Virgin Sweetheart (Original Recipe)

 

This is a non-alcoholic cocktail that mimics the flavor of candy hearts. The basic format is the Clover Club but with lavender syrup and a float of DHOS Bittersweet aperitif  This recipe calls for two shakes and a gated pour with your Hawthorne strainer. 

To make the heart-shape float, scoop or flatten the shape with a spoon before floating the Bittersweet into the space. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Spiritless Jalisco 55
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• 2 tsp. lavender syrup
• 1 egg white
• DHOS Bittersweet aperitif float

Shake all ingredients except Bittersweet float in a shaker before adding ice. Then add the ice and shake again vigorously until the tin is ice cold. Strain with an open gate into a coupe glass. Carve a heart shape into the foam with a a spoon and float Bittersweet inside. 

Scotch Lady

 

The Pink Lady is a great gin cocktail that is at once classic and up-and-coming in the bar scenes. It's a descendant of the Fizz without soda. Now that gin is coming back, The Pink Lady is popular again. I think it is because it is so light and refreshing, and that means a change in the base spirit changes the drink. Any restaurant can swap out a unique gin, something like Old Tom or infused gins, and you have a drink that many will enjoy as if for the first time. 

This rendition, the Scotch Lady, is a simple swap out of ingredients that goes slightly richer with apple brandy and scotch as the main ingredients. When you first try it, you get mostly apple and lemon notes. A lot of the freshness of the Pink Lady. In the aftertaste, there is a throaty hum of peat and malt from scotch. Famous Grouse is a nice blend for this drink because it isn't shy. A rustic blend, the Grouse has character by itself but is tame with company like egg white and lemon juice. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Famous Grouse scotch
• 1/2 oz. Laird's Applejack 86 
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1/4 oz. grenadine
• 1 egg white
• brandied cherry garnish

Combine all ingredients except garnish in a shaker and shake without ice. Then add ice and shake to chill. Strain into a chilled coup and garnish with a cherry. 

Dos Besitos (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Sometimes tequila--and tequila recipes from speakeasy bars--are a little inaccessible for the average cocktail drinker. The trend seems to be to load up on flavors or to combine things in new and sometimes off-putting ways to get us to think differently about recipes and to appreciate new experiences.

This drink is designed to please the crowd. It tastes like a vacation, and as such brings few challenges to the bartender or drinker. And you need cocktials like this on menus. You don't want anyone feeling left out, and they won't. Not with "besitos" (little kisses) in your glass. 

• 1 oz. reposado tequila (El Jimador reposado used)
• 1 oz. blanco tequila (Sauza 100% blue agave blanco used)
  3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
  
• 1/4 oz. agave syrup (Madhava used)
• 1 tsp grenadine

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe. 

Mr. Dogma (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

Mr. Dogma is a long drink that has dispirit parts that seemingly wouldn't work well together. Orange and lemon juice with a bitter liqueur, rich dark rum and sweet vermouth. It seems that the gamble pays off when you mix up this drink and put it under a spiral slice of lemon and a flower. 

The result is a strange experience, like a tiki drink crossed with some classic cocktail from the early 1900s. The flavor swings from citrus to bitterness to sweetness and spice. Some of the flavors are almost floral because of the herbal infusion, which the flower hints at. But this bodacious drink lasts a while and is perfect for slow sipping. 

A quick note: a rich sweet vermouth like Cocchi is a good call here. You don't want to taste wine, you want herbs. Also, my Amer Picon is a special recipe involving Rammazzotti, Combier and orange bitters that I made with MurLarkey Justice white whiskey. 

• 1 2/3 oz. aged dark rum (George Bowman used)
• 1/3 oz. aged sweet vermouth (Cocchi di Torino used)
• 1/3 oz. Amer Picon (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. grenadine
• 2/3 oz. orange juice
• 1/3 oz. lemon juice
• spiral cut lemon wheel
• flower garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a Collins glass and garnish with lemon and flower.

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Bourbon Daisy

I've done the Bourbon Daisy before, but with Southern Comfort, not peach whiskey. I felt that moving away from Southern Comfort was reason enough to explore this cocktail some more. That, and a Bourbon Daisy is a great way to make your summer style Daisy cocktail more suited to Autumnal drinking. 

I used Evan William's bottled in bond bourbon, which has pleasing hazlenut notes on the nose and at first sip. The last of my Bird Dog peach whiskey kept the whiskey-forward style of this cocktail. Southern Comfort is a brandy spirit with peach flavors. It is very rich, whereas Bird Dog's peach whiskey is heavier only on the peach flavor without the sugary cooked spirit notes of Southern Comfort. I know that inexpensive flavored whiskies are not prized, but I have to say that Bird Dog has been one of the most useful liquors on my bar. 

