Year two of cocktail toolshed in Key West for the annual potluck at my family's house. Last year saw the debut of the Lord Ottenbottom (see previous post here) as I requisitioned my dad's toolshed for a bar. This year I decided to add The Carte Blanche, a seriously refreshing mix of Hendrick's gin, fresh cucumber juice, lime juice, sparkling brut and orange bitters. I'd gotten the recipe from Jim Ryan, Brand Ambassador for Hendrick's--the original recipe was for a single cocktail, a shaken affair, but given that I was planning on serving up a few dozen of these I decided to go with the punchbowl approach. It's not an exact science, but after experimenting with single drinks the night before my friend Rob and I felt we had the gist of it down
and freehanded the mixture, adjusting to taste. This is one that almost works better as a punch, actually, so if you're serving a large group I'd recommend making some according to the recipe beforehand to get to know the taste, and then going freehand on the day.
The Carte Blanche:
1 1/2 oz. Hendrick's Gin
3/4 oz. Lime juice
1/2-3/4 oz. Simple syrup
3 Cucumber wheels
2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters #6
Brut sparkling wine (Jim prefers Cava, as we were doing Ottenbottoms already we used a dry proseco with no ill effect)
In a mixing glass place 2 cucumber slices, lime juice, simple syrup and orange bitters and muddle well. Add Hendrick's Gin and ice and shake. Strain into a cocktail glass and top with sparkling wine, garnishing with the third cucumber wheel. Serve.
We varied this a bit for the punch, the main difference being that I peeled and juiced about 30 cucumbers, much more efficient for bigger batches--it takes a while but it's well worth it when it comes to the party. Rob theorized that if you started with the gin in the bowl and then added the cucumber first, rather than the lime, it seemed to disperse that nice floral flavor of the cucumber more throroughly, making it more likely that that note would come through more in each batch than the lime. The limes we had were super tart as well, which meant we went easy on that. So after some experimentation our building sequence went: Hendrick's, cucumber juice, lime juice, simple syrup, proseco and then a few slugs of orange bitters on top--again, all to taste. The Carte Blanche was a big hit--it's a surprising combination of elements (I'm sure it was the first time many guests had experienced the fruit/vegetable cucumber in a cocktail) and extremely refreshing, getting the party kicked into gear in the most pleasant way. One of the secrets to good hosting is finding ways to bypass the awkward initial phase of the party where guests don't quite know what to do or how to be--the Carte Blanche neatly addresses all concerns, giving them a lively, fast-acting cocktail that gives them something in common to discuss while immediately giving a little mood boost-and I'm convinced all the cucumber makes this drink good for you. One thing to note: cucumbers should be peeled for this, as the skins can add an unwelcome bitterness. This includes juicing at ton of 'em, as I did Thanksgiving morning--you'll have to clear about an hour for that project, but it's worth it.
I normally eschew plastic glasses, but we had so many people dropping in throughout the day. These quasi-Josephines worked well-Jim likes a cocktail glass, but I think anything with an open mouth, to give you the full aroma as you sip, would work.
Of course the Lord Ottenbottom was there-people totally remembered it from last year and were expecting them, not to mention it's now got its own Facebook Fan Group. We couldn't get our hands on Peychaude's this year so we went with classic Angostura bitters, which partnered well with the Fee Brothers Orange Bitters (no Regan's available in Key West, sorry Jim!) and the turbanado sugar cubes. A healthy twist of orange and you're set-instant party. Last year we agonized (quite happily, of course) over one combination after another of this many dashes of that versus this many of the other--this time around it became apparent that the basic combo of classic bitters & orange bitters soaking the Turbanado cubes, topped with proseco and finished with the orange twist (you must twist it over the glass) was a very flexible, easy construct-hard to get it wrong. They kept coming back for more-of both. Often alternating the two, an interesting twist.
Ottenbottom devotees. L-R: Mark Hedden, foremost birder in the Keys, Nancy Klingener, Key West Literary Seminar Board member and author of The Bone Island Book Blog, Rudy Repenning, really gifted woodworker and Anja Marais, one of my two favorite Keys artists--check out her beautiful, strange work here.
