Bitters

The Flying Cucumber

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In the world of food blogging, you get a lot of press releases. Some are strange. Some sound fun. But rarely do you get one that sounds as grand as a Flying Cucumber.

The one thing we love about Hendricks is that they know how to throw a party!

And this go ’round was no different. Setting off in L.A. on April 13, and traveling across the U.S. over the next 13 weeks, you can see this exquisite airship wrapped as a beautiful cucumber! Side note: There are more astronauts in the world than airship pilots.

You might be wondering if anyone got to ride in the airship. Sadly, the wind was not in our favor. But being a 9 a.m. call time on a workday, Hendrick’s poured libations and kept true to their personality.

Regardless of the weather, we got a splendid cocktail – Lady Grace Drummond-Hay. Two things to note. 1. Over the last year, I have noticed that I have enjoyed wine cocktails. And this one is pretty grand since I am not a Chardonnay fan. Or maybe this is the best use of Chardonnay yet – Just add gin. 2. Lady Grace Drummond-Hay was the first woman to travel the world by airship.

Lady Grace Drummond-Hay

1 1/2 Parts Hendrick’s Gin
1 Part Chardonnay
1/4 Part Citric Acid
1/4 Part Simple Syrup
1 Dash Orange Bitters

Combine ingredients over ice. Stir and strain. Serve Chilled. 

All you need to do know, is build the cocktail and browse the pictures of the unusual!

 

Elsie Larson’s Vanilla Whiskey Holiday Cocktail

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By Antonio F Delgado

Every month, the Austin Food Bloggers Alliance sends out a challenge to its members. This month, AFBA called us to create a cocktail. This was a challenge that the Spooners could take on!

Tiffany sent me an email with Elsie Larson’s Vanilla Bean Whiskey Cocktail. I am a huge fan of Elsie and her husband, Jeremy. Elsie and her sister do a great job posting photos, recipes and crafts, while her husband crafts musical gems in Sucre, his solo project, Jeremy Larson; and strings behind Switchfoot and MuteMath. One day, I will gift myself a Full-On-Jeremy-Larson-Takeover. And I digress to fan-dom.

After looking over the recipe, I realized that I have two ways of making cocktails.

  1. Like A College Student – Using traditional mixers. ie. Coke, Tonic, Soda
  2. Like A Refined Gentleman – Drinking my whiskey neat.

I do enjoy heading out to a bar with a great mixologist and having them make me their house special. However, I hadn’t taken this practice home with me until now.

Note 1: Elsie’s cocktail calls for vanilla-infused whiskey. We did not take the mere 24-48 hours to infuse our whiskey due to deadline, but we do recommend it.

Note 2: For some reason, Dr. McGillicuddy’s Raw Vanilla is unavailable in Austin. After several trips to Specs, we learned that only Specs on Airport Boulevard has Dekuyper Vanilla available. In addition, I had a rep at my neighborhood liquor store mention vanilla extract as a suitable replacement. Don’t do it. It makes your drink look murky and unappealing.

A Beautiful Mess’ Vanilla Whiskey Cocktail

The Spooners made 2 alterations to this cocktail due to our lack of time and some ingenuity.

  • 2 ounces whiskey
  • 1/2 an ounce  vanilla liqueur
  • 2 dashes aromatic cocktail bitters
  • 1/2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • star anise
  • small dash of fresh vanilla bean

We found that fresh orange juice compliments the star anise beautifully.

Directions: Gather all of the ingredients into a shake. Cover Shaker. Shake vigorously. Serve with a new star anise, not the broken one from the shaker. Enjoy with friends and show them that you are classy.

Note 3: Due to the fact that Antonio and his roommates at the Baylor House are bachelors, none of the glassware matches in these photos.

Note 4: Jack Daniel’s did not sponsor this post, but if they would like to make a donation to OhSpooning, we will gladly accept. We Spooners aren’t too cheap to beg.

Here’s a link to the original post and recipe: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/12/vanilla-bean-whiskey-cocktail.html