Savane

 

If you live in Virginia, you don't have to look far for distilleries. In fact, you can make a cocktail that is a perfect escape from the ordinary, an exotic vacation, with spirits made only in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Savane is a rum-forward cocktail with acidity and spice. You can think of it as a version of a classic Daiquiri with tropical spices. Swap out lemon for lime juice and throw in banana and a coricopia of equatorial spices from the world tropic zones and you get what I mean.

Here we have Vitae's platinum rum as the base spirit. Vitae is a rum distillery in Charlottesville and Platinum is their flagship rum. MurLarkey's banana whiskey adds ripe fruit taste from an infusion of dried bananas in white whiskey. MurLarkey is known as a whiskey distillery, but they also make vodka and gin. Finally, I made falernum from Blue Sky distillery's Black Beard's Point rum. Blue Sky makes light and spiced rums as well as vodka and gin. 

It all comes together in this colonial cocktail in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum 
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. banana liqueur (MurLarkey Banana whiskey used) 
• 1 tsp. falernum (homemade used)

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

Prince Street Cocktail (Original Recipe)

Old Town Alexandria needs its own cocktail associated with its colonial history, something classic and regal to contrast it from New York's Manhattan and Chicago's Southside. I give you the Prince Street Cocktail, named after one of Old Town's more pristine cobblestone streets.

This cocktail is based on the Bonnie Prince, a gin, Lillet Blanc and Drambuie cocktail of similar proportions. For this cocktail, I really upped the amount of Drambuie to add richness--look at that honey color! The flavor then becomes one of spiced wine, heather and old whisky. For the gin, I chose northern Virginia's ImaGination gin from MurLarkey Distillery. There's so much spice (Drambuie and ImaGination) and orange flavor(from Lillet and the twist), that Prince Street tastes as decadent as the Royal name it carries. 

• 2 oz. MurLarkey ImaGination Gin
• 1/2 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz. Drambuie
• orange twist

Combine all ingredients except for orange twist in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist.

Krautini (Combo)

I was struck by inspiration when I was drinking a Dirty Martini after work. The olive brine in a cocktail is pleasing and appetizing and really goes well with salty food like nuts and pretzels. Why then, with the exception of the Gibson, are there so few savory Martinis?

The idea of pickled cabbage suggested itself as I fixed a bratwurst for dinner. Why not make a Martini with a little of the cabbage juice in it. I tried it two ways, a gin and a vodka drink, and with two kinds of sour kraut, the white and the red cabbage. The one constant was the Rivata dry vermouth with its heavy herbal notes and slight cabbage scent.

Both drinks worked out really well. the white cabbage juice with MurLarkey Divine Clarity vodka was a great combo. Divine Clarity already has a slight bitter dullness (I detect, but no one else seems to think so) that lends itself well to olive and wine cocktails. The white cabbage made this Dirty Martini variation sour with vinegar zip that was every bit as interesting as a standard Dirty Martini.

The red cabbage juice added to MurLarkey ImaGination gin was sweeter but earthy, a bitterness well suited to rosemary and basil notes you find in the gin. Here is the recipe with proportions that work as well for one as another.

•  3 oz. gin or vodka (MurLarkey ImaGination gin or Divine Clarity vodka)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Rivata Italian used)
• 1 tsp. sour kraut juice (red or white)

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Gingersnap

I've been waiting for a long time to make this cocktail, weighing making my own ginger wine or using a store-bought liqueur being part of my hesitancy. But a cold snap finally made up my mind and I went with a homemade ginger liqueur to pull this one off. The reason for my hesitancy is that the recipe calls for ginger wine, a spirit you brew yourself like a beer but with sugar water and fresh ginger using wine yeast. Who does that? Even I was daunted by the process.

I felt that the flavor of ginger wine, however would be more authentic, and funky tasting than a store bought ginger liqueur. My solution of a homemade liqueur was a good compromise.

Ages ago, I set aside some ginger slices in vodka. After a few days I strained out the solids and added sugar syrup. This ginger liqueur was hot and sweet, but less strong than the vodka was itself. I had just enough of it left to make this drink. I bought candied ginger and used it to good effect to flavor the drink even further.

• 3 oz. vodka (MurLarkey Divine Clarity used)
• 1 oz. ginger wine (homemade ginger liqueur used)
• sparkling water
• slice of candied ginger

Combine vodka and ginger wine in a Collins glass with ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with candied ginger. 

Old Etonian

I'm reposting the Old Etonian cocktail as one of the rare classic drinks that use creme de noyaux. This is not even one of the cocktails in the New York Bartender's guide, but it is one of my favorites and I wanted to try it with my new bottle of creme de noyaux by Tempus Fugit. This creme is very classic itself. It goes back to the days when cremes were consumed by themselves--they were twice as strong then, as Tempus Fugit cremes are today--and were not thought of as cheap liqueurs that seldom get used.

This cocktail had its origins in England and pays tribute to Eaton College, a boys boarding school for those with wealth and influence.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 1/2 oz. Lillet blanc
• 2 dashes Creme de Noyaux (Tempus Fugit used)
• 2 dashes orange bitters (Hella used) 

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

Brandy Alexander

This is the most common cocktail of the Alexander family of dessert drinks, the original Alexander being made with gin. It is an easy recipe to remember because it is equal parts brandy, chocolate liqueur and half-and-half and topped with nutmeg sprinkles.

