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Party Like a Mad Man – The Virtual Mad Men Dinner Party

by Merlene 2 Comments

Mad Men cast, Season 5

Mad Men cast, Season 5 - photo via AMC's official Mad Men site

Recently the authors of The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook, Judy Gelman and Peter Zheurtlin, invited us to join them in celebrating the return of Mad Men on March 25, 2012 for a fifth season by participating in a Virtual Mad Men Dinner Party and how could we refuse? After all, Madtini came to be as a result of our love of Mad Men, 1960s culture and cocktails!

We’ve had a great time exploring the recipes for cocktails, appetizers, salads, main courses and desserts within The Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook and figured it was only fitting if we mixed up a drink for the cocktail hour. Check out spinningsalad.com to get the best salad marker utensils.

One of our very favourite Mad Men scenes is from Season 3, episode 3 “My Old Kentucky Home”. In the scene, Don Draper makes an Old Fashioned (using rye) for himself and “Connie” (Conrad Hilton) as the two exchange small talk about growing up poor. (You can view the scene here.)

Old Fashioned

This recipe for the Old Fashioned courtesy of The Grand Central Oyster Bar, New York, New York
Old Fashioned cocktail
Note: Bourbon or rye may be used in the Old Fashioned. Rye was originally used, and the Grand Central Oyster Bar is starting to use rye again in these drinks; they use Michter’s, but Don would likely choose Canadian Club, the brand we see in his office and home. Seagrams V.O. and Crown Royal were also popular in the 1960s, says Jonathan Rogers of the Grand Central Oyster Bar.

1 orange slice
1 maraschino cherry
1 teaspoon sugar
Few drops of Angostura bitters
A splash of soda water to muddle the ingredients
2.5 ounces rye or bourbon (we used Maker’s Mark)

1. In a mixing glass, muddle orange slice, cherry, sugar, bitters and a little soda water: push around and break up cherry and orange until flavor is released.

2. Add soda water so cherry is wet and sugar is melted. Add rye or bourbon and serve over rocks, if desired.

Another favourite here at Madtini is the Irish Coffee which we figured was an appropriate night cap at the end of a lovely evening.
In a memorable scene between Don Draper and Rachel Menken in Season 1, episode 6 “Babylon” at the Tea Room of the Pierre Hotel, Don attempts to charm Rachel who reminds him that they are meeting strictly for business and she only orders coffee. “Irish Coffee?” suggests Don in his typical roguish fashion. “Coffee.” Rachel replies firmly. (I think Don might need an Irish Coffee – there’s a definite chill in the air!).

Irish Coffee

This recipe for Irish Coffee courtesy of The Pierre Hotel, New York, New York
Irish Coffee
Note: The hotel uses Bushmill’s Irish Whiskey, but the drink also works well with John Jameson Irish Whiskey. Any variety of whiskey made in Ireland will suffice, hence the name “Irish Coffee”.

2 ounces Irish Whiskey (we used Bushmill’s)
3.5 teaspoons light brown sugar
4 ounces hot coffee
Whipped cream, for topping

Stir whiskey, brown sugar and coffee together in a mug. Add whipped cream to top.

If you find the whipped cream is sinking to the bottom the secret, according to Irish Coffee inventor Joe Sheridan, is “the coffee must be lightly sweetened, the cream must be both fresh and softly whipped, and the cream must be poured into the hot coffee over the back of a spoon.”

To join Madtini other great blogs in the Virtual Mad Men Dinner Party be sure to visit the Unofficial Mad Men Cookbook on Facebook and follow @DineLikeDraper and @Madtini and don’t forget to check out The Unofficial Mad cookbook.

The Virtual Mad Men Dinner Party is tonight (March 18, 2012) on twitter from 8-9pm Eastern and following the hashtag #PartyLikeaMadMan.

Filed Under: Bourbon, Whiskey based Tagged With: AMC, bourbon, cocktails, cookbook, dinner party, Don Draper, drinks, irish whiskey, mad men, Maker's Mark, Old fashioned, recipes, rye, whiskey

A Madtini Night Out at the LCBO Classic Cocktails 1960s Soirée

by Randy Matheson 1 Comment

LCBO Classic Cocktails 1960s Soirée

Thursday was a very special night out for Madtini. The LCBO hosted a 1960s-inspired party at The Carlu in downtown Toronto to celebrate the launch of their new Classic Cocktails website and mobile site.

The evening’s star attraction was Mad Men costume designer Janie Bryant, who gave a short talk on classic 60s style.

The folks attending the event were arriving in style as well (heck I even wore a tie). Take a look at some of the 60s-inspired fashion on The Hip and Urban Girl’s Guide and It’s All Style to Me blogs.

(and hey, for a fun drinking game, do a shot every time you read the word ‘classic’ in this blog post)

The website features recipes for 24 classic cocktails, appetizers, product information and a flipbook version of the Classic Cocktails magazine. Do yourself a favour and pick up the magazine the next time you visit an LCBO store.

