Pall Mall

This drink is strangely named after the old cigarette brand with the same name. It is a Martini variation that ups the herbal flavors of gin and vermouth with orange bitters and mint liquor. The recipe calls for white creme de menthe, but I can only find peppermint schnapps, a fair substitute when it is used in so little proportion. A good creme de menthe is wonderful in large amounts, and peppermint schnapps tends to taste too much like candy cane.

Green Hat gin is a local prohibition style gin in D.C. It is a good ingredient for a cocktail that has that wet, funky, prohibition style flavor.

• 2 oz. gin (Green Hat used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 tsp. creme de menthe (peppermint schnapps used)
• dash orange bitters

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

Spencer Cocktail

This is a great combination of flavors, both in theory and in fact. It is pretty much a Martini variation with juice and bitters and bright fruit flavors. Apricot brandy gives it that air of mystery and old-world charm. A good fall and winter variation for you Martini drinkers.

• 2 oz. Gin (Glendalough used)
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1/2 tsp. orange juice
• dash angostura bitters
• maraschino cherry
• orange twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with orange twist and cherry.

Tempter Cocktail

Satan is known as the "Great Tempter," and this cocktail, a nearly black looking cocktail made with port and apricot brandy, looks like something you'd see Satan drinking. It's not a stretch to equate this drink with the Devil. Ruby port appears in many of the "Devil family" of drinks because it adds a bloody appearance to the cocktail. This one is by far the most sumptuous, very sweet and strong.

• 1 1/2 oz. apricot brandy
• 2 oz. ruby port

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

Blue Angel

This is a dessert drink that uses cream, blue curacao, and vanilla liqueur with brandy to give a blue-white glow to a cocktail. There's a few problems with it though. First, there's not enough blue curacao to make all that cream look blue. (It really is blue-ish, even if the photo doesn't show it.)

The other problem with the color is that there's a lot of brown liquor in there, which turns the drink a little green-ish. Finally, lemon juice curdles cream. It's a nice touch, but this cocktail would be better made if it was sweetened with coconut cream instead to prevent separation. This drink is pretty bad--just sayin'.

• 1 oz. brandy (Remy Martin VSOP used)
• 1/2 oz. blue curacao
• 1/2 oz. vanilla liqueur (Tuaca used)
• 1/2 oz. half-and-half
• dash lemon juice

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

Thanksgiving Cocktial

This is the only classic cocktail that bears the name of America's most signature holiday. Thanksgiving requires a good dose of something that tastes old-fashioned--and not like the whiskey cocktail. I mean apricot brandy, that sweet and old-world tasting cordial that rounds out the gin in the Thanksgiving cocktail.

Unfortunately, there's not enough sweetness to balance the lemon juice, which I felt could have been omitted altogether. Something about the tartness of lemon seems unnecessary in a cocktail that I would have enjoyed more if it was richer. Maybe a lemon peel not the juice could accomplish that.

• 2 oz. gin (Caorunn used)
• 1 1/2 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• maraschino cherry

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the cherry. 

Tango Cocktail

I chose Vitae modern gin for the Tango cocktail because it is a rum-based gin with 17 botanicals, and an understated juniper flavor. This is a pretty soft tasting gin with a thick mouthfeel that reminds me of an aged or malted barley gin, but Vitae is a rum!

This cocktail too was a wet Martini with lots of vermouth and a sizeable smack of Cointreau to make it citrus-forward.

• 2 oz. gin (Vitae modern gin used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. triple sec (Cointreau used)

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

Frostbite

Lunazul tequila is a smoky one-hundred percent blue agave tequila that's very reasonably priced. Find it here in this dessert drink that looks like a blue ice sickle. There's a lot of cream in here, so it comes across strange and orange tasting with a whiff of smoke, not "blue" tasting at all, whatever that is.

My take away from this recipe is that it is a dated dessert drink much like the Golden Cadillac with Galliano. The idea is that the drink is creamy and boozy and has a distinctive color. That's all folks.

• 2 oz. tequila (Lunazul used)
• 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
• 1 oz. blue curacao
• 2 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass or champagne flute.   

