The Dale David Project was temporarily hijacked last night by dinner guest/junior-ninja-bartender-in-training Jenna Noel, of Edible Austin magazine. Apparently I was too distracted by my dinner preparations to adequately keep cocktail glasses full, so Jenna took matters into her own hands.
She picked up the Dale and began mixing drinks at record speed for a junior ninja. I was amazed to find out that we had not covered some very basic drinks that one would assume we'd covered ages ago.
*I apologize for the crappy iPhone photos, we couldn't find the charger for the real camera
The Adonis is a cocktail that, like the Blood & Sand, I thought sounded gross when I first read about it. Sherry, vermouth, orange juice and bitters. It's actually quite refreshing. Like a lower proof Blood & Sand.
The Manhattan! I can't believe we'd not done the Manhattan for this project yet. I chose Michter's for this picture, but usually use Rittenhouse 100 proof. The main thing is that it has to be Rye whiskey (bourbon is a latter-day development and more southern in character); the vermouth needs to be fresh and plentiful; and the bitters are a must. We garnished with an authentic Maraska cherry, but a lemon twist is also acceptable (what is not acceptable is a chemical bomb "maraschino" cherry from the grocery store). For a great instructional video on Manhattan construction, please see my colleague Bobby Heugel's video at DrinkDogma.com
The Dark & Stormy, the classic Goslings cocktail which we made with Maine Root Ginger Beer.
The Gin Gin Mule is an evolution of the Moscow Mule, developed by legendary New York bartender Audrey Saunders. Her version substitutes gin for the vodka, and adds mint. It also calls for house made ginger beer, which we do not have, so we polished off the Maine Root ginger beer for this cocktail.
You've heard of Meaty Monday, and Mixology Monday. Last night we created a hybrid with Meaty Mixology Monday. Boudin, Full Quiver Farms pork chops & pork bratwursts, roasted sweet potatoes and sauteed green beans.
