Tommy And The Ron-Dels (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This is almost like having a Tiki redux cocktail in a handy Old Fashioned glass. It's got all the wild, exotic flavors of the Carbbean spirits mixed with the most herbaceous spirits of Europe. The Death & Co. recipe calls for Ron Del Barrilito Puerto Rican rum, which is where the name comes from. But it is also the base recipe for a Margarita by this bartender there named Tommy. 

Often enough, I find that I want to enjoy tequila and mezcal in ways that don't involve lime juice or take the form of a Margarita. This was different enough that I took it for what it was--something far richer than an ordinary Margarita.

• 3/4 oz. reposado tequila
• 1/4 oz. Del Maugey mezcal
• 1 oz. Ron Del Barrilito 3-star rum (George Boman used)
• 1/2 oz. Galliano
• 1 dash absinthe (Ricard used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. agave nectar
• 1 dash tiki bitters (Angostura used)
• 1 lime wheel garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the lime wheel. 

The Joy Division (Death & Co. Recipe)

I'm often looking for a different take on a Gin Martini. The Joy Division appealed to me because I was feeling like enjoying French ingredients and you can easily make this cocktail without leaving the country of France with its gin, wines, and liqueurs. 

Here I've chosen Citadelle dry gin principally because it is French, but also because it is dry and of such a quality that you can replace Beefeater with it and only improve your cocktail. The recipe calls for Cointreau, and triple sec is a fair substitution, but I wanted Royal Combier for the spice and orange of this French liqueur. Finally absinthe and Dolin dry make this an herbal cocktail like no other.

• 2 oz. dry gin (Citadelle gin used)
• 1 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau (Royal Combier used)
• 3 dashes absinthe (Ricard Pastise used)
• 1 lemon twist

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

 

Black Magic (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

A Stinger is a beautiful thing. Usually served on ice and a simple pairing of cognac and creme de menthe, Stingers are surprisingly satisfying and balanced. This cocktail is Death & Co.'s attempt to add depth and quality to what often is thought of as a low-brow cocktail or a waste of good cognac. 

Quality comes from from Marie Brizard white creme de cacaco (which I've never tried, but I'm sure my mass-produced creme de menthe doesn't match up. Depth comes from the Fernet-Branca, which is earthy and mentholated. In small proportions, Fernet adds a dark chocolate note rather than overwhelming the drinker with bitterness. An absinthe rinse often is lost in a coupe glass, but this recipe is necessarily short so that the sides remain coated. Absinthe in this situation complements the cognac and gives an herbal high note to counter Fernet's bitter low notes.

That is the philosophy of this drink. You will find that Stinger fans will love it, and Fernet drinkers will enjoy it before asking for a Fernet-Branca chaser. 

• Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe (Ricard used)
• 1 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1 oz. Angostura 5-year rum (Rhum Barbancourt 5-year rum used)
• 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao 
• 1 tsp. Fernet-Branca
• 1 tsp. simple syrup

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

Champagne Cocktails: Elysee Palace and Lord Baltimore's Cup

 

Special occasions call for impressive champagne cocktails. A good champagne cocktail is balanced, not overly sweet or spicy; it should be elegant, colorful, effervescent and most of all, strong. Both of these cocktail achieve this in very different ways. The quintessentially French Elysee Palace is a blushing, bubbling flute glass with rich berry flavors and cognac. Lord Baltamore, the English governor of the Maryland colony, is a chunky chalice full of manly rye and bitters. 

The nice thing about offering a champagne cocktail during a party is that it makes use of the dry sparkling wine that is already open and being passed around. The rest of the recipes are not complicated and really only amount to sprinkling in a few ingredients to alter the champagne. 

Here are the recipes to these two cocktails. As usual, feel free to make substitutions when it comes to syrups, liqueurs and sparkling wine as needed to pull them off.

For instance, I used sparkling wine that is as dry as Champagne--Californian, not Italian, which runs the risk of being too sweet. I made my own raspberry syrup out of brandy, sugar, and fresh raspberries rather than buy a bottle of Chambord. And because I don't have framboise, (which does have a little fizz of its own) I fell back on strawberry-infused rum, hoping that the sparkling wine would take up the slack of the bubbles. 

        Elysee Palace

• 1 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. raspberry liqueur (homemade raspberry brandy used)
• 1/2 tsp. framboise (homemade strawberry liqueur used)
• brut champagne  

Combine cognac and raspberry liqueur in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a champagne flute and top with brut champagne.

         Lord Baltimore's Cup

• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup to taste  
• 1 oz. rye (Rittenhouse)
  
• brut champagne
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• several dashes Pernod (Ricard used)

Combine rye, sugar and bitters in a wine goblet. Add ice cubes (I prefer cracked ice for drinks with floats) and stir. Float Pernod (or pastis like Ricard) on top.

