Jupiter Drinks: Coba Cocina/Cobar

What is it? I mean that thing…that new thing on Richmond Road. Ya know, that thing with the dome? Is it another mega-church? A mosque? Wait, what? It’s a restaurant? With a jellyfish tank? Ok, then.

I’ve had this conversation at least once a week for the past 6 months or so about what has turned out to be Coba Cocina, a new restaurant that hopes to be the beginning of a new chain owned by Lexington restaurant veterans, Greer Companies. If you’re looking for a review of the food, those abound on social media. My quick two cents is that the décor doesn’t seem to match the price point. Meaning, it looks fancier than it is. The debate on the interior design is for another blogger, but there’s no doubt they’ve spent a lot of money on the look of the place. But, nothing incredibly high end is happening here.

The place is really three spots under one domed roof. Coba Cocina (the restaurant), Cocoh! (a moderately priced and mostly tasty bakery/confectionary), and where I’ve focused my attention on a couple of visits, Cobar Cantina (the libation station and light appetizers spot on the second floor).

Given the restaurant’s Latin infused menu, it’s a natural fit that most of the cocktails lean towards that culture’s most famous drinks. So riffs on margaritas abound, as well as good versions of a Cuba Libre and caipirnha. From my barstool, I noticed each bartender’s station had several similar looking bottles that were getting a good bit of use when making each drink. After a fantastic chat with one of the bartenders, I was surprised to find out that those bottles contained the cocktail mixers and bartender’s potions that are made in house, which is certainly outside the norm for the $7-ish a cocktail price point.

And while this isn’t high end mixology, my two visits there have consistently exceeded my expectations. The general favorite is the Tango Taxi, a frozen margarita swirled with the house made sangria. It isn’t as sweet as it could lean and is exactly what you want to sip on if you’re looking for something refreshing. My personal favorite has been the Calle Ocho Rita, which is their house frozen margarita with a float of Grand Mariner. Allegedly, the couple of specialty cocktails that are served with a float (an inside out rind of a juiced lime) should have a tiny slit in it that causes the booze in the float to slowly seep into the drink. I’ve yet to see that successfully happen. The slit is either not there at all or is so large the booze has just fallen into the drink. It’s not necessarily a problem, because I’d stir the booze in the float in anyway. But, the bartender made a bit of a fuss about it and it just doesn’t seem to be worth the effort.

For pure visual effect points, the Dilemma is a layered margarita that’s flavored with lime, mango and strawberry that always turns heads as it is delivered through the bar. While I didn’t sample it, friends who did order it went back for seconds, maybe even thirds.

The signature cocktail is called El Pepin “Bobby G” and features a jalapeno infused tequila, muddled with cucumber, cilantro and sour mix. Having an aversion to cilantro kept me away from this one, but friends with me ordered it and raved about it. Their report was that it didn’t shy away from jalapeno heat, but was refreshing enough to cool you back down.

Cobar is certainly a happy addition to our Lexington scene. When most Mexican/Latin places are serving glorified Slush Puppies, Cobar is actually putting some thought and time into making a decent cocktail. And while the price point stays at what you’d expect to see at any other chain, Cobar's drinks are certainly in a different league.

Jupiter Drinks: Infusions

I'm probably too easy to impress. But, sometimes I look over a drink menu and the cocktail that stands out is the one that says something like "apple and cinnamon infused bourbon" or "blueberry infused vodka". Each and every time I'm hooked. It's like there's something in my head that says "oooooo, it's infyoooooosed," thus mandating my drink order.

It turns out that infusions aren't as fancy as they sound, and for the most part they're incredibly easy to do. A booze infusion is simply adding another element of flavor to a base alcohol by letting it steep in whatever flavor you are infusing, giving that flavor a more pronounced role in the party. Meaning, instead of just adding a bit of fruit juice, candy or spice to drink, the flavors marinate with the alcohol for anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

I started thinking about infusions recently when I realized blood oranges were in season. Blood oranges add great color to an infusion, have a flavor profile that goes well with a lot of drinks, and they seem to have that same "oooooo" factor that infusions have. So, I grabbed a few of those, bought some tequila and used some Four Roses Yellow Label I had on hand and infused them.

