Enchanted Orchard (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Now we are getting into those thoroughly fall-style cocktails with apple cinnamon flavors. I'm going to be going in this direction for several weeks, each post being progressively more autumnal. 

This cocktail is unusual among its brethren in having pisco be the main ingredients. Yes there is apple cinnamon and spice, but the pisco is very neutral and yet still a fruit brandy spirit. I like the addition of pineapple juice and applejack to produce an exotic apple taste without there being any fresh apple juice present. All in all, this is a chameleon of a cocktail. As soon as you think you have it figured out, the Benedictine  or the pineapple juice or honey snap your taste buds in a different direction. 

• 1 1/2 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 1/2 oz. calvados (Laird's applejack 86 used)
• 1/2 oz. Benedictine
• 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. acacia honey syrup
• 1 cinnamon stick garnish

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a double rocks glass with one large ice cube. Garnish with the cinnamon stick.

Peachy Pachacuti (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Yogurt is a great addition in mixed drinks, whether or not they are alcoholic. Consider the Mango Lassi, for example. This is similar to the Mango Lassi, but with peaches and pisco. The Death & Co. bartender who invented it said he came up with it in a cocktail competition in Peru and used the name of one of the Inca emperors to sway the judges. 

You be the judge of this one: I loved the proportions--not a milkshake or a sour bomb. Ripe peaches are all natural and there is no fake flavor there. Pisco is a strange choice of spirit and if one is not in Peru, I could see almost any spirit except for absinthe (and that's still a maybe in my book) as a good choice for this very cosmopolitan cocktail.

• 3 ripe peach slices
• 2 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. honey syrup
• 1 tsp Greek yogurt

Muddle peach slices in a shaker tin. Add the remaining ingredients and shake with ice. Double strain into a snifter with one large ice cube. 

Soul Clench (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This grape and grapefruit spirit cocktail has everything but juice. There's pisco and vermouth for the main notes, but accents of elderflower and spice from St-Germain and falernum. 

There is also an unusual ingredient known as Combier Pamplemousse Rose Liqueur. This is made from the juice and peel of grapefruit steeped in cognac--and it's lovely. I knocked it off with the peel of one grapefruit and one ounce of its juice infused into 2 oz. of vodka and one oz. of cognac for about twelve hours. A lovely taste and very brilliant, but I only made enough for two drinks. 

• 2 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Combier Pamplemousse Rose Liqueur (homemade used: see above)
• 1/2 oz. oz. St-Germain
• 1/4 oz. falernum (homemade used)
• 1 grapefruit twist garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass full of ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the grapefruit peel over the glass and drop it in. 

Mucho Picchu (Death & Co.)

 

This cocktail name sounds like a bar inside joke--a pun on Machu Picchu. I don't get the reference, but it's ingredients are sound, as are most of the champagne cocktails in the Death & Co. recipe book. Unusual for a champagne cocktail, the juice is grapefruit and there are no bitters other than the maraschino, which is more sweet than bitter. The grapefruit twist is both attractive and aromatic with the bubbles coming up all around. 

This is one of the better ways to use Pisco (a grape spirit itself) by putting it in a sparkling wine. The number of ingredients is small and easy to prepare. All that is required is an open bottle of Chandon. 

• 1 1/2 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 1/4 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• dry champagne (Chandon used)
• grapefruit twist garnish

Combine all liquid ingredients except champagne in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne. Twist grapefruit zest over the drink and drop it in. 

Lilly's Cartel (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Perhaps one of the largest category of cocktail in Death & Co.'s book is the champagne section. There are just so many cocktails you can make with champagne or sparkling wine. I'm using Cava, which is dry but doesn't have the same bread-like notes in the nose we associate with a good dry champagne. But a good champagne is worth appreciating by itself, so as long as your sparkling wine isn't sweet, most of these drinks are worth doing with sparkling wine or champagne. 

Blood orange juice is a rare ingredient that is seasonal. It also varies in sweetness a lot between oranges, so it isn't always a reliable juice. I fully understand why blood oranges are more interesting to work with than naval oranges, but I can't expect to get them like I can any other kind of orange. 

That is why I chose to use half naval orange juice and my blood orange infused spirit. This liquor is an infusion of blood orange peels as well as their juices in vodka that is sweetened by blood orange syrup made from the juice. It is really intense in its particular flavor, and after mixing it with naval orange juice, you only notice the blood orange. 

Other minor substitutes include using Don Ciccio & Figli Ambrosia for Aperol. 

• 1 oz. pisco (Capel pisco used)
• 3/4 oz. Aperol (Ambrosia used)
• 3/4 oz. blood orange juice (naval orange juice and blood orange liquor used)
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup (scant 1/2 oz. used)
• dry champagne (Aria cava used)

Combine all ingredients except for champagne in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute and top with champagne. 

Piscola (Chilean with Mexican Coke)

At China Chilcano I tried the Piscola, a Pisco & Coke, with Mexican Coke. Pisco Control C is Chilean pisco that is unaged and drier than some piscos. It is made from muscatel and Pedro Ximenez grapes. It stands out more than a Coke and Bacardi, with its floral nose.

Mexican Coke is another find at China Chilcano because it is made with real sugar. This tastes less bitter than the U.S. formula and is very suited to mixing with pisco.

