Spirits: Weird Gins to Try

I thought we'd try a little something different.  I'll admit that lately my mixing has tended toward the cheap and cheerful, relying on value brands and expedient highballs.  Simplicity has its virtues, but it can make for uninspired writing, especially on a cocktail blog.  Yeah, I've worked out my favorite brand of ginger beer (Reed's, by a mile) but I refuse to write the 10,000th post about the Moscow Mule.

Rather than being used in more creative pursuits, my collection of quality liquors has slowly gained a critical mass, where it suddenly feels almost sacrosanct to touch them.  But I will happily accept an excuse to dip in and turn my drive for simplicity into an advantage.  What's simpler than straight booze?

Now, okay, this is probably not all that simple.  These are not all easy brands to find (I know, having spent weeks hunting for some of them at my local shops, and stumbling quite accidentally across others only to see them vanish from the shelves) and none are your standard London Dry.  I enjoy them more for their character than for being a "perfect" gin and encourage you to seek them out, if only to broaden your concept of gin.  I've mentioned most of these before and where applicable will point out various of my previous recipes that utilize them.  It'll be fun, or at least a reasonable approximation.

So here we go, in no particular order:

#1: St. George Dry Rye
I've espoused this one several times before as a superbly unique creature, one that successfully finds its own niche between modern dry gins and the much older genever style.  Its style really hits a spot I didn't know I had, and earns the title of my absolute favorite domestic gin.  True to the name, the base spirit is copper pot-distilled 100% rye, which lends a spicy, malty flavor... like that of a good rye whiskey, unsurprisingly.  More interesting is the botanical mix, which leads off with an extra dose of juniper, plus black pepper and only four other ingredients (!) designed to emphasize that juniper essence.  All of this makes for a burly and assertive gin that maintains its distinct flavor in cocktails.  I particularly like this in an old-fashioned or Double-Dry Martinez, where the modifiers complement but can't possibly overwhelm that intense peppery character, but it can also stand tall in less spirit-forward drinks.  Raspberry syrup is an especially good choice to use in combination.  Or, dispense with the cocktail frippery entirely and pour a shot for use in a kopstootje (which I often do).

#2: Tanqueray Malacca
I remember first reading about Malacca in Ted Haigh's seminal Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, in a passage mourning its loss and practically begging the company to bring it back.  Apparently they heard the same from others, because after a decade-long hiatus Tanqueray released a new limited run and bartenders everywhere rushed to grab a bottle.  I turned around and bought two more after sampling mine.  This is a surprisingly old style, apparently based on a recipe from around 1837, similar to an Old Tom gin in that it dials back the juniper compared to a traditional London Dry.  It's not quite as sweet as an Old Tom, though, and has a more complex botanical profile that leads off with citrus and a distinct cinnamon note.  For this reason and for its historical appeal, one of my favorite applications for Malacca is in a Winter Martinez (a standard version with the addition of cinnamon syrup) but it works in just about any pre-Prohibition recipe that calls for Old Tom.

#3: Few Standard Issue
I appreciate the intensity of navy-strength gins, and this one really takes it up a notch.  Few is known, at least to me, as putting out products with a distinct raw, unaged, grainy character which works well for some and less for others.  Here they put it to good use in a 114-proof gin which celebrates its funkiness.  There's an initial burst of citrus and juniper, followed quickly by an intense and complex wave of savory botanicals, almost like an aquavit, plus a marshmallow-cherry-grain character that immediately reminds me of maraschino liqueur.  It's unique and very bold, though a little rough for drinking straight.  The similarity to maraschino makes it great in an Aviation (a drink that I like to call the Harrier, after the iconic US Navy jet) but also a very fine gin & tonic, especially if you go the GMT route and add couple dashes of maraschino.  The main success that I've had in a more spirits-focused drink was in a reverse-proportions Vesper, with more vodka than gin, an idea that I picked up reading Speakeasy.  Pair this gin with Russian Standard, and I guess you'd have a Russian Navy Standard Issue?

#4: The Botanist
This is probably the most classically styled of the gins described here, which is interesting because it comes from an Islay-based distillery primarily known for making scotch.  It starts off with classic gin ingredients and then adds a ridiculous 22 further locally harvested botanicals (also known as the "Chartreuse method", or picking every damn thing you can find to toss in the still).  The first standout notes include lemon peel, fennel, and thyme, but then transitions to a spicy wash of juniper, white pepper, clove, grapefruit, honey, and just a little lingering malt.  All of which is to say that it's as complex as the 30-plus ingredients would indicate, staying close to the traditional London Dry balance but with way more depth.  That makes it a standout choice for classics like a Dry Martini or Tuxedo (the gin-and-dry-sherry version described in Imbibe!) and anything else where gin plays a primary role.  A Negroni or a Pink Gin would be a little more offbeat but still excellent.

#5: Damrak
I include Damrak in this list not so much because it's a dazzling product, but because it's milder than a standard dry gin and very easy to mix with.  It's produced by the powerhouse Bols, importers of the absolute best genever that you can find locally, which surprised me until I remembered that Bols also makes a "yogurt liqueur", a combination of words that is both repellent and depressing.  Damrak is intended as a mid-to-entry level product, somewhere between a London Dry and a jonge genever, and it settles into that role nicely.  The juniper is restrained in favor of a good deal of citrus, a bit of rosemary/sage dark herb flavor, a nicely rounded mouthfeel, and not too much else to distract.  It's a good gin for people who think they don't like gin, especially at a price point that's midway between value and premium brands.  Now, you get what you pay for, and this isn't complex enough to be desirable in spirits-focused drinks, but it's very nice in gin-based sours like a White Lady or Corpse Reviver #2.  Makes for a damned fine Tom Collins on a hot day too, which tastes even better when you're not breaking the bank.

So there we have it, my very first spirits review.  I think that worked out pretty well.  Let's do this again sometime!  We'll continue to stay off the beaten track; I could see my way to doing a blended-scotch review or perhaps an unaged brandy tasting (covering pisco, kirschwasser, slilovitz, himbergeest... sounds like fun).  For now, back to our regular program: sporadic recipes punctuated by self-loathing apology!

ADDENDUM #1: More weird gins.

Stupor Ball

Here's a long drink for everyone else who's watching the Super Bowl without a team in the game.

2 oz bourbon (Cabin Still)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz cranberry grenadine (regular grenadine would be okay too)
1/2 oz grapefruit juice
1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain over ice in a tall glass and top with soda.

House of Gin Old-Fashioned (#1)

I don't know why I've never posted this before, because it may be one of my personal favorite creations.  Granted, it's a weird drink, intensely herbal and funky, but I make it every time I have its constituent ingredients on hand.  It doesn't hurt that I'm a Dry Rye evangelist.

2 1/2 oz St. George Dry Rye
1/4 oz thyme syrup
1 dash Luxardo maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Regan's No. 6 Orange bitters
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 dashes Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter bitters

Stir and strain over a fresh large cube in an old-fashioned glass.

Genever (especially the Bols aged variety) is a decent, though imperfect, substitute for the Dry Rye.  You might want to save some for a Dutch Quarter.

Jalisco Fashioned

Here's a random tequila-based old-fashioned cocktail, named after the origin of the spirit.

2 1/4 oz aged tequila (I used El Mayor Anejo; another anejo or even a good resposado would be nice too)
1/4 oz creme de cacao
1 dash Regan's #6 Orange Bitters
1 dash Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter bitters (which I'm sadly having trouble finding now...)
1 dash apple bitters (homemade as previously covered)

Stir and strain over a large cube, blissfully ungarnished.

Dual Highballs

Two fairly straightforward highballs, constructed along the same formula.  Nothing too unusual for nightly mixing, but these turned out well enough that I thought they deserved recording.

#1:
1 oz pisco (I used Capel; not necessarily my first choice, but a good value selection)
3/4 oz beet liqueur (homemade)
3/4 oz Mathilde Cassis
3/4 oz lemon juice

#2:
1 oz aged rum (I used Plantation 5 Year)
3/4 oz apricot liqueur (again, homemade)
3/4 oz Mathilde Poire
3/4 oz lemon juice

For both, shake and strain over fresh ice in a highball glass.  Top with ~1 oz ginger beer to taste and stir.

Red Gatling

Another easy riff on the French 75, so I had to name it after another piece of old-school field weaponry.

1 1/2 oz dry gin (Boodles is always nice)

1 1/2 oz cranberry sauce syrup*

1/4 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain (over ice only when there's none outside) then top with 2-3 oz rose champagne or cava.

In the interests of proper logging, I should note that I initially made this with pisco, which was nice, but didn't have quite the snap I was looking for.  Something about that gin-champagne cocktail is just so delightfully speakeasy.

*This was essentially leftover homemade cranberry sauce (made with real cranberries!) that I pureed until smooth, stretched out until pourable again, then ran through a fine strainer.  You may wish to sweeten or tweak this further to your liking.  Mine was still fairly tart, courtesy of fresh cranberries, hence the hefty amount.  You may also wish to double-strain any cocktails you make with the stuff depending on its final texture.

The Great Frost

It's hellishly cold here, and that means cocktails are in order to warm the bones.  Scotch is always an appropriate choice in such matters.  I'm sorry that this one is so brand-specific but I can't imagine this combination working quite any other way.