A trio of lovelies, including my other favorite Keys artist, Shari Schemmel (center). The only painting I've purchased is one of her great abstract impressionistic pieces that hangs over my bar in Brooklyn, getting lots of comments--check out here work here. The ever charming Sombra (r), fresh back from months on the beach in Hawaii. Erin Kelly (l) next to her owns my favorite burrito joint in the world, Bad Boy Burrito. I occasionally get desperate and call them, begging for them to deliver to Brooklyn. So far no dice, but the game's not over yet.
English Andy had had a rather rowdy night before and his manner was a bit rough that day.
Even Rob was amused by Andy's teeth on the bottle. In fairness the cork was quite stubborn.
All's well that ends well.
I neglected to take Jim's advice and prepare ice in a take out container--the solid cylinder of ice melts more slowly in the punchbowl. Instead, we kept the lime and cucumber juice on ice until we poured them, as well as the proseco, naturally. A batch would come out pretty cold to begin with but we tossed a few cubes in just to bring it down a bit, with the added benefit of the melted water covering up a bit for any errors in mixing on our part. Sometimes melted ice actually helps a drink like this--makes it a bit softer, friendlier.
The eponymous Lord Christopher Ottenbottom.
Erika Biddle will be forgiven for drinking a beer in the Cocktail Toolshed, but only because she was trying to sober up before going to work.
Although we had plenty of cucumber juice, we did find ourselves cutting garnishes as the day went on and the popularity of both drinks failed to wane. It had been my intent to just serve the drinks for a couple hours then move onto wine with dinner. That happened for some, but many kept returning to the Shed. I'd prep a lot of cucumber wheels next time. As you can see oranges came into the mix; I'd had them on hand with an eye to making Maker's Mark Old Fashioneds later and Rob wondered if a few slices of fruit would be a nice complement to the Orange Bitters. We decided it was. The beautiful thing about making batches of punch as you go is that it can evolve as the evening wears on, shifting to match the collective mood-meet it, enhance it. When I DJed I always thought the sensitivity was the real art of it, reading the mood of the room and delivering just the right piece of music to move that mood to where it wanted to be, at its best. I don't know if we really did it that day but I know that Rob and I felt like we were responding to a collective energy and making le mix juste for it. Of course, we were all seeing the world through cucumber tinted lenses by the time night fell. A wonderful way to experience sunset.
Pa Rowan surrounded by Haskells-Evan to the left, Arlo, editor of Littoral, the blog for the Key West Literary Seminar, to the right. Arlo's friend Stuart-who I discovered lives ten blocks from me in Brooklyn.
English Andy, Arngetine Johnny, Brooklyner Stuart and Conch (meaning Key West born) Arlo. Continue into the night below.
Normally by dark the whole party moves to the back of the house, where dinner is served. And it did happen, but this year a lot of people (probably 60 or so people flow through throughout the day) wound up back up front-and in the shed. Pretty sure Erin led the way. When we first met in Key West, many years ago, I had a not dissimilar toolshed (although not one designed by my dad, as this one is) at my disposal and two turntables, a mixer and some awesome KLH speakers in there, and we connected pretty deeply over some serious sessions of good sounds in there. Just look at her, the minx.
Pomegranate seeds entered the mix around 7 p.m. Rarely are they unwelcome in a citrus cocktail. By this time the demand for more Carte Blanche was so great Rob had to ride his scooter out to the only liquor store in Key West for more Hendrick's and clean them out.
After we ran out of the gallon and a half of cucumber juice (don't do the math--it's a staggering volume of Carte Blanche) Rob set out to create some new mixes-this one had Ppassionfruit syrup, lime juice, proseco, Hendrick's and pomerganate seeds that you dropped in the glass. Pretty tasty. So fun to just keep experimenting as the party goes on, and I must say Rob took to the mad scientist role quite nicely.
Tasting is important with punches.
At some parties everyone winds up congregating in the kitchen. We like a tool shed.
The Duo-Fast Staples were not part of Rob's end-of-the-night creation.
Jolly Benson brought a manual typewriter over and got folks to do some automatic cucumber-fueled writing.
I call this the Toolshed Effect. Stuart here has mentioned turning his apartment in Brooklyn into a speakeasy, should the economic downturn continue. Perhaps we'll collaborate on some special cocktails-bring the Toolshed Effect to the city.
And how to top it next year? Suggestions welcome.
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