Home-Made Liqueurs, #4: Galliano

Way back in the day, the mid-seventies to be specific, THE popular drink was the Harvey Wallbanger. Just yer garden variety screwdriver, but with some Galliano on top. And THAT made all the difference.

Galliano: That golden liqueur in the bordering-on-obscenely long bottle, with its subtle blend of flavors: vanilla, liquorice, citrus, the work together to bring out the flavors of its surrounding elements without overpowering them.

Now, you can make up a batch of this stuff all on your own thanks to the Home-Made Liqueurs series from Greatest Drink in the World... This Week!

Home-Made Galliano

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar

⅔ cup water

½ tsp of anise extract

½ teaspoon of vanilla extract

3 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

4 drops yellow food coloring

2 ½ cups of 80 proof vodka

Directions:

▸ Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently.

▸ Lower heat and simmer for fifteen minutes.

▸ Add flavorings, lemon/lime juice and coloring.

▸ Let cool to room temperature.

▸ Add your vodka.

▸ Pour into a tightly corked bottle and store for six weeks.

Makes one quart.

Galliano is the primary ingredient in the Harvey Wallbanger, of course, (named after that giant rabbit from the Jimmy Stewart movie, Harvey, who, according to legend, got totally plowed on Screwdrivers and Galliano while filming and smashed through some scenery, hence the name!), but Galliano is also one of the main ingredients in many other famous cocktails, too.

One can't have a Yellow Bird without Galliano in it. It is always in a Golden Cadillac, and a Golden Dream would be no dream at all without a drop or two!

In fact, HERE'S a little hint, most cocktails with the word "Wall," "Yellow" or "Golden" in the name, PROBABLY contain Galliano.

Yup. Its just that big a deal.

So, get in on it at your home bar with a home-made batch of the stuff, or brew some up for a gift for a Wallbanger enthusiast!

Just make sure to put it in a REALLY long bottle for the full effect!

Oh, by the way, a Slow Comfortable Screw Against the Wall ... is ALSO made with Galliano.

Think about it!

Cheers,

C:

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A little inspirational music for this week's Completely Unrelated Video. "Let The Sun Shine In."

Home-Made Liqueurs, #3: Coffee Liqueur

'Part Three' in our Home-Made Liqueurs series brings us the long awaited, (and requested!) coffee liqueur. This is an easy recipe that yields terrific results and will certainly enhance your cocktail recipes and give them that extra special touch.

Ingredients:

1 quart 80 proof vodka

4 cups granulated sugar

3 cups water

2 ounces instant coffee mixed with 1 cup of boiling water

1 vanilla bean, cut lengthwise

Directions:

Bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring frequently.

Lower heat and simmer for twenty minutes.

Allow to cool to room temperature.

Mix the syrup with the coffee mixture and vodka.

Add the vanilla bean.

Put in a glass container and shake every day for two weeks.

Chris's notes: Years ago, I received a bottle of Home-Made Coffee Liqueur as a gift. At the time, I remember thinking, "How Cool!" The liqueur itself was delicious, the drinks made with it came with the story of the ingredients' origins, and even the bottle, being an ornate receptacle, saw repeated uses.

Coffee Liqueur is a key ingredient in many specialty cocktails, including B-52s, The Nutty Irishman, and a Tootsie Roll.

Sure to punch up your next cocktail, provide a conversation topic for your uncomfortable silences, or, with the Holidays well and truly upon us, this makes an awesome gift, (I just happen to know!)

Cheers!

I am very happy about this week's video: Humble Pie, "Black Coffee!"

Oh yeah!

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!

The Chai-tini

This week we here at The Greatest Drink in the World are posting a long overdue drink recipe. The Chai-tini is an award-winning original drink created at Passage to India and voted "Best Signature Cocktail of Salem Massachusetts" for 2008.

The Recipe:

Into a cocktail shaker full of ice, add,

- a 2 count of Voyant chai cream liqueur

- a 2 count Baileys Irish Cream,

- a 2 count Kahlua

- a 1 count Svedka vanilla vodka

- a splash of milk

- Shake,

- Strain into chilled martini Glass.

Garnish with a cherry, (optional)

Original Recipe by The Amazing Ranjeet, Passage to India restaurant, Salem, MA

Joe's notes: The Chaitini's main ingredient is Voyant Chai, a chai and rum based, cream liqueur, ("chai" simply meaning tea in India.)

Voyant is produced in Holland. Voyant stands on its own, and can be enjoyed chilled, on the rocks or over ice cream. Holland is renowned for its tulips, windmills, wooden clogs, many fine artists such as Rembrandt and Van Gogh and cafés where you can get legally stoned.

Many years ago on a short trip to Amsterdam to soak in some of the art and culture, I stumbled upon one of these aforementioned establishments. Out of pure curiosity I went in.
My waitress arrived at my table bringing me a coffee and large glass of water and handed me the menu. She smiled sweetly at me and said "English." I nodded my response, while at the same time looking over at a table of five or six English guys. They looked to me as if they had consumed about half a dozen pints of strong Dutch beer before even coming to the cafe. They all looked a little green around the gills and I expected them to spontaneously projectile vomit at any given moment. I redirected my attention back to my waitress. "I'll take a Moroccan slice please," I said. She returned a few minutes later with my order. I sat and ate my cake, washing it down with the coffee she had previously brought me. It tasted quite awful, (The cake not the coffee).

Nothing happened.

I sat back and read my tourist guide. After a while, I realized that I was re-reading the same page of my guide over and over again. It had suddenly become very interesting, like it was a work of great literature, if only I could remember what it had said. As I looked up from my guide, I was sure that everyone in the cafe was watching me. I really wanted a drink from the large glass of water but it looked so far away and I didn't think that I would be able to pick it up. What seemed like hours passed and I decided it was time to leave. After an eternity, my waitress came over and dropped the check. It took me too long to find my wallet and produce the notes required to pay.

Then came the time to actually get up and leave, I looked over to the table of English guys hoping to get some help, but they had somehow miraculously disappeared. I decided to count to ten and stand up. The third attempt it worked and I managed to get to the front door. I was shocked when I left the cafe; it was still daylight. I had in fact only been in the cafe for about one hour.

Now don't get me wrong, I believe that a mans choice of poison is his own. But I decided on that day that mere mortal like myself should stick to martinis.

Chris's notes: Despite Joe's flirting with getting tie-dyed and going dreadlocks, (and this blog probably would have ended up somewhere else entirely,) ya gotta give the Dutch credit; Those cigars, that kid on the paint can, Dutch Chocolate, Holland Oats, the Van Halen brothers, and now this Voyant stuff. Not a bad resumé, as far as contributions go!

And speaking of credit where it is due, Passage To India's own 'The Amazing Ranjeet' saw the potential in this liqueur and blended up this cocktail all by his onesies.

Good?

It was the very Best Drink to come out of Salem in all of 2008!

See?

Of course, this creamy dessert drink is not exclusively Voyant. The Bailey's and Kahlua also contribute to the creaminess, (Oh yeah, and that milk!) and the Svedka Vanilla keeps the flavor right in the zone. This drink could handle a big ol' scoop of coffee ice cream on a really hot summer night and so well!

PROOST!

Almost-completely-unrelated, (but still funny!) token video by Van Halen.