Propeller Skies

While at Green’s picking up Creme de Violette, I also scored a bottle of apricot brandy. This find allowed me to mix up the Golden Dawn, another drink from Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails. The Golden Dawn is a rather strange drink - instead of being composed of a base spirit, liqueur, and a bitter element (e.g. lemon juice or bitters), it includes two different brandies along with Cointreau*, gin and orange juice. The first brandy is Calvados, an eau-de-vie made from apples. Second is apricot brandy**.

The first taste is oranges mixed with apricots. In the middle comes a hint of apple from the Calvados. The aftertaste is ripe with the herbal flavor imparted by botanicals in the gin.

Overall, I found the Golden Dawn too sweet. I also dislike how the Calvados is buried under the other ingredients - this expensive brandy is better used in a drink that allows it to shine, like an Apple Cart. However, the Golden Dawn is by no means a bad concoction and I would serve it to guests who like their cocktails less savory.

notes:

* Don’t even think about using generic triple sec, it will make this drink cloyingly sweet.
** Not apricot flavored brandy. Spend the money on the good stuff, I used Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot. Hint - if the bottle says eau-de-vie, it’s probably the good shit.

While looking for a drink to make that resulted in me trying The Communist, I came across several recipes that required an obscure liqueur not in my collection - Creme de Violette. After some searching on the internet, I discovered a local Atlanta liquor store might carry it. So I set off to get me some.

While roaming the internet searching for Creme de Violette, I noticed there was more dispute over the Aviation recipe than I had previously known. Several Aviation recipes called for Creme de Violette. The modern Aviation, as described in Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century, is a pretty fucking good drink. Add Creme de Violette, long gone from these shores, but now available in Atlanta at Green’s*, and, well, I said GODDAMN! Creme de Violette adds enough complexity to elevate the modern Aviation to the stratosphere. The tres dope and unique blue color adds to the ambiance of the drink. Goes well with Envie.

notes

* I almost missed it, as it is not on the front shelf with the premium shit - I found it hiding on the opposite side by the cheap liqueurs.

I had a shit ton of lemons left over from doing a few practice rounds with The Photographer prior to heading to Star. So I thumbed through my copy of Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, a generous Christmas present from Homecracka Ed G, looking for something involving lemons. I came across the recipe for The Communist, which also required gin and since I love gin like Rick James loves Mary Jane, this was a cocktail begging to be tried.

The flavor of The Communist is very crisp and citrus. I especially enjoy the delightfully bitter finish, which saves this drink from being a sweet shooter favored by amateur drinkers. While The Communist is delicious in its own right, the drink is somewhat similar to the Singapore Sling.

Ingredients of The Communist include: gin, cherry brandy, lemon juice, and orange juice. Since I was fresh out of cherry brandy, I substituted Cherry Heering - the internet is inconclusive on whether this liqueur is cherry brandy or not. For the gin component, I used Tanqueray No. Ten, a strongly flavored gin that stands up to the fruit explosion of the other ingredients.

A few nights ago, recurring Propeller Skies character The Photographer and I ate at Star, located in Ghettoberry Hood. When we arrived, the bartender was busy, but he quickly acknowledged us and stated he would be right with us. That pissed me off, I was looking forward to carping about poor service. Unfortunately for my love of whinging, the service at Star was spectacular the entire evening.

a brief history lesson

Star is a blues joint and restaurant in the space formerly occupied by the overpriced and underwhelming Studio Grille. A few months after the Studio Grille condignly went out of business, Star opened. Star is a marked improvement over the prior tenant.

a dry gin martini with a twist

Unlike the usual Atlanta bartenders, the bartender looked like he might have some experience and be capable of mixing a decent drink. I asked for a dry Sapphire Martini with a twist. The bartender reported Star had no Bombay* Sapphire. Fucking finally, something to complain about. I specified Tanqueray instead. The bartender properly chilled a glass with ice and water and mixed my drink.

The Martini was excellent and contained the proper amount of vermouth. This is not always the case, as Atlanta is a trendy sort of town and a substantial percentage of bartenders here think dry Martini actually means Naked Martini. Because the Martini was Smoove as hell, I ordered another.

the food

I ordered Jumbo Shrimp Alfredo and a side of Italian Macaroni and Cheese. As for the macaroni and cheese, I have no idea what the fuck made it Italian, as opposed to regular ass, macaroni and cheese, since it tasted like perfectly normal macaroni and cheese. Besides, is not macaroni and cheese inherently of Italian descent? Despite the odd nomenclature, the biggest issue with the dish was The Photographer kept bogarting my macaroni and cheese. The Italian Macaroni and Cheese was delicious.

The entree I consumed, Jumbo Shrimp Alfredo, was also mighty tasty. The shrimp was nicely grilled, the pasta was cooked perfectly, and the sauce was appropriately creamy. There were a few guerrilla vegetables staging an uprising in the dish, but they were minimal and did not detract from my enjoyment of it. Star is highly recommended for both food and drinks.

ambiance

This section is completely pointless, as shit food tastes asstastic no matter how nice the decor is or what bourgeoisie architecture studio designed the turd station. However, it is included because all high falutin’ august publications such as the Atlanta Urinal Constipation**, go on about ambiance, so I will too. In contrast to the previously disparaged Studio Grille, the ambiance of Star is top notch.

notes:

* In following the dumbass trend of referring to colonial cities by their native names, I suppose this should be renamed Mumbai Sapphire. However, I refuse to participate in this stupidity.
** Alert Prizzo Skeezy readers will recall the aformentioned bastion of journalistic excellence managed to completely miss not one, but two coffee shops on their trip to Castleberry Hill to review Star.