Dogwatch Punch & The Dogwatch Doubloon

What's in a name? Well, in naval/maritime lingo, the work shift from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM is called the Dog Watch. This also happens to be the perfect time to enjoy a nice summer beverage.

Or two. Here now, in our first DUAL posting, are Dogwatch Punch and The Dogwatch Doubloon.

Dogwatch Punch

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail glass add:

- a quarter of a large orange, squeezed,

- a 2 count of falernum

- Muddle, (and muddle like you mean it!)

- fill glass with ice and add a 4 count of The Lash Spiced Rum

- Stir

-garnish with a slice of fresh orange.

Absolutely Delish!

Dogwatch Doubloon

The Recipe:

Into a 16-ounce pint glass add:

- a quarter of a large orange, squeezed,

- a 2 count of falernum

- Muddle, (and put your back into it this time!)

- fill glass with ice and add a 4 count of The Lash Spiced Rum

- Top with Dr Pepper , (about 4 ounces)

- Stir

-garnish with a slice of fresh orange.

Yumminess!

Chris's Notes: We at Greatest Drink In The World... This Week love a good challenge, but this was an AWESOME one. It was also quite difficult, though.

Way back on June 17th, (Hey! Icelandic Independence Day!), Greatest Drink in the World...This Week presented the award-winning recipe for the Chai-tini , made with Voyant Chai Liqueur, to much applause. As a result of this, Mr. Robert Back, the creator of Voyant, asked us for some cocktail recipes for a new product, The Lash: an aged, spiced rum.

Of course, we jumped at the opportunity.

However, we ran into the strangest of hurdles. The rum tasted so good on its own, that we had a hard time developing a taste that came remotely close! Trial and error, and trial and error, (Work, work, work!) and eventually some flavors started to come together. More of a variety than an improvement, we came up with the above two recipes.

True, the similarities between the two drinks is obvious, but it should be noted, that they were developed simultaneously, and neither was was a spin-off of the other.

To clarify what I mean, let's say that The Lash Spiced Rum is the television show, "Happy Days." Dogwatch Punch and The Dogwatch Doubloon, although created from this original source, share similar elements but have completely different characteristics, like Laverne & Shirley and Mork & Mindy, and will appeal to different people.

To continue with this metaphor, there was much trial and error in developing these two shows, er, cocktails, but we believe they each have the potential to be hits!

I guess that since Happy Days was itself a spin-off, that would make, in this metaphor, anyways, "Rum" represented by Love; American Style!

But I digress...

In any case, (and by no means do I wish to compare the quality of these television programs with that of The Lash or either of the submitted cocktail recipes,) but like those sitcoms, each drink appealed to different tastes. Of the eight members of our tasting panel the evening these cocktails were created, three preferred the Dogwatch Doubloon, calling it "more refreshing," and "so different." The other five, (myself included,) found the Dogwatch Punch to be less sweet, and an better all-around cocktail. Both, are some type of delicious, though.

Joe's Notes: One evening not long back, Chris arrived at the bar armed with a bottle of The Lash Spiced Rum. I filled a number of shot glasses along the bar for our panel of experts to sample. Every one was very enthusiastic. Billy, our guest "expert" for the evening, holding out his shot glass like Oliver Twist said it was probably one of the best rums he had ever drank!

I also was very impressed with the Lash. The Lash hails from the West Indies, where it spends four years in oak and is then aged with spices, some actually settle in the bottle, bourbon vanilla extract, and other flavors. The result is a rum with a strong cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla character. ( Ref: Drinkhacker.com)

As I have said, I was very impressed with the Lash. In fact, I even questioned Chris on why he wanted me to make a cocktail out of this.

My point being that the people who produce The Lash have obviously worked very hard in getting the flavor and quality just right and now I was going to come along and change it.

This reminded me of a time many, many years ago when I worked in 5-Star hotel in London. One evening the cocktail waitress came to the bar and ordered a 25-year-old, single malt scotch in a tall glass filled with ice and topped with ginger ale. Horrified that anybody would murder a good scotch that way, (yes, I'm a drink snob,) I picked up a bottle of bar blended whiskey and made the order. The waitress returned three more times that evening with the same order, each time I substituted the 25-year-old single malt with the bar scotch. When this butcher of scotch was leaving for the evening I stopped him and asked how his evening had been. He said that he had had a good night and that every thing was good, and promised to return soon. At this point I told him what I had done, and he was not happy. He said that as long as he was paying, he could order whatever he wanted.

What do you think? Just because you can do something does that give you the right to do it?

Let me know what you think,

Joe the Bartender.

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For you Miami Vice fans, this week's "Barely-Related Token Video" is None other than "Rico Tubbs" himself, Phillip Michael Thomas, doing "Just The Way I Planned It."

And no, it is not even remotely related, but funny.

