Italian Stallion

Last year, Jim Beam released a line of delicious flavored bourbons.  There is Red Stag Honey, and Spiced flavored bourbons.  In Japan, however, they are sometimes hard to find in the stores especially to the black cherry version.  The honey and spiced varieties can be found at some liquor shops, while, the black cherry can be found at a select few.  One day, I went to my favorite liquor store, and I saw that they had a bottle of the Red Stag Black Cherry.  I decided to pick it up and try it at home.  I believe I made a wise decision.

Red Stag Black Cherry by Jim Beam is delicious.  The sweet cherry flavor is blended well with the bourbon to give it a sweet oak flavor.  Bourbon whisky already starts off with a sweet vanilla woody flavor due its brewing and aging process.  The burnt oak barrels that bourbon makers specially use give their whisky a distinct flavor that can only be found in bourbon.  The combination of sweet black cherry with the rich vanilla oak flavor of the bourbon is outstanding. 

In the last couple of weeks, I have been trying to use amaretto in new ways.  The Italian liqueur brings a distinct bittersweet almond taste and bouquet to most drinks.  One day, an idea conjured up in my head: what if I combined the elegant bittersweet nature of the amaretto with the Red Stag Black cherry bourbon?  I decided to give it a try.  That is how I came up the idea of the Italian Stallion.

The Italian Stallion can be prepared in two styles: on the rocks or in a shot.  Which style do you make depends on why you are serving the drink?  The Italian Stallion shot will bring the sweetness nutty taste of the amaretto with vanilla cherry wood taste to your mouth in an instant.  It is a rush of flavors that your mouth will be happy about.  On the other hand, the Italian Stallion cocktail will intertwine the distinct bouquets of the amaretto and Red Stag Black Cherry together.  The nose of the drink is rather intoxicating.    

Italian Stallion: The Shot

 

20 ml of Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon

20 ml of Amaretto

Pour the amaretto and the Red Stag Bourbon into the shot glass. 

 The two alcohols will layer in the glass giving the drink a distinctive look

Italian Stallion: The Cocktail

30 ml of Red Stag Black Cherry Bourbon

30 ml of Amaretto

Fill an Old-fashioned glass with ice.  Pour the amaretto and Red Stag bourbon into the chilled glass.  Stir the cocktail gently in order to allow the aromas of the bourbon and the amaretto to live the glass.

French Connection

Recently, I have been becoming more and more a fan of amaretto.  I enjoyed amaretto before, but recently I have been finding myself making more and more drinks with it.  The sweet nutty flavor of the amaretto has been intoxicating.  I have been looking through my different liquor recipe books to find new recipes.  That is how I found out the French Connection cocktail.

It seems that the history behind the French Connection drink is lost in the annals of history.  However when you take a look at the ingredients, it is somewhat easy to see the connection.  The French contributed to the drink with the addition of cognac, while, the Italians added amaretto. 

The French Connection conjures up images of men smoking cigars, wearing fedoras, and looking cool and dapper.  This drink epitomizes coolness.  It is a simple yet sophisticated.  In the recent months, it has become of my favorite nightcaps. 

The French Connection comprises of two ingredients: cognac and amaretto.  When making this drink, I suggest using a good aged cognac like a VSOP.  VSOP stands for Very Superior (Special) Old Pale.  For a cognac to receive this designation, it has to aged for 4 to 6 years.  A VSOP will give the drink a deeper richer flavor to the drink.  The other main ingredient of the French Connection is amaretto.  Amaretto is an Italian liqueur that is made from almonds and/or apricot pits.  Amaretto is bittersweet.  It has a unique sweet bouquet which will be present in this drink.  The combination of cognac and amaretto is complex yet simple.  The warming cognac will blend well into the distinctive nutty flavor of the amaretto.  

French Connection

30 ml of a good quality cognac (a VSOP would work nice)

30 ml of amaretto

Fill an Old-fashioned glass with ice.

Pour the cognac and amaretto into the chilled glass.

Stir a few times gently to dilute the drink and for the bouquets of the cognac and the amaretto to be released from the glass.

Serve.

Cheers!

Hunter

 During the fall season, the temperature is slowly dropping; the air is getting cooler and crisper; the nights are getting longer.  The hunters are out in the forests and the mountains looking for their prey.   

 

The Hunter’s Cocktail was crafted in order to invoke to this image.  When pouring the different cocktail books, magazines, and websites, there are two names that are commonly found with this drink.  One name is the “Hunter’s Cocktail”.  The other name is “Hunter”.  I am particular fond of the name “Hunter” because it brings the image that was described above to the forefront.  “Hunter” invokes notions of masculinity when heard.  It is not surprising to hear this when looking at its ingredients.

