Winter Cocktails Trio

 

Winter Mule

Sometimes you want a refreshingly light and juicy cocktail with crushed ice even when it is cold outside. Sometimes a cocktail in pretty Mule mugs is also a must. That's where this recipe hits the spot. 

Simple Times Mixers makes a cranberry apple cider mule mix that is perfect for winter sipping (and making non-alcoholic cocktails as well.) The recipe on the back recommends using whiskey or rum, which is nice, but I also enjoy the taste of Laird's Applejack 86 since this is going for apple flavors as well. 

The only downside to using this Simple Times product and spirit alone is that the ginger flavor is very understated, while apple and cranberry are in the foreground. I miss a spicy ginger mule taste, so I augmented the recipe further with my own ginger-infused brandy. You can use King's Ginger or a  ginger brandy from one of the economy flavored brandy producers like Jacquin's. It is best if it is a brand-based flavor to give the drink a nice gingersnap taste. 

• 1 1/2  oz. Laird's Applejack 86 or apple brandy
• 1 oz. ginger brandy
• 3 oz. Simple Times Mixers apple cranberry mule

Shake all ingredients and strain into a chilled mule mug full of crushed ice. Stir with stir straws and add more crushed ice. (This will get a nice frost on the outside of the mugs.) Garnish with a lime slice and serve with two stir straws.

 

Highland Cream Cocktail--Scotch and sherry are excellent mixing companions. Whether it is McCallan 12 and a bone-dry fino or a blend and cream sherry, there is a range of sweetness you can control with the addition of sherry. Scotch is often finished in sherry casks, oloroso and PX make for some of the richest flavors we have come to appreciate in scotch. This cocktail does that with a bourbon finished scotch and an especially rich sherry: Lustau East India Solera.

Bourbon finished scotches like Speyburn Bradan Orach are becoming more popular because bourbon barrels can only be used once for bourbon. Scotch has no such rule, and Scottish distillers are snapping up these American oak barrels to finish their beautifully dry and oaky tasting whisky. But I still miss the sherry finish of some of the oldest scotches--you pay a premium for it. Nowadays, the price of a sherry cask finished scotch is between ten and fifty dollars more than a bourbon finished scotch. That's the beauty of adding that sherry flavor back to the whiskey yourself. Round it all out with Aztec and aromatic bitters and a Luxardo cherry, and you have an especially rich treat for winter sipping.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon finished scotch like Speyburn Bradan Orach
• 1 oz. Lustau East India Solera sherry
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec bitters
• Luxardo cherry garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Luxardo cherry.

 

Agave Old Fashioned

It's not whiskey or tequila, but Mt. Defiance anejo agave spirit is somewhere in between. It has loads of vanilla and oak and not much bitterness at all. That's what makes it an excellent ingredient in an Old Fashioned. 

For this cocktail, I used simple syrup and not agave syrup, which might sound a bit like a mistake. Trust me, agave syrup is way sweeter and thicker. It's fine for citrus drinks where the sweetness is cut with acid, but it makes Old Fashioneds taste like rock candy. 

Outside the classic recipe, I used a squeeze of a lime zest rubbed on the rim and a flamed orange peel dropped into the glass. In addition to Angostura bitters, I used one dash of Fee Brothers Aztec bitters for a cinnamon and cocoa note appropriate for the holidays. Cheers!

• 2 oz. Mt. Defiance anejo agave spirit
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec bitters
• lime peel zest
• orange peel flamed as garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube. Twist lime peel over the glass and rub it around the rim before discarding. Flame orange peel over the glass and drop it in as a garnish. 

 

Saz Who? (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Is it a Sazerac when it is made with rum and pear brandy? If you also use Peychaud's bitters and serve it with a hint of absinthe. 

The overall effect of adding pear brandy instead of the usual rye or cognac is the benefit of fruity softness. Catoctin Creek pear brandy is pretty strong stuff, but it has a soft nose and pear flavors that come from distilling fruit juice. That goes great with a soft Guyana rum like Hamilton 86. The rest of the recipe should look familiar to Sazerac fans. The one difference is that the glass is not rinsed with absinthe, but the liquor has several dashes of absinthe in it.