Grand Passion

This drink gets a unanimous applause for being an excellently balanced cocktail. It's post-tiki in the sense that it has a lot of the passion fruit and citrus flavors but uses gin and is served up. I made this passion fruit syrup myself by cooking down passion fruit nectar, but you can buy a Monin syrup, which works just as well.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 oz. passion fruit syrup
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• orange peel

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

Margie's Mimosa (Non-Alcoholic)

It doesn't get any more "basic brunch cocktail" than a Mimosa. And this mocktail Mimosa is just as easy and as good to make, provided you have non-alcoholic sparkling grape juice. The difference is obviously that the sugar in the juice is very much intact and so this sparkling mocktail comes across very sweet when compared to an actual Mimosa.

Whoever this Margie was, she didn't mind sweetness, but was more concerned about her sobriety. We all should be when at brunch, though.

• sparkling grape juice
• orange juice

Fill half a chilled champagne flute with orange juice and fill to the rim with sparkling grape juice. Stir gently.

Day Dream (Non-Alcoholic)

This simple spiced mocktail is an imitation of the Mister Pip's St. Thomas Special, that tiki boat drink that really comes across with its exotic spice. The spice and passion fruit remain, but the drink has no rum. So really, it's not even a bad idea to try even if you are a drinker and a lover of tiki-style cocktails.

• 1 1/2 oz. passion fruit syrup
• 3 oz. orange juice
• freshly grated nutmeg

Pour passion fruit syrup in a chilled Collins glass and add ice. Fill with orange juice, stir, and sprinkle nutmeg on top

Depth Bomb

This sounds like one of those beer cocktails that you drop a shot into. It's not. It's actually way better than that. Think a whole bunch of brandy that's flavored and sweetened. And you sip it on the rocks while it gets diluted to the point that the richness abates enough to really enjoy it.

So I think that the depth in Depth Bomb refers to this drinks flavor and alcoholic potency as you try to take on this much brandy in one cocktail.

• 2 oz. brandy (Cognac please!)
• 1 oz. apple brandy (Laird's Old Apple Brandy used)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine

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

November Cider (Non-Alcoholic)

The November Cider is a mocktail that comes pretty close to many of the punches involving black tea and cider. It's not a bad idea to put these flavors together, but I noticed a big flaw in the recipe. Too much lemon juice does not do cider any favors. If you make this, sweeten it with a black tea syrup, or some kind of spiced syrup. It is not enough to just assume orange juice can cover for all that tartness.

Even once you do that, you have a very tropical punch drink on your hands and not one that lends itself to fall sipping in November.

• 3 oz. apple cider
• 3 oz. orange juice
• 3 oz. cold black tea
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice (Use less or add sugar syrup)
• lemon slice

 Combine all ingredients in a Collins glass full of ice and stir. Garnish with the lemon slice.

Calm Voyage

This may well be a tropical drink. At least I think that is the way this cocktail is leaning. Passion fruit syrup and light rum seem to suggest a cruise cocktail. The thing I couldn't figure out is the Strega. Then I made the drink with the egg white for creaminess and the Strega adding yellow hues, and I tasted it. Very tropical, with Strega adding just that hint of mint and spice that one often associates with trips to the islands. Much better than the Golden Frog, the other blended Strega cocktail, this one is a must do if you have a bottle of this stuff.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. Strega
• 1 tbsp. passion fruit syrup
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 egg white

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled champagne glass. 

Golden Frog

I love the combination of Galliano and Strega. Both are Italian herb liqueurs. Strega is very minty and citrus forward, while Galliano tastes like vanilla and anise and so much more. They are strong, rich, and very golden.

So I was looking forward to enjoying this cocktail very dry with vodka. Instead, the recipe calls for blending with ice. So it is a slushy drink that uses the liqueurs to add the fruity essences. And it's not bad for all that. For one thing, it tames the really potent flavors and alcohols of the two liqueurs. So it may just be appealing to ordinary drinkers, and not those accustomed to Italian liqueurs.

The name? Well it certainly is a golden drink, but I think the addition of Strega--or the witch, in Italian--is an indication of the thinking of this cocktail. It's a bumpy, slushy golden thing like some kind of witchy magic.