I'm making this Brandy Alexander very American by using east coast ingredients: namely, the Copper & Kings brandy and MurLarkey chocolate whiskey. As I often state with MurLarkey flavored whiskeys, there is no sugar. If you want your drink to be sweet, and you do with the Alexander drinks, you have to add sugar.

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Copper & Kings used)
• 1 1/2 oz. dark creme de cacao (MurLarkey coco whiskey and 1 tsp. sugar)
• 1 1/2 oz. half-and-half
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. 

Creamsicle

There's lots of ways to get the vanilla flavor into a Creamsicle cocktail. You can add vanilla extract or use a vanilla liqueur. I infused Divine Clarity vodka with a vanilla bean and added sugar to it to make a vanilla vodka.

The cocktail is designed to taste like an orange ice cream pop, and it does. More or less of any ingredient throws off the balance and you notice that it is actually alcoholic or that it is too sweet.Follow this recipe to get the exact flavor that was intended.

For making the vanilla vodka: infuse one vanilla bean in a cup of vodka for two weeks. Remove the bean and add 1 oz. of sugar syrup and store it in an airtight container. Now here's the recipe.

• 2 oz. vanilla liqueur (vanilla vodka used)
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 2 oz. half-and-half
• orange slice

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Garnish with the orange twist. 

Grand Royal Fizz

Now that I'm focusing on Fizzes right now, there's no reason not to do the Grand Royal Fizz. It's been so hot and a Fizz, even a creamy one, will cool you down and relax your brain quickly. This Fizz differs from many others by having no egg. Instead there is half-and-half and orange juice. I fresh squeezed all the juice for this drink so it was amazingly fresh tasting!

• 2 oz. gin (ImaGination gin used) 
• 1 tsp. maraschino liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. half-and-half
• sparkling water (Perrier used)

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a shaker with ice. (Hint: add half-and-half last to avoid allowing it to curdle in the citrus.) Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. 

Woodstock

I usually have my doubts about cocktails that go for a maple syrup sweetener, especially ones calling for a whole tablespoon of the stuff. I was more then pleasantly surprised when this turned out to be an amazing combination. Not only that, I felt that this really highlighted some of ImaGination gin's darker notes like rosemary and grains of paradise.

I'm sure it helped that I used real Vermont maple of a slightly darker grade as well. Tasting this drink, though really made me feel like I was enjoying an amazing culinary experience that I wanted to repeat.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey Distillery ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. maple syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella orange bitters used)

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

(White) Whiskey And Tonic

When is it O.K. to make a Whiskey and Tonic? When you use white whiskey and Q Indian Tonic or some other high-juniper tonic. That is because you get all the flavorful corn and tequila-like notes of a white whiskey like MurLarkey's Justice and the juniper flavor you usually associate with a gin.

There's lots of drinks you can make with white whiskey. It plays well with citrus in drinks like Margaritas, but you can also go sweet like an Eggnog or some kind of rum punch.

This is a simple recipe you can make if you don't feel like thinking too much about making cocktails, or it turns out that you don't happen to have any gin on hand.

• 1 1/2 oz. white whiskey (MurLarkey Justice used)
• Q Indian Tonic or high-juniper tonic
• lime wedge

Build drink in a rocks glass with whiskey and ice and top with tonic. Stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

White Spider

This is such a simple recipe and one that will impress people who like mint and candy canes. It is simply two parts vodka to one part white creme de menthe. When you shake it hard you get a cool white translucent effect in the liquid that gives the drink this fitting name.

People complain that mint liqueurs give drinks a mouthwash flavor, but I think that compared to vodka alone, the mint flavor is nice. More like a breath mint, which can come in handy if you are in need of a mint.

• 2 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe

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

Pluggy's Favorite

Historically, the only Pluggy I know of was a Mohawk chieftain who allied with the British in the 1770's raiding settlements in the west from his base near present day Columbus, Ohio. While it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for a Mohawk to love absinthe in those days, I wonder if my conjecture about the origin of this drink are way off the mark.

More likely, Pluggy was a nickname for a guy who really liked his anise liqueur. The recipe I have calls for Pernod, which is all the sweetness this drink really needs. Then I chose MurLarkey distillery's ImaGination Gin for the other main spirit because it has a spicy coriander, cardamon, celery and szechuan peppercorns that add bitter spice to their botanical blend.

All that is left, and I have to think that this is intentional, is an equal measure of water to allow the botanicals to release from the liquor and create this milky color.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 2 oz. gin (ImaGination used)
• 2 oz. water

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

Gin and Sin

It's tart and juicy and you almost don't notice the gin hiding beneath it. Such a cocktail could exist now in today's cocktail culture. It is a good way to introduce people to gin and get them sinning along with the rest of us. The proportion of juice is very high, and the drink is an attractive color.

But I'm sure this is an old classic, a hangover from Prohibition when gin was dreadful and a lot of juice was necessary to drown out the flavor of bad booze. Notice too the suggestion that drinking is sinful. You won't hear that nowadays, though.

Local to the Virginia distilling scene, gin keeps getting better. I used MurLarkey ImaGination gin with its earthy botanical blend and firm grain flavor. This is the same gin that took bronze at the San Francisco Spirits Festival this year.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 2 oz. orange juice 
• 2 dashes of grenadine (a little more of homemade grenadine used)

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