Blue Run Sling (Death & Co. Recipe)

This bittersweet Sling is a little less exotic than the Singapore Sling, keeping its ingredients more or less grounded in apple pie notes rather than citrus. And you don't see bourbon Slings everyday. I think of this as a fall cocktail for those who need to keep things on the light and refreshing side. And it's great: you don't feel bogged down with sweetness or pumpkin spice. 

I don't have Amaro Averna, but I know that it has a bitter orange peel flavor that I tried to replicate with a mix of Don Ciccio & Figili Ambrosia and my homemade Amer Picon (which has Ramazzotti with its orange flavors in it as well). The rest was made simply by combining ingredients and preparing the orange flag with the cherry target center. 

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1/4 oz. Amaro Averna (Ambrosia and Amer Picon used)
• 3/4 oz. fuji apple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. vanilla syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• 1 orange flag with cherry  and barrel-aged bitters dashed on it as garnish
  

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a highball glass full of ice cubes. Garnish with the orange flag and dash bitters on it.

 

Overhead Smash (Death & Co. Recipe)

This is actually a Smash cocktail, much like those made with fruit and base spirits back in the early days of cocktails. The difference is that this Smash (a name that denotes its method of preparation) is very much of the Tiki era of cocktails with cucumber, ginger and Angostura bitters. It is a riff on the Suffering Bastard of nearly identical ingredients. The difference here, however, is the addition of strawberry and the fact that that the Bastard's ginger beer preparation is now replaced with ginger syrup--effectively making it a ginger soda cocktail. 

One other notable change in this Overhead Smash from its forebears is that it has a potent aromatized wines, quina vermouth and Bonal, giving the entire cocktail a bitter base that goes well with the vegetable notes of cucumber smashed into the mix. 

The drinking experience is still the same as the Suffering Bastard, but knowing that is prepared as a Smash and has Bonal Gentaine-Quina just helps you appreciate the craft of it.

•  1/2 strawberry
• 2 cucumber wheels
• 1 1/2 oz. dry gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
  
• 1/2 oz. Bonal
• 1/2 oz. Carpano Antica (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. orgeat (homemade used)
• 1/4 oz. ginger syrup (homemade ginger brandy and simple used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• club soda
• 1 cucumber ribon, 1 mint sprig and 1 or 2 drops of Angostura as garnishes. 

Muddle strawberry and cucumber wheels in a shaker. Add the remaining ingredients except soda and shake with only a few ice cubes, then strain into a highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with the cucumber ribbon and mint sprig. Then dash Angostura on the mint. 

 

Vejk Sling (Death & Co. Recipe)

Slings are popular, tasty and easy to make. They are some of the oldest cocktails in history, and yet they are not going away anytime soon. Basically, you need only a base spirit, some juice and soda, and a dash of a flavorful liqueur or a garnish usually helps distinguish one sling from another.

This Sling is mostly distinguished by scotch. It needs little else to make it interesting, however Dolin blanc and orange bitters send it in an appropriately fruity direction. Furthermore, a chamomile infusion in the Dolin blanc adds earthiness and apple-like notes

• 2 oz. Compass Box Asyla scotch (Spyburn 10-year-old used)
• 1 oz. chamomile-infused Dolin blanc vermouth
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 dash Bittermen's orange bitters (Hella used)
• club soda
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with soda and twist the lemon zest over the drink and drop it in. 

 

Jesper Lind (Death & Co. Recipe)

Vesper Lind is James Bond's beau. This is the woman for whom he never married. And we all have had a Vesper or a 007 Martinii. This is different. In fact if I was to suggest a  Bond Enemy drink, this might be it. 

There is a lot of richness in the nose: vanilla and orange. When you sip it is full of raisin from the sherry and herbal notes from the gin and aquavit. And that last bit is where the name comes from: a common masculine name in Norway, Jesper. All of which hints at the addition of aquavit as a botanical ingredient. This is the dude drink to match Bond's woman. And I'm down with that. It's richer and more herbaceous. There's no vodka to tame it down. The flavor is full and ready. 

