Drinks with Personality: Tequila

Several years ago when I was but a wee college freshman, my sister gave me some well-meaning advice. It was a common rhyming adage, "Liquor before beer, you're in the clear. Beer before liquor, never been sicker." This is the very definition of a factoid. It's something that sounds like it should be true, especially because it's so simple and concise. All the same, it's what a drill sergeant trying to look good for TV cameras would call "bull-hockey". The order in which a series of drinks is imbibed has no discernible affect on the drinker's well-being. The fact is, drinking is something we have to learn to do, and the only true lesson is the hands-on variety. People get ruined on certain drinks because they're inexperienced and they drink it incorrectly. Like most animals, humans aren't immune to operant conditioning. At the tender age of 19, I rendered myself incapable of ever consuming gin again. It's not just because I got drunk on the stuff, either. It's because I, in my infinite 19-year-old wisdom, decided to be cool and indulge in copious amounts of very cheap gin at a college party, sans ice or even so much as a solitary wedge of lime. Room temperature, cheap and unflavored is about as wrong as one can get in terms of drinking gin. So, I disqualified myself from ever understanding the stuff. Of course, there are many spirits that have devoted drinkers who think they know everything there is to know, yet they still go about the process incorrectly. This gives certain drinks an undeserved reputation. I can't think of a single substance more misunderstood than Tequila. Most people think tequila is a shooting drink, meant to be knocked back an ounce at a time on those nights when total annihilation is the goal. I'm going to let you readers in on a little secret: There is no such thing as a shooting drink. If your goal is to feel like hell a few hours after drinking, then by all means start doing shots. Otherwise, drink like an adult so you can wake up the next day without regrets. Tequila is possibly the worst spirit to shoot, anyway. Not all alcoholic beverages are the same. While their most active ingredient, ethanol, has the same series of effects on human physiology, even the strongest drinks hover around 50% ethanol by volume. The rest is taken up by water and other naturally occurring chemicals. In short, there's more going on in tequila than just alcohol and a pretty golden tint. Tequila is made from agave, a desert plant pollinated by bats. In other words, it's not made from grain or sugar like the vast majority of alcoholic drinks in the world. The chemical uniqueness lends tequila an underlying complexity and indeed a peculiar personality. Tequila is far too complex to be downed in a rapid succession of shots. People treat it like a careless party animal, but what it really wants is to be cared for and understood. It has been miscategorized, fitting better into the sipping niche with scotch. There are so many varieties of tequila, each offering a different approach to the bouquet and palate. Some are light and fruity, some are harsh and salty. Most drinkers never know this because their experiences with tequila place the drink on their tongues for all of a half-second. So, next time you've got a taste for tequila, or if you just want to enjoy a new flavor experience, try sipping tequila. There are a lot of places that do tequila flights, giving the drinker a tour of different levels of quality and different dominant tones in Mexico's finest product. This spirit deserves more than to be chased with lime juice or buried in a Margarita.

8th Street Ale – A Four Peaks Brewery Classic!

