He may be the City Paper’sbeer expert, but on Saturday, Orr Shtuhl will temporarily ditch the mug for cocktail gear and step behind the bar to host Spice, a cocktail party at the Warehouse (1021 7th St., NW). On the menu: five original drinks—plus some punch and shooters—created by Shtuhl and priced at no more than $7. What makes the party even more sweet: DJ Sean P of Fatback will emcee the event.
The Phillips, a variant of a screwdriver that’s made with paprika-infused vodka, is one of the menu’s more interesting offerings. To infuse the vodka, Shtuhl drew inspiration from a previous Buzzed cocktail demonstration and used a home version of the sous vide technique. Find out how he created the drink below, and make sure to get the recipe as well as a look at the party’s menu after the jump.
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Phillips Orr Shtuhl
½ ounce smoked-paprika vodka (see recipe below) 1 ounce Cointreau 2 ounces freshly squeezed orange juice Dash peach bitters Cinnamon tincture (see recipe below), to taste
Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into a rocks glass. Top with a few drops of cinnamon tincture.
Smoked-Paprika Vodka
750 milliliters vodka ¼ cup smoked paprika
Warm a large pot of water on the stove until it’s at 150 degrees. Pour 375 milliliters of vodka into a gallon-size Ziploc bag, and add the smoked paprika. Put the vodka bag in the water for 10 minutes, then move the bag to an ice bath to cool. Strain the vodka with a coffee French press into an empty bottle with the other 375 milliliters of vodka. Refrigerate.
Cinnamon Tincture
6 cinnamon sticks 1 cup over-proof rum, such as J. Wray & Nephew
Put the cinnamon sticks in a jar with the rum, breaking up the sticks to allow more cinnamon into the rum. Let the cinnamon infuse the rum for a month, and shake the mix every day. Strain.
Good question, Jeremy. The smoked paprika flavor is so potent that the vodka quality isn’t too important. I use Smirnoff; my general rule of thumb is anything in a glass bottle will do.
Posted by: Orr Shtuhl, Oct 02, 2009 06:56:22 AM
Looks awesome. Question for Orr: when infusing vodka at home, paprika or otherwise, how important is the quality of the vodka? Belvedere? Absolut? Wolfschmidt?
Posted by: JeremyB, Oct 02, 2009 05:57:14 AM
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