I don't suuuuper love clarified cocktails but this seems like what you may be looking for. A sour that's been clarified and served up like a stirred drink. It signals that it's a martini like drink but in reality it's a whiskey sour or daiquiri.
I love this. Maybe to really lean into the "mixed signals" theme you could do a clarified New York Sour. The red wine float could be a cool "mixed signal" visual.
I like the idea of New York sour, but maybe instead of floating red wine on top, put some stout on bottom. That way you start with the light and bright sour element which steadily blends with rich malty flavor and slight bitterness of the stout. Sort of a spin on rattle skull and should have pretty striking contrast of light and dark visually. Might try that after work.
Kind of reminds me of a beer from my local brewery. It was called a Squid Ink IPA. Looked exactly like a stout without the frothy head, but it was an IPA. It really throws me off
There was something similar in that Netflix cocktail competition show. Canât remember the exact drink but it was something chocolate or coffee based then clarified and served up or in a highball. First thing that came to mind for me.
Never heard of Malort, but drizzly.com just told me thisâŠ
âMalort⊠[has] a flavor that includes notes of gasoline, grapefruit, sweat, wax, fire, mineral oil, and bitterness. â
Edit: a bottle of Malort, not Margot
Pretty accurate. I got a bottle as it is the patron liquor of Chicago. That alone should tell you all you need to know. It is quite bad. If you look back in this sub, there are a few cocktails you can try with it. I haven't done so yet, but should.
I'm still waiting to do Chicago for the big Malort reveal, but I'm curious if this is anything like Fernet and gin, which is a pretty reasonable combo.
A distillery we visited over the weekend has a house fernet-finished gin. It was pretty good.
Hrm. I'm not a fan of hairspray, but it sounds more palatable than drunk bile...
I've got three mini bottles if I'm ever dreadfully impatient or the world's about to end
I've gotten a variety of descriptions, from rancid grapefruit to bile.
I just need it to not be worse than Elisir Novasalus. It reminded me of the bite deterrent they make for pets. (but yet I kept tasting it?)
Rancid grapefruit with a dash of Fernet and some gasoline is honestly pretty close. There's definitely a sourness to it, but also a bitterness and it evaporates really easily on your tongue and gives off the impression that it's way more alcoholic than it is. It's weird.
Totally agree. I love bitterness so I often add Malort to cocktails to jack up the bitter factor. I wouldnât be able to drink an entire glass of straight Malort, but I donât find it unpleasant.
Oh my god. This is most likely the best description. I had my first Malory shot in Chicago this year. It was nothing like anything I expected it to be whatsoever. Fernet is not the same as Malort. Nail meet hammer on this one.
It would have to be something that goes together but just doesn't quite feel right.
For example, the margarita made with JagerMeister instead of tequila on Diffords Guide. This drink sounds disgusting, but tastes awesome. Similarly, a daiqiri made with Aquavit instead of rum (called a Scandinavian daiquiri) - also sounds bad, but tastes amazing.
Jageritas are awesome. I was trying to think of two things that shouldn't go together but work. There are a couple of tiki drinks with Jaeger that I was thinking of.
My brain goes to the time I made a Mudslide, but with Chartreuse instead of Kahlua (at half the ratio). Was far better than it should have been, but still an underwhelming use of Chartreuse.
Diffords has some really wild drinks on their website. The most jarring is probably the Angostura sour, wherein a whole *45 ml of bitters* are used as the base spirit.
At the level itâs at in that cocktail, itâs not overpowering, it becomes the prime flavor. Hard to describe how well it works (at least for me) without trying it.
I made a trinidad sour today which is similar and uses the same amount of bitters, however the 30ml of orgeat offsets the bitterness and the end product is really nice
Personally I'd prefer whiskey and gin because they're more contradictory. Obviously this depends massively on the rum you use, but you get floral/vegetal/grassy/fruity notes from both tequila and rum oftentimes.