• 1 1/ 2oz. aged rum (Hamilton 86 Demerara River used)
• 1/2 oz. pear brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 2 dashes absinthe
• 1 tsp. demerara syrup
• 4 dashes Peuchaud's bitters
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• lemon twist

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass. Twist a lemon zest over the glass and discard. 

Vampire Blues (Death & Co. Recipe)

This is it! This is just about as Halloween as a cocktail can get, at least at Death & Co., and about as sweet and fall spiced as I want to go. This is thanks to the addition of pumpkin butter and East India Solera Sherry--two very rich and yummy ingredients that make this drink taste like pumpkin pie. I love how bourbon adds the vanilla notes and cinnamon grated on top has that fresh spice scent you expect at this time of year. Everything about this drink, including its color, is perfect for fall.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon 
• 1/2 oz. East India Solera Sherry
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1 tsp. pumpkin butter
• 2 dashes Angostura
• 1 cinnamon stick garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass full of ice cubes. Grate cinnamon stick over the glass and garnish the drink with the cinnamon stick. 

 

Fix Me Up (Death & Co. Recipe)

I remember when trying this rich and beautiful drink that a Fix is any way to take a spirit into a more comfortable zone with sugar and juice. This was a departure from most Fixes that are sort of crushed ice and pineapple variations on a Sour. In fact, I feel like the overarching flavor is nuttiness from almond orgeat and amontillado sherry. 

Catoctin Creek Roundstone rye is pretty nutty and dry itself. I'd make a Fix with it anytime. This was an excellent use of a high-proof rye as I've ever seen. The presentation is very simple but elegant, and that is why Death & Co. is regarded as a pioneer in reviving the classic cocktail-serving speakeasy.

• 1 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek Roundstone used)
• 1 1/2 oz. amontillado (Alexandro sherry used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 3/4 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3/4 oz. club soda

Combine all ingredients except club soda in a shaker with three ice cubes. Shake and strain into a snifter with one large ice cube. Pour the soda in on top. 

 

Crane Kick (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Another Karate Kid cocktail because of the presence of Japanese whiskey. Not very original, but this combination of flavors is--and that is all we really ask for from Death & Co. 

This is an intense Tiki recipe that mashes up smoky scotch, malty whiskey, orange and orgeat and coconut notes in an adventure that nearly tells you a story with flavors. I imagine that the story goes something like this:

You are climbing a volcanic mountain in Hawaii and can smell the burning ash in the air from a recent eruption. On the way up you pick an orange and a coconut to enjoy at the top, but on the way you skin your knee and use a Band-Aid to mend the wound. 

In short, that is what this drink experience is like. I recommend everyone try it. It's not super approachable--I think of it as a stretch drink (smoky scotch doesn't appear often in tikis and the medicinal flavor is off-putting to some, but worth the try in this case.) Some drinkers just aren't as adventurous, but I encourage this kind of thrill seeking in cocktail recipes. 

• 2 oz. Yamazaki 12-year whiskey (Catoctin Creek Colossal X used)
• 1 tsp. Laphroaig 10-year scotch
• 2 tsp. coconut liqueur (Malibu used)
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with three ice cubes. Shake and strain into a pilsner glass filled with crushed ice. 

Wicked Kiss (Death & Co. Recipe)

Not all fall drinks have cinnamon and apple juice. This one is a wicked kiss because of 100-proof Rittenhouse rye and Laird's applejack 86-proof apple brandy. Angostura ties these flavors together with Dolin Genepy (my stand-in for Yellow Chartreuse) and Benedictine, which are very herbaceous and spicy without the cinnamon. This is a simple stirred drink that hits you quickly, so you don't have to overdo the cider drinks that proliferate at this time of year.

• 1 oz. Rittenhouse rye
• 1 oz. Laird's applejack 86
• 1/4 oz. Yellow Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1/4 oz. Benedictine
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

 

Doc's Dram (Death & Co.)

I get it. "An apple a day keeps the doctor away," as the saying goes. Well, this is a prescription for happiness. Another cocktail making use of apple butter (I am using a local grower names Shawnee for my butters and jams.) This is a fall drink to end them all, I think. Solera sherry, rye, maple syrup and apples? What could be better?

But before you start to think this drink is all sweetness with no depth, I'll point out that Ransom Old Tom gin (my homemade Schiedam gin used) is some funky stuff. That and Angostura make this an exceedingly rich and interesting cocktail. Not a one-note fall sipper.

