A Jigger of Blog

Last night I happened to be in Bourbon in Adams Morgan, stopping by for a quick dinner and cocktail, when I found out that, fortuitously enough, Phil Greene of the Museum of the American Cocktail would be stopping by to serve special Domaine de Canton cocktails. The menu included five drinks, two of which I was able to sample. What was really nice was that Phil’s menu included not just ingredients, but the exact recipes.

The first one up was the Basil Faultless Cocktail. It was surprisingly dry and tart, with a light spice from the Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur. The basil adds a fresh aroma that further adds complexity to the drink. Given how much Domaine de Canton is in this cocktail, it really wasn’t too sweet at all.

Basil Faultless Cocktail

1.5 oz gin
1 oz Domaine de Canton
.5 oz fresh lemon juice
3-4 basil leaves

Shake well with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, add dash seltzer.

The drink that I really enjoyed was the Cook Strait Sling. This is a cocktail that Phil created for a Cocktail World Cup hosted by 42 Below vodka. It has made it to the US finals and is still in the mix to win a big prize. The Cook Strait Sling is a variation on a Singapore Sling, with vodka replacing gin and Domaine de Canton replacing Benedictine. The Cook Strait is between the north and south islands of New Zealand, where 42 Below vodka is made.

Cook Strait Sling

1.5 oz vodka
.75 oz Domaine de Canton
.5 oz lemon juice
.5 oz Cherry Heering
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Shake all ingredients well with ice. Strain into a Collins glass filled with ice, top with seltzer

This was a really great cocktail. I tend to not like vodka-based cocktails, as I think they are primarily a missed opportunity to add some flavor. But this was so rich with layers from the lemon, cherry heering, and bitters that it’s hard to imagine much more coming into play had this been made with, say, white rum or gin. It was tart and slightly bitter, with enough sweetness to make it really palatable. It’s no wonder that it’s had success in the Cocktail World Cup, as it is a phenomenal use of ingredients.

Domaine de Canton is a really great ingredient. It is sweet enough to replace a sweetener in many recipes, but adds a great spiciness to drinks and opens doors for expanding flavor profiles in classic cocktails. The drinks I had last night by Phil Greene at Bourbon were perfect examples of the flexibility of Domaine de Canton. No wonder he’s out repping for the brand!