Le Subtil (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Subtle is a good way to describe this drink. It isn't the kind of cocktail that beats you over the head with bitterness or spicy gin. Spirits like genever and Cardamaro are soft. Any spicy notes they carry are smoothed out by aging. The genius of Le Subtil comes from finding that sweet balance of these ingredients that don't especially assert themselves too strongly, then boosting them with lifting bitters like hopped grapefruit.

I got this Fee Brothers' grapefruit bitters to make this cocktail, since I couldn't find Bittermen's hopped grapefruit bitters. I know from past experience that a dash of my own celery bitters gives a drink hoppy notes of bitter flowers very similar to hops. The experience, once you twist grapefruit peal on top, is a drink with a no grapefruit juice that smells and tastes like a grapefruit juice drink but rich with all the other spirits. The Bols barrel-aged genever has the oak, malt and juniper that fits right in with cardamom of Cardamaro, which also has other bitter herbs. The Antica Formula vermouth (which the recipe calls for but I am using a Cocchi product with a similar profile) is rich with quinine and oak as well. And it all floats upward with citrus notes at first sip and at the finish. 

• 2 oz. Bols Genever (barrel aged used)
• 1/2 oz. Cardamaro
• 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica Formula vermouth (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 2 dashes Bittermen's hopped grapefruit bitters (Fee Brothers' grapefruit bitters and homemade celery bitters used)
• grapefruit twist

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

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. 

 

Two Penicillin Recipes (Classic and Mr. Anthony)

 

The Penicillin Cocktail came about at the height of the single-malt craze in the early aughts. At the time, the Penicillin seemed like something completely new, but in reality it was always with us. It combines a well tested Sour recipe with scotch and honey with ginger liqueur and smokey single malt scotch. It is perfect for pleasing a crowd of scotch fans with a simple recipe, as well as showing off how a well-made cocktail can change the drinking experience into something otherworldly. 

 

For bartenders, though, the cocktail was the easiest way to sell blended scotch at cocktail prices and still make it seem like the whole drink was made from single malt. 

 

My attempt at the traditional Penicillin this go-around is with Teacher's blended scotch and Ardbeg 12. While not the smokiest of scotches, the peat presence will knock you over. You will definitely notice it in the drink. The ginger brandy is my homemade liqueur, but King's Ginger liqueur is recommended and Domaine de Canton is most widely available. 

• 1 1/2 oz. blended scotch (Teacher's used)
• 1/2 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. single male scotch (Ardbeg 12 used)
• 2/3 oz. lemon juice 
• 2/3 oz. honey syrup
• piece of candied ginger

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with a large format chunk of ice inside. Use the ginger as garnish.  

Mr. Anthony: 

It's not at all a stretch of the imagination to make a genever (or jenever) Sour, and from there, it's just a short step to the Mr. Anthony, a jenever version of the Penicillin. Jenever is a Dutch gin that is made from malted barley and distilled with botanicals like juniper inside the mash as well as steeped in the spirit itself.

Bols barrel aged genever is so close to malt whiskey with its aging in French oak that it is a natural choice for a Penicillin. This time around, I switched up for a saltier and smokier single malt, McClellands Islay, a no-age-statement bottling (I've heard) from Bowmore. It is definitely different to make the Mr. Anthony after having a blended scotch Penicillin, but I might like it more. There's an herbal quality to it, that juniper or pine scent that is actually a quality of some of my favorite scotches.

• 1 oz. jenever (Bols barrel aged used)
• 1 oz. Islay single malt scotch (McClelland's used)
• 2 bar spoons of honey (1/2 oz. of honey syrup recommended)
• 1/4 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• piece of candied ginger
  

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with a large format chunk of ice inside. Use the ginger as garnish. 

Schiedam Salute

 

Schiedam is the southern town of Holland known for its particularly rich flavored malt barley gin. Advocaat is also a Dutch spirit made with eggs, sugar and brandy. The idea of combining the two suggests something thick and potent--even heavy on the calories. I'm happy to say, however, that this cocktail is quite balanced, though it is a dessert drink. The Schiedam Salute is a good way to get to know often misunderstood or maligned Dutch heritage spirits. 

My journey to arriving at this cocktail has involved making both the Schiedam gin and the advocaat, because both ingredients are pretty much impossible to find where I live. But Youtube has lots of videos on how to make advocaat that is as good as or better than Dutch brands. I also modeled my gin after Bols barrel aged genever, by tasting and comparing until I got the steeped ingredients just right. It was a matter of using white whiskey infused with juniper berries and a few fresh herbs and then topping it off with malt barley whiskey with some age to give the gin a nice barrel finish. 

All this sounds really heavy, and it is. But this much citrus really spreads the cocktail out into something you might have before getting into bed (or after getting out of it, as is sometimes the case). I used Aguardiente in place of Galliano as a mild and sweet anise spirit substitute. The only difference is that Galliano has vanilla flavor, but then so does my advocaat, so that seemed unnecessary. The final result was like combining eggnog with a Harvey Wallbanger. There was the familiar vanilla, anise and citrus of the Wallbanger with the creaminess that was almost like having egg white dropped in.

• 2 oz. genever/ jenever (homemade Scheidam gin used)
• 1 oz. advocaat (homemade used)
• 2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. Galliano (Aguardiente used)

Shake all ingredients except Galliano (or anise spirit) with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled highball glass. Float Galliano (or anise spirit) on top. (Note: I didn't think that the highball was the proper size for a 5 oz. drink with no ice. By all means use one if it is all you have, but I went with a whiskey sour glass for a more appropriate size and very effective container for a cocktail with a scented float.)

 

Dutch Harvest Sour (Original Recipe)

 

There's no pumpkin in this cocktail--the harvest notes are suggested by a sprinkle of pumpkin spice on top of the Sour and the painting that I was working on in the background. 

But the fun thing about this cocktail is that it is a Genever Sour. It's hard to say what this drink is like because Jenever isn't whiskey and it isn't gin. It is a malty spirit that is aged in oak and flavored with juniper. That makes genever something between the two: perfect for making into a Sour, but rich enough that you can play around with fall flavors. 

I'm tempted to try it again on the rocks or up, but for now this is a traditional Sour glass. Stay tuned for cider versions and other fun creations using Genever for the fall season. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Bols barrel aged genever 
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. brown sugar syrup or to taste
• cherry and orange slice for garnish
• pinch of pumpkin spice
  

Combine genever, juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass and garnish with fruit.  Sprinkle pumpkin spice over the glass.