A Muddled Thought

The story behind Licor 43 dates back to the time of the Romans. After having conquered the city of Quart Hadas, they discovered liquor made from a combination of citrus fruits and aromatic plants. This drink’s popularity soon traversed the leadership hierarchy of the Roman Empire. This popularity has continued to present day culture. Comprised of a mix of citrus and orange blossom flavors with a subtle vanilla tone, a sip of Licor 43 conjures a feeling of a summer.

Given these flavors, several of the recipes I decided to try were some new takes on traditional summer drinks.

The Margarita-Licor 43 Edition

¾ oz Licor 43
1 ½ oz Milagro tequila
2 oz Sour mix
2 Orange wedges, juiced
Shake up with Ice.
Blend all ingredients until smooth

The Margarita-Licor 43 Edition

Next up, a drink created to highlight the flavors of Licor 43, by the great Robert Hess of Drinkboy.com fame.

The Bloomsbury-A combination of Licor 43, Gin, Lillet Blanc, and Peychaud Bitters.

And to finish things up, a take on a tiki inspired drink, known as the Beachbum’s Own.

A Beachbums Own(sans Tiki Glass)

The Beachbum’s Own
3/4 ounce lemon juice
3/4 ounce pineapple juice
3/4 ounce orange juice
3/4 ounce passion fruit syrup
3/4 ounce Licor 43
1 ounce demerara rum
1 1/2 ounce light rum
Shake with crushed ice. Pour into a tiki mug

After receiving samples of both Flor De Cana Rum and Licor 43, I decided to see what could be whipped up in the Muddled Thoughts Kitchen.

2 Dash Grapefruit Bitters
¼ Oz Pineapple Juice
¼ Oz Crème De Cassis
½ Oz Licor 43
1 Oz Flor De Cana Rum
Shake with Ice
Top with Champagne
Serve in Champagne Flute

A Summers Kiss

With the combination of the sweetness and summer flavors and the champagne this drink has currently been dubbed “The Summer Kiss”.

During a recent event that Partida Tequila held I had the opportunity to sample their latest product, or maybe I should say their oldest product, Elegante Extra Anèjo.
Originally released in August of 2008, Elegante is aged in oak barrels for a time period of 36 to 40 months.

With taste nuances ranging from a deep chocolate, notes banana, ripe fruit, touches of cinnamon and even a bit of orange zest as you finish that first sip, this is one of those pleasures in life you appreciate for every second, until that final perfect finish.
When talking to Partida CEO, J. Gary Shansby, he feels that the Elegante could be equated to a fine cognac or a single malt scotch, and is not something to drink every night, but rather something to be savored and enjoyed during special occasions. In other words, please don’t even think about using this in those margaritas this weekend.

With a limited release of 1200 bottles and priced at $350, this is the most unique tequila A Muddled Thought has experienced, and worth both the adventure of finding a bottle.

Partida Elegante. Suggested to be served in a Champagne Flute.

The Trilogy of Tanteo Tequila Flavor

Tequila. No more is this the same swill you did shots of during your college years(or last weekend for that matter)

Several month ago Tanteo, a soho based company released it’s new line of flavored tequilas. This line is comprised of three distinct flavors, tropical, jalapeno and chocolate.

Oddily enough two of these three flavors brought back memories of my childhood.

The tropical had hints of pineapple, and passion fruit with a mild smokey undertone. It made me wonder what fruit punch would be like, if it had grown up along side me.

The chocolate was reminiscent of milk chocolate, and reminded of a partially melted hersey bar on a summers day. How it’s warm but still tastes great.

With a love of all things spicy, the jalepeno was my favorite. Just as the name promises, it had just the right amount of spice and kick, and contained hints of cilantro. In addition to a more than expected warming sensation, after a few seconds I felt the heat of both the tequila and jalepeno work it’s way though my body.

Inspired by the recent warm weather and the jalepeno flavoring I decided to whip up a quick cocktail, known as the Tanteo Michelada.

The Tanteo Michelada

* 1 oz. Tanteo Jalapeno Tequila
* 6 oz. Dos Equis Beer
* 2 oz. Lime Juice
* 1 Tbsp chipotle

The Tanteo Michelada

I recently received some information from Lucid Absinthe which included a summer inspired recipe utilizing the lovely green nectar . When I noticed this it initially caught me by surprise, as I hadn’t thought before of using Absinthe in something meant to be refreshing. Most of my experiences with Absinthe have been with it being a secondary ingredient in cocktails or drinking it in the traditional way.

The traditional way of drinking Absinthe is known as louching. In this process, cold water and a sugar cube are dissolved into the absinthe, turning it a cloudy white color. This process is achieved by placing a sugar cube on an Absinthe spoon. After placing the sugar cube on the Absinthe spoon, you then drip 4-5oz of cool water onto the sugar cube, which dissolves it into the absinthe and creates a milky like substance. Adding water to the absinthe also brings out additional fragrances as well as flavor tones as the water opens up the absinthe. Lucid recommends 1.25oz-1.50z of Absinthe to enjoy in the traditional fashion.

An Absinthe Spoon. In the traditional way, a sugar cube is placed on this spoon over the glass.

Lucid Absinthe Before the Water and Sugar

Lucid Absinthe After the Water and Sugar

The summer cocktail mentioned previously is the Mint Muse. Lucid’s answer to the Mojito.

The Mint Muse

1 ½ oz. Lucid
2 oz. Pineapple Juice
Muddled Mint Leaves
Lime Wedge
Topped with Sprite or 7-UP

Muddle mint leaves with lime wedge and add Lucid. Add ice and pineapple juice and shake briefly. Top with Sprite or 7-UP and add mint sprig.

