Halloween House Party

I'm not sure how you all spent your Halloween, but I got to spend mine in just about the best way I can imagine - tending bar at a house party for my buddy Vern.  It was a blast!  This was a bit different from some of the tasting events that I've done in the past, in that there were no "courses", just a set menu of a couple simple drinks that I served up on request.  In other words, pretty straightforward bartending, but I got to have some fun with the menu.

I mentioned this a little bit earlier, but the party was themed after "Nostalgia" and I decided to try for a menu that reminded me of the bars I frequented when I first turned of age.  It's all relatively simple stuff, easy to batch and serve quickly.  Yet I was pleased by the response I received; one of the best comments I got was that the overall set of drinks were all excellent and nicely varied.  Exactly what I was aiming for!

Because I batched most of these drinks for quick service, I'm going to provide a couple different versions: the full measurements that I was using to batch, and scaled-down individual versions, in case you want to try them before committing to a larger quantity.

DRINK #1: COSMOTINI
The big hit of the night.  I wound up nearly running out of base ingredients for the juice mix!  No surprise; this is really just a classic Cosmopolitan, served with the option of gin (which is now my preferred method).  Service seemed to split the vodka and gin pretty evenly.

Batched:
10 oz cranberry juice
6 oz triple sec
4 oz lime juice
10 dashes Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters
To serve: combine 2 oz of gin (the citrus-forward New Amsterdam) or citrus vodka with 2 1/2 oz of the mix above; shake vigorously, strain into a glass, and garnish with cranberries and a lemon wedge (for vodka) or a lime wedge (for gin).

Individual:
1 1/4 oz cranberry juice
3/4 oz triple sec
1/2 oz lime juice
1 (large) dash Fee Brothers Cranberry Bitters
2 oz gin (or citrus vodka)
Shake and strain into a cocktail glass; add garnish as described above.

DRINK #2: WISCONSIN OLD-FASHIONED
Less of my typical very remixable old-fashioned, more the Wisconsin style that I was first introduced to: the kind with a muddled cherry, orange, and splash of soda.  Simplified here for speed, but very successfully.  This is what I was sipping on all night, in between a couple other random combinations.

Batched:
12 oz brandy (can't remember exactly what we had; my recommendation would be Torres)
4 oz bourbon (Cabin Still)
2 oz Cherry Heering
2 oz soda water
25 dashes Regan's No. 6 Orange Bitters
To serve: pour 2 1/2 oz over ice, add a small orange slice, and stir to combine.

Individual:
1 1/2 oz brandy
1/2 oz bourbon
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz soda water
Stir over ice; garnish as described above.

DRINK #3: WHATEVER & COKE
This was my attempt to accommodate the house-party vibe, letting guests choose a spirit for combination with a mixer.  It also provided a booze-free option for those unfortunate folks who couldn't consume alcohol.  For the cola portion, I'll point you to a previous post; in this batch, I ran short on brown sugar and added in a sizeable portion of molasses, a substitution that I may have to repeat.  The end result was reportedly "amazing" and went down very well indeed.

Homemade Cola:
4 oz TC Cola syrup
12 oz soda water
1 dash lemon juice
Combine and bottle for service; this will foam up when mixed, so do this in an oversize vessel.

To serve: Combine 1 1/2 oz spirit of choice over ice, with 4-5 oz of homemade cola to taste; garnish at whim with lime (for rum), lemon (for vodka), or orange (for whiskey).

Alternatively: Pour 6 oz over ice and garnish with cranberries.  For a low-proof option, add 1/2 oz Cherry Heering and a couple dashes of Regan's Orange Bitters for a "Cherry Coke".

Two Dutch Sours

I'll state right away for the record that neither of these are exactly originals (and in fact, they're pretty much the exact same drink) but I don't think that should stop you from trying them.  Both are being included here precisely because they turned out very nicely.

The basic question of the hour: what happens if you use genever in drinks which typically call for dry gin?

The Flying Dutchman
1 1/2 oz genever (Bols Barrel Aged, my hands-down favorite)
1/2 oz Luxardo maraschino
1/2 oz lemon juice

The Dutch Lady
1 1/2 oz genever (same as above)
1/2 oz triple sec (another Luxardo product)
1/2 oz lemon juice

For both, shake and strain into a coupe; garnish with a strip of lemon peel.

It's pretty impressive how well these work despite the Bols being a completely different spirit than a London Dry gin.  I should admit that "Flying Dutchman" isn't even my name for the first of these; there's a local bar that serves the same beverage, done up with creme de violette for color in classic Aviation style.  Frankly, I see very little need to keep such a specialized liqueur in my home bar, and make my Aviations without.

Notebook Cocktail #8

This was just born out of playing with a range of liqueurs taking up space in my cabinet.

1 oz London Dry gin (you could bump this up to 1 1/2 oz if using a less-assertive gin)
1/2 oz triple sec (Luxardo's version has become my favorite, but any will do)
1/2 oz Pimm's Cup No. 1
1/2 oz Aperol
1 oz lime juice

Shake well and strain over fresh ice.  Garnish with an orange wheel if you're feeling fancy.

Grownup Grapefruit Soda

This was just an attempt to take something more exciting to a bottle of wine to a gathering, and it wound up being a hit.  This is another soda siphon cocktail that can be pre-mixed and pre-carbonated, although I have included single-serving amounts as well in italics.

100 ml (1 oz) white tequila
100 ml (1 oz) lavender-infused vodka
100 ml (1 oz) apricot-mint syrup
50 ml (1/2 oz) Cointreau
50 ml (1/2 oz) Aperol
50 ml (1/2 oz) lime juice
500 ml (5 oz) water/soda water


Pour into a soda siphon (if using), carbonate and let refrigerate for at least 4 hours.  To serve, pour over ice in a tall wine glass.  Garnish with whatever citrus or berries are at hand.

The name of this one came to me as a description of its final taste, though I then had to explain that there wasn't really any grapefruit in it.  If bringing this to a party, I recommend dispensing it slowly into a clean 1-liter bottle (preferably with a stopper-top) which makes transportation easier and preempts the foam you get when serving directly from the siphon.

If you're in a pinch, you could substitute St. Germain for the lavender vodka and an apricot liqueur (Rothman & Winter the best choice) for the syrup, although you will have a slightly stronger final product.