All that took was grabbing a couple of airtight containers, slicing up some blood oranges, grating in some zest and letting them sit in the containers for a few days. I just gave them a little swirl (just picking up the bottle and giving it a few spins) everyday, just to keep things milling around. After a few days, I strained the oranges and zest out and was left with a delicious blood orange infused tequila and bourbon. Now, what to do with them?

For the bourbon, I decided to do a play on the traditional negroni. A negroni is a classic cocktail consisting of gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in equal parts (usually) and a hit of bitters. I figured the natural sweetness of the bourbon now infused with the citrus of the blood orange could easily replace the gin for an equally delicious drink. I also played with the proportions adding a little more bourbon and less Campari to let the bourbon shine through.

Blood Orange Infused Bourbon "Negroni":

35ml Blood Orange infused Four Roses Yellow Label

35ml sweet vermouth

25ml Campari

dash Angostura bitters

Just give all of that a good shake and pour over ice into a rocks glass.



Yum! And great color, too!

Now, for the tequila. I have to admit tequila confuses me, even before I open the bottle. Obviously, margaritas work, but other cocktails with tequila never quite seem to work out the way I want them to. So, I went a pretty traditional route with an on the rocks margarita. It may seem a little dainty when poured, but there's a good bit of booze in this, so a little dab will do you. Of course, depending on the day's requirements, a double could poured.

I was worried the addition of an orange liqueur and the sour mix might overwhelm the blood orange tequila, but it didn't. It seemed to draw the flavor out a little more, actually. Also, the color is pretty fantastic.

Blood Orange Margarita

1 oz Blood Orange infused silver tequila

1 oz orange liqueur

3/4 oz sour mix

1/2 oz fresh lime juice

Stir that together, then pour into a small rocks glass with ice.

Obviously, these are just two quick infusions that can be done with pretty minimal effort. One thing that's worth pointing out is that there is a tipping point with fruit infusions where the fruit will start to soak up so much of the alcohol the initial flavor and some of the alcohol content of the base will be lost. I usually strain out the fruit after no longer than two weeks.

Also, it often seems like a good idea to use the fruit in your infusion as a garnish for your drinks. But, give that a quick taste before serving it to guests. I've learned the hard way that the fruit can sometimes absorb so much of the alcohol that instead of boozy, tasty goodness, what's left is more like bits of tasteless, palette killing fire.

With spring just around the corner, loads more fresh fruits and herbs will be available and they're just waiting to give your first patio drinks a little boost. And, it's always satisfying as a host for your guests to get wide eyed and say "oooooo, it's infyoooosed!!".

Happy infusing! (And as always, drink and infuse responsibly. And leave the drinking for those over 21).

Jupiter Travels: Dylan's Candy Bar & Pop Rocks Martini

With the Academy Awards coming this Sunday, I started thinking about where I was last year when the annual gala was televised. It actually took me a few minutes to recall that I was in New York City. Having only been to New York City twice in my life, it seems that'd be the kind of thing I'd pretty quickly remember. But, true to my form, it wasn't the Oscars that I remembered, but what I was drinking. And that was something far more memorable.

I'd made a trip to New York with friends and part of our plan on Oscar Sunday was to pay a visit to Dylan's Candy Bar. Dylan's (owned by Ralph Lauren's daughter, who gives it her name) is a three floor candy emporium where every candy you've ever dreamed of is not only on display, but available for purchase. It's really a mulit-colored feast for all senses and is a "must visit" for any trip to New York.

