Treaty Oak Cranberries

Ahead of time, let me apologize for the lack of pictures in this blog post.  To be honest, I got my hands on a bottle of .36 Texas Bourbon Whiskey from Ranger Creek over in San Antonio and was a little preoccupied with trying it while I was cooking the recipe below.  Very well made and similar to the bourbon that we'll be releasing next year alongside our rye whiskey.  Good to see quality products coming from the Texas distilling movement.  

Each year, I try to take one my mother Alice's old school recipes and make it a little more "modern."  She's not always completely patient with me (I thought she was going to strangle me when I made bourbon whipped sweet potatoes with pistachios last year), but she allows me to have some fun.  This year I decided to focus on the cranberry side dish.  My family has long served the tube-molded OceanSpray canned variety - not exactly a showstopper at the dinner table.  

I took this from a recipe over at Cooking Light and made a few of my own changes.  I made this two days ago and sampled yesterday after letting it rest - very, very tasty stuff.

Treaty Oak Cranberries

2 bags of fresh cranberries (about 24 oz)
3/4 cup Round Rock Honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 orange zested
a handful of mint leaves
1.5 oz Treaty Oak Rum
splash of Paula's Texas Orange
cooking spray

Mix all ingredients in a lightly sprayed baking pan except for mint, Treaty Oak and Paula's.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes covered, then another 25 minutes uncovered.  Stir in remaining ingredients and let chill for two to three hours before serving.  

This cranberry concoction is a great replacement for the canned version that is so common (and boring).  Plus, you can muddle this mix with a few extra mint leaves, agave nectar and lime juice, then top with Treaty Oak and club soda - and POW the perfect Holiday Mojito.

From all of us at Treaty Oak Distilling, Happy Thanksgiving!


Daniel R. BarnesOwner & Distiller 

Treaty Oak Distilling Proudly Announces Waterloo Gin

After months of hard work and recipe testing, we are proud to announce our release of Waterloo Gin.  We've had the goal of releasing a gin since we first released Treaty Oak Rum several years back.  The name was an obvious choice once we learned that Austin was originally known as Waterloo.  Our goal with Waterloo was to stay true to the traditional London Dry Gin style while still making the gin's Texas roots evident.  Waterloo Gin is a true Texas Native.

Waterloo is a distilled gin as opposed to a compound gin.  Distilled gins are made by placing the various botanicals into the column of a still while the wash is boiled.  The vaporized distillate then passes through the botanicals and absorbs the flavor.  A compound gin is made simply by steeping botanicals into neutral grain spirit.

We use local juniper, lavender, zest from oranges, lemons and grapefruits, rosemary, anise, coriander, licorice root, ginger root and pecans to flavor our brave gin.  The combination of flavors is big - we by no means intended to make this a soft or quiet gin.  The lavender, grapefruit and pecan are a departure from traditional gin recipes, but they give Waterloo the Texas flavor we wanted.  

We hope that you enjoy this latest elixir from our distillery, Treaty Oak Distilling Company.  We're very proud to finally be able to offer it to you.  Please let us know what you think and keep us aware of any interesting cocktails you may come up with.  Here's a classic that we've been enjoying to get you started:

Waterloo Martini
2 oz Waterloo
1 dash dry vermouth
2 barspoons olive brine
a lemon zest
a green olive
Add the Waterloo, dry vermouth and olive brine to a shaker or pint glass filled with ice.  Stir (don't shake).  Strain into a chilled martini glass with a lemon-zested edge.  Garnish with an olive.

Be brave - Drink Waterloo!


Regards,

Daniel Barnes
Owner & Distiller
Treaty Oak Distilling Co.