Pressure Drop (Death & Co. Recipe)

 Of course Death & Co. has a tribute to The Clash on their menu--I love that song. Maybe the name is also related to the clash of flavors in this cocktail. But I will say that as jarring and often bittersweet as these ingredients are on their own, they tame each other and make for a very mellow sipping cocktail that is something akin to a bitter Manhattan. The thing is, there is no whiskey in this cocktail. 

The recipe calls for Ransom Old Tom gin, which is pretty dank (and I mean that in several interpretations of the word "dank"). It has a steeped barley and botanicals note that is bitter and earthy. There's Ransom's prohibition style spirit funk that tastes like a small batch moonshine made with barley but selecting the "hearts" of the run. Then there is the malty sweetness at its core if you can stick with the jumble of flavors long enough to enjoy it. 

My own Schiedam gin is also a steeped gin using barley and grain spirits (some of which are smoked with pinewood.) My ingredients are mainly herbal botanicals like juniper, rosemary, angelica, basil, birch, crushed coriander and cardamon pods. It is a very winter spice gin and one, like ransom, you will learn to enjoy with experience. Here is how to make this gin!

For the rest of the cocktail I also had to be creative. I love Amaro Meletti, but had to recreate it as well with equal parts Strega, Don Ciccio & Figili's Ambrosia and Ramazzotti. I also substituted Dolin Dry vermouth for 

• 1 1/2 oz. Ransom Old Tom (Homemade Schiedam gin used)
• 1 oz. Amaro Meletti (equal parts Strega, Ramazzotti and Ambrosia used)
• 1/2 oz. Dolin Dry vermouth
• 1 tsp. Clear Creak pear brandy (Catoctin Creek pear brandy used)
• 1 dash angostura bitters

 Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

 

Pressure Drop (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail took me several attempts before I landed on a formula that seemed to work the way the original bartender intended it. That is because I often make my own ingredients, which are very close to those in the recipe but require some tweaking to get them right. 

In this case, it was necessary to emulate Meletti Amaro, that saffron and fruit rich amaro that is so pleasant by itself. Several renditions approached Meletti, but the one that worked best was equal parts (1/3 oz. each) of Strega, Amer Picon, and Aperol. 

With that problem solved, I had to pick a gin that was close to Ransom Old Tom. Fortunately I had an aged barley malt gin I made a year ago that really mimics Ransom. This is an infused vodka gin recipe that also includes barley moonshine and smokey barley whiskey. Not exactly Ransom, but the idea is still good. 

Finally, I played around with vermouth and bitters choices and settled on the original ingredients. There is only one Dolin dry and Angostura bitters. Hopefully my trick with replicating Meletti will prove helpful to others. Overall, I hope that anyone following this recipe uses as many of the specified ingredients as possible or else risk making a few "off" examples to drink. Really, though, is that so bad.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ransom Old Tom gin (homemade Schiedam gin used)
• 1 oz. Amaro Meletti (1/3 oz. each of Strega, Amer Picon and Aprol used)
• 1/2 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
• 1 tsp. Clear Creek Pear Brandy (Catoctin Creek Pear Brandy used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass. 

Paddy Melt (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This is a great drink with a questionable name. You only get away with puns this bad on St. Patrick's Day, for sure. Normally an Irish cocktail requires Irish whiskey, but in this case, malted whiskey is more important to impart that sweet "melt" flavor we are looking for. 

That's why I used Virginia Distilling Company's Brewer's Batch whiskey. This is a smoke-free scotch and American whiskey blend that's aged in Scottish Ale barrels, so it's loaded with malt character and light oak, just like malted Irish whiskey. I usually have Amaro Meletti on hand, but this time I had to fudge it. the 1/2 oz. I needed is comprised of Ambrosia Apertivo with a drop of Liquore Strega for the minty herbal notes of Meletti. Finally, I infused Rittenhouse rye with chamomile tea to get the apple notes the cocktail is designed to have. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Knappaugue Castle-12 Year Irish whiskey (Virginia Distilling Company Brewer's Batch used)
• 1/2 oz. chamomile-infused rye
• 1/2 oz. Amaro Meletti (Don Ciccio and Figili Ambrosia plus 1 dash Strega used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. cane sugar syrup

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a fancy fizz glass.