Ice Pick

Named after the bar tool fabled to be the perfect murder weapon and other such dated nonsense, the Ice Pick is one of those inevitable cocktails that results from having two perfectly mixable ingredients that feel a little incomplete by themselves. When do you see someone having iced tea without a slice of lemon, or a glass of vodka without some juice or an olive? Never. So the Ice Pick really is a brute tool that brings together iced tea and vodka, which is, incidentally, a great way to disguise your drinking during a lunch meeting.

Try using an unusual black tea if you want to class this drink up a bit. Here I have Republic Of Tea's Golden Yunan tea. The gold color leaves change to red-brown when they are steeped and the tea is rich and malty, not nearly as bitter as most bargain iced tea brands. Steep the tea in near boiling water and allow it to cool (refrigerate for a half hour if necessary). The mix to your hearts content.

The original recipe calls for a slice of lime squeezed into the glass. But that is taking into account that this recipe predates the 80s' and fine tea shops in the U.S. Iced tea continues to be made with horrendous blends of poor quality tea. Nowadays, if you use a good tea, you don't want to cover it up with citrus. I found that two  lemon wheel slices shoved down into the glass give plenty of flavor without detracting from quality iced tea that I chose. When you use cheap ingredients, I guess you have to do what you have to do to make up for your bad decisions. Good tea at least prevents you from turning this drink into a bad decision.

• 2 oz. vodka
• iced tea
• 2 lemon wheel slices

Pour vodka in a highball glass full of ice. Top with tea and garnish with lemon wheels by shoving them down into the glass. 

Quick Pick (Non-Alcoholic)

Quick Pick is the mocktail of the vodka drink known as the Ice Pick. It imitates the way vodka changes an iced tea with a peppermint syrup that sweetens and creates a chilling effect. I made the syrup by cold brewing peppermint tea in simple syrup. There's a dash of food coloring in the jar in the photo to give it a green look, rather than the brownish color that tea gives syrup.

• Iced tea
• 2 oz. peppermint syrup
• lime wedge
• mint sprig

Build drink in a Collins glass with syrup and ice. Top with iced tea and garnish with a lime wedge and mint sprig.

Tea Time (Original Recipe for MurLarkey Distillery)

This drink takes its inspiration from the Ice Pick, a cocktail with the dubious intent of hiding alcohol in an innocent looking glass of iced tea. Using flavored spirits and sparkling water enhances that basic recipe: I wondered what would happen if the liquor tasted like tea?

MurLarkey makes Three Tea Whiskey that is infused with Earl Gray, Darjeeling and English breakfast teas. I like a raspberry iced tea, so Chambord black raspberry liqueur suggested itself. My thinking was that a really enjoyable summer cocktail shouldn't feel like a basic iced tea. It should be a treat for a special occasion, or at least turn a typical summer afternoon into a special occasion. This was a very special recipe.

• 2 oz. MurLarkey Three Tea whiskey
• 1 oz. Chambord
• 1 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water
• blackberry, lemon slices, and mint sprig garnishes

Combine whiskey, Chambord and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Place a lemon slice in the glass and top with sparkling water. Stir gently and garnish with mint sprig, blackberry and lemon slice.

Ninteen Pick-Me-Up

One of the most spicy and bitter Fizz drinks I've ever tried. The recipe calls for a ton of bitters, more Pernod than is usually healthy, and a little gin to give the ingredients room. This might be a great hangover drink as the words "Pick-Me-Up" imply. And I can see the appeal of so much flavor as well as fizz.

Being a Pernod drink with lots of anise flavor makes this drink related to the Nineteen, a spicy "up" drink. This was stronger, though, and soda helps push the alcohol along and make it easily crushable.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 1 oz. gin
• 1/4 tsp. sugar syrup
• 3-5 dashes orange bitters
• 3-5 dashes Angostura bitters
• club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with soda and stir gently.

La Valentina (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

If you are looking for a beer and tequila cocktail, look no further. Often beer and spirits cocktails offend either beer drinkers or spirits purists. I have to say that the design of this drink, from crushed ice to raspberries (muddled and garnish) will win over everyone. You don't really notice either the beer or the tequila, which is to say, this drink is on the sweet side and it sneaks up on you.