What it lacks is garnish, if that is even necessary. At a cool bar like Death & Co., I'd be surprised if that was even necessary. And truthfully, you don't need lemon oil from the twist or a cherry to throw off the perfection of the individual ingredients. 

• 1 1/2oz. dry gin (homemade bathtub used)
• 3/4 oz. Lustau East India Solera Sherry
• 1/2 oz. Linie aquavit (homemade used)
• 1 tsp vanilla syrup 
• 1 dash orange bitters

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a coupe glass. 

Cinnamon Girl (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Cheers to Eric Clapton! Cinnamon and Caribbean spirits are in the driver's seat for this cocktail like none I've tried before. It's rare that a recipe combines rum and tequila in this way, and rarer still that it stands alone from the Tiki universe with more colonial spice than an attempt at tropical escapism. 

Orange flavors are hinted at with the garnish and muddling, but this cocktail is mostly a lime and spirits drink. As the name suggests, cinnamon syrup is a major part of the flavor profile, and it sits well on top of aged rum and tequila with a baking spice-heavy orange bitters like Hella. 

• 2 orange wedges
• 2 oz. reposado tequila (El Jimador used)
  
• 1/4 oz. Smith and Cross rum (George Bowman used) 
• 1/2 oz. cinnamon bark syrup (half simple and half MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey used)
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• 1 orange crescent garnish
  

Muddle orange wedges in a shaker and add the remaining ingredients with ice. Shake and strain into a double rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the orange crescent and serve with a straw.

Saramago (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Sometimes a cocktail is designed to invite the senses and is so well-balanced that it seduces you completely. That is what happens with this drink, a variation on the Tequila Martini. 

My issue with the Tequila Martini is that it is often too dry, too forceful to have as your first cocktail. Saramago gets you over that hump with St. Germain to sweeten and add floral essences. Dolin blanc and tequila makes for a rounder Martini than the extra dry vermouth. It gives more of a grape flavor that plays well with the herbal notes of tequila. Finally, there's just a hint of smoke from the mezcal rinse that signals the deeper pleasures to come.

• Del Maguey Vida Mezcal rinse
  
• 2 oz blanco tequila (Sauza 100% blue agave blanco used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin blanc
• 1/2 oz. St-Germain
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• grapefruit twist

Rinse a coupe with mezcal and dump. Stir the remaining ingredients on ice and strain into the coupe. Twist a grapefruit zest over the drink and drop it in. 

Lobby Cocktail

 

I got this fun and easy recipe off of Kindred Cocktails, a website similar to mine with a large cocktail recipe database. If you haven't noticed, lately I've been trolling the internet looking for modern recipes or twists on classics that I've not tried yet. There is a lot out there, but I've just about exhausted the classics and am looking for things to do with more unusual spirits. Today that was my homemade Mandarine Napoleon recipe.

So the Lobby cocktail seems to take its name from other hotel-themed cocktails like the Grand Hotel or Hotel Plaza. But really I found the experience of the Lobby Cocktail similar to the KGB, which is kirsch, gin and apricot brandy. It's that kind of heavy, all high-proof spirits experience that doesn't let up, or at least not at first, that this drink reminded me of. And it isn't surprising. Mandarine Napoleon is the only sweet spirit in here, like apricot brandy in the KGB, and that barely provides room for the other ingredients. Unlike other Hotel cocktails, there's no aromatized wine like sweet vermouth to thin out the high-proof stuff, so I recommend using wet ice or going with a splash of water in your mixing glass. 

Something else of note: this cocktail calls for Galliano (not pictured) and because I didn't have it, I couldn't put it in the photo. I do have a pretty reliable recipe to substitute for Galliano in a pinch. It wont do for Galliano drinks like the Harvey Wallbanger, but when all you need is a quarter of an ounce, then I suggest combining sweet 3 parts anisette (or anisette with a drop of sugar syrup) and 1 part vanilla vodka. This gets the herbal and vanilla notes of Galliano across when color and texture would otherwise be lost among other ingredients. For this cocktail, I used sweet Aguardiente as the anisette, not a pastis like Ricard or absinthe substitute. Those are playing a different ballgame than Galliano, and Aguardiente has the sweet herbal flavors (minus the vanilla) that I was looking for.