First off Madtini has to thank Anita Clarke of  I Want I Got for hooking us up with 2 invites for this great party.

The soirée took place in the classic round room at The Carlu. The Carlu alongwith the Design Exchange are two of the best examples of Art Moderne style architecture in Toronto, and was a perfect venue for this celebration of classic cocktail culture.

The event featured live musical of the the circle of fifths, great food, and two bar set-ups serving expertly crafted classic cocktails. The bartenders were making drinks with flare, juggling the bottles and garnishing with style.

Cocktail Time

It was now time for the most difficult part of the evening, choosing which cocktail to try first. After some deliberation we went with an ice-cold Grey Goose Vodka Martini as our first choice.

We moved on to the Negroni next made with Broker’s Premium Gin, Campari and Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth. If I can pass along one party tip, it would be don’t lean over to ask the bartender a question while he’s making the orange flambe garnish. Eyebrows are awesome and it’s nice to leave the party with both of them.

For our third and final drink of the evening our server recommended a Rusty Nail, made with Johnnie Walker Black Scotch and Drambuie.

The classic cocktails served this evening were a welcome change from the sweet drinks that made up most of our Christmas and New Year’s drinks. Which of these 24 classic cocktails are your favourite?

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Filed Under: Special Events Tagged With: 1960s, Broker's Gin, Campari, cocktails, Drambuie, Grey Goose, Janie Bryant, Johnny Walker Black, LCBO, mad men, martini, Rusty Nail, sweet vermouth, The Carlu

Attention Fangbangers and Mad Men – the Hot & Dirty Cajun Martini

by Merlene Leave a Comment

Hot and Dirty Cajun Martini

Hot and Dirty Cajun Martini

Sunday nights can be a confusing time for a cable TV viewer and cocktail enthusiast. One minute you’re watching sexy southern vampires battling it out with half-naked werewolves, the next you’re watching smart and sexy ad folks battling it out with each other or small-minded clients. Don’t even get me started on how confused we can get flipping over to Entourage during the commercials. Wait, was that Johnny Bravo playing ping-pong with Peggy… oh wait, nevermind that’s John Stamos.

This drink may not help ease that confusion, but you might stop caring after a few of these start hitting the spot. Remember, you can always ask your friends at work what happened – or find it on the magical and mysterious interwebs.

We started by slicing up 2 jalapenos on Friday night and added them to 6 ounces of vodka, then left them for 48 hours, producing a gin infused with a spicy bite.  Add an ounce of olive brine and you’ll be riding hot and dirty like the Sunday night staff here at Madtini Labs.

Cheers and enjoy True Blood, Mad Men and Entourage tonight!

Ingredients

  • 2 oz of Vodka
  • 1 oz olive brine
  • 1/2 oz dry vermouth
  • 2 jalapeno peppers
  • olives stuffed with pimento

Preparation

Slice 2 jalapeno, muddle gently and add it to several ounces of vodka, set aside for 48 hours. Chill the cocktail glass with 2 ice cubes for 2-3 minutes. Add the infused vodka, dry vermouth and olive brine to a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake vigorously and strain into the chilled cocktail glass. Serve, site back and put down the remote control.

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Filed Under: Vodka based Tagged With: jalapeno, mad men, olives, true blood, vodka

Cocktail Recipe: The Original Martini

by Merlene Leave a Comment

Assembling our tools...

Assembling our tools...

Many people feel this is only one true Martini – gin with just a whisper of vermouth garnished with an olive. We’re not going to debate whether other martini recipes are valid martinis or just pretty cocktails but we’re starting with the classic original martini.

Yesterday @randymatheson and I picked up some new martini glasses and a cocktail shaker at Kitchen Stuff Plus as well as some vermouth and gin. The gin is in the freezer for the day – a martini should be served ice cold – and we’ll post photos this evening when we make them.

According to Wikipedia:Over the years, the martini has become one of the most well-known mixed alcoholic beverages. H. L. Mencken once called the martini “the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet”,[and E. B. White called it “the elixir of quietude”. It is the drink of the one-time “three-martini lunch” of business executives, now largely abandoned due to company “fitness for duty” programs.

To make the classic original martini:

2 ounces (55ml) gin
0.5 ounces (15ml) dry vermouth
ice
green olive

Add ice, gin and vermouth to cocktail shaker, shake then strain into a martini glass. Garnish with an olive.

Ice Cold Gin and Vermouth

Ice Cold Gin and Vermouth

Some martini aficionados feel that the 4 to 1 part ratio of gin to vermouth as above is not dry enough and prefer a 6 to 1 part ratio referring to it as a dry martini. Others insist that the vermouth be swirled around the glass then poured out before adding the ice cold gin.

We’ll be mixing the standard 4 to 1 ratio tonight as we prepare to watch the season premiere of Mad Men.

Filed Under: Gin based Tagged With: dry vermouth, gin, mad men

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