A New Day

Posted on July 20, 2018 by abourbongal

Y’all may have notice a bit of a time gap (a bit = 3 years) on my posting to this here blog, and those who follow along on social media have witnessed some crazy sh*t going down for this Bourbon Gal in real time.

We bought a house a bit further south in the Salt Lake Valley, sold our tiny Sugar House cottage, and started a major renovation/addition project on the new place which is still in progress some two years later. For several months we lived in our pop-up camping trailer — yeah, two adults, two teenaged boys and two goofy chocolate Labs — taking some big road trips and fly fishing up through Wyoming, Montana and western Canada. Then we parked our home-on-wheels in the side yard of our new home and lived out of it for waaaaayy longer than anticipated. Here’s a story I wrote for Devour magazine about kitchen remodel projects that was influenced heavily by our family’s experiences. It reads a lot more up-beat now than I felt at the time (e.g. overwhelmed and about to lose my ever-lovin’ mind on an almost hourly basis).

In the meantime, I’ve been writing like gangbusters at my other paid gigs all over the Beehive State, and will drop some links to those stories soon, along with my backstage cocktail pairings to go with them.

Cheers, all y’all, and thanks for your patience!

The Belle and Bull: a Bourbon Bloody Mary

Posted on May 3, 2016 by abourbongal

Pick a rye-forward bourbon with a bit of spice instead of vodka for your next Bloody to take the character level of this go-to day drink to the next level. All the cool kids are doin’ it.

Rub the rim of a heavy pint glass with the cut side of a lemon. Dip the rim into 1 Tbs. of your favorite steak seasoning mix to coat (I like McCormick Grill Mates Smokehouse Maple – the molasses and brown sugar elements make for a nice sweet note

The Belle and Bull: a Bourbon Bloody Mary with a kick

under the bourbon’s spice).

To a tall mixing glass add:

4-5 ice cubes

2 oz. bourbon whiskey

1.5 oz. strong beef stock

a generous pinch of steak seasoning mix

1/8 tsp. prepared horseradish

juice of ½ lemon (about ½ oz.)

a generous pinch of coarse-ground black pepper

5-6 oz. tomato juice strained through very fine mesh to remove most of the pulp

Stir thoroughly with a long-handled bar spoon until combined; pour all contents into the prepared serving glass. Add more ice if needed to fill the glass.

Garnish with a bigass slice of smoky beef jerky.

The story behind the drink….

This burly bloody brings a bit of umami to the flavor profile of the traditional bevvy with the addition of both hearty beef stock and bold bourbon. It makes for a satisfying stick-to-your-ribs version of the classic, especially with an addition of steak seasoning to the rim and beef jerky for the garnish. This “Beauty and the Beast” match-up was inspired during a slope-side brunch tailgate last ski season when we ran out of vodka for mixing. Fortunately, I had some whiskey tucked away in a flask and it made for the perfect addition to the mix on that blustery day. Go for a spicy rye-forward bourbon such as Woodford Reserve or Belle Meade to add a bit of kick and balance to this savory medley. Although most citrus cocktails work best in a shaker, take the time to stir this one thoroughly, instead; shaking it makes for a pale pink frothy mess. Definitely not the vibe we’re going for in this bold bourbon Bloody Mary.

10 AM Green Drinks

Posted on April 14, 2016 by abourbongal

SNAP Dragon
A zippy flavor bomb for any time of day.

Snap Dragon

2 oz mezcal

1 oz snap pea shrub*

2 dashes lime bitters

0.5 oz chilled white tea

Thai basil garnish

To a shaker filled with ice, add mescal, snap pea shrub, bitters and tea. Shake it like a Polaroid picture. Add a bigass ice cube to the prepared glass, and strain the mezcal mix into the glass, and garnish with a big sprig of Thai basil. I also made this beaut of a bevy with vodka and tequila blanco in place of the mescal with great results.

*Snap pea shrub: to a blender add 6 oz. each whole sugar snap peas, white sugar, and champagne vinegar. Zap it until the mixture is smooth and evenly ground up. Place snap pea slurry into a lidded jar and place in the refrigerator for 24-48 hours. Strain through a fine mesh strainer to remove solids, and keep refrigerated until ready to use (up to 4 weeks). Shake well before using.

