Exploring Possibilities

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, Alternatives, LearningLeave a comment

My daughter gifted me a whisky infusion kit from Craftly, and I am looking forward to using it.

Infusion is basically the fifth step in the six-step whisky manufacturing process: malting, mashing, fermentation, distillation, maturation, and bottling. In the case of whisky, maturation is when the distilled spirits are put into charred barrels, and then stored for many years, so that the flavor and essence of the charred wood – and maybe wine from wine barrels, or something else – gets mixed into the whisky, and adds to the flavor.

The purpose of this kit is to take an un-matured spirit – in this case, vodka – and infuse it with flavors. This works because vodka skips the Maturation step and goes right to bottling.

The infusion process involves two steps – wood infusion, then botanical infusion. The woods that are supplied are labeled Dark Chocolate, American Sweetheart, and Vanilla Dream. They are mixed with the vodka, and left to infuse for 2 to 4 weeks. Then, botanicals are added, in this case a choice of coffee beans, cocoa beans, cinnamon, chai mix, orange peel, or bird’s eye chili. These are mixed according to recipes provided, or according to however I wish, and left to infuse for another 24 hours, before all are strained out.

For my first two, I chose Dark Chocolate and American Sweetheart as the woods. I am likely to put cocoa beans in the Dark Chocolate and a blend of cinnamon and chai in the American Sweetheart.

Stay tuned – I will be posting updates.

Mad Men Cocktails – Don Draper’s Old Fashioned

On By Tom LindsayIn Cocktails, Mad Men1 Comment

So, Dear Reader, let us endeavor into Mad Men!

As I am doing with the Bond movies, I plan to review the drinks in Mad Men in order, and see which ones we like best.

As you all know, I am a big fan of my New Fashioned, which is basically an Old Fashioned, made with simple syrup that is made with Splenda, rather than sugar.

As it turns out, the Old Fashioned is a favorite of Don Draper, Mad Men’s protagonist. He makes it classically old fashioned, using sugar and water, rather than syrup. His is made with bourbon or rye whiskey (which he discusses), sugar, bitters, a dash of water, and a twist of orange peel. He muddles then sugar and orange with the water.

After watching Don make this, I decided to start just using my simple syrup mix, and muddling an orange and adding bitters, then a cherry. This made the drink more enjoyable, not only from a taste, but because I enjoy the mixing.

So, now, let us start reviewing Mad Men drinks in order – starting next week!

James Bond Cocktails – Goldfinger

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, Bond, CocktailsLeave a comment

I must admit, Gentle Reader, that Goldfinger was the first Bond movie that drew me to a new cocktail. As I explained before, during the COVID pandemic I made a nice list of James Bond films, and proceeded to watch them in order. Watching Goldfinger I noticed that when he visited Churchill Downs, he was served a mint julep, and I was so moved, I paused the movie, and made myself a mint julep myself. I muddled some fresh mint leaves into some simple syrup in a glass, added bourbon, and then filled the glass with crushed ice and garnished it with another sprig of mint.

One nice thing was that I had, and have, fresh mint. Back in 2014, I built a new deck to support my barbecue efforts. Then a couple of years later, I decided to pot some fresh peppers and herbs, including some mint. At the end of the growing season, when they all died off, I clipped them all, and then stored the pots under the back porch, and moved on.

The next spring, though, I discovered that the mint had started growing back. After some research I found that this was a normal thing. In fact, I have since found that some people plant mint in a garden, only to find that it grows wildly and takes over their garden. So, every spring, I make a point to add some new potting soil and a little fertilizer, and in just a a few weeks, the mint is back.

So now, let us enjoy Bond’s drinks from Goldfinger:

Champagne

The movie starts with Bond visiting Miami, to try to prevent Auric Goldfinger from cheating in a card game with a fellow MI6 agent. Bond meets Goldfinger’s assistant Jill Masterson, and after some time together, they share a bottle of Dom Perignon.

Sadly, Goldfinger discovers it was Jill who Bond used to stop his stealing, and he kills her by painting her body in gold paint all over.

I must admit, I did not drink champagne this time watching the movie.

Vodka Martini

Later in the movie, Bond is flying on Goldfinger’s plane, and is served a vodka martini. He makes sure to ask for it shaken, not stirred.

I don’t have a glass like Goldfinger’s so I made mine in a normal Martini glass.

Mint Julep

Finally, we arrive at my favorite.

In the movie, Goldfinger plans to invade the US gold storage facility at Fort Knox, Kentucky, outside of Louisville. So they meet at Churchill Downs, and Bond is served a mint julep.

I made mine in a classic rocks glass, with Evan Williams Black bourbon.

Coming next – Thunderball.