If you find yourself in one of the most exciting college towns in the United States, Tempe, Arizona, head down the historical Mill Avenue to Four Peaks Brewery. A fully fledged brewery and bar, this place is actually quite large inside and has been around for a decent while, serving awesome eats and some signature, homemade beer to the masses. And, they even allow you buy kegs and bottles of their beer to enjoy at home, or at a party later on. If you happen upon this joint on any weekend night, Friday or Saturday, you may have to wait to be seated as it is one of the more popular bars in the Tempe area! 8th Street Ale Is the trademark, and nearly flagship beer of the Four Peaks Brewery! This beer has become so popular, in fact, that most stores in Arizona sell it by the six pack or the case, which retails for about $8-$15 dollars. The beer speaks for itself. A smooth and dark lager that offers a brisk first taste, a rich foamy texture, and a smooth aftertaste that will leave you craving another sip once it passes down your gullet. As your tummy warms from the high alcohol content, you will realize indeed that it has even a sweeter ambience and flavor, but yet still remains as a typical, dark lager. Brewed daily in the many beer vats that populate the Four Peaks Brewery in Tempe, Arizona, 8th Street Ale is amongst the best ales that you can pour down your mouth. And when you are at this place, you can get cheap pitchers of it for about seven smackers! Plus, they have dozens of other homemade beers that you can try and buy, if you so desire! The video below depicts a Four Peaks Brewing: 1st Annual Elvis Day Cheese Puff Eating Contest where people are supposed to gear up and get their tummies ready to eat as many cheese puffs as possible. Notice the large brewing vats in the background? Yeah, that is right! Four Peaks brews their own specialty beers and serves them daily, changing out many of brews seasonally to appease their numerous loyal customers. My favorite beer at Four Peaks Brewery, in Tempe, Arizona, is their trademarked, flagship brew: 8th Street Ale. A darker, hoppy lager that goes down smooth and is high rich in flavor and boasts high alcohol content.

Top Ten Reasons Why Sake Bombers Rock!

Do you love Sake Bombers? I love them because they are almost always drinkable, and they are usually on special at most bars nightclubs. Sake bombers are one of the most popular drink combinations in the United States today. So it should come as no surprise should you see somebody dropping wine into their beer at a club or bar when you enter and getting tanked on the infamous Sake Bomber! While there are many reasons to love this mixed drink, I figured out the top ten, below! Top Ten Reasons Why Sake Bombers Rock 1. One of the only mixtures of wine and beer that actually tastes good—who would have thought mixing the two together would be tasty? 2. Hot wine in cold beer sounds yucky at first, but once mixed, it is delicious! 3. They are typically on sale at most bars, and generally speaking, you can get a sake bomber for about five bucks nearly anywhere in the US. 4. You get a twenty four ounce bottle of beer, and an eight ounce bottle of wine for about five bucks, how can you beat that deal? 5. Try doing two in a row! You will have consumed forty eight ounces of beer and sixteen ounces of wine, and will have spend roughly ten dollars to get tanked! 6. They used to only be served a sushi joints and Asian restaurants, but now they are so popular you can literally get them anywhere! 7. Girls tend to love the Sake Bomber – take notes guys! 8. Tasty import beer mixed with classic sake wine, yummy! 9. The dropping the wine in the bottom of the glass and downing it is a classic! 10. The easiest way to get drunk on a budget with your best friends! Seriously! Never Had a Sake Bomber? Then you don’t what you are missing out on my friends! This classic, Asian drinking binge has fermented a popular culture love for this drink cocktail in most bars around the United States. Sake Bombers are actually one of the more easily made high ball drinks. They include several parts, a large Kirin or similar beer, a small bottle of heated Sake, a small shot glass for the Sake and a large, 16-ounce pint glass of beer. The video below depicts to girls from Tempe showing their friends how to make and down this classic drink!

An Irish Bar on an Irish Holiday

Ok, so maybe itâ??s not officially an Irish holiday, but when you get pinched for not wearing green or just plain cussed out at a bar, you have to wonder which nationality would have any desire to claim St. Patickâ??s Day as their own creation. I do enjoy Irish whiskeyâ??s and beers on occasion, but St. Patrickâ??s day can either provide you with a great excuse to have a couple of Guinnessâ??s or get completely sloshed, depending on which route you want to take. If you want a real Irish experience in Seattle and donâ??t want to stray far from Capital Hill, then Clever Dunneâ??s on Olive Way is the place for you.

Youâ??re probably wondering why Iâ??m reviewing this bar post St. Patrickâ??s Day, and I understand your confusion, but sometimes in the wake of the complete drunken personal destruction often associated with drinking on March 17th, you realize that sometimes in the middle of summer or even in the rainy depths of autumn, you crave a bar with real Irish grit. And thatâ??s exactly how Iâ??d describe Clever Dunneâ??s. Itâ??s not a great place to go on that Irish holiday if you donâ??t like large raucous crowds and singing that lasts far beyond last call. Heck, to help give this bar the Irish respect and credibility it deserves, Iâ??ve even seen some knock-down, drag-out fights at the place, and those werenâ??t even associated with a holiday at all.

