Solera Sidecar (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

I have been waiting to do this cocktail for a while, hoping to source the exact ingredients for the recipe. Unfortunately, I used up the last of my East India Solera sherry during Halloween and I haven't seen it in stores since then. But I figured I could make this recipe with cream sherry, and it definitely works. 

The idea behind this craft Sidecar is to substitute excellent ingredients (and sherry) into a well-known cocktail recipe that is essentially a cognac sour with orange liqueur. Sweet sherry adds richness, as does ameretto and cognac-based orange liqueur like Grand Marnier. The problem remained that I had neither of the latter ingredients as well. Then it occurred to me that I do have a cognac-based orange liqueur and an almond liqueur, they just weren't the brand names the recipe called for.

So I substituted homemade Mandarine Napoleon for Grand Marnier--which is an easy solution. I also used Tempus Fugit creme de Noyaux, a French, rather than Italian, almond liqueur. It worked out well, and the effect of the craft Sidecar was pulled off. In addition I got to use my homemade orange liqueur.

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Meukow used)
• 1/2 oz. East India Solera Sherry (Dona Luisa cream sherry used)
• 1/4 oz. Grand Marnier (homemade Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 1/4 oz. Lazxaroni ameretto (Tempus Fugit creme de noyaux used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass. 

Julian Sorel (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

For some reason, Julian Sorel is called "the worst drink name ever," in the Death & Co. recipe book. I don't see why, exactly, though. It's named after the protagonist in The Red And The Black, by Stendhal. In my mind, that makes it a bit of a Scholarly French name. And Julian Sorel doesn't appear in the list of staff picks for worst names in "On The Naming of Cocktails" page of the bar book. Good name or no, Julian Sorel is a good idea.

It blends The Last Word with a champagne cocktail, which is an awesome idea--dare I even say "a genius-level move." If a Negroni can be crossed with a French 75, then why can't a Last Word be mashed-up with a classic French 75 with cognac. And it works surprisingly well. Best of all: it maintains the easy-to-remember proportions of The Last Word!

• 1/2 oz. Courvoisier cognac
• 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo maraschino
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• dry champagne (Aria cava used)
• 1 lemon twist garnish
  

Combine all ingredients except champagne and garnish in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne and garnish wtih the twist.

 

Monet's Moment (Difford's Guide Recipe)

This cocktail was created by Eric Lorincz at the Savoy Hotel in London. But it is quintessentially French--from cognac to absinthe to Byrrh grand quinquina and Peychaud's bitters. It is like something straight out of New Orleans at the beginning of the 20th century! 

I'm always impressed with French spirits: how flavorful and yet refreshing they are. This cocktail comes across as light and aromatic. You almost get the feeling that it is good for your health. And after doing so many cognac cocktails in coupes, the change of format to large ice really means a more social experience. The flavor doesn't weigh you down. Instead, you get herbal high notes right under your nose and the complexity of cognac that is chilled, not warm, doesn't pull you away from the dazzle of Byrrh bitterness and grape notes. 

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1 oz. Byrrh grand quinquina
• 1/6 oz. absinthe (Ricard used)
• 1/4 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 dash Peychaud's bitters

 Stir all ingredients and strain into a large glass with a large format ice cube. 

Port Authority (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail needed to be made. The name, the ingredients, even the look all should have happened a hundred years ago. Luckily Death & Co. made this amazingly rich blackberry and port cocktail come true. I love it. I love the chocolatey port accentuated by chocolate bitters. I love how creme de cassis reinforces blackberry and cognac with a Dijon black currant spirit. And of course the fresh ingredients--these are all hallmarks of cocktail revival that Death & Co. ushered in.

Presentation is everything, and the beautiful chocolate grape color and blackberry garnish only add to the experience. Not one ingredient distracts from this purpose. I have to say that even though this is still essentially a Sour or Daisy variation, you wouldn't know it because you can't remove any ingredient and have it be as good. 

• 4 blackberries
• 2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 3/4 oz. tawny port (Porto Morgado ruby used)
• 1/2 creme de cassis (G.E. Massenez used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon bitters
• 2 dashes Aztec chocolate bitters
• 1 blackberry garnish

Muddle blackberries in a shaker. Add the rest of the ingredients and shake with ice. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the remaining blackberry. 

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. 

