We all want to find a safe, happy place…don’t we? Well now you can find it via the liquor cabinet with this pleasant little cocktail.
This cocktail based on the “Happy World” recipe from the “Complete Home Bartender’s Guide,” which I received for Christmas. The original recipe includes banana liqueur. While I don’t have anything against bananas (they are one of my favorite fruits) they tend to overpower any competing flavors in a recipe - whether we’re talking about a bread, a smoothie, or a cocktail. Plus, I haven’t figured out how to juice one to get a nice, fresh banana flavor instead of using a liqueur with a flavor manufactured chemically in a lab. That was my justification for swapping the banana liqueur for blue curacao (citrus liqueur). This had a twofold effect: first, it changed the drink color from bright yellow to light green and, second, it gave the drink a more balanced taste. No more getting slapped in the face with a bunch of bananas.
I was quite pleased how well it turned out. That’s the fun part of experimenting with cocktail recipes. It becomes a discovery process that can be rewarding, or disastrous, but that’s how new drinks get made. Obviously, in this case, it was a very simple swap between liqueurs. But getting the experience of tasting how the endless combinations work together is the first step in the creation of your own private stock of recipes.
The Happy Place cocktail is:
1 oz. of brandy
1/2 oz. of Cointreau
1 oz. of fresh orange juice
1/2 oz. of Blue Curacao
Combine all the ingredients in a shaker with ice and stain into an old fashioned glass.
Recommended listening for your Happy Place…Witty, upbeat rock from Belle and Sebastian:
Belle and Sebastian’s latest album was one of best releases in 2006. On this perfectly produced disc they draw from the 1970’s glam-rock of T. Rex and David Bowie while still keeping their classic pop rock sensibilities intact.
0 Responses to “Happy Place”