Drinks from the Weekday: July 12

Today we had dinner and of course drinks at San Pedro Square Market.

Drink Menu at San Pedro Square Market Bar.

The Smash: Dewar's Scotch, Disaronno, muddled fresh raspberries and basil, fresh-squeezed lime juice.

The first drink of the night was The Smash which had a feel of a sweeter and more refreshing Old Fashioned. There was only a slight taste of the scotch, so if you are a scotch drinker, this is not the drink for you. The strongest flavor was the raspberries with the lime and scotch just coming through. This was perfect for a warm day in San Jose.

Dark and Stormy: Baccardi Dark Rum, Ginger Beer, and fresh-squeezed lime juice.

Next was a Dark and Stormy--a fairly standard bar drink. If you like ginger, you would like this drink. This drink was fairly strong and had a good amount of bite from the ginger beer. I felt it improved as the ice melted.

Drinks from the Weekend: July 6

The first drink of the night was a Hangar One Blueberry and tonic at San Pedro Square Market. Sorry, I didn't take a picture of it, but it looks like a clear drink in an old fashioned glass. I think I have decided that this is my new favorite flavored-vodka, although I'll hold-off on that decision until I try it straight. The Hangar One Blueberry and tonic has a very smooth and light blueberry flavor, with no syrup feel that is present in most flavored vodkas.

Drink Menu at Hedley Club.

Almalfi: Buffalo Trace Bourbon, lemon juice, Galliano, orgreat syrup, club soda.

My second drink was an Almalfi at Hedley Club. My first thought when sipping this drink was that it would be a great introduction to bourbon to the non-bourbon drinker. The taste was light but still allowed the complex flavors of bourbon come through in a more controlled manner. But after I was about a quarter of the way through, I realized it was getting sweeter. This probably meant that the syrup was sinking to the bottom and that this drink needed to be stirred to keep it consistent. By the end, it was very sweet and I was no longer a fan. I may need to try this again--next time with constant stirring.

Hemingway: Banks rum, lime, grapefruit juice, Luxardo marachino liqueur.

My last drink was a Hemingway. This time there was no separation and I enjoyed this one a lot more. I felt the ingredients were mixed very well in this drink. There wasn't one ingredient that stood out as too strong. The taste was light and slightly sweet. I also felt a slight bitterness from the grapefruit that was present. 

Drinks from the Weekend: July 1

Brunch Drink Menu at Serpentine.

Pimm's Cup: Pimm's no.1, organic jasmine liqueur, lemon juice, ginger beer, cucumber.

This Sunday I started with a Pimm's Cup at Serpentine. A Pimm's Cup is a fairly standard drink that is refreshing and slightly sweet. Serpentine chooses to add an organic jasmine liqueur which really differentiates theirs from others. The jasmine liqueur seems to cut the sourness from the lemon and smooths the bite from the ginger.

Drink Menu at Wo Hing.

Brisvega Bay: Smith and Cross Jamacian Rum, grapefruit, honey, lime, allspice,  angostura bitters,  absinthe, crushed ice.

For dinner, we went over to Wo Hing General Store where I had a Brisvega Bay. With the crushed ice, you would be tempted to drink through the straw, but I wouldn't recommend it. Drinking through the straw is like drinking a Slurpee where you get a strong concentration of the syrup. When you drink the Brisvega Bay through the straw, it gets syrup-like and the spices in it make your throat tighten up. But when you drink from the glass, it becomes smooth and enjoyable. The lime, allspice, and bitters are the strongest flavors of this drink.

Make a Drink: Brooklyn Dream

Brooklyn Dream.

The Brooklyn Dream is my own creation that uses gin from Breuckelen Distilling and Seven Tiki Spiced Rum. The taste is like a creamscicle with a floral note from the gin. The egg white adds a creamy feel and smooths-out the high alcohol content.

Breuckelen Gin and Seven Tiki.

The ingredients and tools.

Ingredients:

2.0 oz orange juice
1.5 oz Breuckelen Gin
1.5 oz Seven Tiki Spiced Rum
.20 oz simple syrup
egg white from one egg (I used 3 Tbsp of pasteurized egg whites from a carton)

Procedure:

Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with 4 or 5 cubes of ice. Shake vigorously. Strain into a lowball glass allowing the foam to form at the top.

Enjoy!