Greta Garbo (Difford's Guide Recipe)

There's a few cocktails out there dedicated to actress Greta Garbo. This one is the first I've seen that doesn't use Swedish punsch. It is based on the Daiquiri, with hints of almond and anise, so it has a very classical profile. The lack of Swedish punsch makes me think that this Greta Garbo is something the actress might have enjoyed, rather than just being a gimic to sell Swedish punsch.

Difford's Guide does not supply any origin story or apocryphal anecdote about the creation of this cocktail other than to link it with Garbo and mention that it is one of many. 

I like what anise and the suggestive anise star garnish does to a classic Daiquiri's flavor. There is something Parisian or continental about this cocktail that has the feel of 1920s films. The presentation is beautiful and the flavors perfectly balanced. You will want to have more than one of these.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/6 oz. Pernod (Ricard used)
• anise star garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the anise star. 

 

Rittenhouse Square

The cocktail contains no Rye, so I assume Rittenhouse Square refers to the open-space, planned park designed by William Pen in Philadelphia. That makes this a colonial drink, and with cognac and French spirits, it is well within that style.

One change up to the recipe is that when it calls for anisette and I used Aguardiente. With a recipe with a dash of anisette you can't go wrong with Ricard. It is intensely herbal and has a cooling effect on ordinarily spicy spirits. I wanted that flavor in this cocktail, but I didn't want Ricard's drawbacks. One is that it overwhelms, and I wanted the orange flavor of triple sec to come through. The other is that it is cloudy when chilled, and I needed the drink to remain darkly transparent like a good cognac cocktail. 

Because the recipe called for a half ounce of anisette, I decided that it meant an anise infused sugar spirit (one of the definitions of anisette, because there are absinthe-style anisettes and sweet, lower-proof ones.) Thus, Aguardiente--the anise is more like a cinnamon and anise candy and it doesn't overwhelm or cloud up. Here's to keeping Rittenhouse Square clear!

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 1 oz. curacao (triple sec used--and that's fine with Aguardiente, a rum-based spirit)
• 1/2 oz. anisette (Aguardiente used with a dash of Ricard. 
• maraschino cherry

Combine spirits in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry. 

 

Bess Arlene

I'm on a French cocktail swing again, this time with Ricard in place of Pernod and Korbel brandy as the base spirit. Whoever Bess Arlene was, I bet she was French. This cocktail of hers is all about the Parisian cafe experience--sipping a light cocktail like this as the sun sets on the Seine. 

For pastis and absinthe substitutes, Ricard is a great choice when it comes to giving a few drops of herbal pop to your sodas or lining the glass of a Sazerac. I woudn't use it in place of real absinthe in a Frappe or other all-absinthe drinks. Because it becomes a cloudy gray-brown, I also wouldn't try to treat it like the green-colored Pernod when it comes to all-Pernod drinks. But in cases like this where it only comes down to a few drops, who can tell the difference between Parisian Pernod and Mersaille's Ricard. 

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Korbel used)
• 1/2 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• club soda
• dash Pernod (Ricard used)

Pour brandy and curacao into a chilled Collins glass and fill with ice. Top with soda and add Pernod on top before stirring gently.

 

Crescent City Special

 

 

While its name describes a California coastal town, this drink is all New Orleans in style. Look at the evidence--Peychaud's bitters is quintessentially New Orleans, as is Herbsaint, the spirit that gives cocktails that herbal absinthe zing.

 

New Orleans cocktails usually combine bourbon, the American South's favorite spirit, with French ingredients. Bourbon and Herbsaint is a combination that is strong and aromatic with overtones of anise, licorice, vanilla and fruit. In small proportions, the anise is noticeable, but it doesn't overwhelm. Balance is central to a New Orleans cocktail.

I don't have Herbsaint, but I've opted to swap one absinthe substitute for another. Ricard, like Pernod, is a French herbal liqueur that imitates absinthe. When shaken with ice, it gets cloudy and brown. Orgeat, an almond syrup, also adds cloudiness that is desirable in this type of cocktail.

• 2 oz. Bourbon
• 1 tsp. Herbsaint (Ricard used)
• several dashes Peychaud's Bitters 
• several dashes Orgeat or to taste
• lemon twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass Twist a lemon peel over the glass and drop it in.

Pere Bise

In French, this cocktail is called "Father Kiss." I'm hoping it is a chaste kiss, which is why I am showing off my Sacre Coeur Basilica coaster. I got it from the gift shop there years ago.

