Philadelphia Fish House Punch Jell-O Shots

So, during quarantine, I found myself missing the dive bars most of all. I can make all kinds of craft cocktails at home and have been doing much of that. Friends are sharing their recipes, and it's fun trying these fantastic ideas, but the atmosphere is what I miss. I miss the silliness, the laughs, the community, everything. My regular bar, Garage Bar North, always had Jell-O shots made up behind the bar. I'd probably have an average of at least one a week. That and Pickle Backs. I decided to make some Jell-O shots at home. Yes, there's the standard spec of a pack of Jell-O with half water and half vodka, but let's improve on that. 

3.5 oz Plantation O.F.T.D. Rum

2.5 oz Remy Martin VSOP Cognac

2 oz Fresh Lemon Juice, strained

0.25 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)

1 pack Peach Jell-O

8 oz Water

Boil water and add the pack of Jell-O. Stir until dissolved and uniform. Add the remaining ingredients and stir again. Pour into serving cups. Chill in the fridge overnight. My baking tray holds 15 2 oz cups perfectly, so that's how I divide it, at just a bit over 1 oz per shot. Feel free to divide and scale it however you like, but about 1 oz is suitable for a Jell-O shot. 

This really is a pretty good representation of the classic punch recipe. The cocktail typically had peach brandy and crushed ice. I upped the ratio of brandy to accommodate, and the peach flavor from the Jell-O is an adequate substitute. Like the ice dilution, the water used to dissolve the gelatin powder helps soften the drink. This drink still uses 69% ABV rum (excellent), so it's got a fun little kick in there for you. 

Jell-O shots should taste like Jell-O and not just be a drink given consistency from gelatin sheets. Plenty of experts and chefs might disagree. But I've had calvados gelee and the like at some great restaurants as a side to a dessert, which is good, but I'd never order a cube of that when I'm bellied up to the bar. Jell-O shots are fun and fake, nostalgic and silly. They can be delicious, too, but they must be kind of fake to give the guests what they want when ordering a Jell-O shot. Just an opinion.

Brandy 301: Let's try some Brandy Cocktails

Brandies and cognacs are probably the least used liquors for cocktails. I, personally, find that very sad. Brandy is such a fun thing to play with. It has so many layers and complexities that can make cocktails feel a bit muddy, but a light hand can create a great balance and really let brandy shine among the other ingredients. 

Sidecar
1 ½ oz. Cognac, ¾ oz. Cointreau, ¾ oz. Lemon Juice, Sugar Rim

Add all the ingredients to a mixing tin with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass with a sugar rim. Garnish with a lemon twist or an orange slice. 

The sidecar is a very classic cocktail. It is effectively a brandy sour with Cointreau instead of a raw sugar element. It has quite a history. The exact history is a bit hazy but it seems to have come about toward the end of World War I and began appearing in books in the early '20s. The invention of this drink is credited to an American Army captain. This drink did come from France, just look at the ingredients, supposedly at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Supposedly the captain would go to the bar and order this cocktail. He'd get a bit drunk and one of his privates would have to shuttle him home in the sidecar of a motorcycle. The drink eventually took its name from this mode of transport. 

Brandy Alexander

1 oz. Brandy, 1 oz. Dark Crème de Cacao, 1 oz. Heavy Cream

Add all the ingredients to a mixing tin with ice. Shake until well chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with some freshly grated nutmeg. 

The original Alexander cocktail supposedly uses gin instead of brandy. Brandy just brings so much more to the drink in my opinion. Brandy is an after-dinner drink; it's a dessert. It blends with other desserts with ease. Gin just doesn't work as well. This drink dates way back to 1915 or earlier. You probably know the cream drinks made popular in the '60s. Grasshoppers, creamsicles, pink squirrels, and the like share many similarities with the alexander. The Alexander tends to have a bit more alcohol and is a bit more serious a drink. 

Apple Brandy Hot Toddy
1 oz. Apple Brandy, 1 oz. Bärenjäger, 4 oz. boiling water, Nutmeg

Start by warming an Irish coffee mug with boiling hot water. Once warm, remove the water and add the Brandy and Bärenjäger. Add the nutmeg and fill with more boiling water.  Stir lightly. Garnish with a cinnamon stick and a lemon wedge. 

