Prima China (Death & Co. Recipe)

How many puns can you make with the name Cynar. No there is no Chinese ingredient in this cocktail, but that is also true of the Chinese cocktail as well. Really, this cocktail is a split between Mexican and Italian ingredients, but you don't have an easy play on words there.

This was a rich and bittersweet chocolate cocktail. I really liked how all the flavors came together and each lending its special touch. I am not a huge el Jimador fan, but the bitterness of their Anejo tequila was perfect for this drink and paired well with Cynar. Creme de cacao is often overly sweet, as is Dolin blanc, but in this case it was needed for balance and did that perfectly.

The recipe calls for Earl Gray infused Dolin blanc. I skipped the infusion time and used a drizzle of MurLarkey Three Tea whiskey (really only a few drops to not upset the balance of alcohol in the Dolin or overplay the tea flavor.) MurLarkey flavored whiskies are great for this because they are already an infusion of a flavor into raw (not neutral) corn spirit. Three Tea whiskey is bitter because there is no sugar, and it tastes strongly of Earl Gray, so it was an awesome move. 

• 2 oz. Anejo tequila (El Jimador used)
• 3/4 oz. Earl Grey-infused Dolin blanc (Murlarkey Three Tea whiskey and Dolin blanc used)
• 1/4 oz. Cynar 70
• 1 tsp creme de cacao
• 1 dash Aztec bitters
• grapefruit twist garnish
  

Combine all ingredients except for garnish in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist. 

Sweet Hereafter (Deat & Co. Recipe)

This is an unusual pisco cocktail: it is sweet, stirred and aromatic. Nothing like the pisco cocktails you find in South America or California. Some people think the only thing pisco is good for is punch or Sours. Well, Capel pisco is dry and fairly neutral. It functions a lot like a vodka or gin and, therefore, makes a good Martini variation. 

I loved the elderflower and grapefruit nose that this cocktail brings upfront. It melts into rich aromatic wines like Dolin blanc and Cocchi Americano. It's a sweet Martini, and the name fits it perfectly.

• 1 grapefruit twist 
• 2 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 1/2 oz. Dolin blanc
• 1 tsp. St-Germain
• 1 dash hopped grapefruit bitters (Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters used)

Squeeze the grapefruit twist over a mixing glass and discard (or keep as shown). Combine the remaining ingredients in the glass and stir with ice. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Schuman's Alley (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

The name is a nod to Tin Pan Alley. This cocktail amounts to an embellished Upside Down Martini. All the usual characters appear, from blanco and Americano vermouth to yellow Chartreuse. Of course there's the gin--MurLarkey ImaGination--and a dash of allspice and grapefruit bitters. It's a hit squad of flavors in a rich and fruity wincocktail that takes longer to drink than you'd expect. 

This drink, like any Martini, benefits from lifting bitters with citrus and spice. These minute ingredients help other flavors rise to the surface. Some changes to the recipe in my home bar are to be expected for bitters. My allspice dram isn't especially bitter, but I figured it would be fine. The Fee Brothers grapefruit bitters aren't hopped like the Death & Co. recipe specifies, but a dash of my homemade celery bitters has a similar effect to the hops and I often use celery and grapefruit in tandem to mimic hops and citrus. 

• 3/4 oz. contratta vermouth bianco (Dolin blanc used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 1 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 dash Bittermens hopped grapefruit bitters (1 dash Fee Brothers grapefruit and 1 dash celery bitters used)
• 1 dash Dale Degroff's pimento bitters (homemade allspice dram used)
• 1 lemon twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled Nick & Nora glass (coupe shown). Twist the lemon peel over the drink, roll it up and skewer it on a cocktail pick and drop it in. 

Shoots And Ladders (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Death & Co. have a handful of fortified wine cocktails. Some of these, like Shoots and Ladders, are low ABV cocktails. They are bold on flavor, but with fortified wine as the main ingredient, they are light on alcohol and you can have several of them in one sitting with no problem. 

This cocktail is served neat like an Old Fashioned, but it is far more herbal and spicy. Lots of infusions in here: basil infused Dolin Blanc and jalapeno infused blanco tequila. I'm trying out a new ingredient as well, Alexandro Amontillado is comparable to Lustau's Amontillado in price and style. It is dry and nutty and full of oak flavor. It is one of the two main components of this rich cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. basil-infused Dolin blanc
• 1 1/2 oz. Amontillado (Alexandro used)
• 1/2 oz. jalapeno-infused blanco tequila (Sauza used)
• 1/2 tsp. cane sugar syrup

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a rocks glass. (Optional smacked basil leaf garnish.)

Waterloo Sunset (Death & Co. Recipe)

One of the most fabulous spirits and juice cocktails in a rocks glass ever! That's high praise, and well worth the effort when you make this cocktail. I love how vegetel, citrusy and herbaceous this drink is. The flavor goes from fresh mint and lime juice to a spicy gin and watermelon center and finishing with a numbing peppery taste backed up by more mint. It was a very cool (and hot) experience. 

There's a lot of steps to this drink. There's the infusion of Szchuan peppercorns in gin. Then juicing, then muddling and making the syrups. And it is a cocktail involving two gins. I used my Szchuan pepprcorn-infused MurLarkey ImaGination gin as the first ingredient and my homemade dry gin as the second spirit (which keeps the peppercorns from being too spicy.) I also juiced the watermelon rather than pay for a large jug of watermelon juice this time. (I know you can freeze it, but I don't need that much watermelon juice when a few pieces of fruit will do.)

Once you have all that ready, we can proceed with the recipe.

