bottle of gin. For $40 plus tax and shipping, they’ll send you juniper berries, a mix of botanicals, spices, and flowers, two glass swing top liquor bottles, a double mesh fine strainer, a funnel, and detailed instructions. All you need to have is your own bottle of mid-grade vodka, and a little bit of patience.

I was fortunate enough to score a sample of the Gin Kit before it was released to the public this holiday season, and I’ll be honest: while the idea of making my own booze was undeniably appealing, I was a liiiiiittle bit skeptical. Could I really make gin just by throwing some dried herbs into a bottle of vodka? Also, I’m pretty picky about gin quality (unlike boxed wine or  well vodka, I actually have standards when it comes to gin, because the cheap stuff makes me nauseous)—would this creation even be up to my standards?

Well, if anyone was up for the challenge of finding out, it was THIS GIRL.

Here’s what came out of my kit:

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Here you can see all the supplies I listed above (plus my own bottle of Vikingfjord Vodka, which is pretty good, and a steal at $10ish!) The equipment is all high-quality stuff—-the glass bottles are really nice and sturdy, and the strainer and funnel are solid as well. I will definitely add these to permanent rotation in my kitchen tool collection.

Anyway, the process is pretty simple. You add some of the juniper to the vodka bottle, wait a day-ish, add the rest of the botanicals, wait longer, than strain out all the crud and funnel the remaining liquid into the glass bottles. Ta-da, gin! The process of making the gin itself took about a weekend (as in, spending 5-10 minutes on each step, every other part was just waiting) and it was fun and exciting. I guess the excitement factor depends on how thrilled you get about booze, but we all know how I feel about that.

Here’s me fulfilling my destiny with the last part of the process, funneling the gin into its final home:

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Post-Holiday Cocktails: Candy Cane Affogato

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While taking down our window wreath, putting away Frank Sinatra’s Christmas album and downing our last bit of eggnog, we were left with an abundance of candy canes. While there are only so many sheets of peppermint bark you can make and cookies to bake, we started brainstorming ways to use the red and white spiraled confections in a sweet and soothing dessert.

While traveling through Italy, we remember sitting at a café on the bank of the Arno River in Florence in the mood for an indulgent afternoon sweet. Our charming waiter suggested affogato (“drowned in coffee”) which traditionally is a scoop of gelato with a shot of hot espresso poured on top. The espresso cooled slightly when it hit the cold gelato and created a melted medley of swirled flavors.

Back in our cozy Boston apartment, we decide to crush our collection of candy canes and sprinkle the flurried bits atop our version of affogato. To add a kick, we top the overflowing liquid with a bit of peppermint schnapps, so we could spoon and sip our nightcap and dessert all in one.

Peppermint Affogato

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