Port cocktails

Anything to do with Port.
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djewesbury
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Port cocktails

Post by djewesbury »

Churchill's Port House, in an email, wrote:Churchill's Cocktail Club continues until Saturday night in collaboration with The Rum Runner, a mobile cocktail company that produces both classic and tailor made drinks for both corporate and private events. Churchill's Port House is the only place in London serving three port cocktails and they are damn tasty.

~Port House Cooler~
Dry White Port and Gin with Fresh Lime Juice, Mint, Ginger and Soda Water

~Tawny Devil~
10 Year OldTawny Port stirred with Tequila and Antica Formula Vermouth

~Ruby Tuesday~
Reserve Port Shaken with Cardamom Infused Vodka, Triple Sec, Fresh Lemon, Mandarin and Orange Juice
Bleugh. What a waste of port.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by jdaw1 »

The ‘Port House Cooler’ might be the best possible use of dry white port, and might indeed be quite zingy. Gin is good. Lime juice is good. Mint is good. Ginger is good. And soda is necessary. So, for what it is, it might be OK.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by LGTrotter »

Mr Waugh suggested that Taylor's chip dry white port be mixed with tonic to produce 'fizz and chips'. Appalling; both the drink and the pun.
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djewesbury
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Port cocktails

Post by djewesbury »

jdaw1 wrote:The ‘Port House Cooler’ might be the best possible use of dry white port, and might indeed be quite zingy. Gin is good. Lime juice is good. Mint is good. Ginger is good. And soda is necessary. So, for what it is, it might be OK.
I'll grant you that one. But 10YO and tequila sounds like a foolish idea.
LGTrotter wrote:Mr Waugh suggested that Taylor's chip dry white port be mixed with tonic to produce 'fizz and chips'. Appalling; both the drink and the pun.
Agreed re pun. Chip dry and tonic a poor drink but not the worst.
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Glenn E.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by Glenn E. »

I haven't come up with a name for it, but I tried a 20-yr old with whiskey, lemon juice, and a dash of bitters over ice. It worked very well.
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

[Dons hard hat]

I have been working my way through more Port cocktails recently. It is quite challenging to come up with recipes that do the Port justice; particularly with whites and tawnies, since the flavour is quite subtle compared to, say, vermouth and easily dominated. It can easily end up as a glorified sweetener which isn’t ideal, although looking at some 19th Century recipes, that is exactly how it was used; particularly in the UK.

The aim, as will all cocktails, is to produce something that is greater than the sum of the parts. I think that careful use of liqueurs is the key: you want ones that highlight flavours already present in the Port to amplify it.

In almost all cases you want a cheap-ish but not cheap Port. Something like a Warre 10YO Otima for the tawny; or a Graham LBV for the ruby.

I am not quite sure what is best for the white ports. I had thought that the drier and slightly aged ones would be better (I’ve been using loads of the Churchill White) but several shippers are now marketing young sweet ones for cocktails. At some stage I want to do a proper comparison.

Here are a few suggestions, moving away from the ultra-complex ones that bars use to show off.

Precursory

Equal parts tawny port and sweet Italian vermouth; a spoon or two of lemon and simple syrup; Angostura and perhaps orange bitters. Shaken. Served straight-up.

This won a load of awards when it was invented in 2009 at Milk & Honey, London. I think it is the closest there is to a “classical” Port cocktail (i.e. short number of straight-forward ingredients; not really based on anything else), although I prefer the Revisited version, below.

Precursory—Revisited!

Equal parts ruby port and Dolin Rogue; half part cassis; a spoon or two of lemon and simple syrup; orange bitters. Shaken. Served straight-up.

I had this a Mele e Pere in Soho and tried to reverse engineer it from the menu. I think this makes an excellent low-alcohol aperitif. The port gives it some structure with the tannins which you just don’t get with any other ingredient; whilst the cassis and orange bitters gently emphasises its flavours.

Un-named White Port Cocktail

Equal parts white port and vodka; two spoons dry French vermouth; one spoon absinthe; one spoon crème de menthe. Shaken. Served straight-up.

