The Rose Baron: Bourbon Caraway Cocktail

I’m a pretty terrible geek. I’ve seen a lot of anime, but I haven’t really seen most of the Studio Ghibli’s films. KJ has though, and not being one to rewatch films often we’ve been making our way through some of the lesser known ones. Of these our favourite is The Cat Returns. Primarily for the suave cat protagonist Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. Also after watching a lot of Studio Ghibli I’m pretty sure Miyazaki is directly responsible for at least half of the Furries in our current generation.

I wanted to create a cocktail that mimicked the classy aura that the Baron exudes. So I started with my favourite liquor, Bourbon. I used Four Roses for it’s smoothness and also for it’s rye content. Because what goes with Rye? If you follow KJ at Need to Knead you’ll know that Caraway seeds are essential for a nice rye bread. So for my rye cocktail I made a caraway and lemon simple syrup. For some reason the Baron reminded me of a cat version of Tuxedo Mask from Salior Moon, so I thought I’d stick with the rose theme and add in a bit of rose water. The result is a sweet and flowery cocktail with a pleasant bourbon punch.

Ingredients:

50ml High rye bourbon or rye whiskey

15ml Lemon Caraway simple syrup (recipe below)

1 Squeeze of lemon

4 dashes rose water

Combine ingredients in cocktail shaker with ice, shake and double strain into rocks glass.

Lemon-Caraway Simple Syrup

2 Tablespoons caraway seeds

1 teaspoon lemon peel

90g caster sugar

100ml water.

Bring water to a boil and combine with ingredients. Stir until sugar has dissolved then remove from heat. After it cools to room temperature strain and put into a clean bottle. It will keep in the fridge for about 2 weeks.

Why was the sad cat in a hurry?

He was a Russian Blue.

Cuppa Joy

The Cuppa Joy is a sweet and boozy cocktail that’s delightfully British. The name comes from my girlfriend Kim-Joy of NeedToKnead, who made the teabag shaped biscuits you see in the later pictures. It’s also her teapot. This week I’ve decided to continue with my love of infusing simple syrups. Last week we explored using fresh herbs as the flavouring agent in the simple syrup, but now we’re going to try something dried. The Cuppa Joy is a martini-style drink made from gin, lemon juice, and Earl Grey-infused simple syrup with a beautiful reddish-brown colour, fragrant nose, sweet taste and bitter finish.

Last week I suggested using a mid-range gin like Bombay Sapphire, which you can still use for this cocktail. Or you can try using some of the 5 quid stuff I bought for a party. But this cocktail is all about the gin, and the quality of your creation is directly tied to the caliber of gin you use. I recommend an upmarket gin such as Hendricks if you prefer a more earthy-vegetable taste in your martinis, or Masons if you prefer a clean yet herbal flavour.

Source: http://needtoknead.wordpress.com/

Ingredients

Ice

50ml Gin

30ml Earl Grey-infused simple syrup (recipe below)

10ml lemon juice

Length of orange peel for garnish

Combine ingredients with ice in a transparent glass. Stir with a long spoon and the ice will begin to melt. Once the volume of the liquid has about doubled (this will mellow out the boozy-ness). Strain into chilled martini glass or tea cup if you prefer. Remove the peel from the orange with a vegetable peeler and twist it above the drink. You will likely see a tiny spritz come off of the peel, that’s orange oil and it’s super flavourful and aromatic. Drop the peel into the drink and serve.

Earl Grey infused simple syrup

50g white sugar

150ml water

1 teabag of Earl Grey

Bring the water to the boil, combine sugar and tea bag. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool. Once it’s cool, remove the teabag, give it another stir and bottle. It will last for one month in an airtight container.

How do Americans make their tea?

They throw it in the harbour.