Clever Dunne’s is warm, friendly, and downright quaint as far as Irish bars go. Sure Seattle has other bars with similar cultural flair, like Fado for example, but none of them has the real feel of a back-alley brew house in Dublin quite the way Clever Dunne’s accomplishes this hard to duplicate or simulate atmosphere. The floors are made of long pine planks that take on the odor and moisture while the walls seem to swell and sway with the crowds, this observation however may just be dependant on the number of drinks you’ve already enjoyed but it’s a cozy little place when there’s a crowd out enjoying the night. There are a handful of tables with old rickety chairs and small bars here and there with bar stools. Most of the time though it’s either feast or famine with the size of the crowd. I’m usually either wading my way to the bar through ha sea of people or all by my lonesome enjoying a Strongbow at a quiet table.

The bar has dartboards and a multitude of different nooks and crannies with which to sit and enjoy a pint or shot or two. I especially enjoy Clever Dunneâ??s on warm summer nights when they open the windows and shutters facing the street and serve beer to bar patrons from the sills of the open windows. Iâ??ve never had a negative experience at this bar with any of the bar staff and the patrons are a rowdy but friendly group on most nights. Drinks are medium priced and poured stiff and even if you happen to find yourself inside this establishment on a weeknight, youâ??ll certainly enjoy the authentic Irish feel and hospitality that Clever Dunneâ??s is famous for providing.

Bloody Mary

There are at least two creation myths for the Bloody Mary; one, that producer and song writer George Jessel created the first by adding vodka to his tomato juice in his apartment in Palm Beach in 1927. But in 1926 an American bartender named Fernand Petiot was working at Harry's New York Bar in Pairs, the exceedingly famous drinking hole favored by the likes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, was mixing a cocktail made of equal parts of tomato juice and vodka. Later, in 1934, back in the U.S. in a real New York bar, the King Cole Bar at the St. Regis in New York, Petiot spiced up the drink, now known as the Bloody Mary despite the hotel's attempt to change it "Red Snapper," by adding cayenne pepper, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, lemon, and a big dash of Tabasco. It increases in popularity, rapidly. Then, in 1950, George Jessel takes out an ad in Collier's that assumes credit for inventing the drink. Then, on July 19, 1964, Petiot tells the New Yorker:

I initiated the Bloody Mary of today. George Jessel said he created it, but it was really nothing but vodka and tomato juice when I took it over. I cover the bottom of the shaker with four large dashes of salt, two dashes of black pepper, two dashes of cayenne pepper, and a layer of Worcestershire sauce; I then add a dash of lemon juice and some cracked ice, put in two ounces of vodka and two ounces of thick tomato juice, shake, strain, and pour.

That is, pretty much, the basic recipe for a Bloody Mary today. Who really created it? I don't know; I note that there's a time line here, and the Tabasco company's take here; you decide. Me, I rather strongly suspect that neither Jessel nor Petiot were the actual "inventor," but that more than one poor soul had turned to the basic combination of ingredients in a bloody Mary as a hair-of-the-dog hangover remedy the morning after.

Here's a more specific recipe

  • Two highball glasses.
  • 1oz. to 2 oz. decent vodka.

  • 1 dash celery salt or kosher salt

  • 1 to 3 shakes of ground black pepper

  • 1 dash Tabasco

  • 2–4 dashes of Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire sauce

  • Dash of fresh lemon juice
  • Add bottled tomato juice to the ice, until the glass is fairly full.

Either add the ingredients to a highball glass pre-filled with ice up to about an inch from the top, and pour it into an empty glass, then back to the ice filled glass to mix the ingredients, or, alternatively, use a shaker with ice and then strain over the highball glass filled with ice. Garnish to taste.