The original Hot Toddy would be made with whiskey, rum, or brandy. They would add hot water, honey, and a few baking spices. It's gone through countless iterations, but the combination of apple and honey with some baking spice is used across the board in baking. This drink can be made with calvados instead of American apple brandy. It's like an apple pie in smooth liquid form. Some people will actually throw a tea bag into the hot water do add a bit more flavor to the drink. 

Pisco Sour

2oz. Pisco, 1oz. Lime juice, 1oz. Simple Syrup, Egg,

Crack an egg and separate the white into the drink. Add all the ingredients to a mixing tin without ice. Dry shake until well emulsified. Open the tin, add ice, and shake again. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. To garnish, drop 3 droplets of Angostura bitters across the foam of the drink. 

Traditionally this drink uses Peruvian Pisco. It was invented in Lima, Peru in the early 20's by an American, just after the sidecar was gaining popularity in Europe. It went through some iterations, figuring out the best citrus and eventually adding the egg and bitters. This has led to some debate as to the real origin of the cocktail. Some experts are convinced it came about in 1915 while others will say up to nearly a decade later. This has become something of a national drink. On the first Saturday of February, Peruvians do have a national holiday celebrating the cocktail. Give it a try, the new flavors and textures have opened many people to a new level of drinking. 

Special mention to: Pierre Collins, Beautiful, DOM B&B, Godchild, Stinger, and the Jack Rose

“Art is wine and experience is the brandy we distill from it”
-Robertson Davies

Photo Credit: wikimedia

Brandy 201: The different styles of Grape Brandy

Brandies come in all shapes and styles. There are all flavors of brandy out there, but the tradition has always been grape brandy. Wine is weak, it goes bad. A true spirit gets rid of the extra water and burns a bit on the way down. I get confused when people say that they don't like brown spirits, but like wine. Brandy is just a more pure wine with a bit less sugar that is usually aged for a bit.

Brandy

Brandy is a very broad term, just like whiskey. Brandy essentially just means any spirit made from distilled fruits, fruit juices, or bits of fruit. Some brandies are simply distilled grape wine. Pomace brandy takes the leftover grape pulp after they make wine, and ferment and distill that. Others will utilize fruits and berries, or a blend thereof. Most brandy you see will be aged distilled grape wine brandy. Not all brandy is graded, but many grape brandies will choose to advertise their age in the form of a grade, such as VS, VSOP, or XO.

Cognac & Armagnac

Cognac and Armagnac are simply varieties of grape brandy from a certain region. Cognac is fairly regulated in that it has to use certain breeds of grapes grown in certain regions of western France. It is twice distilled and aged a minimum of two years in French oak barrels, again with wood only from certain regions. Otherwise, it's not cognac. Cognac is seen by many to be the most premium form of brandy. It does certainly seem to cost the most. If you're a fan of hip-hop music you've probably heard of the four big cognac making families: Courvoisier, Hennessy, Martell, and Remy Martin. These four brands run over 90% of the cognac market. Armagnac is made in southwest France. It tends to use a slightly different blend of grapes and uses column stills rather than the pot stills used in cognac. Armagnac is not dominated by big brands like cognac, but that does mean that most small producers don't have much distribution into other countries.

Pisco 

Pisco is a spirit typically made in parts of Peru and Chile. It is a pomace brandy which means it is made with the recycled pulp of wine grapes. After the majority of the juice is extracted the pulp still has enough sugar to extract and ferment. Pisco is typically clear in color but can occasionally take on a slight gold or amber color. It was developed by the settlers from Spain as a slightly more premium alternative to Orujo, a pomace brandy they would import from the homeland. It bears a flavor and aroma very akin to fresh wine grapes. It's typically completely unaged so it doesn't change do much from the original product. It is, of course, quite a bit stronger, and when you find a smooth one you ought to be careful.

