Solera Sidecar (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

I have been waiting to do this cocktail for a while, hoping to source the exact ingredients for the recipe. Unfortunately, I used up the last of my East India Solera sherry during Halloween and I haven't seen it in stores since then. But I figured I could make this recipe with cream sherry, and it definitely works. 

The idea behind this craft Sidecar is to substitute excellent ingredients (and sherry) into a well-known cocktail recipe that is essentially a cognac sour with orange liqueur. Sweet sherry adds richness, as does ameretto and cognac-based orange liqueur like Grand Marnier. The problem remained that I had neither of the latter ingredients as well. Then it occurred to me that I do have a cognac-based orange liqueur and an almond liqueur, they just weren't the brand names the recipe called for.

So I substituted homemade Mandarine Napoleon for Grand Marnier--which is an easy solution. I also used Tempus Fugit creme de Noyaux, a French, rather than Italian, almond liqueur. It worked out well, and the effect of the craft Sidecar was pulled off. In addition I got to use my homemade orange liqueur.

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Meukow used)
• 1/2 oz. East India Solera Sherry (Dona Luisa cream sherry used)
• 1/4 oz. Grand Marnier (homemade Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 1/4 oz. Lazxaroni ameretto (Tempus Fugit creme de noyaux used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass. 

Snake Hips Swizzle (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

You don't see many Swizzles with cognac, sherry, and maple syrup. I have to say, though, that this cocktail was fun to make because, as with all Swizzles, I used my bois lele, the Caribbean island Swizzle stick. And yes, a Swizzle when made properly is still a Swizzle, even if it has cognac, sherry and maple syrup. It still tasted tropical and it still had that frozen glass effect of a well-prepared cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. cognac (Meucow used)
• 1/4 oz. Grand Marnier (homemade Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 1/2 oz. cream sherry (Dona Luisa used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. maple syrup
• 1 tsp. cinnamon bark syrup (simple syrup with MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey used)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients except bitters in a shaker and dry shake. Pour into a pilsner glass filled with crushed ice. Swizzle with the bois lele until the glass freezes on the outside. Then dash bitters over the top and serve with a straw.

Deadpan Fix (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

I'm used to a Fix being in a rocks glass, but anything goes in cocktail naming, and I'm not sure there is anything fixed about the meaning of the word Fix. 

This is a fun way to get the whiskey to go down, which is the real point of a Fix--make it as easy to drink as possible and it will fix you up. Some fun ingredients in this, including Campari and ginger syrup. The Grand Marnier adds sweetness and citrus in a cocktail that already has a lot of both. My substitution is homemade Mandarine Napoleon. This just adds more mandarin orange and spice notes that Grand Marnier doesn't have. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Catoctin Creek 92-proof rye
• 1/4 oz. Campari
• 1/4 oz. Grand Marnier (homemade Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 3/4 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. ginger syrup (homemade ginger brandy and simple syrup used)
• 1 orange twist garnish

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with the orange twist. 

Messianic Cocktail (Difford's Guide Recipe)

 

The name of this cocktail is quizzical: how is a cocktail related to followers of a messiah? Maybe it has to do with the spices and fruits that were often used in the Holy Land two thousand years ago. Cloves and ginger might have scented oils for anointment. In cocktail form, this blessing attains these flavors by infused spirits as well as a little muddling of the clove directly into the mixture. 

I've infused cloves, cooked them into teas and syrups, and used them as garnishes. This is the first cocktail I've made that involves muddling cloves. More on that later. The rest of the ingredients, ginger liqueur and Grand Marnier (or in this case Royal Combier) are spiced to make them more exotic. But we have grown accustomed to these ingredients in our cocktails. Clove really sent this drink's profile in a new, richer direction. 

You get clove on the nose and rich baking spices on the sip. This is followed up by oaky rum notes and finishes dry with cloves and orange. I'll be doing this trick again soon.

• 1 dried clove
• 2 oz. Haitian rum (Barbancourt 5-years used)
• 1/4 oz. ginger liqueur (homemade ginger brandy used)
  
• 3/4 oz. Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• orange zest twist. 

Add clove and all liquid ingredients to a mixing glass and muddle to break up the clove. Add ice and stir to chill before fine straining into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist the orange zest over the glass and drop it in. 

Hot Passion

I'm not a fan of fruited coffee cocktails. Sure, a spiced coffee with brandy or tequila is very nice if done right. I even like Grand Marnier in a coffee if it has whipped cream. Its just that adding passion fruit in the form of La Grande Passion to coffee only makes it slightly more bitter. And the recipe doesn't call for whipped cream, which would have made this so much better and I would have used it if I had it. Imagine, chocolate sprinkles and all! What a nice drink. Instead, I got a hot mess not a Hot Passion.

Part of my problem is that I don't have real La Grande Passion. Nobody does since it went out of production almost 30 years ago! My homemade version is a very filtered infusion, but that still doesn't prevent it from separating when added to hot coffee. You see passion fruit floaters in the cup. Creme de Grand Marnier would cover it up, but that also wasn't an option because it is now unavailable. If I ever do this one again, and I won't, I'll use whipped cream or shave chocolate on top (or both) to cover up the separation.

