Winter Cocktails Trio

 

Winter Mule

Sometimes you want a refreshingly light and juicy cocktail with crushed ice even when it is cold outside. Sometimes a cocktail in pretty Mule mugs is also a must. That's where this recipe hits the spot. 

Simple Times Mixers makes a cranberry apple cider mule mix that is perfect for winter sipping (and making non-alcoholic cocktails as well.) The recipe on the back recommends using whiskey or rum, which is nice, but I also enjoy the taste of Laird's Applejack 86 since this is going for apple flavors as well. 

The only downside to using this Simple Times product and spirit alone is that the ginger flavor is very understated, while apple and cranberry are in the foreground. I miss a spicy ginger mule taste, so I augmented the recipe further with my own ginger-infused brandy. You can use King's Ginger or a  ginger brandy from one of the economy flavored brandy producers like Jacquin's. It is best if it is a brand-based flavor to give the drink a nice gingersnap taste. 

• 1 1/2  oz. Laird's Applejack 86 or apple brandy
• 1 oz. ginger brandy
• 3 oz. Simple Times Mixers apple cranberry mule

Shake all ingredients and strain into a chilled mule mug full of crushed ice. Stir with stir straws and add more crushed ice. (This will get a nice frost on the outside of the mugs.) Garnish with a lime slice and serve with two stir straws.

 

Highland Cream Cocktail--Scotch and sherry are excellent mixing companions. Whether it is McCallan 12 and a bone-dry fino or a blend and cream sherry, there is a range of sweetness you can control with the addition of sherry. Scotch is often finished in sherry casks, oloroso and PX make for some of the richest flavors we have come to appreciate in scotch. This cocktail does that with a bourbon finished scotch and an especially rich sherry: Lustau East India Solera.

Bourbon finished scotches like Speyburn Bradan Orach are becoming more popular because bourbon barrels can only be used once for bourbon. Scotch has no such rule, and Scottish distillers are snapping up these American oak barrels to finish their beautifully dry and oaky tasting whisky. But I still miss the sherry finish of some of the oldest scotches--you pay a premium for it. Nowadays, the price of a sherry cask finished scotch is between ten and fifty dollars more than a bourbon finished scotch. That's the beauty of adding that sherry flavor back to the whiskey yourself. Round it all out with Aztec and aromatic bitters and a Luxardo cherry, and you have an especially rich treat for winter sipping.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon finished scotch like Speyburn Bradan Orach
• 1 oz. Lustau East India Solera sherry
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes Fee Brothers Aztec bitters
• Luxardo cherry garnish

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

 

Agave Old Fashioned

It's not whiskey or tequila, but Mt. Defiance anejo agave spirit is somewhere in between. It has loads of vanilla and oak and not much bitterness at all. That's what makes it an excellent ingredient in an Old Fashioned. 

For this cocktail, I used simple syrup and not agave syrup, which might sound a bit like a mistake. Trust me, agave syrup is way sweeter and thicker. It's fine for citrus drinks where the sweetness is cut with acid, but it makes Old Fashioneds taste like rock candy. 

Outside the classic recipe, I used a squeeze of a lime zest rubbed on the rim and a flamed orange peel dropped into the glass. In addition to Angostura bitters, I used one dash of Fee Brothers Aztec bitters for a cinnamon and cocoa note appropriate for the holidays. Cheers!

• 2 oz. Mt. Defiance anejo agave spirit
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec bitters
• lime peel zest
• orange peel flamed as garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass over a large ice cube. Twist lime peel over the glass and rub it around the rim before discarding. Flame orange peel over the glass and drop it in as a garnish. 

 

Howlin' At The Moon (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

I was looking for a fun spring seasonal Old Fashioned that I had the ingredients for and it turns out I needed this. I was most intrigued that this cocktail is made with Bols Barrel-Aged Genever, which doesn't get a lot of attention in the cocktail world for its being very divergent from London dry gin. But that is all to Bols' advantage when making an Old Fashioned variation. 

I also happened to have cherry bark bitters since my early days of bartending. Making bark bitters is as easy as infusing bark in high-proof spirits. This little bottle of mine also includes blossoms and green tea and it is very bitter. There's also creme de cacao for some chocolate sweetness and the traditional orange twist. But the addition of the lemon twist in the mixing glass was new to me and gave the drink a refreshingly light nose. 

• 1 lemon twist
• 2 oz. Bols Barrel-Aged Genever
• 2 tsp. white creme de cacao
• 1/2 tsp. cane sugar syrup
• 2 dashes cherry bark bitters
• 1 orange twist garnish
  

Muddle lemon twist in a mixing glass before adding ice and the remaining ingredients. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with one large ice cube in it. Twist the orange zest over the glass and drop it in.

The Green And Orange (Original Cocktail)

I'm celebrating St. Patrick's Day with Irish and Irish-American whiskies. Tullamore Dew is the well-known Irish whiskey brand in this Old Fashioned redux. MurLarkey distillery makes an interesting orange whiskey that is well suited to Old Fashioned recipes on its own but benefits from the mellowing effects of its Irish forebear.

Here I was going for a color combination of a cocktail that would evoke the dispirit hues of the Irish flag and its problematic history. Interesting how the orange is supplied by the local Virginia distillers. The cara cara orange slice and green maraschino cherry accentuate the sweetness of this drink as well as the color scheme.