Hunter is a combination of rye whisky and cherry brandy.  Rye whiskies typically bring a drier, smoky, and spicier note to drinks.  I have, also, seen this drink made with bourbon whisky.  Bourbon whisky seems fitting to this drink because bourbons bring sweet, rounder notes to drinks.  However when tasting this drink with bourbon, the bourbon tends to make this drink sweeter and richer.  It’s a little too rich for my taste.  I find that the rye whisky brings a balance to the other ingredient in this drink, the cherry brandy.

If the whisky brings the image of the mountains, forests, and the outdoors to the drink, the cherry brandy brings the blood to the drink.  When someone says the word “hunter” or “hunting”, the first image that comes to mind is blood.  Cherry brandy is not an overtly sweet liqueur.  It has a distinctive dry characteristic to it.  For me, it is a cross between a dry Curacao and a sweet liqueur.  The little dryness that the cherry brandy contains is the great complement to spicy, dry notes that are found in the rye whisky.  However with that being said, the cherry brandy can overpower the drink. 

The measurements in this drink are really according to your taste.  How do you like drinks, a little sweet? a little spicy?  For me, I find a proportion of 1 part rye whisky to one-half part of cherry brandy does the trick.  This strikes a nice balance to the drink.

Hunter

40 ml of rye whisky (Old Overholt)

20 ml of cherry brandy (Suntory’s Hermes Cherry Brandy)

Pour the ingredients into a mixing glass.

Fill the mixing glass with glass.

Stir the drink until the drink is cold and diluted to your tastes. 

 (I typically stir it for 30 seconds.)

Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass.

Enjoy!

Sakura

Spring is in the air.  It is time to celebrate to the springtime with a light refreshing cocktail.  There are many places notably Japan where the cherry blossoms are blooming.

This cocktail was inspired by the blooming pink flowers that are growing everywhere.  People enjoy watching the cherry blossoms at hanami parties.  Hanami in Japanese means cherry blossom watching.  There are sakura festivals around the world most notably those in Japan and in Washington D.C.

The Sakura uses a distinct cherry blossom liqueur from Suntory called Japone Sakura（ジャポネ　桜).

The taste of cherry blossom is very distinctive and unique.  It has no apparent cherry flavor to it.  Instead, it has a dry bitter floral flavor it.  Imagine eating a flower.  There is a subtle sweetness to the liqueur that is probably coming from the added sugar to it.  It is a unique product.

The other ingredients in the Sakura compliment the unique taste of the cherry blossom liqueur.  Gin adds a nice unique botanical drink to the drink.  When choosing a gin for the Sakura, it is best to avoid a juniper heavy gin.  The juniper tends to overpower the unique flavor of the cherry blossom liqueur.  When I made the Sakura, I used Beefeater Gin.  I find that the Beefeater adds a nice dry note to the drink.  There is a juniper note in the gin, but it is not overpowering.  Try to find a floral gin for this cocktail.  The last ingredient of the Sakura is dry vermouth.  The dry vermouth adds a balance to the cherry blossom liqueur and the gin.  The dry vermouth tends to add roundness to the flavor of the cocktail.  I used Martini and Rossi for the vermouth.  A French dry vermouth would also be nice in this cocktail.  The choice for the vermouth is entirely up to you.  I was using Martini and Rossi because that is what I have at the moment.

For a touch of Japanese spring to your household, make yourself a Sakura.  It is a great springtime cocktail. 

Sakura

20 ml of gin

20 ml of dry vermouth

20 ml of Japone Sakura liqueur

 

Pour the ingredients in to a mixing glass.

Put ice into the the mixing glass.

Stir the mixture until it is properly chilled and diluted.

Strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass.

 

Enjoy!

Welcome to the Dojo Speakeasy!

Welcome to the Dojo Speakeasy!!

This is a side project of the blog, Dining Dojo.  However, this blog is more focused on bringing you crafted cocktails.

Why cocktails?  There are numerous blogs and websites that discuss these drinks already.  I have been interested in learning the art of the cocktail for a while now.

Before I get head of myself, here is a little background about myself.  My name is Andrew.  I am living in Nagoya, Japan for about 10 years now.  I am originally from the United States.  I had an interest in food and drink ever since I was a child.  Also, I am somewhat of a history buff.

In the recent years, there has been a cocktail boom in America that is showing respect to the classic cocktails that were popular before and during Prohibition in America.   I am interested in the history of these drinks.   Also, I am curious about the ingredients that are made in the cocktails.  With this knowledge, I am also trying to create my own creations.

Recently, I have been infusing many different ingredients to come up with new flavor combinations.  I love the freedom that you have when it comes to creating new libations.  Also, I am trying to pay respect to the classics by giving them a little twist.  I believe that to think about the future, to live in the present, we must be aware of the past.  We must learn from the past.

The Dojo Speakeasy will provide you in depth look into the cocktails that we enjoy.  Also, I will provide recipes for my own creations. 

Cheers!