Every once in a while I get a small case of writers block. Such is the case at the moment. But writing about cocktails isn't overly complicated because you can just pickup a cocktail book and write about whatever drink jumps out at you, or you can do a spirit review. But sometimes you go through a bunch of recipes and realize you need this, or you need that or possibly that doesn't exist and you need to make it from scratch. That seems to be the case tonight since it seems some of my mixer stock is depleted. Sometimes I'll just create a cocktail from scratch using whatever I have lying around, but even that seems like a stretch tonight. The solution to my problem is to write about a cocktail that was made for the Spirited Dinner in New Orleans, called the Apollo's Cup.

The history of Absinthe is long and convoluted. There is plenty of misinformation about the effects of Absinthe, not to mention the laws regarding it. Because of all this misinformation, Absinthe has gained a reputation as a sinister spirit with psychoactive properties. The truth is much different. Absinthe does not have hallucinogenic or aphrodisiac properties, nor does it have any effects similar to marijuana. The reality about Absinthe is being promoted by groups of dedicated Absinthe advocates, like the Wormwood Society. There are also a handful of distillers producing this, once immensely popular, spirit in an artisnal fashion. One of these distillers is Okanagan Spirits, a producer of quality eaux-de-vie’s and now Absinthe, located in the Okanagan Valley region of British Columbia, Canada. In the coming months they will be releasing Taboo and here is a sneak peak at what they have to offer.

Prior to Tales of the Cocktail my knowledge of Absinthe was fairly limited. I knew enough to avoid the Hill’s Absinth at the LCBO and other gimmicky “absinthe” type liquors. The main problem was the actual hands on experience of tasting absinthe. Even though there was never any official ban on Absinthe in Canada, it is still hard to self-import any spirits into Canada. Because of the excellent work of our customs agents (really, that’s their job and I can’t fault them for doing it well) even the Absinthe sellers that guarantee delivery to the US, a country where it is technically banned, won’t ship to Canada. What’s a person to do?

This is one of those general update post to let you know what I have in the queue and what I’ve been working on. The month of August has been exceptionally quiet in the blogosphere, well for me at least. It must be the hangover from Tales of the Cocktail. The quiet time has allowed me to work on a few projects that have been sitting on the backburner.

by Caroline O'Neil

Voila...the Pina Colada. I really thought that Darcy's blog needed a bit of a girlie flare so I've taken over once again. First of all, I would like to say that I am shocked that Darcy has not reviewed this drink before. The Pina Colada is a very popular drink that is requested quite often at the bar. The Pina Colada is spanish for strained pineapple (pina, pineapple + colada, strained). It is a sweet cocktail containing rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice. This is definitely one of my favourite drinks but I find that there is so much variation in how this drink is made. I have been disappointed far too often when ordering this at the bar that I have decided to make the ultimate Pina Colada.

Since I acquired a bottle or Luxardo Maraschino, in New Orleans, I’ve been on a mission to make some of the key classic cocktails that I’ve been missing out on. This is partially to see what these classics tasted like and to also fill out my resume as a knowledgeable bartender. I like to think of bartenders as “liquid chefs”, and like a chef you need to know the classic techniques and recipes before you can truly be called a knowledgeable chef. So, the first two “classics” were the Aviation and the old school Manhattan, one scoring big, the other not so much. The Martinez seems like a logical next step.

The Manhattan is still widely regarded as one of the greatest cocktails ever created. Personally, a well made Manhattan is a cocktail I truly enjoy. It’s perfectly in balance, simple and as a guy I can drink this cocktail anywhere and not feel out of place. It’s also as strong as a properly made martini, but like the martini it started out differently. The martini is based on a cocktail called the Martinez, which for the sake of brevity, was 2 parts vermouth, 1 part gin, bitters and Maraschino. Notice it wasn’t all gin and a wisp of vermouth. The Manhattan started out the same way and that’s the cocktail I’ll be taking a look at.