Last year, what interested me most was the actual bar they'd just opened on the top floor serving all kinds of candy based cocktails. Gummi bear vodka? Yep. Strawberry Nerds mojito? Done. Sour Patch Kids margarita? Absolutely! Having found the perfect place to settle in and watch the ceremony, my friends and I grabbed a seat at a giant, circular table filled with gumballs and settled in to watch the red carpet.

With a quick thanks to mass transit, we got to work trying just about every drink on the menu (note it has grown a bit since we were there). Our overwhelming favorite drink was the Pop Rocks martini, a concoction featuring the infamous, explosive candy. Of course, it's syrupy sweet and that's part of the fun. It's a candy based cocktail, not something too high minded. It's also delicious and quite a show when it's served, with candy literally shooting out of the glass.

We didn't get any video of the bartender at Dylan's making it, but have a look at this video down below and my bestie and I will give you a demo of how to make them and how to get your Oscar party poppin'.

Jupiter Drinks: Big Blue Martini

Over the past year, Lexington has taken a decided turn towards beer. With the advent of The Beer Trappe, West Sixth and then a host of other breweries and beer-centric spots that are open or will be opening, it seems my hometown has devoted its collective attention towards the art of craft beer. For several reasons, these new businesses are a great thing for tourism, our local and state economy and as badges of honor for Lexington to show we support homegrown businesses.

However, the craft beer craze seems to have taken away from what I really prefer: the cocktail. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t turn my nose up at beer. As a lover of all potent potables, I’ve tasted the wares of our new craft breweries and can tell you that they are doing an excellent job. But, when on a Friday night, my friends are looking to go out, I don’t want a beer. I want a cocktail.

So, let this serve as the first in a series of posts that will be devoted to drinking my way across Lexington and finding where the really good cocktails are hiding. I know they’re out there.

Craft beer aside, Lexington’s first and true love is the Cats. So, it seems reasonable that one of the best cocktails in town is the Big Blue Martini at the bar that shares its name (though it adds an additional “g” to big). I’ll grant that it’s a hotel bar and not necessarily local, but you can’t beat it for people watching or for consistency. If there’s a convention in town or something going on at Rupp, grab a table at Bigg Blue and watch the chaos unfold. When weather allows, an outdoor table along Broadway is a must with its steady stream of street and sidewalk traffic that never disappoints.

The drink itself may not be exactly Wildcat Blue, but it’s a refreshing, citrus-y delight that’s colored blue from blue curacao (which is just triple sec that’s been colored).

Jupiter Drinks: Hurricane Jupiter

I am living proof that one can be sustained on booze alone. Not being the "partying" type, I only took one Spring Break trip in my four years of college. My roommate and I decided we were going to set out for New Orleans. I wish I could tell you that we had our sights on drunken nights on Bourbon Street, but we didn't. We were and are both fairly mundane guys. In retrospect, we probably would have found something more suited to us had we thrown a dart at a map of anywhere east of the Mississippi.

However, without any plan for what we were getting ourselves into an Accounting major (obviously, not me) and myself set out in my mom's purple Geo Prism and drove from Georgetown to New Orleans. It was somewhere around the middle of Alabama that my throat started getting sore. I thought my car singing was just getting the best of me, but by the time we made it to New Orleans I was losing my voice. When our first morning in New Orleans arrived, I had a fever and swallowing solid food was out of the question. A few hours later, I found myself in the ER of Tulane University's hospital and was diagnosed with what was my first and last case of strep throat. 

Mercifully, I was given antibiotics and within a few days began to feel better. However, for the majority of our time in the Crescent City, I didn't do much sightseeing or partaking in Cajun cuisine. However, I did discover the hurricane. 

I ordered my first one as a joke while my companion was lunching on something delicious. Through the sick and resulting booze fog I have no idea what he was having, just that there was some joke about the orange juice giving me some much needed Vitamin C. What I quickly discovered was a) these things are delicious and b) the cold drink felt amazing on my infected throat. From there, hurricanes became my only sustenance for the better part of 3 days.