• 1 1/2 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1/2 oz. Ransom Old Tom gin (homemade Schiedam used)
• 1/2 oz. Lustau East India Solera sherry
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. apple butter
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 apple fan garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled double rocks glass with a single cube. Garnish with the apple fan. 

 

Widow's Laurel (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

There's an old calvados recipe called the Widow's Kiss that I'm sure I've made in all my years of blogging. Can't find it right now, but I'm sure it will turn up. This variation is supposedly less boozy, but you can't really tell. It is intensely bitter and spicy with sweet vermouth, allspice dram and Drambuie together in one cocktail. 

Almost like an apple brandy Manhattan, this is a long and deep drink that will take you a while. It is perfect for a cold evening after dinner...or before.

• 2 oz. calvados (Laird's applejack 86 used)
• 1/2 oz. Drambuie
• 1/2 oz. Antica formula vermouth (Cocchi dopo teatro used)
• 1 tsp. allspice dram (homemade used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 3 brandied cherries on a pick

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the cherries. 

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. 

 

May Fair (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This Vieux Carre adaptation is an intense dive into the world of herbal liquors. The original cocktail chef from Death & Co. explains that they tried to meld two different styles of aquavit--one that is traditional carraway and another that is more anise-forward. The idea is not only sound, but appropriate given the anise flavor that appears in many New Orleans cocktails like the Vieux Carre. 

I was fortunate to have two kinds of homemade aquavit with exactly these same characteristics. My Altungstad aquavit has a heap of anise along with its more traditional ingredients. The other is made with MurLarkey Divine Clarity Vodka and Justice White Whiskey and the normal mix of caraway, fennel, cumin and angelica seeds. It is interesting how different the two are and I was proud to feature them in this superb cocktail. 

• 1 oz. London dry gin (Bloom used)
• 1/2 oz. Krogstad aquavit (Homemade Altungstad used)
• 1/2 oz. Linie aquavit (Homemade traditional aquavit used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 1/4 oz. Benedictine
• 2 dashes Peychauds bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 orange twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with one large rock. Twist the orange zest over the drink and drop it in. 

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. 

Circe (Original Recipe)

 

It stands to reason that a Calypso cocktail needs a companion cocktail named Circe. These are the exotic demi-gods of Homer's Odyssey and the only women that delay Odysseus on his journey home from Troy. 

The Calypso cocktail is very Tiki and is loaded with pineapple juice, rum and spiced with falernum and nutmeg. I went in a different direction for Circe--not as sweet and a little challenging. Lime and grapefruit juice keep it tart while MurLarkey three tea whiskey and my homemade allspice dram shift the bitter and spice notes to other tropical islands.

The combination is seductive but a little bit tart, just like Circe. The half-submerged grapefruit twist garnish hints at things lurking beneath the dark sea.

• 1 oz. white rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1 oz. MurLarkey three tea whiskey
• .5 oz. allspice dram
• .5 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Cherry and grapefruit twist garnishes

 Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a grapefruit twist and cherry speared on a cocktail pick.

 

Bristow Planter's Punch (Original Recipe)

 

In the Barbados song describing punch proportions it helps to remember that punch is made of "1 of sour, 2 of sweet, 3 of strong and 4 of weak" ingredients. Black tea has always been a large part of the "weak ingredients in Planter's Punch. Now it's a "strong ingredient" with MurLarkey three tea whiskey. This is a rich and strong whiskey steeped in Earl Gray, Darjeeling and English breakfast teas. Now that the tea is strong, the problem then is what are the other ingredient proportions. 

Pineapple juice comes to the rescue. Pineapple juice isn't in the original Planter's Punch, but it is not exactly sour. You can use a lot of it and it won't require balancing with sugar like grapefruit juice will. So I'm breaking the ban on Pineapple Juice for this recipe just this once and I think it works fine. The sweetness of the juice will balance against the bitter tannin of the tea and the tang of lime juice.

I also used a dash of Angostura and MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey just to spice it up a bit. And George Bowman rum was necessary for the fruity rum flavors of a good Jamaican rum. 