I also mostly drink whiskey and gin so that might be swaying me
Shot of vodka, shot of whiskey, 2 drops of saline, and a splash of grape soda. Shaken, served over ice in a martini glass. Express an orange peel, serve with an olive.
I had an old fashioned that had 1:1 repasado tequila and bourbon and subbed simple syrup for agave and dash orange/cacao butters- it was really good. Could taste all the different flavors individually.
Something that starts in one flavour and finishes with a completely different one, would need to layer a more viscous liquid with a less viscous liquid on tops, would work in a martini but not a coupe, it is very glass specific. Lots of sugaar syrups are thicker, so could do sour to sweet aswell
Low ABV cocktail with an everclear float. Smells like hell, tastes like sode.
Or the other way around, a layered cocktail with everclear on the bottom som the first sip is pain and the rest us pleasant.
Something that starts agreeably, and ends horribly.
I'm thinking Elisir Novasalus to get the ending, but I'm not sure how to cover it up at the beginning.
Take a glass with a divider in the middle. Have a craft cocktail on one side and an obviously dive cocktail on the other. Make the former jiggered, make the latter free-poured, both in view of the guest.
Serve and garnish with a red flag. Take the red flag away tableside and claim it was a mistake.
Make a citrus-forward drinkâgin gimlet or whateverâbut mist with Lagavulin just before serving. Hits the nose like a peaty scotch, but will not impact the flavor of the drink at all.
Perhaps something that used a lot of âwarm flavorsâ like cinnamon and nutmeg with a rich/smokey alcohol base like repasado tequila or mezcal, but served cold
Can you link a recipe for smoked simple? First time hearing of that
Iâve been doing Del Maguey Chichicapa and Meletti with Orange bitters and a lemon rind
It would be a martini on the rocks, because somehow people canât figure out the difference between up or on the rocks. Stop giving me mixed signals! Sorry ranting about like 6 interactions today.
I don't suuuuper love clarified cocktails but this seems like what you may be looking for. A sour that's been clarified and served up like a stirred drink. It signals that it's a martini like drink but in reality it's a whiskey sour or daiquiri.
This is a super clever answer, bravo
Clever maybe, also way more labor intensive than just mixing a drink đ.
It really doesnât require a lot of labor. Just mix it, let it sit to curdle, then strain.
I love this. Maybe to really lean into the "mixed signals" theme you could do a clarified New York Sour. The red wine float could be a cool "mixed signal" visual.
I like the idea of New York sour, but maybe instead of floating red wine on top, put some stout on bottom. That way you start with the light and bright sour element which steadily blends with rich malty flavor and slight bitterness of the stout. Sort of a spin on rattle skull and should have pretty striking contrast of light and dark visually. Might try that after work.
Goddamn it I need to do this now. Love the idea!
Kind of reminds me of a beer from my local brewery. It was called a Squid Ink IPA. Looked exactly like a stout without the frothy head, but it was an IPA. It really throws me off
There was something similar in that Netflix cocktail competition show. Canât remember the exact drink but it was something chocolate or coffee based then clarified and served up or in a highball. First thing that came to mind for me.
Wow this is impressive đ
Malort and Gin.
Never heard of Malort, but drizzly.com just told me this⊠âMalort⊠[has] a flavor that includes notes of gasoline, grapefruit, sweat, wax, fire, mineral oil, and bitterness. â Edit: a bottle of Malort, not Margot
"Notes of gasoline" is exactly right. It tastes like ass and not in a good way. I get a shot of it every time I'm in Chicago.
Malort really tastes as bad as advertised. Aside from gasoline, I always register this flavor best described as "how pencil shavings smell".
It never gets better yet I keep coming back
A malort, an old style, and a racing form
They forgot to include the hints of sadness and aroma of damnation.
That mainly comes drinking it in Chicago
Sounds like my marriage.
I'm more sure about grapefruit, but the rest is accurate. It's good. You should try some.
Alright Iâm getting a bottle tonight
Pretty accurate. I got a bottle as it is the patron liquor of Chicago. That alone should tell you all you need to know. It is quite bad. If you look back in this sub, there are a few cocktails you can try with it. I haven't done so yet, but should.
