Experiments with alcohol and condiments
Midnight Sun guest poster ryan97ou has the summers most ... appetizing ... new drink:
When you find yourself sitting at Club Charles (1724 N. Charles St.) late on a Thursday night with a couple friends and the bartender plops down a jar of capers, a large jug of maple syrup, and mustard and proclaims, "Bet you can't make a shot out of one of these," you take that bet.
When life gives you maple syrup you make ... syrup-ade? Well that's what I found myself trying to do last night.
And ya know what? Maybe it was the half bottle of wine or shots of tequila I had prior in the evening, but the resulting concoction wasn't half bad ...
It all started when I walked into the bar and ordered a shot my friends introduced to me many years ago: a TNT. This stands for Tequila-N-Tomato juice, which sounds disgusting, I know. But if you are like me and can no longer take shots of tequila without a serious gag reflex, the TNT is perfect.
You pour a shot of tequila and next to it a shot of tomato juice. Right after you shoot the tequila, drink the tomato juice and voila ... zero tequila taste. It's a dangerous thing.
The (lovely) bartenders had never heard of it and seemed impressed with the disgusting concoction, which was probably why the "condiment challenge" ensued. I decided on maple syrup since it seemed the easiest to deal with (caper juice? even I'm not that dumb), and added it to some espresso vodka and a dash of club soda.
It actually turned into a drink more than a shot. The bartender mixed them up and served them to me and my two friends and the result wasn't half bad: like a sweet espresso. Next time, I would mix up the syrup more because it tended to float down to the bottom, which resulted in an overly espresso-tasting drink. But when you mixed it up, it tasted like a sweet alcoholic espresso.
Lesson learned? Next time you're sitting at home with a bottle of vodka sans mixers, just open your fridge. You might be surprised how good a ketchup-ini tastes.
(AP photo)
Erik Maza is a features reporter at the Baltimore Sun. He writes for several sections of the Sun paper and contributes weekly columns on music and nightlife. He also writes and edits the Midnight Sun blog. He often covers entertainment, business, and the business of entertainment. Occasionally, he writes about Four Loko, The Block, the liquor board, and those who practice "
Comments
If you want "zero tequila taste," then why not just drink something else?
Posted by: Dave the wave | May 1, 2009 12:24 PM
Oh yeah, the espresso vodka / syrup concoction does sound tasty!
Posted by: Dave the wave | May 1, 2009 12:26 PM
I know you can get chocolate stouts around. But liked ordering a Guinness and then stir in Hershey's chocolate syrup.
Posted by: mikepcfl | May 1, 2009 12:48 PM
guess it's more of a gimmick than anything. like a bar trick. this was probably the first one i have had in years.
Posted by: ryan97ou | May 1, 2009 12:55 PM
mikepcfl: oooh, that sounds tasty.
speaking of which, has anyone tried the new anniversary guinness? supposed to be more like an imperial stout
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.seacoastonline.com%2Farticles%2F20090420-FOOD-90420022&ei=qC_7SbKjN5L4MNDq-LgE&usg=AFQjCNHBvW_r7hBT-OotdC8PLQw5DuaitQ&sig2=JDVbwl081W8T5W6dGI2LoA
Posted by: ryan97ou | May 1, 2009 1:22 PM
The TNT sounds similar to the Mexican Shiver at Mex Tequila Bar. Stop by and try one, it's fabulous.
Posted by: Chris G | May 1, 2009 2:33 PM
I made A LOT of bad decisions at Bad Decisions a few weeks ago when some guys my friends and I were talking to started ordering rounds of Rumplemints and Hershey's Syrup. I have deemed that combination the Mind Eraser. Delicious... I think, haha.
Posted by: CantonKate | May 1, 2009 2:48 PM
Chase a shot of vodka with a shot of pickle juice. yum
Posted by: Neighbor | May 1, 2009 4:48 PM
Rumple Minze is like hitting yourself in the head with a hammer.
Only more minty.
Posted by: PCB Rob | May 1, 2009 10:01 PM
Chase a shot of vodka with a shot of pickle juice. yum
Sounds like a recipe for The Hurler.
Posted by: PCB Rob | May 1, 2009 10:16 PM
In reference to chocolate stouts, yes, they exist. The standard to reach for is Young's Double Chocolate Stout from London, which actually does taste like someone added a shot of Hershey's syrup to a terrific CO2 stout (as opposed to a nito stout like Guinness), BUT that flavor is 90% the brewers' genius and only 10% the little bit of added chocolate. Since its 1997 introduction, several other chocolate stouts have come out, with many seriously trying too hard with the chocolate......
Posted by: Alexander D. Mitchell IV | May 2, 2009 10:49 AM
rumplemintz made me be that guy that went home with a fat chick once. i haven't drank it since.
Posted by: Allan | May 4, 2009 9:28 AM
Allan, but I bet the fat chick has drank rumplemintz every time she's gone out since!
Posted by: mikepcfl | May 4, 2009 12:05 PM
Fat chicks? It's like I'm part of the Algonquin Round Table. No doubt the young woman needed to drink something strong to forget the experience.
Posted by: Amanda C | May 4, 2009 5:16 PM
she probably is. it was her weapon of choice. she kept buying, and i kept drinking. and Amanda, I'm sorry. "fat chicks" was a little harsh, i should be more PC. she was most deff. some sort of land walrus.
Posted by: Allan | May 5, 2009 9:20 AM
"Fat chicks?" sounds so 50's - early 60's. If you were in England, you probably would call them "Fat Dollybirds" to be sarcastic but the ungenerous "fat cow" never seems to go out of fashion.
As for the Algonquin Round Table AKA The Vicious Circle,
Ernest Hemmingway, Franklin Pierce Adams*, Robert Benchley, Alexander Woollcott**, and especially Dorothy Parker, etc came too early and would have been far more funny and cutting.
* he's the guy to dispense with a person who he didn't want to talk to with "Hello, I must be going" (Groucho Marx picked up from him).
** maybe the original smart alex.
Posted by: GDA | May 5, 2009 1:13 PM
GDA,
Yeah but sometimes it's just the easiest way to describe something/one. I mean, it's not like I said, "this gelatinous broad with a hoagie hanging out of her mouth". She was fat, and a girl. But I wish I were British, so I could say "fat cow" and get away with it.
Posted by: Allan | May 5, 2009 1:59 PM
In Zanzibar she would be called a "fat bottomed girl."
Posted by: BA | May 6, 2009 9:49 AM
hahahaha land walrus hahahahaha
Posted by: Sam Sessa | May 7, 2009 11:17 AM