El Chalan

I love a good Pisco Sour (and this place makes one of the best) and every time I have one it reminds me I need to research other Pisco-based cocktails. Mission accomplished - I think I found an excellent one!

Pisco, a grape brandy from Peru or Chile, is a distinct spirit and flavors vary wildly from brand to brand. Some are reminiscent of tequila or pepper and smoke, some are caramel while others impart a toasted nut flavor.

And then there's the aromatic vs nonaromatic features of the grape varietals used and how that affects your drink recipe. So before you go shopping for Pisco, check out this article for a nice overview.

Now on to the happy hour starter of the day.

El Chalan

Makes 1 drink

Adapted from Enrique Sanchez and Megan Hines of La Mar Cebicheria Peruana in San Francisco.

• 3/4 ounce reposado Tequila
• 3/4 ounce pear liqueur
• 1/2 ounce puro Torontel pisco like Vinas de Oro
• 1/2 ounce Lillet Blanc
• 2 dashes lemon bitters
• Lemon twist, for garnish

Instructions: Place all ingredients, except the garnish, in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for about 15-20 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add garnish.

It's fun to consider the inspiration for naming cocktails too. Especially when you uncover possibilities like this - El Chalan - a cool, hot, sexy Latin cowboy. I'm sure I should research the term further and use a reputable site - not Urban Dictionary. But I don't want to. This one works just fine for me.

¡Salud!

Hotel Georgia Cocktail

There were two motivating factors for today's happy hour starter. One is the drink's name - Hotel Georgia Cocktail. I just booked a trip back to my old stomping ground for September. I'll be visiting SC & Georgia and I am so excited!

The other thing that caught my eye was the use of an important mixology technique - the dry shake, as described here by Gary Regan, SF Chronicle.

"The dry shake - shaking a cocktail containing egg white without ice in order to properly emulsify the ingredients before adding ice and re-shaking - makes complete scientific sense, and any cook or chef worth his or her salt understands this."

OK, you got it? We want to be "worth our salt" when serving up great cocktails and implementing techniques is just as important, and fun, as choosing quality ingredients. This is a good technique for releasing just the right amount of flavor from fresh herbs. And this is a good one for infusing your simple syrups.

I am especially excited to try the dry shake for one of my all-time favorite egg white laden cocktails - the Pisco Sour and this place makes an excellent one.

Hotel Georgia Cocktail

Makes 1 drink

Adapted from a recipe in Ted Saucier's "Bottoms Up," published in 1951.

• 2 ounces gin
• 1 ounce orgeat syrup
• 1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 10 drops of orange flower water
• 1 egg white
• 1 orange twist, as garnish

Instructions: Place all the ingredients, except the garnish, into a cocktail shaker. Shake well for 10 to 15 seconds, add ice, and shake again for another 10 to 15 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and add the garnish.

Shake it y'all! Cheers!

Elderflower Fizz

It seems like every menu I see these days includes at least one cocktail with this unique ingredient. And you know I like to be on trend - so here's my take on an elderflower drink.

The elderflower has a very brief spring growing season - mostly in Northern Europe, and presents with a flavor that is both delicate and distinct. And while it is very trendy at the moment, apparently the elderflower cordial dates back to Roman times.

St-Germain Liqueur is by far the most ubiquitous and the bottle would make a beautiful addition to any home bar. However, I opted for the Saft Flader concentrate sold at IKEA in order to have the option to make an equally refreshing non-alcoholic version. Well, then there's fact that IKEA is one of my favorite things and I'll take any excuse to go there and wander around.

But let's start with the version that puts the happy in the hour.

Elderflower Fizz

• 1 1/2 oz gin
• 2 T elderflower concentrate
• juice of 1/2 lime
• Prosecco
• Fresh sage for garnish

Fill cocktail glass with lots of crushed ice, add gin, concentrate, lime juice and then top with Prosecco or any sparkling wine. Add a few sage leaves for garnish and don't forget to "spank" it first.

Spanking = placing leaves in one palm, slapping it a few times with the other palm and then adding it to your drink. A little trick I learned from Imbibe Magazine and it really works to release just the right amount of flavor from the herb - and it's kind of funny to say.

For the non-alcoholic version, omit the gin and replace the sparkling wine with sparkling water. You can adjust the concentrate to taste, but 3 tablespoons should be about right for 8-10 oz of water.

Skål! (That's how they say cheers in Sweden)

White Wine California Citrus Sangria

Well, I think we might finally have summer here in the SF Bay Area. I know it's officially summer most other places but you know the famous saying - "the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco."

At any rate, I'm charging ahead with a summery drink and nothing says summer to me quite like a huge pitcher of Sangria.

Sangria is traditionally made with red wine and while I like it that way, I don't love it. A Sangria made with a crisp white, rose or sparking wine - that is another story.

You know I love the idea of making drinks by the pitcher for easy entertaining and this one is especially well-suited for the long, slow pace and menus of summer BBQ's.

I have tried several recipes but always come back to this adaptation by Michael Chiarello.

White Wine California Citrus Sangria

• 3 bottles pinot grigio
• 1 1/2 cups brandy
• 3/4 cup orange liqueur
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 peaches  thinly sliced
• 1 mango cubed
• 1/2 small melon cubed - honeydew
• 1 lime, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup mint leaves

In a large pitcher, combine the wine, brandy, and orange liqueur. Pour in the sugar, stir or shake the pitcher thoroughly to mix. Add all fruit at once. Allow the mixture to sit for 1 hour before serving.

I know it says citrus Sangria and apart from the lime there's not much there. That's the "adaptation" part or the tinkering, whatever you'd like to call it. I'm notorious for changing, enhancing and outright ignoring recipes but I have a good excuse this time - using the best, freshest fruits and in this case that's summer fruits instead of winter/spring citrus.

If it were winter or spring I would, hard as this is for me, follow the original recipe and use 1 orange, 1 blood orange, 3 kumquats and 1 lime.

Salud! Here's to summer.

Rusty Nail

In honor of Father's Day, I wanted a seriously manly drink for today's happy hour starter. And few things say manly louder than Scotch. 

I could suggest you just run out and buy a high quality single malt, give it a healthy pour over ice and call it a day. You can do that for sure, but if you want a good recipe for one of my favorite Scotch-based cocktails read on.

The Rusty Nail, apparently made famous by The Rat Pack in the 60's, is a very tasty dram indeed and it's only 2 ingredients - 1.5 oz Scotch and .75 oz Drambuie with a twist of lemon for garnish.

But a twist of lemon is not really the twist I had in mind - I like this recipe by Dave Delaney | Highland Swizzle.

Rusty Nail

1.5 oz Scotch Whiskey
.75 oz Drambuie
.5 oz Lapsang Souchong Tea Syrup (1:1 tea & sugar)
.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Serve over crushed ice, garnished with fresh mint sprig.

Happy Father's Day to all the hardworking Dads out there. Cheers!