Sour Drink Recipes

Sour Drink Recipes, Written By David Edessa

Sour Hour!!!! Bar is open 🙂 This weekend I tried my hand once again on sour drink recipes.  Also, I gave a recommendation on beer (great even if you think you do not like beer… Take a chance 🙂

Sour Peach Sweet Tea (non-alcoholic):

Ingredients

• 5 individual tea bags
• 4 cups of boiling water
• 1½ lbs. of fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and sliced.
• ½ cup Balsamic syrup (recipes below)
• 1 or 2 lemons, juiced (regular lemons=1 /if you use Meyers lemons=2)
• 5 cups of ice cubes
• 1 cup fresh peaches, cut into bite-sized chunks
• ½ cup sugar (optional)

Instructions:

Steep tea bags in boiling water for 5 minutes; set aside to chill. Meanwhile puree the peaches and balsamic glaze. Then, push pulp through a strainer. Add the strained puree to a ½ gallon pitcher, stir in the lemon juice, and top with ice and pour tea over the top; stir. Taste, if it needs more sugar or balsamic vinegar. Cover and chill in refrigerator until needed, stirring before serving.

Balsamic Syrup recipe:

Ingredients:

• ¾ cup Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• 1 cup Organic Honey

Instructions:

Simmer ¾ cup of balsamic vinegar in a pot until it reduces by half. Add 1 cup of honey and stir until it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat, allow it to cool slightly and pour into a squeeze bottle.

Following recipes can be used as a mixer for your favorite booze, vodka, Rhum, and even Bourbon over ice.

Example:

• 1½ oz. Bourbon Whiskey
• 4 oz. Sour Peach Sweet Tea mixer

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Orange Blossom Cocktail:

Ingredients:

• 1½ oz. Citrus Vodka
• ½ oz. Dry Vermouth
• ½ oz. Grand Marnier
• ½ teaspoon Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• Orange Slice

Instructions:

Put ice into a cocktail shaker. Add Vodka, Grand Marnier, Vermouth and Balsamic Vinegar. Shake cocktail vigorously. Take an orange peel and rub the inside of the glass with the zest side. Pour contents of shaker onto prepped cocktail glass over ice. Garnish with an orange wedge on the rim.

Strawberry-Balsamic Crush Cocktail:

Ingredients:

• 1½ oz. Citrus Vodka
• 2 ripe strawberries (hulled)
• ½ teaspoon Aged Balsamic Vinegar
• ½ oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. Honey
• Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

In a shaker tin, muddle 2 of the strawberries with the vinegar, lime juice, and agave syrup. Add the vodka and top with ice. Then shake cocktail vigorously. Strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with a twist of fresh ground black pepper. Garnish with a strawberry.

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What is a Flanders Red Ale?

It is a complex, sour, red wine-like Belgian-style ale. Long aging and blending of young and well-aged beer often occurs, adding to the smoothness and complexity, though the aged product is sometimes released as a connoisseur’s beer. Known as the Burgundy of Belgium, it is more wine-like than any other beer style. The reddish color is a product of the malt although an extended; less-than-rolling portion of the boil may help add an attractive Burgundy hue. Aging will also darken the beer. The Flanders red is more acetic and the fruity flavors more reminiscent of a red wine than an Oud Bruin. It can have an apparent attenuation of up to 98%.

History:

The indigenous beer of West Flanders, typified by the products of the Rodenbach brewery, established in 1820 in West Flanders but reflective of earlier brewing traditions. The beer is aged for up to two years, often in huge oaken barrels which contain the resident bacteria necessary to sour the beer. It was once common in Belgium and England to blend old beer with young to balance the sourness and acidity found in aged beer. While blending of batches for consistency is now common among larger breweries, this type of blending is a fading art.

Two that I recommend… it’s also the two from the three that I’ve tried that I enjoyed 🙂

Cuvée Des Jacobins Rouge: A strongly acidic aroma with notes of balsamic vinegar, molasses, and dark cherries. Strong acidity up front with some black cherry notes. Dark caramel appears in the middle and lends some sweetness to the beer as it finishes with notes of vanilla, oak, and complex sweet/sour balsamic notes.

Verhaeghe Duchesse De Bourgogne: Aroma of sour cherries, blackcurrant, vanilla, over-aged wine, soft hints of oak. It has lots of sour and tart taste with a subtle fruity sweetness. Crisp and bubbly!!!

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DRINK RESPONSIBLE & DRINK SMART!!!