Grappa

Grappa is an Italian style of pomace brandy. After wine production, they take the skins, pulp, seeds, and even stems of the grapes and distill them. Grappa is a protected term similar to cognac. Grappa must be made in Italy, from pomace, and no additional water can be added during fermentation and distillation. This makes for an interesting method of steam distillation to avoid burning the pomace. As with most brandies, it's traditionally served as a digestif, after dinner, sometimes with coffee. It too bears a strong wine aroma and some grappa will even advertize the variety of wine grape they use, such as Grappa Alexander Cabernet.

Special mention to Aguardiente

"Call things by their right names - Glass of brandy and water! That is the current, but not the appropriate name; ask for a glass of liquid fire and distilled damnation."
- Robert Hall

Photo Credit: wikimedia

Brandy 101: What is it?

The word brandy is derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, meaning burnt wine. The vast majority of brandy is made by distilling some form of wine. Through distillation, the water in wine is separated from the alcohol. This creates a much stronger drink than regular wine. Most brandy is aged in wood casks, typically oak, for several years. This turns the clear distillate into a fine brown amber color, just like whiskey.

It's worth mentioning that not all brandy is made solely from grapes. There are plum brandies, pear and apple brandies, peach brandy, prune brandy, and even brandy made from other fruits like the juniper berry. You may have seen things like blackberry or ginger-flavored brandy as well. Typically these are not actually distilled from blackberry or ginger. They take a fairly standard brandy and infuse it with blackberries or just blend it with a liqueur. They are still fine products but often have a great deal more sugar than standard brandies.

Pomace brandy is an interesting regional trend. With pomace brandy it is not just the wine that is used to make the brandy, it is the whole grape. A great deal of pomace brandy actually uses substantially less grape juice. Many cultures will juice the grapes to make wine and then take the residual grape pulp and use that to make their brandy. The pulp still contains enough sugar to yield some alcohol. The brandy that comes from the pulp might not yield the same flavors as the wine but different doesn't mean worse. The skin of the grape does bare flavor just as the juice does. Italian grappa is quite flavorful. It is unaged and it carries a great dry wine aroma without feeling burnt. 

Certain regions have opted to call their style of brandy by a different name. Grape brandy from the Cognac region of France is designated as cognac provided it complies with the regulations of the region. The same is true for Armagnac. There is an Appellation d' Origine contrôlée, which legally declares that nothing can be sold as cognac unless it complies with the standards of the land. It acts almost like a patent or copyright protecting the name of the spirit.

If you've ever bought brandy you probably notice that brands often offer a line of products or various grades. The letters, VS, VSOP, and XO are very common in brandy, cognac, Armagnac, and even some rum and other liquors. VS stands for Very Special. VSOP stands for Very Superior Old and Pale, and XO stands for Extra Old. In order, they reflect how long the brandy is aged, from 2 years to 4 years, to 6 years. As something is aged it takes on more flavors and complexities from the wood. Some Brandies have been aged upwards of 50 years. It does take work to age liquor and prices do go up the higher the grade of brandy. Try it all. Find your sweet spot. 

"An American monkey, after getting drunk on brandy, would never touch it again, and thus is much wiser than most men."
- Charles Darwin

Photo Credit: Needpix, wikimedia

Tobacco and drinking

I'm going to open with a quote this time: "To be honest, after years of smoking & drinking, you do sometimes look at yourself & think... in between the first cigarette with coffee in the morning to that 400th glass of corner-shop piss at 3am, you do sometimes look at yourself & think: 'This is fantastic, I'm in heaven.'" A truly wonderful quote by Dylan Moran in Black Books. Guilty pleasures are what makes us so interesting. Hedonism, consciously unconscious self-destruction, cognitive dissonance, a glorious blend of yummy yummy and boo hoo, that's what smoking is. That's what drinking is. And it's so much better when they're combined together. Why is it that the things that feel best in the world always have those little strings attached.

Drinking and smoking have been entwined into our culture for a long time. From the upper-class ladies sipping a martini and smoking a long cigarette, to a tired politician smoking a cigar with a glass of whiskey or brandy. I'm sure a Budweiser can has been used as an ashtray many a time. It occurred almost simultaneously that we discovered that smoking was bad for us and that alcoholism was declared a disease, despite their massively extensive history. What is it about a slow release of poison into our system that is so fantastic?

