Dec 30, 2013

Elsie Larson’s Vanilla Whiskey Holiday Cocktail

Antonio F Delgado Cocktails & Drinks Bitters, Classy Drinking, Elise Larson, Jack Daniels, Jeremy Larson, Mixologist, MuteMath, Recipe, Sucre, Switchfoot, The Baylor House, Vanilla, Whiskey 0 Comments

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.

Like A College Student – Using traditional mixers. ie. Coke, Tonic, Soda
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

2 ounces vanilla bean infused whiskey
1/2 an ounce Dr. McCillicuddy’s Intense Raw Vanilla
2 dashes aromatic cocktail bitters
1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
star anise

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.