Dale Cooper (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This is the first of the Death & Co. stirred tequila cocktails I decided to dabble with this weekend. On the dessert side, this cocktail by bartender Jessica Gonzalez is a tribute to the Twin Peaks character of the same name. 

There's a lot going on here, from the cinnamon syrup and coffee infused sweet vermouth. The cocktail ties together the chocolate, cinnamon and coffee flavors associated with ancient and modern day Mexico. It is strong and on the large side--the recipe calls for a large Martini glass because a coup just won't handle it. 

I made a few modifications, as I always do, to save time and make up for ingredients I don't have on hand. The first is replacing the Green Chartreuse with Dolin Genepy, which is a fine move when considering how many powerful ingredients are contending for your attention in this drink. The other thing I did was instantly flavor my simple syrup with MurLarkey Cinnamon whiskey. I just added 1 tsp. cinnamon whiskey to my portion of simple I was using for this drink. I also flavored my portion of sweet vermouth with a tsp. of MurLarkey coffee whiskey. My thinking is that MurLarkey has already made these infusions so I don't have to, which is kind of the beauty of these whiskey flavors.

The result is a rich cocktail that combines your dessert Manhattan with cinnamon, coffee and chocolate flavors for a very round and satisfying nightcap.

• 2 oz. reposado tequila (El Jimador used)
• 1/2 oz. coffee-infused sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino with MurLarkey coffee used)
• 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1 tsp cinnamon bark syrup (simple syrup and 1 tsp. MurLarkey cinnamon used)
• 1 dash Aztec chocolate bitters 

 Stir all ingredients over ice, then strain into a Martini glass. 

 

Carolina

What a strange cocktail with such an incongruous name. If there is a contemporary equivalent, it would have to be the Cinnamon Toast Crunch with Rumchata and Fireball Whiskey. Without these select products available decades ago, mixologists must have come up with this drink to imitate the flavor of cinnamon toast.

• 3 oz. gold tequila
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ground cinnamon 
• maraschino cherry

Combine tequila, half-and-half, grenadine, egg white and vanilla in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle with cinnamon and garnish with the cherry.

1.  

Sauzaliky

What a fun name for a drink! And what better tequila to use for the Sauzaliky than Sauza? I really enjoyed this cocktail more than most blended drinks I've made this year. For one thing, it was like a smoothie with a tequila kick. Fresh bananas, fresh squeezed orange juice, and a hint of lime give the drink a tropical feel, while blended ice and fruit have a silkiness (not grainy like a Frozen Margarita) that makes for non-stop sipping.

Half a banana for one drink is a lot of banana, but I appreciate how the flavor remains without the need for artificial tasting liqueurs. If you have a blender and a few fruit staples on hand, this is a great choice. Sauza gold has this rich taste that also appeared in the cocktail, despite all of the other ingredients.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 banana sliced

Add all ingredients in a blender with ice and blend until smooth. Pour into a cocktail glass or wine goblet. 

Cowgirl's Prayer

Homemade lemonade makes the Cowgirl's Prayer a tangy treat. It would be enough to add lime juice and simple syrup to make it tart beyond normal, but the lemonade sweetens and adds complexity. Make your lemonade extra sweet to counteract the lime juice acidity. Make it witha an ounce of lemon juice, 3/4 ounce of simple syrup and an ounce of water (enough for one drink.) You could, of course, make a whole pitcher of lemonade. You never know when you need to make another cowgirl's prayer come true.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 1 oz. lime juice
• fresh lemonade
• lemon slice
• lime slice

 Build drink in a Collins glass with fresh ice. Stir and garnish with fruit. 

Chapala

Chapala is a city in Jalisco, Mexico. It is also a nice cocktail to pair with Mexican food. (Check out the taco platter in the backgroung.) Orange juice changes it up from a standard Margarita. Using grenadine for sweetness instead of sugar syrup  also makes it more tropical. Ole!

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 2 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a highball glass. 

Pina

Another drink from the Caribbean's Gulf of Mexico is the Pina. It combines two great flavors--gold tequila and pineapple. The recipe calls for honey as the sweetener, but I came up with a more tropical substitute that did not detract and probably enhanced the flavor. I made pineapple syrup from the shell and core of the pineapple I used in the Batida de Pina. By cooking the shell and core with 3/4 cup of brown sugar until it is soft, then smashing the shell with a potato ricer and straining the syrup from the pulp, I got a rich tropical tasting syrup. Try making pineapple syrup and adding it to your favorite cocktails, like the Old Fashioned or Margarita or Mojito instead of sugar. Remember to save the leaves of the pineapple to make pineapple spears.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 3 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp honey (pineapple syrup used)
• lime slice (and pineapple spear if you have it.)

Combine all ingredients except fruit in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass. Garnish with fruit.

Matador (NY Bartender's Guide version)

This is the drink I think of when someone says a Bullfighter's cocktail. Something that refreshes but tastes like gold tequila. Sauza has a rooster on all of their bottles, my picture has this awesome Mexican chicken that my wife named Zia. Shaking this cocktail results in a nice foam without having to resort to egg white.

• 2 oz. gold tequila
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 3 oz. pineapple juice

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

Sombrero

Again, I'm finding more than one drink by the name Sombrero. The one in the New York Bartender's Guide is basically a White Russian without the vodka. I might drink that one when I'm really drunk, but I'm still trying to experiment with Spanish vermouth.

This time I'm using Lacuesta's sweet limited edition bottle. This is more mild than Italian vermouths, and far less bitter than Antica Formula. It's really a lot like a Marsala wine with a little bit of herbs to give it zing.

I used Sauza gold tequila because it has more caramel flavors and less pepper and agave taste of the blanco. It was a good move.

• 1 1/2 oz. gold tequila
• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (Lacuesta limited edition used)
• 3/4 oz. dry vermouth (Lacuesta blanco used)

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

Grapeshot

Are you a pirate or a highwayman? Do you say, "Stand and deliver!" before pulling your pistol and pilfering a man's purse? Is there some reason why you have grape juice and tequila, but not wine? Because that's pretty much what's going on here. This drink tastes like a cheap port, and if you had actual wine, you'd be better off drinking that.

I guess a swashbuckling pirate doesn't have time to wait for the grape juice to ferment. In that case, make this drink.

I have two versions of this cocktail now. The silver tequila and white grape juice looks just like a Martini but will likely go down much quicker. Purple grape juice and gold tequila is richer and has a totally different look.

The reason for there being two recipes is because the New York Bartender's Guide circa 1997 includes one recipe but it is cross listed with both gold and silver tequila and white and purple grape juice. The printed recipe shows gold tequila and white grape juice. Follow the recipe and do whatever you like with the colors of the liquids.

• 2 oz. gold or silver tequila
• 1 1/2 oz. white grape juice (purple grape juice also ok.)
• 1 oz. white curacao

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