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. 

 

Flannel (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

Difford's Guide says that the Flannel is a good fall-weather drink, and it is. I was drawn to it because it has a lot of flavors we associate with cold weather drinks and punch. There's allspice dram (also known as pimento dram), orange zest, and cognac. 

There's even an unusual ingredient--apple sugar syrup. This can be made in several ways. First, by cooking sugar in an apple cider solution to make the syrup. You can also macerate apples in sugar and use the drippings. I did a quick and dirty shortcut by adding applejack to my simple syrup. That was an easy way to get this drink to the table and into me!

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. pimento dram (homemade allspice dram used)
• 1/2 oz. apple sugar syrup
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• orange zest twist. 

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large format ice cube. Garnish with the orange twist.

 

DIY Allspice Dram

I've got lots of time on my hands and a stockpile of basic liquors from which I can produce a variety of specialty items. This summer, I decided it would be nice to have allspice dram for tiki cocktails. Allspice Dram has  tropical spice profile similar to Angostura Bitters, but it is less bitter and more forgiving if you overpour. In fact it is delicious by itself, and some drinks can be done with allspice dram as the principal spirit.

Making allspice dram requires more patience than many other liqueurs, especially those made of fresh ingredients. The allspice flavor comes from infusing dried allspice berries, and that takes time. The spirit has to be rum, but preferably a 100-proof rum with a little character, so something slightly aged. Demerara rum is probably the best option, but if you only have white rum, a higher proof means a better infusion and a higher proof for your liqueur.

• 1/4 cup allspice berries
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar 
• 2 cups 100-proof rum

This simple infusion starts with toasting 1/4 cup allspice berries in a saucepan (medium-high heat) for about five minutes. This releases a lot of the flavor and it will make your kitchen smell amazing. Allow the berries to cool before crushing them with a mortar and pestle or by using a rolling pin on a cutting board. I've had some success with a large wooden spoon.

Put the berries and rum in a sealable jar and store it in a dark place for 15 days or longer. Give the jar a shake every few days to stir things up.

After the infusion is complete, strain out the solids and pour the infusion into a sauce pan. Heat on medium (higher heat evaporates too much of the alcohol) and add the brown sugar. Stir slowly for fifteen minutes until the sugar is completely dissolved. After the liqueur is cool you can store it in a bottle for six months. Flavor appreciably dissipates after this time.