Legend (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Going through the Death & Co. stirred brandy cocktail chapter section, I realized they have many drinks that follow this same format: brandy and rum, and bitter aperitifs and sweet fortified wines, served in a coupe with no garnish. 

And this is truly one of the best of them. I love this one because it is light and balanced, yet contains some really deep flavors. No wonder it's called Legend. In something like this, small differences can mean noticeable changes, so Legend may be one to try again with different rums, amari, or bitters. I went with aromatic bitters by Hella (not Bitter Truth) and Angostura. And I don't have Appleton estate rum or Amontillado, but I do have Caribbean rum and solera reserve from Lustau. Finally, I have a local amaro by Don Ciccio and Figili that has to stand in for Amaro Nonino. It doesn't quite cut it, so I used a splash of my Amer Picon to give it the bitter orange peel notes of Nonino.

• 2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. Appleton Estate V/X rum (George Bowman used)
• 3/4 oz. Lustau Amontillado (Lustau East India Solera sherry used)
• 1/2 oz. Amaro Nonino (blend of Ambrosia and Amer Picon used)
• 1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bitters (Hella used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Martica (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This is one of those no garnish needed, all-booze drinks that Death & Co. does to show off their most intensely flavored liquors. This one takes the richness of Jamaican rum and the dry but deep taste of cognac and balances them with sharp maraschino and exotic bitters. 

These kinds of cocktails were part of the revival movement in the early 2000. Once upon a time, we were just discovering how to actually use bitters to tie flavors together, and we learned that Luxardo maraschino is indespensable. It's the duct tape of cocktails. This drink is so straight forward--and good, definitely good--that it doesn't need water or juice and can still be satisfyingly complex.

• 1 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1 oz. Appleton V/X rum (George Bowman used)
• 3/4 bitter Italian sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1/4 oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Heart-Shaped Box (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This is a recipe that showcases what Death & Co. does really well: making use of unusual ingredients like balsamic vinegar to balance fresh ingredients like strawberries and citrus. I loved the way this cocktail upends the Strawberry Daiquiri with flavors more akin to strawberry vinaigrette. 

Otherwise, the cocktail is pretty straightforward. Strawberries are muddled in the shaker tin. Crushed ice is in the glass. The recipe calls for cinnamon bark syrup, which I've done a lot in a work situation, but I don't bother to make for single servings at home. I use MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey and plain simple syrup for this. A 1-1 ratio of rich simple and cinnamon whiskey will usually do the trick for single servings. (Obviously if you wanted to make a lot of cinnamon simple with MurLarkey, I would use one oz. cinnamon whiskey per cup of simple syrup.)

• 2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 3/4 oz. St. Germain (homemade used)
  
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon bark syrup (simple syrup and MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey used)
• 1/2 tsp. aged balsamic vinegar 
• 1 strawberry for muddling 
• 1/2 strawberry as garnish

Muddle one strawberry in the shaker tin and add all liquid ingredients and ice. Shake and strain into a double old fashioned glass full of crushed ice. Place the strawberry on top of the ice in a tribute to Nirvana.

Winter Clove Cocktail (Diford's Guide)

 

Clove, that quintessential winter spice, is one of the few ingredients that can be infused on the spot to make for a richer cocktail. This recipe from Difford's Guide simply says to combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass and stir, and it works. You can really taste the cloves!

This was one of those after dinner drinks that really demonstrates how an all liquor cocktail can be balanced and deep at the same time. I emphasize balance because it is a balancing act of proportions to not blow this cocktail out with sweet mandarin liqueur or smoky scotch.

Chocolate bitters are a necessity here, and though these Aztec bitters are a little loaded with cinnamon compared to what Difford's specifies, I felt that the spice pulled the flavors together. If you have the bitters and the other ingredients you should do this cocktail. If you don't have the ingredients, (you can get away with triple sec instead of Mandarine Napoleon, it's hard to find everywhere) go out and get them this winter. You won't be sorry.

• 3 whole cloves
• 1 1/3 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 2/3 oz. Mandarine Napoleon (homemade used)
• 1/6 oz. (1 tsp.) Islay single malt (Ardbeg 10 used)
• 3 dashes chocolate bitters (Fee Brothers Aztec used)
• orange zest twist

Combine cloves and liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (snifter pictured) and garnish with the zest.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

 

This isn't my recipe, though these are a few of my favorite things, that's for sure. Difford's Guide says that a British bartender Dale Bebington invented this, and I have to say it displays superior taste.