This is another one of those cases where blended whiskey is the recommended base spirit, but feel free to take it in any direction you want with the exception, maybe, of blended scotch. Blended whiskey is usually very malleable in terms of a spirit category. So I usually opt for flavors that compliment the rest of the ingredients. You could use Bourbon and send it sweeter, and a scotch would add sweetness and smoke. But this is already an herbaceous and citrusy drink. With an egg white in it, I wouldn't want to risk going too rich. That's why I've got the lemon whiskey out for it.

Overall, this is a very classy Egg Sour kind of cocktail with the pastis there just to suggest French herbs de Marseilles. It is interesting that in this instance the recipe calls for keeping the ice, which I think tames the foam. Next time I'd like to see what would happen if I really got a foamy top on this glass. Without ice, I'd have the room to do that.

• 1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey (MurLarkey lemon whiskey used)
• 1/2 oz. Cherry Herring
  
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 egg white (or double the recipe and make two so you can drink them both)
  
• several dashes Pernod (Ricard used)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a Sour glass

Rattlesnake

There's no snakes in Ireland, so the legend of St. Patrick says. I also think it has something to do with Irish Whiskey. There are no Rattlesnakes because the people drank them all.

This specific recipe is a Rattlesnake #1 of maybe five very similar concoctions. Irish whiskey is an appropriate choice, since blended whiskey is needed to keep the flavors milder than the bite of rye or the vanilla of Bourbon. Rattlesnakes are very old American cocktails, way back in a time when almost all American whiskey was bootleg and rum and brandy were more commonly used for cocktails. Irish whiskey was available for those 18th century drinkers who knew about it, however, and it was well regarded by bartenders like Jerry Thomas.

The drinks is basically a traditional sour with egg white and flavored with anise spirit--an amazing combo if done in moderation. It is more relaxed, however, in its being served on the rocks instead of neat in a Sour glass.

• 1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey (Proper Twelve Irish whiskey used)
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 egg white (or one whole egg white for 2 drinks)
• several dashes Pernod (Ricard used)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously and pour into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. 

Hearn's Cocktail

According to Robert F. Moss, author of Southern Spirits: Four Hundred Years of Drinking in the American South, this cocktail can be traced back to one man. Lafcadio Hearn was a popular news and magazine author who collected popular New Orleans recipes in la Cuisine Creole. Much of his recipes refer to punches and pousse cafes designed to impress dinner guests, but he also included two dozen recipes of "New Orleans style" cocktails with whiskey, absinthe and bitters. This one includes all three:

• 3/4 oz. Irish whiskey (Proper Twelve used)
• 3/4 oz. Pernod (Ricard used)
• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth
• several dashes Angostura bitters

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

Vincennes

Whiskey takes a back seat to richness, here with Ricard and Dubonnet taking over. Every drink needs its "thing." In this case that thing is lime peel. Im not sure what that's about, but the overall experience is one of those licorice cough drops you got at the druggist and your mom ate all of them, even though you had a cough and she didn't. It all comes together in this Quasi-French experience, and perhaps the experience of people my age who went to druggists for penny candy as children once did.

• 1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey (Proper Twelve whiskey used)
• 1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• dash Pernod (Ricard used and totally acceptable as a substitute, maybe even preferable)
• lime twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lime zest over the glass and drop it in. 

Paparazzi #2

This is the second Paparazzi cocktail after the better known one with Campari. I have to say that I like this one much better, especially because it is a little more of a stand-out recipe. There aren't many Fenet Branca cocktails out there, while a mostly Campari with a splash of vodka isn't doing a lot to change the original flavor of the spirit.

On the other hand the Paparazzi #2 is the best Fernet Branca cocktail I've ever had. It is a wonderful balance of both bitter and sweet liqueurs and numerous spices. The overall effect is rich, with very little acidity, so it comes across as an after dinner drink. But really this is much more of a Manhattan variation.

Fernet Branca is a dark, dry, and very herbaceous and earthy Italian spirit. Originally intended as a vitamin and mineral substitute, Fernet Branca has menthol and root botanicals that make it a helpful more of a stomach soothing tonic following a meal. The Paparrazi #2 cuts the bitterness of Branca with vanilla and bolsters it with caramel and vanilla notes from sweet vermouth and anise spice from anisette (anesone). For this recipe I substituted the mellow yet pungent flavor of Ricard Pastis.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon (Evan William's Bonded Bourbon used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 1/2 oz. Fernet Branca
• several dashes anisone* or Pernod (Ricard Pastis used)

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

*Anesone is a clear anise spirit that is higher in alcohol and stronger in flavor than anisette.