The story behind the drink….

Veggie nachos and a zippy jalapeño margarita at Zest Kitchen & Bar. Check out Instagram with the hashtag #10AMcocktails to see what all of us ate and drank for brunch at Zest! YUM.

Veggie nachos and a zippy jalapeño margarita at Zest Kitchen & Bar. Check out Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #10AMcocktails to see what all of us ate and drank for brunch at Zest! YUM.

I’ve been inspired by some really delightful green cocktails around town lately! The lovely folks at Zest Kitchen and Bar invited a group of local food bloggers (who also happen to be some badass lady-friends) over for brunch, which starts at 10am at Zest with cocktails- something that in Utah only happens that early with a bar license (21+ only). So, leave the kiddos at home and head on over there for some really delicious beverages. You’ll never know the menu is vegetarian and gluten-free! I felt so healthy for the rest of the day, right up until I made pulled pork for dinner.

I included Zest in my Top Six Picks for great sips for my feature in this year’s SL City Weekly Dining Guide “Sip Well” along with favorites Bar X, Under Current Bar, O.P. Rockwell in Park City, Lucky 13 Bar & Grill, and BTG Wine Bar.

It’s a Long Way to Tipperary

Posted on January 15, 2016 by abourbongal

The love-child of a classic American Manhattan and the pre-Prohibition Tipperary cocktail, in this case made with Malt Whisky.

West Temple Tipperary

1.5 oz Sugar House Distillery Malt Whisky

1 vial Spiced Orange Beehive Bitters

0.5 oz green chartreuse

0.5 oz sweet vermouth

To a mixing glass, add all ingredients over ice. Stir for 50 revolutions with a long bar spoon. Strain into a coupe glass over an ice cube. Garnish copiously with narrow orange and lime zest twists.

The story behind the drink…

Almost a year ago, I was fiddling around with Tipperary — a WWI-era classic named after the Irish lament “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary”– recipes and made a “MacHattan” cocktail for our annual St. Patrick’s Day party using Irish whiskey. It’s a combo that also works really well using a not-super-peaty Malt Whisky. The spiced orange bitters give a nice zip to the drink, with the vegetal qualities of chartreuse making for a great base note.

Note: This cocktail was featured by the talented guys at Sugar House Distillery in a recent article in The Utah Review (check it out! Lots of great stories about Utah products and producers), for which I was compensated by SHD as a writer and photographer.

The Resolution

Posted on January 6, 2016 by abourbongal

The Resolution
Get more fruit and veggies in your glass along with that gin!

Juicy, light, and fragrant. This cocktail at least gives a nod to getting more fruit and veggies to the table in the New Year. Wishing all y’all the best in 2016!

The Resolution

2 oz. gin

juice of one small blood orange (about 2 oz)

1 oz. cucumber shrub*

Stir in a bar glass with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass over a bigass ice cube. Garnish with a wedge of blood orange and a big long narrow shaving of cucumber.

*This is a refrigerated light shrub made with 4 oz. cucumber juice, 1 oz. granulated sugar, and 1 oz. champagne vinegar. Not as tart as most shrubs to allow for the cucumber flavor to come through, otherwise it just tastes like pickles. Which is okay in some applications, but not what we’re going for in this drink.

Repeal Day Bourbon Punch

Posted on December 4, 2015 by abourbongal

During the crucial taste-testing process! Most cocktails started as punch recipes, so this can also be scaled down to make individual drinks with 0.5 oz shrub, 1.5 oz bourbon, and top with bubbly.

A boozy punch for a crowd!

The key to making this very old school-style punch is making the oleo-saccharum, basically a process for releasing all of the goodness and zing of the lemon oils from the zest, which then gets made into a shrub to balance the fruit/acid/sugar. This is a technique of pre-Civil War era origins which I’ve messed with a bit (see sources below), popular with booze slingers from the Early American Republic through the early cocktail era. It’s a pain in the ass, for sure, to peel all those lemons, but get to work: it’s totally worth it after you’ve completed making the shrub base a couple of days later. I made this punch by request for my friends over at Sugar House Distillery for a private event they held to celebrate the release of their first bourbon whiskey. All grains sourced within 200 miles, then fermented, distilled, barreled and bottled in house! This recipe makes a quart of shrub concentrate, which when combined with three bottles bourbon and three bottles sparkling wine makes enough generous drinks for 40-60 people. Or a dozen of my friends. Collect erry’body’s keys upon arrival, just sayin’. This punch is some potent stuff!

