Yolanda
What is the weirdest cocktail of all?
There are plenty of weird cocktails but Sourtoe wins the title of the weirdest cocktail hands down, and why not! for it features a mummified human toe in a simple shot of Whiskey, usually Yukon Jack.
The custom has a story, and it all started during the prohibitions. In the 1920s, the rum running Linken brothers, Louie and Otto were caught in a blizzard and Louie accidentally wet his right foot and when they reached their cabin, his right foot was frozen solid. To prevent gangrene Otto used his axe to chop off Louie's toes and he kept them in a jar of alcohol.
In 1937, legend has it that Captain Dick Stevenson found this jar and the idea of the Sourtoe Cocktail Club popped in his mind, the membership criteria being “You can drink it fast. You can drink it slow. But your lips must touch that gnarly toe.”
Yolanda
- Gin 1.5 cl
- Brandy 1.50 cl
- Sweet Vermouth 3 cl
- Anisette 1.5 cl
- Grenadine Syrup 1 dash
- Orange Peel 1 twist
Any Glass of your Choice
yolanda is a popular Gin,Vermouth cocktail containing a combinations of Gin,Brandy,Sweet Vermouth,Anisette,Grenadine Syrup,Orange Peel .Served using Any Glass of your Choice
Yolanda Ingredients
Gin,Brandy,Sweet Vermouth,Anisette,Grenadine Syrup,Orange Peel,
Yolanda Recipe
Shake all ingredients (except orange peel) with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Add the twist of orange peel and serve.
Gin
Gin is a distilled alcoholic beverage that has it's origin in medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe. The historical Gin producing regions are Southern France, Flanders and Netherlands. Gin was originally created to provide aqua vitae from grape and grain distillates.
During the Middle ages, the newly found substance Ethanol was considered by Alchemists to be the water of life, and an aqueous solution of ethanol was in use all over Europe and had different names and is literally the origin of many spirits like Whisky ( from the Gaelic uisce beatha for water of life ). Today Gin is produces from a wide range of ingredients, which gave rise to numerous distinct styles and brands. The predominant flavour of Gin is from the Juniper berries and then each different distillery flavours it further with an assortment of botanicas or herbs, spices, floral and fruit flavours, in different combinations. Gin is commonly drank mixed with Tonic water but it is also often used as a base spirit for many gin based flavoured liqueurs like Sloe Gin.Brandy
Brandy, simply put, is a distilled wine. It is categorised under Distilled Alcoholic Beverages along with Whiskey, Rum, Gin, Vodka and Tequila, but it's in a way a cross connection between Fermented liquor and distilled liquor. A Brandy typically containts 35% to 60% Alcohol by Volume ( 70-120 US proof ) and is usually consumed as an after dinner digestif.
Although Brandy is generally classified as a liquor produced by distilling wine, in a broader sense, this encompasses liquors obtained from the distillation of either pomace ( the soild remains of grapes after mashing and extraction of juice for wine making ) or fruit mash or wine.
It may be noted that Brandy like Gin is also one of the original Water of Life or eau de vie, carried over from the medieval tradition of an aquaous solution of ethanol used as a medicine.
The history of Brandy is closely tied to the development of commercial distillation in and around the 15th Century. In early 15th Century French Brandy made way for a new cross-Atlantic trade or Triangle Trade and replaced Portuguese Fortified Wine or Port from the central role it played in trade, mostly due to the higher alcohol content of the Brandy and ease of transport. However by the late 17th Century, Rum replaced Brandy as the exchange alcohol of choice in the Triangle Trade. More info on Wikipedia for the interested Brandy aficionados. Note that an Apricot Brandy can refer to the liquor (or Eau de Vie, Water of Life) distilled from fermented apricot juice or a liqueur made from apricot flesh and kernels.Sweet Vermouth
Vermouth the French for German Wermut, Wormwood in English, is an aromatic fortified Wine, flavoured with various botanicals like roots, barks, flowers, herbs, seeds and spices.
Although traditionally Vermouth was used for medicinal purposes, it has been also served as an apéritif in its modern avatar. The modern Vermouth first appeared in and around the 18th Century in Turin. By the late 19th Century it became very popular with bartenders as a key ingredient in cocktail mixology.
Martini, Manhattan, Rob Roy and Negroni were a few cocktails that Vermouth grew in popularity with. But later during the 20th Century, Vermouth slowly lost its glory and Dry Martinis and extra Dry Martinis with little or no Vermouth gained over the original Martini. Modern Martinis usually have a splash of Vermouth to add that herbacious texture to it.
Historically, there have been two Vermouth types, Dry and Sweet, but with demand variations have come up now. that include extra-dry white, sweet white, red, amber and rose.
Vermouth is produced by adding proprietory mixture of aromatic botanicals to a base wine or a base wine plus spirit or spirit only, which is usually redistilled before adding it to a base of neutral grape wine or unfermented wine must ( freshly pressed grapes and the juice ). After the wine is aromatised and fortified. it is sweetened and the end product is a Vermouth.