• 2 oz. pisco (Control C used at China Chilcano)
• Coke (Mexican used)
• lime wedge

Build drink in a Collins glass with pisco and ice. Top with coke and garnish with the lime slice. 

Chufly (China Chilcano)

Singani is the national spirit of Bolivia, and the Chufly is the main cocktail they do with it. Singani is an all grape juice spirit that is made from muscat grapes grown at a very high altitude. It is not aged in oak, so it is clear in color, but has a wonderfully floral and sometimes spicy flavor. Singani is sweet, usually sweeter than pisco, the grape spirit made in neighboring Peru and Chile.

So the Chufly is not a Spanish word. Nor is the cocktail something that the Spanish would have drank when they introduced distilling to Bolivia hundreds of years ago. As with many South American traditions, there's a bit of a rivalry between countries who claim they started them. The Chufly is nearly identical to the Chilcano of Chile, a pisco, lime juice and ginger ale drink. The difference is that the Chufly is not served long but in a rocks glass with less ginger ale so you can taste the singani. I had a bartender make this one with Rujero Singani

• 2 oz. Singani (Rujero used at China Chilcano)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• ginger ale
• lime slice

Build drink in an Old Fashioned glass with singani and lime juice first. Add ice and top with ginger ale. Stir gently and garnish with lime slice.

Colchique

This drink is intended to evoke Alpine flowers in autumn, but I'm going to make it for spring anyway. After all, floral notes are more in vogue in the spring and richer spices are called for in fall. For this drink I got to use St. Germain elderflower liqueur and a dash of orange blossom water, both of which have a potent blossom aroma. I also used the last of my bottle of Machu Pisco, a fitting end to a terrific run of grape spirit drinks.

• 2 1/2 oz. pisco
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• dash orange blossom water
• orange twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coup or cocktail glass (coup shown). Garnish with orange twist.

Pisco Punch

I've seen many recipes for Pisco Punch. It's a San Francisco classic from the gold rush era. Historians like David Wondrich point out that gomme syrup with pineapple is an important ingredient. Other historical recipes point to cocaine as the secret ingredient, so it seems there's a lot of room for variations. I decided to make an instant version--not one that requires soaking the pineapple pieces, but not one so quick that you can just decorate with the pieces either. See what I did below.

• 3 oz. pisco
• 3-5 chunks of pineapple
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. pineapple syrup (from homemade recipe) 
• pineapple spear or leaves

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Muddle pineapple chunks until they are thoroughly squeezed into the pisco. Add ice and shake vigorously. Double strain, with a cocktail strainer and a mesh screen to catch large pineapple chunks, into a wine goblet full of fresh ice. Garnish with a pineapple spear or leaves.

Chilcano de Pisco

At first I thought that a ginger ale drink with pisco would be a waste of good single grape pisco, much like a ginger ale and single barrel bourbon drink wastes good whiskey. It turned out not to be true since I had good ingredients. Bruce Cost ginger ale is my go to ginger ale. It's sweet, unlike really spicy ginger beers, but it also has fresh ginger pieces and a fresh natural flavor. I was very surprised and pleased to enjoy a tall drink that was sufficiently strong and exotic tasting for a soda drink.

• 2 oz. pisco
• 6 oz. ginger ale
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

Build drink in a highball glass with lemon juice and pisco at the bottom. Add ice to the top and and fill with ginger ale. Stir gently and enjoy.

Watermellon Wine Sangria

I just came up with this recipe to make a nice end-of-summer drink with a bottle of Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine. In case you are wondering, it is a grape wine with watermelon juice to make it sweet, but it still has a strong grape aroma. I added pisco and soda along with a few other fruits to finish off the Sangria.

• 1 orange
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 3 oz. pisco
• 1 bottle Alison's Wonderful Watermelon Wine
• 1/2 bottle of club soda

In a large container, combine cut wheels of fruit, pisco, and entire contents of wine bottle. Refrigerate for an hour. Serve in a wine glass topped with soda.

Pisco Sour

Man, there is really nothing like a Pisco Sour for something that tastes original. That's because pisco itself is only found in Peru (except Chilean knock-offs) and it is made with only fermented grape juice. So unlike brandy, cognac, grappa and marc, it is the only grape spirit that doesn't include peels and stems. It tastes so clean and spicy, but when mixed with egg white and citrus, it has a complex and lasting flavor that's good any time of the year.

• 2 oz. pisco
• 1/2 oz. lemon or lime juice (or a combo of both)
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• 1/2 egg white
• dash of Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients except bitters in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass (or pour into a highball glass). Top with bitters.

Genoa (Second Attempt)

With the proper ingredients and no mistakes, the Genoa is a solid and flavorful before-dinner drink. The flavors of liquorish, olive brine, juniper, and wine went very well together without any one taking over. That's because the amount of Sambuca was minimal compared to the rest of the ingredients. Watch out for this drink. All together it packs a huge alcoholic punch. I was like, "that bus is about to crash into my glass!"

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 1/2 oz. grappa
• 1/2 oz. Sambuca
• 1/2 tsp. dry vermouth
• olive

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

Raffaello

This was a very pleasing Italian liqueur drink that I was able to actually make according to the recipe, one that calls for pisco.

Pisco is unaged brandy made in South American countries like Peru. This drink was a great combination of sharp pisco flavor and rich Galliano.

• 1/2 oz. Pisco
• 1/2 oz. Galliano
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• dash bitters
• dash Grand Marnier

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