Bourbon made in Utah! Who'd have thunk it? My buddy Jake from Sugar House Distilling and I are pretty dang excited!

Bourbon made in Utah! Who’d have thunk it? My buddy Jake from Sugar House Distillery and I are pretty dang excited!

Repeal Day Punch

1 quart lemon shrub*

3 bottles bourbon

3 bottles sparkling wine (err towards brut profile)

Combine well and serve over ice

*Shrub ingredients:

6 big juicy lemons

2 1/4 cups demerara sugar (divided use)

6 allspice berries (or 1/8 tsp. ground allspice)

½ of a whole nutmeg grated finely

6 whole cardamom seeds (or are they pods? whatever, the small green things)

4-5 whole white peppercorns

1″ of a cinnamon stick (more if you really like cinnamon)

To make the shrub:

Prepare an oleo-saccharum (oil-sugar) by completely removing zest (just the peels without any white parts – a swivel potato peeler is the perfect tool for this job!) of six large juicy lemons. In a big bowl, combine the lemon peels with 1 cup demerara or raw turbinado sugar. Stir to combine, smash peels a bit with the back of a wooden spoon to grind in the sugar. Lightly cover with plastic wrap, and move to a warm spot out of direct sunlight- this bowl’s gonna be living there for a while so get used to it! Reserve all those whole peeled lemons in the refrigerator; you’ll be needing them later. Every time you remember (every 3-4 hours or so), stir and smash the sugar and peels some more. Do this for at least 12 hours and up to two days. You’ll eventually have a nice pool of lemony oily, syrupy goodness in your bowl of curly lemon peels.

Image capture from my new friend Amanda (well, new IRL; we’ve been Instafriends for forever!) So many great folks out supporting the distillery.

While that’s going, you can prepare the spice syrup. To a quart or other large heat-proof lidded jar, add 1 ½ cups demerara or raw turbinado sugar, bring 1 ¼ cups water to a boil, and pour hot water over the sugar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Add up to another 1/4 more hot water to dissolve sugar, if needed. Add the following spices to this simple syrup: 6 allspice berries (or 1/8 tsp. ground allspice), ½ of a whole nutmeg grated finely, 6 whole cardamom seeds (or are they pods? whatever), 4-5 whole white peppercorns, and a 1″ piece of a cinnamon stick. Stir well to combine, then let sit until the syrup reaches room temperature. Remove the cinnamon stick (really, or the entire brew will taste only of cinnamon). Put a lid on that jar, and refrigerate until you’ve got your oleo-saccharum nice and runny.

When the oleo-saccharum is ready, juice the reserved 6 lemons over the lemon oil (it’s great if some pulp and pips end up in the bowl, no worries! You’ll be straining this, anyway). Stir well to combine. Add the spice syrup to the bowl with the lemony goodness. Stir well again, and let sit at room temp to meld for a few hours. Stir again, then strain through a sieve with a couple layers of cheesecloth to catch all the woody bits. Decant into another lidded jar (this should make about a 4 cups/1 quart of shrub, if it’s not quite 4 cups, add enough water to fill the quart jar) and refrigerate until ready for use, up to two weeks.

PUNCH! By David Wondrich. Put it on your booze geek reading list today!

For booze geeks wanting to explore the delights of historic punch recipes, I highly recommend picking up a copy of David Wondrich’s treatise on the subject, “PUNCH: The Delights (and Dangers) of the Flowing Bowl” (Penguin, 2010). Therein he discusses the roots and uses of various recipes for making oleo-saccharum and other alcoholically alchemical wonders. The Repeal Day Punch recipe I made is loosely based on Wondrich’s historic research on the Chatham Artillery Punch, and old Georgia recipe that featured bourbon, rum, brandy mixed with lemon oil and juice in horse buckets.