Dry Vermouth is what makes the character of the original Martini, and a Dry Vermouth has less sugar and is more herbacious but less spicier than Sweet Vermouth.Anisette
Anisette is as the name suggests, an anise flavoured liqueur most commonly consumed in the Mediterranean countries. It is a colourless, sweet liqueur and the sweetness comes from the added sugar, which is in contrast with dry anise flavoured spirits like Absinthe.
Anisette have two distinct production variations, one is a distilled drink, created by distilling fermented anise, and the other is a simple maceration of anise filtered to Anisette.
Note that often Pastis liqueur is confused with Anisette but Pastis is different and it uses Licorice and Anise.
Note: To substitute Anisette in a cocktail, if absolutely necessary, either steep Anise Extract and Anise Oil ( preferably Green Anise, since Anisette is created with Mediterranean Green Anise ) in neutral Vodka for a few days and add sugar syrup to finish, and use, or use Anise Seed and follow Home Recipes for Anisette to create your own.Grenadine Syrup
Grenadine is a common non-alcoholic pomegranate syrup with a characteristic deep red colour. It is a very popular cocktail ingredient, used for its pomegranate flavour and more for its ability to add a reddish to pink tint to a cocktail.
The name Grenadine originates from the French for pomegranate, which is grenade.
Grenadine is not subjected to regulations like alcoholic beverages are, and there are no region specific formulae any more, and thus manufacturers often replace pomegranate with blackcurrant juice and other fruit juices while retaining the same flavour profile.
Many producers now use artificial ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, water, citric acid, sodium citrate, sodium benzoate and food grade red colour along with natural and artificial flavours.
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Cocktail Glass
A Cocktail Glass is a stemmed glass with an inverted cone bowl used to serve straight up cocktails. Altough the term Cocktail Glass is used interchangeably with Martini Glass, they differ slightly. a Martini Glass is purely conical while a Cocktail Glass is more rounded in shape and the Martini Glass is wider at the mouth and has a taller stem.
The martini glass has somewhat fallen out of favour in modern times due to its tendency to spill drinks, and the champagne coupe is sometimes used instead.Simple Guide to Cocktail Glassware
When there is no specific glass suggested for a cocktail, it's up to you to chose a glass.
Either you just go ahead and serve using any glass available to you following these simple rules
A. Go for Tall or Collins Glasses, Highball Glasses or even Hurricane Glasses for cocktails with loads of non-alcoholic mixes, and those that require crushed or cubed ices,
B. But if your cocktail is aromatic and liqueur based, and has a complex character that must reach the nose use a wide mouthed Cocktail Glass.
C. Red Wine Glasses for cocktails that have a Red Wine as the base spirit. Red Wine Glasses have a wider mouth and a long stem, so that the wine can be swirled an aerated to release the aroma while the long stem keeps the fingers away and avoid quick warming of the wine.
D. White Wine Glasses for cocktails with a White Wine base, since White Wines must not be aerated as much as a Red Wines, since they oxidise fast when in contact with air, White Wine glassware, in contrast to the wide mouthed bowl of a Red Wine Glassware, is narrow with a narrow mouth. A White Wine has much lighter and delicate notes and the narrow mouth and less surface area in contact with air helps retain the aroma.
E. If your cocktail is based on a Sparkling Wine like Champagne then a Flute Glass is more suitable since a Sparkling Wine is a White Wine with a secondary fermentation that produces the bubbles, and the narrow mouth flute prevents the bubbles from escaping.
F. If it's winter and you are in the mood for some hot cocktails like the Irish Coffee or Hot Toddy, go for the Irish Coffee Glass, it has a heat resistant glass and a handle.
G. Martini Glasses for Martinis or "Tinis" in general, but since these glasses have fallen off of favour these days, a Cocktail Glass will be good too.
H. IF you are serving Margaritas, don't look for Margarita Glass if you don't have one at home, Double Old Fashioned Glass or other glasses are more common these days, for serving Margaritas.
I. If you are the adventurous one, and are serving shots or shooters, of course the Shot Glass is your choice of glass,
J. Finally, if you are going all out and serving depth charges and car bomb shots, all you need is a Double Old Fashioned Glass or a Beer Mug for the beer and a shot glass to drop the bomb in.
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About Us
Neel B and Mani, we are a team of two, originally from India and the United States. We are professional software engineers and passionate cocktail enthusiasts. We built this app because we saw a need for a more comprehensive and user-friendly way to find cocktails and bartending recipes. We hope you enjoy using our app as much as we enjoyed making it!We decided to use our technology skills to help others who were in the same position as us and wanted to experiment with making cocktails at home but didn\u2019t know where to start. We have been working together for more than two years and has managed to collect an extensive library of recipes as well as tips and tricks for making the perfect cocktail.
Neel B is an Electronics and Telecommunications Engineer and martial arts and fitness enthusiast. He is an avid reader, compulsive doodler, and painter. His love for cocktails arises from the art in it and the history that traces the ups and downs of modern civilisation over centuries.
Mani is an ERP and SaaS developer and architect by day and a cocktail enthusiast in her leisure. She holds a Masters in Computer Application and Programming. In addition to writing stories on the history of cocktails and alcohol, she has a special interest in cocktails in literature. She believes that the perfect cocktail can make any moment special.