2 oz Great King Street Artist's Blend scotch (good, good stuff, very mellow)
1/4 oz squash-sage syrup (roasted squash with fresh sage and brown sugar; tastes like Thanksgiving)
1/4 oz sweet vermouth (I used Dolin)
1/4 oz homemade apple bitters (yeah, sorry; I used the apple bitters recipe from Brad Parsons' Bitters book, which I will no doubt be experimenting with further)
1 dash Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter bitters (yum)
1 dash Bitter Truth Celery Bitters (also yum, easily the best celery bitters on the market)

Stir and strain over a large cube in an old-fashioned glass.  Do not let garnish cloud your judgment.

Tasting #1

Well, friends, I've been busy.  On Thursday I conducted a cocktail seminar for a friend's holiday party. I hope it'll be the first of many, because I had a ridiculous amount of fun!  An hour to blather on about cocktails for a captive audience?  Yes please.

In honor of the occasion, here are my drink notes from the event.  I turned this into a little menu/brochure (also including some recommendations on cocktail books and local bars) to provide as a handout and reference.

DRINK #1: KIR ROYALE
1/2 oz creme de cassis (Mathilde)
~5 oz dry sparkling wine (Cava)
To build: Pour the creme de cassis into a champagne flute and slowly add the wine.
Other notes: Bubbles are always a great pre-dinner or special event beverage.  This is a very easy drink which you can adjust to your personal taste.

DRINK #2: SPICED SAZERAC
2 oz rye whiskey (Bulleit)
1 tsp holiday spice syrup (a simple syrup with cranberry, cinnamon, and other spices)
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 dashes Angostura bitters
To build: Pour a small amount of absinthe into a short glass and swirl to coat the inside (or spray with an atomizer) then let the glass chill in the freezer.  Stir the other ingredients over ice and strain into the prepared glass.
Other notes: The Sazerac is a very old-school drink, and is the official cocktail of the city of New Orleans.  Don't be afraid of the absinthe.

DRINK #3: WINTER DAQUIRI
1 1/2 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star)
3/4 oz creme de cassis (Mathilde)
3/4 oz lime juice
To build: Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.  Add a lime wheel if you like.
Other notes: This is a great example of the Sour genre of drinks, and can be remixed with almost any spirit and liqueur you have on hand.

DRINK #4: 20TH CENTURY COCKTAIL
1 1/2 oz dry gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz creme de cacao (any brand)
1/2 oz lemon juice
To build: Shake over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.  Add a strip of lemon peel or a bit of grated chocolate as garnish.
Other notes: This makes an excellent test if you want to see how knowledgeable your bartender really is.

DRINK #5: CABIN FEVER FLIP
3/4 oz rye whiskey (Bulleit)
3/4 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz creme de cacao
3/4 oz holiday spice syrup
3/4 oz heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1/2 egg (or egg white)
To build: Shake all of the above without ice until frothy, then shake again with ice and strain into an old-fashioned glass.  Garnish with a dusting of nutmeg.
Other notes: 1 large egg is usually enough for 2 drinks, or use smaller eggs for a single serving.  The silky texture of this drink makes it a perfect liquid dessert.

I made half-size versions of each of these, to share between each of the couples in attendance.  That worked out perfectly, providing just enough to taste, but not enough to completely inebriate.  The Winter Daquiri wound up being the crowd favorite, but the Flip was well-received too.

This whole experience has me very seriously thinking about how to monetize (or at least subsidize) this little hobby of mine.  A few of the folks in attendance expressed interest in events of their own, and I sincerely hope that we can make it happen, because I'd love to do this again.  I was also asked about wedding consulting, personal liquor shopping... seems like the sky's the limit!  Stay tuned, because I'll most certainly post about it.

Gondola Hook

The merging of two cocktails: the Gondolier and the Red Hook.

2 oz blended scotch (I've been digging Pig's Nose lately and it works well here)

1/3 oz Luxardo maraschino liqueur
1/3 oz Punt e Mes

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with lemon peel if you like.

I really enjoy this particular combination of accents.  I could see a number of different "Hooks" with different bases - the Boat Hook with navy-strength gin, the Captain's Hook with rum, the Golden Hook with cognac...

Carina Collins

That's right, friends, it's another of my patented Unexplained Absences!  I shouldn't feel too bad - we did just buy a house, after all, and I've recently noticed that many (better-known) cocktail blogs are subject to their own random hiatuses.  Ah well.  I had to check in to be sure that I got this one down.

2 oz London Dry gin (Tanqueray in this case, although Boodles would be welcome)
1 1/4 oz lime juice (about a full medium-sized lime)
3/4 oz strawberry-saffron syrup
1/2 oz Licor 43
1 dash orange bitters

Shake and strain over large ice cubes, then top with soda water to taste (about 2 oz for me) and stir gently.

I named this one after a constellation visible in the Southern hemisphere during the summer months - appropriate, since I'm not sure why I came up with this only once the weather turned frigid.  Go figure.

Sugar Beet

Some folks pickle their leftover vegetables.  Some nerds (like myself) turn them into liqueur instead.  I've made a surprisingly effective sweet pepper liqueur in the past, but this one might be one of the most successful:

16 oz vodka
1 oz honey
1 medium diced red beet

Combine in a mason jar; macerate and shake daily for 10 days and store in the fridge.  Try the end result on its own - it actually takes like real

Here's a recipe making prime use of this wonderful stuff:

1 oz London Dry gin
1 oz beet liqueur
1 oz bianco or blanc vermouth
3 dashes Angostura bitters
3 drops celery bitters (I love Bitter Truth's version)

Stir over a large ice cube in an old-fashioned glass (I keep everything chilled to facilitate this without excessive dilution).  Garnish with a shaved beet slice if you have one handy, or just sip if you don't.  Try not to spill this on the carpet because beet juice will stain like crazy.

Vegi-Shandy

Sorry for the gap - we're in the middle of moving, job transitions, helping with friends' weddings... It's been a busy few weeks, without much time for mixology.

About three months ago we bought a juicing machine, and I've found that it makes an excellent tool for using up produce that's on the verge of going bad.  The problem is that (as recently stated by a friend) is that then you have to drink the stuff.  I myself prefer to get around this issue by combining it with delicious, delicious booze.  Which probably offsets any health or nutritional benefits gained from the stuff, but there you go.

Combining vegetable juice with beer or cider turns out to be a surprisingly effective way to make it very palatable while accentuating its natural flavor.  Here are a couple very successful riffs on the concept - give them a try, you might be surprised.

#1
1 oz bourbon (nothing fancy, I used Four Roses)
1 oz fresh carrot juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/4 oz pineapple syrup
~3-4 oz dry alcoholic apple cider

#2
1 oz London Dry gin
1 oz fresh beet juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz cranberry syrup (or grenadine, but I think of this as fall/winter grenadine)
~3-4 oz dry alcoholic apple cider

#3
1 oz bourbon
1 oz fresh beet juice
1/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz pineapple syrup
~3-4 oz India Pale Ale (any brand, really; I forget what we used)

For all of the above, shake the first 4 ingredients, strain over fresh ice, then top with the cider or beer and gently stir.  Feel free to play around with other variations; we certainly did.  I think we tested just about every variation of the formula:

1 oz spirit (bourbon or gin)
1 oz veggie juice (beet or carrot)
1/4-1/2 oz lemon or lime juice
1/4-1/2 oz pineapple or cranberry syrup (less if using cider or lighter beer, more if using bitter beer)
3-4 oz beer or cider

A couple dashes of whatever bitters you like in these don't hurt either.

Girdle Popper

My wife and I visited a local cocktail bar last night, and she ordered a drink dubbed the Panty Dropper.  I couldn't quite reconstruct it at home, but two out of three ain't bad.

1 1/4 oz navy-strength gin (Few's Standard Issue once again - I found a backup bottle!)

1 barspoon lemon juice

Stir over ice in a tall fizz glass, then top with 3 oz of Hana Hou Hou Shu Sparkling Sake (delightfully weird, delicious, pink stuff, pick some up if you can).

I just couldn't resist the name.

Pirate Dram

Here's a random Friday-evening old-school nightcap, cobbled together (as always seems to be the case) out of ingredients I'm trying to use up in preparation for our move.

3/4 oz Pyrat XO rum (or similar spicy, navy-style rum; Admiral Pusser's, perhaps)
3/4 oz VS brandy (technically I used a Torres 5 Year, but the style is similar)
1/2 oz Highlands scotch (or other smoky, peaty goodness)
1 barspoon Licor 43
1 barspoon honey-sage syrup
3 dashes Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter bitters

Stir and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish?  What's that?

You could probably bump up the scotch if that's your pleasure.  The overall effect was oddly close to Drambuie, hence the name.

Up-State

I have to admit that on my last trip there, I very much enjoyed my time in New York (due in large part to my favorite bar yet - my only complaint is that it's half a continent away) but I have a real fondness for Upstate.  Reminds me of home, probably; more so than the hustle and bustle of Manhattan.  Here's a drink named in its honor (think of it as "halfway to Toronto").

1 oz rye whiskey (Rittenhouse, appropriately)

1 oz applejack (Laird's Straight Apple Brandy in this case)

3/4 oz sweet vermouth (Dolin here)

1/2 oz Fernet Branca

1 dash aromatic bitters (Angostura)

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish?  What's that?

