Buffalo Drinks is a blog that focuses on where and how to drink well in the Greater Buffalo - Niagara region. From beer, to wine, to classic cocktails, Buffalo Drinks aspires to bring you news about, and suggestions on finding local wineries, breweries, taverns and cocktail lounges. We will also feature tips and recipes for cocktail making and entertaining at home. Are you visiting Buffalo NY and looking for a good pub, or a place for a drink after dinner? You've come to the right place. Let us be your designated driver - and come along for the ride!

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Cocktail Of The Week : Income Tax

"Cocktail Of The Week" tries to come to you every Thursday, so that you can be prepared for cocktailing on the weekend.  This Thursday happens to be April 15th, tax day of course, so what better cocktail to feature than the Income Tax?  The Income Tax is an old drink and was featured in the "Savoy Cocktail Book" (1930.)

According to Seattle cocktail expert and writer Robert Hess, no one really knows why this drink is called The Income Tax Cocktail, and we can only assume it is so named because it numbs the pain of filing a tax return!

If you have heard of The Bronx cocktail, then you may recognize the Income Tax as a Bronx cocktail with the addition of bitters.
Do yourself a favor, and squeeze the 3/4 ounce of orange juice from a fresh orange.   You will appreciate the difference!



Income Tax
1 1/4 oz Gin
3/4 oz orange juice
1/4 oz dry vermouth
1/4 oz sweet vermouth
dash of Angostura bitters

Add to a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake or stir until very cold, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Cocktail Of The Week : Pegu Club

"The favorite cocktail of the Pegu Club, Burma,
"The favorite cocktail of the Pegu Club, Burma,
and one that has traveled, and is asked for, round the world."
Harry Craddock
The Savoy Cocktail Book (1930)

Pegu Club
2 oz Gin
1 oz Triple Sec
1/2 oz Fresh Lime Juice
Angostura Bitters to taste

Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake well until very cold and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This cocktail is easy to make and is quite refreshing.  Use a straight-forward Gin like Gordons, Beefeater, or Tanqueray.  There is no need to pull out an expensive or nuanced gin for this cocktail.  Cointreau is a very good Triple Sec.  Use a fresh lime.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Southern Tier Brewing Company's 422 Pale Wheat Ale

It was a good hour, and two beers in,  before I realized that 422 stood for April 22nd, Earth Day, to be exact.  Never mind that the beer's packaging was recycled in 100% post-consumer craft brown cardboard, with printed notes about being green, recycling, and saving the planet.

I believe 422 is a hybrid of barley based Pale Ale and a wheat beer.  I don't know the particulars of how it is brewed, but the characteristics of Pale ale and Wheat beer are both evident when you take a sip.  Depending on how much of a beer purist you are, you will either enjoy this funky mix, or find it disappointing - as it is neither Pale Ale nor a Wheat Beer.

422 is unfiltered, and pours from the bottle opaquely yellow with a very thin white head. The aroma is malty and ester-ly, with light banana and clove.

This is a very floral beer, with a citrus-y hop character.  Not aggressively hopped, mind you, just enough to balance the slight maltiness of the beer.  Is it me, or do I notice a nuance of fresh cut grass and juniper in there?  Mouth-feel is very rich, and it has a very clean and dry finish.

Overall, I enjoyed this beer very much.  I enjoyed this with some local cheese and sausage, and I think this beer would pair well with many foods. With it's clean finish, and 5.8% ABV, it would make a decent session beer if you found it on tap.

Southern Tier labels this beer as having "everyday availability," but I cannot help thinking of this as a spring seasonal beer.  Available on tap, and in 12 ounce bottles as a six-pack, as part of Southern Tier's 12 "Pack of Pales," or in a 24 bottle case.

Friday, April 2, 2010

A Brief Introduction To... Tequila

Tequila is a specific type of mescal (also, mezcal), which is a spirit made from the pulp of the blue agave, a cactus-type plant.  It is named after the city of Tequila in the Mexican state of Jalisco.  There are many types of mescal, but only those made in specific regions of Mexico are allowed to be called Tequila.  Most tequila is bottled at 80 proof (40% alcohol.)  Many people find the flavors of Tequila to be earthy, citrusy, smoky, or peppery.

Tequila and Mescal come in two qualities:
100% Agave:  If it says 100% Agave on the label, it is a premium product, and you will be getting a purer, cleaner agave flavor.  Many people prefer premium tequilas for sipping, or for better cocktails.
Mixto  If it does not say 100% agave on the label you are buying mixto, which is agave spirit cut with something less expensive to produce, usually cane sugar spirit or neutral grain spirits, in order to save costs and lower the price point. It will NOT say mixto anywhere on the label.  Mixto is not necessarily "bad," but it will be lighter in agave flavor.

While Tequila is a protected name, mixto may be made in any country.  In today's day of multinational corporations, it is common for large producers to import inexpensive spirits from outside of Mexico, blend it with agave spirit in Tequila, and label it as such.  If you are looking for quality tequila, look for 100% Agave on the label.