And that is more than a bartender can ask for in a recipe involving tequila and wheat beer. The two go great together, mostly because wheat beer is a very forgiving mixer with any spirit. The muddled fruit, however, make the cocktail a little 2006. Let's just say that sometimes it is wise to please everyone. And a bar like Death & Co. can tend to turn off low-brow drinkers, even if they don't display any pretension. That's not the case with La Valentina.

• 3 raspberries
• 1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 3/4 oz. simple syrup
• pinch kosher salt
• 1 1/2 oz. Blanche de Bruxelles beer (Einstok wheat used)
• 3 raspberries for garnish

Muddle raspberries in a shaker and add remaining ingredients except for beer. Short shake with 3 ice cubes to combine and double strain into a Pilsner glass full of crushed ice. Pour on the beer and garnish with 3 raspberries on a cocktail pick.

(Whiskey) Milk Punch / Gin Milk Punch

Today I wanted to tackle several milk punch recipes at once. They are all very similar in that they require sugar, milk, nutmeg and a spirit. Strangely the New York Bartender's Guide differentiates between a classic milk punch and a whiskey milk punch with separate titles and measurements (parts as opposed to ounces) but the recipes are pretty much the same.

The Whiskey Milk Punch and Milk Punch both call for three ounces of blended whiskey. Now I have rye and bourbon blends, but I think that when a recipe calls for blended whiskey, it means Irish or Canadian whiskey. Why? The smoothness makes it less of a flavor factor. Otherwise you can make a Bourbon Milk Punch (This one oddly served neat in an Old Fashioned glass) with that flavor profile. These drinks are subtler than that.

Then there's the Gin Milk Punch. I know what you're thinking. Why would anyone like milk and gin? Actually I've found this combination to be great in other dessert drinks, and actually the nutmeg helps with the spice profile a lot. It's less important that gin has spicy flavors and more noticeable that this is a holiday drink with hints of juniper.

That said, pick your gin carefully. I prefer a prohibition style gin over dry gin for dessert drinks. They have funky sweet notes that go well with creaminess. Filibuster Gin (Not Available outside the distillery) is aged in two barrels and flavored with only four botanicals. It is close to whiskey in that way and makes a great milk punch.

(Whiskey) Milk Punch

• 3 oz. blended whiskey (Tullimore Dew used)
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Dust with nutmeg.

Gin Milk Punch

• 3 oz. gin (Filibuster dual cask used) 
• 8 oz. milk
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled Collins glass . Dust with nutmeg.

Crane Kick (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Another Karate Kid cocktail because of the presence of Japanese whiskey. Not very original, but this combination of flavors is--and that is all we really ask for from Death & Co. 

This is an intense Tiki recipe that mashes up smoky scotch, malty whiskey, orange and orgeat and coconut notes in an adventure that nearly tells you a story with flavors. I imagine that the story goes something like this:

You are climbing a volcanic mountain in Hawaii and can smell the burning ash in the air from a recent eruption. On the way up you pick an orange and a coconut to enjoy at the top, but on the way you skin your knee and use a Band-Aid to mend the wound. 

In short, that is what this drink experience is like. I recommend everyone try it. It's not super approachable--I think of it as a stretch drink (smoky scotch doesn't appear often in tikis and the medicinal flavor is off-putting to some, but worth the try in this case.) Some drinkers just aren't as adventurous, but I encourage this kind of thrill seeking in cocktail recipes. 

• 2 oz. Yamazaki 12-year whiskey (Catoctin Creek Colossal X used)
• 1 tsp. Laphroaig 10-year scotch
• 2 tsp. coconut liqueur (Malibu used)
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with three ice cubes. Shake and strain into a pilsner glass filled with crushed ice. 

Eye of the Torino (Death & Co. recipe)

 

Scotch from Islay is still an island spirit. That's the thinking behind Eye of the Torino. Death & Co. is at it again, changing people's expectations of spirits like Scotch. No, even a single malt scotch like Bowmore 12 doesn't have to be trapped in a Glencairn glass or on the rocks. You can make an excellent Tiki cocktial with single malt from Islay because it has a rich profile similar to rum. 

Yes. Bowmore 12 (or in this case McClelland's Islay, which is my less expensive way to get Bowmore in a different label) is the main ingredient in this tropical drink that features huge coconut flavors. The title of the drink suggests the need to hide Cocchi di Torino in a fruity drink that resembles a Bahama Momma. With all the coconut, pineapple, cream and orgeat, it's hard to taste that sweet vermouth, but spicy scotch still stands out with peat notes and a bit of smoke. But don't tell your Tiki drinking friends it's in there, just pretend it is smoke from the Tiki torches. 