If you want to use a decent Italian vermouth (Carpano Antica or its ilk) you can probably back off to 1/2 oz and possibly omit the bitters, though I haven't tried it this way.

Gin & Juice, Fancy Style

Are you familiar with the Minnesota State Fair?  I went along today at the family's behest, and it was only a flask of Few Standard Issue Gin that kept me alive through the experience.  Turns out that it serves as a wonderful spike for all manner of mixers.  Here is a drink that I made afterward to carry forward the trend.

1 1/2 oz navy strength gin (most brands should work in this)

1/2 oz pomegranate-blueberry syrup

1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake and strain over fresh ice.  Top with 2-3 oz carbonated cucumber water to taste.  Stir and spritz a quick blast of absinthe over the top using an atomizer.

Double-Dry Martinez

The concept of a "dry Martinez" is faintly ridiculous, since the Martinez is essentially the older, sweeter cousin to today's Martini.  For bonus irony points, this isn't even really all that dry, though it is a fairly-dry rendition of the Martinez formula.  It is brand-specific (that's the "double" part of the name) and I apologize for that, but this Dry Rye stuff really does deserve hunting down.

2 oz St. George Dry Rye gin
1/2 oz dry vermouth (Dolin here)
1/4 oz sweet vermouth (Dolin again, any decent vermouth would do fine)
1/4 oz maraschino (do I even need to specify Luxardo at this point?)
1 dash simple syrup (not exactly "dry" but helps with the balance)
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash Bittercube Cherry Bark Vanilla bitters (an astonishing combo with the Luxardo)

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; squeeze an orange twist over the top if available and discard, then garnish with a lemon twist.  That's what I did, anyway; a twist of either citrus will do just fine as garnish.

Glorious Evening Fizz

Here's a somewhat random variation on the "Morning Glory Fizz", a curiously tasty cocktail that I stumbled across in Imbibe! and which has become a personal favorite hangover helper.  I made this one on a warm summer evening, hence the name, and it was just too tasty not to write down.

2 oz scotch

3/4 oz ginger syrup (a nice spicy version created by combining juiced ginger and sugar)

3/4 oz lime juice

3 dashes celery bitters

1 egg yolk

Rinse the inside of a fizz glass with absinthe and place in the freezer to chill.  Combine the above over ice, shake well, and strain into the prepared glass.  Top with 3-4 oz of chilled, carbonated cucumber water to taste, then twist a lemon peel over the top and discard.

Malaccan Madness

I was thrilled to hunt down a couple bottles of Tanqueray Malacca today - I'd bought a couple before, recently after the news of its reissue, but the supply in my local market seems to be drying up and I found only one store with remaining stock.  I might have to invest in a couple more, or exercise more willpower in using the stuff.  It's really a very lovely gin, and I hope that its current limited run gets extended.

Anyway, should you have an open bottle of your own, here's a nice way to sling it around (although Malacca seems to work well in just about any pre-Prohibition gin cocktail).  What with this name, it's entirely brand-specific (sorry about that) but you could use another relatively soft, Old Tom style gin.  Seek out the real deal if you can.

2 oz Tanqueray Malacca gin
1/2 oz Licor 43
1/3 oz lemon juice
1 dash creme de violette
1 dash aromatic bitters
1 dash Bittercube Bolivar bitters

Shake briefly and strain over a large ice cube.  Garnish with a twist of lemon if you feel.

Notebook Cocktail #9

Somewhere in here I had a rather unhealthy fixation on double-base cocktails, meaning those that combine two different liquors in equal proportion.  Classic examples such as the Vieux Carre are among my favorite drinks (you may have noticed a couple variations) and I like trying to get spirits playing off one another.  It's a damned difficult trick to pull off; out of maybe a half-dozen cocktails that I vaguely recall, this was the only one enjoyable enough to deserve recording.

1 oz rye (Wild Turkey here)
1 oz Bak's Bison Grass vodka
3/4 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Licor 43
2 dashes aromatic bitters

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a wide swath of orange peel.

And that, my friends, concludes the run of Notebook Cocktails (representing maybe 10% at most of my output during this latest hiatus).  I'll try to spread these out a little in future.  In the meantime, I wish all of you a very pleasant July 4th weekend (those of you reading from the U.S., anyway).

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.

Notebook Cocktail #7

Basically a French 75 variant using some of the ingredients on hand.  We tried a couple different versions with one citrus or another before splitting the difference.

2 oz London Dry gin (really any gin would do fine here; cheap gin would be suitably authentic)
3/4 oz rhubarb syrup (the same lightly-spiced version from N.C. #6)
3/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz grapefruit juice (I used a nice sweet Ruby Red variety)

Shake and strain over fresh ice, then top with about 2 oz rose cava or champagne (I think we actually used a Baron de Seillac Brut Rose, which is from Provence and therefore technically neither, but that's irrelevant; anything pink and bubbly and dry will do fine).

Notebook Cocktail #6

This one actually comes with a proper name ("The Greenway Sour") but it's in the same notepad as the others, so it counts as a Notebook Cocktail.  It may be one of my favorites.

1 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star, duh)
1 oz London Dry gin (Beefeater in this case, but my love of Boodles is well known)
3/4 oz rhubarb syrup (a slightly spiced version with nutmeg and lemon peel)
3/4 oz lime juice

Shake briefly and strain over ice, then top with about 1 1/2 oz charged cucumber water (an excellent mixer and a fine use for those left-over cucumber solids).

Notebook Cocktail #5

This one should look like a recombination of some of the ingredients from the last few Notebook Cocktails, mostly because it's exactly that.

2 oz white rum (Plantation 3 Star again)
1 1/4 oz cryo-cucumber juice (for which see N.C. #4)
3/4 oz mango shrub (nearly identical to the cranberry version from N.C. #1)
1 large dash Bittercube Bolivar bitters*

Stir well over ice and top with about 1 oz soda water.

*Troublesome brand specifications again, I know.  The problem in this case is that I really don't know anything that is quite like these particular bitters.  You could maybe try a dash each of Peychaud's and orange, but it won't be nearly the same thing.

Notebook Cocktail #4

This one surprised me enough to write down.  I don't usually care much for coconut water; nor apparently does my wife, who bought a small carton only to take a small sip and immediately declare her disgust.  Using the remainder immediately became my challenge of the evening.

2 oz Bak's Bison Grass vodka (other brands would presumably be fine)
3/4 oz thyme syrup (fairly rich with a small touch of honey in my version)
1 1/2 oz coconut water
1 1/2 oz "cryo-juiced" cucumber juice*
1 oz lemon juice

Stir vigorously over ice and add a quick charge of soda water.  Alternatively, combine the above in the appropriate proportions and charge the whole thing in your soda siphon.

*This stuff is amazing.  I found the recipe (or method, really) in Kevin Liu's excellent new book (the companion blog reprints occasional sections for those of you who want a representative sample) and have been making it every week since then.  It's delicious and couldn't be easier.  Just slice a cucumber or two into very thin wheels (a mandolin is nice for this) then pop them into a resealable plastic bag and chuck into the freezer.  Once frozen, pull the bag out, let the cucumbers thaw completely (I recommend a drip tray from personal experience) and then return to the freezer for a second go.  Once fully frozen and thawed again, pop the bag's top and pour off the resulting juice, squeezing the cucumbers through the bag to extract every drop you can.  One reasonably sized cucumber seems to yield about 4-5 oz of bright green juice.  Don't toss the drained wheels, either - you can drop them back into a pitcher to make cucumber water.

Notebook Cocktail #3

This one is a bit of a dick move.  I'm sorry.

1 1/2 oz oak-aged St. George Dry Rye gin
3/4 oz green Chartreuse
3/4 oz red vermouth
1 large dash Jerry Thomas' Own Decanter bitters

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; flame a large swath of orange peel over the top.

The problem with this drink is that it's so brand-specific.  Personally, I love St. George Dry Rye for being so crazy unique; aging it for a month is just icing on the cake.  If I were to even attempt substitution, it would probably be with equal parts good bourbon, Bols genever (the barrel-aged version would be best), and Plymouth gin.  Does that sound insane or delicious?  That will probably determine your reaction to this oaky version of a Bijou Cocktail.

Notebook Cocktail #2

Here's a sort of vaguely julep-style concoction, created largely because I had a huge bundle of mint to use up.  Also, Armagnac, which I love deeply.

1 oz Armagnac brandy
1 oz rye whiskey
1/2 oz passionfruit juice
1/4 oz mango shrub
1 dash aromatic bitters (Angostura in this case)
1 large bunch mint (about 20 leaves)
1 Demerara sugar cube

Muddle the mint and sugar in a mixing glass (add a small dash of water if needed).  Add ice, shake briefly, and strain over fresh finely cracked ice.  Garnish with a fresh bunch of mint.

Notebook Cocktail #1

I've been making a lot of shrubs lately - they're easy and tasty and flexible.  Here is a simple and straightforward way to use them:

1 1/2 oz rye whiskey (I can't remember what brand, but 100-proof is recommended)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz cranberry shrub* (see below)

Shake and strain over one large cube in a double old-fashioned glass.

I also wrote down a variation using Plantation Three Star (my new go-to white rum) which turned out nicely.

