Category: Cocktails

Gift Idea #4: You Can’t Beat Cute

Originally published on December 11, 2011.

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Those bottles were adorable. And distilled beer…. is that still even a thing?? Have to follow up on that.

Little bottles = perfect stocking stuffers. As you can see from the picture above, the cute factor is tough to deny.

So what are these little vessels of adorableness? When they’re this cute, who cares!

Alright, I’ll tell.

The tall skinny one is a distilled white ale ($18.75 = $20 with tax)

The short round one is the Hudson Baby Bourbon ($38.99).

Both are too cute for words. And quite tasty.

Gift Idea #3: The Not-So-Classic Not-Champange Cocktail Kit

Originally published on December 9, 2011.

A NOTE FROM THE FUTURE: Part of the reason that people never thought we had spritis is because the shop name was Frankly Wines. If it had been Frankly Wines & Spirits, that would have solved the problem. But it wouldn’t really have fit on the sign. (And when I first opened that shop, I had a wine-only license.) Customers take the names of alcohol-related shops very literally. You think I would have learned that lesson and names my new shop Copake Wine & Spirits Works. But nope, I went with just Copake Wine Works. It fit on the sign, it evoked the nearby Copake Iron Works. And honestly, even though we do sell spirits, we’re not the typical “liquor store” that “& Spirits” or “& Liquor” evokes. I think even if we did have that catagory in our name, people would still walk into the shop and ask where the liquor is.

I worked in marketing for many years before opening this store, so I know a thing or two about the theortical application of reach and frequency in the midst of major media clutter. But with the store, I’m living the reality. Every chance I get, I mention that we now sell spirits. It’s in the newsletter. Every newsletter. For the last six months. We have a big sign at the store with a big arrow pointing at the spirits shelves. And those shelves happen to sit right next to the cash register, where there’s usually a helpful Frankly Wines employee ready and willing to answer questions.

And one of those questions is often, “Is there a store around here that sells spirits.”

Now from this position, if the person asking the question were to just turn their head a half click and focus, they would see several shelves filled with spirits. Actually, they probably did see the shelves. They just didn’t SEE them. Such is the nature of our cluttered environment.

Anyhow, this is a long way of introducing some of the gift options we’re most excited about this year Cocktail Kits!

Because they involve sprits.
Which we know sell.
Right up there by the cash register.
Right in front of your eyes.

The Not-So-Classic Not-Champagne Cocktail Kit: All boxed up and ready to go, this could be the perfect gift for your favorite budding mixologist, bar chef, or whatever they want to be called these days. Each kit includes everything you need to make Nick’s not-so-classic take on a classic Champagne cocktail. It’s the perfect accompaniment to brunch, with just a little sweetness, a hint of berry fruit notes from the cassis, and a lovely floral lift from the Elderflower Liqueur. And bonus – the bottles are really, really pretty.

Each kit includes 1 bottle each:

Pierre Chermette Crème de Cassis
Chase Elderflower Liqueur
Vullien Sparkling Vin de Savoie
+ a recipie card

Price: $65

We’ve Got Booze!! And the World’s Manliest Cocktail

Originally published on June 19, 2011.

Our cocktail program has gone a bit crazy. Nick wanted to whip up a cocktail featuring bacon-washed rye. Since we were going to be featuring it the day before Father’s Day, it morphed into the World’s Manliest Cocktail. At least as defined by us.

It’s a very manly take on the Ruby Manhattan – a Manhattan cocktail made with whiskey and ruby port in place of the sweet vermouth. Because really, what’s more manly than a rye whiskey and port cocktail? Well, how about a cocktail involving rye whiskey, port, bacon, cigar smoke and jolokia peppers? And bitters. I’m learning that bitters can be very manly. But for this cocktail, it was the salt rim that really seperated the boys from the men. It was intensly smokey and spicy. I think Nick choose the pink Himalayan salt just to counter-balance the sheer manliness of the rest of the drink. (Well, probably not. It’s probably because it has an extra bit of complexity.)

Here’s the “basic” recipe. If you want details of how to bacon-wash the rye, candy the bacon, or infuse the Himalayan salt…for that, you’ll have to talk directly to Nick!

THE WORLD’S MANLIEST COCKTAIL
2 1/4 oz bacon- washed Bulleit Rye Whiskey.
1 oz ruby port.
A drop of Liquid Smoke.
A dash of The Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters.
One large ice cube.
Spicy smoked tobacco-jolokia infused pink Himalayan salt – to rim the glass.
Candied bacon for garnish glass.

Use a tiny amount of bitters to lightly moisten the rim of the glass. Dip rim into spicy smoked salt to coat rim. Add a tiny drop of Liquid Smoke to glass and coat bottom. Add a dash of bitters and swirl around with liquid smoke. Add bacon-washed rye and port. Take a moment to bask in the aroma. Drop in one large ice cube. Garnish with candied bacon strip and enjoy. Share with dad, or keep it for yourself.

We’ve Got Booze! And Grilled Oranges.

These are grilled oranges. (Note the lovely charred bits.)

These are oranges on their way to getting grilled.

Now you may be wondering, why exactly am I grilling oranges? (You may also be wondering if that’s a propane tank being used to get those oranges grilled, but I’m not going to answer that one.)

Well, these oranges are being grilled as part of our attempt to make a cocktail, the Negroni Sbagliato, for a recent Thursday Tasting Session featuring Lini Lambrusco. Wait…a cocktail? Isn’t Frankly Wines a wine-only store? An oddity of the New York market that sells wine, wine, and only wine?

We were, but after about three years of selling wine, wine, and only wine, I finally succumbed to the lure of a liquor license. Enough regular customers were coming in and asking if we had any spirits, or liquor, or alcohol (even though wine is alcohol) that it just seemed like the neighborly thing to do. So I submitted the paperwork and the big,fat check (there’s always a big, fat check) and eked out the additional shelf space for an extremely well-edited selection.

One month into it, it seems to be doing the trick. It’s nice to be able to answer the question “do you have any liquor?” with a “why yes, we do” rather than a “no…but there’s a shop over that way that does.” You can only give away so much business before you decide to fix he situation. So the additional business is nice, as is being able to better serve our regulars, but what’s really fun? Cocktails!

Saturdays have been designated as Cocktail Day (haven’t had a chance to come up with a kicky name, so for now, it’s just plain, old Cocktail Day.) Nick, the store manager, takes a walk across the street to the Amish Market, picks a few things off the shelf, and whips up a cocktail. Occasionally, he goes a little crazy and we have to figure out a way to grill oranges on short notice. But when you check out those lovely charred bits and taste the end cocktail, you realize it was all worth it!