Julian Sorel (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

For some reason, Julian Sorel is called "the worst drink name ever," in the Death & Co. recipe book. I don't see why, exactly, though. It's named after the protagonist in The Red And The Black, by Stendhal. In my mind, that makes it a bit of a Scholarly French name. And Julian Sorel doesn't appear in the list of staff picks for worst names in "On The Naming of Cocktails" page of the bar book. Good name or no, Julian Sorel is a good idea.

It blends The Last Word with a champagne cocktail, which is an awesome idea--dare I even say "a genius-level move." If a Negroni can be crossed with a French 75, then why can't a Last Word be mashed-up with a classic French 75 with cognac. And it works surprisingly well. Best of all: it maintains the easy-to-remember proportions of The Last Word!

• 1/2 oz. Courvoisier cognac
• 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• dry champagne (Aria cava used)
• 1 lemon twist garnish
  

Combine all ingredients except champagne and garnish in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne and garnish wtih the twist.

 

Dick and Jane (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

More champagne cocktails! I've been looking forward to using hibiscus flowers packed in syrup in a cocktail, and this cocktail presented itself as a likely candidate. It calls for hibiscus syrup, which provides sweetness and this lovely red color. The flowers themselves are chewy and sweet like brandied cherries, so I decided to use one as a garnish. 

There's something for everyone in this champagne cocktail. ImaGination gin and Peychaud's bitters for those New Orleans French 75 drinkers and St-Germain and hibiscus for a nice floral drink with bubbly. The nice thing is the recipe is not overly sweet and the color and garnish suggestion makes it look more royal than a Kir. 

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. St-Germain
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. hibiscus syrup
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• dry champagne
• 1 long, thin lemon twist (and optional hibiscus flower) garnishes

Combine all ingredients except champagne and garnishes in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Curl lemon twist and drape it over the glass. 

Bitter French (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail is a basic mash-up of a Negroni and a French 75. I happened to have a bottle of brut cava last weekend and put it to good use in five cocktails. This one was immediately fascinating because I like both of the cocktails that this recipe is derived from. 

• 1 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/4 oz. Campari
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• dry champagne
• 1 grapefruit twist 

Combine gin, Campari, lemon juice and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne. 

 

Key Party (Death & Co. Recipe)

I like a stirred cocktail that is unapolegetically French. In keeping with this thought, I tried to go as French as possible with ingredients that I had a choice about. The first is obvious: Citadelle gin is one of those top tier dry gins packed with beautiful floral and spice botanicals that are perfectly balanced. It was an excellent choice to pair with Bonal, a rich and earthy French aromatized wine with quinine. 

Amaro Nardini is the only Italian ingredient in this Death & Co. recipe, and the only one I don't have. Amari have simple substitutes that you can go with for cocktails, so I started with my homemade Amer Picon (made with Ramazzotti and orange bitters) and a touch of Frenet Branca to give it that cool menthol flavor of Nardini as well. I've not tried Nardini, but everyone who does raves about its orange, menthol and caramel notes, and I think I accurately captured this with a 2 to 1 proportion of Picon and Frenet.

A final substitution--my usual Dolin Genepy for Chartreuse--is totally acceptable because of its low proportion to the cocktail that doesn't rely on Green Chartreuse to produce a green colored drink.

• 2 oz. gin (Citadelle used)
• 1/2 oz. Bonal Gentain-Quina
• 1/2 oz. Amaro Nardini
• 1/4 oz. green Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)

 

Monet's Moment (Difford's Guide Recipe)

This cocktail was created by Eric Lorincz at the Savoy Hotel in London. But it is quintessentially French--from cognac to absinthe to Byrrh grand quinquina and Peychaud's bitters. It is like something straight out of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century! 

I'm always impressed with French spirits: how flavorful and yet refreshing they are. This cocktail comes across as light and aromatic. You almost get the feeling that it is good for your health. And after doing so many cognac cocktails in coupes, the change of format to large ice really means a more social experience. The flavor doesn't weigh you down. Instead, you get herbal high notes right under your nose and the complexity of cognac that is chilled, not warm, doesn't pull you away from the dazzle of Byrrh bitterness and grape notes. 

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1 oz. Byrrh grand quinquina
• 1/6 oz. absinthe (Ricard used)
• 1/4 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 dash Peychaud's bitters

 Stir all ingredients and strain into a large glass with a large format ice cube. 