• 1 oz. George Bowman rum
• 1 1/2 oz. MurLarkey three tea whiskey
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey 
• 1 oz. club soda
  
• lemon, lime and hibiscus flower garnishes

Combine all liquid ingredients except for soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain over large ice rocks in a large blown red wine glass (stemless is best). Top with soda and stir before adding garnishes.

Flor De Jerez (Death & Co. Recipe)

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I love apricot liqueur. I used to make the stuff when apricots were plentiful in early summer. I'd soak the fruits in brandy and cook a sugar and apricot juice. When you cant find Rothman and Winter at your liquor store or you just don't have time to do all that with the apricots, you can use jelly. It comes together easily in the shaker tin when you stir a bar spoon of jam into citrus juices. 

 

In this case, I built the entire drink in the shaker before adding the apricot jam. (And I used a little less sugar syrup than I would have if I had liqueur because jams are sweet.) And, yes, I stirred in my shaker tin, but the result is pretty exceptional and I recommend the jam trick to any home bartender. Your refrigerator is loaded with good ingredients, so you don't need to go hunting around for liqueurs that are expensive and hard to find.

And Death & Co. knows this. How many of their drinks have marmalade or apple butter or some such ingredient or infusion. Be creative with your cooking staples, that's how cocktails were invented in the first place.

 

• 1/2 oz. Jamaican rum (George Bowman used)
• 1 1/2oz. Lustau Amontillado (Alexandro Amontillado used)
• 1/4 oz. Rothman and Winter apricot liqueur (apricot jam used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup (1/4 oz. when using apricot jam)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters 

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. If using apricot jam, make sure to stir before adding ice to dissolve the solids into the liquid ingredients. Add ice and shake, then double strain into a coupe glass. 

The Gift Shop (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Cucumber seems to be a common ingredient in summer drinks at Death & Co. And that makes a lot of sense. Cucumber has a way of brightening and lending body to juicy drinks that may otherwise require more sweetener and fall flat or heavy on the palate. 

What surprises me is cucumber used in a Cardamaro and Tiki-style cocktail with Angostura bitters and light rum. Needless to say that all of this is possible due to the exacting proportions of the recipe. Death & Co.'s recommendation with all muddling is also helpful. Never overmuddle; you can easily bruise the ingredients and cause them to go bitter or jammy in the mouth. I've learned so much from their cocktail book--I bet I've covered half of the cocktails in the book at this point. 

• 3 cucumber wheels
• 2 oz. white rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/2 oz. Cardamaro
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 3 cucumber wheels garnish

Muddle 3 cucumber wheels in the shaker tin before adding the remaining ingredients and ice. Shake and double strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large-format ice cube. Fan the cucumber slices as garnishes.

Overhead Smash (Death & Co. Recipe)

This is actually a Smash cocktail, much like those made with fruit and base spirits back in the early days of cocktails. The difference is that this Smash (a name that denotes its method of preparation) is very much of the Tiki era of cocktails with cucumber, ginger and Angostura bitters. It is a riff on the Suffering Bastard of nearly identical ingredients. The difference here, however, is the addition of strawberry and the fact that that the Bastard's ginger beer preparation is now replaced with ginger syrup--effectively making it a ginger soda cocktail. 

One other notable change in this Overhead Smash from its forebears is that it has a potent aromatized wines, quina vermouth and Bonal, giving the entire cocktail a bitter base that goes well with the vegetable notes of cucumber smashed into the mix. 

The drinking experience is still the same as the Suffering Bastard, but knowing that is prepared as a Smash and has Bonal Gentaine-Quina just helps you appreciate the craft of it.

•  1/2 strawberry
• 2 cucumber wheels
• 1 1/2 oz. dry gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
  
• 1/2 oz. Bonal
• 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. orgeat (homemade used)
• 1/4 oz. ginger syrup (homemade ginger brandy and simple used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• club soda
• 1 cucumber ribon, 1 mint sprig and 1 or 2 drops of Angostura as garnishes. 

Muddle strawberry and cucumber wheels in a shaker. Add the remaining ingredients except soda and shake with only a few ice cubes, then strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with the cucumber ribbon and mint sprig. Then dash Angostura on the mint. 