The two above grades of Mescals and Tequilas come in four ages:
Blanco,  (White) also called silver or plata or platinum
Joven, or Joven Abocado (gold)
Resposado (rested)
and Anejo (aged).
Blanco is aged less than 60 days, usually in stainless steel.  The point of the crystal clear, unaged Blanco is to retain the freshness and bright flavor of the agave plant.
Respado has been aged for longer than 60 days but less than a year, usually in wood casks. It mellows the flavor of the agave and adds character from the wood.
Anejo is left to mature in wood casks for greater than one year, usually much longer. The Anejo style turns tequila into something much different than Blanco, and is comparable to fine whiskey or Brandy in it's complexity.

Joven abocado, or "gold" tequila is something fake, made to simulate an aged product.  It is almost always mixto, and it's golden color is a result of the addition of a bit of aged tequila, caramel color, oak extract flavoring, glycerin, or sugar based syrup - rather than an ageing process.  It is usually sold for mixed drinks.

How to drink Tequila

In Mexico, tequila is traditionally sipped neat from a tall, narrow shot glass called a caballito.  It is also popular to sip tequila alternately with a sip of sangrita, or "little blood", a juice made from sour orange, pomegranate, and hot chili.

In the United States, most people's first experience with tequila is as a shot, with lime and salt.  Often, inexpensive and poor-quality tequila or mixto is used for this purpose, and people tend to over-indulge, which results in many drinkers having a poor perception of tequila in general.  The concept of tequila shots, chasing bottom shelf poor-quality spirit with a lime and salt to "kill the burn," is a fun novelty for new drinkers, but should be quickly abandoned.  Better quality tequila can be sipped from a shot glass for enjoyment, rather than downed quickly for it's intoxicating effect.

The most popular cocktail with tequila is the Margarita.  Made from Tequila, Triple Sec, and fresh lime juice, it can be a wonderful cocktail.  Unfortunately, restaurants and bars (even those with giant "Margarita Bar" neon signs) almost always use commercially-produced chemically-preserved sour mix in place of fresh lime and sugar.  If you have the opportunity, try making a true margarita at home with quality ingredients, or at a smaller bar where you can ask the attentive bartender to use fresh citrus.

The Tequila Sunrise is another popular mixed drink, and is made two different ways.  The most popular version includes tequila, orange juice, and grenadine.  The original, and less common version, includes tequila, blackcurrant liqueur, lime, and soda water.

When enjoying Tequila, it would be appropriate to use a blanco when mixing, for example, in a margarita.  The brighter, more assertive agave flavor will cut through the juice and mixers, creating a balanced cocktail.  It would be a shame to use an fine anejo when mixing, as the aged character would be best appreciated neat or on the rocks.

Other Questions:

I've seen something called "Bacanora" at the liquor store.  What is that?
Bacanora is another type of distilled spirit from the Mexican state of Sonora. It is produced from agave Pacifica, also called Agave Yaquiana, a plant that only grows in the higher mountain ranges of the
region.  Even though it has a 300 year history, it is a relative new-comer to the US market.  There is yet another distilled spirit called Sotol, made from the desert spoon plant, that has even more limited production.

What about the worm in the bottle?
It is a popular misconception that Tequila was sold with a worm in the bottle.  Only certain low-grade mezcals, usually from the state of Oaxaca, are sold with the larvae of the agave moth, as a novelty and marketing gimmick to sell their product.  If you see a bottle with a bug in it, it is probably not a premium product!

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If you are interested in learning more about Tequila,
here is a great site to visit.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Cocktail Of The Week : Birdie Cocktail

"Spring is sprung, the grass is ris.
I wonders where the birdies is."


Ahhh.... Spring.
The season filled with hope, renewal, poetry, daffodils, longer evenings, blossoms, birdsong, newborn lambs and, of course, fat girls in flip flops.  What better time for one or more Birdie cocktails, to help us forget the sight of so many untanned legs and un-pedicured toes.

Birdie Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Light Rum
1/4 oz Triple Sec or Curacao
1/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Orange Juice
1/4 oz Pomegranate Juice or Grenadine

Combine in a shaker with ice. Shake well until very cold and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a orange peel.

This easy cocktail uses readily available ingredients and of course, becomes more sophisticated when using fresh ingredients and high quality spirits.  Cruzan makes a fine inexpensive white rum, and Cointreau is a very good Triple Sec.  Those small six-packs of Dole pineapple juice are convenient, but if you happen upon a fragrant pineapple at Guercio's or your local market, you can easily get a few ounces of juice when you slice it up.  Use a fresh orange, especially for the peel, which you can strip off with your vegetable peeler. Then cut cut the orange in half and squeeze a bit with your hands - no need to dirty up tools for a quarter ounce of juice.  Squeeze the peel over your drink to express the oils into it, before dropping it in.