• 7 mint leaves
• 1/2 oz. cane sugar syrup
  
• 1 oz. Szechuan peppercorn-infused gin (MurLarkey used)
• 1 oz. dry gin (homemade with asparagus botanical used)
• 1/2 oz. Dolin blanc vermouth
• 1 1/2 oz. watermelon juice
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• mint sprig garnish

Muddle mint leaves in the syrup in the shaker before adding ice and the remaining ingredients. Shake and double strain into a double Old Fashioned glass over a large piece of ice. Garnish with the mint sprig. 

 

Dangerous Liasons (Death & Company Recipe)

 

I just picked up a new bottle of MurLarkey Heritage whiskey from their distillery. I've really missed this craft whiskey on my bar. This batch seems to have been aged in barrels that previously held Cabernet or Merlot because it has a rich red color and the kind of tannin traction you'd expect from a full-bodied wine. I'm looking forward to their reading this post because they might let me know if I'm right about this. 

The only "dangerous" thing about this drink is that it puts a potent whiskey in sweet honey and tart citrus juices for a summery-tasting sour. It goes down all to easily. But I don't lament using my good whiskey--that "old country whiskey" comes through in the finish.

• 1 1/2 oz. MurLarkey Heritage whiskey
• 3/4 oz. Dolin blanc vermouth
• 3/4 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. acacia honey syrup
• 1 grapefruit crescent.

Shake all liquid ingredients with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with the grapefruit crescent. 

Straw Dog (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

The Straw Dog is Death & Co.'s update on the Bloodhound, a blended gin Strawberry Daiquiri with vermouth. Granted, the Bloodhound is kind of an anomaly of the Disco Era of cocktails where fresh fruit was used, but other ingredients were strange and often poorly matched with them. The Straw Dog un-does a lot of the harms of its predecessor.

Death & Co. used Compass Box Asyla Scotch as their base for its round scotchyness. I'd do the same, except I found a nice single malt from Speyburn--10 years old, even! And this was a good move because Speyburn's softness translates like mild whiskey. You really notice the Dolin Blanc more than the scotch.

The other change I made was out of necessity. I don't have, nor can I make, hopped grapefruit bitters. My substitute was two dashes rhubarb-lemon bitters (because these will do the lifting job of the grapefruit), and one of celery bitters (because of their binding earthiness). 

• 1 strawberry
• 1 1/2 oz. Compass Box Asyla Scotch (Speyburn 10-year old used)
• 1 oz. Dolin blanc
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. simple syrup
• 1 dash Bittermans hopped grapefruit bitters. (2 dashes rhubarb-lemon and 1 dash celery bitters used)
• 1/2 strawberry garnish
  

Gently muddle 1 strawberry in a shaker tin. Then add ice and the remaining ingredients except the half strawberry and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the strawberry half.

Alta California (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Alta--a Spanish vision of the New World--ceases to exist except in this golden cup. Even after Spanish colonization ended in California, the indigenous control of the territory remained and continued to produce distilled spirits made from the agave plant. Cinnamon and herbs make up the rounded flavor profile of this stirred drink. It is both light and rich, herbaceous and balanced. If you are a fan of Tequila Martinis, you will fall for this one's charms.

• 2 oz. blanco tequila (El Jimador used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin Blanc vermouth
• 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse (Dolin Genepy used)
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon bark syrup (rich simple plus a splash of MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey used)

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a coup with no garnish. 

 

Saramago (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Sometimes a cocktail is designed to invite the senses and is so well-balanced that it seduces you completely. That is what happens with this drink, a variation on the Tequila Martini. 

My issue with the Tequila Martini is that it is often too dry, too forceful to have as your first cocktail. Saramago gets you over that hump with St. Germain to sweeten and add floral essences. Dolin blanc and tequila makes for a rounder Martini than the extra dry vermouth. It gives more of a grape flavor that plays well with the herbal notes of tequila. Finally, there's just a hint of smoke from the mezcal rinse that signals the deeper pleasures to come.

• Del Maguey Vida Mezcal rinse
  
• 2 oz blanco tequila (Sauza 100% blue agave blanco used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin blanc
• 1/2 oz. St-Germain
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• grapefruit twist

Rinse a coupe with mezcal and dump. Stir the remaining ingredients on ice and strain into the coupe. Twist a grapefruit zest over the drink and drop it in. 

Yama Blanca (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Tequila and Dolin blanc go great together. The sweet, white vermouth spaces out the spiciness of the tequila and adds softer wine notes. A little heat from jalapenos and equatorial spices from falernum make for a very complete, full-bodied cocktail that will please rum and tequila lovers alike.

• 1 1/2 oz. reposado tequila (El Jimador reposado used)
• 1/2 oz. jalapeno-infused blanco tequila (jalapeno-infused Sauza blanco used)
• 3/4 oz. Dolin blanc
• 1/4 oz. falernum. 

Stir all ingredients over ice and strain them into a coupe. 

One, One, One (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

While Death & Company is known for complicated recipes and combining flavors that are seldom experienced together, they are big fans of the three equal-part cocktail. The name says it by itself. I picked up a bottle of Dolin blanc just for this drink, and it is necessary to give it any sweetness and breathing room.

In terms of flavor, I would put this in the category of Martini variations. It is very dry, despite the wetter vermouth, and the orange and spice of bitters and akvavit really distinguish it from anything made with vodka. That said, it is one of Death & Co.'s many Martini variations that I want to try, mostly because I want to drink more gin and akvavit stirred in a cocktail that is easy to make. 

• 1 oz. akvavit (homemade with MurLarkey Justice white whiskey used)
• 1 oz. London dry gin (Citadelle used)
• 1 oz. Dolin blanc
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass full of ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.