A Guide for the Home Bartender
Coat a double Old Fashioned glass with absinthe (Absente used) and add one large ice cube. In a mixing glass, stir the remaining ingredients with ice and strain into a absinthe-coated glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.
The rest of the Cynard de Bergenac involves genever, old Tom gin, and Benedictine. It is further flavored with a dash of absinthe and Aztec chocolate bitters. The end result is a wine and gin cocktail that really comes across like a dark rum punch with lots of barrel-aged notes from the genever and an herbal lift from the absinthe. It is grounded, however by chocolate and orange in the finish. You almost can't taste the Benedictine, but it is in there adding sweetness and texture. All the way through, you get red wine tannin from Cabernet. It is pretty overwhelming and easily underestimated in such a cute little glass.
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Roll the orange twist tightly and skewer on a cocktail pick.
I got this Fee Brothers' grapefruit bitters to make this cocktail, since I couldn't find Bittermen's hopped grapefruit bitters. I know from past experience that a dash of my own celery bitters gives a drink hoppy notes of bitter flowers very similar to hops. The experience, once you twist grapefruit peal on top, is a drink with a no grapefruit juice that smells and tastes like a grapefruit juice drink but rich with all the other spirits. The Bols barrel-aged genever has the oak, malt and juniper that fits right in with cardamom of Cardamaro, which also has other bitter herbs. The Antica Formula vermouth (which the recipe calls for but I am using a Cocchi product with a similar profile) is rich with quinine and oak as well. And it all floats upward with citrus notes at first sip and at the finish.
Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with the grapefruit twist.
I also happened to have cherry bark bitters since my early days of bartending. Making bark bitters is as easy as infusing bark in high-proof spirits. This little bottle of mine also includes blossoms and green tea and it is very bitter. There's also creme de cacao for some chocolate sweetness and the traditional orange twist. But the addition of the lemon twist in the mixing glass was new to me and gave the drink a refreshingly light nose.
Muddle lemon twist in a mixing glass before adding ice and the remaining ingredients. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube in it. Twist the orange zest over the glass and drop it in.
Drinks of this proportion are all about the herbal presence of the absinthe and citrus bitters. Bols Barrel Aged Genever doesn't fight this trend with juniper and malty notes that melt right into the well aged rum. The recipe calls for Jamaican rum, and George Bowman's is a blend of Caribbean rums that hews closely to Appleton or Pusser's. I like featuring a local spirit as often as I can on this blog, so that is why its here.
But a Sazerac needs sugar. You get that from Galliano and simple syrup. More vanilla and anise isn't going to detract from the overall experience. Galliano and aromatic bitters just takes this drink closer to Itailian wedding cookies and away from carrot cake.
Stir all ingredients over ice, then strain into a double rocks glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the orange twist.
Gallian and orange bitters have their own role to play in Sure Shot. I like how the vanilla and anise of Galliano are more like spice additions than sweeteners. Galliano also adds a richness to the texture to support the vermouth. This is a hefty drink and orange bitters suggestion of baking spices makes it even that much more rounded.
Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupe.
The big thing on my mind was how I would like the combination three principal ingredients: Jagermeister from Germany, genever from Netherlands, and Mandarine Napoleon French (by way of cognac but made in the Netherlands.) His idea is simple, the flavors are complex. Use a little bit of spirits from the countries involved in Napoleon's fateful battle.
I wouldn't say the cocktail is better than the sum of its parts. Something is lost in the balance--mostly the depth of Jager. But that is the way with cocktails. They make spirits more drinkable and less ponderous. The result is satisfying and, like the battle, over quickly. I thought that the pickled almond was a gimmick, but I rather felt it was the ingredient that tied everything together. There was sugar sweetness of the coating that helped the genever and Mandarine get along, and the pickled vinegary notes tied in nicely with Jagermeister.
Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop the pickled almond inside.
I'd say this cocktail tastes very classic, with the IPA standing in for citrus juice and bitters. A cocktail drinker might love it and not understand what is going on in the glass, but a hop headed beer drinker would be turned off by the floral Byrrh and overall fruity style of this Bitch.
Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir gently for 30 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish.
This cocktail is thankfully mellowed by the malt notes of barrel aged genever. Both are strong, but almost opposite in texture as far as distilled spirits go. Only a splash of sugar and two dashes of Peychaud's is needed to bring them together. The Dutch and Germans may not always be friendly with each other, but they can agree that their spirits go well together.
Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lemon zest over the glass and drop it in.
Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with a large format chunk of ice inside. Use the ginger as garnish.
Mr. Anthony:
It's not at all a stretch of the imagination to make a genever (or jenever) Sour, and from there, it's just a short step to the Mr. Anthony, a jenever version of the Penicillin. Jenever is a Dutch gin that is made from malted barley and distilled with botanicals like juniper inside the mash as well as steeped in the spirit itself.
Bols barrel aged genever is so close to malt whiskey with its aging in French oak that it is a natural choice for a Penicillin. This time around, I switched up for a saltier and smokier single malt, McClellands Islay, a no-age-statement bottling (I've heard) from Bowmore. It is definitely different to make the Mr. Anthony after having a blended scotch Penicillin, but I might like it more. There's an herbal quality to it, that juniper or pine scent that is actually a quality of some of my favorite scotches.
Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a
chilled Old Fashioned glass with a large format chunk of ice inside.
Use the ginger as garnish.
But the fun thing about this cocktail is that it is a Genever Sour. It's hard to say what this drink is like because Jenever isn't whiskey and it isn't gin. It is a malty spirit that is aged in oak and flavored with juniper. That makes genever something between the two: perfect for making into a Sour, but rich enough that you can play around with fall flavors.
I'm tempted to try it again on the rocks or up, but for now this is a traditional Sour glass. Stay tuned for cider versions and other fun creations using Genever for the fall season.