Byrrh On-The-Rocks

 

This beer cocktail is exactly what it looks like. It is also exactly what it sounds like. It is beer and also Byrrh (pronounced beer) in a rocks glass with ice. A pale ale and French quinine wine go excellent together. They both share a fruity and hoppy herbal zing. Byrrh benefits from the fizz that the ale supplies, and the whole experience is nice as an early afternoon treat. 

But beware. Neither spirit is especially strong on alcohol, but that doesn't mean it is low ABV. If anything, this cocktail is like drinking champagne. One is nice, but wait before you get the next to see how it affects you. 

• 2 oz. Byrrh Grand Quinquina
• 2 oz. pale ale (Einstok used)
• orange zest

Build drink in a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of cracked ice. Stir gently and garnish with orange zest. 

 

s of ale

Waterloo

 

 

When Simon Difford came up with this recipe, he didn't know that there was another Waterloo cocktail in existence back in the early nineties. Unsurprisingly, both are made with the liqueur that bears the name Napoleon. As soon as I saw this recipe on his webpage I had to try it. 

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.

• 2 oz. genever (Bols barrel aged used)
• 1/2 oz. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade used)
• 1/6 oz. (1 tsp.) Jagermeister
• pickled almond
  

Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop the pickled almond inside.

Je Suis l'Amour (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

This is a cocktail that tastes rich but feels light: Cognac, ginger brandy and sweet vermouth give a ton of flavor up front. This is that rich stone fruit and herbal notes of the spirits. If I had chocolate bitters (which I understand to be a major part of the drink as the name suggests) I would have a drink with a chocolaty depth. As it was, I had Hella orange bitters with its baking spice notes. And that still does the trick for such a spicy drink in with ginger dominates. 

But when the sip finishes, you get such a light lift from all the heavy sensations. Firstly the grapefruit juice ensures that the body of the liquid itself is light. Your final impression is a citrus fruit cocktail (grapefruit often being associated with with ginger and cognac warmth. It is an expression of love, and very French at that.

• 1 1/2 oz cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 2/3 rich sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade ginger brandy used)
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
  
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters (Hella orange bitters used)
• orange zest

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir and Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze the orange zest over the glass and lay it on the rim.

Greta Garbo (Difford's Guide Recipe)

There's a few cocktails out there dedicated to actress Greta Garbo. This one is the first I've seen that doesn't use Swedish punsch. It is based on the Daiquiri, with hints of almond and anise, so it has a very classical profile. The lack of Swedish punsch makes me think that this Greta Garbo is something the actress might have enjoyed, rather than just being a gimic to sell Swedish punsch.

Difford's Guide does not supply any origin story or apocryphal anecdote about the creation of this cocktail other than to link it with Garbo and mention that it is one of many. 

I like what anise and the suggestive anise star garnish does to a classic Daiquiri's flavor. There is something Parisian or continental about this cocktail that has the feel of 1920s films. The presentation is beautiful and the flavors perfectly balanced. You will want to have more than one of these.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/6 oz. Pernod (Ricard used)
• anise star garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the anise star. 

 

Odd McIntyre

 

This classy French-style cocktail is light, well-rounded and easily crushable for a cognac drink. It gets its name from O. O. McIntyre, a journalist for a New York newspaper in the 20s and 30s. That makes it a journalist cocktail like the Gazette and Journalist. 

You really notice the French-style lables of these bottles (Leroux is French American from Kentuckey, but they emulate the look.) This cocktail is bursting with sweet and bitter orange flavors, something that French spirits makers are known for. Lillet Blanc of 007 fame adds fortified wine notes and bitter green orange peels from north Africa. It makes this cognac cocktail very approachable for someone new to cocktails and cognac in general.

• 1 oz. brandy (Martel single distillery cognac used)
• 1 oz. Cointreau (triple sec used)
• 1 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Beginning of the End (Difford's Guide)

 

This wonderfully balanced cocktail combines some of my favorite things: aged rum, sherry, sweet vermouth and Amer Picon. The rum might not be spiced, but the cocktail is with vermouth, amaro, and flamed orange peel--it makes for the perfect winter sipper.

One of the new ingredients on my bar is George Bowamn dark Caribbean rum from the Bowman Distillery in Fredricksburg, Virginia. This rum has a great small batch, island produced flavor that really works well with American colonial-style cocktails. Rum, sherry, a quinine spirit to ward off malaria--these ingredients, taken from all over the world, came together in America through colonial trade and make up the flavor profile of our nation's cocktail history.

This is a Difford's Guide recipe that plays on the Fin de Siecle, or "End of The World," a classic cocktail with similar proportions of ingredients but uses gin instead of aged rum. 