*Lightly muddle 1 cup of fresh cranberries in a large mason jar, then add 1/2 cup each of apple cider vinegar and white wine vinegar.  Let this infuse in the refrigerator for a week, shaking every other day, then add 1 1/2 cups raw sugar.  Let this infuse for another week, shaking daily, then fine-strain into a clean container.  Add about 1/2 oz 100-proof (or higher) neutral grain spirit and keep refrigerated.

Return Redux

Whooo, sudden absences and apologetic returns!  It's becoming something of a regular event.

Chalk this one up to equal parts intimidation and laziness.  Over the last few months, I've been doing a lot less original mixing, and much more of two alternatives: easy long drinks, and carefully sampled classics.  The former includes endless, mindless riffs on the Collins or Gin & Tonic or a quick sangria; a tall, inoffensive, easily assembled drink is about all you need sometimes.  The latter involves mixing the same thing over and over again with small variations in recipe and proportion.  I see this as a really helpful exercise to compare different brand, test the effects of small changes on a known recipe, and hone my palate, but it doesn't exactly make for interesting reading.  I write here when I think there's something worth writing, and that has been recently lacking.

I'm quite impressed at the number of really good cocktail books and blogs floating around these days, and when I read them it's hard to feel especially creative.  When I try an original recipe, the result is often a bit disappointing in comparison to those culled from other sources.  That doesn't exactly stop me from trying again, but it does discourage me from writing down my recipes.  Which has to change, I think, for two main reasons.  First, these are people who have spent much more time experimenting and refining than I have, and it's crazy to expect that every one of my own drinks should rival theirs.  Second, the whole point of a log is to remember and refine, and I'm doing so only in fragments.

So, in the spirit of getting back on track, allow me to present a whole slew of recipes that deserved to be recorded (or at least I thought so at the time).  I'm transcribing these from a notepad usually reserved for writing down phone numbers or sketching ideas.  They're a bit all over the place and none of them have names, but they are finally here.  Enjoy.

Spiced Pear Goodness

I don't normally post specific syrup recipes, mostly because they never really deviate from the standard method, but this one is a little more complicated. Plus it turned out too well not to brag about.

1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
1 stick cinnamon
8-10 whole cloves
4-5 whole allspice berries
1 large pear

Dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat. Add the spices, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer (don't boil!) for about 20 minutes, then kill the heat and let stand for another 10 minutes.

Chop the pear into 1/4-inch cubes and place into a French press or other nonreactive vessel. Pour the hot syrup over the pear pieces while straining out the spices. Let stand for about12 hours, then strain again and store in the refrigerator for up to a month.

This is calibrated for about 2 cups of syrup, which is about all I ever make for home use.

As a bonus, here's a damned fine use of the above:

1 1/2 oz cognac or French brandy
1/2 oz spiced pear syrup
3/4 oz orange juice

Shake and strain over fresh ice in a double old-fashioned glass , then top with 2 oz dry Prosecco or Cava. Stir gently and serve with a twist of orange peel.

Moroccan Haze

Here's a potent and slightly foggy cocktail that was too good not to write down.

1 1/4 oz cognac (VSOP grade or better would be nice)
1/4 oz absinthe
1/4 oz Cynar (I haven't tried Cocchi Torino, Carpano Antica, or other reasonably bitter vermouths, but I have every reason to expect that any of them would work; however, the herbal notes of Cynar have an interesting synthesis with the absinthe)
1/4 oz rooibos tea syrup
2 dashes ras-el-hanout bitters (I'll get around to publishing a recipe someday, I swear)
2 dashes orange bitters

Stir and strain into a cocktail glass; garnish with a large orange coin squeezed to express the oil.

Vieille Ruelle

I have riffed on the Vieux Carré before with very pleasing results.  This time, I was prompted by a broken cap on my resident bottle of Benedictine which forced me to try and use whatever I could.  There are a lot of substitutions here, but I decided to keep the naming similar and use the French for "old alley".

1 oz white rum (I used the positively superb Plantation 3 Stars, which I cannot recommend highly enough)
1 oz Laird's Straight Apple Brandy (no substitutions, please)
1 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dashes Benedictine (~1/2 tsp)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes orange bitters

Shake briefly or stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with an orange peel.

Beignroni

A french-y version of the wonderful Itatian-ish Negroni, one of my personal favorite cocktails?  Sure, and why not call it something that nobody will be able to pronounce correctly?  Say the first part like "beinget".

1 oz cognac
1 oz Cynar
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 dash orange bitters

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Calm Shallows

This drink tasted vegetal, pungent, and even slightly briny to me at first, but wasn't dark enough to merit the name "The Briny Deep".  I think I'll have to make something befitting that before long, but for now:

1 1/2 oz aquavit (I absolutely love North Shore, but use Linie if you can't find that)
1 1/2 oz dry vermouth (Dolin in this case)
1/2 oz persimmon syrup
4 dashes orange bitters

Stir in a rocks glass over ice and top with a dash of soda water.  Stir again and garnish with an orange twist.

Jaqueline Rose

Here's a nice, light rendition of the excellent Jack Rose cocktail:

3/4 oz applejack (I like Laird's Straight Apple Brandy)
3/4 oz rye whiskey
3/4 oz dry vermouth
3/4 oz real pomegranate grenadine
3/4 oz lime juice

Shake and strain into a small cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon twist if you're like that.

Just some simple experimentation, but I like the result in this case.

French 75 Variations

I am a big fan of the French 75, which is itself a riff on the Collins, the grandfather of all long drinks.  Here are a couple of random, experimental variations which proved too tasty not to write down.

#1:
1 3/4 oz Plymouth gin (London Dy would work well too)
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz real pomegranate grenadine
1/2 oz lemon juice

#2:
1 3/4 oz aquavit (I used North Shore, which is recommended if you can find it, Linie if you cannot)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz citrus syrup
1/3 oz orange juice
1/3 oz lemon juice

#3
1 3/4 oz cognac
1/2 Galliano
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter apricot liqueur
3/4 oz lemon juice

For all of the above: shake and strain over fresh rocks in a tall glass, then top with 1 oz Champagne or Cava.

Citron Soda

Here's a good (and somewhat rare for me!) non-alcoholic recipe.  It's essentially my attempt to recreate San Pellegrino Pompelmo (an actual grapefruit soda, unlike my ironically-titled Grownup version) with some enhancements to just pretty much every citrus-related ingredient I had at hand.

6 oz lemon syrup (a standard simple made with extensive lemon zest, one of my favorites)
6 oz fresh ruby red grapefruit juice
2 oz fresh lime juice
20 oz soda water
6 dashes orange bitters
6 drops orange flower water

Combine the above in a 1-liter glass bottle.

This is tasty just served over ice as a refresher.  Of course, if you want something boozy, I find that this makes a delicious gimlet/tonic hybrid if combined with dry gin (or vodka, or light rum, or white tequila) in about a 2:1 (soda : liquor) ratio.  I also like to spike this with a quick dash of Aperol or Campari for color and to back up the grapefruit flavor.

Carriage Redux

I think I'd like to recant and offer a slightly different version of the Golden Carriage as final.  This one is my favorite yet.

1 1/2 oz blended scotch
1/2 oz Matilde Poire
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz dry vermouth (Noilly Prat here, other good brands would be welcome)
2 dashes orange bitters
2 dashes aromatic bitters (Angostura here)

Rinse a coupe with absinthe, let chill, etc etc.  Stir the above then strain into the coupe.  Garnish with a flamed orange peel.

This version is a little more dilute, and winds up comfortably filling the coupe.  I think I'm going to submit it for the next cocktail menu at the restaurant.

Rosa Dama

Here's a random happy accident.

1 oz resposado tequila
1 oz dry vermouth
1 oz pomegranate juice (I use POM)
1 oz soda water
2 dashes Bittercube Bolivar bitters
2 dashes ras el hanout bitters

Combine in a double old fashioned glass over rocks and stir.

Golden Carriage

I have to admit that this one is not entirely my own - or it is, but directly inspired by one of our new bartender's cocktails, a drink known as Another Castle.  Since nobody really reads this anyway, the construction of this beverage is as follows:

1 oz Plymouth gin

1/4 oz Matilde Peche liqueur

1/4 oz Cocchi Americano

1/4 oz dry vermouth

2 dashes orange bitters (I think Fee's was used originally)

Rinse a coupe with absinthe and place in the freezer to chill (or "season", as they say with Sazeracs).  Stir the above over rocks and then strain into the coupe, then twist a strip of orange peel over the top and whirl it into a tight circle resembling a flower; perch this on the rim as garnish.

Now, that's a damned fine beverage, no doubt about it.  After sampling one after work, I got home and wondered if I could try something similar with Matilde Poire, which had been hanging out in my cabinet for some time.  Gin didn't seem quite right, so I switched to rye, which was just way too assertive.  So I did something that I thought a little crazy and tried scotch instead.  A couple minor adjustments later and we have the beverage below:

1 oz blended scotch (use a single malt if you like, just something mild - you don't want too much peat here)

1/4 oz Matilde Poire liqueur

1/4 oz Cocchi Americano

1/4 oz sweet vermouth (Punt e Mes is also nice)

2 dashes Regan's No. 6 orange bitters

Rinse a coupe with absinthe, etc etc.  Do the same fanciness with the orange peel, if you like, or just squeeze an orange coin over the top and drop in.

(Being something of a lush, I actually find that the above is a rather small drink for my tastes.  If you think the same, double all of the proportions and use a classic martini glass instead.)

