StreetStyleChi
by Alex Moresco
Tropical Tiki: A Light Rum Cocktail
Posted on December 20, 2016
This past weekend Chicago got our second heavy snow of December. Trying to not let our moods dip because of the snow, we decided to drown our snow ridden sorrows in some Tiki cocktails. I recently visited Lost Lake for the first time and was blown away by the fruity drinks that were as tasty as they were beautiful.
The ]”Lost Lake” at Lost Lake Tiki in Chicago.
The Tiki cocktail I made on Sunday night was a play on the Saint Tiki” from The Complete Cocktail Manual. It was originally supposed to be a mocktail but I added light white rum to the mix and thought it was pretty tasty. The unusual thing about this particular tiki cocktail to me was that it called for bitters. While I don’t drink them, I frequently make the classic Old Fashioned for friends. Old Fashioneds are made with bourbon or whiskey, so I had assumed that bitters only paired well with dark liquors. I was wrong.
The Saint Tiki, unaltered:
2 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Simple Syrup (Simply combine one cup water to one cup fine white sugar with cinnamon sticks in a sauce pan. Let cool.)
2 dashes cocktail bitters
Top with ginger beer
Mint sprig to garnish
Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake for 8-10 seconds. Pour into coup cocktail glass and top with ginger beer and mint leaf.
Saint Tiki With A Twist
2 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (Simply combine one cup water to one cup fine white sugar in a sauce pan. Let cool.)
2 dashes cocktail bitters
2 oz white rum
Top with ginger beer
Mint sprig to garnish
Because I did not have cinnamon sticks at the ready, I simply used regular simple syrup and added 2 oz of rum per cocktail. I topped my cocktail with ginger beer, but I think an orange LaCroix would be tasty and would not give you a strong ginger taste which was a tad overpowering. Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Shake for 8-10 seconds. Pour into coup cocktail glass and top with ginger beer and mint leaf.
<3 Al
The Classic Negroni
Posted on December 14, 2016
Count Camillo Negroni was a smart guy. He picked up a taste for hard liquor while working as a clown in the US (no joke…) and asked his bartender to alter his favorite drink at the time, the Americano, to be a bit stronger by adding gin instead of seltzer. While this is a classic cocktail, I personally could not drink it regularly. The strong dose of Campari gives this libation a bitter taste that is better sipped on slowly after some ice dilution.
I made this classic Italian cocktail the night before I left to go to Milan with my parents. Most of my cocktail recipes are from The Complete Cocktail Manual, but may be slightly altered to my own taste. This recipe is unaltered from the original, and is incredibly simple to make due to the equal parts of each ingredient.
Classic Negroni:
1 1/2 oz Gin (I prefer Hendrick’s but Koval also makes a great gin if you are looking for something smaller batch and local to Chicago.)
1 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
1 1/2 oz Campari
Orange peel to garnish
Combine all ingredients without the garnish in a rocks glass with ice (I prefer one giant ice cube- you can get this with these ice cube molds.) Stir with a cocktail spoon and add garnish.
I would serve this with a hearty cheese board with different flavor profiles, charcuterie and an assortment of toppings and olives. Who doesn’t love cheese? Try to have three to four different kinds of cheese plus prosciutto and salami- then load up on the less expensive accompaniments like sliced Italian bread, assorted olives and nuts. Personally, I like a hard cheese like Parmesan, a soft cheese like brie or blue cheese and a cow milk based cheese that is mild. A cheese board doesn’t have to be gigantic to be delicious, as demonstrated below!
<3 Al
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