Cocktails

Cocktails

A few recipes of great cocktails. I prepared all of them... Taste them now!

Alcohol Varieties

During the Renaissance, some aristocrats used liquor such as Cognac X.O. as a cure for the flu. Despite possessing such alleged medicinal properties, alcohol is mostly consumed for its mood enhancing effects.

Although the nationality most associated with vodka are Russians, there is also Finnish and Polish vodka. The agua ardiente contains 40% of alcohol; the only alcohol purer is Everclear with 95% statistics. Ingesting pure alcohol may cause extensive damage; drinking industrial or rubbing alcohol leads to blindness in the mildest of incidents.

Bear can be blonde, red or dark – jokingly referring to hair colours redhead, blonde and brunette. Germans pride themselves on their alcoholic beverage production and beer gardens. Belgian and Dutch beer is also praised.

Wine may be red, white, and rosé (pink). The colour has to do with the grapes the wine is made from. After harvest, grapes are crushed and after a while (the longer the better) the wine is ready to drink. The mechanics of the process are complex and will be left out of the present discussion. Courses in wine chemistry could easily answer any technical questions one may have on the subject.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chianti, Pinot Noir, Bordeaux, Shiraz… possibilities are almost endless. Price ranges from 10 dollars to several thousands. The usual alcohol content is in the proximity of 15%. Only champagne from France is genuine champagne, the rest is wine mousseux. Bollinger Blanc de Noir, Crystal Rosé and Dom Pérignon are popular high-end champagne brands.

In Montreal, there is a bartending school – École des Maîtres – where for between 400 and 900 dollars, approximately, depending on the programs, one becomes a certified bartender. Bartenders make good money in tips and have the luxury of working in an environment that most consider fun. 

In fact, the guests are all presumably in a bubbly mood and just looking for a good time.

Alternatively, the barman is traditionally associated with strangers telling sad stories. He patiently and sincerely listens – or just stands there wiping glasses – while the lonesome cowboy drowns his sorrows in alcohol like so many before. Barmaids enjoy the same privileges, but there is more emphasis on appearance. Many a barmaid is, or at least looks like, a femme fatale.

Piña Colada Cocktail Recipe

Ingredients:

• 7 ounces pineapple juice
• 4 ounces light rum
• 2 ounces cream of coconut*
• 3 cups crushed ice
• Instructions:
• Shake well (preferably mix in a blender) and strain. Decorate with an umbrella or a maraschino cherry.

*For a lighter, fewer calories version, replace with coconut milk

Tequila Sunrise Orange

The refreshing Tequila Sunrise has a strong history and place in American culture.

According to a popular belief, originally served at the Arizona Biltmore resort & spa in Phoenix, Arizona the Tequila Sunrise is named for the way it looks after it has been poured. The cocktail was created in the 1930s for a guest who loved tequila, a popular type of brandy, distilled from a blue agave, and asked the bartender, Gene Sulit, to surprise him with a refreshing drink he could enjoy poolside.

Today, a classical Tequila Sunrise consists of tequila, orange juice and grenadine. Originally, however, the drink was made with tequila, crème de cassis, soda and lime juice. In fact, the creme de cassis has the same effect as grenadine, that, when poured correctly, will rise in the drink, resembling a sunrise.

Let’s remind you that the real tequila comes from a single state in Mexico, Jalisco, where you will find even a town named Tequila. Other Mexican states also produce aromatic liquors that are distilled from de agave plant, which are known as Mescal or Mezcal, but tequila has a much more refined and balanced taste, while the mescal tastes much heavy. Tequila makes an excellent base for exotic cocktails and mixes well with other ingredients.

Tequila Sunrise Orange

Tequila Sunrise cocktail in glasses with straws, and citrus fruit. No wonder mixing drinks is considered a skill and taught in bartending schools. Tequila Surise Orange. Illustration: Megan Jorgensen (Elena)

Econometricians state that daily activities correspond to three main categories: work, personal care and leisure time. What to do with one’s free time has been hotly debated! Many choose to spend such hours with friends, while social gatherings often get spiced up with beverages containing alcohol. For example, the famous Tequila Sunrise concoction.

Thus, Tequila Sunrise is the name of an alcoholic drink, a mix of grenadine syrup, pineapple and cranberry juice, and tequila. Lime juice, creme de cassis and other components compose the makeup of alternative versions. Tequila is popular in Mexico, and the Spanish speaking American rap group – Cypress Hill – have a song on the subject. A recipe of the cocktail is found below, with a reminder that ‘moderation is always in good taste’, a phrase coined in Quebec.

Orange Tequila Sunrise Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 jigger (shot glass or shooter) tequila
• 2 jiggers orange juice
• 3 dashes grenadine syrup
• 1 dash lime juice
• Ice
• Decoration: Cherry, lemon slice, flamboyant straws and umbrellas

Steps:

Pour ingredients into glass, making sure to follow this particular order: ice, tequila, orange juice, lime juice – stir at this point – grenadyne syrup. Garnish and serve chilled.

Cocktails

In an episode of the Big Bang Theory, where Sheldon Cooper annoys Penny (Kaley Cuoco) by ordering a virgin Cuba Libre, it is well demonstrated how varied in complexity cocktails can be. Thus, the drink in question, better known as rum and coke, is a simple cocktail, just as the vodka cranberry mix.

Vodka Cranberry

A more complex recipe would be called for with the Pina Colada invented in Cuba, involving coco cream, pineapple juice and coconut.

Pina Colada

Martinis are easily recognizable by their characteristic glasses. One interesting beverage is the appletini, prepared as such:

• Appletini
• Martini lounge, although many other establishment serve martinis as well. 

The Cosmopolitan is also in demand.

Cosmopolitan Recipe

• 1 jigger vodka
• 1 jigger triple sec
• 3 jiggers cranberry juice
• 1/2 jigger lime juice

A simple combination of 7up or Sprite, raspberry syrup and fruit with or without alcohol is easy to do. Regardless of the drink chosen, moderation is in good taste.

Margarita

Finally, the Margarita consists of a…

For decoration, the usual choices are small plastic bright colored umbrellas, salt or sugar on the glass rim, olives and half slices of lemons, limes or oranges. Often cocktails get linked to tropical islands such as Hawaii, Tahiti or the Bahamas.