Smoker's Companion: Rum Spiced Cider

Evening, everyone....Emily here. I am bringing you one of my favorite Fall cocktails.  It’s simple, easy, and delicious. Important fact: I am Basic AF. I love pumpkin spiced lattes, fall leaves (just kidding- I live in Florida where it is like 90 degrees Fahrenheit out each Halloween. Fall doesn’t exist here) and all things autumnal.  I am THAT person. 

Anyway, the cocktail that I often enjoy this time of year is Rum Spiced Cider. I got this recipe from an old friend when we used to live in Cleveland. For reference, this friend had “party plates,” which in Ohio means that you have been convicted of at least two DUIs. While I DO NOT condone drunk driving, I do trust a cocktail recipe from someone with party plates. Take 8-12 ounces of apple cider, and either heat it in a saucepan on the stove, or microwave it in a Pyrex pitcher.. I usually do the latter because my saucepans are usually in the dishwasher and I’m lazy. I then add spiced rum. I usually add 1 oz per 8 oz of apple cider, but I used 12 oz of apple cider tonight with 2 oz of spiced rum because I’m generous like that since the bar manager is on vacation.

If you want to be extra, and you KNOW I do, you can add some whipped cream and a little caramel syrup that I happened to have laying around in the refrigerator. 

 

This is the finished product. Look, I know I won’t be giving up my day job to be a barista at Starbucks, but I like it. It’s ideal on a cool, damp night or if you want dessert and booze mixed together in the same mug. You can also swap the rum out for a nice bourbon but do what you like. Like, whatever, life is about choices, ya know?  Enjoy. 

Smoker's Companion - Roku Japanese Craft Gin

Like many of the liquors and spirits I keep in my bar, I discovered this Gin with my membership with Flaviar, a subscription service. I received my membership from my wife for Father's Day a few years back and I have kept it ever since. Membership includes 4 quarterly sample boxes of your choice along with one full size 750ml bottle, also of your choice. In addition, you have access to many great choices that are probably not in your local liquor store. I know we are far from the Holiday's but it is something to think about during a year when shopping at a mall or store is not the safest thing to do.

 This particular Gin was paired with an Olivia Serie O Toro that I will document in a review later, but for now, I will focus on this lovely Gin. 

This Gin is distilled by famous Japanese distillery Suntory. During the distilling process, the spirit is distilled with 6 Japanese botanicals to give its distinctive character. The botanicals used to craft this Gin are Sakura Flowers, Sakura Leaves, Sencha Green Tea Leaves, Gyokuro refined Green Tea Leaves, Sansho Pepper, and Yuzu Peel. These six flavors represent the respective flavors that come from each season in the Japanese climate and they also make this Gin one of the most refreshing versions of the spirit that I have tasted thus far. The floral essence is well represented and the tea leaves provide some body while the Yuzu Peel provides a nice citrus profile that is refreshing on the palate.

The bottle in is packaged in is a thing of beauty, as well. The Hexagon shaped bottle further highlights the craftsmanship that was put into producing such a great product. The label is simple with Japanese calligraphy with the glass has each one of the six botanicals etched from the glass. 

 This Gin is excellent and one of the mainstays that I keep in my bar. It is light and favorable and pairs well with tonic water with a orange slice or lemon slice... or both. It also pairs well with cucumber if that is your sort of vibe as well. 

Smoker's Companion - Drumshanbo Gun Powder Irish Gin

This gin has become more common in the United States and has become one of the gins I always have a bottle of in my house. You can find Drumshanbo Gun Powder Irish Gin in most liquor stores for about $40 USD for a 750ml bottle. The glass bottle it comes in is a thing of beauty, a vibrate sapphire hue with nice notched edges make the bottle alone a work of art.

The flavors infused in this gin include solid citrus and berry notes and a hint of black licorice (from star anise). The nose has a more herbal feel with cardamon and coriander. The gin is smooth and combines well with tonic water for a very refreshing G&T. 

If you are branching out into new liqours, and specifically new gins, this is one I recommend.

Smoker's Companion - Old Fashioned

Most cigar smokers already know that any type of whiskey, especially bourbon, pair well with a nice cigar. Most smokers, including myself, usually just pour the spirit into a nice crystal glass and maybe add an ice cube or two. This is a great start to a relaxing evening but what if you wanted to make your self something a bit more special?

Enter the Old Fashioned. This cocktail is one of the OGs, literally. The furthest back in time the drink is documented dates to a book published in 1806. In addition, this is another amazingly simple and delicious cocktail to make but it does require a few steps to craft a perfect old fashioned.

First, you need to assemble the accouterments: bourbon of choice, ice cubes, simple syrup, bitters (I use Angostura), orange peel, and a suitable receptacle. 

Begin by pouring in the 1/2 ounce of simple syrup, 3 dashes of bitters, about 4 or 5 small ice cubes or 1 large ice cube into the glass. Then add 2.5 ounces of your bourbon and stir gently to combine.  Rub the orange peel around the rim of the glass then dropping it into the drink when completed. Enjoy and repeat at least 1 more time.... possibly two or three if you are already comfortably staying at home. About 3 of these and you may be cursing like the Winnebago man.




Some people swap rye whiskey for the bourbon, but I am not much of a rye whiskey fan. The bourbons I use in the drink are also the bourbons I tend to drink over rocks or neat such as Woodford Reserve, Elijah Craig 12 (EC12), Buffalo Trace, or Eagle Rare. For this particular Old Fashioned I used Woodford Reserve.

Remember to always enjoy responsibly and do not drink and drive or attempt to sell Winnebagos or something to that effect.

Smoker’s Companion - Gin and Tonic

The drink that goes with smoking a cigar is sometimes as important as the actual cigar you choose. I find that coffee and espresso based drinks just taste better with a well paired cigar but as the day lingers into night my palate changes for something with more of an adult bite.

People, who know me best, know that my drink of choice is a good old fashioned Gin and Tonic (G&T). I used to drink ALOT of craft beer but I have been more of a liquor drinker over the past few years with G&Ts being my staple. I think this also comes from being an extremely frequent flier and my drink of choice at 30,000 feet also being a G&T. To be fair, I do drink my fair share of brown liquors which definitely pair with cigars better but I like G&Ts because I find them to be easier to down in the hot Florida weather. 

Over time, I will add thoughts on the various liquors I enjoy or come across while also writing post on some cocktails and provide the recipes and potential variations to improve your smoking experience. For this particular post, I am going to focus more on the drink recipe than the actual liquor selected. The basic G&T is extremely easy to make and should be refreshing regardless the time of year as many gins have moved away from the evergreen flavor and have focused on more citrus backings. For this particular G&T I used one of my favorite local to me gins from St. Augustine Distillery.  This particular gin is heavy on the orange aroma and flavors that makes G&Ts one of my stand by drinks.

The base recipe for this concoction is pretty simple, 2 parts tonic to 1 part gin and throw in some ice. Actually, start with the hand full of ice first..... Then add the tonic pouring it gentle to avoid overfilling. Once the glass is 2/3 full of tonic top of the rest with gin. Voila, G&T completed.

If you are feeling frisky, maybe throw in a lime wedge, an orange slice, or lemon slice. I am definitely not frisky; I am just more of a lazy. If I were trying to impress someone I would probablly use the lime or lemon first but some gins absolutely POP with an orange slice; I’ll leave it to you to experiment.

Another on of my favorites is to use diet tonic. I love saving calories for things that matter, like actual food and the addition of diet tonic water and a citrus slice practically makes a G&T a health drink.