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Stir & Strain

Amontillado Dry Sherry

Whiskey Round the World Walnut Toffee Whiskey - Amontillado Sherry - Sweet Vermouth - Coconut - Bitters

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Whiskey Round the World Cocktail with Cask and Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey // stirandstrain.comThis post was made in partnership with Cask & Crew. Recipe and ideas are my own.

My husband has this plate that hangs on the wall in our kitchen (yes, we have a decorative plate. Actually, there are two in the house. Laugh if you must but they’re pretty cool looking.). On the plate are two older gentlemen curiously hovering above a globe, one holds a magnifying glass and some papers while the other points at some uncertain location; it’s called Newfound Worlds. It’s also apparently a Norman Rockwell painting so you all can look it up and check it out too.

Whiskey Round the World Cocktail with Cask and Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey // stirandstrain.comWhat’s funny about this is, and how it connects to today’s drink, is the fact that these men are stationed comfortably in a library somewhere, discovering from the comfort of their armchairs. Are they really discovering new worlds? Maybe it’s a discovery for them, even if they are not actually there. My equivalent would be browsing travel sites, for hours, and not actually going on any trips. Sometimes one just needs a mental vacation.

Whiskey Round the World Cocktail with Cask and Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey // stirandstrain.comSo about today’s drink. Today we’re taking a tour around the world with our ingredients: we start in America, then head off to Britain, Spain, Italy, and then we dash down to some tropical islands. A delicious trip, but from the comfort of our armchair.

The star ingredient here is the Cask & Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey, a lovely balance of buttery sweetness, bitter walnuts and a punch from the whiskey. It’s tasty on its own, with a blend of 51% Canadian rye and 49% American corn, but it’s also great mixed into drinks where the notes of vanilla and spice shine through. For this cocktail, I wanted to heighten the nuttiness of the whiskey with some Amontillado Sherry and round out those spice factors with bitters and sweet vermouth. For an unexpected twist, coconut syrup adds a freshness that lightens the drink a bit. Sipping it from your armchair you experience both the familiar and the exotic.

Whiskey Round the World Cocktail with Cask and Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey // stirandstrain.comOh, and the other decorative plate…it’s a white tiger in a tuxedo.

If you’re ready to take a mental vacation, let’s mix up this drink already!

Whiskey Round the World Cocktail with Cask and Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey // stirandstrain.com

1-1/2 ounces Cask & Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth
3/4 ounce Amontillado sherry
1/4 ounce coconut syrup* (see note below about making your own!)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

orange peel for garnish

In a shaker 2/3 filled with ice, add in Cask & Crew Walnut Toffee Whiskey, sweet vermouth, Amontillado sherry, coconut syrup, Angostura bitters, and orange bitters. Shake 20 seconds and then strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Express orange oils over the drink and garnish with peel.

*If you’d like to make your own coconut syrup, combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water and 1 cup flaked coconut in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir and let mixture come to just under a boil. Turn heat down to low and stir to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat and let sit, covered, for 1 hour. Fine strain into an airtight container (I like wide mouth ball jars for these) and store, refrigerated, for up to one month.

 

For more information on Cask & Crew, please visit them at caskandcrew.com!

The Date Martinez Cocktail

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The Date Martinez Cocktail // stirandstrain.comHave you had your fill of pies? No? Me either. But there needs to be a time when you tell yourself to stop. My teeth have been singing from the overindulging of pecan pie and I think I’ve reached that point when I need to put my fork down. I *might* have eaten 5 pieces. Oh my gosh…. the sugar…

The Date Martinez Cocktail // stirandstrain.comNow, I’ll admit it, the whole “alternative sugars” thing was something I wrinkled my nose at. While I won’t touch any of those chemically created sugars (don’t they make you run to the bathroom??), I really couldn’t be bothered with all those other “natural” sweeteners. Agave, date syrup, rice syrup… why couldn’t I just have plain old natural cane sugar? That is until recently, when I realized how you could get some very unique flavors while not using plain old evaporated cane sugar.

It started with some baking, and then, naturally, into my cocktails. I recently started experimenting with date syrup since I had been making my way through 3 of Ottolenghi’s cookbooks and found that instead of dropping some cash on the pre-made stuff, I could make my own (also, we are spending a LOT more time out in the Palm Springs area with family making the move that way. There’s quite a lot of dates out here). Making your own date syrup results in a slightly lighter syrup than the store bought kind and while that wasn’t always what I wanted for my baked goods, the lighter syrup resulted in a nice substitute for simple syrup in a few cocktails. The one I bring to you today, that I originally posted on Serious Eats, is for a Date Martinez.

The Date Martinez Cocktail // stirandstrain.comThe Martinez cocktail is a classic cocktail. Classic as in pre-1900. You can read about its history somewhere else, for right now, let’s get down to its remake.

You have a choice here. You can make your own date syrup, and not only use it for this cocktail, but sweeten up your oatmeal, or bake with it, or I don’t know, make a face scrub. Or if you’re short on time and can pick up store bought, go do that. But keep in mind, you’ll need LESS of the store bought to sweeten the drink. If you do a 1:1 swap this will turn out too sweet.

The Date Martinez Cocktail // stirandstrain.comNote: I found and made my date syrup recipe from Oh, Lady Cakes. Since I didn’t ask her about reprinting her recipe, you can find that link in the recipe below.

1-1/2 ounces amontillado dry sherry, such as Lustau
1-1/2 ounces gin, such as Ford’s
3/4 ounce date syrup, homemade (recipe link here!)
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Orange peel, for garnish

  • Fill a mixing glass 2/3 with ice, then pour in sherry, gin and date syrup. Add the dashes of Peychaud’s and stir 20 seconds to chill. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist orange peel over top of drink to release oils and garnish drink with peel.

The syrup’s rich, deep date flavor pairs wonderfully with a nutty but dry amontillado sherry. Here, my fall-inspired riff on the Martinez mixes the sherry with equal parts gin to dry out the drink and lend some contrasting juniper and pine flavors. The cocktail gets a sweet and spicy kick from a few dashes of Peychaud’s bitter, and is brightened up with a twisted orange peel that doubles as a garnish.