 

Le Bateleur (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

The smaller, black eagle known as the Bateleur is a great name for a drink. While the dark spirits like Cynar in this cocktail aren't exactly black, they are almost the components in a Black Negroni (whatever your recipe for that mysterious drink happen to be.)

For once I didn't have to alter this recipe to make it with my limited budget and bar space. I was happy to make this Death & Co. Recipe with Cynar 70-proof and Citadelle gin--two powerfully flavored and potent spirits. Strega is the sweetener for Bateleur, but it also adds herbal notes like mint and saffron to the already sturdy underbelly of this cocktail. The recipe calls for Punt E Mes, but I ended up going with Cocchi's version of the gentian-infused vermouth known for its bitter base. 

Just like the smaller African eagle, this drink is easily to underestimate but unforgettable. 

• 2 oz. dry gin (Citadelle used)
• 3/4 oz. Punt E Mes (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 1/2 oz. Strega
  
• 1/4 oz. Cynar (Cynar 70-proof)
•  1 dash Angostura bitters
  
• orange twist garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange twist. 

Mainland (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Dense, boozy, and bittersweet describe this twist on a Martini. For its size it has a lot of power. First there's the craft ImaGination gin by MurLarkey that packs in more botanicals than a London Dry style in a spirit that isn't characterless. Galliano and two grapefruit twists add to the bitterness of the botanicals. Unusually, for a Martini anyway, there's a hint of sugar that adds body. Do this drink if you are looking for something unique and craft that doesn't pull any punches. 

• 2 grapefruit twists
• 2 oz. high botanical gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. Galliano 
• 1 tsp. simple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Twist two grapefruit zests over a mixing glass and drop them in. Add the remaining ingredients and ice and stir. Strain into a chilled coupe with no garnish. 

Village To Village (Death & Co. Recipe)

There's villages and boroughs in New York, where Death & Co. began its mission to bring about craft cocktails. Tequila and rum comes from villages, too. And look how pretty, how relaxed this cocktail is. It's the balm from the tropics that salves that weary city dweller. 

I've made my own ingredients in this cocktail as usual. This is my allspice dram, a rum based and brown sugar liqueur, and my own ginger brandy that I used to flavor my syrup for this drink. 

The overall effect is kind of a fall or winter drink with apple and allspice and ginger. Angostura bitters lift the scent and add more allspice and cinnamon to the nose and the first sips.

• 1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila (El Jimador used)
• 1/2 tsp. allspice dram (homemade used)
• 1 1/2 oz. fuji apple juice
• 12 oz. acacia honey syrup
• 1/2 oz. teaspoon ginger syrup (simple and ginger brandy used)
• garnsih 2 dashes Angostura bitters and mint sprig

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with three ice cubes. Shake to combine and strain into a pilsner (rocks glass used) Garnsih with bitters and the mint sprig. 

 

Eye of the Torino (Death & Co. recipe)

 

Scotch from Islay is still an island spirit. That's the thinking behind Eye of the Torino. Death & Co. is at it again, changing people's expectations of spirits like Scotch. No, even a single malt scotch like Bowmore 12 doesn't have to be trapped in a Glencairn glass or on the rocks. You can make an excellent Tiki cocktial with single malt from Islay because it has a rich profile similar to rum. 

Yes. Bowmore 12 (or in this case McClelland's Islay, which is my less expensive way to get Bowmore in a different label) is the main ingredient in this tropical drink that features huge coconut flavors. The title of the drink suggests the need to hide Cocchi di Torino in a fruity drink that resembles a Bahama Momma. With all the coconut, pineapple, cream and orgeat, it's hard to taste that sweet vermouth, but spicy scotch still stands out with peat notes and a bit of smoke. But don't tell your Tiki drinking friends it's in there, just pretend it is smoke from the Tiki torches. 

This drink is intended to be served in a coconut shell, which is a lot of trouble to get and cut. I figured a large Tiki mug would be fitting. 

• 2 oz. Bowmore 12-year scotch
• 1/2 oz. cocchi vermouth di Torino
• 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. coconut cream
• 1/4 oz. heavy cream
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash chocolate mole bitters
• 1 pineapple wedge and cherry flag for garnish

Combine all ingredients is a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a coconut mug (or Tiki mug, as pictured) full of crushed ice. Use a pick to pin the stem cherry to the pineapple wedge and stick it on the rim.