Anchors Aweigh

Anchors Aweigh refers to the moment the hoisted anchor clears the sea floor, indicating a ship's departure. It is when the weight of the anchor is suspended by the ship, not the sea floor, so it is "aweigh."

This drink may refer to this term directly, or it might be named after the U.S. Navy's march the popular musical of the same name. Still, its nautical origin puts it in league with other Maritime cocktails like the Seaboard. It is fairly sweet and dessert-like with its primary flavors being peach and orange cream.

The recipe calls for cherry liqueur and peach brandy, but I opted for Bird Dog peach whiskey, which matches up with the drink's base spirit, bourbon. Bird Dog peach whiskey was a good choice. It has oak and vanilla flavors of whiskey but a funny artificial peach flavor similar to peach schnapps. It is less sweet than Southern Comfort, which is good, considering that sweet Cherry Heering is my go-to cherry liqueur for this drink.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon
• 2 tsp. triple sec (Luxardo Triplum used)
• 2 tsp. peach brandy (Bird Dog peach whiskey used)
• 2 tsp. cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering used)
• 2 tbsp. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker (or blender) and shake (or blend) and pour into a double Old Fashioned glass. 

Seaboard

The word seaboard refers to the direction toward the coast, so it is fitting for such a light and tropical punch drink. And when I say punch, don't assume that this drink is weak by any means. It belongs to a maritime family of cocktails that include Navy Grog, the Poop Deck, Any Port In A Storm, and a number of Admiral themed drinks. You see that these drinks are pretty stiff with a combination of gin (always presents) and maybe a rum or whiskey. The liquors don't always suggest the tropics, but they imply the presence of stiff English gin and other colonial spirits consumed by sailors on those trans-Atlantic voyages.

• 2 oz. whiskey (Black Velvet Special Reserve used)
• 1 oz. gin (Vigilant London Dry used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• mint sprig

Combine all ingredients except for mint sprig in a shaker full of ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. Garnish with the mint sprig.