Full disclosure: the guys at Sugar House Distillery paid me to curate this punch recipe for them. Which I did gladly, since their booze kicks ass and they’re fantastic fellas. -abg

Fall Fandango

Posted on November 10, 2015 by abourbongal

The Fall Fandango
Silver rum, Applejack, stout beer syrup, cardamom & chocolate bitters, and apple Pok Pok

This rum based cocktail combines my favorite flavors of fall: apples, coffee, chocolate, and rum. Yum!

The Fall Fandango

1.5 oz white rum (I used Sugar House Distilling’s Silver Rum)

0.75 oz Laird’s Applejack

0.75 oz chocolate-coffee stout syrup*

0.5 oz Pok Pok apple sipping vinegar

2 dashes cardamom bitters

2 dashes chocolate bitters

tiny splash of seltzer

To a mixing glass filled with ice, add all ingredients. Stir for 50 revolutions. Strain into a highball glass over a bigass ice cube infused with some cacao nibs (about ¼ tsp per cube). Splash in a teaspoon or two of seltzer. Garnish with thin apple slices. Drizzle apple slices with a little more of the beer syrup.

Chocolate coffee stout beer syrup

*To make beer syrup: to a heavy non-reactive saucepan, add 2 cups of beer. For this cocktail, I used Epic Brewing’s Big Bad Baptist, a stout beer made with cacao and coffee and finished in whiskey barrels. I know, it seems a shame to make syrup out of this amazing beer, but it’s worth it! Bring the beer to a slight boil over med-high heat, then reduce heat to med-low, stir often to prevent scorching, and simmer until the beer is reduced by half (about 30 minutes). Remove from the heat, and cool for about 5-10 minutes at room temp. Add 1 cup raw (turbinado or demerara) sugar and keep stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Cool completely to room temp, pour the syrup into a lidded jar, and refrigerate until ready to use. It’ll keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

The story behind the drink….

About a year and a half ago, I got a call from a colleague who works in philanthropy for a local museum. They were putting together live auction items for their annual gala, and for one item they were planning an “Ultimate Chocolate Experience” private VIP dinner, since the museum had just launched a wildly successful visiting Chocolate exhibit (for which I’d written a promo piece for my other gig at cityhomeCOLLECTIVE). They asked if I’d be willing to create a chocolate-themed original cocktail for the event, to which I replied “Hell, yes!” That’s right up my alley: kind of a H.O.A.G.Y (Help Out a Gal/Guy, Yeah?) assignment on a meta level.

Long story short, some of my dear friends bid on the item and won. With everyone’s crazy busy lives, we finally saw all the stars align and had the dinner for 16 guests last weekend. It was amazing! The talented and generous folks at Millcreek Cacao Roasters provided some of their superb chocolate (really, the quality and sourcing are top notch) for the building blocks of many of my recipes. Luckily, there was a bit left over for me to eat straight from the bar!

This lucky duck is looking over my Oaxaca Old Fashioned during the very important R & D phase of my chocolate cocktail assignment

I made the “Fall Fandango” rum-based cocktail using a lot of locally sourced ingredients, and it was far and away the crowd favorite. I also offered a “Oaxaca Old Fashioned” using a shot of cacao nib infused rye, ½ tsp raw sugar, a barspoon of pomegranate grenadine, and 3-4 dashes mole bitters; served over a bigass ice ball, and garnished with a candied orange slice drizzled with some Millcreek Cacao 70% chocolate (and yes, those chocolate candied oranges are insane on their own. Only 2 out of 3 made it into my cocktail kit – the others ‘mysteriously’ disappeared during my kids’ quality control check).

There are always folks who appreciate a non-alcohol option, and it’s been my point as a host to make some effort to serve a drink made with as much detail and care as the boozy crowd gets on the regular. I made a zingy and refreshing spritzer (recipe below).

Me serving up the NA spritzer. Finish it up with a straw and a chocolate drizzled candied orange slice for garnish.

Blood Orange & Chocolate Spritzer

To a tall glass filled with ice add:

0.5 oz Pok Pok blood orange sipping vinegar

3-4 dashes chocolate bitters

1 barspoon pomegranate grenadine

Stir well to combine all ingredients, and fill to the rim with seltzer (about 3-4 ounces). Serve with a straw. Garnish with a chocolate drizzled candied orange slice.

