Cynard de Bergerac (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Bergerac is a French wine region known for its combination of Cabernet and Merlot grapes. This particular cocktail requires the mix of ingredients in its "Bergerac Mix" In the Death & Co. book, this works out as 6 parts blended red wine (Bergerac), 1.5 parts Cynar, 1.5 parts black strap rum (homemade used), and 1/2 part Demerara syrup. This stuff is bittersweet and savory, adding its own color and sweetness to any cocktail. 

The rest of the Cynard de Bergenac involves genever, old Tom gin, and Benedictine. It is further flavored with a dash of absinthe and Aztec chocolate bitters. The end result is a wine and gin cocktail that really comes across like a dark rum punch with lots of barrel-aged notes from the genever and an herbal lift from the absinthe. It is grounded, however by chocolate and orange in the finish. You almost can't taste the Benedictine, but it is in there adding sweetness and texture. All the way through, you get red wine tannin from Cabernet. It is pretty overwhelming and easily underestimated in such a cute little glass. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Bergerac mix
• 1 oz. Bols barrel-aged genever
• 1/2 oz. Vitae Old Tom gin
• 1/2 oz. Benedictine
• 1 dash absinthe vert
• 1 dash Aztec chocolate bitters (Fee Brothers used)
• orange twist garnish

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass. Roll the orange twist tightly and skewer on a cocktail pick.

Sure Shot (Death & Co. Recipe)

This is a winner of a recipe, for sure. Very few stirred cocktails go with chili infusions. This one is nice and smokey and plays up the rich, whiskey-like flavors of old Tom and genever. I've never infused chilis in sweet vermouth before, and I have to say it goes in faster than you expect. Only a few hours are necessary to make the infusion. It also tastes great, like adding smoke and heat to your bittersweet  vermouth. Why wouldn't this be great?

Gallian and orange bitters have their own role to play in Sure Shot. I like how the vanilla and anise of Galliano are more like spice additions than sweeteners. Galliano also adds a richness to the texture to support the vermouth. This is a hefty drink and orange bitters suggestion of baking spices makes it even that much more rounded. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1/2 oz. Bols Genever (Bols barrel aged genever used)
• 3/4 oz. ancho chile-infused Dolin rouge vermouth
• 1 tsp Galliano
• 1 tsp. demerara syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)

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

 

European Union (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail really tries to tie together a number of European spirits in a way that is inviting and familiar. The recipe is similar to a Martinez, or other rich gin cocktail with brandy-based spirits. Old Tom gin represents a quasi-British/ Dutch dominance of the gin-drinking culture, and Strega, while Italian, speaks for the entire Alpine region of central Europe. France is represented by calvados, but is here replaced by Laird's applejack-86. It isn't as dry and fusty tasting as some types of calvados but Busnel and Laird's are actually pretty similar.

• 1 1/2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. calvados (Laird's applejack-86 used)
• 1 tsp. Strega
• 1 dash hella aromatic bitters

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

Way Of The Sumo (Original Recipe)

 

I've been playing around with mandarin oranges after having leftovers from making my Mandarine Napoleon knockoff liqueur. I picked up one sumo mandarin orange just in case I didn't have enough of the regular small ones. Just for reference, I want to show the difference in size between a sumo mandarin and a regular one. The sumo version is truly a plus-sized fruit, much like the husky Japanese wrestlers.

So sumo mandarin juice tastes the same as ordinary mandarin juice. I used this with some lemon to increase the acid and paired it with Manzanilla fino sherry because it also has musty fruit notes. Old Tom gin also keeps things spicy when paired with ginger brandy, and again, Mandarine Napoleon backs up and sweetens all of these flavors. 

Finally, the peel of the sumo mandarin comes off neatly and can be used to emphasize the largeness of the fruit when placed in an oversized wine glass. 

• juice of 1/2 sumo mandarin orange
• 1 1/2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1 oz. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. ginger brandy (homemade used
• 1 oz. Manzanilla sherry
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• club soda
• 1/3 peel of a mandarin orange 

Place the orange peel in an oversized red wine glass (stemless used) and fill it with ice. Combine all liquid ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass and top with soda.

