Rainy Day Greenpoints Nos. 13, 14, 15

Greetings travelers!

I haven't yet changed my ratio but my research that pointed me toward doing so indicated that Punt e Mes is the vermouth called for in a Greenpoint.  What's a poor boy to do? Punt e Mes isn't availabe here. (Well, it is if you're a licensee or are willing to buy at minimum a case).  Neither of those scenarios apply but let's put a pin in that for now...

Greenpoint

2 oz rye

0.5 oz yellow Chartreuse

0.5 oz punt e mes

1 dash orange bitters

1 dash aromatic bitters

stir;strain;up;twist 

13/52 Wild Turkey Rare Breed, VEP, Ango orange, Aussie aromatic, Gonzalez Byass, meyer lemon twist.  A delicious whiskey cocktail; sweet and boozy.

14/52 I went back to Jim Beam rye and stayed with VEP Chartreuse and Ango orange.  Wanting to up the bitterness (since lacking in Punt e Mes) I used Boker's bitters and Byrrh.  It was less sweet but not as bitter as I'd hoped.  Some jamminess from the wine crept in at the end.  

15/52 On a whim I bought some Dillon's vermouth. I'd avoided it in the past simply because I have a significant back-stock of sweet vermouth and felt my bar funds could be spent elsewhere.  I'm glad I bought a bottle.  This vermouth combined with the Boker's bitters and the cask strength Knob Creek made an exceptional cocktail. Complex bitter and boozy with flavours I'd not previously found in a Greenpoint. I think this vermouth (rather than the Byrrh) will be my go to for drinks calling for Punt e Mes, rightly or wrongly, even though I can't say if the flavour is correct; my expectation of bitterness is met.

Cheers!

Be Well. 

Greeny Greeny Greenpoint

Ahoy!

I haven't forgotten about you!  I've been continuing to make weekly Greenpoint cocktails (mostly) I just have been neglectful in sharing about them.  I could make a separate post for each but I shan't bother.  I've been sticking to the usual ratio but in light of some recent things i may change that, we'll see.

On with the show!

The recipe:

2 oz rye whisk(e)y

0.5 oz Yellow Chartreuse

0.5 oz sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

1 dash aromatic bitters

1 twist of lemon

stir; strain; twist; serve up.

6/52 I used Alberta Premium whisky which is a 100% rye Canadian whisky.  Certainly a Canadian whisky and not a replacement for rye.  It does make nice cocktails but isn't something I would regularly drink on its own. Honey sweetness and herbs dominated this Greenpoint.

7/52  Jim Beam Rye, Yellow Chartreuse VEP, Angostura bitters & orange bitters, Gonzalez Byass vermouth. Lemon Twist. "A well balanced company. No ingredient upstaging any other"

8/52 Knob Creek & Strega (I did not note which bitters or vermouth I used) "Boozy and dry. Round sweetness creeps in later"

9&10/52 I made Old Fashioneds these weeks. Once with Knob Creek and once with Wild Turkey Rare Breed. I made no notes but rather enjoyed the experience of a simple cocktail and pleasent company. :)

11/52 Canadian Club 100% Rye, Yellow Chartreuse VEP, Gonzalez Byass, Ango bitterses. "Delicious, sweet and herbal.  Bread/grain later on."

12/52 Same as the previous but with Jim Beam Rye and a Meyer lemon twist. A striking new element seemed to emerge.  Something like dried herbs.  I suspect the meyer lemon is the source. 

Cheers!

Be well.

Greenpoint (Wiser’s Dissertation; Strega)

Number five of fifty-two Greenpoint cocktails 

Greenpoint 

2 oz J.P.  Dissertation 

0.5 oz Strega 

0.5 oz Gonzalez Byass la copa vermouth 

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 dash Angostura orange bitters


This week I decided to sub Strega for yellow chartreuse. I also used J.P. Wiser’s Dissertation (as it was still on the counter from yesterday's Human Rocket). The twist this time was grapefruit.