Another problem is floating the Creme de Grand Marnier. I'm sure the original product would have floated nicely, but I'll have to play around with the proportions and use heavy cream to get it light enough. You can make it by adding 1:2 proportion of Grand Marnier to heavy whipping cream and sweetening it with confectioner's sugar. Whip it rapidly until the sugar is dissolved and the liquid starts to foam. Again, separation is the enemy of this drink, and I feel like we are observing a dinosaur of the 1990s, extinct and as yet impossible to resurrect.

• 1 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• 1/2 oz. Creme de Grand Marnier (homemade recipe attempted)
• 6 oz. hot black coffee

Build drink in a warm coffee mug with passionfruit and Grand Marnier in first. Fill with hot coffee and float Creme de Grand Marnier on top. 

 

Mobay Cocktail

 

This is another one of those internationally-styled club cocktails like the Clover Club or Pendennis Club. These cocktails tend to be brightly colored and easy to consume. They virtually advertise themselves at the clubs and advertise for the clubs when ordered elsewhere. 

The name comes from Mobay Club on Montego Bay, but there's not much of the beach involved here. No tropical fruits, no wild island-themed garnishes--besides the Jamaican rum, this cocktail is strikingly French. There's the mistakable ruby color of Dubonnet rouge and the rich candied orange flavor or Grand Marnier--a favorite ingredient of clubs and hotels worldwide. 

The only substitutions I've made (and they are minor) is that I'm using Pusser's dark rum instead of something from Jamaica, and that I use Royal Combier (another French orange cognac liqueur) instead of Grand Marnier. As my last drink of the day, I found it overly rich, however. I'm not sure if it was the ingredients or the fact that the Movay seemed incongruent with other Jamaican-themed cocktails with a lemon twist as its only fruit. 

• 1 1/2 oz. dark Jamaican rum (Pusser's dark rum used)
• 1/2 oz. Dubonnet rouge
• several dashes Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• lemon twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lemon zest over the glass and drop it in. 

Kurant Juice Break

 

This cocktail doesn't lie. It is a juicy drink. It is actually a proprietary Absolut Kurant vodka recipe that I've adapted to using my red currant liqueur and Smirnoff vodka. I also substituted Royal Combier for Grand Marnier because you can totally switch one spiced orange cognac for another. 

The Juice Break is best if you are using fresh squeezed orange juice as shown here. You can safe an orange slice from one of the oranges to garnish with.

• 2 oz. vodka (Absolut Kurant suggested but Smirnoff used)
• 1/2 oz. currant spirit (if you don't have Absolut Kurant)
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier or Royal Combier
• 2 oz. Orange Juice
• orange slice
• maraschino cherry

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a Cooler glass or a highball. Garnish with cherry and orange slice.

Flavio's Special

As long as this drink was going to take a deep dive into orange flavors, I felt it was appropriate to complete the journey--by substituting MurLarkey's orange whiskey for the regular blended stuff. Flavio's Special already has orange liqueur and bitters, and I was correct that the taste from the whiskey, particularly the vanilla notes, could be enhanced by this local Virginia whiskey steeped in orange peels and vanilla.

Now the only question is who is Flavio? There are several restaurants and even a food critic and chef who share the same name, but I'm not sure that the title can be traced back to any one individual person or place. Names like these are lost to time, a particular bartender, guest or owner of an establishment who comes up with a Manhattan Variation that is a hit for a short while. What is more likely is that the name is intended to evoke an Italian theme that fits a restaurant, and the orange flavor is an echo of common Italian aperitifs. We may never know the full story, but we don't have to. Make this drink with orange whiskey or a mild blended whiskey and enjoy the spice and orange flavors rolling around your tongue.

One other thing of note: the recipe calls for Grand Marnier (which is French) but I made an equally acceptable substitute of Royal Combier, a competing orange cognac liqueur. With all of these substitutions, I have come a long way from the original recipe, but I think it is an improvement on a recipe that otherwise hews too closely to a standard Manhattan. 

• 1 1/2 oz. blended whiskey (MurLarkey orange whisky used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Cocchi Dopo Teatro used)
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier (Royal Combier used)
• dash orange bitters (Hella used)

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

La Grande Passion Cocktail

This is the signature cocktail of La Grande Passion, a passion fruit liqueur designed by Grand Marnier as a specialty item back in the 1990s. It didn't sell well and was costly to make, but La Grande Passion appeared in classic and tropical recipes in cocktail books published in the two or so years that it was on the market.