The SaseboRita

On a recent vacation to New Mexico, I was lucky enough to be introduced to some new Tequila as well as some new Tequila-based drinks.

Senior Research Assistant Kerry suggested her friends from Arizona join us. It was her friend, Jackie, who brought the following recipe to The Greatest Drink in the World... This Week.

Thanks, Jackie!

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice, add

- A 2 count of 100 Años Tequila Blanco, (any white tequila SHOULD suffice, but this one was good!)

- a 1 count of Triple Sec

- 3 count POM Pomegranate Juice

- the juice from a half of a large, freshly 'squozen' lime,

- Shake it. Shake like the very wind!

- Strain into a large, 16 ounce glass of fresh ice,

- top off with a fat 'sploosh' of soda, (or Sprite,)

- Garnish with a fresh slice of lime.

Jackie's notes:

So, two Phoenix desert rats rendezvous with two Boston siblings in the southwestern jewel of Albuquerque, for a weekend of exploration and fun. There was no way I could let Chris break his streak of introducing a weekly libation to the world, despite the fact that he was entering his second week of vacation, just coming from the wild-lands of Colorado. After a day on a mission of shopping in Old Town, we were hankering for a margarita. Not just any margarita, but one that reflects the true aura of the southwest. So was born the SaseboRita

Chris's Notes:

Sauza's 100 Años Tequila Blanco may be among the leading Tequilas back in Mexico, but it has only been a few years since it was available here in the states. It seemed an excellent choice for a cocktail selection in New Mexico, and I wanted to try it. So I was very happy to see that this was the brand that Jackie chose for her SaseboRita.

Jackie's choice of flavor, the pomegranate, was never explained to me aside from her wanting to create a really good tasting cocktail.

Interestingly, though, POM Wonderful®, the brand of pomegranate juice, was pressured by the FDA to be sold as a drug due to its high levels of antioxidants and health benefits on a wide assortment of medical issues!

HEALTH FOOD! I should have known it! Jackie and her fellow Phoenician, (and guest researcher,) Tom 'Whitefoot', are healthy-types: Hikers, joggers, bikers, et cetera. I am not surprised that a key ingredient in one of her concoctions is something so good for a person.

Fortunately, it tastes great! The rich and robust flavor of the pomegranate is really well balanced with the sharpness of the lime and tequila, and the flavors are bridged seamlessly by the orange of the triple sec.

I think that chile pepper pint glass was the perfect finishing touch on this one.

Cheers, Chris

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This week's only-somewhat-related token video is actually somewhat related! "More than a Friend" by Rob Huffman, (it was at Rob's house in Albuquerque that I was served this week's Greatest Drink.)

Thanks, Rob!

Lychee-Mango Martini

Some readers may have noticed that there was no new drink post this past week. The reason for this is that I was away. I went on a vacation/research trip to New Mexico, with Senior Research Assistant, (and sister,) Kerry. Although our findings include some really nice tequila-based cocktails, (to be posted soon!), this week's Greatest Drink in the World is The Lychee-Mango Martini, an absolute miracle of modern mixology.

The Recipe:

While chilling a large Martini glass, into a cocktail shaker, add:

- a 2 count of Svedka Citron Vodka,

- a 2 count of Mango Rum,

- a 2 count of Lichido Lychee Liqueur

- a 2 count of mango juice

- squeeze in the juice of 2 lemon wedges,

- shake energetically,

- strain into the now-chilled martini glass

- garnish with a wedge of lemon.

Joe's Notes: This week we have produced not only a drink that tastes and looks absolutely fantastic, but also something that may be good for you. The three fruits combined in this martini have some amazing health properties.

The Lychee, (pronounced either Lee-Chee or Lie- chee, depending on whhich side of the Atlantic you are reading this on,) has been harvested in China for over 4,000 years. It is a fruit packed with vitamins and nutrients, it aids digestion and is used as an aphrodisiac in China. It is considered the "love fruit." Because of all the health benefits of the Lychee it is often given to babies in place of a pacifier (or 'dummy' if you are reading this "across the pond.") This is not a practice that I would recommend given the size and shape of the Lychee it seems that it would be a choking hazard, maybe it is cut up first.

The Lychee, along with the mango, produces the antioxidants that fight the free radicals that are apparently attacking your body. Now, that is a strange name to call molecules. I always thought that the Free Radicals where the political Whigs in England that opposed the Tory party. I also have some recollection of free radicals being used in the very confusing and pointless Algebra classes at high school. Although admittedly I did spend most of my time looking out the window or trying to take a nap undisturbed by what appeared to me an equally bored teacher. That could be one of the reasons i am a bartender and not a mathematician. I did buy a book one time for my son titled "Fun with Math." The title attracted me to it as I felt it was a perfect oxymoron. Needless to say it was not a lot of fun.