• 1 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Galliano
• 1 oz. Strega
• 1 oz. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients with ice in a blender. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Blue Moon

It may not be germane to use blue curacao, but you have to admit that the Blue Moon is a beautiful drink when put next to a bottle of Bluecoat gin. This dry gin has the right character to hang with the bittersweet liqueur known for its color but not a quality flavor. It enhances the overall cocktail, though and feels pretty elegant.

• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat used)
• 1 oz. blue curacao
• lemon twist

Combine gin and blue curacao in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist lemon over the drink and drop it in. 

Gin Sidecar

This is the gin version of the brandy drink that's all the rage right now. And it is being served up, as it should be. The Gin Sidecar is more relaxed, shaken but served on the rocks. A good gin and triple sec will really improve your experience with this cocktail since there's no added sugar. Triplum or Cointreau will keep things strong on alcohol and preserve a fresh citrus flavor that the drink should properly give off all around.

• 2 oz. gin 
• 1 oz. triple sec (Triplum used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice

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

Golden Dawn

This is another juicy gateway gin cocktail that's sweet and pretty tropical tasting. You really notice the apricot liqueur (brandy in this case) and the grenadine that is used to give the drink this rosy color.

There's so much juice in this drink that it it's only half as strong per ounce as a Martini, which is why beginning drinkers will gravitate to it. That doesn't mean that if you drink the whole thing you won't get as tipsy, though. A sweet drink will affect you as much as a dry one, if not worse for all that sugar.

• 2 oz. gin 
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 2 oz. orange juice
• dash grenadine

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

Gilroy

Other than being a small town in California, I'm not sure if there is any significance to this cocktail's name. It must then belong to some now unknown bartender or some drinker with this unique gin preference.

Thankfully, this gin cocktail is pretty interesting with a fun interplay of flavors. A powerful blast of Angostura bitters is offset with sweet cherry brandy. Now quality spirits like Bluecoat gin and Dolin dry vermouth add booziness behind lemon tartness. Did you get all that? Here's the recipe to help you through it.

• 2 oz. gin (Bluecoat gin used)
• 1 oz. cherry brandy
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 3-5 dashes Angostura bitters

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

Maurice

The name of this cocktail is as unexpected as the line from the Steve Miller Bands The Joker: "Some people call me Maurice." It's just not an especially sexy  or sophisticated sounding name. And I can see that this cousin to the Bronx Cocktail is not especially sophisticated, but more like a gateway gin cocktail. That said, much can be made of a juicy drink like this as long as there's some good ingredients.

First off, Caorunn Gin is this native Scotland gin with plenty of local botanicals to remind you that you've been away from good gin for too long. Then I opted to use Byrrh Quinquina instead of standard sweet vermouth to give the drink a whiff of violet bitterness.

• 2 oz. gin (Caorunn used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Sole used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Byrrh Quinquina used)
• 1 oz. orange juice
• dash Angostura bitters

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

Russian Bear

Another Russian Dessert drink, this one with dark creme de cacao where coffee liqueur is often found. It's creamy and sweet and stronger than it looks, so don't underestimate the bear.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. dark creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz. half and half

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

Gin Cassis

A sweet but solid drink suited to after dinner or cafe drinking, perhaps with a coffee, the Gin Cassis really takes a French twist on a gin cocktail. Like the Vermouth Cassis and Byrrh Cassis, G. E Messenez creme de cassis adds sweetness of black currants to the base liquor. Its really quite nice.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis (G. E. Massenez used)

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

Gin Sling

The Gin Sling is just an easy way to drink gin. Unlike the Gin Fix, which is really similar, it is not made in the glass like an Old Fashioned. This cocktail is stirred in a mixing glass, which is unusual for a drink with this much juice.

Glendalough Wild Botanical gin takes on a cloudy appearance when it is stirred because of its being unfiltered. The herbs, fruits and spices of the gin release into the water for a very intense drink.

• 2 oz. gin (Glendalough Wild Botanical Gin used)
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. water
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• orange twist

Combine sugar and water in a mixing glass and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add lemon juice, gin and ice and stir to chill. Strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice and garnish with an orange twist. 

