Newbury

This is pretty much a very Sweet Martini. I'm not sure it deserved a different name except that there is the addition of 1/4 teaspoon of triple sec (which is a way of adding sweet orange bitters to a Sweet Martini).

Vigilant gin is so bracing in a Martini, so a sweeter variation did the spirit justice. You can taste the tarragon, grapefruit, and juniper of the gin behind the soft caramel sweetness of Dolin. Since I rarely have the same drink twice anymore, a Martini variation like this one was nice to return to.

• 2 oz. gin (Vigilant used)
• 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1/4 tsp. triple sec
• lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze the twist and drop it in.

Road Rummer

Very impressive despite its diminutive size, just like the real road rummer. It is spicy and strong with the sweetness and color coming from a teaspoon of grenadine and a quarter teaspoon of Pernod.

The original recipe of this drink calls for 2 oz. gin and 1/2 oz. dry vermouth in a cocktail glass, but the glass is way too big for the amount of liquid. I used my sour glass instead. But this drink is more spicy and I felt it did it justice to substitute Don Ciccio & Figili finocchietto liqueur for the dry vermouth since the finocchietto plays very well with gin and Pernod--if anything it adds other herbs to the Pernod.

• 2 oz. gin (Vigilant used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Don Ciccio & Figili finocchietto substituted)
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1/4 tsp. Pernod

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

Royal Gin Fizz

More special than the Gin Fizz and thicker and less floral than the Ramos Gin Fizz, the Royal Gin Fizz has a whole raw egg in it to make it thick and silky. Its a perfect drink for the Easter season. A light and floral gin like Sunset Hills from Fredericksburg, VA, just tastes like spring.

I use organic, cage-free eggs to get the rich yellow color. These eggs have a harder shell and a flavor and texture that holds up better to the changes that take place in drink form.

• 2 oz. gin (Sunset Hills used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 whole egg
• 1 tsp. sugar
• club soda

To get this great foam top I shake all ingredients except the soda very hard with no ice. Then I add ice and shake hard again. Pour into a Collins glass and top with soda. Stir gently so as not to disturb the foam.

Fort Lauderdale

A Florida cocktail needs to represent orange, and this one is no exception. Ripe and juicy naval oranges fresh squeezed and used as a garnish make a big impression. This is a rum drink and very similar to the Florida cocktail I posted a few days earlier.

As a side note, the recipe calls for sweet vermouth but I have Byrrh Quinquina, which is pretty much the same thing except it has more quinine and sweet berry and lavender notes as well. What better combination to show off the sunshine state.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Byrrh used)
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except orange slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange slice.

Russian Cocktail

Like the Ninotchka, the Russian Cocktail is a vodka and creme de cacao drink. I'm finding that this combination is very pleasing (especially when it comes to the clarity of the drink) if not a little sugary. Gin, like Vigilant, adds spicy flavors that make drinking it more interesting.

• 2 oz. vodka (Stolichnaya used)
• 1 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Vigilant used)

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

Ninotchka

Ninotchka comes from the Latin/ Hebrew word for "little girl," and is applied in Russian as "great-granddaughter." The name itself and the use of vodka puts it in what I'm styling the "Family" category of sweet cocktails like the Godmother and Godchild. It's pretty good for all that, and as a Russian drink, I thought it appropriate to use Stolichnaya vodka.

• 2 oz. vodka (Stolichnaya used)
• 1 oz. creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Tovarisch

I feel like I've had this cocktail before. It's not the first time that lime juice and Jagermeister have been used together and the taste is strikingly familiar. But I've never had both lime and Jagermeister in such large proportions.

I was steeling myself for an awful experience, and this is coming from someone who actually likes Jager a little. It is more that an ounce of lime juice is often super tart and there's no added sugar in this cocktail to calm that down. It relies solely on the Jager. Turns out that it all works much better than I thought.

The other puzzling thing about this drink is the name. It is Russian for "comrade" and suggests a friendly relationship between Russin vodka and German Jagermeister. This is a lot like the Allies (Jager and English gin) cocktail and equally puzzling because Russians and Germans were seldom allies (likewise with Russians and Brits) so I'm not sure what that says. Offhandedly, there was a museum sailing ship in Germany named Tovarisch, so that's something, I guess.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 1/2 oz. Jagermeister
• 1 oz. lime juice

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