Virgin Sweetheart (Original Recipe)

 

This is a non-alcoholic cocktail that mimics the flavor of candy hearts. The basic format is the Clover Club but with lavender syrup and a float of DHOS Bittersweet aperitif  This recipe calls for two shakes and a gated pour with your Hawthorne strainer. 

To make the heart-shape float, scoop or flatten the shape with a spoon before floating the Bittersweet into the space. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Spiritless Jalisco 55
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• 2 tsp. lavender syrup
• 1 egg white
• DHOS Bittersweet aperitif float

Shake all ingredients except Bittersweet float in a shaker before adding ice. Then add the ice and shake again vigorously until the tin is ice cold. Strain with an open gate into a coupe glass. Carve a heart shape into the foam with a a spoon and float Bittersweet inside. 

Cherry Bomb (Original Recipe)

 

I wanted a rich Manhattan that would strike you as a winter-into-spring type of drink. My idea was to mash up a perfect Manhattan with a brandy cocktail similar to the KGB but with black cherry as the dominant flavor. 

It works really well with 99 Black Cherries and my homemade cherry blossom bitters (Yes. Made with steeped cherry blossoms.) There's no trick to this drink. Make it like a perfect Manhattan and add the additional ingredients.

• 3 oz. rye whiskey (Founding Spirits Rye used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Punt E Mes used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1/2 oz. 99 Blackcherries
• 3 dashes of cherry blossom bitters
• Luxardo cherry garnish
  

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop the cherry and a little of the syrup into the drink.

Rosita the Virgin

One of my favorite tequila cocktails is the Rosita--a kind of Mexican Negroni. Doing an all-spirits cocktail non-alcoholic used to be impossible, but now there is help with Spiritless and DHOS. 

Spiritless Jalisco 55 is a tequila substitute. It is a distilled water and agave syrup infusion with a very woody and herbal flavor that isn't really like tequila, but has all the mouthfeel and tingle of tequila. Use it sparingly in tequila cocktails like a Margarita or dillute your alcoholic ingredients with equal parts Jalisco 55 for a milder cocktail. 

DHOS makes non-alcoholic wine-like liquors. The Bittersweet is similar to Aperol and is a perfect stand-in for an apertivo in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. I'm so impressed that I won't replenish my bar with Aperol until I've finished my bottle of DHOS Bittersweet. DHOS also makes sweet vermouth, which finishes out this cocktail.

• 2 oz. Jalisco 55
• 1 oz. DHOS sweet veromuth
• 1/2 oz. DHOS Bittersweet
• Orange twist garnish

Stir liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Twist the orange peel over the drink and drop it in.