Hi everyone!
Looks like I forgot to post about the January Gin box. Oopsie! Well, it was good, I’ll do that another time. But I was really excited about this Rye box.
The first drink we made was the Creole Sling. This drink was am-AHHHH-zing (sorry I’ve been re-watching “Happy Endings”). The coffee flavor is quite strong, but I love that! We actually made these again a few nights later and made a video, which you’ll see below.
Next up was the Homestead Old Fashioned.
We were excited to try this one, being a fan of Old Fashioneds. That spelling always seems wrong, what is the plural form of “Old Fashioned”? We had a great debate about this at my last job. One bar owner insisted it was “Old Fashions” because he said the drink was and “Old Fashion”. That’s not correct. Grammerly wants to correct it to “Fashioners” but that’s not right either. Yes, I know I could change the sentence to read: “being a fan of the Old Fashioned…” but what’s the fun in that?!
Maybe there’s no plural form because you should only drink one! Naw, that can’t be it.
If you know the definitive answer, comment below!
Anyway, we love this drink in general and this recipe is really good. It included something called Winter Spice Syrup and I don’t know what is in it, but it’s magical. My only note on it is that the drink is very syrupy. It felt thick to drink but was much better after some of the ice melted. So I’d serve this with crushed ice so that it melts faster.
The next one we tried was the Baklawa Sour. This one was….not a hit. As soon as I brought the glass up to my mouth I smelled something horrid. Like something fermented. But I thought, maybe my palate is just not used to whatever flavor this is and I took a sip. I almost gagged. Greg also took a sip and had the same reaction.
I thought my egg whites had turned even though it was a freshly opened carton and was not expired. So we dumped the drinks and moved onto something else.
I made two videos, one of me making it and one of us tasting it. But my “this is disgusting” face is pretty ugly so I’m not showing it. I didn’t even take a still photo of the finished drink! But here’s a screenshot.
Fast forward a few days and we thought we’d try the Baklawa Sour again with fresh egg whites. This time it would be great! We were sure!! We were dead wrong. It was hideous.
Down the sink again. Now we’ve wasted 8 ounces of good (expensive) rye. 2 ounces per drink x 4 drinks. Not happy about that.
This time I knew the egg whites were fine, so I started looking at the other ingredients. I smelled the Baklawa Syrup and determined this was the culprit. It had the same nasty smell that the finished drink did.
I have no idea what Baklawa Syrup is supposed to look or smell like so if this is right, I guess I just hate it.
I’ve contacted Shaker and Spoon and let them know that I might have gotten a tainted bottle.
They have replied that they think the syrup got unsealed in the shipping. So they’re sending me new syrup and the bitters! So when I get those I’ll remake this and report back!
The GOOD news is that after that horrid experience, we went back to the Creole Sling and savored that one!!
Here’s me making it and totally having amnesia on how to use a strainer. I still laugh my ass off when I watch this.
I will continue to make this drink! I really enjoyed it.
Hi friends!