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. 

 

Sweet And Vicious (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Muddled fuji apples makes a great start to a whiskey drink. This is the first time I've done a muddled apple cocktail in a mixing glass. It works, but you have to use a fine strainer. 

I especially liked the way that apples and rye play together with a mild amaro and Dolin dry vermouth, which has a little bit of a green apple flavor itself. 

One note when stirring this cocktail is that you have to make sure you stir a lot. Apple pieces tend to slow down the swirl and that prevents a lot of chilling from happening. The ice doesn't melt as quickly, so stay with it and stir longer and a little harder than usual.

• 2 fuji apple slices
• 2 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1/2 oz. Dolin dry
• 1/2 oz. Amaro Nonino (1/4 oz. each Amer Picon and Ambrosia Apertivo used)
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 apple fan garnish

Muddle apple slices in a mixing glass before adding the remaining liquid ingredients and ice. Stir and double strain into a coupe and garnish with the apple fan. 

The Sunset Gun

This is a great cocktail that is steeped in martial tradition--something wholly American. The ritual goes as such: as the sun sets and the flag is lowered to mark the end of a day, a cannon is fired and often music is played. Adding to this ritual is sharing a whiskey cocktail.

The fun thing about this drink is that it takes a little preparation earlier in the day so that it can simply be enjoyed in the fleeting moment. Ingredients are batched and flavored beforehand into something similar to an Old Fashioned. The recipe makes two cocktails and the drinkers are expected to toast when the cannon fires.

• 4 oz. blended whiskey, bourbon or rye (Catoctin Creek rye used)
• 6 cloves
• 1 oz. curacao 
• several dashes of orange bitters

Combine cloves and liquors in a mixing glass and refrigerate at least one hour before serving. Just before the ceremony, add ice and stir. Strain the mixture into two cocktail glasses and top with orange bitters. Return the used cloves to the glasses.

Golden Daze

Golden Daze lives up to its name by giving off a golden sheen from peach brandy and orange juice, and a warm fuzzy feeling from the gin.

Two things about my concoction of this recipe: one is that I used actual peach brandy by Catoctin Creek, not peach schnapps, which makes drinks taste like pie. No, Catoctin Creek brandies are 100% organic and not overly sweetened. This liquor is made from real peach juice that's fermented and distilled. It doesn't taste like sugar.

The other thing about this cocktail rendition is that I used a new local gin: Imagination from MurLarkey. This gin is dry and downplays its juniper only a little so that the grain presence is appreciated. MurLarkey makes all kinds of flavored whiskies, so grain composition is important in their products and it shows.

• 2oz. gin (MurLarkey Imagination used)
• 1 oz. peach brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1 oz. orange juice

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

Elk's Own

I'm betting this is the official drink of one of those funny fur hat-wearing men's clubs of bygone days. Its fruity and strong with a flashy pink foam and pineapple spear. Most unusual, it is made with rye.

• 2 oz. rye 
• 1 oz. ruby port
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• egg white
• 1 tsp. sugar
• pineapple spear

Combine sugar, rye, egg white, lemon juice and port in a shaker and shake vigorously. Add ice and shake to chill. Strain with gated finish into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the pineapple spear.

Joulouville

This is such a pretty sounding drink, and when I made Joulouville with the finest ingredients and fresh fruit, it was an extremely classy drink. I'm not sure the inventor of this (French?) classic intended it to be so grand, rather more like a sour version of a Martini, but I stick with my decision. I used only my best barrel aged gin, which I figured would go great with real oaky apple brandy. Carpano Antica vermouth is more bitter than sweet, but it fought the lemon tartness just like a bargain sweet vermouth should do while adding earthy complexity.

The whole drink was a swing between citrus tartness and earthy herbal flavors from the gin and vermouth. There was an apple barrel mellowness as well. I have to say that here is a cocktail that reminded me of the best of French liquors--oaked wine, calvados, bitter herbs and lemon in perfect balance. Bon appetit!

• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat Barrel Reserve used)
• 1 oz. apple brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1 tbsp. sweet vermouth (Antica Formula used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Sharkey Punch

Not so much a punch as an apple brandy rocks drink with rye and soda. I really do appreciate the craft distillery flavors of Catoctin Creek Roundstone rye and apple brandy together in the same drink. This was a pretty stiff drink and a great appetizer to get things started.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. rye
• 1/2 tsp. simple syrup
• club soda

Build drink with apple brandy, rye and simple syrup in an Old Fashioned glass with ice. Stir gently until sugar is evenly mixed. Top with soda.

Ink Street

Sometimes it is hard to imagine what a cocktail will taste like until you make it and see what the inventor had in mind. That was the case with the Ink Street. There's so much citrus and no sweetness added with the addition of rye. It sounds gross, but really it is bitter and tart like a kid's sour gummy candy and the rye pops out in the finish as bitter and rough. So it is totally different from more balanced and whiskey forward cocktails that are popular. Don't try making this with a blended whiskey, you will taste nothing but juice if you do.

• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 2 oz. orange juice
• 2 oz. rye

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

Third Rail

There's a few drinks that are designed to have a powerful effect on the body, and this one is one of them. "Don't step on/ pee on a third rail," we're always told. That's where the power is channeled. This is a powerful drink with lots of aged oak brandy flavors to keep you interested. I loved that as strong as it was (all 40 proof alcohol, not juices) it was complex and balanced. I also like the moderate amount of absinthe that keeps it from being a brandy bomb.

• 2 oz. apple brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 2 oz. brandy
• 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1/4 tsp. Pernod

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

San Juan

A tiki-like hit at a party, the San Juan is a Puerto Rican daiquiri. This would be best prepared in a blender with not too much ice, as that tends to make the drink watery. And besides citrus, there's subtle brandy flavors.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 tbsp. brandy (Catoctin Creek 1757 Virginia brandy used)
• 1 1/2 oz. grapefruit 
• 1 tbsp. coconut milk
• 1 tbsp. lime juice

Combine all ingredients except brandy in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a wine goblet. Float brandy on top.

Candaian Apple

Like a whiskey sour but made spicy and fruity for fall, the Canadian Apple is perfect for when the leaves change and the wind blows. Cinnamon is key to getting this drink out of the summer lulls.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1/2 oz. apple brandy (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juce
• ground cinnamon
• lemon slice

Combine whiskey, apple brandy, sugar and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Sprinkle cinnamon on top and garnish with the lemon slice.

Sherry Twist

 It's Fall and this year I'm doing a lot of rich sherry drinks to celebrate differently! There's plenty of wine and grape flavor in the Sherry Twist, and with a minimum of citrus, it really amounts to a strong fruity drink. I used Catoctin Creek grape brandy for an even more smooth and even cocktail.

• 2 oz. sherry
• 1 oz. brandy
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• orange twist

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

New York

Someone in the 70's decided that New Yorkers drank pink drinks. This rye cocktail is supposed to be a whiskey version of a Cosmo. Cranberry juice won't give it the correct color, so use grenadine. For all that cheapness, this is one of my favorite grenadine pink drinks. Applejack Jack Roses are often too tart and the drinks I've done lately have left me feeling a little feminine. Despite it's look, though, the New York made with Catoctin Creek 92-Proof rye is a badass drink.

• 1 1/2 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek Roundstone Rye used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• several dashes of grenadine

Combine all ingredients except orange peel in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the orange peel. 

Brandy Sour

Like it's whiskey and pisco brethren, this is a sweet and sour cocktail that just about everyone agrees tastes great. I used Catoctin Creek's 1757 Distiller's Reserve brandy (aged in Bordeaux casks) to give the drink an elegant and local flair. It certainly didn't lose anything by not being made with whiskey.

• 2 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except orange slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass. Garnish with an orange slice.

Manhasset

• 2 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek Roundstone)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/4 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake or stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass rimmed with lemon juice. Garnish with a lemon twist.
This was a darn good classic cocktail when made with 100 percent rye. My previous versions using Canadian whiskey fell flat, but this is something do do over and over. And with the 90 proof Roundstone Rye, it was pretty stiff too.