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Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Hic I'm not as thunk as drenkle peep. Glirch.
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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:09 am

I love Campari - but I don't think that's just quinine, it's the specific flavour of quinine (not bitters in general) I am striggling with in cocktails . Generally I like bitter thngs

Mr Google thinks that Campari is bitter die to cascarila bark and herbs, not quinine

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Jun 12, 2012 11:36 am

Hi Sue

Stokey Sue wrote:I love Campari - but I don't think that's just quinine, it's the specific flavour of quinine (not bitters in general) I am striggling with in cocktails . Generally I like bitter thngs

Mr Google thinks that Campari is bitter die to cascarila bark and herbs, not quinine


Mr Google is right! Do you like tonic? We rediscovered Angostura bitters in the Bahamas, they always add it to rum and coke. Must try a pink gin soon.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jun 12, 2012 1:40 pm

I like tonic, but modern tonic is not very strongly chinchonised (mixed with quinine) - in the 60's there was so much quinine in some brands you could see "influorescense" -a flash of neon blue if you turned the bottle in sunlight

There's just something about the quinine, sweet wine, and other flavourings in the Dubonnet that I am currently finding unpleasant in cocktails, though I'm sure I used to like it.

I do use Angostura quite a lot - I put it into various drinks, including pink gin, and I sometimes drink tonic spiked with Angostura, as a non-alcoholic drink (or barely alcoholic I suppose!)

My problem with Cuba Libre is the cola - it was OK in Cuba, Cuban cola is more like cream soda than "the real thing" (whisky and cream soda being a popluar drink with some older West Indians) I like golden/dark rum with dry ginge or as punchr, and white in a cocktail

Reminds me, we need a Planters Punch recipe


Planter's Punch
Simply remembered as 1 sour, 2 sweet, 3 strong, 4 weak

1 sour - I part fresh lime juice
2 sweet - 2 parts sweetening, ideally cane juice, but stock syrup will do fine
3 strong - 3 parts golden rum - Appleton (Jamaica), Vat 19 or Angostura Rum (Trinidad), Mount Gay (Barbados, my favourite), Cockspur (Antigua) etc etc
Mix these three, add an optional dash of Angostura bitters (I usually don't). and chill well in the fridge; this makes a real diffference compared to making fresh

Finish by adding 4 parts diluent, usually crushed ice but some people use iced water or club soda in whole or in part


Note: blasts your socks off!

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Jun 12, 2012 2:34 pm

Ooh Sue

Making me feel homesick! Lots of ice and a bit of club soda for me please :thumbsup

Always prefer amber rum to white - the French supermarket stuff is not much good but I have found some rather good stuff in a local wine and spirit shop.

Re quinine, wasn't tonic with excess quinine the downfall (healthwise) of lovely Clarissa DW ?

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Stokey Sue » Tue Jun 12, 2012 3:10 pm

There hasn't been enough quinine in tonic since WW2 to cause cinchonism (quinine debility) - it's the gin or vodkathat does the damge I'm afraid

if you have a Lidl anywher around, they do a rum called James Cook in both UK & Germany, so probably in France too, that is my "cooking" spirit (and damn fine with cola or ginger too) - not as good as the ones I listed in the punch recipe but a good basic, and fine in things like babas, doesn't have that odd aftertaste of spririt gum you get with Negrita and some other "rhums agricoles". Though Lidl do a white rum called Liberté from Reunion, which is decent, certainly at the price

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Tue Jun 12, 2012 4:31 pm

Thanks Sue - I'll give it a try - I loathe Negrita.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Puss-in-boots » Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:27 pm

Hi joan, i don`t know whether you are interested but itvs this morning did a section on retro time warp tipples which consists of cocktails i just thought you maybe interested for your Friday cocktail night.

http://www.itv.com/thismorning/food/time-warp-tipples/

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Puss-in-boots » Thu Jun 14, 2012 7:56 pm

Sorry i forgot to say i quite fancy trying the Babycham with the strawberry puree, may have to give it a whirl tomorrow night. :thumbsup