Ricard Satin

I really enjoyed this cocktail for it's relative dryness and silky texture due to egg white and a splash of cream. Despite those heavy ingredients, it wasn't exactly a dessert drink. You could easily start your evening with it; I imagine the setting: a cafe table along the Seine. This drink is so traditional cafe drinking, you'll think you are in Paris.

Ricard has some sugar in it to help create the egg white foam, but you'll need to add a little more. Ricard is pretty dry for all that flavor, so it helps to add a bit. I recommend a teaspoon of simple syrup.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• 1 oz. gin (MurLarkey used)
• 1/2 egg white or thereabouts
• 1/2 oz. cream
• sugar syrup to taste (1 tsp. recommended) 

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain to remove ice. Dry shake without ice to add foam and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Step-Father (Original Recipe)

The Godfather family of cocktails has a new member--the Step-Father. Amaretto and Ricard pastis taste great together, so I don't know why this hasn't been tried before. I was inspired by the French Connection in this cross-nationalities cocktail that is just as simple to make and easy to order, if you are at a French restaurant that carries Ricard or some other pastis.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• 1 oz. amaretto

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

Ric-O-Chet

Alright, champagne cocktail drinkers--here is another beauty! The Ric-O-Chet is a lot like a Death In The Afternoon, in that it is a sparkling cocktail with a ton of herbal flavored and grape-based spirits in it. It's almost a drink designed to display the color of the spirits and present an interesting form of glassware for consuming something that pretty much tastes like absinthe. It will also kick your butt and make you quite tired if you make it part of your day drinking routine.

The recipe calls for cognac, and there is almost no reason to use a high quality spirit. But since I didn't have any cheap cognac, I opted for my pricey armagnac by Larressingle. I'd like to say that this was a good move, but a lot of the subtlety of armagnac is lost behind the anise and licorice of Ricard. If anything, the cognac is there to spread that flavor around and make the Ricard a little more rich.

One key to this drink (and any restaurant bartender who tries this by reducing the liquor content by half in order to be sold legally in most states) is to build the drink with the cognac and Ricard in the glass first and add ice to chill it. This allows the herbs in the Ricard to express out and create a cloudy caramel visual effect. Remove the ice with a spoon and top with the champagne and stir.

• 1 oz. cognac (Larressingle armagnac used)
• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• sparkling wine or champagne

Add Ricard and cognac to a chilled champagne flute and stir to chill. Remove the ice with a spoon and top with sparkling wine or champagne and stir gently. 

Ricard Rose

This cocktail is not a Jack Rose. It isn't even a Rose by another name. It is the one and only, fully alliterative Ricard Rose. The fun thing about this drink besides the interesting combination of Ricard, an anise and licorice Pastis, with cranberry juice, is the addition of a lot of dark rum. For this cocktail I used my own black rum that is made with molasses and a blend of aged and overproof lightly aged rums.

• 3/4 oz. Ricard
• 1 1/2 oz. dark rum (aged molasses-based rum recommended)
• 4 oz. cranberry juice

Fill a wine goblet or large balloon stemmed glass with crushed ice*. Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill and strain into the wine goblet.

*Note--Try this cocktail might work equally well blended until smooth and poured directly into a wine glass.

The Mystery Cocktail

I want to call this drink La Mysterie just to make it more French. It uses two lesser known French liqueurs in such a unique way. It is both metropolitan Paris and representative of the far-flung colonial reaches of Asia and the pacific with rich passion fruit flavors.

Though La Grande Passion is extinct, it can still be reproduced. And even though pastis like Ricard are so herbaceous and dry, you can still taste the passion fruit sweetness coming back in this cocktail's extremely long finish.

• 1 oz. Ricard
• 1 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion (homemade liqueur)
• lemon twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to create cloudiness and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lemon zest over the drink and drop it in. 

Ricard Floridian

Alright. It's not Christmas anymore and this Florida-themed drink is neither a holiday treat, nor a tropical cocktail. It is a perfect example of a drink not knowing what it is. I do know, however, that it was surprisingly refreshing on crushed ice, and I can see what the bartender was thinking. This is an easy way to get tourists to try pastis in a refreshing and exotic mix.

Ricard is a strong anise and licorice spirit with a caramel color. When you add water to it, the herbs express out in a hazy cloud like absinthe. This pairs well with the boldly red Creme de Noyaux by Tempus Fugit. This is a peach pit and almond liqueur that adds a nutty sweetness to balance the bitter herbs and grapefruit in this drink. You can use amaretto or orgeat as a substitute, but you lose the effect of the bright color.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ricard
• 1 tsp. Creme de Noyaux
• 4 oz. grapefruit juice

Combine all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender. Shake or blend briefly and pour into a chilled double Old Fashioned glass.