Master Your Glass
& Friends Newsletter
|
|
Your Old Fashioned Will Never Be The Same! |
|
|
|
|
Double-Smoked Coffee Old Fashioned |
.25 oz. (7.5ml) Smoked Coffee Demerara Syrup**
2 Dashes Bittered Sling Chocolate Bitters
2 Dashes Bittered Sling Coffee Bitters
2 oz. (60ml.) High proof (We used Bulleit Bourbon)
Method: (Stir and Strain over ice): Add all the above ingredients with ice into a mixing glass or Beaker. Stir for roughly 10 seconds and strain over ice into a rocks glass.
Garnish: Orange Twist (Express the oils)
**Smoked Coffee Demerara Syrup
1 cup Hot coffee
2 cups Demerara Sugar
Heat (but do not boil) the coffee and add the demerara sugar. Stir to melt the sugar and let it cool.
To watch this cocktail be made on Master Your Glass by Charles himself check out this video:
|
|
|
Expert Tip by Livio Lauro |
|
When to go with packaged juices vs Freshly squeezed juices? Always think fresh. Citrus should never come from a bottle or a can. When using orange juice, fresh squeezed is best of course, but store-bought refrigerated juice of good quality will do just fine. The same goes for tropical juices like pineapple papaya and mango. Lemon and lime juices should always come straight from the fruit. |
|
A Message From Our Friend, Master Your Ash |
|
|
May 31st will be the fifth annual International Enjoy A Cigar Day! |
|
For the month of May, my best pairing suggestion is to break open a bottle of your favorite Rum & pair it with a special cigar to celebrate. My recent video on La Historia by E.P. Carrillo paired with the Havana Club Añejo Clásico Rum perfectly. Wonderful molasses notes that complement a cigar are without question a divine pairing that I urge you to consider.
The historical move by both E.P. Carrillo & Havana Club from Cuba originally, to their newfound respective homes in the Dominican Republic & Puerto Rico; tell a story of rebirth and perseverance. When Bacardi brought the original recipe of Havana Club to Puerto Rico, it remained as their only “double aged” Rum. EPC, creating a juggernaut expression of La Gloria de Cubana in the 80s to move operations into his personal factory in the DR circa 2009, creating award-winning blends in the La Historia, Pledge & Encore over the last several years.
These brands are more than just a pairing, they are history being written! Happy International Enjoy A Cigar Day Everyone!
Michael Przydzial - Host - Master Your Ash
|
|
Vintage Book Spotlight: The Gun Club Drink Book by Charles Browne 1939 |
|
|
This month’s book feature picked directly from my collection is the first edition of The Gun Club Drink Book; written by Charles Browne; cleverly illustrated by Leonard Holton; and published in New York by Charles Scribner's Sons Publishing.
|
|
 |
This book is fun, witty, opinionated, and well-written. Prohibition in America ended in 1934 and this 190-page hardcover comes out guns blazing as it illudes to all the misinformation that came from the post-prohibition drink books that preceded it. He writes: "Immediately upon the repeal of the annoying and unworkable Prohibition Amendment there was released upon a waiting world a whole generation of young people who knew nothing about the principles and practices of proper drinking."
Browne was born in 1875, his impressive resume included Princeton graduate, Penn Medical School, Mayor of Princeton (1914-23), Congressman, and President of the Nassau Gun Club.
This was not the author’s first book, in 1930 he wrote The Gun club cookbook. In this book, he described it as “A culinary code for appreciative epicures, being a discussion of the methods and procedures of cooking, together with observations on kitchen usages, and including many receipts from many lands”.
Browne does not pose to be an authority in drinks, but a person with plenty of drinking experience.
|
|
|
|
The book is written to be a discursive account of alcoholic beverages, how they are made, and tips on how to drink them. He also includes recipes and thoughts on cocktails and punches; from what I can see his recipes are listed with plenty of due diligence. The drink that tickled my imagination the most is the Wassail.
The best way for me to explain it is in the author’s own words: “The “Wassail Bowl” is an old-fashioned drink usually consumed during the Yuletide when everyone was of an understanding and tolerant mind. It is a combination of sugar, warm beer, nutmeg, ginger, and what have you. Well, we haven't anymore so we'll let it go at that.”
What is a Wassail? Wassailing is a Twelfth Night tradition that has been practiced in Britain for centuries. It has its roots in a pagan custom of visiting orchards to sing to the trees and spirits in the hope of ensuring a good harvest the following season. During the visit, a communal wassail bowl would be shared amongst visitors. Wassail bowls are quite ornate and serve as showpieces.
|
|
|
|
Slightly Mighty, The Beer to Drink Next Month |
|
|
Looking for a great beer to drink this summer? June is right around the corner so let’s pick something for this tropical month.
Summer is (almost) here and a very drinkable, low-calorie beer that doesn’t just taste as water sounds about right on a hot summer day.
This month I am recommending a low-calorie and low-carb IPA with a rich hop flavor and tropical aromas of an IPA.
Slightly Mighty is a craft beer that has all the character of a world-class IPA, but with only 95 calories, 3.6g carbs, 1g protein, and 0g fat per 12oz serving.
The folks at Dogfish Head pull this off by using monk fruit. Monk fruit amplifies the body and complexity of the beer yet contains no calories. Whereas most IPAs start with an enormous malt bill to balance hoppy bitterness with malty sweetness, Slightly Mighty goes about it a different way.
The monk fruit essentially acts as the beer’s backbone, on which mighty hop muscle and flavor can be built. It allows the brewer to reduce the malt bill and avoid any unnecessary unfermentable sugars, and consequently deliver a beer that is lower in calories and carbs, and perfectly balanced.
The result is a hazy gold low-calorie IPA that throws tropical notes of pineapple, coconut, mango, and citrus, all while delivering an aromatic hoppiness that makes it so drinkable. Brewed with locally grown malted barley, Slightly Mighty is dynamic and crisp with a refreshing hop profile.
|
|
Slightly Mighty was first launched in 2018, and comes in at 4% ABV; 30 International bitterness units with the following taste:
Tasting Parameters-
COLOR: Hazy gold
AROMA: Tropical, pineapple, coconut, mango, and citrus
FLAVOR: Fruity and dry with some bitterness
MOUTHFEEL: Light-bodied and lingering sweetness
FOOD PAIRINGS: Grilled chicken, salmon, salad with a citrus vinaigrette, fish tacos, or chips with fresh mango salsa.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
