Poire Man's Cobbler (Death & Co. Recipe)

This little bon mot of a drink is a Pear Cobbler (a type of sweetened brandy cocktail on crushed ice). The joke comes from Poire (French for pear), which is used in the garnish and muddled into the spirits. It is one of the better Cobblers out there (keeping in mind that there are some sub-par Port and Sherry Cobblers fit only for consumption on winter holidays and even then in the privacy of your own home.

Peychaud's and Benedictine take this drink in a fun, spicy direction. But apple brandy is the main ingredient that thrusts the pear juice into relief. I don't have Calvados, but Laird's Applejack 86 is more than up to the task.

• 2 oz. Busnel VSOP Calvados (Laird's Applejack 86 used)
• 1/4 ripe Bartlett pear, cubed
• 1/4 oz. Benedictine, 
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 1 pear slice

Muddle the cubed pear in the shaker, then add the remining liquid ingredients and ice and shake. Strain over crushed ice in an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with the pear slice. 

 

Jersey Lightning

I'm not a big fan of this drink. It is another example of an apple brandy cocktail that is completely unbalanced with lime juice and no sugar. It's as if the bartender decided that apple brandy was sweet enough to handle two ounces of lime juice, which it is not.

I get where it is going, though. Lightning implies a shockingly tart drink, and this one is. Jersey is the home state of Laird's distillery. That was why I had to use the last of my Apple Jack 86 (100% apple brandy) for this cocktail. Punt E Mes blew the drink out in the other direction, adding so much earthy bitterness. I broke down and added a half teaspoon of sugar syrup because I just couldn't take it.

Here is the recipe as it is printed with notes to help fix the problems that this cocktail has.

• 2 oz. apple brandy (Laird's Apple Jack 86 used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Martini and Rossi recommended, but Punt E Mes used)
• 2 oz. lime juice (1/2 tsp. sugar syrup recommended for balance)

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

Harvard Cooler

Among "Ivy League School cocktails," a series of drinks named after schools like Princeton, Harvard and Yale to name a few, Harvard is the only university that has a soda drink as well as an "up" drink. It is super refreshing with Laird's Old Apple Brandy, a rich and sweet sipping apple brandy. There's not much to this recipe, and its simplicity is part of its smarts.

• 2 oz. apple brandy (Laird's Old Apple Brandy used)
• 1 tsp. sugar    
• sparkling water
• lemon twist

Dissolve sugar in the apple brandy at the bottom of a chilled Collins glass. Add ice and top with sparkling water. Stir and squeeze the lemon twist on top and use it as a garnish. 

Bentley

The Bentley is a part of the luxury car series of cocktails, along with the Monte Carlo, Rolls Royce, and Ferrari. Although these cars and car drinks are kind of worlds apart from each other.

The Bentley uses Dubonnet rouge as a spicy aperitif wine to blend with the apple brandy. Laird's good stuff makes this cocktail especially rich and spicy.

• 2 oz. apple brandy (Laird's used)
• 1 oz. Dubonnet rouge
• lemon twist

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

Depth Bomb

This sounds like one of those beer cocktails that you drop a shot into. It's not. It's actually way better than that. Think a whole bunch of brandy that's flavored and sweetened. And you sip it on the rocks while it gets diluted to the point that the richness abates enough to really enjoy it.

So I think that the depth in Depth Bomb refers to this drinks flavor and alcoholic potency as you try to take on this much brandy in one cocktail.

• 2 oz. brandy (Cognac please!)
• 1 oz. apple brandy (Laird's Old Apple Brandy used)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. 

Bunny Bonanza

This cocktail transforms your tequila into a rich and autumnal sipper similar to an Old Fashioned. I made it--because of its name--for Easter. I used Sauza anejo, a very smoky and scotch-like aged tequila--and Laird's apple brandy, which is very old and rich. This is aided along with real maple syrup (which is actually very in season now!)

• 2 oz. tequila (Sauza anejo used)
• 1 oz. apple brandy (Laird's used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 tsp. maple syrup
• 3 dashes triple sec
• lemon slice

Combine all ingredients except lemon slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass and garnish with the lemon slice.

Tulip

Tired of those fizzy Daisies? Drink a Tulip. This is a very rich and dessert-like drink, or at least one for after dinner. There's a gooey wallop of apple brandy and sweet vermouth in here. There's also Angostura bitters, so it is interesting. It doesn't change much as it warms up, though far from a one-note drink. Apples and wine are the dominant flavors, not apricot, as you might think. The lemon juice doesn't do much to take it in a tart direction, only enough to reinforce the apple pie flavors.

• 2 oz. apple brandy or calvados (Laird's Old Apple Brandy used)
• 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
•  1/2 oz. apricot brandy
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

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

Big Apple

The Big Apple is really a big drink, and a good one. The recipe calls for it in a parfait glass because the quantity and the look it is going for seems appropriate to such a large dessert container. This is a frozen cocktail, a smoothie of a drink, but it tastes like apple cider slush.

I recommend using real cider over apple juice that might be cut with other fruit juices. That's the first bit of advice I think holds true. Second, make this with real apple brandy and not with applejack, which doesn't really have any flavor to speak of. I used Laird's Old Apple Brandy, which has a rich apple flavor and a good alcoholic kick.

Amaretto is the secret ingredient that holds everything together. I'm fond of the cookie sweet Amaretto Lazzaroni on my bar. It adds a little sweetness where the other ingredients tend to taste pretty hollow by themselves.

This is a big fall treat and perfect for a day of apple picking.

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1/2 oz. amaretto
• 1 tbsp. apple sauce
• 3 oz. apple cider
• pinch of cinnamon

Combine all ingredients except cinnamon in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a parfait glass or highball. Add pinch of cinnamon on top.

Vanity Fair

This is a very opulent cocktail in terms of ingredients, not presentation. It has a jumbled and dessert-like quality that reminds me of tiramisu. It's not that the drink tastes creamy, it is just that there are many things going on, and all of them contribute to a general flavor direction, but some flavors contend with each other for your attention. It's best not to have too much of this drink, as it becomes cloying after a few sips.

Laird's Apple Brandy, Kammer Kirschwasser, Lazzaroni Amaretto, and Luxardo maraschino liqueur make this cocktail a heavily sweet brandy and cordial cocktail. I recommend splitting the glass up into three shots to be shared with a holiday dessert. 

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 tbsp. amaretto

Combine all ingredients except amaretto in a mixing glass with ice (the NY Bartender's guide says to shake, but don't) and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float amaretto on top. 

KGB

I wasn't sure if this cocktail was an allusion to the Soviet intelligence agency or some other acronym. I decided it was the latter because of the ingredients: kirsch, gin, and brandy. Then I looked more closely at the recipe and it is apricot brandy that the recipe called for, so that would make it a KGAB--not as cool sounding. Maybe this is a drink about the communists after all. Having no apricot brandy, and knowing how that stuff tends to have an almost body wash like scent, I opted for apple brandy. The combination I chose was strong and liquor scented with a little oakiness from the Laird's apple brandy and Bluecoat barreled reserve gin. Kirsch was what stood out, with that familiar cherry scent.

• 3/4 oz. kirschwasser
• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat barrel reserve used)
• 1/2 tsp. apricot brandy (Laird's apple brandy used)

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