Try this drink on for size: Bluecoat American dry gin, V8, Old Bay,
chipotle Tabasco, Worcestershire, and lemon. Shake the hell out
of it with 4 clam broth ice cubes for thirty seconds, then pour into
glass. Add two more clam cubes, cause they break down when
shaken, seeing that there's a higher salt content making them softer
than plain frozen water. Garnish with celery stalk.
As the drink gets smaller, you get closer and closer to the Bay.
You dig?
Yum!... as an alternative to the pedestrian vodka Bloody Mary. And more patriotic!
ReplyDeleteHowever, the V8 cocktail is one that I favor infrequently, and if so, usually in the late morning hours. I am much more interested in the prospect of a prepandial cocktail-- a Bluecoat Gherkintini:
3-4 drops dry vermouth
4 (or so) ozs. Bluecoat gin
load ice into shaker and shake relentlessly
1 gherkin (preferably, cornichon) to garnish
Got to try this Bluecoat Gin, how does it stand up in a Gimlet?
DeleteHoovs: Maybe you ought to buy a bottle and report back to me (us). Are you pissed at the new word verification device deployed to eliminate further spam comments? Hope not.
DeleteNo problema, I understand, and am cool with it. I will purchase a bottle of this Bluecoat elixir, dabble with conjuring up a Bloody Mary and report back to you and my fellow 829 Southdrive groupies. I will probably not do the clam juice ice cubes, but I love the concept!
DeleteIf you do not utilize the frozen broth from cooking clams, you're not experiencing the desired effect.
DeleteI will need to bone up on how to make clam broth. You may be aware of this but many of the Chesapeake locals prefer Wye River seasoning or JO Spice Crab seasoning over Old Bay.
DeleteLegend has it that there once was a original "Old Bay" seasoning, but it was bought out by McCormicks Spice company. The older locals who experience the original "Old Bay" claim that McCormicks changed the recipe and screwed it up.
Personally I am not an native of the Chesapeake Bay area and do not have a dog in that fight, but I have tried Wye Seasoning and found it much spicier than Old Bay and do like it. I have yet to try JO., but it is on the to-do list. I encourage you to give them both a whirl. Like anything else these days they are both available on the internet.
Stay calm and carry on.
Great lead on the local spice alternatives, Manass!
DeleteMay I beseech our esteemed chef/blogmaster to conduct a crab taste test on the three condiments and report back to his loyal reader(s)?
Stay clam and carry on.
Baydog,
Deleteyou are close to eureka! Hell, the clam broth ice cubes alone are genius enough. A little obscure Chesapeake crab spice and a little more baydog tweaking and you have invented the worlds next great cocktail!
Sounds like a challenge/assignment. Hmmmm. Do we at least agree that V8 is the tomato juice par excellence?
DeleteYes, but please no bacon bits.
DeleteMojo,
DeleteI agree with no bacon bits, rather than that lets use whole strips of that apple wood bacon via Vermont that Baydog keeps mentioning in his blogs. Yea, bits are much too small.
That's cob-smoked bacon, Doug, er I mean Manassas.
DeleteCan a man get a code name on this blog or what!
DeleteSo we are all in agreement, no bacon in the Bloody Mary mix. V8 is the juice, and and the clam juice ice cubes are the piece de resistance. Bay Dog I did get some J.O. seasoning this weekend (email/phone call to follow). Use it as you see fit, or not fit. In the mean while I will be smoking some cobs (I heard they make you hungry)
DeleteThe code name has a lot of "s"s. Break the syllables down: Man-ass-as.
DeleteWould just the first two parts do? You still get the sense of place (VA). Charmingly self-deprecating, too.
... truth be told
DeleteI love a Bloody Mary/Clam Digger/any tomato infused cocktail.
ReplyDeleteThat being said:
Baydog, we have had our Vodka vs. Gin arguments, but I have to admit I am intrigued by your Bloody Mary via Gin recipe. The Gin I assume would give it a legitimate alcohol taste (which vodka lacks) and the clam juiced ice cubes...well that is just pure Baydog! I must try to recreate your recipe and give you my 2 well 1 cent. Tough work but somebody has to do it....I am not familiar with Bluecoat Gin, how does it compare to Mr. Boston Gin?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLove the new header picture. It's grainy, but is that you on the left and Bob to the right?
ReplyDeleteBTW, that is one of my all-time favorite E-scow photos. I've been in that position countless times and it's right before you resign yourself to falling face-first into the mainsail, 'cause you rarely ever stay up on the boat.
DeleteThanks, but I was only nine. Left to right: Jim Wagner, Dottie Wagner, Jon Eisberg, Bob Armstrong. Two of those guys will be featured very soon in the next post.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but there are only two bodies visible, and a blob in the middle (Dot and Jon).
DeleteYou were only nine... sitting at the the yacht club bar enjoying a cold one, while your parents were about to get wet.