Sangria

Sangria is a classic wine punch that is enjoyable in warm summer months. It seems fitting that the Spanish with their hotter climate would have invented this drink as a way to enjoy a cold and refreshing glass of red wine with citrus juices and liquors. 

Now Sangria has evolved into many variations involving berries, white wine and even gin, but the basic recipe remains relatively unchanged. It is wine, orange spirit, sugar, juice and, in most cases, strong spirits.

For my recipe I used Campo Viejo Rioja (a real Spanish red) for authenticity, Asbach Uralt, a German brandy that doesn't taste like cognac, and Cointreau for the orange liqueur.

This is the recipe found in the Berk NY Bartender's guide, and it still holds up as an awesome sangria for porch drinks in the summer afternoon.

• 2 bottles of dry red wine (Campo Viejo Rioja used)
• 4 oz. triple sec (Cointreau used)
• 3 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 3 oz. orange juice
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 2 oz. lime juice
• 4 oz. sugar syrup
• lemon, orange, and lime slices

Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl and stir to combine. Chill for at least an hour before serving (but keeping in the refrigerator over night is even better). Before serving, add a large cake of ice. 

Picon Fizz (Revisited With Homemade Amer Picon)

This simple Fizz recipe is much tastier with my homemade Amer Picon recipe made from orange peels, Ramazzotti and Combier. It is easy to make, unlike many egg white Fizzes (a proper Fizz in my opinion) but some drinks, especially light and refreshing summer cocktails begin and end with a liqueur (or Amaro in this case) and soda.

That said, there's a lot happening in this long drink. There's a very herbaceous liqueur, grenadine and a brandy top that keeps the flavor of grape spirit strong. For this time around, I chose hibiscus lavender syrup in place of grenadine. This was a good choice. More richness made for a better cocktail.

• 2 oz. Amer Picon (DIY Amer Picon used)
• 1/2 oz. grenadine (substituted RAFT hibiscus lavender syrup)
• 1/2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• sparkling water

Build drink in a Collins glass full of fresh ice with grenadine and Amer Picon. Top with sparkling water and stir gently to combine. Float brandy on top. 

To Damn Hot

This spiced brandy cocktail is perfect for cold nights. It is rich and satisfying to sip on. Asbach Uralt is a German brandy that has its own distinct flavor apart from French cognac. With aromatic bitters, sweet vermouth and cinnamon whiskey, it imitates an Old Fashioned or a Sazerac and yet remains wholly different.

MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey is definitely hot stuff. It puts Fireball to shame--and it is real whiskey. Use too much of it, though, and you can blow out your drink. The idea here is to coat the cinnamon whiskey in sweet rich flavors. I want to point out that I used Mt. Defiance sweet vermouth, made from apple brandy, herbs and spices, vidal blanc wine and brandy. This is a really special distillery and I recommend that Virginians check out this treasure in your back yard. For the cocktail, their superb sweet vermouth (ordinarily overly sweet for many drinks) is perfect for imparting an apple pie aspect to the brandy.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1/2 oz. cinnamon whiskey (MurLarkey used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1 dash aromatic bitters (Hella used)

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

German Cocktail

I wanted to take another swing at the K.G.B. Cocktail, you know, that one that is supposed to stand for the three ingredients: kirschwasser, gin and brandy, but the ingredients are really kirschwasser, gin and apricot brandy (for sweetness). I guess that a K.G.AB doesn't sound as cool. But I figured, what if this drink could be done with all German ingredients?

Until recently, this wasn't possible. Then Monkey 47 came along and changed everything. I should warn the potential drinker or mixologist who tries this one out. Unlike the K.G.B., there is no sugar from the apricot brandy. That means that this cocktail is make of only overproof spirits. It is dry and strong and should take any normal person a little while to finish. This is good. Slow down and enjoy this drink. Good things take time.