Tobacco and drink have gone together a long time, so much so that many cigars are ever aged on old liquor barrels. I'm smoked a number of whiskey, rum, and brandy cigars, where the tobacco leaves are aged in the old wood. They take on the smell and some of the flavors on the spirit.

Tobacco liqueur does exist as well. It's a fairly new product. It takes fresh tobacco from Louisiana along the Missippi. It carries a great oily nature from the fresh tobacco leaves. Dried smoking tobacco has a much different nature than fresh of course. It was actually featured on Travel Channels Booze Traveler.

The cigar bar is an ancient institution. While they really only became truly popular as cigar bars in the nineties after the smoking bans. Before the bans, everyone smoked in bars. Some bars might've had no-smoking areas but it was just how it was done, going back to gentleman's clubs and hunting lodges and the like. Hookah bars have also started popping up in cities and small towns across the country. They take a good deal of their theme from Middle Eastern and Asian bars and cafes, though some are blending more into the gentleman's club vibe. Human beings seem to need an activity to occupy them while having meaningful conversations. They smoke, have a drink, or play a game of chess. Smoking and drinking in theory are individual actions but they bring about a great sense of community. I got one of my first jobs by having a conversation with a manager over a cigarette while he was on break. These days especially, smoking has become a community.

Aside from the glorious smokey flavor that ties tobacco with so many spirits and the great sense of community granted by both indulgences I really don't know what makes them so great together. But they are. 

"I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food. He was healthy right up to the day he killed himself."

- Johnny Carson

Photo Credit: Needpix, pikist

Beginner's Flight: Brandy

This is going to be a series of posts about how to start sampling different types of spirits if you are a beginner drinker. With so many options out there I thought it would be nice to give newbies a jumping-off point into their world of spirits. I'm trying to find bottles that are available at nearly every liquor store or can be acquired fairly easily. Today, I'm talking about brandy. 

You're probably familiar with the idea of brandy, maybe even tasted a bit in your eggnog at Christmas. You know the notion of an old man enjoying a snifter of brown liquid in his robe by the fire. It looks good, doesn't it? What's he got that you can't have? Nothing. Well, maybe where you live you can't have a real fireplace. But the relaxing with a brandy idea, that's a good feeling. But how do you know what you'll like? Start trying things.

1. E&J Brandy XO. 

This is a pretty staple domestic brandy. E&J is one of the bigger brandies available in the United States. They have a decent line featuring a basic brandy, as well as a VSOP and the XO. All of which are very reasonably priced. See if you like the smoothness and sweetness of this product. You'll find a lot of variability in the fruit flavors of brandy, as well as the alcohol burn. 

2. Martell Cordon Bleu. 

Martell is actually the oldest brand of cognac on the market today. Cognac naturally being french made, Martell was the first of the major cognac houses, the others being: Hennessy, Remy Martin, and Courvoisier. In fairness, there are also Camus, Hine, and Frapin, but they haven't reached global popularity yet. Martell Cordon Bleu has been around for over a century now. It is a fantastic brandy for sipping neat. Try adding a splash of water like you would with whiskey to open up the aroma and oils.

3. Laird's Applejack. 
This is actually an apple brandy from the oldest licensed distillery in America. Some people do think of this as more of an apple whiskey, but semantically this is closer to a brandy, in that is uses fruit, not grain. There are more premium lines of this product if you are interested in tracking them down, including their bottled-in-bond and their white "Jersey Lightning" This is a staple ingredient in a number of cocktails including the Jack Rose. Some bars will use calvados instead of Applejack however

4. Alexander Grappa di Cabernet. 
Grappas are traditionally Italian made. They are very similar to a number of other grape-based brandies from around the globe. As with many brandy style liquors, grappa is usually made with the remnants of the grapes after they're used for winemaking, or pomace. Brandy itself is commonly fermented from just the grape juice, rather than the entire grape. Many grappas, including this one, choose to name themselves in a similar fashion to the wine made. When you smell this you can really understand the grape flavors in the spirit

Special mentions to: calvados,

"Claret is the liquor for boys; port for men; but he who aspires to be a hero must drink brandy."

-Samuel Johnson

Photo Credit: Needpix, pikist