This to me is proof that experimentation and substitution can be the origin of many a fine cocktail.  That is after all how we got from Manhattans to Martinis, and from Sidecars to Margaritas.

The Stoplight Special

I keep feeling like someone must have invented this one before - it just seems a little too easy.  But it's also damned good, and it's proven a surprisingly flexible formula.  Anyway, I'll take credit for naming it (based on the colors of its three main flavoring agents).

2 oz Laird's Applejack
1/3 oz green Chartreuse
1/3 oz Cocchi Americano (Lillet Blanc could work, if supplemented with a dash of orange bitters)
1/3 oz Aperol (or Campari, in a pinch)

Stir over rocks and strain over one large ice cube in a rocks glass.  Squeeze an orange peel over the top and discard.

I list applejack here only because it's my favorite variation so far.  Like the Pirate, this lends itself to easy substitution.  I've tried it with rye, bourbon, and genever, all of them successfully.  I haven't used brandy or an aged tequila yet, but I'm sure these could be good options too.  Rum, not so much, but you could give it a whirl.

Potential Return

This is probably the third or fourth "I'm back" post that I've written - it's starting to become a habit.  That "fall menu" took a bit of a right turn with a new bartender and a new role at the restaurant for myself.  New cocktails fell by the wayside for a while in favor of revisiting some classics and old recipes, but mixology just seems to get more compelling with the approach of colder weather.  I won't call this a permanent return, but I'll make an effort to share recipes a little more frequently.

Fall Menu Frenzy

The recent dearth of recipes is mostly because I haven't really been experimenting lately.  This summer has been an oppressively hot one, making simple long drinks the go-to choice.  I've also been expanding my beer and wine horizons (including some very fine sangria) but proper cocktails have been limited in number and held to old favorites.  Ah well.

That's probably due to change, though; the end of the summer is in sight, and a new cocktail menu is around the corner at the restaurant.  I'd like to have at least a half-dozen strong submissions this time around, so trial runs are likely to abound for the next month or two.  I'll try to be better about recording them here.

Home Bar Basics

After work last weekend I hopped down to a nearby watering hole for a quick burger and beer.  Mid-meal a couple of ladies planted themselves a short distance down and begged the bartender's opinion on the best way to get started on a simple home bar.  That caught my attention, as did the bartender's answer: start with five or so base spirits (whiskey, gin, rum, vodka, and tequila) and buy gradually more expensive items as they need replacement.  I couldn't help but pipe in at this point, with a strongly worded suggestion that liqueurs, vermouth, and bitters be included too.

The conversation continued after I settled up and left, and it held my interest on the drive home.  It's a damned good question: what do you really need in a home bar?  We all have to start somewhere, and we definitely can't all stock up right away.  Tools are pretty basic, honestly.  You can get by and make most drinks with no more than a couple of items:

1. a shaker you like (assuming it's the easy-to-find 3-piece "cobbler" style, you can stir and strain using this too)
2. something to stir with (a bar spoon is the classic tool, but a plastic reusable chopstick works just fine too)
3. a muddler (wood or metal is best, plastic not so much)
4. a small knife for garnishes (you probably already have something suitable
5. a measuring device (something in increments of 1/4 oz or smaller; you could even use a set of measuring spoons, since 1 tablespoon = 1/2 liquid oz)

Really, that's about it.  Obviously you can deck yourself out with Boston shakers, julep strainers, jiggers, pour spouts, and anything else, but the five above are the true minimum for 99% of cocktail recipes.  As you can see, you've probably already got many items that will do simply by having access to a basic kitchen.  To be fair, you'll need something to drink out of too, but glassware is largely up to you.  I'd go with martini glasses for drinks served up, standard water glasses for highballs, and rocks/juice glasses for stuff in between.  You could add champagne flutes too for bubbly stuff, or just all-purpose small wine glasses.  Beyond that it's whatever you like and can afford.

Ingredients are the complicated part, but for a flexible yet basic home bar, there are some ground rules.  Base spirits are the obvious part.  You'll want a selection of at least three, out of the list of available options:

• Vodka, which I don't regard as all that essential
• Gin, a key part of so many classic cocktails
• Tequila, 100% agave or don't bother
• Rum, aged or not
• Whiskey, anything from bourbon to rye to scotch
• Brandy, including varieties such as cognac and pisco

Regarding price point, I'm really not convinced that top-shelf ingredients are essential to crafting excellent cocktails.  Lower-end spirits have their place too, particularly if you're using a mixer; the finest rum available is overkill if you're pouring it over ice with Coke.  That said, try to stay away from the very bottom shelf.  Most of the stuff down there is cheap grain alcohol, diluted with water and flavored with artificial agents; it's poor imitation of the real deal at best.  The top shelf is all well and good, but if you're setting up a basic home bar for the first time, why spend an arm and a leg on ingredients that you haven't even played around with yet?  Aim for the middle; there are very fine deals here.  In generally I usually find that top-shelf spirits cost roughly five times more than their bottom-shelf counterparts (great bourbon costs $50, cheap whiskey costs $10).  Search out the stuff that's half as expensive as the best bottle, but twice as expensive as the cheapest ($20-25 in our example above).  You're bound to find a wide variety to choose from, and you can always upgrade later if you find a spirit you particularly enjoy.

Base spirits alone, though, do not make for anything close to a well-rounded bar.  For every liquor in your cabinet, there's a mandatory bottle of accent.  After all, it's the possibility of endless combination that differentiates cocktails from wine and beer - not that there's anything wrong with those, and in fairness they need fewer tools to enjoy.  But cocktails should be exciting, creative, and spontaneous, and you'll never get that from just pouring whiskey on the rocks.

First of all, there are sweetening agents.  I think you can reasonably get by with two: an orange liqueur, and something else.  The orange liqueur can be either triple sec (drier) or curacao (sweeter).  On balance I prefer triple sec, specifically Cointreau.  This ingredient is central to many popular classics, from the Margarita to the Sidecar and the Cosmopolitan, and it plays very well with a wide range of ingredients.  The other sweetener is your choice, depending on what you like and what's seasonal.  There are plenty of possibilities: Chambord, St. Germain, Beneditctine, maraschino (Luxardo the clear preference), Drambuie, Chartreuse... Marie Brizard and Rothman & Winter both make some very fine lines as well.  Should you find a couple of these that you really like, you could justifiably replace that orange liqueur too, but I'd prefer to supplement rather than replace.  Remember that you can afford to spend a little more on ingredients in this category, because you'll use them in lower quantity than your base spirits.  Try and avoid bottom-shelf liqueurs; they're more artificial, more cloyingly sweet, and much less complex in flavor than the good stuff.  Spring for a couple of decent bottles that will last a while.

Second, vermouth is an absolutely critical accent.  Vermouth makes a Dry Martini or Manhattan what they are, and I wouldn't want to have a bar that couldn't produce them.  Moreover, vermouth can add sweetness, bitterness, and herbal complexity to a drink all at the same time, making it a great ingredient for experimentation.  You're best off having both the dry/white/French and sweet/red/Italian varieties; other "rose" and "blanc" styles also exist, and have some interesting uses, but they're less common in drink recipes.  Plenty of major brands (Noilly Prat and the iconic Martini among my favorites) come in half-bottle sizes, which is usually what I buy.  Being based on wine, vermouth can oxidize, losing its pleasant flavor in the process and replacing it with an acrid twang.  I sincerely believe that there's a special corner of hell reserved for those bartenders who store their vermouth with a speed pourer on the bar rail.  Always, always, keep your vermouth in the fridge. It will last longer and taste far better.  Buying half-bottles ensures that you replace them more frequently, keeping your supply fresh.


Third, there are bitters, an ingredient central to the original definition of the word "cocktail".  These are extremely potent infusions of flavorful herbs and spices, and serve as the spice rack in mixology; a little dash can add a ton of flavor and transform a drink into something else entirely.  There are two major types of bitters: "potable" versions, often from Italy and mostly based on wine (like vermouth), and classical bitters, based on spirits and meant to be used in very small quantities.  Potable bitters, called amaros in Italy, can be used all on their own, and are typified by the well-known Campari.  I highly suggest keeping a bottle around (if not Campari, then its close cousin Aperol, or others such as Averna and Cynar) but wouldn't call them absolutely essential to a basic bar.  Make them one of your first expansions, though.  They are brilliantly flexible and can be used in whatever quantity you want, from small dashes to add a little bite and complexity, all the way up to the spirit in a light highball (Campari & soda, anyone?)  


Classic bitters are an entirely different animal, and are typified by the ubiquitous Angostura.  Used in small dashes, they primarily add depth and spice to cocktails.  They're readily available and almost never have to be replaced, so it just doesn't make sense to omit them from your basic setup.  Angostura and other "aromatic" bitters can be found just about everywhere, and just about any will serve.  If possible, look for a bottle of orange bitters as well.  These are typically lighter and fresher, and have seen a huge resurgence within the last five years; many decent liquor stores will carry them, and dozens of varieties can be found online.  Bitters can transform a drink from okay to outstanding, and since they're used in such small quantity they take a very small part of your total investment.


