Tag Archives: cocktails

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

Sloppy Joe's Bar

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

Sloppy Joe’s Bar opened in Havana in the 1930s. It was frequented by Earnest Hemingway, Errol Flynn, Alec Guinness and many other celebrities.  I recently came across their cocktail recipe book online and tried a few. They’re kind of fruity and tropical which makes them perfect on a hot day.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Sloppy Joe’s Cocktails

 Mary Pickford

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

  • 1 ½ oz. white rum
  • 1 ½ oz. pineapple juice
  • 1 tsp. Grenadine
  • 1 tsp. Luxardo
Shake with ice and serve in a flute.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Rumba

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

  • Juice of ½ lime
  • 1 oz. white rum
  • 1 oz. Italian vermouth
  • 1 oz. Apple Jack
  • 1 tsp. grenadine
Shake with ice and serve in a cocktail glass.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Green Fizz

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

  • Juice on 1 lemon
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. green crème de menthe
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 ½ oz. gin
 Shake with ice and serve in a flute. Typically, a “fizz” is topped off with some club soda, but not this one.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Sloppy Joe’s

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

  • 1 oz. pineapple juice
  • 1 oz. Cognac
  • 1 oz. port
  • ½ tsp. grenadine
  • 1 tsp. Cointreau or Curacao
Shake with ice and serve in a flute.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Havana

Sloppy Joe’s Bar

  • 1 oz. pineapple juice
  • 1 oz. Cointreau
  • 1 oz. rum
Shake with ice and serve in a flute.

Sloppy Joe’s Bar


Click here for the complete manual
Sloppy Joe’s Bar

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Portfolio and Yelp

Shaken or Stirred

Shaken or Stirred

There’s a fairly simple rule about when to shake and when to stir a cocktail. If there’s any fruit juice (even that mere ½ ounce like in the Oh Gosh), cream or egg, you shake. If all of the ingredients are clear, you stir – like the Martinez below. I can’t imagine why James Bond would ask a bartender to shake his Martinis but what the hell – he’s 007.

The Oh Gosh Cocktail  – shake

Shaken or Stirred

Shaken or Stirred

Add all the ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupette.

Shaken or Stirred


Martinez Cocktail – stir

Shaken or Stirred

Shaken or Stirred

Place all of the  ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Stir with a bar spoon until thoroughly chilled. Strain into the chilled glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Shaken or Stirred


 

Nick and Nora Glasses

(Nick and Nora with Asta in the middle)


Nick and Nora Glasses

I love going to steak houses. They’re known for big portions and big cocktails glasses. Two drinks and you’re fried. Well, there was a time when glasses weren’t huge and I learned about it in an old movie.

I was always a big fan of “The Thin Man,” with William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles, a husband and wife detective team. They were stylish, elegant and an all-together classy couple. The story takes place in New York between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day. It seems that rather than solve a murder, Nick would prefer to stay mildly drunk.

There’s one scene where Nora tries to catch up with Nick’s drinking. She asks the bartender how many drinks he’s served Nick. When she’s told “six,” she orders six Martinis and says, “Line ’em up.” They’re served in beautiful little cocktail glasses that were popular at the time and are now know as “Nick and Nora Glasses.”

A Nick and Nora is about 3 ounces, compared to the steak house 8 – 10 ounces. In a smaller glass your drink stays cold until you finish it and if you want more, simply order another one or maybe another six.


If you’d like to see “The Thin Man,” you can get it on Netflix .

Just Google NICK & NORA GLASS if you’d like to get some.


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Cocktail Miscellany

 

Cocktail Miscellany

Coffee Sport

cafe sport

     My Aunt Lena made a few bottles of this  once a year around candlesChristmas time. She always sent some to my elementary school’s convent. The Sisters of Charity loved this stuff. We didn’t get the recipe from my aunt before she died but after some trial and error Bridget & I managed to come up with it.

pot
Espresso

Make double strong espresso (10 heaping teaspoons / 850 milliliters water) and filter twice with paper filters. Heat in double boiler until it’s reduced to half.

Combine:   450 milliliters of 190 proof alcohol with 300 milliliters of syrup and stir.

Add 380 milliliters of coffee concentrate and stir. It’s ready as soon as it cools.

The end result should be about 70 proof


Pomegranate Liquor

pomagranete

Bridget & I made this one up.

pom

Filter the juice of 6 medium pomegranates (about 500 plus milliliters)

Reduce in a double boiler to 475 ML

Add 300 milliliters of 190 proof alcohol and 160 milliliters of simple syrup for about 70 proof.


Scotch Bonnet Infused Tequila

scotch bonnet z

This is meant to be sipped and savored, un-mixed and no ice. It’s very  HOT.

scotch bonnet
Scotch Bonnet by Scott Conary

Pour 1 liter of tequila into a wide mouth bottle or jar. Take 8 Scotch Bonnet peppers and pierce with a knife and add to the jar. Set aside one month and strain into a bottle.


Maraschino Cherries

cherry jar

cherry

Pick through and wash the cherries and put them in a jar. Heat the Luxardo and fill the jar to the brim. Wait two weeks. Done.

* It’s really better with pit but remove them if you’ve got time on your hands.


Simple Syrup

Using syrup makes mixing cocktails much easier.

1 part water / 2 parts sugar

Heat until clear


Pinot Noir Punch

punch bowl

This was adapted from Duffy’s 1956 edition of the Official Mixers Guide

punch

Mix and chill first 5 ingredients and pour into a punch bowl over a *block of ice with citrus fruit slices frozen inside and add chilled Pinot Noir (or Burgundy). Add chilled club soda just before serving.

*Slice some lemons, limes and tangerines and put them into 4 sandwich size zip lock bags. Add water and freeze. When frozen, put the frozen contents of the bags into a large zip-lock, add more water and freeze. This should leave you with a colorful block of ice to keep the punch chilled.

RECIPESd 9-25-14

Cocktails – Old Style

 


 

Brandy Alexander

BRANDY ALEXANDER

Ingredients:

  • 1 oz Fresh cream
  • 1 oz Cognac
  • 1 oz Crème de cacao

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle with fresh ground nutmeg.

There’s a kid’s version that my father used to make for his grand children – use a little more cream, a little less Crème de Cacao and a lot less Cognac.


The following drinks were adapted from a 1932 recipe book called The Art of Mixing by James A. Wiley and Helene M. Griffth.

 

Milk Punch

milk punch 

milk punch

Shake with ice, pour in a rocks glass with no ice and float a tablespoon of dark rum on top.


Jack Rose

jack rose

jack rose xxx

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass.


Clover Club

clover club

clover club xxx

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass.


Night Cap

night cap

night cap xxx

Shake thoroughly and strain into cocktail glass.


Elk’s Own Cocktail

elks own

elk

Shake with egg white & a little bit of simple syrup.


Simple Syrup = 1 cup sugar & 1 cup water, heat until sugar dissolves and mixture is clear.