This drink is intended to be served in a coconut shell, which is a lot of trouble to get and cut. I figured a large Tiki mug would be fitting. 

• 2 oz. Bowmore 12-year scotch
• 1/2 oz. cocchi vermouth di Torino
• 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. coconut cream
• 1/4 oz. heavy cream
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash chocolate mole bitters
• 1 pineapple wedge and cherry flag for garnish

Combine all ingredients is a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a coconut mug (or Tiki mug, as pictured) full of crushed ice. Use a pick to pin the stem cherry to the pineapple wedge and stick it on the rim.

House of Payne (Death & Co.)

 

I'm not sure if this cocktail obliquely references Thomas Payne or if the bartender was punning on the hip-hop group and the feeling most Negronis give your tongue from their bitterness. I do know that I love Negronis and raspberries but never considered mixing the two. 

One thing I love about muddling raspberries in a stirred cocktail is that they impart their clear red juice into the spirits and you can just strain out the seeds and pulp and no one would be the wiser. It is as if you used a non-alcoholic raspberry liqueur! The color of this Negroni is impressive, and the berry juice gives it a sweeter texture than you expect. I can't believe I just made this in my mixing glass and not a shaker, but doing so would mean making a cloudy Negroni. That I just can't do.

• 3 raspberries
• 1 1/2 oz. London dry gin (Bloom used)
• 1 oz. Plymouth sloe gin (Mr. Boston used)
• 1 oz. Campari 
• 1 raspberry garnish

Muddle 3 raspberries in a mixing glass before adding liquid ingredients and ice. Stir and double strain over a single cube of ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with one raspberry on a cocktail pick.

Kew Gardens Cooler (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Muddled cucumber and gin are excellent together, this we all know. But it takes a lot to get most folks beyond a Hendrick's and cucumber slices on the rocks. I prefer using a gin that doesn't have the cucumber in it already and then putting it in itself. That is the idea behind craft cocktails. 

Muddled cucumber adds a freshness and even a thicker texture to cocktails--I think it has to do with plant cell walls giving structure to flavors of the spirits (but I'm not sure). A sweet citrus liqueur like Aperol does wonders for the color and adding balance as well.

Scarlet Glow syrup is made from cooking the brand of hibiscus tea and sugar into a syrup. It is pretty and red. but doesn't do a lot for the flavor by itself. For mine, I used hibiscus syrup and tried not to worry if the flavor wasn't exactly right.

• 2 cucumber wheels
• 2 oz. Beefeater 24 gin (Citadelle used)
• 1/2 oz. Aperol (Don Ciccio & Figili Ambrosia used)
• 3/4 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. scarlet glow syrup (hibiscus syrup used)
• 1 cucumber ribbon garnish

Muddle the cucumber wheels in a shaker then add ice and the remaining ingredients. Shake and strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the cucumber ribbon skewered on a cocktail pick. 

Sweep the Leg (Death & Co. Recipe)

There's some Karate Kid fans working at Death & Co. for sure. This cocktail uses Japanese whiskey, to tie into the name. But I can't afford the stuff and really I get a kick out of using malted whiskey (and beer whiskey, which is malted) to approximate Japanese whiskey. That malted whiskey is Catoctin Creek Colossal X!

I also loved that this drink includes sherry, orgeat and chocolate bitters. These flavors all come across as deep and tropical, so it is no surprise they end up in this Japanese themed cocktail. 

• 2 oz. Suntory Hakashu 12-year whiskey (Catoctin Creek Colossal X used)
• 3/4 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 1/2 oz. Amontillado sherry
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 oz. acacia honey surp
• 1 tsp. Luxardo Amaro Abano (a combination of homemade Amer Picon and Don Ciccio and Figli Ambrosia used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• 1 dash of Aztec bitters
• Garnish: lime wheel, orange crecent, brandied cherry, mint sprig (not pictured)
  

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with three ice cubes. Short shake and strain into a pilsner glass full of crushed ice. Skewer garnishes on a pick and place on the top of the glass.

 

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.  