Bloomsbury Blast

 

This is one of those kitchen sink fortified wine cocktails that sneaks up on you. I'm not sure if it is named after the early 20th century artistic movement in Britain or if it is more centered on the town of the same name, but I can see a cocktail like this being popular about an hundred years ago. 

There's not a lot of interest in overloading drinkers with rich sherry and vermouth flavors now. Even with the cocktail revival that brought back vermouth, we tend to appreciate stand-out ingredients without crowding a cocktail with more than one. I mean, Cherry Herring, curacao, creme de cacao, and gin all have a way of dominating. That means that this recipe is somewhat less than the sum of its parts, for what its worth. 

On the other hand, there is something liberating about throwing together hefty doses of sherry and vermouth in what is already a legally maxed out spirits drink. Then you get to enjoy an easy drinking cocktail in a large wine glass and experience how it kicks your butt as you dive deeper and deeper into its rich depths. I hope that this sells the cocktail to some of my readers. We all have open bottles of sherry, and you have to use them.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 1/2 oz. medium sherry (Amontillado used)
• 1/2 tsp. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 tsp. dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz. curacao
• 1/4 oz. cherry brandy (Herring used)
• 1/4 oz. creme de cacao
• 1 oz. lemon or lime juice

Combine all ingredients with cracked ice in a shaker or blender. Shake or blend and pour into a large wine glass. 

Blueberry Collins (Original Recipe)

 

I'm finishing up my summer drinks (and my blueberry syrup) by coming up with ways to change the color and flavor of a few classic cocktails. The Collins is an obvious gin and soda model to work with. The blueberry syrup only needs to replace the simple syrup and all else remains the same. 

For a fun twist, I thought it would be nice to use Vitae's Old Tom gin to tame the juniper notes and add some oak mellowness to this American standard.

• 2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. blueberry syrup
• club soda
• lemon slice, maraschino cherry and mint garnishes

Combine gin, lemon juice and syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and stir gently. Garnish at will with mint and fruit.

Hanley Special

You don't find tangerine juice cocktails on every menu, and there's a reason for that. You pretty much have to juice tangerines: there's not canned substitute, and if you find it, it is probably sweetened nectar, not the natural fruit juice itself.

Tangarine tastes noticeably different from orange juice. It is tropical tasting, and in a drink like this with Falernum and so much tangarine, it can totally disguise itself as tropical ambrosia. 

With falernum being a spice driver here, the gin option is flexible. The vodka is doing the work in terms of alcohol, but you can choose the gin botanicals that suit your tastes. Here a dry gin is appropriate, but might come through as too much juniper for a tropical cocktail.  Vitae's Old Tom gin is probably as good a choice as any, with a touch of sweetness and a sugar (i.e. rum) base to give the drink a Caribbean feel.

• 2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff 57 used)
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae old Tom used)
• 2/3 cup tangerine juice
• falernum to taste 

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

Silver Bullet (revisited with homemade kummel)

I remember not liking this drink very much when I opted for Jagermeister (the recommended substitute for kummel). After having several drinks with my homemade honey and caraway kummel, I'm happy to say that the best part of the Silver Bullet is the kummel.

This is a sweet and sour classic combination with gin. I chose Vitae Old Tom gin for its barrel age and sweet marshmallow flavor that I was correct in assuming would play nice with kummel. It did and I had a very enjoyable afternoon drink that was surprisingly easy to make.

• 2 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 oz. kummel (homemade kummel used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice

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

Danny's Downfall

I thought it was the Yeoman Calvary that brought Danny's downfall. But that's not what happens in the Irish ballad "Danny Boy." That's the "Croppy Boy," a different Irish ballad, sad but beautiful. Danny's Downfall the cocktail is smooth, sweet and inviting. It is equal parts whiskey, gin and sweet vermouth. Any brands will do, I suppose, but I was going for softer flavors with less bitterness and spice. Silky like an Irish ballad.

