Whip Something Up

Last night we were watching the Eurovision Song Contest from a big screen in the Virgin Oil Club in Helsinki. Just before the show began I wanted to go and get some drinks that would last me for pretty much the whole show, since the place was packed and moving from the table during the show was pretty difficult. The original idea was to buy a pitcher of Sangria or Margaritas to the table, but they didn't do any pitchers. So, I then bought a large cider and a long cocktail I asked the bartender to whip up for me. The bartender quickly, almost without thinking, went for some Sour Apple liqueur, vodka, apple juice and soda and stirred it all up in a pint with some ice.

Just today Darcy O'Neil over at The Art of Drink posted about making drinks off the cuff when a client asks for "something special". He said that he relishes the challenge, while some bartenders grunt and go for their "go to" cocktail that they whip up anytime someone asks them to make a random cocktail. In my experience, a lot of bartenders fall into the latter group, as the guy behind the bar in Virgin Oil last night probably did. But occasionally I run into a bartender who seems to enjoy the task and seems to make something up on the fly. For some reason these seem to be mostly on the ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm... :)

Today I wanted to make myself a refreshing cocktail, but since my liquor cabinet is pretty limited at the moment, I couldn't find anything to make (that I liked) with my limited supply. So, I decided to try something of my own. To keep it simple, I just went with 4cl of whisky (JW Swing) and 2dl of orange juice, shaken with some ice. Pretty simple, but nothing spectacular. A "Screwdriver" (vodka and orange juice) is better.. Howsabout I call this a "Maltdriver"?