Drink Matron

Tag: brandy

  • On the ninth day of Christmas, Drink Matron gave to me: Chocolate Covered Brandy Cherries!

    chocolate covered cherriesChocolate Covered Brandy Cherries

    Ingredients:
    1 pound butter
    2 pounds of powdered sugar sifted
    2 tsp Vanilla (can be replaced with 2.5-3 tsp brandy, if you prefer)
    One large jar of whole maraschino cherries
    Several bars of good chocolate

    Preparation:
    1. Drain the juice from the cherries and replace with brandy. Let them sit to develop flavor, the longer they sit, the stronger they’ll be. When you are ready to make the cherries drain (save the brandy for drinking). Place the cherries on a paper towel to let them dry.
    2. Soften your butter and gradually knead as much powdered sugar as you can until the dough is really stiff. Add a teaspoon of vanilla (or brandy). Continue to knead more powdered sugar until dough is stiff again. Repeat adding liquid and sugar.
    3. Take a small circle of dough and flatten in the palm of your hand. Place a cherry on the dough and wrap around until in a ball. If you don’t completely cover the cherry it will leak. Place cherries on a tray and chill as they will be warm from your hands.
    4. In small batches, melt the chocolate in the microwave in 15 second intervals, stirring each time. Do not allow the chocolate to get too hot, or it will become grainy.
    5. Dip cherries in the melted chocolate, covering completely. Remove from chocolate with toothpicks. Set on wax paper on a cookie sheet and chill until firm. Enjoy.

  • On the first day of Christmas, Drink Matron gave to me: Make your own Irish cream!

    Christmas lovelies! I’m back! What a better month to come back to you than December, when warm weather and holidays bring families and friends back together.

    A great homemade gift to give to your loved ones is Irish cream. Yup, you don’t have to spend money on Baileys or Carolans, you can have your very own tasty coffee and hot chocolate additive.

    Lucky for you guys, my family likes Irish cream and likes to keep a bit of homemade stuff around. Must come from being Wisconsin farm folk. Or booze hounds. Or Canadian (yeah, I’m a little Canadian. Like Barney Stinson. What. Up.)

    photo by Cindy Hopper at skiptomylou.orgGG Irish Cream
    1 can Eagle Brand condensed milk
    3 eggs
    1 tsp vanilla
    2 Tbs Hershey syrup
    1 pint whipping cream or half&half
    1 cup Irish whiskey or brandy (brandy comes from being from Wisconsin. It’s our thing in general.)
    1/3 cup white rum

    Mix ingredients together with a mixer or in a blender. Refrigerate.

    My Aunt Greta says, “Can be kept for months, but I doubt it will last that long.” I concur. It’s delicious.

     

     

     

  • The Sidecar

    Of all the basic drinks listed in David A Embury’s Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, the Sidecar has the most dubious of back stories.


    Paris

    It is said that in Paris during World War I, an American Army captain often traveled around in a motorcycle sidecar. One day, when he was under the weather, he requested a libation that would help him to feel better. The bartender, trying to find something suitable to pair with the “medicinal” brandy, added Cointreau and lemon juice as a source of Vitamin C. The drink was named “Sidecar” as a tribute to its original patron, and the rest is history.

    London’s Buck’s Club

    Many believe that the Paris story is a very big myth, and that the true invention of the Sidecar can be traced back to the London’s famous Buck’s Club in the 1920s. The creation is most often credited to Pat MacGarry, one of the Buck’s Club’s most popular bartenders.

    Or Not

    Another possibility is that the Sidecar is itself a variation of the Brandy Crusta, a cocktail made with the same ingredients and which also sported a sugar rimmed glass. The most notable difference is that the Sidecar is made with Cognac rather than standard Brandy.

    French School vs. English School

    While the origin of the drink may not be of any consequence to the drinker, the exact proportion of what goes into the drink may be very important. While everyone agrees that the three main ingredients are Cognac, Cointreau and lemon juice, the debate about just exactly how much of each goes into the drink has spawned two schools of thought: the French School and the English School.

    The French School maintains that the drink should consist of equal parts of each of the three ingredients. The English School believes that the cocktail should consist of two parts Cognac for every one part Cointreau and lemon juice. While this may not seem like it should make a difference, the taste of each of these mixes is drastically different, and can cause quite an issue when a you’re expecting your drink to taste a specific way.

    The Sidecar

    French School

    • 1 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 1 oz Cointreau
    • 1 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    English School

    • 1 1/2 oz Cognac or Armagnac
    • 3/4 oz Cointreau
    • 3/4 oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

    Combine ingredients in a shaker half full of ice. Shake until very cold, and strain into a cocktail glass (preferably chilled). If preferred, rim the cocktail glass with sugar before straining. Garnish with a twist of lemon or orange.

    No matter how you like your Sidecar, it’s certain that what you’re getting is something classic and pleasant. Please remember to always drink responsibly and know your limit.