The great thing about New Orleans is that if you want to exist on a diet of hurricanes, the City is happy to oblige. No matter what restaurant my roommate wanted to visit they were on the menu. Even a casual saunter through the French Quarter allowed me more than a few opportunities to grab a quick boost of Vitamin C to soothe my aching throat. And from there, it was nothing but love between me and the huricane.

Once I started mixing my own drinks, perfecting the hurricane was first on my agenda. Here's the problem: there's no exact recipe for a hurricane. It seems the quintessential hurricane is from Pat O'Brien's in New Orleans. However, they don't release what is in their top secret recipe/mix. A quick minute on the Google machine will find several folks who have claimed to figure it out, though.

It seems the consensus is that it should be somewhere between electric red and pale pink, it should involve the juice of some sort of citrus, it should be served cold and strong, but you should never be able to detect how strong it is from the taste. In fact, a proper hurricane should taste like a fruity, refreshing beverage without any alcohol at all. It's just you may not be able to stand up after you've had a couple.

My recipe has been consistent now for close to 10 years, and it's a bit of a cheat. You'll find most hurricanes call for a mixture of light and dark rum. My early home bar-tending attempts had financial constraints that only allowed for the purchasing of one kind of alcohol though, so I had to find a substitute; I found it in Southern Comfort.

Now, I know this isn't a high brow liquor. (See above reference to financial constraints). But, it's sweet, gives great color when mixed and it's fairly high alcohol content will make sure your hurricanes have a fairly strong gale force. Also, while swerving it to folks, I've managed to hear a succession of "the last time I had Southern Comfort" stories that can only come from this kind of liquor.

So, for the first time ever I'm sharing my ridiculously simple hurricane recipe. I hope it makes your Mardi Gras a little more festive, or at least works as whatever elixir you may need it to. Just maybe don't use it as a replacement for your Slim-Fast shakes.

Hurricane Jupiter
Southern Comfort
Orange Juice
Pineapple juice
Grenadine
Maraschino cherry (for garnish, and less necessary the more you make)

Fill a glass/pitcher/ vat with ice. Fill that to 1/3 full with the Southern Comfort. Add orange juice until 2/3 full, then the pineapple juice until almost full. Lastly, add grenadine to your taste for sweet and how dark red/light pink you want it to be. Give it a stir and enjoy, responsibly of course and if you're over 21.

Jupiter Confused: The Fancy Rum (It's Even in a Box!!)

Everyone knows the best gift is booze. Ok, maybe I should say the best gift for me is booze. But a new bottle of just about anything (ok, let's be honest, I'll probably take one that's already been opened, too) is always welcome.

So, I was delighted when we (my boyfriend and I) were the recipients of a new bottle of rum. And not just any rum. This was Limited Edition, 15 year aged in sherry barrels, only sold in Venezuela, and only 2,000 bottles of it were made rum. This kids, is not your grandfather's Bacardi.

I have to admit that it took some poking around online to discover just how primo this primo booze we've been gifted actually is. Given that this is Venezuelan rum, it isn't a brand I am at all familiar with. All I really knew is that it is dark rum and came in a box, and if there is anything I've learned about booze it is the universal truth that booze with extraneous packaging is good stuff.

I should say the official name of the rum is "Diplomatico Single Vintage Rum". So far, we've only taken the tiniest sip of it to get a general idea for its flavor. What I can tell you is that it starts sweet (reasonably enough), gets a little oak-y/wood-y (also, I suppose as to be expected), once the alcohol burn gets off your tongue, then a caramel and almost honey flavor coats your tongue to finish.

So, now here's the problem: I have no idea what to do with it. This is the good stuff, right? It seems completely wrong to throw something of this caliber in your run of the mill mai tai. I know a good bourbon or tequila is made for sipping and can be elevated with the right cocktail. However, any rum based cocktail I can think of seems too sticky sweet. I don't want to do a disservice to a great product.