Lets get back to the drink. Lemons also have some powerful healing properties. Most of us are probably aware that lemons are a good source of vitamin C and that they can benefit some one with a cold, the flu, sore throat and malaria. Lemons have also proved to be a blessing for mountaineers. In the cases of insufficient oxygen and difficulty in breathing lemon comes to their rescue. Edmund Hillary, the first man to put his foot on the top of Mt. Everest, has admitted that his victory over Mt. Everest was greatly due to lemons.

Last but not least, let us not forget the alcohol. The benefits of the consumption of alcohol has been debated for years. I believe that the consumption of alcohol, if it makes you happy, is a good thing. It can make you feel relaxed and can even remove some of the inhibitions that could be preventing you from meeting the love of your life. If alcohol makes you cry, fight or tell long and boring stories, stop immediately and consult with a trained physician, (at this point your bartender does NOT count as a trained physician!)

So pour yourself a Mango Lychee Martini and google the health benefits, and feel good about yourself and what you are putting into your body.

Joe the Bartender

Chris's notes: Thanks, Joe. And those nutrition classes seem to really be paying off!

This fruity little number is an AM eye-opener on par with the Mimosa! No, wait. This exceeds the Mimosa. That's right, I said it. (People just think because it has a foreign name the Mimosa is a foreign breakfast drink! NO! It's named after a flower similar in color! How deceptive!) The Lychee-Mango Martini, however, with it's honesty in name, has an equally energy-infusing blast of vitamin C along with a wider and more interesting spectrum of flavors! And although this cocktail is guaranteed to compliment any breakfast, it can be enjoy at any time of day or night as a pick-me-up with a that tastes great.

So don't be bullied into ordering a drink just because it sounds classy, order one that is! And from now on, let's eschew the unnecessarily foreign names; forget ordering a "Croissant." Get a Crescent Roll! Cul-de-Sac? It's a damned dead end!

And skip the Mimosa entirely and order yourself this little glass of sunshine; The Lychee-Mango Martini. You'll feel better about yourself.

Cheers!

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This week's completely unrelated, token video, (or is it "Tolkien video?") comes from Mr. Spock, (NOT Dr. Spock, the baby guru who, incidentally, recommends never, EVER jamming whole lychees into a baby's mouth,) but Leonard Nimoy with The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins!

Enjoy!

Home-Made Liqueurs, #1: Amaretto

A bit of a departure from our usual format this week with the start of a new feature, "Home-Made Liqueurs."

Do you want to take true ownership of the drinks you serve? Are you a fanatic about fresh ingredients? Maybe you are simply a control freak. Or maybe you just really like to cook/mix up flavors and create something new from scratch.

In an effort to assist you, the loyal reader, in any of these, we here at "The Greatest Drink in the World... This Week" decided to include Home-Made Liqueurs recipes to the blog.

Home-Made Amaretto

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of firmly packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

2 cups of water

6 teaspoons of vanilla

8 teaspoons of almond extract

1 quart of 100 proof vodka

Directions:

Bring sugar and water to a boil, stirring frequently.

Lower heat and simmer for five or so minutes.

Pour this into a glass bowl and let it cool to room temperature.

Add vanilla, almond, and vodka to the cooled syrup and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Store in screw-top bottles in a dark place for two weeks.

The smooth almond flavors of Amaretto is a key ingredient in My Mai Tai, as well as other popular cocktails like The Godfather, The Godmother, and The French Connection. It is also enjoyed straight or on the rocks and goes really nicely in one's morning coffee, (should that person not have too much planned for the day!)

And I am NOT dropping any hints to my family about upcoming birthday suggestions, but a nicely bottled Home-Made Amaretto could make a really good gift idea for the cocktail enthusiast on YOUR list!

Cin cin!

Not even remotely related Video of the Week: APACHE!

Blue Lagoon

The summer "dog days" seem to be upon us. Cocktails now have the responsibility of cooling us down, and making us feel like we are on a tropical vacation, as well as tasting great.

The exotic-looking, (and exotically named,) classic cocktail, The Blue Lagoon, does this with ease.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice,

- Add a 3 count of Svedka Citron vodka

- Add a 2 count of Blue Curacao

- Add a "sploosh" of Pineapple juice

- Fill with ice

- Shake! Shake like the wind!

- Strain over fresh ice,

- Top with a splash of lemon/lime soda

- Garnish with a lemon wedge and a cherry, (paper umbrella option but highly recommended!)

Chris's Notes: The original Blue Lagoon, (cocktail, that is,) did not have the benefit of the added pineapple juice. Joe "punched" this up specifically for today's blog. Although, the more you add, the "turquoiser" your Lagoon gets, the taste also improves... In my opinion, anyways.

The finished product is a light and refreshing drink, cooling one down nicely on a hot summer's day, but friendly enough for "less seasoned" tolerances, (A.K.A.,"lightweights.")