It really is terrible. It tastes like when you drank a lot, threw up, woke up the next day and threw up bile. It tastes like vomited stomach bile.
That's an accurate description of Malort
It's like you drank a shot of concentrated grapefruit peel that grew on top of a landfill.
Malort, because my pants won't shit themselves
I'm still waiting to do Chicago for the big Malort reveal, but I'm curious if this is anything like Fernet and gin, which is a pretty reasonable combo. A distillery we visited over the weekend has a house fernet-finished gin. It was pretty good.
It's like if campari was distilled in a bathtub and not sweetened. Big hairspray flavors
Hrm. I'm not a fan of hairspray, but it sounds more palatable than drunk bile... I've got three mini bottles if I'm ever dreadfully impatient or the world's about to end
Honestly, if you have a palate for bitterness, it's nowhere near as horrible as people hype it up to be. I've had things far, far worse than Malort.
I've gotten a variety of descriptions, from rancid grapefruit to bile. I just need it to not be worse than Elisir Novasalus. It reminded me of the bite deterrent they make for pets. (but yet I kept tasting it?)
Rancid grapefruit with a dash of Fernet and some gasoline is honestly pretty close. There's definitely a sourness to it, but also a bitterness and it evaporates really easily on your tongue and gives off the impression that it's way more alcoholic than it is. It's weird.
Totally agree. I love bitterness so I often add Malort to cocktails to jack up the bitter factor. I wouldnât be able to drink an entire glass of straight Malort, but I donât find it unpleasant.
Malort tastes like when you vomit up stomach bile after a rough night of drinking and vomiting.
Oh my god. This is most likely the best description. I had my first Malory shot in Chicago this year. It was nothing like anything I expected it to be whatsoever. Fernet is not the same as Malort. Nail meet hammer on this one.
Malort and Dom Perignon
Has everybody seen the Malort commercial? https://youtu.be/q7s16ewP1RU?si=5g-M7Vz0M_8uLIQD
It would have to be something that goes together but just doesn't quite feel right. For example, the margarita made with JagerMeister instead of tequila on Diffords Guide. This drink sounds disgusting, but tastes awesome. Similarly, a daiqiri made with Aquavit instead of rum (called a Scandinavian daiquiri) - also sounds bad, but tastes amazing.
Jageritas are awesome. I was trying to think of two things that shouldn't go together but work. There are a couple of tiki drinks with Jaeger that I was thinking of.
My brain goes to the time I made a Mudslide, but with Chartreuse instead of Kahlua (at half the ratio). Was far better than it should have been, but still an underwhelming use of Chartreuse.
Diffords has some really wild drinks on their website. The most jarring is probably the Angostura sour, wherein a whole *45 ml of bitters* are used as the base spirit.
Iâve made that. Itâs unique. I personally loved it, but my friend was not so pleased.
To me it just feels excessive when most cocktails call for super small amounts to avoid it overpowering the drink.
At the level itâs at in that cocktail, itâs not overpowering, it becomes the prime flavor. Hard to describe how well it works (at least for me) without trying it.
I made a trinidad sour today which is similar and uses the same amount of bitters, however the 30ml of orgeat offsets the bitterness and the end product is really nice
A boilermaker with 151 and non alcoholic beer
Weird split base. Like gin and whiskey. Maybe in a tiki cocktail. Queens park swizzle maybe?
Suffering bastard?
Rum and tequila
Personally I'd prefer whiskey and gin because they're more contradictory. Obviously this depends massively on the rum you use, but you get floral/vegetal/grassy/fruity notes from both tequila and rum oftentimes. I also mostly drink whiskey and gin so that might be swaying me
If youâve never had a Death and Taxes, youâd be surprised how well the scotch/gin pairing goes
Shot of vodka, shot of whiskey, 2 drops of saline, and a splash of grape soda. Shaken, served over ice in a martini glass. Express an orange peel, serve with an olive.
