14 Comments

Would love your thoughts on why $24 for a jar of cherries is worth it

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author

This is a good question! And a topic for an entire newsletter on garnishes. Or, perhaps, on Manhattans, which more than any other drink benefit from good cherries.

Short version: Bright red maraschino cherries are kind of gross. They are stupid sweet and have no character, and the bottle juice in particular is pretty bad. Luxardo Maraschino cherries are still quite sweet, but have some real depth of flavor to them, and also the juice/liquid is crucial to making a good Manhattan. (More on this in a future, possibly near future, edition.)

Also, a jar will last you many months, unless you are throwing huge parties on the regular. I make...let's say more cocktails than most people...and in normal times have events with dozens of people at my house somewhat frequently. I go through about two bottles a year. So it's pricey up front, but the cost/time is more tolerable than it looks.

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A newsletter about garnishes would be the cherry on top.

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You must be making ice non-stop! I've tried doing large batches of ice from molds, but find they only last a couple weeks in the freezer - I think modern defrost cycle (or maybe just my fridge) causes the cubes to melt over time.

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author

I do make a lot of ice. I have a shelf full of ice molds in a deep freezer in the basement, and I refill at least one of the molds almost every day. It takes maybe two minutes, so it's not a big task, but it does need to be done pretty regularly.

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Thanks, great stuff. Of course I’ve been breaking every rule - using lots of ice from the fridge, using a half glass shaker and probably over smashing the ice. I have the big cubes but have never used in a shaker. Will be trying a couple of these recipes this weekend. I also appreciate you including the liquor costs. So many of the cocktail books I’ve bought have recipes that require some obscure and expensive ingredients which aren’t practical for most of us at home.

A small typo - “Then drop in your two-inch piece of ice, leaving”

Thanks!

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I'm confused - one cube of 2" ice (or just three cubes of 1" ice?) This seems like much less ice than is typically used - I've always filled the large part of the shaker about 1/3 - 1/2 and I feel like bartenders tend to dump a bunch of ice in there too. Is your one-piece advice unusual, or is this the standard?

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Do you have a video of what the shake is supposed to look like?

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I do not, but it's something I'm hoping to be able to incorporate in the future. Just haven't been able to produce video that I'm happy with yet.

But just aim for a piston-like, push-pull motion that slides the ice between the two shaker tins and you should be in pretty good shape.

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I found the winter daiquiri to be extremely sweet. Anyone else have thoughts?

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author

It's meant to be a rich, somewhat sweet drink. But if it's too sweet, try increasing the lime portion to a full ounce. So 2 - 1 - 3/4, which is a fairly common daiquiri structure, and the one I use for a more traditional summer daiquiri.

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Tried this recipe - perfection!! Thanks.

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Does your ice amount recommendation change if you are making 2 drinks in one shaker ie doubling the recipe? I’m having trouble getting my drinks as cold as I did when I just filled the shaker with freezer ice. Thanks, I’ve made every drink thus far!

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author

My first recommendation is: When you're starting out, make one drink at a time if you can. These are meant to be prepared individually and typically work better that way. Plus, making the drink twice in a row is good practice! But yes, if you're making a double drink, you need more ice. You do not, however, need double the amount of ice. Add a single smaller (one-inch) cube to your shaker for a double shaken drink, and 1-2 additional one-inch cubes for a double stirred drink.

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