Now, let's stop there for just a moment and carefully consider garnish. Inarguably, one of the most important elements of a truly fabulous bloody mary is the garnish. The most basic garnish is the simple, classic: a celery stalk, with maybe a skewer of olives, and a wedge of lemon. There's absolutely no reason to be boring when you garnish your bloody mary, though, and very good reasons to show some creativity and panache when you're assembling "the salad" (what a friend of mine calls bloody mary garnishes, with particular relish [sic]) when you have a perfect chance to complement the zesty and savory nature of this drink. A particularly nice touch is to include pickled asparagus spears or spicy pickled green beans. You can use different varieties of olives, wedges of lemon and lime, or long spears of cucumber. The idea is to serve the bloody mary with what amounts to a small side-salad of garnish.

Keep in mind that a bloody mary is only as good as its ingredients, and that's particularly true of the vodka, and the tomato juice. I favor Gray Goose, Ketel One, or Three olives. Yes, you can make a decent bloody mary with other vodkas, but I'd rather drink something superior, than drink something that's simply "decent." The tomato juice really is better if it's been bottled rather than canned, and best still if it's from your juicer (with the seeds filtered out)—but don't forget you'll need a bit more salt if you juice your own tomatoes. I like to put the juice in the freezer for a few minutes to really chill it through. You might favor the spicy tomato juice rather than the plain, or even V8 or clamato juice. You might favor lime instead of lemon. Many people also like to add about an 1/8 of a teaspoon of plain grated horseradish (i.e. not the creamed sauce). Experimentation is key. Use the things you like best, and go lightly or leave out altogether the elements you don't care for. There's nothing subtle about a bloody mary; this is a drink that's all about an explosion of fresh, zesty flavors.

Traditionally, a bloody mary is a popular drink for brunches, frequently offered as a choice along with a mimosa. But they're awfully refreshing on a hot summer day, as well, and make a marvelous pre-dinner appetizer. It's a lovely complement to finger foods, like a veggie platter or peel-and-eat shrimp.

The perfect vodka martini!

Okay, I left off last time with a ringing endorsement for the classic gin martini. At risk of sounding like a heretic, I have to admit that my absolute personal favorite martini is a vodka martini, very dry, dirty, with three bleu cheese-stuffed olives. Now, this isn't something I discovered on my own. I had a pal who swore solemnly to me over a year ago that no matter how weird it sounded, it was absolutely the best vodka martini she'd ever had. I'd honestly sort of forgotten, until I ordered a dirty vodka martini in a bar known for excellent martinis a short time ago, and they brought me precisely the martini my friend had described, garnished with bleu cheese-stuffed olives.

I can already imagine your disbelief about the bleu cheese olives, I felt the same way before I'd tried it. So bear with me—because during the course of my careful and painstaking research, I drank a lot of different vodka martinis, with a lot of different garnishes. Hands-down, the most interesting, savory, and satisfying vodka martini I sampled was the martini I'm about to describe, so you can recreate this most perfect cocktail for yourself.

First of all, I vastly prefer to consume martinis at home, in the company of good friends. For that to be a satisfying experience you have to learn to mix a terrific martini. If you've no interest or aptitude for making drinks, though, you're much better off going out. Just take a cab or get a ride with a sober friend, because you'll definitely want more than one.

For our purposes, I recommend Grey Goose vodka, although in a pinch Ketel One is certainly palatable. I have friends who swear by the various organic vodkas available, though I've not yet tried them. Personally, I prefer Grey Goose, hands down. Pop your martini glasses into the freezer for a bit to chill.

I hunted all over for bleu cheese-stuffed olives, and couldn't find them. I found feta-stuffed olives, but it didn't seem quite the thing, so I brought home a jar of ordinary martini olives, fished out the pimentos with a toothpick, and stuffed the gutted olives with bleu cheese. Through trial and error, I figured out that this process went more smoothly once I'd left the cheese on the counter to warm to room temperature. Once you've restuffed the olives, you can squeeze a wedge of lemon over them, which adds just another hint of subtle complexity to the martini.

