Sunday, March 30, 2008
Food, Wine, Beer & Spirits, Recipes

Lemon twister

Cocktails for reconstruction

CREDIT:James Steidl
Hurricane cocktail
By Jason Tesauro and Phineas Mollod

How can it be, long-time Cabbagetown residents ask, that storms in Tornado Alley seemingly target mobile home parks and hamlets far from city centers, but when Georgia drew the short straw on Friday, March 14, a twister zeroed in on Downtown and historic areas? Why not cut a swath through a gated, Post Properties complex in Marietta, or maybe that stretch of Jackson St. off Decatur St./ Dekalb Ave. where even the heartiest urbanites roll ’em up, keep on the gas and pray the transmission doesn’t suddenly conk out. But no, the indiscriminate storm took out Cotton Mill hipsters, Carroll St.’s blue-collar lifers, and other regulars at Cabbagetown Market and Little’s Grill. Thankfully, there are at least a few bars still standing within walking distance so that laborers and homeowners can take pause with one of these ironic cocktails during yet another Atlanta Reconstruction: Stormcloud, Hurricane, Brainstorm, Windy Corner and Broken Spur.

As the EF-2 tornado swept through downtown, pictures depicted a steel gray column, a massive cloud reaching from the darkening sky to the ground. Instead of nature’s fury, Atlantans certainly would have preferred a chilled Stormcloud cocktail, a pinkish, candied cocktail, with a surprisingly pleasant aftertaste, perfect for those in the mood for a Tootsie Roll or a satisfying piece of chewy taffy in liquid form. The meteorologically similar Hurricane is a classic New Orleans pink-hued favorite, the simple combo of light rum, dark rum, citrus juices, grenadine and passion fruit syrup kicker (no Wild Cherry Hi-C in lieu of passion fruit, please). It goes down easier than a toddler’s juice box, and sometimes before the lunch bell rings.

Rather than an actual funnel cloud horribly traipsing through Downtown, if only the atmosphere was more cerebral that day and instead the city was hit with a mere brainstorm, that great exercise we all learned in third grade that produced a lot of scribbled lists with magic marker, but few concrete ideas that would get you through afternoon playtime on a rainy day when kickball wasn’t to be. Discerning whiskey sippers can instead shake a worthwhile drink with the Brainstorm cocktail as the beautiful jags of the rye coalesce with the herbal monkishness of Bénédictine, only to be tamed by the dryness of the vermouth, to produce something worthy of smoking jacket—contemplation in a soft chair. 

As for the Windy Corner and Broken Spur, the first is a one-trick pony gussied up with nutmeg. So if you still haven’t located your Crème Yvette during the clean-up, stick to one- and two-liquor drinks that don’t require a lot of fuss. The second drink requires a deeper bar, but give yourself a night off after putting the roof back on and give yourself permission to forget about life for a while. Trust us; this combo of elixirs is essentially a naturopathic cure for post-traumatic stress disorder. If that fails, a sixer of PBR stands up nicely to PTSD, if only until next morning. SP
Phineas and Jason are the authors of “The Modern Gentleman” and “The Modern Lover.” E-mail them at booze@sundaypaper.com.


Brainstorm

• 2 ounces rye whiskey
• ½ tablespoon Bénédictine Dom
• ½ tablespoon dry vermouth

Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange (peel).

Hurricane

• 1¼ ounce light rum
• 1¼ ounce dark rum
• ½ ounce fresh lime juice
• ½ ounce orange juice or pineapple orange juice
• ½ ounce passion fruit syrup or more if using passion fruit juice
• Several dashes grenadine

Shake and strain over an ice-filled, curvaceous hurricane glass.
Garnish with cherry and orange and/or pineapple

Stormcloud

• 1½ ounce vodka
• 3/4 ounce light crème de cacao
• 1 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 ounce grenadine

Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass. 

Windy Corner Cocktail
1 glass blackberry brandy
Stir well in ice, and strain into glass. Add grated nutmeg on top.

Broken Spur Cocktail

• Yolk of 1 egg
• 1/6 part gin
• 1/6 part sweet vermouth
• 2/3 part white port
• 1 teaspoon Anisette Marie Brizard

Shake well in ice, and strain into glass.