The ever vigilante Fred Yarm alerted me via Instagram that this drink was quite like Evan Harrison's Nonantum.

I found this variation to be delicious and herbal. Not any one ingredient dominated. Everything came together to make a lovely any-time-of-the-evening libation.

Cheers!
Be well 

Greenpoint (Jim Beam Bonded) Again

This week I stuck with the Jim Beam but went back to the MOFS and the Gonzalez Byass. 

Greenpoint 

2 oz Jim Beam Bonded 

0.5 oz Chartreuse MOFS 

0.5 oz Gonzalez Byass La Copa

1 dash Regan’s orabge bitters 

1 dash Australians Bitters Co. Bitters 

Stir; strain; twist 

I found this dry but not overly so. A well balanced drink that would be suitable any time. Not obviously for before or after a meal. Perhaps a pleasant second round after a Vieux Carré?  Not a loser but also not a winner. Much like that song you don’t care about at the end of side one or that house you never notice because it’s three properties from the intersection. A wholly capable whiskey drink but not a chart topper. Then again certainly not a pigeonholed drink either. Ah well. You know what they say about a Jack of all trades...

Cheers!
Be well

Greenpoint (Jim Beam Bonded)

This is the third in a year’s worth of weekly Greenpoint cocktails

Greenpoint 

2 oz Jim Beam Bonded 

0.5 oz V.E.P. Yellow Chartreuse 

0.5 oz Bosca Rosso Vermouth di Torino

1 dash Australian Bitters Co. Aromatic Bitters 

1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters 

Stir; Strain; Twist

This week I decided to replace everything! The Jim Beam Bonded seems very rye forward to me and if given a glass without knowing I would’ve said it’s rye and not bourbon. Anyway, rather than 

ship-of-Theseus-ing my way to a new recipe I went “whole hog”.

My impressions with this combination was a drier, sharper, less sweet drink. This was certainly a whiskey cocktail but not obviously  a Manhattan variant. Whereas last week’s would have been nice after a meal this week’s was certainly a pre-prandial tipple. 

I’ve finished my Rittenhouse and have not much Jim Beam so a replenishment of rye is required. I think the Wiser’s bottles I have are more suited to other uses (and are strictly speaking Canadian Whisky) but with the American straight rye and the 100% rye Canadian whiskies available I’m sure I’ll not want. As with most of my trips to the LCBO a decision shall be the most difficult part. 

Stay tuned! 

Cheers!

Be well. 

Y

52 Greenpoints: 2

Greenpoint 
2 oz J.P. Wiser’s Canada 2018
0.5 oz Charteuse MOFS
0.5 oz Gonzalez Byass La Copa Vermouth 
1 dash Angostura orange bitters 
1 dash Angostura bitters 

Stir; strain; twist 


Since I finished my bottle of Rittenhouse I needed a different whisky for this week’s Greenpoint.  We can debate Canadian Whisky vs Rye some other time. Compared to last week this cocktail was much less “this is a Manhattan” and more “this is whisky and liqueur and sweetness”  the vermouth and bitters hid behind a curtain it seemed. A nice after dinner Manhattan/Brooklyn variation. What will I change next week? What will I keep the same? Stay tuned!

No you don't get a picture

Fifty-two Greenpoint cocktails. Not exactly twenty-eight Sazeracs or a month of Mai-Tais or even forty-nine hairflips. But here we go.  I've mostly kept to my plan of three drinks a week but the problem is most have been blogged or presented elsewhere. This leaves me with little to blog about, really.  So what's it all about Alfie Solomons? Here we go again for the upteenth time: trying to revive the blog!

Greenpoint
2 oz Rittenhouse rye
0.5 oz Chartreuse MOFS
0.5 oz Gonzalez Byass La Copa Vermouth  
1 dash Angostura bitters 
1 dash Angostura orange bitters 

Stir; strain; lemon twist. 

Tonight's cocktail was delightful and familiar. A nice twist on a Manhattan.

Stay tuned!
Cheers!
Be well!