Like with gin, I typically keep vodka in the freezer. It lets me skip all the tedious business with shakers and straining and watery spirits. [NOTE: Most bottles carry labels warning you not to store the booze in the freezer. You should probably follow that advice.]

Take the now frosted martini glass out of the freezer, rinse with a few drops of dry vermouth, splash about a quarter-shot of olive juice into the glass, add the vodka, and swizzle the mix with three of your re-stuffed olives on a toothpick.

If bleu cheese just isn't your thing, then certainly you can use ordinary olives and you'll still have a lovely dirty vodka martini.

Cheers!

The perfect martini at home

Hunt for the Perfect Martini

I've recently discovered martinis. Not the fruity concoctions served in a martini glass—lemondrops, cosmopolitans, or other cocktails. Not the various flavored vodkas so fashionable for chocolate "martinis" or appletinis, and so on. While those are perfectly legitimate cocktails, they're served in a martini glass, and they're well worth exploring—they aren't what I mean when I say "martini".

Nope, I mean the good old-fashioned James Bond-style martini. The classic, traditional martini means gin.

Let's talk about different gins for just a minute while I'm thinking about it. I'm one of those people who, if I can't afford the good stuff, would rather just wait until I can. So if your preferred hootch is that clear mystery-mix in a plastic bottle that tastes like nothing so much as it tastes like lighter-fluid, this probably isn't the post for you.

So for our purposes, when I say "gin" I mean Bombay Sapphire dry gin.

Now, I tend to believe in experience being the best teacher. I have friends who drink martinis, have done so for years, and who kept actively trying to convert me to their martini religion. So—in spite of having been a bourbon-on-the-rocks drinker for the last several years—I set about to learn martinis. A month later, nearing the bottom of a bottle each of vodka and gin, I have to admit: The martini is a damned fine drink, done properly.

Let's start with gin. If you walk into your favorite upscale cocktail place, and order a martini, your bartender will want some information. Most basically, do you have a preference for brand? How dry? With olives, or with a twist? We've already talked about brand; you want good gin. Most bars have Sapphire gin, and although you'll pay a bit more, it's worth it. Dryness refers to how much vermouth and less often what kind of vermouth you expect the bartender to use. If you hate green olives, you'll either want a twist of lemon, or if you're a roguish and adventuresome sort of soul, a cocktail onion (which turns your martini into a Gibson.) Your bartender probably doesn't have any cocktail onions. They've mostly gone out of fashion.

My recommendation? Ask the bartender for a Sapphire martini, very dry, with three olives. But I really like olives, and I'm not a big fan of vermouth. Now, this is good. This is really, really good. The gin should be icy cold, and like breathing resinous mountain air, the vermouth adding overtones of complexity in every sip, with the olives to sort of nibble on, throughout the experience. When I make martinis at home, I put both the bottle of gin and the martini glasses in the freezer overnight, because I'm stone lazy about things like cocktail shakers, and I never have enough ice on hand to make as many drinks as I want. (Break the seal on the gin, first, if you haven't opened it yet. And if the bottle explodes, you'll please note that it's not MY fault: the label on the bottle clearly warns you NOT to put it in the freezer, what on EARTH were you thinking?)

Take the martini glass out of the fridge, put about a capful of dry vermouth in the glass and swish it around. Dump the leftover vermouth down the sink (or into the next martini glass) and fill with icy-cold gin. Spear two or three olives on a toothpick, and give the gin a swizzle with the garnish when you drop the olives into the alcohol. Sip, don't guzzle—but sip fast. Warm gin tastes a lot like cheap cologne, even the top-shelf varieties.

Next time, the perfect vodka martini.

