Gin « The Noble Experiment

November 2, 2011

The Hop Infused Gin Experiment Continues…

The hop infused gin experiment is moving forward and I’ve found that there is a substantial difference among different hops. The earthy, floral hops add a much subtler flavor and are, at times, overpowered by the botanicals in the gin. Even with a less juniper-heavy gin such as Bluecoat, I’m still finding that the hop aroma is muted.

I’ve also found that the high alpha hops are adding substantially more bitterness than I had anticipated. I had assumed that without boiling the hops, I wouldn’t get a lot of bitterness. But as it turns out, the infusion is adding a lingering bitterness to the finish of the gin. Even after the hop leaf is strained, the remaining small particles continue to add some bitterness, so I think that a cheesecloth strain is necessary.

This new experiment should prove interesting. I have a wide range of hops with different levels of alpha acids and different flavor characteristics that I will be able to taste side by side. I anticipate Cascade to be the best fit, but who knows. The best hop up to this point has been Chinook.

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October 17, 2011

Hop Infused Gin

Beer cocktails are all the rage these days. Given the natural progression of the craft beer and craft cocktail movements, it’s not altogether surprising. The primary direction for beer cocktails tends to be a lager or wheat beer to showcase interesting liquor combinations. This works well and the end result are complex cocktails with great flavor profiles.

I’ve been working on a few new beer cocktails myself, but I’m taking a slightly different approach, as I’m working on pairing with an IPA. This is not entirely new or novel. People have done it and done it successfully, but it’s not nearly as common of a pairing.

Nevertheless, after a bit of tinkering, I’ve found a formula that seems to be working and it includes hop infused gin.

I was looking for a hop profile had some earthy and piney notes, with hits of citrus. But I didn’t want an all citrus hop like Cascade or Citra. Chinooks are known for their bittering qualities, although in this type of application bitterness isn’t a primary concern. In order for alpha acids to isomerize and impart bitterness to a liquid, they need to be boiled for a significant amount of time, usually about 30 minutes. Hence, in homebrewing, the bittering hops are put in the kettle first. You can pull a mild amount of bitterness from hops via a cold infusion, but it won’t overwhelm.

The most popular beer that uses Chinook hops, at least according to urban legend as their recipes are secret, is Stone Arrogant Bastard. Arrogant Bastard is an aggressively bittered beer from an aggressive brewery, and its pretty delicious to boot. But I digress…

I let the Chinook hops sit in my gin for 36 hours. I used less than 1/4 of an ounce of hops and about 8 ounces of Bluecoat American Dry Gin. After 36 hours, I strained the hops and was left with a lovely green tinted, botancial-forward, citrus and piney smelling gin. Good stuff.

There will be more to come on this cocktail once its finalized, but for now, let it be known that the first cocktail included gin, lemon, honey, and IPA. It needs balance, but it’s not far off. Stay tuned for details and the recipe to follow.

August 15, 2011

Negroni

I’m drinking a Negroni right now. And I thought you’d like to know that it’s pretty delicious.

Negroni Cocktail

A bottle of Campari is always a handy thing to have lying around. You can make Negronis, throw a splash in some champagne, mix it with bitter lemon, or add some to your Bijou for a bitter-er-er version of something already delicious. So go to your local liquor store, drop $28 on a bottle of Campari, and make it work for you. Here’s a negroni recipe to get you started.

3/4 oz Gin (I drink Hendricks or Bluecoat)

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin is the way to go here)

3/4 oz Campari

Combine and stir all ingredients (don’t shake, people. Come on now). Strain into an old fashioned glass and garnish with an orange peel, not an orange slice.

June 27, 2010

Champagne Cocktails in the Summertime

Champagne cocktails in the summertime can’t be beat. They’re crisp, refreshing and perfect for those lazy afternoons on the patio.

But if you’re the kind of person who has ever found a class of sparkling wine a little bit boring, I’m hoping that these cocktails will change your perspective. With the addition of a few additional ingredients sparkling wine can be transformed into something enirely different. Check out the recipes below, make some cocktails and let me know what you think!

French 75

The French 75 is one of my favorite cocktails of all time. It’s such a brilliant combination and it’s so lovely as a summertime sipper. The simple combination of gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup works great on its own and even better when topped off with a little sparkling wine. Here is what you should do.

1.5 oz gin

0.75 oz lemon juice

0.50 oz simple syrup

3 oz sparkling wine

Mix up the gin, lemon and simple syrup in a shaker and shake until chilled. Put it in a champagne flute and top it with sparkling wine. Garnish with a lemon twist and enjoy!

