Thanksgiving Special

I realize it is the wrong holiday, but we're trying to get to the bottom of the bottle of apricot flavored brandy. To make the Thanksgiving Special shake 3/4 oz. apricot flavored brandy, 3/4 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. dry vermouth, and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Like most other drinks with apricot flavored brandy, this drink is a delight. Shannon likes it as well, even though she is a little put off by the gin aftertaste.

Brantini

Take one and a half ounces of brandy, an ounce of gin, and a dash of dry vermouth. Stir with cracked ice and strain into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes.

I think it's not that bad. As the name suggests, it tastes like a gin martini with the undertone of brandy. In spite of the greater volume of brandy, gin remains the dominant flavor.

Shannon thinks that one must really enjoy the taste of alcohol to enjoy this drink. Still, it was not as bad as she expected because she managed to avoid an involuntary shudder.

Brandied Madeira

Take 1 ounce of brandy, 1 ounce of madeira, and half an ounce of dry vermouth. Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass over ice cubes.

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Shannon here. Chris says it's bad, but not as bad as he was expecting. He thinks the ice probably helps a good deal.

Mainly, I just want to know why madeira consistently tastes like sweat. Seriously.

Bombay Cocktail

Also from Friday:

Take half an ounce of dry vermouth, half an ounce of sweet vermouth, an ounce of brandy, a quarter teaspoon of anisette and a half a teaspoon of triple sec. Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

This drink is truly bizarre. It almost tastes savory in an indiscernible way.

Chris says he doesn’t taste anything and that all he gets is a whiff of anisette. Maybe that’s a better description of this cocktail.

Even despite its strange taste of nothingness, we are agreed that this drink far surpasses Betsy Ross.

American Beauty

Take 1 tbsp Orange Juice, 1 tbsp Grenadine, 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth, 1/2 oz Brandy, 1/4 tsp Creme de Menthe (White), shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top it off with a dash of port. Per our previous post, we substituted Creme de Menthe (Green).

This drink has a muted red brick look. It tastes much better. We are both of the opinion that brandy makes some fine mixed drinks.

Shannon: "It's a tasty bugger." She was not expecting mint to mix well with these ingredients, but she admits to being wrong. She wouldn't want to drink a tall glass of this, but in the smaller cocktail size it is quite good.

The Allegheny

It's halftime at the Super Bowl and Pittsburgh is playing. What better way to start the Mr. Boston Project than with the Allegheny. Mr. Boston says to mix one ounce bourbon, one ounce dry vermouth, 1.5 teaspoons blackberry flavored brandy, and 1.5 teaspoons of lemon juice. Serve in a cocktail glass (also known as a martini glass).

I made this drink at 1.5 times the suggested amounts due to Shannon's anticipated negative reaction. As she told me before her first sip "the difference is you like alcohol, I like getting drunk."

As suspected, I think the drink is ok, in spite of the relatively low-grade bourbon employed (Evan Williams). It tastes a little like alcoholic apple juice.