Shake Your Razz

Posted on October 16, 2015 by abourbongal

A big sassy drink brimming with raspberries and rye, this is a terrific cocktail for pre-batching to serve a crowd. Perfect for tailgating and picnics!

Shake Your Razz. Thanks to my girlfriend Pink Lady for coming over to be my drinks research partner/hand model.

Shake Your Razz

To a pint mason jar add:

2-3 basil leaves

3-4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

1.5 oz. raspberry-champagne vinegar shrub*

1.5 oz. black sun tea

0.5 oz. Disaronno

2 oz. rye whiskey

Fill jar almost to the top with ice, screw on the lid, and shake shake shake it like a Polaroid picture. Fill with more ice, if needed and serve with a straw.

*a cold shrub with a ratio of 6 parts fresh raspberries, 6 parts baker’s sugar, and 5 parts champagne vinegar (7% acid min.) by weight. Macerate for 48-72 hours and strain to remove solids.

The story behind the drink…

We’ve chatted about shrubs on this here blog before, as they’re dead easy to make with whatever you’ve got on hand. Shrubs are something I like to throw together as I’m going through fruits and vegetables during canning: the perfect specimens go into the canning jars, the moldy bits go into the chicken-feed bowl, and the bruised and banged-up pieces go into another bowl to be made into shrubs. Since all of my shrub recipes use pretty basic ratios by weight, it doesn’t matter how much or little fruit you end up with, as long as you’ve put enough acid in the ratio. Raspberries have a notoriously short window of ideal preservation; it seems like about a third of every package are a goopy mess. Perfect for making shrubs.

I was super honored to have my girlfriend Lime Rickey invite me over last weekend to co-host a party she threw for a cocktail club here in town run by SLC boozy blogger Chelsea (better known as Heartbeat Nosh). Her cocktail club is fancy, y’all. They have dues and a calendar going out for a whole year, and they are all very young, hip, tattooed mommy bloggers with Pinterest-worthy sponsorships and fabulous shit like that. The bar was set HIGH, and I was definitely the oldest and least inked gal in the room. And since when I get nervous my voice gets even higher and more twangy than usual (think Wynonna Judd channeling Minnie Mouse- it ain’t pretty), the ladies were a very tolerant group for me goin’ on and on about how much I love shrubs. And whiskey. They’re a hilarious and fun group of gals; check out their collective Instagram feed at #hbncocktailclub for some great ideas.

I chose this cocktail to shake up for them for three reasons: 1) I thought they might want to learn a bit about shrubs, ’cause they’re freakin’ awesome, 2) it’s easy to pre-batch for a crowd, and 3) it’s fun and pretty and requires a bit of audience participation, which is always a hit in my book.

It also happens to be pretty damn delicious: the amaretto gives a nice mellow sweet base note, where rye’s spicy kick (use at least 95 proof for this one) comes right through the zing of the shrub. Peychaud’s bitters keep the color bright and add a nice licorice tickle to keep things interesting, even as the drink gets watered down a bit. Black tea adds body and volume to this boozy drink without clouding the flavors, making it a great session cocktail. This is a primo drink for tailgating parties or picnics, since you can pre-mix all the ingredients in individual mason jars for shaking AND serving, load them all right back into the cardboard carriers by the dozen. Just add ice and a straw when you get to your party spot. Bring a few backup ingredients to mix refills on site and you are golden, my friends. I’ve made this exact same drink swapping out apricot, peach, or pear shrubs for the raspberry and they’re all pretty delightful. Try using mint, tarragon, or rosemary instead of basil, too. It’s all good.

Celebrate the Bounty | Eat & Drink Local

Posted on October 9, 2015 by abourbongal

I’m the first gal who’ll admit to buying the occasional Costco rotisserie chicken. Hell, I’m getting my dog food and industrial bag of string cheese for my guys anyway and they’re RIGHT THERE. However, when I’ve got the chance, opportunity, and ability to shop at/from locally-owned producers, restaurants, and booze mongers you bet your ass I’ll pick a locally-owned or independent place first. According to Local First Utah, “Studies show that for every dollar spent in a locally owned Utah business, four times more of that dollar stays in our economy than would be the case with a national retailer.”