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Thu Jun 14, 2012 9:35 pm

Hi Puss

Unfortunately can't access the link - being a damned foreigner y'know :D

I am assuming babycham is still available - or even flourishing?? I would love to taste it again for old times sake.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Puss-in-boots » Thu Jun 14, 2012 10:17 pm

Hi joan, i will try my best to get some of the recipes on here for you to try. I haven`t seen babycham in a long while but will have a look and see.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Jun 15, 2012 10:33 am

Last time I saw Babycham it was in a champagen type bottle, not the little ones

Lidl do a perry in a champagne bottle for 99p, that would be perfectly suitable as a mixer in place of Babychm (it's drinkable of not stunning)

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Fri Jun 15, 2012 3:01 pm

I discovered a rather good perry in the cider section of the drinks dept a couple of weeks ago. I might just try that.

It will be Manhattans tonight. I'm going to have to buy some more cocktail glasses, friends are tending to drop round :D :D

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby cooksalot » Fri Jun 15, 2012 5:01 pm

I've got some good orange juice in the fridge so may opt for a Screwdriver tonight. (Those familiar with Fawlty Towers you may recall Basil's astonishment when an American guest tries to order one! :lol: )
I just make mine with vodka, crushed ice and orange juice. Anyone got any variations?

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Stokey Sue » Fri Jun 15, 2012 6:25 pm

I seem t remember a splash of Galliano to round out a screwdrive (I suspect other liqueuers would do)?

A tiny drop of liqueur is oftten a good idea in juice based cocktails that don't actually have sugar

Reminds me - a friend served Bucks Fizz at a party - in this case Cava, good bought orange juice - and just a tiny drop of apricot brandy, really smoothed out the rough edges - he went round with a bottle of fizz in one hand and a jug of juice spiked with Apricot Bols in the other, very nice -

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby juliana50 » Fri Jun 15, 2012 7:22 pm

Joanbunting wrote:I discovered a rather good perry in the cider section of the drinks dept a couple of weeks ago. I might just try that.

It will be Manhattans tonight. I'm going to have to buy some more cocktail glasses, friends are tending to drop round :D :D



Not a bit surprised Joan! Believe me, I would too if I lived anywhere nearby! 8-)

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Sat Jun 16, 2012 2:19 pm

The Manhattans went down a treat - funnily enough there was a post on the Footy Food thread about said cocktails- apparently very manly and suitable for Fathers' Day (whatever that might be) and therefore good for slurping while watching the footy.

All I can say is don't go there - you simply won't know who is playing for who and in which direction the ball is travelling if you have more than one. Stick to beer - or as I don't drink it - spritzers.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Wed Jun 20, 2012 1:51 pm

OOOOOH.

Just received the Hamlyn book mentioned by Dena on another thread. Thank you Dena :clap :clap

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hamlyn-All-Colo ... 0600610209

M says we should just throw it in the air each week and make the cocktail from whatever page it opens.

I said that the throwing would have to be earlier in the week so we have all the ingredients :D This could get silly :lol: :lol: :lol:

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Sat Jun 23, 2012 2:22 pm

We had Virginia Mint Juleps yesterday. As we have friends coming for supper tonight and the peaches are gorgeous we are having Bellinis tonight. Made with proseco and of course one of our 5-a-day.

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby Joanbunting » Mon Jun 25, 2012 3:52 pm

I got out a French foodie mag today to look for a cold soup recipe and in the drinks section there was a cocktail made from Calvados, dry cider and thinly sliced apples on ice. Sounds good to me so that's Fridays cocktails sorted :D :D

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Re: Friday Night is Cocktail Night

Postby denada » Mon Jun 25, 2012 4:18 pm

That Calvados one sounds good Joan. Can you give quantities? OH made Bellinis on Saturday. We both thought they were a bit of a waste of the champagne so finished the rest of the bottle with just a slice of strawberry in the flute. Yesterday friends came round to use the pool so we made strawberry daiquiris and with temperatures in the high 30's, we spent the afternoon floating in the pool, sipping those. Sometimes, the life of an ex-pat can be very hard!

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