• 1 1/2 oz. aged dark rum (George Bowman used)
• 1/2 oz. Antica formula vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)  
• 1/3 oz. Amer Picon (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. Oloroso sherry
• flamed orange peel garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. To flame the orange peel, cut a piece of orange zest. While holding a flame over the drink, squeeze the zest to release oils onto the flame to produce a flash and burnt orange oil fregrance. 

 

Bonaparte's Manhattan (Difford's Guide)

 

I figure the best way to follow Napoleon's Sidecar is with his Manhattan. Difford's guide says that it is Italian amaro that provides the bitterness, not dashes of bitters. I, however, feel that this drink is better served with a French bitter spirit, Amer Picon. Had Napoleon himself lived to meet G. Picon, a French army officer who used his spirit of north African oranges and quinine to cure his malaria, he would have found a fast friend. That is how I feel about my homemade Amer Picon and rye whiskey.

The key ingredient, though, is Mandarine Napoleon (also my homemade recipe) which brings sweet and citrus-forward notes of mandarin oranges and cognac. For a Manhattan, which this drink fully resembles, there are a lot of very French things happening: it's the perfect pairing with a Balzac novella. 

• 1 1/2 oz. rye (Rittenhouse used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/3 oz. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade used)
• 1/6 oz. Italian Amaro (1/4 oz. homemade Amer Picon used)
• maraschino cherry garnish

Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Drop the cherry in as garnish. 

Golfe Juan

 

I'm breaking out the French-themed drinks, even though not all ingredients are French in and of themselves. Golfe-Juan is a seaside resort on France's Côte d'Azur. The place has an air of tropical paradise to it with all the trappings of French tourist sites. The cocktail blends these two attitudes perfectly with European liqueurs of the golden age of cocktails and pineapple and lemon juice.

Altogether, you can possibly have as many as three European nationalities represented in one touristy cocktail: French brandy, Italian maraschino liqueur, and German kirschwasser. Don't use an American sweet kirsch. It tastes like cherry candy and you already have maraschino for that. A true kirsch, however will easily float on this drink, kicking up the alcoholic nose and giving the whole drink the boozy beachside cafe feel you are looking for.

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Korbel used but use cognac to make it more French)
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur like Luxardo
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. kirsch float (Kammer Kirsch used)

Combine all ingredients except for kirsch in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Use a bar spoon to float the kirsch on top of the drink.

Bess Arlene

I'm on a French cocktail swing again, this time with Ricard in place of Pernod and Korbel brandy as the base spirit. Whoever Bess Arlene was, I bet she was French. This cocktail of hers is all about the Parisian cafe experience--sipping a light cocktail like this as the sun sets on the Seine. 

For pastis and absinthe substitutes, Ricard is a great choice when it comes to giving a few drops of herbal pop to your sodas or lining the glass of a Sazerac. I woudn't use it in place of real absinthe in a Frappe or other all-absinthe drinks. Because it becomes a cloudy gray-brown, I also wouldn't try to treat it like the green-colored Pernod when it comes to all-Pernod drinks. But in cases like this where it only comes down to a few drops, who can tell the difference between Parisian Pernod and Mersaille's Ricard. 

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Korbel used)
• 1/2 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• club soda
• dash Pernod (Ricard used)

Pour brandy and curacao into a chilled Collins glass and fill with ice. Top with soda and add Pernod on top before stirring gently.

 

Escoffier Cocktail

 

This cocktail is named after the famous French chef school started by Auguste Escoffier. The concept is simplicity and elegance, like French cuisine. A lot of French cocktails, made for cafe sipping, are pro-forma calvados or apple brandy mixed with some aperitif wine, and this is no exception. Laird's Applejack 86 is as rich as any apple brandy. And while it doesn't have that dry French oak whiff of Normandy calvados, there's nothing wrong with mixing it with Dubonnet rouge and bittering it up with Angostura. 

• 1 1/2 oz. apple brandy or calvados (Applejack 86 used)
• 3/4 Cointreau (triple sec used)
• 3/4 Dubonnet rouge
• dash Angostura bitters
• maraschino cherry (Bada Bing cherry used)

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

Pirate's Julep

 

If you can make a Mint Julep using rum and Mandarine Napoleon, you should always do it. I understand that Bourbon has a special place in the cocktail world and that it's contribution to the Mint Julep is appreciable. That said, this version of the Julep ticks off two boxes that will make it a hit: it is a tropical tasting classic cocktail that looks and feels perfect when served correctly (i.e. it is a proper Julep), and it makes use of a French liqueur and all the exotic flavors and richness that comes with that.