I immediately thought of frequent guest researcher, Sharon Mc as I drank this. Sharon primary role on the research team is to review the lighter cocktails, just like this one. However, that being said, I could very easily see myself enjoying a couple of these big, blue refreshments as the temperature climbs!

Joe's Notes: The Blue Lagoon, although it may not be considered a true classic, is certainly a retro cocktail. It is a light, very refreshing, summer drink. For my Fourth of July cookout, I will be serving pitchers of the Blue Lagoon, along with some chilled Italian semi-sparkling red and white wines. Yes, I did say chilled red wine, and Yes, I do celebrate the Fourth of July.

As many of you know, I am a Brit, but I do consider myself American by choice. By this I mean that although I was not born in the US. I have made the choice to live here over my country of birth. Now, how patriotic is that?! (Although I must admit that I was cheering for the English soccer team over the USA during the World Cup.)

The Blue lagoon was very popular during the early eighties in London partly due to that awful New Romantic movement.

For some bizarre reason "men" thought it was cool to dress in pirate/swashbuckling frilly shirts and tight black pants. Wearing heavy make-up they would pose in the clubs drinking Blue Lagoons.The nightclub lights caused the Blue Lagoon to light up like a light-saber from Star Wars.

Thankfully, I can honestly say I was never part of this group, (I can't speak for Chris, though)

The other image of the Blue Lagoon from the eighties is of the lovely Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins frolicking around on the beach on a sun drenched island. The movie, although not very good, did have some surprisingly memorable moments.

So whether you drink the Blue Lagoon as part of your Fourth of July celebrations, dressed as Adam Ant, (which, by the way, was the name of an urinal manufacturer in England,) or frolicking on the beach with Brooke Shields, I hope you enjoy it, (the drink that is).

Have a great Fourth.

Joe

And, lucky you, the Greatest Video in the World... This Week is is also big and blue: We Got It All. But it is much harder to describe, (and even more difficult to swallow!)

The Salem Sidecar

Another classic cocktail, re-envisioned and reinvented by Joe for this very blog!

The Recipe:

- Muddle ½ of a fresh lime into a 'Sploosh" of falernum,

- Add a 2 count of Cognac

- Add a 1½ count of Cointreau Noir

- Add ice

- Stir

- Add more ice

- Garnish with and orange slice and a strawberry, (in season)

Original recipe by Joe the Bartender, Passage to India restaurant, Salem, MA.

Joe's Notes: The Sidecar is another classic cocktail that we here at TGDITWTW had been considering re-doing. And by "considering," I mean that Chris has been pestering me about making a better one for a few weeks, now.

The original Sidecar Cocktail was first put together during World War 1, most commonly attributed to a London Bartender who assembled it first for a young American Army Captain, and named it after the little motorcycle sidecar that carried the captain to and from his club.

The ingredients to the standard Sidecar are Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice. Of course, many variations of this recipe ensued, from the gin-based Chelsea Sidecar to the Slivovitz-based Serbian Sidecar and back to the Boston Sidecar, with both rum and brandy. Our Salem Sidecar benefits from substitution of the higher-end, cognac-infused Cointreau along with falernum and lime for a wider spectrum of taste.

Plus, it gets Chris off my back.

Chris's notes: The Sidecar was a cocktail that Joe and I tossed back and forth a few times. At first, we tried the Boston Sidecar, which included rum as well as brandy, and the final outcome was good, but not great. And certainly not 'The Greatest Drink in the World... This Week' great.

I am reminded of my childhood, (Oh look, Joe, someone else can reminisce of days gone by, too!) I grew up in a very television-oriented environment. For my first seven or eight years, I thought the T.V. set was some sort of older brother. (I was actually jealous of it's antenna at one point! Mine couldn't do that!)

But Saturday mornings, (and I am not alone in this,) meant Scooby Doo . And for some reason, it was Scooby, Shaggy, and Mystery, Inc. that was on my mind as I sipped this cocktail. You see, that Boston Sidecar that was originally mixed up, well, it had appeal. Interesting, different, just not as good, kind of like the way Goober and the Ghost Chasers was to Scooby Doo.

I also did some experimenting at home. Sadly, my amateurish attempts ended up tasting more like Jabberjaw, Clue Club, Captain Caveman, and the Funky Phantom, respectively!

Those were dark, dark days indeed.

I was flummoxed. But through some stroke of alchemical genius, (and leaving the actual mixing portion to the mixologist,) the formula presented itself to us, (by "us" I mean Joe.) With the addition of the falernum and the "special" Cointreau Noir, Joe brought the Salem Sidecar right into the Scooby zone, to make it this weeks greatest drink in the world

Zoinks!

And, of course, the completely unrelated, Greatest Video in the World... This Week, here: Hooked on A Feeling