Monday, January 26, 2015

Dubarry Cocktail

This is a twist on the classic Martini with bitter citrus flavors and anise. It has a lot of flavor for this much clarity, and it will appeal to fans of dry Martinis.

  • 2 oz. gin
  • 1/2 dry vermouth
  • 1/2 tsp. Pernod
  • several dashes of orange bitters
  • Orange slice
Stir ingredients except bitters and orange in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange slice and bitters.

Zaza

Not sure if this refers to the Turkish ethnic group or someone's name: this was a classy drink that was thoroughly enjoyable.
  • 2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
  • 1 oz. gin
  • dash of bitters (orange preferred, but Peychauds is fine)
  • orange twist (zest pictured)
Combine Dubonnet Rouge and gin in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with bitters and orange twist.

Dubonnet Fizz

This one is a mix between Sangria and a Singapore Sling. I am on a Dubonnet Rouge theme right now, and I still haven't exhausted my combinations of French liqueurs.

  • 2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
  • 1 oz. Cherry Heering
  • 1 oz. orange juice lemon wheel
  • sparkling water
  • lemon slice
Combine liquid ingredients except sparkling water in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a highball or tiki glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and garnish with lemon slice.

Napoleon Cocktail

His name's on so many classic drinks, but this one is because of the Amer Picon. It's hard to find, so a quick substitute for small amounts is to muddle orange zest into triple sec and add bitters. Some flavors will be forever lost to time, however. We can only hope someone has a bottle of Amer Picon for auction on Ebay.

  • 2 oz. gin
  • 1/2 oz white curacao
  • 1 tsp. Dubonnet Rouge
  • 1 tsp. Amer Picon
  • cherry and lemon twist garnishes
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass garnished with a cherry and lemon twist.

Opera

Another Dubonnet Rouge cocktail is really a cherry bomb of flavor. Very dessert-like, or more like a lollypop.

  • 2 oz. gin
  • 1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
  • 1/2 oz. Luxardo 
  • 2-3 maraschino cherries
Stir all ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Strain into a cocktail glass with plenty of cherries for garnishes.

Cabaret


Dubonnet Rouge adds a beautiful ruby sheen to this winning cocktail. It is rich and dry at the same time and sure to turn heads.

  • 2 oz. gin
  • 1 1/2 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
  • 3-5 dashes Pernod
  • 3-5 dashes Angostura Bitters
  • maraschino cherry
Combine gin and Dubonnet Rouge in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with Pernod, bitters and cherry.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Godfather

This is an easy one to do, only two ingredients! The trick is that you don't want to skimp on the quality of those ingredients. This is Disaronno and Johnnie Walker Black Label. I suggest you find similarly solid brands for yours.

1 1/2 oz. scotch
1 1/2 oz. amaretto

Combine ingredients in a lowball glass with ice. Stir slowly until slightly chilled.

Stiletto

Made in the same glass I photographed the Mississippi Punch, this is a real bourbon drinker's drink. I like that it is just a touch away from a Bourbon Sour, but the amaretto really changes it up.
  • 1 1/2 oz. bourbon
  • 1 1/2 tsp. amaretto
  • 1 oz. lemon juice

Build this drink with all ingredients in a lowball glass with ice. Stir gently until chilled.

Mississippi Punch

This was rich and complex. Strong, too. I'd like to scale it up for a whole punch bowl and serve it at a party.

  • 1 1/2 oz. light rum
  • 1 oz. brandy
  • 1 oz. rye whiskey
  • 1/2 oz. lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp. sugar
  • dash of Angostura bitters 
Combine ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into an ice filled highball glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

St. Rita

Another recipe to help you use that bottle of St. Germain. It's true that there aren't many original recipes that use St. Germain, but it can improve just about any classic drink that depends on citrus and floral notes to create interest.

  • 2 oz. silver tequila
  • 1 oz.
  • 3/4 oz. lime juice
Combine all ingredients with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a Margarita glass full of fresh ice.

Monday, January 12, 2015

Link Up

This drink is a cold war recipe that was intended to bridge the Soviet Union with Southern America. Here's how to make it:

1 oz. Southern Comfort
1 oz. Russian vodka
1 tsp. lime juice

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

Corpse Reviver #2

This was the most complicated drink I made in Mexico, and it lived up to its name. It woke me up after an afternoon of day drinking. It's the Fernet Branca, a bitter wine liqueur that has a funny mint flavor in the finish. Some Corpse Revivers have brandy and creme de menthe. I felt that the Fernet Branca made creme de menthe redundant. Others have apple brandy and sweet vermouth. I was going for the Harry Craddock Corpse Reviver #2 (the gin version) but substituted in Grand Marnier for the Cointreau and it turned out ok. I recommend for drinkers who like a light cocktail to try it with Cointreau, though.

1 1/2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. Fernet Branca
1/2 oz. lemon juice
3/4 oz. Grand Marnier

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

French Connection

Whilst in Mexico, I still had time to drink French cocktails. This one was simple for after dinner.