What do oranges and Canada have in common? Nothing, except maybe the fact the cocktail that goes by the name “Canadian Cocktail” has triple sec and bitters (orange bitters, if you stretch) in it. Ya, I know, you were expecting something with Maple Syrup in it and a Poutine garnish. But it’s Mixology Monday again and the theme is Orange, so any cocktail that uses something orange related works. Check out the Canadian Cocktail and then head on over to Intoxicated Zodiac to see what everyone else is writing about.

The problem with cocktails is that they require so many ingredients, well at least if they are to be done properly. Of course when I make a cocktail I want it done properly so I’m constantly on the look out for ingredients that are not in my inventory. When I travel to different destination I usually have a list of potential spirit candidates that I hope to find in the nearest liquor store. When I headed off to New Orleans, it was no different. On my short list were Ron Zacapa Centenario and Luxardo Maraschino. In both cases I was able to acquire said products. The Maraschino was very important because it will finally enable me to make a whole lot of classic cocktails that I’ve been missing out on. For my first Maraschino cocktail, I introduce the Aviation.

When it comes to spirits, rum is one of my favorites. It has such a varied flavour profile and is supremely mixable. It also ages exceptionally well, and a perfect example of this is Ron Zacapa Centenario. This rum is dated at 23 years old and is aged in the warm climate of Guatemala. By all account this is suppose to be an exceptional rum that could very well be one of the best in the world. Well, that’s what I’ve heard from a bunch of spirit competitions and read in other publications. The only way to determine this is to give it a taste and compare it to something like the Appleton Master Blenders Legacy rum to see how it rates.

As the cocktail renaissance marches forward there is an associated increased interest in Bitters and the recipes on how to make them. Many of the top bartenders / mixologists are making their own, or are trying to recreate classics such as Boker’s and Abbott’s Bitters, with varying degree’s of success. I have had a bitters project on the back burner for a while and have yet to create anything worthy of publication, but eventually something will be produced and reported on. Until then, I’ve compiled a list of recipes for 13 types of bitters. The recipes are as old as 1861 and as new as 2007 and have been picked from many of the cocktail enthusiast websites. Use as a reference or explore it out of curiosity.

Now that I seem to have more time on my hands I've started working on my Inventory system again. I've just added information and reviews of Luxardo Maraschino and El Dorado 5 Year Old Rum to the database. Hopefully I can add a few bottles each week and finish off that project. I've also fixed the Comment issue, so it now only takes a couple of seconds to post a comment instead of 30 seconds. It was a problem with the spam filter, seeing as how the Art of Drink is seriously swamped with spam (a couple hundred a day). Boo. I'm also testing an upgrade to the new Movable Type 4.0 software, so things may go wonky at times, but hopefully not. Other than that thing are running smoothly.

by Caroline O'Neil
While Darcy was away at Tales of the Cocktail, I usurped his website and posted a couple of articles. Well, I am back by popular demand since many people suggested that I continue to do a guest blog posting. I figured that some people wanted a bit of a girly flare to Darcy's fine cocktails. Now before you click away into cyberspace, I want to reassure you that this is not going to be all sweet and pink. I know that Darcy has an image to maintain. I have opted to create the Blueberry Daiquiri, which is not too sweet and is very refreshing. This is a bit of a twist on the classic Strawberry Daiquiri that Darcy highlighted. Now I know that my guest blogging privileges will probably be revoked once he realizes that I pulled out the blender and made a slushy Daiquiri. According to him this is an abomination of the Daiquiri but frankly I just didn't care because I needed something to cool down.

Raw eggs are not all the rage these days, unless of course you are a chicken farmer, or an avid fan of cocktails. In many classic cocktails, eggs were an important part of the recipe, providing unmatched texture and mouth feel. Some of the best know cocktails that use eggs are flips, sours and egg nogg. Without the egg, these drinks are a mere shell of the original recipe. But bringing back the raw egg, by convincing a bar or restaurant owner that the risk of illness is very small, can be a daunting task. Management will always state that the risk of someone getting food poisoning, or salmonella, is too high and it is not worth it, simply to make a better cocktail.