• 3/4 oz. kirschwasser (Kammer Kirsch used)
• 2 oz. gin (Monkey 47 used)
• 1/4 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• lemon twist

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

Carrol Cocktail

Yet another Brandy Manhattan style cocktail, the Carrol is closest to the original Manhattan proportions than many others. It is sweeter than most variants, having no added bitters, so the brandy and vermouth get all the attention. It's rich and rewarding. I'm featuring Mt. Defiance sweet vermouth from Virginia to give this recipe a sweeter and more of a local appeal.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)
• maraschino cherry

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

Verboten Fizz

This original cocktail is a fun way to combine awesome German spirits and my homemade Forbidden Fruit recipe that I've been trying to find uses for since I made it.

Here Monkey 47 is the base flavor of brilliant botanicals while Asbach Uralt adds richness. The forbidden fruit provides the honey balance against the citrus and I use Raft hibiscus lavender syrup to add to the floral and sweet notes and create an exotic experience. This is a refreshing citrus cocktail, with lots of complexity. The gin and brandy combo is always unexpected for ordinary gin drinkers, and Forbidden Fruit leaves most drinkers wondering what creates the complex flavors in this cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Monkey 47 used)
• 1 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used
• 1 oz. Forbidden Fruit
• 1/4 oz. lime juice
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp. Raft Hibiscus Lavender Syrup
• sparkling water
• grapefruit wedge

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water and grapefruit wedge in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir. Garnish with grapefruit peel. 

Panama Cocktail

I really am not sure how this drink fits the Panama theme of its namesake. It is a dessert drink with lots of sugar and cream and rich brandy flavors. The color might be similar to a Panama hat, but I think that's a stretch. The Panama Cocktail is a tasty, if a little boring, drink with slightly more than one note of milk chocolate covering the rich brandy.

This is my last cocktail needed to finish the New York Bartender's Guide circa 1997. I still have several punches to go before I can claim to have done them all.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao
• 1 1/2 oz. half-and-half

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

Brandy Vermouth Cocktail

I skipped this cocktail for some time because, with ordinary vermouth, it would turn out no different from a Brandy Manhattan. I decided to hit the Brandy Vermouth cocktail again just to try out this new Virginia vermouth by Mt. Defiance. This vermouth--like all sweet vermouths--is made with white whine. It is golden in color, though, and its herbal sweetness is backed up by bitterness in the botanicals and in the whine itself, which is a little wild tasting. Mt. Defiance really stands out in larger proportions in this cocktail--try it to experience a sweeter Brandy Manhattan.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Kahlua (Coffee Whiskey) Toreador

I've done the Kahlua Toreador before: egg white, coffee liqueur, brandy blended--done. But it's not really living up to the name of Toreador if there's no topping, no fluffy whipped cream.

This Toreador is rich, but not so much as those dessert cocktails that included blended half-and-half. The egg white adds the creaminess that you expect from a coffee dessert drink. The fun thing about this recipe is that chocolate chunks are perfect to pair with brandy and MurLarkey coffee whiskey.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt)
• 1 oz. MurLarkey coffee whiskey
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 egg white
• whipped cream
• grated dark chocolate

Combine brandy, coffee whiskey, sugar syrup, and egg white in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with whipped cream and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. 

Charles Cocktail

Bitter Brandy cocktails are fashionable in the winter. They taste like rare antiques, beautiful in the correct setting. It's not a bad idea to dust off this old recipe that has a lot of similarities to a Brandy Manhattan.

To increase bitterness, I chose Punt E Mes vermouth, one of the most bitter sweet vermouths on the market. I also go liberal with the Angostura bitters. When given a choice to use between three and five dashes, I always use five.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Punt E Mes used)
• 3-5 dashes Angostura bitters

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

Stirrup Cup

The idea of the Stirrup Cup goes back to drinking at the village in the days of horse travel. A drinker, probably a big spender, finishes up a session of drinking and requires help getting on his horse. Once his feet are in the stirrups, he is given a combination of liquors that he had been drinking already in a cup of booze that will ensure he is done with drinking for the night. He passes out in the saddle and the horse takes him home.

A main ingredient in Stirrup Cup cocktails is brandy, and I just got a bottle of Asbach--not cognac--to try with it. Cherry Heering is a rich black cherry liqueur, and it is sweet enough to balance an equal portion of lemon juice.

• 2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)
• 1 1/2 oz. cherry brandy (Cherry Heering used)
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar

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