• 1 1/2 oz. Tullamore DEW Irish whiskey
• 1 1/2 oz. MurLarkey orange whiskey
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters
• Orange slice and green cherry garnish

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

Fancy Whiskey

There's a few "Fancy" themed cocktails that are really close to an Old Fashioned served up. No stirring though, this is a shaken drink. And the portion is a little small for a cocktail glass. I say use a cordial glass like this Sour glass.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Filibuster Boondoggler used)
• 1/2 tsp. Cointreau
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except for the twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (cordial glass recommended). Twist lemon peel over the drink and garnish with it. 

Whiskey Sangaree

As I've said before, Sangaree is just another word for punch that was used during colonial times. I imagine that this cocktail is the single-serving version similar to that shared between Native Americans and colonists, if not a little stronger.

What we have here is an Old Fashioned with porto dessert wine instead of fresh fruit. Here's the rundown.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Seagram's 7 used)
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. water
• 1 tbsp. ruby port

Combine sugar and water in an Old Fashioned glass and stir until sugar dissolves. Add whiskey and ice and stir. Float port on top.

Brandy Old Fashioned

This is yet another rendition of the most popular cocktail of 2016. The Old Fashioned has taken bars by storm. What's next? A Slivovitz Old Fashioned? Maybe!

I got these Angostura bitters from my sister on Christmas. These are very spicy and add a lot of character to the brandy. Catoctin Creek 1757 Reserve brandy is a very whiskey-like brandy already. The recipe calls for several dashes of the bitters. I recommend three or more, because you can have a brandy that really goes soft on you if you don't. I also recommend using an American brandy, not Cognac. You don't need a velvety smooth brandy here. Something with character stands up better.

• 3 oz.  brandy (Catoctin Creek 1757 Reserve used)
• sugar cube
• splash water
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• lemon twist

Add sugar, bitters and water to an Old Fashioned glass and muddle until the sugar dissolves. Add brandy and stir. Squeeze lemon twist over the glass and drop it in.

Rum Old Fashioned

This is such a good idea, I wholly support it. Just use a rich rum and make an Old Fashioned in the glass. Here's the rub, if you have a good demerara sugar rum, why just use it as a topper?

I have to keep in mind that the NY Bartender's guide I'm blogging on is from the early 90s and it was unlikely that anyone would have a good rum other than Bacardi Silver, so this is a compromise. There's also the function of making cocktails of spreading out the good stuff so you get drunk on good flavors without breaking the bank.

This is still a great drink. I used Mad River First Run rum, with is a rum produced from rich cane sugar, not molasses, and aged in new oak barrels (or formerly bourbon barrels, depending on who you ask at the distillery.) It is strong and flavorful. You can see it sitting on top of the white rum and sugar mixture. The lime twist is a nice touch.

For real Old Fashioned fans, I would recommend this adjustment:

Make the Old Fashioned with a lemon peel and brown sugar muddled in a splash of soda until it dissolves. Add bitters and ice and stir the demerara rum in. The recipe as it stands is as follows:

• 2 oz. white rum 
• 1 tbsp. 151-proof (or overproof) demerara rum
• 1/2 tsp. simple syrup
• dash Angostura bitters (Hella aromatic bitters used)
• lime twist

Combine bitters and simple syrup in an Old Fashioned glass. Add ice and stir. Add white rum and stir again. Top with demerara rum and lime twist.

Canadian Old Fashioned

The Canadian Old Fashioned is not really an Old Fashioned in the bitters, sugar cube and stirring the cocktail in the glass sense. Canadian's, it seems don't have time for stirring, muddling sugar, and fussing over a drink. This is as much a virtue as a detractor, because I've enjoyed this little cocktail and made many similar lately for people I serve at my bar. It's cold, it's smooth and it goes down easy.

There's no maple syrup in the Canadian Old Fashioned, despite the trend of putting syrup in all Canadian themed drinks. No raspberries either. But orange and lemon twists are called for. I used Hella Aromatic Bitters but Angostura are just as good.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1 tsp. triple sec
• dash lemon juice
• dash Angostura bitters
• orange twist
• lemon twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with twists.

Smoked Maple Old Fashioned

Not actually the oldest drink in the lexicon, the Old Fashioned hearkens back to days where bitters were in regular use and whiskey was the king spirit in America. It's been about eighty years since then and you will find Old Fashioned cocktails being ordered non stop at the top bars in D.C. This is one you will be lucky to experience either at home or at a bar with an extensive whiskey list.

I decided that Knob Creek's smoked maple bourbon would make an awesome addition to the traditional (not fruit laden) Old Fashioned. The whiskey is sweet enough itself not to require a cherry or whole orange slice, but it is also strong enough to make this double sized drink fit for a king.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey
• 1 1/2 oz. Knob Creek smoked maple bourbon
• 1 brown sugar cube
• several dashes angostura bitters
• lemon peel
• splash of water

Build drink in a double Old Fashioned glass with sugar cube and a splash of water. Muddle mixture until the sugar is dissolved in the water. Add whiskeys and ice and stir until chilled. Squeeze lemon peel over the drink and drop in.

Tequila Old Fashioned

Sauza has redesigned their bottles to emphasize the rooster in their coat of arms. I think it is an inspired label with a giant cock to look at while you drink tequila. Camilla, our chicken ornament, has made an appearance to add colorful fluff for the occasion. In case you are wondering, this is nothing like the Old Fashioned with whiskey. It is solidly a gold tequila drink with bitters and cherry, and there's nothing wrong with that. In fact, it goes with the mariachi music you can hear playing on the streets in Mexico, so ask for this next time you are south of the border.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• cherry
• table sugar
• club soda

Combine a tablespoon of club soda, bitters, and sugar at the bottom of an Old Fashioned glass. Add ice and tequila and stir. Garnish with the cherry.