Showing posts with label gin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gin. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Pineapple 7Fuck-You-Up Cocktail

Ingredients
Orange Juice
Fresh pineapple
7Up
Ice
Gin
Highball glass


As I mentioned in the recipe for Caribbean-style pulled pork, I invented a cocktail while waiting for the pork to cook, using only ingredients in that recipe with the addition of some gin. My good friend Chelsie, the author of Three Ring Mom, coined the name.
This is sort of a take on an old gin cocktail called an orange blossom, with a nice little pineappley, drunk guy surprise at the end.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Motherfucking Booze Time: Gin









I fucking love pretty much everything about drinking. I like the taste, the culture, the variety... the whole kit and caboodle. I'm a drinker, there is no doubt. However, we've seen a decline in recent years of knowledgeable drinkers. Too many dumb motherfuckers show up to a bar, plop down their money, and order a drink because they heard it on the TV machine. "Herp derp, gimme a jack an' coke!" "Derpy herp-herp... Jager bomb, please!" Fucking shoot me now. Half of these mongoloids couldn't tell you what "Jack" (an American whiskey) or "Jager" (a German digesteif) is, other than a liquid they drink to get fucked up and make bad decisions. It's essentially the booze equivalent of fast food.
This is why I'm starting a new series here on the Box called "It's Motherfucking Booze Time." I'm going to give you a quick primer on a selected booze, including production, taste, and history. I'll also include a selection of drinks made using said alcohol. It's like the Encyclopedia Brittanica, except not obsolete. The first entry in our series is gin.

What the Fuck is Gin?
To understand what gin is, you need to understand what neutral grain spirit is. Neutral grain spirit (also known as pure grain alcohol or pure grain spirit) is a spirit derived from mash distilled at so high an alcohol by volume that none of the flavor of the mash is left behind. Think of it like blank, flavorless alcohol. Some people do drink this shit, and usually brag about it later... which is kind of like bragging to a friend drinking a Dr. Pepper that you like to drink carbonated water. Yeah, congratulations asshole. NGS provides the basis for many alcohols, including gin.
Gin is really more a taste than a traditional variety of alcohol. That taste is derived primarily from juniper berries, which aren't berries at all... they're really cones with fleshy scales. Other botanicals, berries, and spices are added to give individual gins their desired flavor, but juniper berries are king.
Contrary to popular belief, most common alcohols (gin, whisk[e]y, rum, vodka, tequila) come in at around the same alcohol by volume... that is, about 40%. While you may find higher alcohol versions of many of these drinks, only whisk(e)y and gin will be at LEAST 40%. Alcohol by volume is just what it sounds like... what percent of what's in the bottle is ethanol. Sometimes the ABV is given as a proof. To determine the ABV, simply cut the proof in half... 80 proof is 40% ABV, 101 proof is 50.1 ABV, and so on.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

The Foghorn

What You Need
Ginger Ale
Gin
Lime juice (fresh or bottled, your choice)
Ice
Highball glass (or suitable tallish glass)
Jigger


My weekly poker nights continue, as does my love of adult beverages. The foghorn is another one from my college days as well as a personal favorite as far as soda-based cocktails go. It has no caffeine and less sugar than your traditional soda based cocktail, which means you can drink as many as you want. As an added bonus, if you drink enough of these you'll start calling them Foghats instead of Foghorns. Drink a few more and all you'll have to do to order one is scream the lyrics to Slow Ride at the barkeep. They'll automatically know what you want. If they don't... fuck 'em, go make it yourself. They'll appreciate your take charge attitude. If they don't... fuck 'em.