The Mojito

Summer is a time of carelessness, fun, and relaxation, in other words, the Mojito. Visually, this highball is a refreshing, cool, clear concoction beautifully garnished with mint leaves and lime. It's icy, water like facade can cause anybody to salivate. Don't worry, your not the only one, after a drink like this, anyone would believe in love at first sight. Once you give into the visual temptress, your taste buds will agree with your eyes, screaming “oh yes.” The Mojito derives from the African word “mojo,” which means “little spell.” Dating back to the day's of Sir Frances Drake, the concoction was called the Draque. The Draque was invented by one of Drakes sailors, made with Aquardiente, an earlier ancestor of rum. When the ever famous Bacardi Masso opened his distillery, his rum was born. The Draque then became what we know and love today, “the Mojito.” Originally used for medical purposes, as were many other drinks, this sweet highball goes down easy. This leisurely summertime drink will put you in a great mood, anytime. Simply concocted, the one thing you really have to remember is to bruise the mint leaves, not shred them. Bruising the leaves causes the oils to rise. You can bruise the leaves using a muddle, or a pestle. Firmly press down on the leaves using one of the tools mentioned before in a slow twisting motion. Be sure not to actually break the leaf, remember, the goal here is to only bruise them. Muddle enough to release the oils, if not, you will be left with a bland drink, to much will cause the drink to be overbearingly bitter. I think the Mojito tastes best with white rum, lime, sugar, club soda, and “crushed” ice, all in a highball glass. When mixing the cocktail, I find it best to put the mint leaves, lime, and sugar in the glass before anything else. Reason being, after you put in the white rum, the ingredients seem as if they are swimming in the glass. This leaves the beverage seeming very visually stimulating, putting you in a splendid mood, reminding you to relax. Before adding the rum, muddle to your taste buds desire. After muddling, add the crushed ice, white rum, and club soda. Stir the cocktail until the sugar dissolves to your liking. Finally, garnish the drink with mint leaves and a lime wheel. After the beverage is ready, I like to let it sit for a few minutes before drinking. This let's the flavor's meld together in a refreshing manner.

Better than Fashion Week

A fun place to go out in Seattle, and one I was just at last night in fact, is Grey Gallery & Lounge (1512 11th Ave on Capitol Hill).  I have been there twice in the past month and I am pleased with it overall.  The atmosphere is great, they usually have a live DJ playing some kind of "down tempo lounge" music.  When I listen to the background music I imagine a person on the radio saying something like, "You are now in the lounge with DJ ________(fill in the blank)." Of course they would have to say it in the most smooth, sexy voice they could muster.  It would probably sound nothing like when they normally talk to their friends or when they are talking to an officer who just pulled them over, but it would work great to set the mood at Grey Gallery & Lounge. In addition to the great background music, the crowd is full of nice people.  Everyone just wants to chill.  Nobody is trying to start fights and nobody wants to play darts.  In fact, there isn't a single dart board in sight.  Not that I particularly hate darts but honestly, wouldn't it be horrible if you were hanging out with a drink in hand, enjoying a good night and great company, when all of a sudden someone accidentally hit you in the shoulder or forearm with a dart??  You would probably spill your drink and, what's even worse, there would forever be a dart scar on your arm to remind you of that fateful night at Grey Gallery & Lounge.  Thankfully, there are no darts in the building. Another plus is the drink prices.  It is great for a person drinking on a budget, although there are still some pricier beverages for those who are feeling more lavish.  In fact, even the dress code has a wide variety.  You can wear your tennis shoes and coat, or you can go a little more sexy.  There is such a wide variety of fashion that it would be tough to over or under dress.  It might not be as glamorous as fashion week in Paris but hey, it's a baller's playground for Capitol Hill. Something else I like about this bar is, one of the times I was there they were giving out free cake!  Now how often does that happen?  Imagine being out having a good time, when suddenly hunger pangs hit.  Maybe this is because you ate a light dinner since you knew you would be drinking later, or maybe you simply had a chocolate craving while in the middle of enjoying your poison of choice.  This is no problem, because there is free cake nearby.  I will, however, be the first to admit that I was too late to actually get any of the cake.  At first I only saw a couple people finishing up their plates, then I looked around to see that nearly everyone in the place was eating cake.  I went to the bar to inquire about this and unfortunately they were already out of cake.  It's fine though, I'll just make sure to keep an eye open eye cake next time. Finally, they have really nice art on the walls.  Sometimes one isn't feeling particularly social.  It's easy to slip into a mood that isn't very talkative, especially while drinking.  During these times, what is there better to do than look at art?  Before I knew it I was walking around, sipping my drink (which was pretty much empty anyways, but I had to have something in my hand you know, for status) and looking at art.  I saw a really nice painting on sale for around $10,000 which is sadly about $999,950 out of my price range so I could not make a purchase.

