more experiments inspired by the alinea cookbook. both received very high praise from drinking partner stuntman b as well as from b’s wife (aka my sister) and from jp-mom.
the sesame orgeat i made (1/2 C almond milk, 1/4 cup seeds) was a little too overpowering of sesame, i also wish i’d used plain water the first time around. next time, a 3:1 or maybe even 4:1 ratio should be just fine. maybe i’ll try toasting the seeds, too.
the mango-sesame drink was good, but something was missing.
one nice surprise…the watermelon flesh, though bland when eaten off the rind, produced a bright and flavorful syrup (and eventually, cocktail). not sure how or why that happens. maybe it is the magic of sugar and alcohol.
big sis made the comment ‘its like an adult jolly rancher’. unfortunate but true. certain things have specific, unalienable connotations. like how adolf used to be a perfectly viable name for a boy. or like how i probably shouldn’t have used the term “unalienable”.
or, for example, cranberry and orange–this combination is reserved for thanksgiving. i would never put them in a cocktail. lemongrass–unless its background to other strong flavors, all i taste is froot loops. cherry–almost always a bad idea, thanks to cough syrup.
and, yeah, i think jolly rancher has staked a claim to watermelon. but that’s ok. jolly ranchers take me back to the days when twenty-five cents and a two-block scamper to 7-11 (”the sev”) was all what life was about.
and watermelon was always my favorite jolly rancher flavor.
mango-sesame alignment (draft 1)
2 oz vodka
1 oz lemon
1 oz mango
1 oz sesame orgeat
combine all ingredients, shake with ice, pour through fine strainer.
sesame orgeat
3-4 parts water
1 part sesame seeds
3-4 parts sugar
orange peel
process the seeds and water with a hand blender or similar. strain through a cheesecloth.
in a jar, muddle the peel with a little sugar. add the sesame seed milk and the rest of the sugar, shake until dissolved.
watermelon-lime alignment (draft 1)
2 oz vodka
1 oz lime
1 oz watermelon syrup (approx 3 parts juice, 2 parts sugar, shake to dissolve)
1 stem cilantro
3 mint leaves
soy-chili-sugar rim
muddle the herbs, combine the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, pour through strainer. rim the glass with soy-chili-sugar.
soy-chili-sugar
6 parts sugar
1 part soy-salt
1 part hot chili powder
(soy-salt: combine in a bowl kosher salt and enough soy to soak up the salt. put the bowl in a 150F oven, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is dry.)
combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly, mashing with the back of a spoon, if necessary.
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