This is where you come in, if you happen to have stumbled your way to this blog. Do you have any ideas? I have to admit, I'm not well versed in rum. It isn't something that I immediately reach for when making drinks at home. So, all ideas will be entertained. If you have a thought, leave it in the comments down there. I'll be sure to post what I end up coming up with.

Jupiter Travels: OXO Tower Bar, London UK

For me, it's a given that a part of any travel experience has to be an attempt to find a good cocktail.

While on a recent trip to London for New Year's Eve, I discovered the OXO Tower Bar. What I found was not only one of the most fantastic views of London, but some of the most inventive cocktails I've ever encountered.

If you're going for a proper evening out, then it's probably a good idea to make a reservation. The lure of the view alone seems to get plenty of folks in every night. However, we managed to show up just before prime happy hour without a reservation and were given seats at the bar. Even though our backs were to the amazing wall of glass looking out onto the Thames, if you're at all interested in watching the crafting of your cocktail, I can't stress enough how much you should sit at the bar. Each drink took several minutes to get proportions right and flavors balanced and it ends up being quite the unintentional show.

From our seats at the bar, not only did we befriend a delightful girl from North Carolina, but we also struck up a chat with the bartender. What ensued was a little slice of heaven. I began my night by ordering a "Gothic Manhattan". The menu described the drink as "Woodford Reserve bourbon, stirred with Antica formula vermouth, Jerry Thomas bitters. Black licorice rinse. House-brandied cherry".  

I'll give you a moment to go re-read that. Amazing, right?

Our friend the bartender set to work making the drink right in front of me. I was immediately horrified, because he started making the drink with a different bourbon than the Woodford listed on the menu. Now, let it be known that I'm a fan of just about any bourbon, except one. My distaste for this particular bourbon is so high, that any time I order a drink, I eye the bartender just to be sure it isn't used. To my taste, it's awful. I'll be diplomatic and not name names, but it's a fairly common brand. Unfortunately, this was the bourbon he used to make the drink. (To his credit, he said the drink menu had just been revised and he was still getting accustomed to it). However, my look of horror was apparently obvious enough for him to ask why I was looking so scared.

This opened the door to a chat about my being from Kentucky, knowing my bourbon and about my love for crafting cocktails. After explaining my disdain for the bourbon he used by mistake (and him kindly offering to make a new one), I agreed to give the original drink he made a go. What I discovered is the first drink I've ever had with the Bourbon-That-Shan't-Be-Named that was not only palatable, but was fantastic. It no doubt tasted of the usual sour mash, caramel and citrus flavors that I love in bourbon, but it also had a depth and not-too-sweet sweetness that I've never found in any other drink. The sambuca (black licorice) rinse was there in the background, but not just hanging out. It balanced what could have been a case of too many things going on at once. I'll definitely be recreating this one at home.

After much more chatting with my new friend the bartender (and sadly, we never caught his name), he was gracious enough to let me try several of the other drinks he was making for various patrons. He'd leave a little in the bottom of the shaker or glass he was using to mix drinks in, and then he'd give me a taste of what he'd concocted. As you can imagine, these were the best leftovers of my life.

The two most notable were "At the Drive In" and "Due South". (See the link to OXO Tower Bar for a look at the menu and official drink descriptions). "At the Drive In" featured a butter infused Four Roses Bourbon to create a drink that managed to taste like liquified popcorn with a kick, while "Due South" was refreshingly light, yet with complex flavors that came to surface with each sip.

Four Roses Bourbon, butter infused

The view across the Thames from the terrace of the OXO Tower Bar. 

If I'm ever back in London, I'll certainly go back to the OXO Tower Bar. While the drinks aren't cheap (even by London standards), I'm not sure there's any other place in the City that could measure up to the caliber of cocktails or the experience and view. And look for some upcoming posts where I do my own take on some of the drinks featured on their menu.