Fix Me Up (Death & Co. Recipe)

I remember when trying this rich and beautiful drink that a Fix is any way to take a spirit into a more comfortable zone with sugar and juice. This was a departure from most Fixes that are sort of crushed ice and pineapple variations on a Sour. In fact, I feel like the overarching flavor is nuttiness from almond orgeat and amontillado sherry. 

Catoctin Creek Roundstone rye is pretty nutty and dry itself. I'd make a Fix with it anytime. This was an excellent use of a high-proof rye as I've ever seen. The presentation is very simple but elegant, and that is why Death & Co. is regarded as a pioneer in reviving the classic cocktail-serving speakeasy.

• 1 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek Roundstone used)
• 1 1/2 oz. amontillado (Alexandro sherry used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 3/4 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3/4 oz. club soda

Combine all ingredients except club soda in a shaker with three ice cubes. Shake and strain into a snifter with one large ice cube. Pour the soda in on top. 

 

Banshee's Fix (Original Recipe)

Nothing like going tiki with whiskey, and evoking a malevolent Irish spirit while using an Irish spirit to boot! In truth, this cocktail is close to the Irish Fix--an attempt to make the most pleasing combination of juice and whiskey you'll ever find.

Unlike most Fixes, this the Irish Fix includes pineapple juice. I did the same, but added lemon juice, mint and a good helping of Virginia banana whiskey. That is a cocktail allusion to the Banshee banana dessert drink. In essence, this drink swings tiki when served on crushed ice, and I love the combined effect it produces when garnished with the mint and green maraschino cherry. You don't even notice that this is a whiskey drink and its hard to identify the banana as well. It just comes across as a perfect tropical escape--but the island it takes you to is Ireland.

• 1 1/2 oz. Tullamore DEW Irish Whiskey
• 1 oz. MurLarkey banana whiskey
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. orgeat syrup
•  mint sprig and maraschino cherry garnishes

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig and a green maraschino cherry.

Three Tea Whiskey Fix

It's not enough to call this drink a Sour. It breaks off of the Sour family early on and sits somewhere more tropical with tea syrup and MurLarkey Three Tea Whiskey. This is a bit of a preview of MurLarkey's newest product that I can tell will be a handy tool in the craft bartending scene in Virginia. Three Tea Whiskey is made from infusing their white whiskey with Darjeeling, English Breakfast, and Earl Grey teas. It has a strong, earthy, and in the case of Earl Gray, floral scent that adds so much to a drink.

I thought a simple drink would then be to sweeten a basic Sour or Fix with MurLarkey whiskies with a black tea and demerara sugar syrup. See how to make this on my Swedish Punsch recipe page. 
The rest of the recipe follows:

• 1 1/2 oz. whiskey (MurLarkey Heritage used)
• 1/2 oz. MurLarkey Three Tea Whiskey 
• 1/2 oz. black tea and demerara sugar syrup 
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• orange and lemon twists and a maraschino cherry garnishes

Combine all ingredients except garnishes in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with fruit peels and maraschino cherry.

Vodka Sour

I guess the only way to differentiate a Vodka Sour from a Vodka Fix is that the sour is served in a sour glass with no ice. The garnish, a lemon slice and a cherry, are also different from the Fix's twist. Unlike a whiskey sour or some brandy sours, there is no egg white, which I am starting to view as a deal breaker.

But the Vodka Sour is a nice introductory into classic cocktails for the vodka drinker. They sometimes need a push beyond dry Martinis, tonics and sodas.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• lemon slice
• maraschino cherry

Combine vodka, lemon juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. Garnish with the lemon slice and cherry.

Gin Sling

The Gin Sling is just an easy way to drink gin. Unlike the Gin Fix, which is really similar, it is not made in the glass like an Old Fashioned. This cocktail is stirred in a mixing glass, which is unusual for a drink with this much juice.

Glendalough Wild Botanical gin takes on a cloudy appearance when it is stirred because of its being unfiltered. The herbs, fruits and spices of the gin release into the water for a very intense drink.

• 2 oz. gin (Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin used)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. water
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• orange twist

Combine sugar and water in a mixing glass and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add lemon juice, gin and ice and stir to chill. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice and garnish with an orange twist. 

Gin Fix

As I've said before, a fix is what we have come to understand as a Sour--a lemon and sugar drink that should have egg white in it and served up. The Fix is served on the rocks. It's built in the glass and it should be in an Old Fashioned or rocks glass.

The NY Bartender's Guide recipe seems to have a misprint, showing a highball symbol for the recommended glassware. This won't work with a built in glass cocktail. The liquid will only go halfway up! I'll print the recipe below with the proper glassware.

Glendalough Wild Botanical gin is one of the new and excellent Celtic Gins to land in the U.S. and cause a stir. It is unbelievably fresh and is probably my favorite gin right now. Glendalough is a whiskey distillery, and I have to say that this is by far their best product, and one that will be well received in D.C. where gin is very in.

• 3 oz. gin (Glendalough Wild Botanical gin used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. water
• lemon slice

Combine sugar and water in an Old Fashioned or rocks glass and stir to partially dissolve the sugar. Add lemon juice, gin and ice and stir until chilled. Garnish with a lemon slice. 

Brandy Fix

This drink does more than fix what ails the Erk & Jerk XO I used to make the cocktail. Lemon juice and sugar tend to do that. Now a very rich and smooth brandy is a quick and social drink. This is an easy one to make at a party without even breaking off from conversation.

• 3 oz. brandy (E & J XO used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• splash of mineral water

Combine lemon juice, water and sugar in an Old Fashioned glass and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add brandy and ice and stir gently until chilled.

Whiskey Sling

The Whiskey Sling is a blended whiskey drink, but all I had was bourbon, Cleveland Bourbon, that is. A sling, it seems, is a "helpmate" cocktail. These drinks, like Fixes and Fizzes, are designed to help soften a spirit and get it down your gullet in a hurry, hence the "sling" terminology.

One thing I found fascinating about the Whiskey Sling--and it's the reason it differs from a Whiskey Sour--is it's preparation precludes chilling. I'm not sure why, but the idea is to have a rocks drink that is still pretty warm when served, which melts the ice cubes just as if it was all room temperature hard liquor. But it isn't; it's juice and sugar and a little water, which is easy to drink.

A word about Cleveland Bourbon. It's isn't really bourbon, but it is probably a straight whiskey. The Sling calls for a blend for the obvious mixability of blends. But Cleveland Bourbon is a "black label" of the brand, distilled in Indiana and rapidly aged in Cleveland. It can't be bourbon because of its origins and rapid aging process, but it is very much in the style of bourbon, perhaps more than most American whiskies like Jack Daniels.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Cleveland Bourbon used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. fine sugar
• 1 tsp. water 
• orange twist

Combine water and sugar in a mixing glass and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add whiskey and lemon juice and stir. Pour over ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with the orange twist and give one more gentle stir. 

Scotch Orange Fix

This was an unbeatable combination for a summer drink. Barrelhound scotch did its best not to overwhelm the citrus flavors of orange and lemon. The result was similar to a vodka or brandy sour, since it didn't quite taste like bourbon or whiskey. When you do notice the scotch, it is oak and vanilla, not even spice or heat of most whiskey--just smooth.

• 2 oz. scotch
• 1/4 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp fine ground sugar
• orange twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Garnish with orange twist.
Combine all