How To Make A Samuels Cocktail
Anthony and Melissa make an original cocktail honoring the First Family of Bourbon.
Step 1: Welcome to the Art of the Drink:
Welcome to the Art of the Drink video podcast. My name is Anthony Caporale. And this is our last week of the month with Melissa! Yes. It just breaks my heart, but it's okay. Breaks your heart? It's killing me! But we got you back twice, that's awesome. That's true, that's true. Thank you so much. You're welcome. Well, not only is it our last week with Melissa, this is the last episode in Art of the Drinks' first year of podcasting!
Step 2: To Bill Samuels:
Well then, that just makes me feel so much better! That's why we had you back! It's special! I know! So the next episode you see will be our one year anniversary episode. So what we're going to do, is end this first year with a special drink. I'm dedicating this to the Samuels family, Bill Samuels Sr. and Bill Samuels Jr. and their whole family.
Step 3: A family tale:
Dad had this brilliant idea. He had no idea how to execute it, but got the idea. He said, "Gee whiz, I wonder what would happen if we could take the bitterness out of bourbon?"
Step 4: Maker's Mark Bourbon:
They are the founders of Maker's Mark bourbon, my favourite bourbon. So I want to go ahead and dedicate this drink to them. And this is also a drink that I'd like to get out there for people who are getting a little bit tired of the Cosmopolitan... Yes. The ubiquitous, long-suffering Cosmopolitan. Getting a little long in the tooth, and I want to start proposing some recipes that maybe you can try instead of that. And specifically, the Cosmo for some reason has gotten a reputation as being kind of a "girl's drink"... Of course! Even though it's really, really strong, but it has. I think a certain HBO TV series had something to do with that. So what I want to do is present a version that is certainly not a "guy's drink," but a drink that, if you're not that comfortable ordering a pink Cosmo, maybe you can order a red Samuels. I'm calling this drink the Samuels. Got you. And it's based on traditional Cosmo ingredients. What most people don't realize though is that cranberry -- and I've done several drinks like this -- cranberry goes better, in my opinion, it goes better with bourbon than it does with vodka. All vodka really does is make alcoholic cranberry juice. True. Bourbon actually adds flavour, and the flavours work really well. The Samuels is based on bourbon, so let's go ahead and make that.
Step 5: Method:
Anthony: Now this is a Martini drink.Melissa: I love the glass, it's got squiggles on it.Anthony: Isn't that great? Melissa: That's awesome! So we're going to go ahead and set our glassware first. Because it is a Martini we're going to build it in a tin. Big scoop of ice in the tin. I think squiggles make drinks better anyway. Even if it doesn't taste as good, it always does because of the glass it's in. I think squiggles make everything better. Okay. So, big scoop of ice in the tin, and I'm going to put two ounces of Maker's Mark bourbon in here. All right, and I'm going to now add one half-ounce, instead of Triple Sec, I'm going to go ahead and use Grand Mariner. So one half-ounce of Grand Mariner. And whereas Triple Sec is essentially just a sweetened citrus liqueur, Grand Mariner actually has a cognac base, which works better, in my mind, with bourbon, and also adds the orange flavour. Makes sense. So, a half-ounce of Grand Mariner and a half-ounce of cranberry juice. Again, just a splash. Also, for a little bit of added flavour and to brighten it up, I'm going to take a wedge of fresh lime, squeeze that right in. I'm going to just drop it in there, now I'm going to shake it until the tin frosts. Shake it until the tin frosts! Have you been working out? Okay. Cocktail strainer: this is going to strain that lime wedge back out of the drink but keep all the flavour in, right up to the top. And I'm going to garnish this drink with a lemon twist, which you've seen me do before. Nice big lemon, and I'm going to twist it right over the drink, so all of the essential oils, you can see them squirting right on the top, right? Go right in the drink, once around. Now what I'm going to do is fold it with the zest side out, yellow side out, and I'm going to run this around the rim of the glass once, and just get all those oils on the rim. Does that help bring out that flavour more? It does. What it does is, every time you take a drink from a different part of the glass, you get the lemon oils first. But very subtle and light. And now I'm going to take this and twist it over the drink, loosen those oils in the skin up a little more so that when I drop them in, they go in the drink. Then I'm going to let that sit so it's half in, and half out of the drink. Again, a good garnish makes the drink taste better and look better. And that is your Maker's Mark-based Samuels. The guys' one. The guys' one. Sure, why not? Want to give it a shot? Sure, let's do it.
Step 6: Now you try:
We got our squiggle, my favourite part. Going to make it in a tin. Big scoop of ice. So, first thing is first. We do our Maker's Mark, right? The best part. Right. The best part. And that's a four-count with the pourers that we have. All right. Good deal. And Grand Mariner? We just want a half-ounce of that, and that is a one-count. Good. And a splash of this. We don't want to put in too much, right? Right, just about a one-count of cranberry juice and that comes out fast. That's perfect! Good deal. Okay. And a squeeze of lime. Good, just drop that in there. Now I get to shake it. This is the fun part. Yes. Any time I use a squeeze of fresh fruit and I'm going to strain the drink, I go ahead and put it in there. Okay. Because it just adds more flavour to it. Melissa: Look at that glass! Is that good? That's great! That is great. And we're going to have trouble getting this glass off because I have juice on my hands. Yeah I know. There you go, great. All right. Strain that into the tin. Because we don't want that chunk of lime in there. Again, all drinks that are chilled and strained, that's called "up", that's called serving the drink "up". Oh, okay. And drinks that are served in Martini glasses are usually served up. Got you. And now we want to do a twist of lemon. Okay, so let's see if we can do this. See if you can get it right over the glass... Look at that! Oh, that's fantastic! You can see the oil from the lemon is bursting all the bubbles. Can you see that as it's going in there? I see it. I'm proud of myself! Once around, nice twist. To get a real good twist takes a lot of practice, so don't beat yourself up if you break your first, oh, several dozen. All right: Yellow side out, which is the zest, and that is the flavour of the lemon. The inside is the white, and that's bitter. We don't want that. Rub it along? Rub it along, right. And I actually like to twist the glass. It makes it a little easier, so you can rub in one spot and then gently twist the glass around. Exactly. Can we flip it over too?Anthony: Sure, sure, sure. Good. All right, I think that's the glass. Good. And then you want to just twist it gently over the glass, without breaking it, and that basically loosens the oils up. Good, give it just a little bit of a twist. Good good good. Like so? Like that, perfect. And now the hard part, without getting it to drop out of the glass... There you go! Good deal? And that is our Samuels. Looks pretty good. Guys, this is for you. Cheers! Salut!