A Coffee In Manhattan (Original Recipe)

 

Another original recipe, here: this time I'm playing around with flavors that aren't often paired together to create yet another Manhattan variation. The theme I'm going with is breakfast--coffee enjoyed with half of a grapefruit. I love this combination of acidic flavors. They don't go together at all. Coffee is so dark and bitter and grapefruit juice is so tart but also a little bitter and sweet. Having them together is jarring, but not unpleasant. I recommend it.

But I really recommend this Manhattn variation because of its lifting grapefruit bitters that set it apart from other coffee Manhattans. Lifting bitters bring essences up to your nose and provide a palate lift that breaks up heavy tasting ingredients. This is opposed to binding bitters that help join disparate flavors like whiskey and vermouths. This cocktail still has whiskey and vermouth, but it the use of Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters puts a burst of acidity right in the middle of that bitter depth of MurLarkey Coffee whiskey and bittersweet vermouth that normally a Manhattan drinker looks forward to. It essentially causes you to wake up from the boring slumber of drinking the same kind of Manhattan, and it does this with the flavors I enjoy at breakfast. 

• 2 oz. MurLarkey Heritage whiskey
• 1 oz. MurLarkey coffee whiskey
• 1/2 oz. Cocchi Dopo Teatro sweet vermouth
• 4 dashes Fee Brothers Grapefruit Bitters
• 1 Luxardo cherry garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry stuck on a cocktail pick. 

Melancholy Summer (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This might be my favorite summer drink in the Death & Co. cocktail book. At least it's my favorite so far and maybe the best combination of sherry, gin, cucumber and cantaloupe I've ever had. This is a cocktail that is so well constructed that every ingredient has a special part to play and you can appreciate them all at once. 

Manzanilla sherry is known for its funny, melon-like nose that makes it especially good to drink with cantaloupe. La Gitana is one of the best. 

Suze--a new aquisition--is a bitter gentian spirit that really grounds this drink with herbal bitterness as well as some citrus notes. 

Gin, MurLarkey or otherwise, is in here because it is more than a blank canvass that is vodka. Herbs and fruits are a big part of ImaGination and essential to making this amazing cocktial work. 

• 2 cucumber wheels
• 1 oz. Lustau Manzinalla sherry (La Gitana used)
• 1 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz Suze liqueur
• 3/4 oz. cantaloupe juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. acacia honey syrup
• 1 cucumber ribbon garnish

Muddle cucumber wheels in the shaker tin before adding the remaining ingredients and ice. Shake and double strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass (Coupe shown). Cut a cucumber wheel and spear it on a cocktail pick as a garnish. 

Pressure Drop (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail took me several attempts before I landed on a formula that seemed to work the way the original bartender intended it. That is because I often make my own ingredients, which are very close to those in the recipe but require some tweaking to get them right. 

In this case, it was necessary to emulate Meletti Amaro, that saffron and fruit rich amaro that is so pleasant by itself. Several renditions approached Meletti, but the one that worked best was equal parts (1/3 oz. each) of Strega, Amer Picon, and Aperol. 

With that problem solved, I had to pick a gin that was close to Ransom Old Tom. Fortunately I had an aged barley malt gin I made a year ago that really mimics Ransom. This is an infused vodka gin recipe that also includes barley moonshine and smokey barley whiskey. Not exactly Ransom, but the idea is still good. 

Finally, I played around with vermouth and bitters choices and settled on the original ingredients. There is only one Dolin dry and Angostura bitters. Hopefully my trick with replicating Meletti will prove helpful to others. Overall, I hope that anyone following this recipe uses as many of the specified ingredients as possible or else risk making a few "off" examples to drink. Really, though, is that so bad.

• 1 1/2 oz. Ransom Old Tom gin (homemade Schiedam gin used)
• 1 oz. Amaro Meletti (1/3 oz. each of Strega, Amer Picon and Aprol used)
• 1/2 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
• 1 tsp. Clear Creek Pear Brandy (Catoctin Creek Pear Brandy used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Circe (Original Recipe)

 

It stands to reason that a Calypso cocktail needs a companion cocktail named Circe. These are the exotic demi-gods of Homer's Odyssey and the only women that delay Odysseus on his journey home from Troy. 

The Calypso cocktail is very Tiki and is loaded with pineapple juice, rum and spiced with falernum and nutmeg. I went in a different direction for Circe--not as sweet and a little challenging. Lime and grapefruit juice keep it tart while MurLarkey three tea whiskey and my homemade allspice dram shift the bitter and spice notes to other tropical islands.