Photo courtesy of Local First Utah

I’m all behind any campaign celebrating the Beehive State’s bodacious bounty, and am pleased as punch that the fine folks over at Local First Utah have made it their priority since 2006. I recently wrote for my other gig at cityhomeCOLLECTIVE about the awesome annual fundraiser for Local First Utah, “Celebrate the Bounty”

Supporting locally-owned businesses, artisans, farms, creators, and independent operators, Local First Utah provides tools and resources to keep Utah businesses thriving. They also create buzz to get consumers out of big box stores and into independent shops, making the choice to “Buy Local First” an attractive economic and social imperative. Now that’s a damn fine message. Local First’s annual fundraiser Celebrate the Bounty is coming up October 15th at the rustic Rico’s Warehouse, and the fest will feature nosh from some of our fave local food talents: Avenues Bistro, Frida Bistro, From Scratch, Handle Park City, Pallet, Red Iguana, SLC Pop, and Zest, among a few fabulous others. Dranks will be flowing from the glorious shaker of Bar-X boozeman Jake Hall, vino from IG Winery, and Wasatch Brewery’s got the beer options covered. Sips ‘n’ eats: handled. Your tickets? Go get ‘em.

Purchase tickets HERE!

Local First presents Celebrate the Bounty

Thursday, October 15th, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Rico’s Warehouse, 545 W 700 S, SLC

Green Envy

Posted on September 23, 2015 by abourbongal

A vibrant cocktail made with herbal gin, dry vermouth, zucchini juice, and celery bitters. These bright, elegant flavors eek out the last of summer’s bounty with a boozy kick. AND, it’s yet another way to use up that wheelbarrow full of zucchini!

Green Envy
Gin, Ransom dry vermouth, celery bitters, zucchini juice, tarragon, and a bigass ice cube

Green Envy

2.5 oz strained zucchini juice

3-4 dashes celery bitters

1 oz Ransom dry vermouth

2 oz Beehive Jackrabbit Gin

tarragon sprig

To a bar glass, add zucchini juice, bitters, vermouth and gin. Stir well with ice. Strain into a rocks glass over a bigass ice cube. Garnish with a tarragon sprig.

The story behind the drink….

This is NOT the side of the fence she’s supposed to inhabit.

Every year I get requests from friends on how to use up zucchini, so this is a general H.O.A.G.Y (Help Out a Gal/Guy, Yeah?) response to add one more recipe to the arsenal, y’all. With a boozy cocktail!

This year’s garden situation has been hit-and-miss. My man The Macallan graciously built garden fence version 9.2 to keep the dogs and chickens out (this’d be an annual endeavor that has been unsuccessful every damn year). Sure enough, we get everything up and thriving, then BAM, come some dark August night I go out to investigate rustling in the tomatoes and find one or both of our chocolate Labradors gleefully gobbling down veggies left and right, waging destruction on the tender fruits in their 80 pound wake.

Zucchinipalooza! Fried, casserole-d, and in dense bread that’s more like dessert than bread.

We’ve been able to salvage a few baseball bat zucchini that the canine horde missed in their grazing, and I’ve been doing the usual harvest blitz of convincing my family that one of my favorite vegetables should be theirs, too. Zucchini bread’s always a winner, and who doesn’t love anything stuffed with cheese and then tempura battered and deep fried (that’d go for the zucchini blossoms). They are beyond tired of grilled zucchini already, and gave a “meh” vote to the buttery casserole. Whatevs. I will persevere.

Persevere with booze in my glass, anyway. After squeezing the shredded zucchini to release much of the liquid before it goes into the bread batter, I’m left with a few cups of gorgeous vibrant green juice. Sure, I could be all healthy and put it in a smoothie, but I’d rather toss it in a cocktail. The Macallan and I drank a couple of these sitting in the garden while trying to figure out Fence Version 9.3, and finally decided that we’d give up this season and go for full electric badassery next year. And those dogs’d better get their asses in gear for duck season to redeem themselves or they’re gonna be on my shit list for a while. Who am I kidding? They’re adorable and sweet as can be. It’s a good thing they’re so damn cute. And at least they don’t eat the lettuce.

A Bourbon Gal in Utah

DARBY DOYLE: food, booze & all things outdoors