1 oz. amaretto liqueur
1 oz. cognac

Build this drink in a lowball glass filled with ice. Stir gently.

Batida

Another great drink with cahacha is the Batida. You can use any fruit punch you like in the recipe. For this I used 1 oz. of pineapple juice and one oz. of orange juice. I added a squeeze of lime for tartness.

2 oz. cachaca
1-2 oz. fruit juice
1 tbsp sugar

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a zombie glass or highball glass with fresh ice.

Caiphirina

Back from Mexico and I had a lovely time trying tequila and cachaca to share with you. After a while I got bored of drinking liquors straight and decided to mix it up for the blog. Here's a Caiphirina that I helped the bartender make.

2 oz. cachaca
2-4 lime wedges
2 tsp. sugar

Muddle lime and sugar in the bottom of the glass. Add ice and top with cachaca. Stir ingredients until sugar dissolves and the drink is well chilled.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Amico Vecchio

This is a signature cocktail from Barrel. It is made fresh, not barreled like most of their drinks, and it contains Old Forrester Bourbon, Punt e Mes sweet vermouth and Campari. It was not overly whiskey flavored and tasted a lot like a wine drink. More like a bitter vermouth cocktail than a Manhattan.

El Lobo

This is a barreled cocktail from D.C.'s Barrel bar. They specialize in barreled cocktails like this one where all ingredients are matured in oak together to further harmonize flavors. This is made with Montelobo Mescal, Liqueur 43, Bonal (a quinine flavored wine liquor) and cherry bitters. The giant cube helped soften the smokey and almost burning rubber flavors until the wines could take over. A very pleasing and changing cocktails.

The Imperfect Martini


This is another Rye Bar review. The Imperfect Martini is a mix of Half Moon Apple Gin (It has apple botanical) Templeton Rye and Cynar artichoke liqueur. It's really on the sweet side for a martini, but hey, it's not perfect.

The Moral Hazard

That's A piece of fresh ginger atop a single large cube in this drink. It's The Moral Hazard at the Rye Bar. Made with plum gin, Dolin white vermouth, and a ginger shrub.
This is the Green Hook Plum Gin liqueur in the drink. Much like a sloe gin, it is a sugary infusion of real beach plums.

Rye Bar Limeaid

This is made with Filibuster Rye, Campari, fresh lime juice, and lavender simple syrup. An excellent and rye-forward drink that manages to taste like limeaid.

Champagne Napoleon

This one is rich. I recommend using Brut champagne to keep it drier. Proseco is just too sweet.
  • 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
  • 1/2 oz. curacao 
  • 1/2 oz. maraschino cherry liqueur 
  • 4 oz. champagne
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne. 

French 75

The French 75 gets its name from the World War I field artillery pieces that were 75-mm and did not threaten German troops in their trenches. British soldiers who mixed their gin with champagne decided that this drink hits you harder than the French 75.

  • 1 oz. gin
  • 1/2 oz. lemon juice
  • 1/2 oz. simple syrup or 1 tsp. bar sugar
  • 4 oz. champagne
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute rimmed with sugar. Top with champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Death In The Afternoon

This drink probably gets its name from what it does to you if you have it too early in the evening. It was Ernest Hemingway's wife's favorite drink at Paris cafes. Not every cafe would have absinthe, so any French liquor would do. I choose to add only a few dashes of absinthe for the herb flavor but I keep it sweet with Chartreuse.

  • 1 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
  • 4 oz. champagne 
  • several dashes of absinthe
Chill green Chartreuse in the freezer or shake it on ice and strain into a chilled champagne glass. Top with champagne and add absinthe.

Elder Kir

Kirs are basically adding a liqueur to champagne. We used proseco for a sweeter sparkling wine, which was just fine. Here's how you make it:

  • 1 oz. St. Germain
  • 4 oz. champagne
Chill St. Germain by cooling the bottle in the freezer or shaking an ounce on ice. Pour it in a chilled champagne flute and top with chilled champagne.

Rocky Green Dragon

This smooth and floral drink will make you think you are sipping elvish liquors in Middle Earth. The soft flavors of Courvoisier mix perfectly with Chartreuse (a very medieval liqueur made by monks) to give you the impression of something enjoyed by people from another world. Here's what you need:
  • 2 oz. gin
  • 1 oz cognac
  • 1/2 oz. green Chartreuse
Combine all ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Gypsy


This is an old classic that is spiced up with newer liqueurs. Try a Gypsy made with French liquor and Old Tom style gin to get the pre-prohibition flavor of the cocktail. This is a very refreshing citrus cocktail.

  • 1 1/2 oz. gin
  • 3/4 oz. green Chartreuse 
  • 1/2 oz. St. Germain
  • 1/2 oz. lime juice
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist or wheel.








St. Germain is French elderflower and citrus liquor. It may taste a little bit like soap served neat, but it really takes a back seat to your gin or other spicier liquors like Chartreuse. Try it in a couple of drinks or with your champagne for a flowery kick.