Posted on the Quinta da Pedra Alta twitter page. I was very suspicious but tried it and was impressed enough to write it down for future use. Again, the aromatics just tease out the flavours in the white Port.

Seville Orange & White Port “Martini”

Equal parts white port and gin; two teaspoons of seville orange cordial / syrup. Shaken. Served straight up.

When we stayed at Quinta de São Bernardo a few years ago, I noticed they used orange rather than mint as the garnish in their white port cocktails. This was an excellent idea and so I started experimenting. I make a seville orange cordial / syrup each year by macerating the zest in a syrup made from equal parts (by weight) of juice and sugar. I think that is ideal for highlighting some of the flavours in the slightly-aged white and tawny Ports. You could also use dry curaçao or, failing that, Cointreau.

As a variation, I had a go last night with the first of this year’s elderflower cordial. With some Peychards, it produced an excellent, light-pink colour. Unfortunately, two spoons of the cordial was too little and the unmeasured slug I added was too much, so I think I need to keep experimenting to work out the ratios.

American Beauty

Equal parts brandy, dry French vermouth and orange juice; spoonful of grenadine and crème de menthe. Shake. Strain into a glass. Float ruby port on the top. Garnish with a rose petal.

This is a pre-prohibition cocktail which tastes much better than it reads. It’s named after a type of rose (hence the garnish). The aim is to get the deep red of the Port over the paler pinky-red of the other ingredients. In practice, this isn’t going to happen unless you own a bottle of crème de menthe blanc; or use a bit of mint essence instead! Or you can just accept it might be a bit brown. Punch shows how it should be done. There are loads of variations suggesting how to improve it for modern tastes.
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Elderflower and White Port “Martini”
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Un-named White Port Cocktail
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jdaw1
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by jdaw1 »

Great post from Jacob.

The mention of orange as an ingredient reminded me of Bittall:
jdaw1 wrote: 21:16 Sat 06 Aug 2011 Port cocktails:
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The Wine Society, June 1949:
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So Bittall is like pink port, except that it is orange. (But was it invented by Taylor-Fladgate?)
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

jdaw1 wrote: 20:48 Thu 04 Jun 2020The mention of orange as an ingredient reminded me of Bittall:
I’d forgotten all about that! Interestingly there is almost no more information about this drink available on the web now than there was in 2011. Pretty much the only references to it at to Kinglsey Amis’ book.

However, looking at some of those databases that preserve old company records, we can see that there was an English company called the Bittall Company Limited which operated from 1913 until 1997. Why would this be interesting? It appears the last four directors were Amyas, James, Michael and Ian Symington. That would give us a bit of a clue as to who made it!

I notice that there is an advert for it in this issue of the Kingston Gleaner from 1916. Does anyone have a subscription so could download it?

Incidentally, does anyone know if the Symingtons have an archivist? Whilst a tiny by-lane of Port history, it would be interesting to tease out a bit more information.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by jdaw1 »

I’ve asked.

Edit: my last sighting of Bittall was in the catalogue of November 1955:
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

Thanks!

Am I right in thinking "old port" in this time period would mean a tawny of some description?

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Re: Port cocktails

Post by Alex Bridgeman »

JacobH wrote: 23:34 Thu 04 Jun 2020Am I right in thinking "old port" in this time period would mean a tawny of some description?
Absolutely it would. Probably something along the lines of a 10YO tawny, possibly 20YO.
Top Ports in 2023: Taylor 1896 Colheita, b. 2021. A perfect Port.

2024: Niepoort 1900 Colheita, b.1971. A near perfect Port.
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

Thanks! That reminds me that I have a decanter tag exactly for this purpose. I think there might have been a matching "White Port" one for which I got outbid!
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by winesecretary »

Aha! A label, 50 x 38 mm if I am correct, by Emile Samson of Paris, mid-late nineteenth century. If there is a small mark of crossed S's on the back that will be conclusive. (Amongst my other interests, I am the current Vice President of the Wine Label Circle. We make TPF look like the Hell Fire Club.) There are dozens of other port variant Wine Label names, from BEESWING PORT to WT. PORT. Contact the writer if you want more (possibly excessive amounts of) detail.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