With a cocktail that has only three equal ingredients, and some of them potentially overpowering, it was important to choose carefully. I wanted an Irish whiskey, of course, because they are simple and carry no strange peat or malt aftertaste, nor do they have an overly oaky scent. So Proper Twelve it is.

Vitae Old Tom gin has a mellow aged flavor on a spirit that is molasses based and lightly junipered. The effect is like toasted marshmallow without being overly sweet. This contrasts with London Dry gins with that dry and juniper bite throughout.

Mt. Defiance sweet vermouth is made from cider and wine brandy. It is less herbal than Italian vermouth so that it adds a mild sweetness and less of the deep red color.

• 1 oz. blended whiskey (Proper Twelve used)
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)

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

Bodega Bolt

I like the light, delicate style of this drink. It's a cocktail for a hot afternoon. It's also lower ABV than many cocktails, like a Spritz without the sugar.

I want with the richer tasting old Tom gin by Vitae, mostly because I wanted to downplay the juniper of the gin and let the sherry stand out a little more.

• 1 oz. fino or amontillado sherry
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used0
• club soda
• lime twist

Build the drink by adding gin and sherry in a highball glass full of ice. Top with soda and stir gently. Twist the lime zest over the drink and drop it in.

Doctor's Orders

I was expecting that a drink named for a prescription would include Frenet Branca or some ingredient purporting to be medicinal. In fact, there is the citrus peel and juice of two pomelos, one lemon and three oranges in a bottle of homemade Forbidden Fruit. I don't know if the liqueur preserves the vitamins from these fruits (probably not) but it makes a rich drink even more bitter and tangy.

• 1 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 oz. cognac (Larressingle armagnac used)
• 1 oz. Forbidden Fruit
• several dashes lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne cocktail glass (*Note: in the New American Bartender's Guide, this is the glass listed. I've used this book for decades and this is the first mention of a champagne cocktail glass, which I assume is a coupe or cocktail glass. I chose this antique cocktail pony glass--good for champagne cocktails or hard liquor in general.)

Lillet Noyaux

Sounding so French, this cocktail is really just the names of two ingredients. Lillet Blanc is an aromatized and fortified wine from the Bordeaux region. Creme de Noyaux is a nutty, pink liqueur made with peach pits and almonds. Together, this drink tastes very French with just a hint of gin to cut the sweetness.

Remember this cocktail for one of those low ABV drinks. The main ingredient, Lillet, is not as strong as a 80-proof gin. And the gin is a small component of the overall drink.

•  1 /12 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 tsp. creme de Noyaux (Tempus Fugeit used)
• orange twist

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

Shaker Heights

This cocktail must be named for the classy neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. It swings like a Roaring Twenties Manhattan with a higher proportion of vermouth to the whiskey (rye of course.) I'm using North Fork rye from Glacier Distilling Company and Vitae Old Tom gin for that classic 20s flavor profile.

Tucked in there are also sweet vermouth, a rich one by Cocchi and a cheap brandy, both in equal parts. You get a lot of barrel and oaky vanilla in this drink, and that comes mostly from the brandy and the richness of the vermouth if you make it like this. But Old Tom gin also keeps it from being overly spicy and more on the rich sipping side.

• 1/2 oz. rye (North Fork used)
• 1/2 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi dopo teatro used)
• 1/2 oz. brandy (E&J American brandy used)

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

Waldorf

There are two cocktails named after the famous family hotels: the Waldorf Cocktail with bourbon and the Waldorf. I've not made this version with gin before because it's primary ingredient is Swedish punsch, something that you have to get from Sweden or make at home. It's not on the market here.

This is a sweet and sour cocktail with lots of herbal spices and dark black tea flavors. That is why I chose Vitae old tom gin for this. It is barrel aged and a little sweeter to cut through that lemon and provide balance against the Swedish punsch.

• 2 oz. Swedish punsch 
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae Old Tom used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice

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

*Note the Tacoma, WA coaster representing Odd Otter Brewing Co.