James Bond Cocktails – From Russia With Love

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, Bond, CocktailsLeave a comment

After James Bond defeats SPECTRE agent Dr. No, they seek revenge, and assign an undercover assassin, Donald Grant, to kill him. Bond is assigned to assist in helping a defection of Tatiana Romanova, a clerk who can assist in stealing a Russian cryptographic device. Bond meets her in Istanbul, and they travel on the Orient Express, where Grant unsuccessfully attempts to kill Bond. After that, SPECTRE’s chairman Ernst Stavro Blofeld gets involved, and sends another assassin.

As with other Bond movies, I started with a researched drink menu, and moved from there.

Raki

Raki is the national drink of Turkey. To assist in the defection, Bond meets the MI6 Istanbul branch head Ali Kerim Bey, and they get in a fight with SPECTRE. After Kerim Bey gets injured, they retreat, and he then drinks the Raki. Bond calls it “filthy stuff,” but Kerim Bey drinks.

To be honest, as this was the only time I saw this on the drinking list, and the only local source I could find was a full sized bottle for over $30, I decided to pass on this one.

Champagne

Bond and Romanova drink some Dom Perignon champagne in the hotel suite. Again, for just one glass, I passed.

Chianti

When Bond and Romanova board the Orient Express, they meet Grant for dinner. After ordering fish for dinner, Grant then orders Chianti, which is like ordering spaghetti sauce to go on your French toast. This gives away that he is actually a Russian agent, and Bond takes action.

Rather than buy Chianti just for this, I drank a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. But I didn’t eat fish with it.

Notes:

As I have prepared for these posts, I have done quite a bit of online research into the drinks Bond enjoys, and I found myself a little confused sometimes, because there are many times where there are large discrepancies between accounts of the drinks.

Fortunately, one posting mentioned up front that their references were to the Bond novels, not the movies. That turned on a light in my head, and after research I found that this is why the original list included a Negroni in Dr. No – he drinks it in the book, but drinks Black and White Champagne in the movie.

I felt better knowing that.

Coming Ventures on The Whiskey Trail

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, CocktailsLeave a comment

While I watch a few more Bond movies, and share their drinks, I wanted to share with you some of my next ventures down The Whiskey Trail.

Like a lot of people, I have some favorite TV series, and, by coincidence (at least I want to think that) they have some characters who enjoy whiskey. So, my plan, as I am doing for the Bond movies, is to share the drinks they partake, and some details.

Here are the series I am going to review to start:

Justified

If there is another series more devoted to the culture of Kentucky, I can’t think of it. So, of course, whiskey plays a staring role. The whiskey spectrum is wide in this series

In the first episode, Fire in the Hole, Deputy Marshal Raylan Givens is transferred from the US Marshal’s office in Miami, to the Marshal’s office in Lexington, Kentucky, and shortly gets involved in an incident in is home town of Harlan, Kentucky. When he arrives, he drinks Jim Beam at the bar, and a little while later he gets to meet his new Head Marshal Art Mullen, who pulls out a bottle of Blanton’s.

Yellowstone

In Yellowstone,  whiskey is almost its own cast member. John Dutton drinks it neat in moments of power and pain, Rip Wheeler gulps it before violence, and Beth Dutton weaponizes it. They even have their own brand now, Yellowstone Bourbon.

Mad Men

There is something about having a bar cart in your office, and the salesmen at Sterling, Cooper, & Partners know it.

Which is one reason I have mine in my office at home.

Other Ideas

I may also look into:

  • The Walking Dead
  • Sons of Anarchy
  • Deadwood

Until then, keep plugging the trail . . .

Introducing the Jack Ryan Martini

On By Tom LindsayIn Alternatives, CocktailsLeave a comment

In the original James Bond novel Casino Royale, Bond and his CIA partner Felix Leiter walk into the bar at the casino, and Bond orders a martini:

” ‘Three measures of Gordon’s, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it’s ice-cold, then add a large, thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?’

‘Certainly, monsieur.’ The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

‘Gosh, that’s certainly a drink,’ said Leiter.”

Fast forward, to Tom Clancy’s novel The Hunt for Red October, and his CIA Agent Jack Ryan. Now, in the tradition of my recent drink invention the Vito Corleone, I imagined Jack Ryan meeting James Bond at a bar. He asks what Bond likes to drink, and Bond gives his recipe to the bartender, who makes it gladly.

The bartender asks Ryan what he would like, and Ryan says that Bond’s drink sounds like something he would like to try.

But after he shakes it, Ryan, an American bourbon man, tells the bartender to just pour all of it, ice and all, into a rocks glass.

And there we find the Jack Ryan Martini:

In a shaker, mix:

  • 3 oz Gordon’s gin
  • 1 oz vodka
  • 1/2 oz dry vermouth*
  • 2 dashes orange bitters*

*Added in substitute for Kina Lillet, which is no longer produced.

Fill your rocks glass with ice, and pour in the shaker. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, then put into the rocks glass with the ice. Add a twist of lemon peel.

Enjoy!