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon (Evan Williams bottled in bond used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• club soda
• 1 tsp. Southern Comfort
• orange slice
• pineapple stick (optional)

Combine bourbon lemon juice and grenadine in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with club soda and stir gently. Float peach liquor on top and garnish with fruit.

China

 

I've made the Chinese Cocktail, which is also a red cocktail that is made with dark rum, colored with grenadine, and spiced with Angostura bitters. This is a little different and I think I might like it a little better if only because passion fruit really makes this cocktail pop. In fact, it is the only difference between the China and Chinese cocktails, and it is probably the only Asian ingredients. Of course I used my homemade La Grande Passion liqueur because it is hard to find passion fruit nectar right now. I kept the proportions the same, however, with the passion fruit flavor of my liqueur being strong enough--maybe even stronger than actual passion fruit nectar or juice.

Rum, for some reason, is the principal spirit in China-themed cocktails, including the Shanghai Cocktail that also includes grenadine to make it a flag-red color. Angostura bitters is full of Asian spices like clove, cinnamon, allspice and exotic barks. It tastes like Chinese five-spice mix!  Anise, in the case of the Pernod in the Shanghai Cocktail, is also a very Chinese flavor, so that also seems appropriate. I'm glad that I've been able to try all three of these very similar cocktails.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Pusser's used)
• 1 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• 1/2 oz. passion fruit juice (homemade La Grande Passion used)
• several dashes grenadine
• several dashes Angostura bitters

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

Waterbury Cocktail

I found this bottle of Christian Brothers Brandy that dates back to the early eighties at the latest. My mother-in-law says it is from a trip her parents took to California, so it could be even earlier. Anyway, this bottle is from an older time where even inexpensive products from distilleries were quite good when compared to today's standards.

This is because tastes were different back then. The flagship brandy of Christian Brothers was oakier and closer to whiskey, which I'm sure was its main competitor. Now the Christian Brothers VSOP is so much closer to cognac.

Now for the cocktail. Waterbury is grand, elegant egg foam cocktail that hits all the right notes. There's lime juice, but it's not overly sour. In addition to the oakiness of the vintage brandy, I also used a nice grenadine that's made with real pomegranate juice and cane sugar. It didn't change the color of the drink to an obnoxious pink like Rose's does, but the beige of this Waterbury Cocktail is classic like the Brandy.

• 2 oz. brandy (vintage Christian Brothers used)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 tsp sugar syrup
• 1 egg white

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain out ice and re-shake to add foam. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass (wine glass pictured).

Paradise Cocktail

This is one sweet drink! In a way, it does suggest a tropical Paradise, or maybe a blissful state of mind. It's not overly strong, though, with apricot brandy and a bit of gin as the only spirituous ingredient. Grenadine adds more sweetness and a pretty color. It's not, for everyone, but it will surely satisfy most of us.

• 2 oz. apricot brandy
• 1/2 oz. dry gin (Common Wealth used)
• 1 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine 

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

Fireman's Sour

This bright red drink evokes the flashing lights and red paint of a fire engine speeding down the street, something I see a lot lately here in D.C. Rose's grenadine is responsible for sweetening and coloring the drink. Despite the fact that I'm making most of my own syrups, I still count on Roses grenadine (more than the lime cordial) when it is specifically called for in recipes. When you are trying to get a specific color for your cocktail, it's not worth leaving it to chance.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. simple syrup
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• lemon wheel
• maraschino cherry

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass (or small wine glass) and garnish with lemon wheel and cherry.

Three Miller Cocktail

I'm not sure what is up with the name of this drink. Three Miler sounds more appropriate for a drink because it is strong and sweet, maybe a pick-me-up after a walk. But three millers as a name for a drink that doesn't include grain alcohol seems misplaced. Still I've never seen such a brilliant red drink since I had that bottle of Dubonnet Rouge and the grenadine actually provided a terrific pomegranate flavor.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. brandy
• 1/2 oz. grenadine
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Tequila Cocktail

Much like the Rose and Jack Rose, not to mention the New York Cocktail a grenadine and lime juice cocktail looks good and tastes very tart. This disguises the tequila flavor, but I still could tell that it was gold and not silver tequila. I guess it is as good as any, if you have to have a standard drink representative of an entire liquor category. Then again, tequila has the Margarita and nothing is likely to altar that drinks popularity. Anyway, in case you get tired of your Margarita, here's the recipe:

• 3 oz. gold tequila
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. grenadine
• several dashes of Angostura bitters

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