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.

 

Tiger's Tail

What a fun cafe-style drink. I really appreciate a blended drink with a bold flavor and this fits the bill. It is full of bright orange and anise flavors. So much juice does Pernod the favor of taming its most intense notes and making orange juice taste more exotic.

But let's not pretend that a cocktail with a Pernod base is at all tame. Once you have one of these Tiger's Tails in your hand, you will know the danger you are in. It is easily slammable, but powerful in flavor and alcohol. Don't let your guard down.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau (use the real deal)
• lime wedge

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with cracked ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled wine glass. Garnish with the lime slice. 

Merry Widow Fizz

There's something very French and very cafe about the Merry Widow Fizz. It could be that it is a Dubonnet Rouge based cocktail, like a fizzy wine spritzer. But it could also be the low alcohol content and the way that such a fizzy drink can be enjoyed sitting outside on a boulevard cafe table in the afternoon. It is refreshing and rather satisfying and unlikely to make you feel tipsy. It is just so relaxing.

• 2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
• 2 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• sparkling water (Perrier for Frenchness)

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill and strain out the ice. Shake again to add fizz and pour into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water. 

Pantomime

This cocktail will take some getting used to. Vermouth lovers, and I'm beginning to count myself as one, will like the wine-forward flavor of this drink. Rivata is much spicier than French vermouth that I know and love. There's a lot going on here, though. Orgeat for sweetness and grenadine for the color, as well as egg white and all of it blended until fluffy. This is not a cocktail that comes highly recommended. I'm more excited to have made this obscure drink that isn't sure if it is tiki, or a pre-prohibition classic.

• 3 oz. dry vermouth (Rivata used)
• 3-5 dashes grenadine
• 3-5 dashes orgeat
• egg white

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and fluffy and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Cafe de Paris

This is a very Parisian-like cocktail and it gives off an air of cafe drinking on Montmartre. Egg white and a touch of cream make it a high-caloric cocktail with the feel of a thick absinthe drink. You should do this in a fancy crystal glass to accentuate the absinthe cafe appeal.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 tsp. Pernod
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (crystal goblet recommended.)