I won't go beyond mentioning basic elements like fresh juices and syrups; these are a minor part of your investment and should be added as needed for whatever strikes your fancy.  If you're making Sidecars, pick up a couple of lemons; if you're making Mojitos, grab limes and mint and whip up some simple syrup.  Mixers such as tonic, soda, and ginger ale are good to keep around, particularly in the summer when long drinks are the name of the game.  You can produce these yourself, of course; I've detailed my fondness for the soda siphon before, but that may be going too far for a basic home bar.  Oh, and of course there's ice: both an ingredient and a tool, really.  Keep plenty of it around.

So really, that's about it!  Seems like a lot, I realize, but I truly think this is the minimum investment for a toolkit that will let you produce the vast majority of classic cocktails.  Even without branching out, you've got plenty of room for experimentation, substitution, and creativity.  Make a few additions gradually, and you'll have a full semi-professional bar with which to astound your friends and produce some damned fine drinks.

GMT

I never much used to care for the classic gin & tonic, but I've gradually come around and now heartily embrace this easy and well-known highball.  It's an absolutely essential summer drink, though when I make mine I can hardly resist a little tweaking.

I'm sure legions of mixologists have used both the name and basic concept of this one before, both being far too obvious.  But I don't care.

1 1/2 oz London Dry gin (Beefeater here, any would do)
1/3 oz maraschino liqueur (I shouldn't really have to specify Luxardo anymore)
3-4 oz chilled tonic water, to taste (I use Q Tonic generally, but have been dying to try making my own)
1-2 dashes orange bitters, to taste

Build in a Collins glass over large ice cubes.

The G&T has become the GMT (Gin, Maraschino, Tonic).  The orange bitters here lend a little complexity and keep the drink from becoming too sweet.  I find that Fee Brother's new Gin-Barrel Aged Orange Bitters are perfect here, though the regular version works well too; you want something with a nice fresh flavor.  The maraschino is meant to be an accent, since this is still a highball at heart.

The Doubly-Improved Cocktail

Here's a fine and very old-fashioned drink indeed, conceived while playing around with obscure liquors.

1 oz genever (Bols, preferably)
1 oz peach brandy (the classic distilled-from-peaches kind, in this case Dutch's)
1 dash maraschino liqueur (as always Luxardo)
1 dash absinthe
1 dash dry vermouth
1 dash aromatic bitters
1 dash orange bitters

Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a lemon twist.

This reminds me of the Peach Pit, but more old-school (and a bit more potent).

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.

Chattanooga Cooler

I know this drink is in no way representative of the city of Chattanooga (apologies if you live in Tennessee) but I just like the name.  It just kinda rolls off the tongue, and the drink turned out quite well too.

1 1/4 oz white whiskey
3/4 oz rose petal liqueur
3/4 oz peach shrub

Pour over plentiful ice in a Collins glass and add 2-3 oz of soda water to taste.  Stir well and garnish with a lemon wheel.

I know, I know - you'll have to make two of these ingredients yourself.  Neither is too hard, really.  For the liqueur, combine 1 tablespoon dried rose petals with 1 cup 100-proof vodka and 1/2 cup of regular simple syrup (a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar) then let infuse for a week or so.  The shrub is even more flexible, if a bit more difficult, although you can make as much or as little as desired.  Just take 1 part chopped and pitted fresh peach, and add 1 part apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar.  Let this infuse in the refrigerator for a week, then strain and add 1 part sugar.  Keep this in the fridge, shaking every day for a week or so until the sugar has all dissolved, then use wherever - non-alcoholic sodas, cocktails such as the one above, or on top of pancakes.  Seriously, that last one is worth a shot.

Soda Siphon Experiments

With the approach of warmer weather, I've been spending a lot more time perched on our patio, drink in one hand, book in the other.  That drink is usually a long one, something thirst-quenching and relatively low in alcohol - a caress rather than a punch.  Most recently, I've been experimenting with my beloved soda siphon, using it to construct pre-made carbonated cocktails.

Once you've got a decent set of bar tools and glassware, a soda siphon is a logical step in specialized equipment.  Sure, they cost a little bit, and the chargers aren't free either, although you can find them cheap in bulk online.  Yet a splash of soda water adds life and lightness to many drinks, and opens up a whole world of easy homemade sodas when you want (or need) something non-alcoholic.  You can buy acrid, overly sharp soda water in bottles that go flat within hours of opening, or you can bite the bullet and invest in the tools to make your own on demand.  I think it's obvious which route I recommend.

Not included in the manufacturer's directions (which you should obviously read) is the possibility for adding more than just water to your siphon.  It's best not to use anything very acidic or thick, since you don't want to corrode or gum up the inner workings, but that still leaves a lot of room to maneuver.  For example, I poured in a somewhat boring bottle of sweet rhubarb wine, augmented with a splash of crisp Sauvignon Blanc and topped off with water.  After charging and letting rest in the fridge (which helps hold the carbonation better for some reason) I had a light and refreshing sparkling wine spritzer enjoyed by all.

Below is an example of a general formula I've hashed out over time.  The proportions make for a light and refreshingly bitter highball, best served in a tall glass with plentiful ice.  You can serve as much or as little as desired, and substitute ingredients to your whim.

This particular recipe is a riff on the Americano, the father of the Negroni, with a couple of well-placed accents.  The weirdo total volume is because a 1-liter soda siphon holds slightly less than that when you account for a small amount of necessary airspace.

200 ml Aperol (or Campari)
100 ml gin (London Dry, Old Tom, or Hendrick's are all welcome)
50 ml maraschino liqueur (Luxardo, duh)
600 ml cucumber water

Pour into a 1-liter soda siphon, charge, and let chill for at least 2 hours.  Pour slowly over plentiful ice and garnish with cucumber slices.

If you're not using a siphon, use the following proportions per serving.

1 1/3 oz Aperol; 2/3 oz gin; 1/3 oz Luxardo; 2 oz soda water; 2 oz cucumber water

Again, this is a formula highly amenable to substitution.  Try the following combinations in the same proportions as above.

Cynar - silver tequila - St. Germain - cantaloupe water

Punt e Mes - blended scotch - Cointreau - lemon water

I have a few tonic recipes around and may try a precharged version soon.  It's getting close to G&T season. In the meantime, any of these do very nicely.

Luchador

More playing around with mezcal.

3/4 oz Sombra mezcal
1 1/4 oz pineapple-tequila-sage liqueur (you'll have to make this one yourself, although I may very well provide a recipe soon)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano

Stir well over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lime coin squeezed on both sides to express the oil and juice and drop in.

This one was experimental but worked out very nicely indeed.

Silversmith

I was absolutely delighted to receive an order of exotic spirits this week, which had been hunted down specifically because I'd never seen their ilk in any of my local liquor stores.  Among them was a bottle of Sombra mezcal, a spirit I'd been itching to experiment with.  I popped it open almost immediately.  "Whoa!" I called to my wife, "this smells like somebody chucked a pineapple into a campfire."  To which she wrinkled her nose and agreed.

Turns out, I wasn't far off.  The process of making mezcal, a cousin of tequila, consists of digging a large pit, filling it with hot rocks, then tossing in a bunch of agave piña (also the Spanish for "pineapple", which it closely resembles).  After roasting for days, these are mashed and left to ferment, finally resulting in a powerful spirit that tastes something like tequila infused with cigar smoke.  The silver Sombra mezcal that I received is particularly intense, and it took some taming.  Still, it holds its flavor very well in cocktails, and lends a resounding smoky flavor.

This particular drink was just me playing around, and is named after the place where Sombra is made: Oaxaca, Mexico.  Silver jewelry shops are a major component of the tourist trade there.

1 oz Sombra mezcal
1 oz pineapple-infused tequila (I used resposado
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz kumquat syrup
1 dash lime juice

Shake with plentiful ice and pour into an old-fashioned glass; garnish with a caramelized pineapple slice if you're feeling fancy, or nothing if you're feeling lazy.

Peach Pit II

This is a simple rework of the Peach Pit with a more assertive peachiness.  I liked the original, but I regard this as an improvement.

1 1/2 oz peach-infused Laird's Applejack
3/4 oz Bols genever
3/4 oz Lillet Rose (Cocchi Americano would be appropriate, but reduce to 1/2 oz)
2 dashes peach bitters
2 dashes aromatic bitters

Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass; garnish with a slice of dried peach.

This has a lingering peach sweetness backed up by some malty spice, but it's not quite as rich as the original.  That makes the whole cocktail much fresher, akin to biting into a sour peach rather than a sweet peach.

Jimador's Fortune

My wife told me to use up a few things in the fridge, so I did - with very successful results.  The name is a mash-up of the Spanish term for those who harvest the blue agave that makes tequila and the genus of the kumquat family.  Turns out that the two play very nicely together.

2 oz resposado tequila
1/3 oz (2 barspoons) raw agave nectar
7 kumquats
2 fresh sage leaves
2 dashes aleppo chili tincture

Cut the kumquats in half, setting one half aside for garnish; muddle the others with the sage and tequila, then add the agave and aleppo tincture.  Shake well with ice and double-strain (through a fine filter) into a chilled double old-fashioned glass.  Top off with a squirt or two of soda water to taste and drop in the final kumquat half (or wrap it in a sage leaf on a pick) as garnish.

