Allen Cocktail

So who is this Allen guy? Someone messaged me on Instagram to tell me that this drink is like an Aviation. Yes, it is. An Aviation with no creme de violette, anyway. It is a very classic drink with a good portion of gin and maraschino liqueur, as it should be.

I'm trying to use more local gins so today I'm featuring K.O. Distillery's Battle Standard Navy Strength gin. It packs a broadside of alcohol at 114-proof. That makes this diminutive cocktail go a little farther for sure.

• 2 oz. gin (Battle Standard Navy Strength used)
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Golf Cocktail

The Golf Cocktail is really a Martini variation, and as such it is only different from the classic when you use different ingredients. A richer gin and vermouth will take you out of your comfort zone and make this cocktail more of an adventure.

For this I picked Copper Fox's Vir Gin for the gin. This product is not available in stores and can only be bought at the distillery locations in Speryville and Williamsburg. Vir Gin is a good choice for the Golf Cocktail because it is made from single malt barley, like scotch. And scotch and golf were invented in Scotland, so...

Vir Gin is really intense with black pepper, fennel, mint, rosemary, anise seed and lemongrass among many other typical gin botanicals. Rivata is an Italian dry vermouth with a lot of herbal flavors to it as well. A Martini with these ingredients and a dash of Angostura bitters is spicy and thick on the tongue, a far cry from your typical Martini.

• 3 oz. gin (Copper Fox Vir Gin used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Rivata used)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

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

Golden Hornet (Copper Hornet variation)

I've made this rocks drink with sherry before, but never with Amontillado sherry and never with American single malts. I'm back to using my gifts from Copper Fox to show what different directions these spirits can go.

Vir Gin gin and the Wasmund Single Malt whiskey mix very well together because they are made from the same single malted barley. The Wasmund malt is smoked with cherry and apple wood so it has the mouthfeel and nose of a robust scotch without the peat. It was an easy choice to ditch the carmel-tasting blend I used before (and the overly sweet blend of sherry). Now it is more reserved, a little more cohesive as a cocktail, since whiskey and gin don't usually mix so well.

• 2 oz. gin (Copper Fox Vir Gin used)
• 1/2 oz. scotch (Wasmund single malt used)
• 1/2 oz. amontillado sherry
• lemon twist

Combine gin and sherry in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into an Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. Float scotch on top and add lemon twist garnish.

Farmer's Cocktail

What would be a spicy and herbal cocktail turns out to be a subtle "Perfect" Martini with bitters when you use Catoctin Creek Watershed gin. Catoctin makes a mild gin that is more suited to summer drinking, whether in tonic and soda or in a Martini. Here it mattered less what gin I chose, but I wanted to circle back to Watershed gin because I've been doing such heavy-hitting American gins. While lots of distilleries are using barley and barrel aging their gins for a flavor punch, Catoctin still makes this soft 100-percent rye gin that tastes very clean.

• 2 oz. gin (Catoctin Creek Watershed gin used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi de Torino used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

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

Cuban Cocktail

This is oddly a brandy cocktail that uses a tsp. of rum very sparingly. I was not sure why so small an amount of rum was used, but that was before I tried Buzzard Point--a rum you want to use sparingly.

Buzzard Point is a local D.C. distilled rum made from panela sugar. It is really funky, for lack of a better word. Just noticeable underneath many ounces of flavor-dampening brandies and lime juice. It is amazingly rich and strong and makes this cocktail a boozy tropical blast.

• 2 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 tsp. light rum (Buzzard Point used)
• 1 oz. lime juice

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