Classic Champagne Cocktail

The classic champagne cocktail is just a fun way to spice up your sparkling wine. It’s simple and quick with great visual appeal. Perfect for entertaining. Here’s what you do.

Take your champagne flute and drop in a sugar cube. Next coat that sugar cube with bitters. You’ll need one to two dashes of bitters to properly coat the sugar. You can use Angostura, Fee Brothers, or any other type of bitters you may have. Finally, top it all off with some sparkling wine.

It’s that easy and it is a lot of fun. The sugar cube help keep your sparkling wine bubbly and the combo of the bitters and sugar balances it all out nicely.

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May 28, 2010

Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry, Basil and Gin

I was muddling around with a few things from the garden yesterday and ended up with a nice summer cocktail. Given that it’s strawberry season out here in Annapolis and on the Eastern Shore, that seemed like the most appropriate starting point. I pulled some basil from the garden, a little lime and all sorts of liquor and got to work.

The first version was a combo of falernum and rum along with my garden muddle. That was lovely, albeit a bit on the sweet side. And nothing too complex or interesting.

So I went next with gin. And in my house, where there is gin there is usually bitters. The gin/bitters/strawberry/herb combo was a hit. Check out the recipe below.

Strawberry Gin Muddler

2 Strawberries

3 Basil Leaves, torn

1/4 of a lime, cut in half

1 bar spoon white sugar

1.5 oz London dry gin

1 Dash Angostura Bitters

Throw the strawberries, basil, sugar and lime in a pint glass and muddle until the juice and oils are extracted from the lime and the basil is incorporated. Add the gin and a dash of Angostura, put over ice, and shake vigorously for 10 seconds. Take the top off of the shaker and pour the whole thing, pulp and ice included, into an old fashioned glass. No need for much garnish, as the strawberry and basil muddle makes for a nice looking cocktail.

Enjoy!

May 17, 2010

A Couple of Classics

My earlier post on grenadine has been getting some attention lately, so I thought I’d go ahead and post a few recipes for classic cocktails that use grenadine. That way you’ll have something to do with all of that grenadine you’ve been making!

Here are a few of my favorites when I have a batch of grenadine on hand. Most of these drinks use ingredients you probably already have in your liquor cabinet as well, which is certainly a bonus.

A Jack Rose (minus the garnish, which was promptly eaten).

So without further ado…

Clover Club

1.5 oz Gin

0.50 oz Grenadine

0.75 oz Lemon Juice

2 tsp Simple Syrup

1/2 Small Egg White

Put all of your ingredients in a shaker and shake the crap out of it. You need to emulsify the egg white, so you’re probably going to need to shake this thing for about 45 seconds. I know it’s cold, but you’re an adult and you can handle it. Strain this drink into a martini glass and you’ll have a nice cocktail with a creamy foam layer on the top.

Ward Eight

2 oz. Rye Whiskey

1 oz Simple Syrup

0.75 oz Lemon Juice

0.25 oz Grenadine

This is basically a whiskey sour with a splash of grenadine, but it’s pretty delicious. Toss these ingredients in your shaker and shake it up. Strain into a rocks glass with ice and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Jack Rose

1.5 oz Applejack

0.75 oz Lemon Juice

0.75 oz Grenadine

Put your ingredients in a shaker and mix them up well. Strain into a martini glass and garnish with an apple slice (and if you’re in the mood, a maraschino cherry as well). A lot of recipes call for simple syrup here, but I choose to increase the amount of grenadine and omit the simple syrup. If you prefer, you can always add simple syrup and decrease the grenadine.

2 comments

May 11, 2010

Aviation Cocktail

The Aviation cocktail is a classic. This pre-prohibition favorite fell out of style for many years but has recently made a resurgence as a result of the speakeasy/classics movement. This drink first appeared in a 1916 cocktail book, although it was allegedly created at a bar in New York City even earlier, dating back to early in the first decade of the 20th century.

The original version of the Aviation cocktail included gin, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, and creme de violette. However, in the famous Savoy cocktail book of the 1930′s, the Creme de Violette, which was (and still is) difficult to find, was omitted. That left us with the trustworthy combination of maraschino, gin, and lemon.

Although you can still find a number of variations on this drink, the proportions that I think work best are 2/1/1. Early recipes called for only a dash of Maraschino liqueur, but I like the balance of the peppery sweet from the maraschino against the tartness of the lemon. It really is a lovely concoction.

So, without further ado, here is a recipe for you to enjoy.

Aviation Cocktail:

2 oz Dry Gin, Plymouth is my gin of choice for this cocktail

1 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

1 oz Lemon Juice