I for one love aleppo - the restaurant where I work uses it in a variety of spice blends.  It's a relatively mild and fruity chili that adapts very well to mixology.  I use this tincture all over the place to add a little heat and a nice sweet-smoky character.  It's very easy to make; all you need do is combine a heaping tablespoon of ground aleppo (pretty much the only way you'll find it) with a cup or so of high-proof vodka (Everclear, if you can find it, if not a 100-plus proof at least).  Let that sit for a week or so, shaking daily, and pour through a fine strainer.  I bottle the finished product in a dropper for precise application, or you can use a bitters-style cruet to add small dashes.

Black & Blue

One final Sazerac version, this one with a strong dark fruit focus.

1 1/2 Clear Creek Blue Plum Brandy (yum; one of the best digestifs I can imagine)
1/2 oz rye whiskey
1 barspoon blueberry-blackberry-black pepper syrup

Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe and set in the freezer.  Pour listed ingredients over ice and stir, then strain into the prepared glass.  Squeeze a lemon coin over the drink; drop in if you're feeling straightforward, discard it and add a blueberry instead if you're feeling fancy.

I admit that this one doesn't work perfectly with the standard Sazerac preparation - I'd rather see it in classic, straight-up Cocktail form with a nice dash of bitters to round out the unaged brandy and rounded fruit flavors.  Not that this is entirely unsuccessful, or I wouldn't post it here.

Saint-Domingue

Another Sazerac rendition, this one using rhum agricole.  This name comes from the original colonial name of Haiti, where Rhum Barbancourt is made.

1 1/2 oz Rhum Barbancourt (I used the 8-year-old Five Star, but the slightly younger Three Star would be fine too)
1/2 rye whiskey
1 barspoon pineapple syrup

Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe and set in the freezer.  Pour listed ingredients over ice and stir, then strain into the prepared glass.  Squeeze an orange peel coin over the drink and drop in for garnish.

I like the way the absinthe here reinforces the herbal character of the Barbancourt while the rye gives it a little bit of characteristic Sazerac edge.  This makes me want to try a half-and-half blend in Improved Cocktail format (a fancified Jerry Thomas rendition with dashes of maraschino and absinthe).  Might pop up here before too long...

The Dutch Quarter

I had a taste for genever and a taste for a Sazerac at the same time, so I made this.  It became one of a couple variations, which will be chronicled next.

2 oz genever (must be an oude, and I like Bols)

1 barspoon (1/6 oz) blackberry syrup
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
2 dashes aromatic bitters

Rinse a rocks glass with absinthe (I use an atomizer, which coats the inside of a glass with little waste) and set in the freezer.  Pour listed ingredients over ice and stir, then strain into the prepared glass.  Squeeze a lemon coin over the drink; drop in if you're feeling straightforward, discard it and add a blackberry instead if you're feeling fancy.

Genever and blackberry have a pleasant synthesis, sort of like bourbon and peaches.  Genever also responds to the Sazerac treatment very well with its nice maltiness and juniper spice.  The name here is a double homage to the origin of the Sazerac (New Orleans) and the origin of genever.  This recipe would not unduly suffer from substituting 1/2 oz of the genever for cognac, just to smooth things out a little bit.  I might try adding black pepper somehow, either in the syrup or by infusing a small amount of absinthe.

Peach Pit

This one turned out very well.

1 1/4 oz peach-infused Laird's Applejack
1 oz Bols genever
1/2 oz orange curacao
2 dashes Peychaud's Bitters
2 dashes aromatic bitters


Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

I really dig how this has a sustained peach presence (applejack helps) without being cloyingly sweet, and how it carries a nice malty bite afterward.  Very old-school, and a very fine cocktail (if I do say so myself).

Two Easy Drinks

How sad - that's a little too long between posts.  I'll try and get back in the spirit of at least weekly updates.

Part of the reason for the hiatus is that I haven't been creating many original drinks lately.  Instead I've been going back to basics, mixing clean and simple classics.  But I guess there's nothing wrong with that - let's share some easy options.

I had a lime and a ton of pineapple syrup, so combining those made sense.  First came a slightly modified Ti-Punch:

• 2 oz VSOP rhum agricole
• 1/4 oz pineapple syrup
• 1 lime coin (sliced right off the side so it still holds some flesh)

Pour the rhum and syrup over finely cracked ice, then swizzle (that is, stir aggressively).  Squeeze the lime coin on both sides to catch the juice from the flesh, and the oil from the peel, then drop in.  Top with more ice to fill and stir again.

That is a very simple and effective drink - basically a Sling, one among the proto-Cocktails.  The only problem is its base spirit, which is both delicious and rare in my local liquor stores.  Notice that like a number of tropical drinks, this makes good use of citrus.  Another such drink is the Margarita, which makes use of tequila.  I made a modified attempt as such:

• 2 oz resposado tequila
• 1/2 oz pineapple syrup
• Juice of 1/2 lime (reserved from the previous drink, in this case)

Shake and strain over cracked ice; insert a thin lime wheel as garnish.  A salted rim is optional (though I might have to try a spiced rim of some kind).

This one is really just a tequila Sour, another proto-Cocktail, but it serves.  Tequila and pineapple work splendidly together - maybe I'll attempt a pineapple liqueur to get closer to a classic Margarita formula.

The Correct Dry Martini

That recent post about the Turf Club started to bring together a bunch of thoughts I've been working up on perhaps one of the most hotly debated topics in mixology: the Martini.  While a lot of speculation has gone into the origin of this particular drink (and its name) I personally have less interest in that topic than in how to actually make one properly.  Be warned, ye who enter here: I have some fairly intensive thoughts on this aspect  of the drink, so get yourself ready for some screed.

So, let's take a fine look at that most revered of cocktails, one which conjures classic, sophisticated images of old movies and young, beautiful socialites.  It's sadly one that has experienced a slow downfall in the Post-Prohibition years, though it's seen a recent semi-revival.  Friends, meet the Dry Martini.

Understand please that I'm not referring to just any old concoction served chilled in that iconic conical glass.  In many bars these days the term "martini" is basically interchangeable with "cocktail": a broad category, not a specific recipe, which is a sad dilution.  I want nothing to do with such misbegotten creations as the Chocolate Martini (though we may someday make an attempt to save them).  No, I mean the kind you envision with an olive, crystal clear, and speckled with hints of dew: the Martini that coined the term.  What I mean is that the Martini is to the cocktail as Kleenex is to the tissue or Band-Aid is to the disposable bandage: the standout in its genre.

Yet we must be more specific.  Nowadays, order a Martini at a reputable bar and you get a short quiz.  Gin or vodka?  How dry?  Olive or twist?  These, at least, are the questions I ask when one of my guests places their order.  This semi-modern treatment (although I associate it with old-school steakhouses for some reason, don't ask why) is just fine, but it is not the old-fashioned way that I want to espouse here.  If you like your Martinis with vodka, okay; if you like them extra dirty, then that's fine too.  But please don't call them "Martinis", it wounds me.  It's missing everything that makes the original, classic Dry Martini; it's like calling a shot of rum a "Margarita" (another drink we may make an effort to rescue at a later date).  Let's have a new name for this sort of thing, please.  And yes, I do have one: the Olivia.  Makes sense, right?  Olive-ia?  Not to mention that I've mostly seen ladies ordering this one in lieu of something sweet.  The same drink ordered by a man, however, has a different name: the Douchebag Martini.  At least when made with Gray Goose.

Okay, so, ranting and raving aside, what exactly am I talking about?  When I say Dry Martini, I'm referring to a mixture of good gin, a healthy amount of dry vermouth (or "French" vermouth, though it's not always from France) and a solid dash of orange bitters.  In this case the old ways are definitely best.

There are some rules to doing this right.  First, plenty of vermouth.  Yeah, yeah, I've heard all the corny lines about how much (i.e. how very little, if any) vermouth to use.  Wave a bottle over the glass, glance at the vermouth from across the room, whisper the word "vermouth" as you pour.  This, frankly, is not only lame but simply and completely wrong.  Vermouth is the core of this drink's appeal, and its absence is a terrible mistake.  For one, a Martini without vermouth is really just chilled gin (or vodka, fine) served in a fancy glass.  Just ask for gin if that's what you want.  For two, it's got way too strong a punch, with absolutely nothing to balance out the liquor, missing the whole wonderful synergy between vermouth and gin entirely.  For three, this rendition is the one that drove today's tippling public away from gin into vodka's arms, and for that it cannot be forgiven.  Sure, vermouth-less is how Winston Churchill made his, but he was a statesman, not a bartender.  As long as we're renaming some of these problematic "Martinis", let's call this one the Churchill Martini.  It's a good way to get hammered, especially if you're fighting off a German invasion, but simply not a very pleasant drink (though, in fairness, getting vermouth was problematic at the time).

Now, the traditional Dry Martini is a drink all about the synergy between gin and vermouth; you cannot have a true Martini without it.  But truth be told, the precise amount to use should vary according to your own preference and the gin you're using.  The "standard" recipe from around 1900 given by David Wondrich in Imbibe! calls for equal parts gin and vermouth.  Although relatively dry compared to other drinks of the age, this 1:1 ratio seems completely insane today, and there are indeed some compelling reasons to up the gin content, both of which have to do with the ingredients available back in the day.  For one, spirits were slightly rougher and higher-proof in 1900, requiring more vermouth to balance out their punch.  For two, vermouth is an aromatized wine, and just like any other white wine, French vermouth will lose its flavor if not kept sealed and refrigerated.  Given the paucity of commercial refrigeration and shipping technologies at the time, it would be surprising if today's vermouth weren't more strongly aromatic than its forefathers.  As a side note, this is why you should always store your dry vermouth in the fridge (red vermouth is more highly fortified with sugar and can be kept at room temperature, though chilling helps).

