The Intoxicologist Is In

You would think it would be an easy task to think of any cocktail on the fly to quench one’s thirst when one is a cocktail or spirits reviewer.  Such is not the case.  I often find myself sitting at a public bar looking over a cocktail menu in disappointment for the lack of variety or creativity, completely high sugar orientation or lack of balance in what is offered.  A visual sweep of the back bar typically takes in the usual roundup of spirit characters.  The predictable happens; I order a Straight Up Martini using a vodka I love so much that vermouth is not an option or I opt for straight bourbon neat.  Either way the bartender has to bend over backward to screw it up and I don’t get a watered down, sugary mess cocktail.  What I’ve also come to realize over the past year in reviewing cocktails and spirits is there are very few cocktails I finish in full anymore.  I’ve become accustomed to tasting and tossing.  After all, tasting too many things renders the taste buds numb and honestly it would the mind as well. 

Yesterday I picked up a bottle of Buffalo Trace Bourbon to try for fun.  I wasn’t planning on taking photos of the bottle like I ordinarily do for every spirit I review.  It’s become ritual that a bottle be photographed before opening, so it was sort of bucking the system to just open this one up and taste without a pen in my hand.  Mr_Cocktail on Twitter recommended I go Old School with Buffalo Trace Bourbon and make a muddled Old Fashioned.  My feelings were slightly mixed only because I’m always hesitant to ‘ruin’ good bourbon and I know I rarely finish a cocktail.  However, Mr_Cocktail should be a prime authority on cocktails since he is the Executive Director of Tales of the Cocktail going on July 8 – 12 in New Orleans.  So, I bit the bullet and made a bee line for my muddler.

Muddled Old Fashioned

3 ounces Buffalo Trace Bourbon

2 muddled orange slices

1/4 ounce simple syrup

4 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

Maraschino cherry and orange slice garnish

Muddle orange slices and simple syrup in bottom of a cocktail shaker.  Add Buffalo Trace Bourbon and Peychaud’s Bitters.  Fill with ice.  Shake.  Strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled two thirds with ice.  Garnish with maraschino cherry and an orange slice.

You might be thinking the simple syrup or straining out the muddled mess doesn’t make this very ‘old fashioned,’ but I am a little more contemporary.  I prefer smooth over sugary grit and don’t like floaties in my drink.  The orange adds freshness with just enough sweetness to take away any bite or dryness one might get in a bourbon cocktail.  Buffalo Trace comes through with more than a suggestion of bourbon.  This is light, yet warming as the flavor of caramel and possibly that of its origin in barrel aging melds its character to the fruit

By the way, I finished the entire cocktail.  Thank you for the sound advice Mr_Cocktail! 

People to follow on Twitter for Tales of the Cocktail and Buffalo Trace Bourbon:

• TalesOfTheCocktail: http://twitter.com/totc
• Mrs_Cocktail: http://twitter.com/mrs_cocktail
• Mr_Cocktail: http://twitter.com/Mr_Cocktail
• Kris Comstock – Brand Manager Buffalo Trace: http://twitter.com/BUFFALOCOMSTOCK

The Intoxicologist items you may have missed around the blogosphere today:

• Toasting brides with Ventura Limoncello – review w/cocktail
• Highland Park: Remember Quality for Father’s Day – tasting notes w/review link
• Woodford Reserve Bourbon continues tradition of Belmont Stakes – Official cocktail
• Belmont Stakes Recipes using Woodford Reserve Bourbon – Appetizers to pair with Belmont Breeze
• Breckenridge Brewery: 1 of 4 free beer tastings tonight – links to all four in the post

Copyright 2009 Cheri Loughlin – The Intoxicologist – All Rights Reserved