Thanks! You are quite right about the size. There's nothing on the back, unfortunately, but I didn't expect it to be either that old or french! I'd love to see a thread about the different variants for Port and what they might be if you ever have the time.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by winesecretary »

There are many such. I shall write something idc. I shall attempt to make it of general interest...
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

Taylor's is advertising a Porto Negroni on social media. A classic negroni is equal parts gin, sweet red vermouth and campari. They suggest swapping the vermouth for their basic tawny. I'm afraid I think this is the sort of Port cocktail which doesn't work: the tawny doesn't have nearly as much complexity as the vermouth and so will be completely dominated by the assertive campari. It really will just be acting as a sweetener. Port and vermouth is a much better combination but is far removed from a negroni.

I've also played around with variations on the Bittall theme. Fridge-cold 10 year old tawny with a touch of orange bitters was disappointing. The same with a drop of the Seville orange syrup was excellent.
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g-man
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by g-man »

I'm quite proud of my negroni.

I use 1 part campari, 1 part gin, 1.5 parts of Quevedo White port in my negroni. the Quevedo has a touch more woodiness and less acidity making it a very fine Dolin sweet vermouth replacement.

Another I do with the Quevedo is a Gin martini. 3 parts gin, 1 part Quevedo white port, with a twist of lemon. Also works to great effect.

Being on a gin kick, the Bramble cocktail. 2 part gin, 1 part Graham's 6 grapes, .5 parts lemon.

And who can forget a classic manhattan but made with Quevedo white port. 2 parts whiskey, 1 part Quevedo white port, dash of bitters, orange peel to oil and garnish. Marschino cherry to top.

I've been trying to work on more ruby port and brandy cocktails since you already have the fruit and the brandy mix in. The problem is the weight of the cocktail with ruby ports.

A famous cocktail bar in NYC called Please Don't Tell makes a variation of the pimm's cup called the black cup. 2 Noval Black, 1 strawberry muddled, 1/2 part simple syrup, 1/2 part lemon juice, splash of club soda

Not a cocktail, but one that mixes well is making a Ruby Port sangria. I always hated when they use cheap red wine where all you taste is oak. Port makes an excellent base for sangria having freshness that cheap red wine would never achieve.

And my own creation that i've been tinkering with. 1.5 Part taylor 20, 1.5 part mezcal, splash of lime. Serve with ice.
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020 I'm quite proud of my negroni.

I use 1 part campari, 1 part gin, 1.5 parts of Quevedo White port in my negroni. the Quevedo has a touch more woodiness and less acidity making it a very fine Dolin sweet vermouth replacement.
Hmm...I hadn’t thought of using a white Port and will have a go at this, although I imagine our tastes probably differ if you usually use Dolin in a negroni: I prefer something heavier like the Antica Formula. Is the Quevedo a dry white? (The only Quevedo white “Port” I’ve drunk was a cask sample of 40-year-old Moscatel!).
g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020Being on a gin kick, the Bramble cocktail. 2 part gin, 1 part Graham's 6 grapes, .5 parts lemon.
No Crème de mure?!? :shock: :wink:
g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020And who can forget a classic manhattan but made with Quevedo white port. 2 parts whiskey, 1 part Quevedo white port, dash of bitters, orange peel to oil and garnish. Marschino cherry to top.
I will also definitely try this. Thanks!
g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020Not a cocktail, but one that mixes well is making a Ruby Port sangria. I always hated when they use cheap red wine where all you taste is oak. Port makes an excellent base for sangria having freshness that cheap red wine would never achieve.
Absolutely. It’s a great base for all sorts of macerated / mulled drinks. Also, I’ve never tried it but I imagine a White Port would also be good for a white sangria which is almost always terrible when made with wine.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by g-man »

g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020 I'm quite proud of my negroni.

