Brainstorm - a Vintage Cocktail with Irish Whiskey, Benedictine & Dry Vermouth
You don't need to wait until St. Patrick's Day for this 100-year-old Irish Cocktail made with Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey, Benedictine, Dry Vermouth and an Orange Twist.
The earliest mention of this drink comes from Recipes for Mixed Drinks by Hugo R. Ensslin from 1916. Recipes vary slightly as to how much Benedictine and Dry Vermouth to use, depending on where you look, but this is my favorite ratio. The Benedictine and Dry Vermouth are always equal parts and the Irish Whiskey is always the base spirit.
Irish Whiskey is under utilized in cocktails. However, Irish whiskey is supposedly one of the oldest European distilled spirits. Older that Scotch by 300 years.The Single Pot Still Irish Whiskey style of making whiskey with malted and unmalted barley is what made Irish Whiskey so renowned in the 1700's.
To keep up with a changing industry, Irish Whiskey changed the way it's made. Most Irish Whiskies now start with a Single Pot Still Whiskey and add neutral grain alcohol (essentially vodka) or grain whiskey to it to lower the cost. This gives it a "mellower" flavor profile, but it also loses some of its complexity. If you like Jameson, you should try Redbreast. It's the same product before it's diluted with vodka.
Redbreast and Green Spot are good examples of the Single Pot Still product. I prefer Redbreast with this drink, but don't let me stop you from using your favorite Irish Whiskey.
When selecting your Benedictine, make sure you're buying DOM Benedictine and not B&B (Benedictine and Brandy). The B&B is just a premixed cocktail and is not the same thing as Benedictine. If you want a B&B you can very easily make it yourself. Benedictine belongs in your home bar and B&B belongs on a liquor store shelf.
What makes the Brainstorm an Irish cocktail if it was made by a German in America? Just the base spirit, but what more do you want? It's an awesome cocktail that uses Irish Whiskey. Sláinte!
Recipe:
2 oz Irish Whiskey
0.33 oz Dry Vermouth
0.33 oz Benedictine
Orange Twist
Stir with ice. Strain into chilled coupe glass. Garnish with Orange Twist.
Follow Us!
/ distinguishedspirits
/ distinguishedspirits
/ distinguishedsp
/ distinguishedsp
Featured in This Drink:
Redbreast Irish Whiskey
http://www.singlepotstill.com/redbreast
Green Spot Irish Whiskey
/ singlepotstill
http://www.singlepotstill.com/
Dolin Vermouth
http://www.dolin.fr/gb/index.html
Benedictine
http://benedictinedom.com/usa/en/home...
