A few months ago, Chris unearthed the book "Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century" by Paul Harrington, aka "The Alchemist", who earned his name writing a cocktail column for Wired in the 90s.
He was involved in the recent resurgence of classic cocktails and spent a considerable amount of time studying the history and variations of cocktails of the era before blended margaritas.
While the book goes into length about barware and base liquors, the highlight is 64 pages of colorful recipes highlighting the full spectrum of "classic aperitif cocktails that was meant to give the reader a "wide breadth of experience." In this project, we will go through all 64 drinks and provide pictures and notes, along with any variations we discover are particularly good or, more likely, should be avoided at all cost.
This was the first drink either of us had made that involved chilling the glass beforehand. It's so easy: just a few minutes in the freezer makes all the difference in a drink that is cold and stays that way. Unless I'm making drinks for a large crowd, I always chill my glasses now.
I don't really like either Campari or sweet vermouth, so I had my doubts about this drink, but it ended up being surprisingly delicious (at first: by the end the Campari in the bottom defeated me). It was also very pretty in the sunlight, which the picture doesn't quite capture. We definitely made the right decision when we threw out the bottles of Gallo vermouth that had been with me for my last 10 moves and spent the extra few dollars for Martini and Rossi. The new vermouth tasted good enough on its own that I had some vermouth and soda as a refresher after we'd polished off the Americano.
Chris agreed that the top of the drink was refreshing, though the Campari at the end even got him.
The Americano, mixed properly, would make a great summer drink. Add more sweet vermouth if the Campari starts huddling in the bottom of the class.
He was involved in the recent resurgence of classic cocktails and spent a considerable amount of time studying the history and variations of cocktails of the era before blended margaritas.
While the book goes into length about barware and base liquors, the highlight is 64 pages of colorful recipes highlighting the full spectrum of "classic aperitif cocktails that was meant to give the reader a "wide breadth of experience." In this project, we will go through all 64 drinks and provide pictures and notes, along with any variations we discover are particularly good or, more likely, should be avoided at all cost.
Without further ado,
Drink #1: The Americano
- 1 oz Campari
- 1/2 oz sweet Vermouth
- Soda water
Stirred, not shaken
This was the first drink either of us had made that involved chilling the glass beforehand. It's so easy: just a few minutes in the freezer makes all the difference in a drink that is cold and stays that way. Unless I'm making drinks for a large crowd, I always chill my glasses now.
I don't really like either Campari or sweet vermouth, so I had my doubts about this drink, but it ended up being surprisingly delicious (at first: by the end the Campari in the bottom defeated me). It was also very pretty in the sunlight, which the picture doesn't quite capture. We definitely made the right decision when we threw out the bottles of Gallo vermouth that had been with me for my last 10 moves and spent the extra few dollars for Martini and Rossi. The new vermouth tasted good enough on its own that I had some vermouth and soda as a refresher after we'd polished off the Americano.
Chris agreed that the top of the drink was refreshing, though the Campari at the end even got him.
Final Verdict:
The Americano, mixed properly, would make a great summer drink. Add more sweet vermouth if the Campari starts huddling in the bottom of the class.
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