Craft Beer, Craft-ier Cocktails with Doug Brickel

I’m good at making friends, I’m friendly and I am genuinely interested in people and their stories. So at my Sexxx Dragon Premier, aka BayFest at Great South Bay Brewery, I met Matthew Kourie. If you don’t know Matt, he’s dude that loves wings as much as I love beer. Turns out he also has a serious passion for cocktails… so he decided to create the NY Cocktail Expo.  

So he took me on a research mission. He told me to meet him at The Cork and Kerry, the only speakeasy on long island. I used to think a speakeasy, was just another word for bar, nope, it’s much more interesting.

You see when I arrived, I saw a coffee shop, also there is another building next door with the same number. Confusing… Well the coffee shop was the bar… but not on first glance. I walked in and called Matt confused. He told me there was a password… I’m like “What is it?” Him: “Shit..” Me: Confused. I say to the young man at the coffee counter, “Do I need a password?” He’s playing along and says yes. But fret not, no password is needed. You do, however, need to know to go past the coffee counter and push the false wall to get to the back where the party’s at.

Opening the false door, a world of magic appears! It’s plush, lush, the lights are dim and the drinks are a flowin’. It’s kinda like that Harry Potter world of magic that lies behind the boring “muggle” world.

Doug Brickel is at the bar, manning it like a pro. He’s the mixologist that designed some cocktails just for us, craft beer cocktails.  #craftbeercocktails Doug is what you want in a good bartender, fast, creative and fun to talk to.

I was really impressed with how he took the characteristics of each beer and amplified them with herbs, bitters and other potions.

For the Eye of Balor, he took Long Ireland’s Eye of Balor IPA and intensified the wonderful characteristics of the hops. The man is a genius, making a hoppy beer cocktail that rises it above and beyond. Playing off the bitter, herb flavors and citrus in the hops. He intensified them.

The Cocoa Portal was made with Long Ireland’s Chocolate Porter, a favorite of mine. Well he took this to a whole notha level. He added hazelnut bitters and orange rind. Gorgeous and soooo damn good, but not syrupy sweet.

The Armchair Flip was made with Bluepoint’s Armchair Nitro stout, and this was the first time I tried that beer. PS- it was a GREAT stout. This one was the sweet one for the night. It had an unexpected texture from the egg in it. Sounds crazy, but it was also good. Not overly sweet, but I liked the coffee taste it had without any coffee in it at all.

Guess what? Doug was kind enough to give us the recipes!! He also wrote a little about the inspiration for each. I love how much thought he gives his creations and how intuitive he is when he creates. 

To try more of his creations head down to The Cork and Kerry and to have some amazing craft cocktails you need to check out the NY Cocktail Expo.

The Eye of Balor

We recently got a keg of the “Balor IPA” by Long Ireland.  I really liked the bright citrusy grapefruit notes on it, and it reminded me of a rosemary-grapefruit lemonade I’d made previously.  Rosemary is such a beautiful pine-y, deep rich flavor, and I love the interplay between it’s herbal funk and the acidic, floral grapefruit.  We made a homemade rosemary tincture for seasoning, and burn a bit of fresh rosemary as a highly aromatic garnish.  In researching the mythology behind Balor, we learned that uncloaking the eye in the middle of his forehead would lead to the trees and the land around him smoking and catching fire.  The garnish and the flavorful beer make this drink.    

The Eye of Balor

2016-02-10 20:54:10

Serves 1

A citrusy and herb infused IPA cocktail.

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Prep Time

5 min

Prep Time

5 min

Ingredients

1. 2 oz Plymouth gin
2. ¾ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
3. 1 ¼ oz simple syrup
4. 15 drops homemade rosemary tincture

Instructions

1. Shake and strain over large ice cube
2. Layer Long Ireland "Balor IPA" on top

Notes

1. Garnish: burn the top of a rosemary sprig, 10 more drops of rosemary tincture for aroma

By Doug Brickel

NY Foodgasm https://www.nyfoodgasm.com/

The Cocoa Portal

Our clientele has taken so well to the Long Ireland Chocolate Porter that it seems to be becoming a mainstay on our ever-changing draft list.  Cork & Kerry is a “speakeasy” style bar, hidden behind “The Roast Caffeination Station” coffee shop in Floral Park.  Whenever possible, we like to work coffees and teas into our cocktails as a natural tie-in.  The deep coffee and cocoa notes of the Porter worked in gorgeously with some of our homemade Cold Brew, and we added depth of flavor with Port wine.  We all love our beer, wine and coffee, but it’s a rare occasion when we can drink them all at once.  Homemade bitters help to round out the flavors with fruit and nut aromas, and a pinch of salt is the secret to balancing this umami-rich sip.

The Cocoa Portal

2016-02-11 18:40:49

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Prep Time

5 min

Prep Time

5 min

Ingredients

1. 1 oz cold brewed coffee
2. 1 oz Dow’s ruby port
3. 2 oz Long Ireland Chocolate Porter
4. 8 drops homemade cherry & hazelnut bitters

Instructions

1. Stir and strain over large ice cube

Notes

1. Garnish: orange twist, cherry

By Doug Brickel

NY Foodgasm https://www.nyfoodgasm.com/

The Armchair Flip

“Flips” are a family of classic cocktails shaken with egg.  Egg white cocktails have surged back in popularity, and we think yolk-y rich whole egg drinks are right behind, popping up on menus throughout the city.  Blue Point’s “Armchair” Stout is poured on Nitro, so that the fine bubbles amplify the beer’s creamy mouthfeel.  It drinks on the dry side, but can be amped up with more demerara syrup to meet the drinker’s tastes.  The real key here is the aromatic component from the fresh nutmeg and the cinnamon.   Pro tip: when adding cinnamon to a drink, flame it! Shake it from a height of 12-18 inches over the drink, and hold one or two lit matches (carefully) around six inches above the cocktail.  The cinnamon will spark and glow, and the aroma is second to none.

The Armchair Flip

2016-02-11 18:47:18

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Prep Time

5 min

Prep Time

5 min

Ingredients

1. 2 oz Blue Point "Armchair" Nitro Stout
2. 2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal rum
3. ¾ oz Demerara syrup
4. 1 whole egg

Instructions

1. Shake all ingredients very hard for a long time
2. Fine strain into chilled Irish Coffee glass

Notes

1. Garnish: fresh grated nutmeg & flamed cinnamon

By Doug Brickel

NY Foodgasm https://www.nyfoodgasm.com/