Elijah Would Drink This - Cocktail Recipe from This Doesn't Suck

markgatx (35)in #food • 7 years ago

Hello again SteemIt!

I want to share this drink creation that I absolutely love. It's one of the first drinks I made with This Doesn't Suck so aside from being a damn fine cocktail, it has a special place in my heart. I still think Elijah Wood would drink it, too. But I can't guarantee it.

One of the big things I've learned in my quest to be a better home bartender is that things rarely go as planned. This one took some adjustment but ended up being totally worth it.

The vanilla demarara syrup that I made is one of my favorite syrups to use in drinks. Using a demarara or turbinado sugar in your syrup gives you a much richer flavor than just pure cane sugar. There's a malty aspect to the taste that works really well with heartier liquors, like whiskey.

And fresh vanilla bean is without comparison. It's such a rich and familiar flavor that it just feels like home.

Put vanilla and demarara sugar together and they're amazing. They're also really sweet. I was really surprised at how much sweeter the syrup tasted with vanilla. I didn't use more sugar. It's just that the vanilla makes it seem sweeter. Since this video I've changed the way I make it and I've reduced the amount of vanilla bean that I put in the syrup when infusing and it's just perfect.

The other thing I learned is just how different liquors can be. Not all bourbons are made the same and what may be perfect for one drink could be buried in another. We tried a few bourbons in the past and the Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon really surprised me.

I've honestly never been a huge fan of bourbon, or I should say I haven't been in the past. Now I'm realizing it was probably just the drink. I've been trying a greater variety and I've begun to not only appreciate what bourbon brings to the table, but to like bourbon as well. Of the ones I've tried, Elijah Craig Small Batch has been one of the best.

That's not to say that other bourbons are bad. I really like Old Grandad as well and there are too many great ones out there to mention. But for this drink in particular, Elijah Craig was the winner this day.

With that in mind, the big challenge for this drink was in finding the right counter for the super sweet syrup with a sweeter liquor like bourbon. The solution is lime juice and an amazing Fruit Lab Ginger liqueur.

I love ginger almost as much as I love vanilla, but most ginger drinks end up tasting more like syrup than they do tasting like ginger. Not with this liqueur. They really let the spiciness come out on top and it works perfectly with this drink to cut through some of the sweetness.

Now balance that with the acidity of the lime and it all fits together like a puzzle.

The last secret ingredient is egg white. My first drink with egg white was a pisco sour and I've been intrigued by that protein in cocktails ever since. This one seemed like the perfect drink to use it and it really does work well.

Without the egg white, this is a really good drink. With the egg white, it's one of my favorites. Getting that egg white to emulsify gives the drink a velvety smooth feel that complements the drink perfectly. It almost acts as a buffer, not letting either the sweetness or the spiciness get too out of control. It really does elevate a great drink to an entirely different level.

If you try this, make sure you shake a LONG time. If you don't shake long enough you'll end up with some plain old egg white in your drink and that's not a great sensation when you get that in a sip.

I hope you all give this a shot and if so let me know what you think. The recipe is in the video but if someone asks I'll post it in the replies as well.

Thanks for watching/reading and I'll see you around.

Don't forget to check out some of my other posts to get more recipes!