Saturday, December 8, 2007

The First Cocktail Challenge: Orange and Cinnamon

First of all, I wanted to take a moment, before moving on to the challenge, to mention a momentous occasion here at Infusions of Grandeur. Today's post is number 100, and I find it fitting that this is something a little different than normal for our hundredth post. This is the first post whose content was decided by our readers.

Anyway, onto the results.

Challenge Drink #1

With the results of the votes being cinnamon and orange infused vodkas, it left me with a little to think about. This was an odd combination, so I decided to start simple, to figure out just what I was dealing with. So I stated with a cinnamon and orange "martini."

1.0 oz. Cinnamon Infused Vodka
3.0 oz. Orange Infused Vodka
Shake over ice and serve in a chilled martini glass.

With this drink, the cinnamon was just too overwhelming. The flavor of the orange was barely noticable and it turned out somewhat bitter. Brendan liked it a bit more than I did, but definitely not a drink worth ending the challenge over.

Brendan's score: 2.5 flasks out of 5
Wayland's score: 2.0 flasks out of 5
Overall score:



Challenge Drink #2

Since the fruit flavor was lost in the first drink, I decided to add more in the second drink. I ended up using Apple Pucker schnapps as an addition to the original attempt, along with a bit more Orange Infused Vodka. I ended up chosing the Pucker over our own Apple Infused Vodka, because of the bitterness in the first drink and the Pucker has a bit more of a robust flavor.

0.5 oz. Cinnamon Infused Vodka
2.0 oz. Orange Infused Vodka
1.0 oz. Apple Pucker schnapps
Once again, shaken over ice and served in a chilled martini glass.

Brendan wrote a description that I just couldn't add to:

"The orange shows up better, but it is muted together with the cinnamon. Together they contend against each other from the same side, like Gore and Nader, allowing Bush's apple to take the lead. The drink is decent, but the flavor is too fragmented."

Brendan's score: 3.0 flasks out of 5
Wayland's score: 2.5 flasks out of 5
Overall score:



Challenge Drink #3

At this point in the evening, I was beginning to find myself very tired. I reached for one of my favorite caffeine fixes when inspiration struck on what to do with the final drink.

0.5 oz. Cinnamon Infused Vodka
1.5 oz. Orange Infused Vodka
6.0 oz. Red Bull
Pour the vodkae over rocks into a collins glass, top off with Red Bull and shake once, gently.

Brendan wrote that "the cinnamon pops up and almost overwhelms it at first, but then backs down and lets the orange and Red Bull join forces in the lead." (Apparently, my colleague is a fan of the split ticket concept.) "I've never been able to quite pinpoint the flavor of Red Bull, but the citrus complements it quite well," he continued.

"I think the cinnamon gives a nice contrast to the overall citrus of the drink," I wrote. "I should probably stop here. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it is a good drink."

Brendan's score: 3.5 flasks out of 5
Wayland's score: 3.5 flasks out of 5
Overall score:

And at this point, I went and passed out from exhaustion. Stay tuned for post number 101, and expect to see more cocktail challenges in the future.

1 comment:

LisaDanielle067 said...

Orange and Cinnamon would be better with a cocktail of cinn schnapps, a vodka (don't over do it), grandmarnier, and a splash of cream. play with portions but it's yummy. Or leave out the cream, either way.