Making Great Picon at Home

If youâ??ve read the recent article about Picon-Beer and the bitters known as Picon, youâ??re probably like me and wanting to experience what this concoction is like first hand. After much searching I have found a pretty good recipe from a very reliable source to help you create your own version of Picon. While itâ??s not exactly the same, if youâ??re using it for cocktails the differences will likely be imperceptible. Another thing to note is the fact that along with variations in the ingredients come variations in the final product, whether thatâ??s the color, smell, taste, or texture of the Picon has to do with which particular ingredients were changed or omitted.

Bartender Jamie Boudreauâ??s version, which he has aptly named the â??Amer Boudreauâ? goes like this:

Amer Boudreau

Ingredients: 3 bottles Amaro Ramazzotti- Available in the US 7 ½ cups orange tincture (See below for instructions on how to make this) ¾ bottle Stirrings Blood Orange bitters ¾ liter Evian or other high quality, bottled water

Steps:

The first step after you have made your orange tincture is to combine all the ingredients in a large container and stir until they are sufficiently mixed together. After they have been stirred you will need to let the contents sit for at least one week, preferably two. Next, get your hands on a strainer and pour the concoction through it to filter out any small pieces of tincture or other impurities. It is best to keep the final product in an air-tight container or bottle and refrigerate it for longest shelf life. So breaking it down you basically mix the ingredients together and let them be for a week or two. Not too incredibly hard, but the key to making the Picon is in the tincture. This is not such an easy task. Below you will find one of the best orange tincture recipeâ??s Iâ??ve come across yet.

Orange Tincture

Fill a regular mason jar half way with dried orange peel. The type of orange peel you use will slightly affect the final outcome of the Picon, and I’ve found that the best variety of orange to use is the Seville type. It’s tough to find but will add that extra little bit of authentic flavor to your tincture and ultimately your Picon. Next you’ll want to fill the remaining portion of the jar (the other half) with vodka of a high-proof nature. Some bar tenders admit to using Smirnoff Blue Label but other great vodkas can be found if you shop around a bit, especially if you’re concerned with price since the Blue Label stuff can be a bit on the expensive side and if this is your first time experimenting with alcohols, it might be best to keep it cheap until you perfect your art. Once you have added the vodka you’ll need to let the tincture mixture sit for about six to eight weeks. It takes quite a while for the vodka to absorb the orange flavor and color, and if you find that your final tincture product is very dark in color, you might want to add a bit more vodka to keep it a nice light amber color. After your six to eight week waiting period you’ll need to strain the finished tincture to remove the orange peels and bits of rind and then filter it to take away any smaller impurities that may have been left behind after straining. There you have it, fairly cut and dry but again, I’m warning you that playing around with the mixture and experimenting a bit can result in completely different flavors, colors, consistencies, and what not. But hey, that’s not such a bad thing sometimes now is it? Some other notes: If you want to use Everclear instead of vodka you can since the higher the proof you use, the shorter the infusion time of the orange color and flavor. Also, shaking your tincture mixture three times daily will speed up the infusion time and allow for more balance in the flavor of the liquid. If youâ??re using Everclear you can add water at the end of the tincture process to reduce the proof down to something closer to most high proof vodkas.

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