The combination is seductive but a little bit tart, just like Circe. The half-submerged grapefruit twist garnish hints at things lurking beneath the dark sea.

• 1 oz. white rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1 oz. MurLarkey three tea whiskey
• .5 oz. allspice dram
• .5 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 dash Angostura bitters
• Cherry and grapefruit twist garnishes

 Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a grapefruit twist and cherry speared on a cocktail pick.

 

Alaska

I've been waiting for the right conditions to make this cocktail. It couldn't be too hot outside; I had to be in a gin mood; and sometimes a new ingredient pushes me over the edge. For the latter part, it was Hella Bitters orange bitters. These are more spicy than my homemade orange bitters. They taste a lot more like clove and cinnamon--real holiday spice rack stuff. I still like them for this cocktail, but I'll use my bitters for more citrusy drinks.

Green Chartreuse really makes the Alaska what it is, and orange bitters ensures that the flavors come together. But the base of the drink is gin. My pick of Blue Coat Barrel Reserve gin seemed fitting. It is 47 percent alcohol, and Green Chartreuse is 55 percent. The effect of this drink is pretty staggering.

• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat Barrel Reserve used)
• 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
• 3 dashes of orange bitters (Hella Bitters used)
• lemon twist

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

Marsalatini (Original)

I was struck by a good idea to use dry Marsala in a Martini. It's not part of the NY Bartender's Guide, but it was too good to pass up. Hopefully this concept will catch on at Italian restaurants because it was amazing.

First, a little dry Marsala goes a long way. Not as grape-like as a sherry, Marsala is bitter and savory without the herbaciousness of vermouth. I used MurLarkey ImaGination gin and it lent a meatiness to the drink that I think comes from their white whiskey base. It almost has the feel of a fresh cane rum...I don't know. It's just a little more pungent than dry vermouth.

Then I used these great garlic stuffed olives. The effect was like having steak! Very satisfying.

• 3 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. dry Marsala (Incanto used)
• 3 garlic stuffed olives

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olives skewered on a cocktail pick.

Mediterranea Martini (Original Recipe)

I've already made a Greek Martini with kalamata olives and ouzo, so that name is taken. But now that I have feta cheese stuffed olives, I wanted to take another stab at a Mediterranean Martini with gin and Skinos masthia spirit. 

As far as Martinis go, this recipe is not too different from the classic: gin, a half ounce of dry vermouth, and olive garnish. The slight change--and I recommend doing this with gin for the simple reason that you don't exactly want your only note in the drink to be masthia--makes the drink herbal and bright with just a hint of the sweet piney flavor of Skinos. I really like Skinos, especially as a substitute for sweet amari in cocktails, but I don't feel that it needs to be prominent in a Martini. And when I want a Martini, I want spicy gin and herbal dry vermouth. 

This was a somewhat dirty Martini, but not in the traditional sense. The Divina olives are packed with sesame oil, not the usual olive brine. This makes them a little more useful for cooking than cocktails. (If you use olives packed in oil, be sure to rinse them off before putting them in a drink.) Even after rinsing them off, there was a delicious slick of oil floating on top of the glass, adding richness to each sip. 

• 3 oz. gin (homemade dry gin used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1/4 oz. Skynos masthia spirit
• 3 feta cheese stuffed olives (Divina used)

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with olives on a cocktail pick.

 

The Purple Heather

The lyrics of Rod Stewart's Scottish Pride song go, "Well the summer time has gone/ and the leaves are swiftly turning/ and the wild mountain thyme grows along the purple heather/ will you go?"

While this drink predates the song, it is an appropriate homage to the flower that gives scotch it's floral bouquet. I could go on about how rainwater flows over the mountainsides covered with the dense ground plant, or how streams along peat bogs pick up herbal scents, but that's not what this drink is really about. It is about the color purple.

Creme de cassis, a good one, make for a delightful berry scotch cooler for the end of summer. It's neither too rich nor too strong, and though Johnny Walker Red is known for it's bite, it was really subdued in this drink. That means if you want to use a single malt (and I suggest a Speyside or north Highland malt like Dalmore or Glenmorangie) then go for it. It will only improve the cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. scotch
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis
• club soda

Combine scotch and creme de cassis in a highball glass with ice. Add soda and stir gently.