And for those who prefer a cocktail.that’s a bit of a classic, here are a few adapted and updated by Jim Meehan of PDT’s.

The Sazerac

Adapted from Famous New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘Em. Stanley Arthur Clisby 1937.
• 2 oz rye
• 3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1/2 oz simple syrup or 1 sugar cube
• 1/4 oz of LUCID®
Fill a rocks glass with ice and set aside
Add a sugar cube and the bitters to a mixing glass and crush the cube with a muddler
Add the Rye and ice and stir to chill and dissolve the sugar (20 seconds)
Dump the ice out of the rocks glass and rinse with LUCID®, discard excess
Pour the contents of the mixing glass into the LUCID® rinsed rocks glass
Twist a lemon peel over the surface of the drink and rub around the rim
Discard lemon twist

A Classic Sazerac Cocktail

Corpse Reviver #2

• 3/4 oz gin
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 3/4 oz Cointreau
• 3/4 oz Lillet Blanc
• LUCID® rinse
Add all of the ingredients except the LUCID® into a mixing glass filled with ice
Shake and strain into a chilled coupe rinsed with LUCID®
No garnish

Another Classic-The Corpse Reviver #2

Ernest Hemingway’s Infamous-Death in the Afternoon-

EARNEST HEMINGWAY’S DEATH IN THE AFTERNOON COCKTAIL
Adapted from Esquire Drink Book of 1956 edited by Frederic Birmingham
Pour 1 oz of LUCID® into a champange coupe or flute
“Add iced Champagne until it attains the proper opalescent milkiness.”

And for those of you that feel like enjoying Lucid Absinthe as a Shot:

The Absinthe Minder:

The Line up shot glasses, fill halfway with LUCID®, shake water and sugar or simple syrup with ice and strain into each glass.

I leave you with a picture of Lucid, in it’s natural environment.

Lucid-In it's natural environment.

The Exterior of Dutch Kills.If it wasn't for the bar sign would you know what awaited you inside?

If Milk and Honey had existed circa 1880, Dutch Kills is what it might have looked like.
Sasha Petraske and Richard Boccato have brought their seasoned skills to Long Island City. The two master “barkeeps” behind the infamous Milk and Honey, Little Branch, White Star and East Side Company have brought that same amazing jaw dropping cocktail goodness to Dutch Kills.
After coming across what was once an old fish market, in August of 2007 Sasha and Richie signed the lease and broke ground on the building in December of 2007. After two years of building and obtaining all the necessary licenses, Dutch Kills opened shop to the public on Friday May 1st.

The Booths at Dutch Kills share that same vibe as Milk and Honey and Little Branch.

This 1800’s influenced cocktail den seats about seventy people spread across three rooms, and includes a ragtime band on the weekends.

The Back Room, where on weekends the ragtime band plays.

Not to leave out any detail, Dutch Kills also includes an antique cash register behind the bar.

Along with fresh ingredients such as freshly squeezed juice, hand cut ice, they’ve also made all cocktails $9. So think of this place as Milk and Honey’s Long Island City’s younger cousin.

One of the key components that all good “barkeeps” or mixologists will mention is the ice you use. And just as is done at Milk and Honey, Little Branch, and White Star the ice is hand cut on a drink by drink basis to fit the cocktail.

The Ice behind the drinks.

While Dutch Kills might be the new kid on the block, in terms of cocktail lounges. The roll call of “barkeeps” reads like a who’s who of the cocktail industry. Along side Sasha and Richie, are Giuseppe Gonzalez (Of Flat Iron Lounge, The Clover Club and Little Branch), and Alex Day(Of Death and Company).

As I spoke to Richie, I took the time to also sample a few of the menu items for this month. Engulfing two thirds of the wall space behind the bar a, chalkboard sprung to life with the names and ingredients in the featured cocktails of the month. The plan is to rotate these every month.

The Bar Spanning Cocktail Menu of Dutch Kills.

Don’t worry there’s also a portable version available for those not seated at the bar.

Richie mentioned that this version of the menu was researched at the New York City Library and the design is also based on a bar menu's from the 1800's.

No visit would be complete to Dutch Kills without mentioning the cocktails.

My first cocktail was the Steinway Punch.

The Steinway Punch. A combination of Rye Whiskey, Lemon, Curacao, and Soda.

To continue my research on the cocktails of Dutch Kills, I decided to try the Netherland.

The Netherland. A combination of Cognac, Curacao and Orange Bitters.

For my last experience of Dutch Kills, I decided to go for bartender’s choice.

Giuseppe Gonzalez was behind the bar at this time, and asked for my ingredient of choice. As I still think Absinthe gets a poor rap, I’m always curious to see what a master like Giuseppe is able to create.

He suggested the Robert Burns, which is based off the concept of the Manhattan only replacing the bourbon with Scotch.

The Robert Burns. A combination of scotch, sweet vermouth, absinthe and angostura bitters.

He was also kind enough to provide the specific recipe-

2.5 Oz Famous Grouse Blended Scotch
¼ Oz Sweet Vermouth
¼ Pernod Absinthe
2 Dash Angostura Bitters
Note: Guiseppe was serving Kubler Absinthe to a few customers the traditional way. However he chose to utilize Pernod in the Robert Burns. As to why, he felt the Kubler would be to dry to work in the cocktail.

As A Muddled Thought is based out of Astoria, finally having a cocktail den about ten minutes is a nice change. Having one of Dutch Kills caliber, with near perfect drinks might even keep us out of the city for a while. Located only a few blocks from Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, and accessible by N,W or 7 Trains the location is convenient enough for even downtown cocktail fans to swing by and check out . Dutch Kills is worth every second of your trip to experience and then some.

A final shot of Giuseppe Gonzalez creating a perfect cocktail at Dutch Kills.