I use 1 part campari, 1 part gin, 1.5 parts of Quevedo White port in my negroni. the Quevedo has a touch more woodiness and less acidity making it a very fine Dolin sweet vermouth replacement.
JacobH wrote: 11:27 Thu 11 Jun 2020 Hmm...I hadn’t thought of using a white Port and will have a go at this, although I imagine our tastes probably differ if you usually use Dolin in a negroni: I prefer something heavier like the Antica Formula. Is the Quevedo a dry white? (The only Quevedo white “Port” I’ve drunk was a cask sample of 40-year-old Moscatel!).
it's an off dry white but sees wood which adds a lovely complexity to it.
JacobH wrote: 11:27 Thu 11 Jun 2020
g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020Being on a gin kick, the Bramble cocktail. 2 part gin, 1 part Graham's 6 grapes, .5 parts lemon.
No Crème de mure?!? :shock: :wink:
haha no, I enjoy my cocktails to be clean and refreshing. creme de mure would make it way too thick for my taste, similar to your point about the negroni.

If you like something richer, but still adding some complexity, I would recommend a variation of the jungle bird.
1 part dark rum, 1 part ruby port, 1 part pineapple juice, 1/2 part campari, a dollop of either black strap molasses or real maple syrup.
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JacobH
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

g-man wrote: 23:11 Thu 11 Jun 2020haha no, I enjoy my cocktails to be clean and refreshing. creme de mure would make it way too thick for my taste, similar to your point about the negroni.
Hmm...without wishing to embark on a cocktail holy war, I am going to very respectfully suggest that, the defining feature of a bramble is the crème de mure; although I might, just, accept a couple of fresh berries muddled in the bottom with the Port as a substitute!
g-man wrote: 23:11 Thu 11 Jun 2020If you like something richer, but still adding some complexity, I would recommend a variation of the jungle bird.
1 part dark rum, 1 part ruby port, 1 part pineapple juice, 1/2 part campari, a dollop of either black strap molasses or real maple syrup.
Thanks. I’ll have a go at this. I don’t think I’ve ever tried a conventional jungle bird, either: we don’t have a massive tiki cocktail culture in the UK.

I notice that one of the most famous London tiki places, Mahiki (formerly popular with Princes William & Harry) offers an “Inu Wai” which is described as having Mexican rum, Port, rose vermouth, cognac and prosecco (!). The blurb says it is “carefully crafted for over 8 hours” and is a “refreshing milk punch” so I presume it is some sort of clarified milk punch (i.e. the spirits and vermouth are mixed with milk; lemon juice is added to cause the milk to curdle and the drink is then strained to remove the curds) which is topped up with Prosecco.

This reminds me that I made the one from Jerry Thomas’s 1862 famous book a few years ago. You mix 1 part lemon juice, 1 part sugar syrup, 2 parts ruby port, 2 parts rum and 6 parts black tea and then add that mixture to 3 parts milk. After leaving it to curdle for a few hours, you strain it through a fine filter and serve chilled. The colour is completely unexpected: a completely clear, very light, Provençal rosé and it has a wonderful light fruity flavour with a silky mouthfeel. I remember thinking it would be a good thing to do for a dinner party since it’s pretty easy despite sounding impressive and you can legitimately make a batch of it in advance.
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by idj123 »

Just taken delivery of 'Strong, Sweet and Dry' by Becky Sue Epstein and there appears to be a few interesting ruby Port cocktail recipes in this.
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g-man
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by g-man »

New York Sour

2 parts whiskey, 1 part lemon, 1 part simple syrup. Shake.
Float ruby port over the top
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JacobH
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Re: RE: Re: Port cocktails

Post by JacobH »

g-man wrote: 11:09 Thu 11 Jun 2020 I'm quite proud of my negroni.

I use 1 part campari, 1 part gin, 1.5 parts of Quevedo White port in my negroni. the Quevedo has a touch more woodiness and less acidity making it a very fine Dolin sweet vermouth replacement.
I had a go at this this evening and it is really very good. Again, I have my doubts that this is a legitimate negroni- it tastes more of a softened campari & gin but it's very good and worth trying. Thanks for the recommendation!
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winesecretary
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by winesecretary »

That does look a very pretty drink. But I agree, it ain't a Negroni.
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g-man
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Re: Port cocktails

Post by g-man »

Curious what you guys consider a real negroni? Though, I've never had the Churchill's whiteport before, the quevedo is definitely darker.
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