It may be just what we need right now, and it may be a foolish endeavor to hold the games in the middle of a pandemic, but the Olympics have begun! Since fans are not allowed, you will have to sit back and watch the events on TV. If your team or country doesn’t win, you can still enjoy the spectacle with a great cocktail in your hand. I am reaching back into the vault of the cocktails I have made to celebrate the nations participating – and remember drinks I may have forgotten all about.
Cheers, ¡Salud!, Prost, Skål, 乾杯, Υγεία, Sláinte, Gesondheid, 干杯, Будем здоровы!, à votre santé, ‘cin cin!’
WEEK ONE!
Opening Night!
The Host Country – Japan
AotC-287. Highball Mizuwari
1 1/4oz Suntori Toki Japanese whiskey
3oz sparkling water
Lemon peel or wedge garnish (optional)
Mint sprig garnish (optional)
Add 2 to 3 large clear ice cubes to a Collins or highball glass. Stir with a bar spoon to chill the glass, then pour out the melted water. Add the whiskey to the glass and stir clockwise exactly 13-1/2 times. Add the sparkling water and stir an additional 3-1/2 times clockwise. You must be careful and not spill and spoil the drink. Add the garnish and serve.
Day TWO – England
AotC-297. London Calling
1 1/2oz London dry gin
1/2oz Fino sherry
1/2oz fresh lemon juice
1/2oz simple syrup
2 dashes orange bitters
Grapefruit zest twist
Add everything to a shaker filled with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled Nick & Nora or coupe glass. Express the grapefruit oils across the surface and add the twist to the drink. Serve.
Day THREE – Brazil
AotC-076. The Caipirinha
2oz cachaça
1/2 lime cut into wedges
2tsp sugar
Place the lime wedges in a rocks glass along with the sugar and vigorously muddle together. Add the cachaça then transfer to a shaker and shake for 15 seconds. Pour back into the glass and add fresh ice.
Day FOUR – Ireland
AotC-063. The Tipperary (No. 1)
1 1/2oz Irish whiskey
1oz sweet vermouth
1/2oz Green Chartreuse
Orange peel to express
Luxardo cherry garnish.
Add spirits to a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir for 20 seconds and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Express oils from the orange peel over the surface and discard. Add maraschino cherry garnish and serve.
Day FIVE – Germany
AotC-392. The Grapefruit Radler
1 1/2oz fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
1/2oz fresh lemon juice
1/2oz simple syrup
1oz soda water
4-5oz wheat beer
Lemon wedge
Add everything to a pint glass except the beer and fill it with ice. Top off with the beer and then pour into a cocktail shaker or a second pint glass, then back into the original glass. Add the garnish and serve.
DAY SIX – Argentina
AotC-429. Buenos Aires Old Fashioned
2oz bourbon
1tsp demerara (or cane) sugar
4 dashes Angostura bitters (or orange, or pecan – your choice. I split orange and Angostura)
Orange slice cut in half
Luxardo cherry garnish
This one is a little complicated. Add the demerara sugar to an old fashioned glass (not a rocks glass – something with thick walls and a heavy base). If the crystals are large, use a muddler to crush the sugar into a finer powder. Add 4-5 dashes of bitters to the sugar, but only enough to make a slurry. Tilt the glass and use a spoon to coat the inside of the glass while rotating it until evenly coated. Use a brulee torch to caramelize and harden the sugar. Add a slice of orange to the bottom of the glass and lightly muddle the fruit. Insert a block of ice and add the bourbon and give it a stir. Add the garnish and serve with a small spoon.
Day SEVEN – Mexico
AotC-308. Tommy’s Margarita
2oz 100% agave blanco tequila
1oz fresh lime juice
1/2oz agave nectar
Lime wheel garnish
Salt rim
Wipe the rim of a rocks glass with the cut lime prior to juicing it and invert the glass into a small plate with salt to salt the rim (Tip – if you do this in advance and allow the salt to fully dry, it will stay on the rim longer). Add everything to a shaker with ice and shake for 15 seconds. Strain into the glass with a lime wheel and serve.
See you next week for Part 2!
Cheers!
Bill
AotCB-042
