#cocktailored

Yes, it is Presidents Day. So in the midst of everybody enjoying a few more cocktails than they should have this holiday weekend, did anyone stop to think about what we are actually celebrating?

Presidents Day was originally set to honor "the father of our country," George Washington, on his birthday (which is actually February 22nd).

In the 60's, reformers tried to change the official name of the holiday to Presidents' Day, in order to include Abraham Lincoln's birthday (February 12th) as well. That was never passed.

So although today is commercially and widely known as Presidents' Day to honor multiple Presidents, the official title of today's holiday is actually still "George Washington's Birthday."

Now there's some knowledge to drop while you're sipping on your fifth Jack Rose cocktail (recipe below).

The Jack Rose is a classic cocktail that requires AppleJack, a favored liquor of President Lincoln. He even served it at his tavern in Illinois. Now that's a stand up guy.

THE JACK ROSE - {cock•tail}ored edition

2 parts Applejack (Laird's works nice) 1 part Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice 1/2 part REAL Grenadine*

Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

*Always make your own grenadine. There are two recipes here; the first one for a quick fix; the second for the more ambitious. We prefer recipe #2.

Grenadine Recipe #1 Combine Equal Parts Unsweetened Pomegranate Juice and Evaporated Cane Sugar into a Mason Jar. Shake it like it owes you money. 

Grenadine Recipe #2 Heat 4 cups of Unsweetened Pomegranate Juice over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups sugar until sugar has dissolved and heat for an additional 5 minutes. Add 8 tablespoons (or 4 fl oz.) Pomegranate Molasses and heat for another 3 minutes. *If molasses is not available, add an additional 1/2 cup sugar instead. Remove from heat and let cool. Transfer to Mason Jar and add 3 drops of Orange Flower Water. Enjoy!

St. Germain, Tequila, Mezcal and a touch of citrus. Sounds like heaven. Tastes even better.

Came across this masterpiece of a recipe courtesy of St. Germain and finally decided to give it a shot.

This is what the recipe calls for:

1 1/2 parts Silver Tequila 1/2 part Mezcal 1 part St Germain 1/2 part Lime Juice 3/4 part Grapefruit Juice

This is how I made it:

• I actually made two two versions of this cocktail, utilizing two of my favorite silver tequilas; Fortaleza Blanco and Casa Noble Crystal Blanco. Neither bottle will break the bank and they both have everything you look for in a great silver tequila. The Casa Noble is even certified USDA Organic for all the "healthy" drinkers out there.

1.5 oz in this cocktail

• For the mezcal, I used Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, which is also a 100% Organic Mezcal that is completely produced in a single village, allowing them to use ancient techniques to craft their mezcal. The result is an amazingly smooth mezcal that carries with a long, soft finish. Del Maguey describes their Mezcal as having "a nose of fruit aromatics, a hint of honey, vanilla and roast agave; the palate offers ginger,cinnamon, burnt sandalwood, banana and tangerine." The mezcal will add a hint of "smokyness" to your cocktail as well as accentuating and bringing out the flavors of your silver tequila. .25 oz in this cocktail

• And for the St. Germain, well, I used St. Germain. Although there are other elderflower or herbal liqueurs that can be substituted, nothing can match the elegant taste and aroma that St. Germain offers a well crafted cocktail. The St Germain will act as your sweetener in this cocktail, since the recipe doesn't call for any gomme syrup or simple syrup. If you're looking for an organic substitute, use Thatcher's Organic Elderflower Liqueur. 1 oz in this cocktail

• ALWAYS use fresh squeezed lime juice .5 oz in this cocktail

• The original recipe calls for grapefruit juice. I went ahead and used freshly squeezed Ruby Red Grapefruit for the cocktail with the Fortaleza tequila, and then opted to use Blood Orange in the cocktail with the Casa Noble. .75 oz in this cocktail 

If desired (and you should), rim your glass with a combination of sea salt, chili powder and a touch of cayenne pepper. 

Combine all of the ingredients and shake well before straining into your rimmed glass with fresh ice. 

THE RESULTS:

Two amazingly well balanced cocktails perfect for any occasion. 

Both Tequilas worked wonderfully for this cocktail and The VIDA Mezcal brought just enough "earth" to really boost the tequila flavors. Using the St. Germain as the sweetening agent provided a nice crisp balance to the spirits, offering a great aromatic quality to the drink as well. Just tart enough from the lime juice and ruby red grapefruit in one, and blood orange in the other for something a little bit sweeter. Using the sea salt, chili powder and cayenne pepper to rim the glass also took the drink to a higher level. All in all, one of my new favorites!

So here it is: The Pastinaca, {cock•tail}ored edition:

1.5 oz Casa Noble Crystal Blanco Tequila .25 oz Del Maguey VIDA Mezcal 1 oz St Germain Elderflower Liqueur      *Thatchers Elderflower for a 100% Organic cocktail .5 oz Freshly squeezed Lime Juice .75 oz Freshly squeezed Blood Orange

Tomorrow is the start of a new month!

You mights ask yourself, 'What does that mean for me?'

Your answer: 'Probably the start of a new month.'

BUT... what does that mean for us? A NEW BATCH OF BITTERS!

We'll be starting the process for a whole new batch of original bitters, maybe even two (since it's the second month of the year) and we've narrowed down our selection process to five types of bitters we will make within the coming months. Shh...don't tell anybody, but we even have our labels printed already. 

Here are the 5 we're choosing between. We have a big decision to make before tomorrow. 

1. Yuzu Bitters

2. Horseradish Bitters

3. Clementine Bitters

4. Fig Bitters

5. Almond Bitters

  What do you think we should create this month?

And just for reading, here's a sneak peek of the new labels. :)