Blue Monday

I like the classic 80's lines of this drink--like a Lamborghini Countach. It is bright and angular. It's also powerful. The Blue Monday says "I don't care if my drink tastes like orange, it still looks blue." And sometimes having a drink that screams for attention from across the bar is exactly what you want.

When I made this for a restaurant worker after his shift, it really turned heads. So this is definitely the drink to order when you want to be noticed.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1/2 oz. blue curacao

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

Coney Island Baby

I see what this drink is doing. It's a sugary soda drink that tastes like a non-alcoholic cocktail. It's not especially strong but sugar and soda will take their toll and you will be feeling flush pretty quickly.

Coney Island  has this association of walking with sweethearts with an ice cream or soda in hand. The syrupy sweetness of Coney Island Baby doesn't disappoint.

• 2 oz. peppermint schnapps
• 1 oz. dark creme de cacao
• sparkling water

Combine schnapps and creme de cacao in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently.

Jupiter Cocktail

 

The Jupiter Cocktail gets its celestial color from creme de violette, a purple floral liqueur. It has a heavenly taste too, like violets and herbs. The problem is that the cocktail has proportion issues. 2 tsp. is hardly enough creme de violette to color the drink. The addition of the same amount of orange juice means that it is cloudy and grey. Not an attractive color for a drink.

• 2 oz. gin (Plymouth used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 2 tsp. orange juice
• 2 tsp. creme de violette

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

Xeres Cocktail

Manzanilla sherry has this light dry taste, with a good boozy punch. It is so good chilled by itself. This cocktail adds orange zest flavors to an already citrusy tasting spirit.

• 3 oz. Manzanilla sherry
• dash orange bitters
• orange twist

Combine sherry and bitters in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the orange twist.

Sherry And Egg

Believe it or not, this is a pretty good drink. It's not even bad with a whole egg just sitting in the glass. A good Manzanilla sherry goes down nicely by itself, but the egg adds thickness with the whites. Then there's the yolk just sitting there in a clear glass of fortified wine that really draws others' attentions. You look like a weirdo drinking this one. And all the while you are able to sip around the egg, which wants to hang together to the end. When you finish the sherry, its' your call whether to tip back the glass and swallow the egg. 

• 3 oz. Manzanilla sherry
• 1 whole egg

Carefully crack a fresh egg into a wine glass so as to not break the yolk. Fill the rest of the glass with sherry.

Jade

I can see what ya' did here. This is one of those cocktails from the Eighties where the color was important to obtain. People learned to like these lollypop-tasting drinks back then, not knowing any better. This did taste an awful lot like sour apple suckers, too.

But the combo of blue curacao and Midori, with lime cloudiness, gives this drink the look of a jade glass!

• 1/4 tsp. blue curacao
• 1/4 tsp. Midori
• 1/4 tsp. lime juice
• chilled champagne
• dash Angostura bitters
• lime slice

Combine bitters, blue curacao, Midori and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled champagne flute. Top with champagne and garnish with the lime slice. 

Rye Flip

Go ahead, flip anything. This time let's do rye. Catoctin Creek rye is very mellow and has no smokiness that will ruin a dessert-like drink like a flip. This recipe has no cream in it like some flips do, which is good. You can taste the rye and it's not to heavy with creaminess. This is a great fall and winter drink.

• 2 oz. rye 
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 whole egg
• freshly grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake like crazy to break up the egg. (Note: You may want to strain the liquid into another shaker or other container to remove the ice. Then re-shake the liquid to obtain a large egg foam then pour into the glass.) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Sprinkle nutmeg on top. 

Sloe Vermouth

Even better than the Sloe Gin Cocktail, a Sloe Vermouth cocktail is a low-proof treat when you use Dolin dry vermouth. There's more bitterness and the vermouth dries things up a bit. Lemon juice keeps things tart and avoids the cough syrup tendency of most sloe gins.

• 2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 oz. sloe gin
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Sloe Gin Cocktail

It's a good time of year for sloe gin. It's thicker and more fruited than standard gin. And it does taste a bit like cough syrup. There are better sloe gins out there, Plymouth to name one, but they are hard to come by. Still this cocktail is a safe bet when chilled with a good vermouth and some bitters.

• 3 oz. sloe gin
• 1 tsp. dry vermouth
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

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