A staple drink of the holiday season, eggnog often gets a bad rap—the result, we surmise, not of people’s fear of eating raw eggs but of those awful premade eggnog mixes sold in cartons at most grocery stores. At Poste Moderne Brasserie, bartender Rico Wisner makes a mix-free version of the drink, called the Egg ’n’ Grog ($13). Wisner also skips the heavy cream, opting instead for milk to keep the cocktail from becoming overwhelmingly thick and heavy. Take a look at his demonstration in the video below, and be sure to get the recipe after the jump so you can make your own nog at home.
The Penn Quarter chocolate lounge has the perfect liquid antidote to cold weather.
Co Co. Sala has dubbed its lineup of winter cocktails “heavenly hot elixirs,” but “sinful” is perhaps a more apt way to describe the sensory pleasures elicited by the drinks at this Penn Quarter chocolate lounge. In coming up with the cocktails—which combine artisanal chocolates with liqueurs, cognacs, and rums—co-owner Nisha Sidhu drew from her knowledge of flavor profiles. The Apollo, for example, plays on the chocolate-and-orange pairing by mixing Valrhona dark chocolate with Grand Marnier, a liqueur distilled from bitter orange. Before combining the liquids, however, the dark chocolate is first made into a ganache then steamed into hot chocolate.
Check out Sidhu’s demonstration below, and make sure to get the recipe—as well as browse the restaurant’s full winter-cocktail menu—after the jump.
Just in time for Halloween, PS 7’s mixtress Gina Chersevani demonstrates how to make a killer apple-cider punch.
When hosting a Halloween party, there are three elements critical for success: (1) a great costume, (2) a good music selection (bonus points if you have a DJ), and (3) killer drinks. The last is perhaps the most critical element—the tastier the drinks, the more your guests will consume, and the drunker they get, the less likely they are to care about (1) or (2).
For advice on the perfect drink to serve at a party, we enlisted PS 7’s Gina Chersevani, who recommended putting together a punch: “Punches are great when you’re entertaining, especially during the upcoming holidays.” Her Toasted-Spice Apple-Cider Punch recipe is made with fresh apple cider, pressed at the restaurant. If you don’t have a cider press, an electric juicer will do the trick—just make sure you remove the apple cores before. To make three cups, you’ll need about 12 pounds of apples. If you’re pinching pennies, here’s some good news: Chersevani recommends making the cider using bruised or slightly damaged apples, which sell for much less than regular apples. Of course, if you’d rather skip the hard work, you can buy premade cider.
Below, Chersevani demonstrates how to make the punch and how to properly toast the spices used in the drink. Check out the videos, and make sure to get the recipe after the jump.
1905’s bar manager, Melyssa Mason, demonstrates how to make the restaurant’s staple drink, the Green Lantern.
Absinthe may still be the main draw at this second-story Shaw restaurant, which opened at the height of the spirit’s craze last year, but bar manager Melyssa Mason has created a cocktail menu with a more well-rounded selection. There’s the 4 O’Clock Rocks ($10), which mixes Hendrick’s gin with muddled cucumbers and limes, and the Mely’s Milkshake ($10)—named after Mason—that’s a combination of vanilla vodka, Frangelico, and Bailey’s.
Also on the menu: 1905’s signature cocktail, the Green Lantern ($11). This gin drink is made with muddled limes and basil, a splash of pineapple juice, and a house-made pineapple simple syrup—the secrets of this last ingredient, says Mason, can’t be revealed. “But regular simple syrup also works,” she adds, tauntingly.
Get a demonstration of how to make the Green Lantern below, and make sure to stop by 1905 for a taste of the fall cocktail lineup, which Mason says will feature some warmed Scotch drinks. The recipe for the Green Lantern is included after the jump.
This week, we get a cocktail demonstration from the Washington City Paper’s Beerspotter blogger, Orr Shtuhl.
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.
This week, we drop by Occidental Grill & Seafood for a final taste of summer.
The calendar may suggest otherwise, but the mugginess outside tells us summer is still here in Washington. So what better time to grab a mojito—the quintessential summer cocktail? Occidental Grill & Seafood, the historic Washington dining room just a short walk from the White House, has a tasty version of this drink that’s easy (and cheap!) to recreate at home: The bottle of Goulart Rosé Spanish Cava, used to top off the drink and give it distinctive taste and red tint, is just $18 at most liquor stores.
Check out our video below to find out how to make this refreshing drink—or stop by the Occidental for the mojito ($12). The recipe is after the jump.
Firefly's rose gin fizz and martini caprese cocktails. Photograph by Chris Leaman.
Summer drinks, says cocktail master Owen Thomson, are all about fresh fruit, citrus, and ice—though they have to be blended right. Too often, he says, summer cocktails such as margaritas end up sweet and syrupy. A good summer drink, bartenders agree, should have some tartness.
Thomson, the bar manager at Bourbon in DC’s Adams Morgan, says that for his favorite warm-weather drink, he stays local—the gin rickey, a mix of gin, lime juice, and soda water: “It’s refreshing, delicious, and was invented right here in Washington.”
His second choice is a guilty pleasure: a piña colada. “Not the syrupy coconut mess that is so frequent,” he’s quick to say. Thomson’s recipe calls for a measured mix of fresh pineapple, rum, and just a bit of coconut water and lime.
At Dupont Circle’s Firefly, Alice Gaber’s summer menu includes a rose gin fizz and a martini caprese. For the gin fizz, she adds rose water to a standard recipe, giving the cocktail, Gaber says, “a summery, flower-garden smell and taste.”
For the martini cocktail, she combines thyme-and-basil-infused vodka with house-made tomato water: “Unlike with sweeter cocktails, the saltiness of the tomato water makes this drink a great complement to food.”
This article first appeared in the August 2009 issue of The Washingtonian. For more articles from that issue, click here.
