The Pisco Sour

A Pisco Sour is a cocktail containing pisco, lemon or lime juice, egg whites, simple syrup, and Angostura bitters. An account is that the Pisco Sour cocktail is a variation of the Whiskey sour, invented in the early 1920s by American expatriate Victor V. "Gringo" Morris at the Morris' Bar in Lima, Peru. The cocktail quickly became a favorite of locals. Soon many of the grand Lima hotels at that time such as the Maury and the Hotel Bolivar began serving pisco sours to their international guests, helping the drink become an international hit. An old advertisement of Pisco Sour was published in 1924 by the Morris' Bar of Lima.
In Peru, Pisco Sour day is celebrated on the first Saturday of February. When the Peruvian National Anthem is played all Pisco Sours must be finished as a mark of respect.

Here in New Orleans, the Pisco Sour is often found as a summer drink at some of the finer cocktail establishmenst like Carousel bar. In fact, according to the recent issue of Mutineer Magazine, the Pisco Sour is the #1 selling cocktail sold at the famous Carousel bar in the past year. So go out and taste it or make if off the recipe below.

Pisco Sour Makes 1 serving

Ingredients: ~ 1 1/2oz of Pisco

~ 1 oz of Simple Sugar

~ 1 oz of Fresh Lime Juice or less

~ 1 1/2 oz of Egg Whites or 1 Whole Egg White

~ Dash of Angostura Bitters

In a shaker, mix 3 ice cubes, pisco, simple sugar, fresh lime juice, and egg whites. Shake until mixture is nice and frothy and serve straight up in a martini glass with a dash of aromatic bitters.

It took us about 3 attempts to mix it right cause too much bitters made it taste funny and we STRONGLY recommed that you DONT use Roses Lime. A dash of lime juice or 1 oz of fresh squeezed like juice goes a long way although we liked it with only splashes of lime juice. After that, it was all a good time and a great cocktail

Where're We Wednesday? 12/23/09

So it's the Wednesday before Christmas and we need to escape the stress of the holidays, right? Then what you need is a drink to relieve the pressure. So it's time to find the New Orleans Modern Drunkards, while we are out partaking of tasty libations. Today, I, Eric, will be going out around 8pm to enjoy a couple of drinks. So for the 1st 3 people that can find me, I will buy you each a drink. I will also have 4 Devil's Weed Cigars to give away so that you can enjoy a good cigar with me that is made by one of New Orleans' own, Luis Molina.

So Where are We going to be on this Wednesday December 23rd?

Well here are your 5 clues:

1) This bar has an antique barber’s chair that on Monday with $10 you can get a cut and a shot!

2) Someone once cleverly dubbed the joint a “bed and beverage", since they have an inn above and a kick as bar below.

3) This bar is located in the in the Faubourg Marigny on Royal Street.

4) It has a large selection of imported beers and one of the best alternative and art-rock jukeboxes in the city

5) If you figure out the street (See Clue#3), the Street Number in Roman Numerals is MCDXXXI

When You get there, you will have to answer this question to either get a drink or a free cigar?

~What is the Name of the 4 cigars I am giving away for christmas?

Answer: Devils Weed Cigars

Imbibe Magazine

For Christmas, you may consider a magazine subscription. May we recommend you consider Imbibe for yourself or the New Orleans Modern Drunkard in your family.

Imbibe is the magazine of liquid culture. It is a completely new way of looking at drinks — as a distinct culinary category, deserving in-depth exploration of history, ingredients, preparation, artistry and consumption. From wine, spirits and beer to coffee, tea and everything in between, Imbibe celebrates the world in a glass. In each bi-monthly issue, you’ll find compelling travelogues, engaging profiles, signature recipes and useful reviews—everything you need to know about the fascinating people, places, flavors and cultures of all things potable. Imbibe is your indispensable guide to all that’s fit to drink.

What we personally like as New Orleans Modern Drunkards about Imbibe
is that while it offers fascinating articles, interesting Q&A's, great product reviews, along with drink recommendations, and recipes, it does it with an unpretentious approach. It also offers more information about coffees & teas and other types of drinks that the writers from portland like to drink during the day. However, it focuses on alcohol and magazine aims to inform you of how things are made or how to enjoy them & that is what the New Orleans Modern Drunkards ultimate goal is always.