• 2 oz. gin (Citadelle used)
• 1/4 oz. Galliano (a mixture of 3 parts Aguardiente and 1 part vanilla vodka used)
• 1/4 oz. Mandarine Napoleon
• 1 dash orange bitters
• lemon zest twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lemon zest over the glass and drop it in. 

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.

After Hours (Recipe by Satvik Ahuja)

 

I was in the mood for kummel on a gray day last weekend and stumbled on this recipe on Difford's Guide. The drink makes me think of Covenant's song "After Hours" with its distorted electronic hum, slow beats and creepy stalker lyrics. And it was designed as an after dinner drink, but I found it much closer to an Aviation without the lemon juice. In fact, citrus notes are hinted at here, but omitted entirely for a spirits-forward punch sweetened by maraschino and honey in the kummel.

I'm working with my homemade kummel here, which is the same recipe as whatever akvavit I have on hand plus added honey syrup. I only make as much as I need on any particular day because it is a specialty ingredient. I also am having fun with the French gin, Citadelle. You could certainly go with a heavier gin, like an old tom or Ransom and make this a dessert drink. I felt that while Citadelle is a light, dry gin, it also has the heft of 18 botanicals that give it more weight in the nose than many American gins, especially after mixing them with Luxardo maraschino.

Difford's Guide is a good place to find new inventions like this, and many of the cocktails call for chilled water as an option. This is the first time I took that option, and I feel like it was a good call. The flavors are very packed in this cocktail and water gave them room to express. 

• 1 1/2 oz. dry gin (Citadelle used)
• 1/3 oz. kummel (homemade used)
• 1/3 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 dash orange bitters
• 1/3 chilled water
• maraschino cherry (Bada Bing used)

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

Commodore #1

I've made a Commodore Cocktail before: that bourbon and creme de cacao drink with lemon juice. I've never heard of a Commodore #1, and that implies that there's a #2 and beyond, right?

I did this one because I made this strawberry liqueur from Vitae Platinum Rum, sugar and fresh strawberries. It was a good idea. MurLarkey Heritage Whiskey provides a spicy base for this fruity drink. You notice the wine cask and rapidly aged oak of the heritage while the strawberry provides a fresh sweetness. Overall, though, this is a very juicy drink and you might not notice that it is predominately orange juice, so bitters do a lot to keep it interesting and balanced.

• 1 1/2 oz. whiskey (MurLarkey Heritage used)
• 1/2 oz strawberry liqueur (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 2 oz. orange juice
• dash orange bitters

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

Proper MurLarkey

There aren't many great Irish whiskey sipping cocktails. Most of the St. Patrick's Day-themed cocktails are sugary and heavy on cream and artificial green colors. This cocktail may be slightly orange, but the flavor is undeniably Irish.

MurLarkey Honey whiskey is a rare bottling. The master distiller soaks naturally harvested honeycomb in a barrel of their white whiskey. It isn't sweet, but it has a honey essence. Irish whiskey like Proper Twelve has a honey scent on the nose as well. The rest of the drink brings bitter citrus and spice to make this a well-rounded and rich cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. Proper Twelve Irish whiskey
• 1 oz. MurLarkey honey whiskey
• 1/ 2oz. Royal Combier
• 1 dash orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of ice. 

Angler's Cocktail

Sometimes it's nice to have a bitter gin cocktail on the rocks. There's no messing around with a lot of ingredients and really not much mixing at all. The shaking seems like an automatic move, not a requirement. That's the only reason I can see why this drink would be called an Angler's cocktail. It's not that there's anything fishy going on with the recipe or the presentation or that fishermen enjoy their gin this way. It's just that, like with fishing, an angler can't be bothered with superfluous steps or actions. Something simple and to the point--a decidedly bitter one--is the way to go.

The bitterness of Angostura and orange bitters is really pronounced here. It adds lots of tropical spices to your gin. For this reason, you want to let the bitters shine and you'll need a gin that is ok with that. Too much going on will crowd the drink. A wet American gin like Filibuster Dual Cask will do the trick.