Last weekend it snowed in Virginia, and this recipe really called to me. Even the name from the Sound Of Music felt especially appropriate for winter. I had all the things for the recipe, essentially. Genepy is alpine spirit along the same lines as Chartreuse, it is even French, and I believe it comes from the many unsuccessful attempts to replicate Chartreuse back during a time when it was in short supply.

Other ingredients include Martel cognac, which was specified in the recipe as well as mildly sweet Amontillado sherry. Instead of Aperol, I have Ambrosia by Don Ciccio & Figili, amari makers in the U.S. capital. Lastly, a dash of Angostura bitters and orange bitters. It's like a stirred pie!

• 1/3 oz. Martell cognac
• 1/3 PX sherry Amontillado used
• 1/3 Aperol or red sweet Italian amaro (Ambrosia used)
• 1/6 green Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash Hella orange bitters
• lemon zest twist
  

Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. Twist lemon over the glass and drop it in.

Je Suis l'Amour (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

This is a cocktail that tastes rich but feels light: Cognac, ginger brandy and sweet vermouth give a ton of flavor up front. This is that rich stone fruit and herbal notes of the spirits. If I had chocolate bitters (which I understand to be a major part of the drink as the name suggests) I would have a drink with a chocolaty depth. As it was, I had Hella orange bitters with its baking spice notes. And that still does the trick for such a spicy drink in with ginger dominates. 

But when the sip finishes, you get such a light lift from all the heavy sensations. Firstly the grapefruit juice ensures that the body of the liquid itself is light. Your final impression is a citrus fruit cocktail (grapefruit often being associated with with ginger and cognac warmth. It is an expression of love, and very French at that.

• 1 1/2 oz cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 2/3 rich sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade ginger brandy used)
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
  
• 2 dashes chocolate bitters (Hella orange bitters used)
• orange zest

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir and Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze the orange zest over the glass and lay it on the rim.

Biggles' Sidecar (Difford's Guide Recipe)

Biggles is a postwar kids book series about an intrepid British aviator. Naturally, Simon Difford has his own recipe for a Biggles Aviation. But he went a step farther in creating a Biggles Sidecar--I guess Biggles was known for motoring and espionage, so that seems about right.

The thing that makes this Sidecar different is ginger: ginger in the brandy and ginger as a garnish. Kings ginger liqueur is the brand that Difford recommends because it is that rich aged brandy that will stand out in a citrus cocktail. I made my own ginger brandy using Korbel and fresh ginger, but if all you have is Domaine de Canton, that should do. I think that the fresh slice of ginger is really important to the garnish experience. From a distance, it looks like another slice of citrus, but the scent with the lemon is perfect.

• 1 2/3 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery)
• 1/2 oz. ginger brandy
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. sugar syrup
• 1 dash Peychauds bitters
• lemon slice and ginger slice garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with ginger and lemon slices.

 

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.

Margaret Duffy

As best as I can guess, this is a cocktail made by or for its namesake, a contemporary author of a series of mystery novels. If that is the case, I bet there's a Nathan Wilkinson cocktail out there somewhere (there isn't) if I google myself. 

But I like the style of this cocktail, which resembles a Vieux Carre. The main ingredient is Swedish punsch, which is spiced with clove and cardamon. My homemade punsch is made with a spirit blend of half dark rum and one quarter each of MurLarkey distillery lemon and three tea whiskies. That means that there's citrus, earthy and floral tea notes, and dark sugar and oaked rum spirits. It's a cocktail in itself, but it is smothed out with a little cognac and helped along with more spice from Angostura bitters.

• 2 oz. Swedish punsch (homemade used)
• 1 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• lemon zest twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the lemon zest over the glass and drop it in.

 

Flannel (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

Difford's Guide says that the Flannel is a good fall-weather drink, and it is. I was drawn to it because it has a lot of flavors we associate with cold weather drinks and punch. There's allspice dram (also known as pimento dram), orange zest, and cognac. 

There's even an unusual ingredient--apple sugar syrup. This can be made in several ways. First, by cooking sugar in an apple cider solution to make the syrup. You can also macerate apples in sugar and use the drippings. I did a quick and dirty shortcut by adding applejack to my simple syrup. That was an easy way to get this drink to the table and into me!