I've recreated as closely as possible the original recipe, keeping in mind that Grand Marnier's recipe is a product of distillation and not infusion. Still, a strong infusion and careful straining and sweetening can copy such a meticulously crafted distilled spirit. More on how to make this spirit later. First the cocktail recipe:

• 1 1/2 oz. La Grande Passion
• 1 oz. Grand Marnier
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• sugar syrup to taste (optional and proportionate to the size of the lemon)

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

Now for the La Grande Passion recipe:

• 10 passion fruits
• armagnac
• 1 oz. dark chocolate shavings
• 1/2 cup sugar syrup

Add the seeds and pulp of 10 passion fruits to a large jar and fill the jar with a quality armagnac like Larressingle. Shave chocolate into the jar and store it in a dark and cool place for 30 days.

Strain the passion fruit and chocolate out of the infusion with cheese cloth, then strain out the smaller particles by pouring the infusion through a coffee filter.

Cook a 1:1 white sugar simple syrup and allow it to cool. Add 1/2 sugar syrup, stir and seal for 15 more days. (At this point you can transfer the infusion to a bottle for storage.)

B-52 / Pousse Cafe

Just killing time at the bar this week and playing with layering sweet liqueurs as a way to practice. The B-52 had its heyday during the mid-90s, I remember. It has all the ingredients that would make it popular, Kahlua, Bailey's and Grand Marnier. Come to think of it, why did it ever go out of style? Probably because bartenders got sick of making them. Then, of course, they were warm shots. Yuck.

Incidentally, while I was taking this photo, someone ordered a Bombay Sapphire up. So this B-52 had a Bombay door (as we used to call it when Bombay gin was consumed along with a B-52, not always by the same person.)

• 1 oz. Kaluah
• 1 oz. Bailey's Irish Cream
• 1 oz. Grand Marnier

Carefully pour over a spoon into a pousse cafe glass in the order given. 

Liano

Another Euro drink, the Liano reminds me of the Thundercats. It is a great golden color, too. This is a rich, after dinner drink.

• 1 oz. cognac
• 1/2 oz. Galliano
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

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

Leap Year Cocktail

This is a rich pairing that comes along only once in a good while. In this one drink I combined several antique styled liquors. This is a perfect cocktail to use Bluecoat Barreled Reserve Gin and Carpano Antica vermouth. Both are spicy and rich and together they come closer to a Manhattan than a Martini. The addition of Grand Marnier and lemon juice makes for a richer and more citrus drink. It is interesting at every turn and addictive like The Last Word in that "nothing else tastes like this" way.

• 2 oz. gin (Blue Coat Reserve used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Antica Formula used)
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Grand Occasion

Like the Grand Hotel, this cocktail follows the format of Grand Marnier, gin, and lemon juice. It's just a little more rummy. Creme de cacao adds a richness that actually plays with the lemon juice flavor and gives it a sort of tropical feel. This is a grand cocktail for any occasion.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz. creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Alfonso Special

I remained on a cognac kick the other night and made the Alfonso Special, a rich and liqueur-heavy cocktail that was very pleasing and good for slow sipping. Bitters and a quality sweet vermouth make it even more interesting. Try this if you have a craving for Grand Marnier.

• 1 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 3/4 oz dry gin
• 1 tsp. dry vermouth
• 1 tsp. sweet vermouth
• several dashes of Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Granville

This is a nice, light French cocktail that makes your dry gin taste a little wine-like. Not too pushy with its flavor, it will keep you from being lugubrious at a party.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 tsp. Grand Marnier
• 1 tsp. Calvados
• 1 tsp. Lemon Juice

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

Grand Apple

I made a few modifications to this cocktail that I think improved it. First, I couldn't understand why a drink with so many strong liquors would be served on ice when it would make sense to stir them and serve them up where you can smell the orange of the Grand Marnier. The other thing I did was try to make the apple in applejack more apparent. I stole this trick from Stanton & Greene in D.C.'s Capital Hill.

Cut an apple chip off an apple and put a dash of Pernod or absinthe on the cut side. This will float under your nose and give you a spicy scent with every sip.

•  2 oz. Calvados or apple brandy
• 1 oz. cognac
• 1 oz. Grand Marnier
• apple chip optional

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with apple chip float with a dash of Pernod or absinthe on top.

Banf Cocktail

This is a nice liqueur cocktail with a Canadian whisky base. I really enjoyed the interplay of flavors between the Grand Marnier and the Luxardo.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1/2 oz. kirschwasser (Luxardo used sparingly for its strong flavor)
• dash Angostura bitters

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

Satan's Whiskers

 

I've been waiting for the right occasion or person to try this drink on. It sounds good in theory, and should be tasty for just about anybody who likes Sangria. It turns out to be a bit on the bitter side, which doesn't bother me, and I would only advocate for adding more Grand Marnier and juice.

• 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouthy
• 1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 3-4 oz. orange juice
• several dashes of orange bitters.
• orange wheel
• lemon wheel
• cherry

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a wine goblet. Garnish with orange, lemon and cherry.

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. 

Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel is a French liqueur drink that really features the sweet orange flavor of Grand Marnier. It's pretty stiff as most classics are. Here's how to make it.

• 1 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
• 1 1/2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• dash of lemon juice
• lemon peel

Combine all ingredients except lemon peel and juice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Squeeze lemon peel over the glass and drop it into the drink.