Adelle Special & Blarney | 39 down 236

Going a little crazy this week.  Doing two at once…oooooo!  I got one, The Partner the other.  Then we swapped.

Not too sure the Adelle Special was our favorite.  Peat dominated the flavor here.   Not really a surprise given the ounce-and-a-half of scotch.  For the avid scotch drinker who’s looking for something a bit different, this could be the thing with the nearly equal part or curacao.

Given the name and ingredients, I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to call the Blarney the Irish cousin to the Manhattan.  Sweet and on the thin side, this is a nice tipple when you want something with the flavor notes of a Manhattan or an Old Fashioned but not quite as heavy.  Between the two, it was the Blarney we had seconds of.  Good stuff before heading out for dinner and clubbing.

Adelle Special
1 ½ oz. scotch
1 oz. orange curacao

Stir with cracked ice; strain into chilled tumber filled with ice.  Garnish with a lemon or an orange twist.

Blarney
2 oz. Irish whiskey
1 oz. sweet vermouth

Stir with cracked ice; strain into chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Derby Fizz | 35 down 240 to go

Finally, an opportunity to draw in some of the interesting facts with which H & M pack the front of the bible.  In order to broaden the reading (and drinking!) experience, they included recipes for other drink families beyond the holy cocktail.  These include tall drinks, punches, grogs and toddies, pousse-cafés, and pick-me-ups.  H & M group fizzes and Collinses together in the tall drinks family, with the distinctions between them centering on 2 factors:  ice and, once upon a time, glassware.  Collinses have ice, fizzes do not.  If you have the bar bounty that is a diversity of glassware, Collinses should be served in a 10-14 ounce glass.  Fizzes go in something smaller than 9 ounces.

To the bev!  In appearance, a Derby Fizz has a distinctly Weiss-like appearance.  It also reminds of an old-fashioned egg cream…but with waaaay more kick!  I have to admit, the DF was a little challenging in that the egg whites and simple syrup give it a distinctly creamy, mellow aroma more akin to a milkshake or egg cream.  But the flavor has all the strength of an alcoholic beverage.  That being said, it’s not harsh or sharp but light, bright, with hints of vanilla and citrus.  Don’t think milk punch or eggnog though.   This is something very distinct.

H & M, in describing the sours category of the tall drink family, say they are closely related to the fizz.  Compare the DF recipe with a sour base: distilled spirit, sugar, lemon juice (sometimes a dash of OJ), shaken with cracked ice.  So a fizz could be a “sodaed” sour ?  Seems like.
 
With the dissonance between the nose and the flavor this fizz is an acquired taste.  But it will grow on you if you let it.   Be warned:  As with so many of the Alchemist’s cocktails, one gets your toes atinglin'.  Two and it's time for dinner!

Derby Fizz
2 oz. bourbon
½ oz. lemon juice
2 t. egg white
¼ oz curaçao
Seltzer

Shake all the ingredients, save the seltzer.  Pour into a chilled wine glass.  Top with seltzer and garnish with lemon twist.