The Best Cocktail you ever had and who made it for you

[huntertitus]

I have to start by cheating as I have two best cocktails made by different people in different decades

Cocktail 1) The Martini.
Take a tumbler and squeeze a lemon peel around the rim of the glass so the zest is released but no juice
Dip the top 1/8 inch of the glass into caster sugar so you end up with a frosted rim
Drop a couple of ice cubes in the glass
Pour gin into the glass until it is three quarters full
Pour a dash of dry Martini - don't drown the gin!
Drink it

This was made for me in the 1970's by The Rev'd Philip Hayllar, a wonderful man who had learnt how to make the perfect
Martini in London in the 1920's. He'd have three of these before dinner.

Cocktail 2) The PERFECT Manhattan.
Take a tumbler and throw five ice cubes in
Pour Seagrams V&O Canadian whiskey until the glass is half full
(If you can't get V&O Canadian Club is a poor substitute but better than nothing)
Sadly V&O is no longer available in the UK but can be got in duty free at the airport
Pour equal measures of Martini Rosso and dry white Martini in to fill the glass to the brim
The measures of Vermouth are each half that of the whiskey
Drink it

This, "The Perfect Manhattan" was made for me in the 1980's by my wife's uncle Dr John Mikuta who learnt how to make it in New York City during the war. He described himself as "a Polack" When I asked him how he knew it was the PERFECT Manhattan he said "Trust me....I'm a doctor!" He would have three or four of these before dinner, the number depending on how many he poured while his wife was in the room.

[marty]

There's a bar in Covent Garden (can't remember it's name) that does a very good margarita.

I once had a very good bl**dy Mary in The Embassy Rooms on the Essex Road. I'm firmly of the belief that you can judge any bar on the quality of its bl**dy Mary. They made it using crushed ice (very important) lots of lime juice (again v important) and they also used celery, as well as a nice helping of tobasco, lea & perrins and salt & pepper. Strangely, I'm going there this evening so I think I'll have one again. Cheers!!!

[ben ashton]

The Mojito is the slightly queenish king of cocktails.
I'm happiest with Zubrowka and apple juice, a Polish Bullet as it was known in my bartending days at Revolution.
If in need of a mocktail, neat elderflower cordial makes pretty much anything taste amazing.
+ not a cocktail, but if you must drink cider over ice as Magners' marketing department convinced everyone to do a couple of years ago, try adding cinnamon syrup.
OOo and gin+cranberry juice go together nicely..

[Mid A 15]

Ben,

Does your change of location mean that you have a satisfactory resolution to your job/accommodation problems?

As a youngster Harvey Wallbangers were always quite palatable.

Vodka, Galiano and Orange Juice if hazy memory serves me right.

[ben ashton]

Accommodation sorted for the time being.
Employment less forthcoming, had a few interviews but there's sizeable competition for every vacancy.
The search continues...

On the subject of alcomahol, Old Speckled Hen now being sold in 750ml bottles is a great idea and I'm thoroughly impressed

[J.R.]

Can't say I'm a cocktail man me-self.

Quite willing to taste one if offered, though.

They all seem a bit 'girly' to me.

[englishangel]

there is a piece in today's Indie which is (unfortunately) not on the web so I will have to transcibe it.

Let this be a warning to us all.

"A woman's forehead doubled in size after she drank a cocktail on holiday. Corinne Coyle, 19, from Middlesbrough, was taken to hospital in Greece after she reacted to an ingredient in the mixture of
Baileys,
chilli
tequila,
absinthe,
ouzo,
vodka,
cider
and gin.

Doctors do not know whether the face of Ms Coyle will ever return to normal."

I don't thonk mine would. or my stomach.

[blondie95]

strawberry daiquri in Corfu

[englishangel]

A Luigi

http://www.1001cocktails.com/recipes/mi ... luigi.html

and here I am at approximately 20 past midnight on 1st January 2008 drinking one made by my daughter. Not my first by the look of it.

[jhopgood]

In Madrid, in the late 1980´s, there was a bar famous for its cocktails. I even saw the barman wheeled on as the expert in a TV programme, where participants had to try and be as good as the expert.
We staggered into this bar, not knowing of its fame, and ordered Cuba Libres at the bar. The bar man gave us a rather odd look but gave us a choice of rums and made a pretty good drink.
(White rum, preferably Bacardi as you don´t want to waste a decent rum, Coca Cola, ice, half a squeezed lemon and a lemon slice, and then, if it is too sweet, a drop of soda water)
Behind the bar, it looked like an old fashioned pharmacy, with lots of seemingly unlabelled bottles displaying different coloured liquids.
We sat down at a table and were amazed to see that there was a cocktail menu, with at least 40 different cocktails.
Not being one to change my poison half way through the evening, I stuck to what I knew and never tried anything on the menu.
Unfortunately, when we left we were both past our sell dates and never found it again.

[Jo]

The night after I passed my driving test someone paid the barman to go all the way along the optics with one glass. Does that count?

Seriously, I do like a good frozen margharita

[icomefromalanddownunder]

Gin Sling at Raffles. The rubbishy ones they serve on Singapore Airlines flights should be banned.

But, to answer the original question. A Mojito made by my baby brother - who, after living in Ecuador for two years, can also come up with some very fine margueritas.

xx

[scariefairy]

Made for me the other day by one of my work friends when I asked for a cocktail of something strong. Tastes good if you like whiskey, otherwise I wouldnt advise it (Pitcher Recipe, 3-4 pints):

Double Wray and Nephews White Rum,
Double Wild Tukey Whiskey,
Double Disaronno,
Dash of Blackcurrant Cordial,
Loads of Ice and Coke

[gma]

Brandy Alexander in The Last Waterhole in Amsterdam, don't know what was in it but I can tell you that I've never drunk one that tasted like that since, anywhere in the world or one that made me so inexplicably happy.......................! Hmmm.

[huntertitus]

one that made me so inexplicably happy.......................! Hmmm.

It's called intoxication!