Low Carb Options – Coffee Liqueur

On By Tom LindsayIn Alternatives1 Comment

As I explained previously, I have done some good work in the past few years reducing my carbohydrates and my blood glucose levels, and avoiding diabetes.

As I worked on my syrup for The New Fashioned, I also I realized other mixers like Kahlua were just as bad.

So, I decided to work on a low carb coffee liqueur option. I played around with the mix, and settled on this:

  • 175 ml coffee – the darker the better
  • 5 packets Splenda
  • 4 ml vanilla extract, to taste

(Note, I use this as a cocktail mixer, so I don’t add any alcohol.)

Stir and refrigerate.

I have found this works well as a mixer in White Russians, Black Russians, Espresso Martinis, and Revolvers.

Enjoy!

Introducing the Vito Corleone

On By Tom LindsayIn Alternatives, Cocktails2 Comments

As you have come to understand by now, I enjoy movies. And, as those who follow me on “X formerly Twitter” know, I like to make some drinks for the evening. One of my favorites is a Manhattan (on the rocks, I admit), which is whiskey with sweet vermouth, bitters, and a cherry.

My family has some dinner traditions, including pastas on Monday and pizza on Fridays. I like to drink red wine with those, with 2 or 3 frozen grapes dropped in to cool it off.

So one night, watching The Godfather, I had a vision that Vito Corleone decided he wanted a Manhattan, after drinking some wine in the evening. So he got up, and rather than emptying his glass, made the Manhattan in his wine glass, on the rocks, on top of the leftover wine.

So, I tried it – a Manhattan in my wine glass, with a finger of cabernet sauvignon, with the grapes left in. I must say, it was refreshing and enjoyable, and now this is my Friday night beverage after pizza.

So, I present to you the Vito Corleone.

  • 1 oz +/- red wine (whatever is leftover)
  • 1 oz sweet vermouth
  • 2 dashes bitters
  • 2 oz whiskey, e.g. Bourbon or Rye
  • Served on the rocks

Stir until mixed.

Enjoy!

James Bond Cocktails – Dr. No

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, Bond, Cocktails1 Comment

As you may recall, I recently posted about my plan to watch all the James Bond movies in order, and drink the cocktails he drinks. I did some research online and created a list of the cocktails in each movie.

After some planning, I came up with a watch plan for each movie:

  • Prepare ingredients for each listed cocktail
  • Watch the movie, and drink the cocktails in the order that Bond drinks them
  • Photograph the preparation of the cocktails when I can, and compare them to how I make them

The first movie, Dr. No, was released in 1962. Agent 007 travels to Jamaica to investigate the murder of the British Station Chief there. He also meets up with CIA agent Felix Leiter, who is investigating the radio jamming of NASA launches from Cape Canaveral. He eventually meets Dr. Julius No, a member of SPECTRE, who is the one who is leading this.

Bond’s first drink in Dr. No is a medium dry vodka martini, which he orders through room service at a hotel. The room service waiter brings a cart with some Smirnoff vodka, Lillet Blanc, and limes. He pours the ingredients in a shaker with some ice, shakes, pours it in a cocktail glass, and tells Bond “one medium dry vodka martini, mixed like you said sir, not stirred.” I found it interesting that this foretold Bond’s favorite martini, the Vesper, which is classically made shaken, not stirred.

I was also prepared to drink a Negroni, which was listed in the site I visited. However, watching the movie, I never saw Bond drink a Negroni. In fact, when he and Quarrel go to a bar, and are photographed, they drink scotch with the photographer.

I did not know what brand scotch that was, but I drank a glass of Glemorangie. After some research, I found the scotch is Black & White.

So, I have now updated my cocktail list:

Coming next: From Russia With Love

License to Drink

On By Tom LindsayIn Adventure, Bond, Cocktails1 Comment

I have been a big fan of James Bond since I was a young teenager, back when Sean Connery played him. One day as a young pre-teen I was at the library with my mother, and I found some Bond novels, and checked out Dr. No, with my mother’s permission (if you have read Ian Fleming’s works, you know why) and saw how closely the movie followed the book. This led me to read as many novels as I could, and watch the movies in theater when they came out.

So, when the pandemic came around in 2020, and we were all stuck at home, I decided to do what I had meant to do for many years – watch all the Bond movies, in order. So I created a checklist of the James Bond movies, and got to watching. In a little offer 10 months, I completed the list.

Watching the movies, I took special interest in the cocktails served. While everyone knows about the Vesper Martini from Casino Royale, it was very interesting to see all the other drinks. So much so that while watching Goldfinger one afternoon from my back porch, I paused the movie, went down to my vegetable garden, picked some fresh mint, and made me a Mint Julep. This gave me another idea.

Watching the cocktail selections, I began to get an idea to add a tier to my Bond movie list, and list the drinks that Bond drinks, and then, to watch them again, and drink with him. So after some research, I created a checklist of the cocktails in all the James Bond movies.

So, coming soon, I will walk through each movie, with the cocktails and insights.