• 2 oz. gin (Filibuster Dual Cask used)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes orange bitters (Hella used)
• 3 dashes grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with fresh (large) ice cubes. 

Colony Club / Deep Sea

This is a double post for two very similar cocktails. The Colony Club is a very classic and stiff tasting cocktail with the anise flavor of Pernod coming through the gin and orange bitters. There's not much to it.

The Deep Sea is a wetter cocktail with a whole ounce of dry vermouth. The Pernod and bitters are not as noticeable while vermouth is prominent.

Colony Club

• 2 oz. dry gin
• 1 tsp. Pernod
• 3-5 dashes orange bitters

Deep Sea

• 2 oz. dry gin
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 tsp. Pernod
• 3-5 dashes orange bitters

 Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Ferrari

This is a quintessential Italian cocktail, and it is very European in general. Europeans tend to enjoy vermouth in large quantities, mixing it with sugar and citrus. They don't like their drinks too strong, but richness and complexity are the general rule.

It's a multi-layered drink with citrus nose and orange spice, marzipan sweetness and a dry and herbaceous wine center. Ferrari is an appropriate name for such a designer Italian cocktail. It gets good flavor traction on the tongue and moves fast.

There's a series of car drinks including the [Golden] Cadillac, Monte Carlo, Roles Royce, and Bentley. Check them all out on my blog.    

• 2 oz. dry vermouth (Mancino used)
• 1 oz. amaretto (Lazzaroni used)
• dash orange bitters (homemade bitters used)

Build cocktail in an Old Fashioned glass full of ice. Stir well and twist lemon peel over the glass before dropping it in. 

Pompano

In Italian, Pompano means to "pump." There's also a Pompano beach in Florida. I wonder what goes on there, or if they enjoy these cocktails beside the ocean. Anyway, just another example of how fresh grapefruit juice and gin go together. This is like a Greyhound, only the bitters add a little dimension.

• 2 oz. gin
• 2 oz grapefruit juice
• several dashes orange bitters

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

Mahukona

This is a tiki that is similar to a Mai Tai, with citrus and orgeat, but also orange bitters. The pineapple spear really adds to the look of the drink. It makes me wish I had a grim-faced tiki mug to put it in.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. orgeat syrup
• 5 dashes orange bitters
• pineapple spear

Combine all ingredients except pineapple spear in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Garnish with the pineapple spear.

Urquart Castle

Scotch drinks are sometimes best if there's not much in them except for the scotch. Urquart Castle will appeal to scotch drinkers, especially if you use a full-flavor scotch like Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition. It's made with peaty scotches and blended to produce a peppery nose with a caramel finish. A few dashes of bitters and vermouth and it's a balanced cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. scotch
• several dashes orange bitters
• several dashes dry vermouth
• several dashes cointreau

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with fresh ice.

Liberal Cocktail

This drink calls for either bourbon or rye. I felt it could stand to be a little more on the sweet side, so I opted for Calumet Farms bourbon. Bourbon and bitter orange are flavors that go so well together, and this cocktail really highlights this.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon or rye
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Antica Formula used)
• 1/4 oz. Amer Picon (Picon Biere used)
• dash orange bitters 

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

Blue Firth / The Charmer

This drink goes by The Charmer in the New York Bartender's Guide, but it has its own more Scottish name as well. I'd made it years ago during a Democratic primary election night because of its color. I'm really impressed with its flavor, though. I don't smoke but I associate its taste with having a cigarette for some reason. It has a lot of orange bitterness before you even add the orange bitters. My bitters sank to the bottom, which made it even more interesting when you finish the drink.

• 1 1/2 oz. scotch (Barrelhound used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. blue curacao 
• several dashes orange bitters

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

Kildrummy

A drink like this can only be accomplished with a full flavored scotch like Lagavulin 16. It is well balanced with smoke, peat, bitterness and anise. This was a perfect time to use my 1.5 inch ice balls.

• 1 1/2 oz. scotch (Lagavulin 16)
• several dashes of orange bitters (see previous post)
• several dashes of Pernod

Build drink in a highball glass with ice. Add scotch the dashes of bitters and Pernod on the cubes.