Nitty-Gritty (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

The inventor of this drink says that this cocktail is a riff on the Fifty-Fifty Martini, which is exactly what it sounds like: Half gin and half dry vermouth. What the hell is this, then? Many ingredients, none of them vermouth... If you are making a Martini variation, I don't want to see Benedictine or pear brandy. 

That sounds harsh, though. I really loved this cocktail. It is unusual to see dry Manzanilla and mezcal used in the same drink, much less pear brandy and Benedictine. And the bartender's note was absolutely right. Sometimes a rich-tasting ingredient like mezcal (which is quite dry in texture) mixed with a dry fortified wine like Manzanilla feels too dry to drink. It's like you need sugar to pull apart the wild flavors of mezcal and sherry when they are mixed in these quantities and chilled. And that is why the agave syrup was a brilliant move. 

Pear is also a difficult flavor to detect when searching for it in a dry pear brandy. Agave syrup helps with that, but apple bitters also suggests pie fruits and baked notes. That's what this cocktail finally brings home. It is a pie drink that is on the dry side and perfect for appetizers rather than dessert. 

• 1 1/2 oz. del Maugey mezcal
• 1/2 oz. Manzinilla sherry (Orleans used)
• 1/2 oz. Benedictine
• 1/2 oz. pear brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1/2 tsp. agave nectar
• 1 dash bar coke baked apple bitters
• 1 dash aromatic bitters (Hella used)
• lemon twist garnish

Combine all ingredients except twist in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled coupt and garnish with the lemon twist. 

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. 

Little Miss Annabelle (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail is very light and French tasting--more of a Normandy cocktail with Benedictine and pear notes than the excessively absinthed cocktails of Paris. I like the balance that the small bit of Benedictine brings to this cocktail. It adds herbs and sweetness but doesn't overwhelm the brandies. 

Catoctin Creek pear is in there in a small proportion and you notice it because it is a bit of a distraction from the grape notes of the cognac. This is an excellent cocktail for someone who is new to French spirits because it is well rounded and shows off cognac and Benedictine without hitting you over the head.

• 2 oz. of cognac (Meukow VS used)
• 1/4 oz. pear liqueur (Catoctin Creek pear brandy used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. Benedictine
• 1/4 oz. cane sugar syrup
• 1 dash Peychaud's bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Miss Behavin' (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

I'm going back to Death & Co.'s amazing champagne cocktail list because every one of their recipes is a good idea and works well with champagne.

This time I'm using Moet and Chandon champagne with two American spirits to make this champagne drink taste like ripe pears. Catoctin Creek distillery makes this awesome pear brandy that has a whiff of ripe pears because it is distilled from fermented pear juice. It also has the nose of a calvados or fruit eau de vie. Laird's Applejack 86 is just a burst of apple flavor throughout because it comes from cider. The two read as pears when you add the bread-like bubbles of real champagne and some lemon juice.

• 3/4 oz. pear brandy (Catoctin Creak used)
• 3/4 oz. Laird's Applejack 86
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• dry champagne
• 1 anju pear slice garnish

Combine liquid ingredients except champagne with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne (take care to add it slowly because it reacts to the lemon juice and can bubble over easily.) Garnish with the anju pear slice.