In order to get this drink right, you have to master the former. Crushed ice and a Julep cup are necessary to complete the Julep experience. The crushed ice melts quickly and absorbs the warmth of the spirits and the metal cup. Condensation freezes on the sides of the cup and it will stick to your hands and the beverage napkin. It is an amazing chilling effect similar to the Swizzle. It is impressive to have a spirits-forward cocktail delivered in such an ice cold package that it is the cold, not the burn, that surprises you.

I crush ice wrapped in a napkin using a meat tenderizer or mallet. Be sure to have lots of ice on hand if you plan to make a few of these, because one tray of ice gets you about one drink.

• 6 mint leaves
• 1 tsp. orgeat or sugar syrup (brown sugar syrup used)
• 2-3 oz. gold rum (Rhum Barbancourt used)
• 1 tsp. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade version used)
• several dashes Peychaud's bitters
• mint sprig powdered sugar

Muddle syrup and mint leaves in the bottom of a metal Julep cup. Spirits and bitters and top with crushed ice. Stir to combine and chill and add ice as needed, continuing to stir until the Julep cup frosts on the outside. Wet the mint sprig in water and dip it into powdered sugar to use as a garnish. 

Marie Galante

 

Marie Galante is not a person, its a place. A small Island in the French Caribbean that cultivates sugar and is famous for a chateau and windmills that used to operate on the estate. 

While this is a rum and grapefruit cocktail, it is  La Grande Passion that sets it apart from other drinks of similar design. It is at once exotic and very French. I like how elegant this cocktail is; it has a way of being unexpectedly bright and otherworldly in its look and flavor, as quality French spirits have a tendency to be. 

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Plantation 3-Stars used)
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion
• 1/8 grapefruit slice optional

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with grapefruit slice if using fresh grapefruit.

Cannes-Cannes

This cocktail has a fun name, a pun on Cannes, France and the famous bawdy cabaret dance of Paris. I liked that it was a balanced and strong cocktail (the two seldom go hand in hand) with a double punch of rum and gin. Because the recipe specified light rum, meaning that there should be little barrel taste in the drink, I opted for Plantation's 3-Stars blend, though that is a pretty flavorful light rum. Then I was struggling with which gin to use for the second measure.

Old Tom sounded appropriate, but it would have been lost in all that grapefruit. So would a simple London dry style gin (although this is perfectly acceptable if that is what you have on hand.) Doing the smell test on several bottles, I arrived at my homemade dry gin. This steeped gin had the right piney and tannin notes to stand out past all of that juice. The combination was lovely and made this the best cocktail I had that day.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Plantation 3-Star used)
  1 1'/2 oz. dry gin (homemade bathtub gin used)
• 3 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau (triple sec used)
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except orange slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice and garnish with orange slice. 

Cat Cay

 

I have to say that this cocktail doesn't scream Bahamas to me. It rather fits into a classic cocktail profile that really mimics French cafe drinking from more than a century ago. French liqueurs like Grand Marnier and Royal Combier (which I used instead) appeared in the early 20th century with new advances in distilling and preserving the flavors of fruits and spices. 

Cognac and orange liqueur were blended in France along with other ingredients intended to prevent Malaria on long sea voyages. That didn't work as well as adding lime juice to prevent scurvy, which you see in this cocktail. The cognac and orange flavor of Combier goes so well with citrus juice and even balances it all out with the added sugar in the liqueur, that these kinds of cocktails made their way back from the high seas to take over Parisian cafe scene. 

One thing about the name, though. The cocktail recipe calls for Haitian or Martinique rum, obviously for their French style and origin, which again makes my point about it being very French in style. But why is the drink named after an island in the British Bahamas?

• 1 1/2 oz. Haitian or Martinique rum (Plantation 3-Stars used)
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used and recommended)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• lemon peel

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

Rue de Rivoli

The famous street in Paris that runs beside the Louvre and Sainte Chapelle and offers views of the Cathedral Notre Dame is the namesake of this cocktail. I don't know what that has to do with oranges, but there's plenty of orange in this cocktail.

More and more, I'm deciding that some whiskey drinks, especially when they are mostly wine or juice-heavy ingredient lists, do not need rich or characterful whiskies. Instead, you can assume that the point of the cocktail is the juicy flavors and that the whiskey you use can bolster those. In this case, I added MurLarkey orange whiskey to go with the orange juice and citrus in the wine spirits.

• 1 oz. whiskey (MurLarkey orange whiskey used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Carpano dry used)
• 1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
• 1 oz. orange juice
• orange slice

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