#86: Aprés Ski

1 oz Peppermint Schnapps
1 oz Coffee Liquer
1 oz White Créme de Cacao
Combine in a short glass with ice, and shake

Aprés-ski (French for after skiing) refers to going out, having drinks, dancing, and generally socializing after skiing. It is popular in the Alps, where skiers often stop at bars on their last run of the day while still wearing all their ski gear. The concept is similar to the nineteenth hole in golf.

The term après-ski is also being increasingly applied in a derogatory sense, to describe those whose interest in snow sports is mainly confined to image, such as expensive prestige brands of equipment and seasonal ski-wear fashion.

Well, the peppermint flavor was strong, but it complimented the Créme de Cacao chocolate tones nicely, and the added coffee notes from the Coffee Liquer made the sum greater than the parts.

I thought that this would be good as a warm drink, the thought being that you would imbibe this one at the ski lodge after a day on the slopes. Imagine my surprise when I could find no evidence in the recipe regarding heat of any sort. This was made with ice, and after tasting it, I believe that the idea is to remind you of those days, even when you can't make it out there to actually ski.

It was bracing (the peppermint) like a cold brisk day, and the other flavors reminded me of a ski lodge, all warm and comfy by the fire. So I guess it all makes sense now. Actually one of the more appropriately named drinks yet.

***************

I found a cool website, PerpetualKid.com, that has all kinds of fun stuff (their motto is "entertain your inner child"), and they have this awesome OCD Chef Cutting Board:

I may have to get one!

#64: Angel Wing 2 (floater)

1 oz White Creme de Cacao
1 oz Brandy
1/2 oz Milk or Light Cream
Float the ingredients with the first item on the bottom

First things first. I made this incorrectly at first, using Creme de Menthe instead of Creme de Cacao. Once I corrected that, things were much better. In fact, it was a completely different drink, and much better as a result. The main thing was that the ingredients separated properly, which tells me that the Creme de Menthe and the Creme de Cacao must have different densities.

One more time into the breech of incompetence:

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would, and I could have had more. But it would be hard to make this much larger and retain it as a floater. Of course, it was not minty in the correct form, but it was mellow and creamy with a strong chocolate tone. Heavenly.

Check out today's featured item.

#63: Angel Wing (floater)

1 1/2 oz White Creme de Cacao
1/2 oz Irish Cream
Float the ingredients with the first item on the bottom

First things first. I made this incorrectly at first, using Creme de Menthe instead of Creme de Cacao. Once I corrected that, things were much better. In fact, it was a completely different drink, and much better as a result. The main thing was that the ingredients separated properly, which tells me that the Creme de Menthe and the Creme de Cacao must have different densities.




Here's how I feel about rushing through making this drink without taking the time to think it through:

I liked this a lot more than I thought I would, and I could have had more. But it would be hard to make this much larger and retain it as a floater. Of course, it was not minty in the correct form, but it was mellow and creamy with a strong chocolate tone. Heavenly.

****************

On to a more serious note:

All of the current unrest in the Middle East has made me think about the liberties and freedoms we have here in America, as well as how hard we need to fight for them. The First Amendment issue the Supreme Court ruled on the other day also made me sit up and take notice. I am no fan of the Westboro Church protesting at service members funerals. I find it horrible and disgusting. But I firmly believe in their right to do that, and my right to write about it. I know that the Amendments to theConstitution aren't necessarily written in any order of importance, but maybe there is a reason why the Freedom of Speech is First. I think it may be the most important of them all, for without it we lose all abilities to conduct the others.

One of my heroes has always been Henry David Thoreau, the great writer, who wrote about and practiced civil disobedience. His musings on nature weren't half bad either. One of the things he wrote that has stuck with me is the following:

To be a hero is to live your life in a small cell whose bars are the principles and rules that define what you will and won't accept.

Well, on the night they threw Thoreau in jail for civil disobedience, a friend came to see him and asked him "What are you doing in here?", dumbfounded that such a gentle man would be in jail.

Thoreau asked back "The question is, what are you doing out there?"

Check out today's featured item.


Check out today's featured item.

#34: Alexander

1 oz Gin
1 oz White or Dark Creme de Cacao
In a serving glass filled with ice, pour ingredients, then fill with milk or cream, then shake.

I read a story a few weeks ago about a religious teacher who had his students go in to various establishments and ask for things that they didn't or wouldn't have. Like going to a bookstore and asking for frozen yogurt. Supposedly it was to teach them humility and to break down the barriers of ego that we all hold. They had to learn to let go of what they thought about how others saw them.

As I pondered this, I saw opportunities to do just that the next time I go to the supermarket. Here's a short list of some items it would be fun to put on the conveyor belt at the grocery store. Just 3 items each time, and keep telling myself "I don't care what people think".

Box of condoms, suckers, My Little Pony

Box of cheap wine, Ex-Lax, water balloons

Vodka, matches, a pair of sunglasses

Dulcolax, a mirror, turkey baster

A jar of mayonnaise, a stopwatch, and a Bible

Olive oil, honey, and zucchini

Midol, a knife, a bottle of rum

Tabasco, a bag of ice, an enema

Rubber gloves, bleach, a tarp

See what you can come up with!

********************

Well, we have bit of a dilemma today. After much research on the web (30 minutes, I'm not insane), it appears that the recipe in the book may in fact be wrong. The ingredients and amounts are right, but this appears to be the only instance of the drink that I can find where it is not being strained into a cocktail glass. The earliest reference for this drink dates back to 1915, and that recipe calls for it to be strained as well. So what to do? Make 2! A little background first.

Although the Alexander is not on the list of official IBA cocktails, the Brandy Alexander is, as well as another offspring, the White Russian. The Alexander predates all of them, dating from about 1915, and is said to be named after Czar Alexander II of Russia. During the 19th century, he was considered one of the most progressive leaders in Europe at the time, emancipating the Russian peasants from serfdom, reorganizing the military to include universal conscription from all wealth levels, and instituting and new penal code and simplified civil and criminal systems. All that kind of change led to the inevitable assassination, of course. So, early in the 20th century someone decided to name a drink after the Czar. Seems like it would have been nice if that had happened while he was still alive, but oh well, I can only hope to live on in posterity through having a drink named after me.

I made the drink according to The Good Book, just to see what would happen. It was a very tasty drink, a great sipping drink. It had a strong flavor from the gin and Creme de Cacao, but mellow with little bite. It slid on the tongue nicely and was a pleasure to drink. But the nagging fact that I knew this was made incorrectly seemed to detract from the experience.

So, I made it again, same ingredients, but this time everything was shaken in a mixer filled with ice cubes, then strained into a cocktail glass. Of course in all this I forgot to garnish with a touch of nutmeg. You would think I was trying to be an air traffic controller, but even just trying to keep all this straight was taxing to my addled brain.

Now that we seem to have the traditional method for this drink established, I noticed that the use of Dark Creme de Cacao had crept into the recipe from The Good Book, but that seems to have not been added to an Alexander until the Brandy Alexander came along in the 1920s. Since there will never be total consensus on any drink, I'll live with this.

The revised (for me) version was even better, with no ice cubes banging me in the nose. In the cocktail glass it was easier to sip, and it seemed creamier and richer.

Check out today's featured item.