I like the classics (obviously, right?) and thus prefer my Martinis with a 2:1 ratio of gin to vermouth, especially if using a good London Dry.  This is still far wetter than the modern version, but I find it a smooth and seductive drink, not at all like the raw slap of a Churchill.  There is some room for disagreement here.  Many of the classic-cocktail-revival recipes I've seen call for a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio of gin to vermouth, which is a bit punchier but still lovely.  I particularly like this ratio if using a softer, sweeter gin such as Old Tom or Plymouth, as it helps highlight the botanicals which are more subtle than in a London Dry.  Any lower than 8:1 and you're getting into Churchill territory, where the vermouth is a lonely voice in the gin wilderness. No matter how much vermouth you prefer, please don't forget the orange bitters.  Many varieties are widely available and they round off the bright citrus character of the vermouth with a deeper note, helping it integrate with the gin.  There's a reason that those classic recipes invariably include this component even if they disagree on the exact ratio of gin-to-vermouth.

There is one other rule of Martini-making that cannot be forgotten.  This drink must always be stirred - shake, and you'll ruin the whole thing.  Many people associate the Martini with the adventures of 007 and that great line ("shaken, not stirred") which so happens to be completely wrong from a mixological standpoint.  Shaking a Martini does two things: it introduces air bubbles, which cloud the finished product, and it waters the whole thing down.  The first is excusable, but the second is not, particularly when we've spent so much time finding the perfect balance of flavor.  More water flattens out the vermouth completely, and reduces the gin to a faint junipery shadow of its true self.  Instead, pour and stir the ingredients well over large, cold ice cubes, strain into a chilled cocktail glass, and you'll be rewarded with a silky texture and complex flavor, the exact things that make the Martini so very appealing.

As a side note I should mention that there is a more traditional James Bond variation on the Martini, a rather storied drink that provides a source for the odd preference to shake (I shall provide only a short retelling here).  Ian Fleming's original spy novel, Casino Royale, contains a scene in which the protagonist Bond orders a "Vesper", named after the book's femme fatale.  As he describes it in detail, this is a drink made of three parts gin, one part vodka, and one part Kina Lillet.  This last became something of a holy grail for cocktail archaeologists when Lillet changed the recipe for the American market and toned down the bitter component, making this drink nigh-impossible to replicate.  Fortunately, with the recent resurgence of a couple ingredients you have two distinct options.  You can either go ahead and use Lillet Blanc supplemented with a dash or two of orange bitters, or use the lovely Cocchi Americano which serves as a perfect substitution (both here and in other cocktails).  This drink is typically shaken, which lightens it somewhat; not a bad thing here, and also why the vodka is present.  Yet I just as often stir mine.  Which you choose depends on exactly which Vesper you want; either a smooth, citric, and slightly bitter Martini variation (if stirred) or a somewhat more airy and approachable drink (if shaken).  Garnish either with a nice big swath of lemon peel.  This is probably one of my favorite classic cocktails ever, so I apologize if I'm nerding out a bit.  If you can find it, please just buy the Cocchi for this drink; it is also an incredibly tasty and flexible ingredient.

We've covered before another classic, the Turf Club, that forgotten love child of Mr. Manhattan and Mrs. Martini.  This needs no further description; I'll only add that I love authentic Old Tom gin here too.  This cocktail points the way to many other Martini variations.  If you're swapping out dry vermouth for sweet vermouth, why not just about any other aromatized wine?  Indeed, Dubonnet Rouge fits very well into the Martini formula, especially if used in a 3:2 ratio supplemented with an extra dash of orange bitters.  You can use other esoteric vermouth types, such as blanc or bianco vermouth, which I particularly like with Peychaud's bitters and a highly citric gin (Tanqueray Rangpur is a nice choice).  Hell, if you've got a sweet tooth you could even try a fortified wine such as madiera or sherry, though I would keep the proportion low and back it up with plenty of extra bitters.  The one thing you don't want to use is a bitter Italian amaro or cocchi, which in general totally overwhelm the gin and knock the drink way out of balance; I tried this once and never again.

We'll stop here, without delving into the many other cocktails you can create with spirits beyond gin, such as the aforementioned Manhattan.  The same rules don't always quite apply, but they're similar in terms of construction, balance, and staying power.  If nothing else, the whole category serves as a lesson in simplicity of form and importance of execution.  Shake a Martini, and you ruin it; stir with the perfect balance of gin and vermouth, and it's divine.  Nor can that perfect balance or the exact chill be achieved through a recipe; it takes care and consideration.  It's a drink that to me perfectly embodies the definition of an art: something that takes a short time to learn and a lifetime to master.

Okay, fine - that's entirely too highfalutin.  Let's just say the Martini is one hell of a drink, and a fine starting point for the enthusiastic amateur.  Try your own, and learn a little something in the process.  You'll be glad.

Melongrass Liqueur

A most successful experiment.

1 750-ml bottle resposado tequila
1 cup cantaloupe, chopped
4 oz amber agave nectar
6 fresh sage leaves, chopped

Combine in a large mason jar and macerate for 7-10 days to taste, agitating daily.  Strain through a fine sieve, bottle, and chill.

This is really wonderful stuff - gentle tropical fruit, intense herbal quality, nice light honey tones, yet still a little bit of bite.

Hend'Rix

1 750-ml bottle dry gin

1 medium cucumber, sliced

1 medium lemon, zested

3 oz strawberry-thyme syrup (made using the standard method)

3 tbsp dried rose petals

Combine in a mason jar and store in a cool place for 7-10 days, agitating daily.  Strain through a fine sieve and keep chilled.

I created this one mostly out of a jealous dislike of Hendrick's gin, which although tasty is both over-advertised and over-priced.  It's definitely sweeter than its namesake, but it makes one hell of a gin-and-tonic...

Flower Power

1 750-ml bottle Powers' Gold Label Whiskey
2 tbsp dried rose petals
1 tbsp chamomile
2 tsp dried elderflower
1 tsp dried lavender
1 tsp dried hibiscus
1 tsp bitter orange peel
2-4 oz honey, to taste

Combine in a large mason jar and let stand for 7-10 days, agitating daily.  Strain through a fine sieve and bottle.

The name is really what does it for me on this one, but this is a wonderful liqueur to sip straight - robust and wonderfully floral.  Fuck St. Germain, I'll take this stuff any day of the week.

Liqueurs

Do you notice how I completely missed St. Patrick's Day this year?  Kinda weird for an itinerant bartender, huh?  Fact of the matter is, I barely noticed the "holiday", largely because I don't consider it one - an excuse to drink, sure, but some of us need no excuse.

However, I did celebrate in my own fashion by cracking open a couple of liqueurs which I'd started some weeks ago.  I have to say, I've built up a fondness for liqueurs lately, partly because they're basically cocktails waiting to happen.  They can be mixed in other recipes, or served by themselves either on the rocks or shaken, with the presence of absence of bitters, soda, or citrus juice.  But there's also the fact that making them is a breeze - the DIY approach really only takes a cool resting place and some patience, and can be subjected to endless variation.

I think I've mentioned before that I want to include recipes here for many things beyond cocktails, and liqueurs seem like a logical step.  We've already discussed syrups, which have wide application and can be used in the creation of many liqueurs.  These take things a step further by integrating an alcoholic base, which can pull even more flavors out of the desired ingredient by extracting alcohol-soluble flavors and allowing for much longer maceration.

Anyway: a couple of recipes for your consideration.

The Redbreast

Riff number two on the same basic theme.  Essentially the same formulation with some substitutions.

1 1/2 oz genever
1 oz dry vermouth
1/2 oz strawberry-thyme syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
3 dashes rhubarb bitters
3 dashes cardamom tincture

Shake and strain into a cocktail glass; garnish with a half strawberry, either frozen or on a cocktail pick.

The Blackbird

A riff on a theme which splits the difference between a Martini and a Sour.

1 1/2 oz brandy

1 oz dry vermouth

1/2 oz blackberry syrup

1/2 oz lemon juice

3 dashes orange bitters

3 dashes cinnamon tincture

Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a blackberry, either frozen or on a cocktail pick.

Tiki Masala

This is a drink that started with a wonderful name, a perfect bartender's pun.  It's made with a garam masala spice blend which our restaurant makes in-house, based on the classical blend behind most Indian curries (yum).  Its sweet, fruit-forward profile is representative of tiki-style drinks, and given that I watch entirely too much British television a riff on what is apparently "the most popular dish in British restaurants" seemed obvious.

1 3/4 oz rum (light, aged, or split the difference according to preference)
1 oz garam masala syrup
3/4 oz pineapple juice
1/4-1/2 oz lime juice (to taste)
3 drops chili pepper tincture

Shake like hell and strain over fresh rocks into a double-old-fashioned glass.  Garnish with all the tiki frippery that you like or just insert a lime wheel.

This one was a big hit.  Our final product made for a very easy drink to produce en masse by combining the bottom four ingredients into a so-called "Masala Mix" - we also added a bit of egg white to produce a creamy, frothy texture.  One part rum plus one part Masala Mix made for a fast, delicious, and unique beverage indeed.