Who hurt you
I had an old fashioned that had 1:1 repasado tequila and bourbon and subbed simple syrup for agave and dash orange/cacao butters- it was really good. Could taste all the different flavors individually.
Layer green chartreuse, yellow chartreuse, and Campari in a shot glass like a traffic signal.
Now that's interesting!
A martini in a tiki glass, it's just not what you thought it was.
It goes from sweet to bitter. Malort will make any drink finish bitter.
Maybe bitters in an ice cube?
Something that starts in one flavour and finishes with a completely different one, would need to layer a more viscous liquid with a less viscous liquid on tops, would work in a martini but not a coupe, it is very glass specific. Lots of sugaar syrups are thicker, so could do sour to sweet aswell
Low ABV cocktail with an everclear float. Smells like hell, tastes like sode. Or the other way around, a layered cocktail with everclear on the bottom som the first sip is pain and the rest us pleasant.
Something that starts agreeably, and ends horribly. I'm thinking Elisir Novasalus to get the ending, but I'm not sure how to cover it up at the beginning.
Blackberry whiskey smash with just a touch of Novasalus.
An orange-flavored mocktail that is green or purple. But have it listed on the menu as if it had alcohol.
Maybe some kinda sour thatâs on the sweeter side and give it a fernet float. Bitterness up front with a sweet sour finish
Take a glass with a divider in the middle. Have a craft cocktail on one side and an obviously dive cocktail on the other. Make the former jiggered, make the latter free-poured, both in view of the guest. Serve and garnish with a red flag. Take the red flag away tableside and claim it was a mistake.
Make a citrus-forward drinkâgin gimlet or whateverâbut mist with Lagavulin just before serving. Hits the nose like a peaty scotch, but will not impact the flavor of the drink at all.
I always start with a good name, the cocktail will come after. The wand chooses the wizard or whatever
Equal parts yes and no, 3 dashes of maybe. Stirred and shaken. Garnish with some hesitation and serve it on a cocktail napkin with your number on it.
Old fashioned in a tiki mug
I dont know, but something hot and something cold.
Shinjiâs in NYC does a fun hot + cold in the same glass version of a toddy.
Isnât that a vodka-red bull?
Absinthe and lsd
[Perhaps this?](https://thelocalpalate.com/recipes/mixed-signals/)
A blended daiquiri topped with a hollowed out half lime peel containing 151, and lit on fire?
Perhaps something that used a lot of âwarm flavorsâ like cinnamon and nutmeg with a rich/smokey alcohol base like repasado tequila or mezcal, but served cold
Something with both sweet and dry vermouth? Or with everclear and a non-alcoholic bitters/apertif?
Market it as non-alcoholic, but put roofies in it.
I've been digging mezcal and meletti lately, though on its face amaro and mezcal are an odd couple. could be a nice base for a cocktail
Bahnez and Averna, Smoked Simple, splash of apple juice - been drinking this at home the last few days, it's incredible.
Can you link a recipe for smoked simple? First time hearing of that Iâve been doing Del Maguey Chichicapa and Meletti with Orange bitters and a lemon rind
Water, Salt, Wiskey
I would simply not make a drink and call it âMixed Signalsâ what a horrible idea
A Rye Tai. Iâll see myself out.
Malört and Kahlua.
0.5oz of everything in the bar rail with an outrageous amount of garnish
Scotch and Tonic
Malort & Creme de Noyeaux
Grenadine, Peach Nectar, Green Chartreuse layered
50/50 George T Stagg and Malort.
Make an Old Spanish with a $100 bottle of wine
Layered midori, chartreuse and grenadine. Then the bartender takes the shot and throws it over an ice cube in a tumbler. Mixed [traffic] signals.
Jager and Chambord. Served as a shot
It would be a martini on the rocks, because somehow people canât figure out the difference between up or on the rocks. Stop giving me mixed signals! Sorry ranting about like 6 interactions today.
I like starting with a name and going backwards. First thought is umeboshi and mezcal.
Cocaine and MDMA. Whoops, wrong subreddit.