Sauce Spotlight: Appleton Estate

Well Modern Drunkards, it's time for the Saturday Sauce Spotlight and today we are going to discuss a main ingredient found in Hot Buttered Rum. During the Christmas Season, you will find Hot Buttered Rum in many craft bars and restaurants like Bar Tonique, the Library Lounge, The Marginy Brasserie, & even the City Park Christmas Cafe during Celebration in the Oaks.

This warm winter cocktail recommends a dark Jamaican Rum to add a dark and slightly spicy flavor to warm the cockles of your heart & belly. Recently, we watched Chris McMillian's Youtube video from the Library Lounge where he teaches us how to make a delicious hot buttered rum and he recommends using Appleton Estates Rum.

Now with the Hot Buttered Rum, any of the Appleton Estates Rums will do, however, we prefer Appleton Estate VX Rum. The Appleton Estate VX Rum offers a spiciness up front while not being harsh. This rum is 80-proof and is made from sugar cane grown in Jamaica and is fermented with natural yeast found in Appleton sugar cane. It is a dark amber rum made with a blend of several other rums. The reason we find it a good match for Hot Buttered Rum is that it is herbal with notes of sweet butter.

You can usually find it priced from a minimum of $18.00 - $22.00 at Martin Wine Cellar, Elio's Wine Warehouse, Dorignac's, or your local grocery.

Try it out in a Hot Buttered Rum or another type of cocktail and tell us what you thing. Don't like it or prefer another type of rum for your Hot Buttered Rum? Let us know.

Fun Facts Friday - 12/18/09

It's Fun Facts Friday!


Since this week we have been drinking a Gin Drink, the Negroni, we shall give you some Fun Definition, Myths, A great quote, & a little humor about this Alchohol.







Definition: According to Marina Orlova, from Hot For Words, Gin is an abbreviation of the word GENEVA. Originally the Drink was Dutch & called genever which meant "juniper" which is the berries which are the basis of Gin.





Myth: One of the biggest myths is that gin gets bruised from shaking it. In reality it doesn't. Although, it is better to stir rather than shake a cocktail made with Gin unless your making it with citrus or egg whites. Essentially, shaking introduces bubbles, which makes your drink cloudy when it should be crystal clear, like a martini. So you can now stop cringing everytime James Bond asks for a Gin Martini Shaken, not Stirred.



Quote:
“I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast.” ~W. C. Fields


Lastly, I found this funny Cartoon from NatalieDee a Sharing Machine Comic. Enjoy!

Thirsty Thursday: The NEGRONI

Well it's Thirsty Thursday Folks and Time for us to share with you the Drink of the Week. This week we are shining the Spotlight on the Negroni.

We chose the Negroni after reading In the Dec '09/Jan '10 Issue of Men's Journal on the last Page titled "Survival Skills", that Anthony Bourdain's favorite Drink is a NEGRONI. Bourdain says that the Negroni is his favorite drink that was taught to him by Mario Batali and that this simultaneously ruined and improved his life!!

The base alchohols of the Negroni are Gin and Campari. It's widely considered an aperitif, a pre-dinner cocktail intended to stimulate the appetite although it can be enjoyed at any time. The most common legend is that it was invented in Florence, Italy when Count Cammillo Negroni in the 1920's ordered an Americano Cocktail and asked the bartender to add Gin.

New Orleans Modern Drunkards, Steve, Ryan, and Eric, tested this cocktail at the Bridge Lounge in Uptown and at Bar Tonique in the Outskirts of the French Quarter. At the Bridge Lounge, Styles crafted this Drink using Beefeater Gin and it was a bit light but nice. At Bar Tonique, Christine crafted her Negroni's with Plymouth Gin which added a more fragrant flavor and she also openes the orange twist by burning it which helps add a light fruity finish. Overall, I, Eric, liked it cause it was a light cocktail.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 1/2 oz Campari
1 1/2 oz gin
orange slice or twist for garnish

Preparation: Pour the ingredients into an old-fashioned glass with ice cubes. Stir well & Garnish with the orange slice

Try it out and let us know what you think!!