Sharkbait’s Cocktail of the Week: Drop the Needle

This past Tuesday was the start of my 41st trip around the sun. Mrs. Sharkbait got me an awesome cocktail book called Booze and vinyl. Its a collection of albums for various moods, combined with cocktails for the A side and B side of each album. I’ve got a handful of albums they list here, which goes to show how awesome my (or more realistically my parents’) taste in music is. Clearly I need to go vinyl shopping to add to the collection I already have.

One of the albums listed in the book is the self titled offering by The Doors. That one is an album that I havent spun up in a while, and seeing it in this new book inspired me to spin it up again. Also adding to the inspiration was the cocktail for the A side of the album: the Whiskey Daisy. I haven’t had one of these before, and with Jim Morrison crooning about a whiskey bar on side A, how can I go wrong with making one?

Whiskey Daisy

2 oz. Whiskey 

1 oz. Fresh lemon juice 

1 oz. Cointreau

.5 oz. Simple syrup 

1 oz. Club soda

Slice of orange for garnish 

Sprig of mint for garnish (optional)

Shake all ingredients, except soda, with ice and strain into a chilled Collins glass. Garnish with orange slice and a sprig of mint (optional)

I get a lot of orange right off the top. The orange slice being the main cuplrit. However the cointreau sneaks some underlying orange notes in there as well. It’s also very light smelling – if that makes sense. The soda water topper keeps the whiskey notes down, and makes for a very nice aroma.

I’m a little surprised at how  the first sip grabs your attention! It’s not the whiskey (I used Rittenhouse Rye), it’s the lemon juice. The full ounce dominates the inital flavors, and the sour hit grabbs the back and sides of the palate as super sour flavors tend to do.

Once the sour lemon fades away a bit, the sweeter side of the drink starts to come through. The simple syrup and cointreau combine to rein in the lemon and bring balance back to the drink. I was a bit skeptical initially with the 1/2 teaspoon of simple compared to the full ounce of lemon, but the cointreau acts as the supporting sweetener. The orange notes it brings plays well with the other flavors at work. In fact the orange is what carries the drink through to the end. It eventually overtakes the lemon and while not as intense, it’s a great ending flavor to the sip. Meanwhile the whiskey is almost nowhere to be found in the profile of this drink, despite it being in the title. If someone is on the fence about whiskey drinks, this is a great drink to give to them to show what you can do.

I’ll absolutely make this again. It’s a great summer drink, and a good one to sip while listening to an all time classic album. Of which, I’m not sure why it’s in the “seduce” section of the book, but it’s in there and thats all that matters. Now, if you’ll excuse me it’s time to flip the record and enjoy the B side.

(Banner image courtesy Matthew Tetrault Photography)