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Whiskey Cocktails With Dale DeGroff
By Kurt Maitland
(Credit: Richard Thomas)
Earlier this year, Dale DeGroff aka “King Cocktail”curated a George Dickel Rye and Cocktail Event at Bacchanal in NYC. You know Dale from our interview with him earlier this year as well as his having written some of the best cocktail books in circulation, such as his classic The Craft of the Cocktail and The Essential Cocktail. Dale graciously took the time to answer a few questions about bitters, whiskey cocktails and included a few cocktail recipes for good measure.
KM: So the holiday season is here and it’s time for parties, lots of guests and lots of liquid cheer in the form of drinks and cocktails. What are some of your favorite cocktails for the holidays?
DD: There are lots of great specialty holiday cocktails, but one that I’m particularly fond of is a fun little drink called General Harrison’s Egg Nog. * I found the recipe in the temperance section of an 1862 recipe book called How To Mix Drinks by Jerry Thomas, the father of the bartending profession. I added the whiskey! I use 1.5 oz. Rye (I’ve been partial to Dickel recently), 0.75 oz. simple syrup (sugar and water in equal parts dissolved together), one small to medium fresh egg, 1 dash of my pimento bitters and 4 ounces of fresh apple cider. Assemble all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker and shake very well with ice to completely emulsify the egg. Serve with or without ice in a tumbler and dust the top with a bit of nutmeg. It is the lightest and least caloric eggnog recipe ever… and absolutely unique and delicious.
KM: You recently did a bitters event in NYC. Where are bitters on your list of necessary/important cocktail ingredients?
DD: Aromatic Bitters were present at the birth of the cocktail in the first printed definition, May 13, 1806, in the Balance and Columbian Repository, a Hudson, New York newspaper; so I’d put them near the very top! Creating a great cocktail is all about achieving balance, so when employing sweet spirits or sweet mixers aromatic bitters provide perfect foil to bring sweet ingredients into balance.
The added bonus is the variety of flavor possibilities different types of bitters bring to the cocktail. I created Degroff’s Pimento Bitters to bring spice notes like clove and nutmeg as well as slight anise aroma to cocktails. We are experiencing an explosion of creativity in the bitters category and all these varieties afford people the opportunity to put their own twist on classic drinks.
aka King Cocktail
(Credit: Dale DeGrof)
KM: Do you have any recommendations on how best to pair bitters with whiskey?
DD: It really all comes down to personal taste and preference, and of course the whiskey! For this event, I looked for flavor notes that were already part of the symphony of Dickel Rye. The baking spices like clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg along with the vanilla aromas imparted by the oak aging fit hand and glove with my bitters.
When using super sweet ingredients, I’d recommend a really intense bitters. If you’re drink is a bit more mellow, then a bitters like Angostura with it’s bittersweet flavor is ideal. It’s all about trial and error and in the end just having fun with flavor!
KM: Do you have any favorite whiskey/bitters cocktails that you would like to share the recipe for?
DD: Well the bitters event I did in NYC recently was all about the George Dickel Rye Manhattan so I’d have to say at the moment, I’m pretty partial to that one. The beautiful thing about a Manhattan is that it’s always in style and perfect for any season – especially the holidays here in Manhattan! I enjoy using my Pimento bitters with the Dickel Rye because it’s a rye that has a spicy backbone, but like Dickel Tennessee Sour Mash it is also sipping smooth thanks to the fact that it’s chill charcoal mellowed. Check out the recipe below and let me know what you think!
Rye Manhattan
2 oz George Dickel Rye
0.5 oz Dolan Dry Vermouth
0.75 oz Dolan Sweet Vermouth
Dash Dale DeGroff’s Pimento Bitters
Stirred and served up
* NOTE: Eggs are safe for beverage use especially when mixed with 80 proof spirits or acid from citrus fruit as is the case in most beverage applications. Just follow common sense kitchen rules, wash your hands after handling eggs before handling the other ingredients and store egg products under refrigeration at all times.