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. pimento dram (homemade allspice dram used)
• 1/2 oz. apple sugar syrup
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• orange zest twist. 

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass with a large format ice cube. Garnish with the orange twist.

 

Odd McIntyre

 

This classy French-style cocktail is light, well-rounded and easily crushable for a cognac drink. It gets its name from O. O. McIntyre, a journalist for a New York newspaper in the 20s and 30s. That makes it a journalist cocktail like the Gazette and Journalist. 

You really notice the French-style lables of these bottles (Leroux is French American from Kentuckey, but they emulate the look.) This cocktail is bursting with sweet and bitter orange flavors, something that French spirits makers are known for. Lillet Blanc of 007 fame adds fortified wine notes and bitter green orange peels from north Africa. It makes this cognac cocktail very approachable for someone new to cocktails and cognac in general.

• 1 oz. brandy (Martel single distillery cognac used)
• 1 oz. Cointreau (triple sec used)
• 1 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Prince Albert's Salute

 

I like a drink with the word "salute" in the name. There's something kind of martial and celebratory about it. I also like a cocktail with four ounces of liquor, which you just put in a glass and add ice if you wish. It's about the convenience of consumption--and quantity--and that's important when there's a military parade in your honor to attend. 

Though Prince Albert (England's Edward VII before he was crowned king) was British, this is a cognac drink with equal measure of the Germanic liqueur, kummel. Kummel is a caraway spirit that is sweetened with honey and includes a variety of spices and herbs including anise seeds and fennel. (This is, of course, the sweet kummel recipe because I can't imagine this cocktail being done with dry kummel.)

The experience of this cocktail is both in its warm and chilled/ diluted forms. If unchilled and warmed in a snifter, the cocktail's honey and spice notes are most prominent, not unlike Drambuie. That in itself makes the name of "Prince" a nod to Drambuie's Bonnie Prince Charlie. Add ice, however, and you experience a cognac rocks drink that is easier to finish quickly before the salute.

• 2 oz. cognac (Martel single distillery used)
• 2 oz. kummel (homemade sweet kummel used)

Pour liquors into a brandy snifter and swirl while drinking. Alternatively add ice and enjoy chilled.

French Twist

Bourbon, named after the French royal family at the time of it's creation, is the most French whiskey made in America. Cognac is quintessentially French as well. All this cocktail needs is a liqueur to sweeten it--why not something bearing a royal name as well?

Royal Combier is the coup de grace (in place of Grand Marnier listed in the original recipe) because of its regal combination of cognac, oranges and spices. The only thing left according to the name is the twist (not listed in the original recipe.) I think I really improved this cocktail. The only thing I wouldn't change is the portion size--its kingly.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon
• 1 1/2 oz. cognac
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon peel. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the lemon peel over the glass and drop it in. 

Champagne Punch

(Photo by Ned Drummond)

This is a reasonably sized punch for a small gathering, and a really good use of sparkling wine and spirits to produce a strong and balanced communal drink. The photo I used is a half portion, so it doesn't fill the bowl completely. But it was the perfect amount for three big drinkers. The full-size punch makes 15 servings.

• 1 cup cognac (Mewkow used)
• 1 cup cherry liqueur (Cherry Heering used)
• 1 cup triple sec (Cointreau used)
• 1/4 cup sugar syrup
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 2 bottles (750 ml.) Champagne or sparkling wine (Korbel brut used)

Combine juice, spirits and sugar in a bowl and refrigerate up to two hours before serving. Fill with large cakes of ice (snack bags filled with water and frozen beforehand are great.) Add Champagne and stir when ready to serve.

Fancy Brandy

People ask me to make a cognac drink that really shows off the flavor of the brandy. This Fancy Brandy cocktail really does this. It's really similar to an Old Fashioned cocktail made with brandy.

I originally hoped to do this drink with a rich American brandy, but not finding one that is suitable when the desire struck me, I opted for cognac. I was glad that I did. This will be the perfect drink that fits that guest request for the cognac drink. The portion is small, so rather than use a cocktail glass, I like to serve it in a sour or cordial glass.

• 2 oz. brandy (cognac please)
• 1/2 tsp. Cointreau
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a shaker with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass (cordial glass pictured) and garnish with a lemon twist.