Commodore #1

I've made a Commodore Cocktail before: that bourbon and creme de cacao drink with lemon juice. I've never heard of a Commodore #1, and that implies that there's a #2 and beyond, right?

I did this one because I made this strawberry liqueur from Vitae Platinum Rum, sugar and fresh strawberries. It was a good idea. MurLarkey Heritage Whiskey provides a spicy base for this fruity drink. You notice the wine cask and rapidly aged oak of the heritage while the strawberry provides a fresh sweetness. Overall, though, this is a very juicy drink and you might not notice that it is predominately orange juice, so bitters do a lot to keep it interesting and balanced.

• 1 1/2 oz. whiskey (MurLarkey Heritage used)
• 1/2 oz strawberry liqueur (homemade used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 2 oz. orange juice
• dash orange bitters

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

Fraise Fizz

I was really excited to discover this recipe just when I was wondering what to do with my strawberry liqueur and raspberry syrup. What a combination! Imagine a Collins with fresh summer flavors. It is a great time of year to preserve fresh fruit in alcohol and use it in cocktails.

For the strawberry liqueur, I simply made a cooked strawberry syrup and added alcohol. See my recipe for the Belmont Stakes for this. In fact, if you have strawberry syrup on hand at all, just add a little rum or vodka and you have something like liqueur fraise in no time at all.

•  2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. strawberry liqueur
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• club soda
• lemon twist
• whole strawberry

Combine gin, lemon juice, sugar and strawberry liqueur in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Collins glass full of ice. Top with soda and stir. Garnish with lemon twist and whole strawberry.

Belmont Stakes

I can't explain how long I've been preparing to make this cocktail and thinking about it: how to display it, how to acquire the spirits, which spirits to use... It's been about a month of ruminating; meanwhile the Preakness and Kentucky Derby have already been held. I am excited that the Belmont Stakes (the drink) is a rum cocktail, so it has little to do with southern whiskey.

The Belmont Stakes (the race) is held outside New York at the Belmont racetrack for almost a century. The cocktail that has its namesake is like most other New York cocktails in that it is pink or red. (See Cosmopolitan, Manhattan, New York Sour, New York Cocktail or, The New Yorker) The pink color comes from strawberry syrup and grenadine. For this cocktail I chose to make my own strawberry liqueur: the recipe follows below.

Boil 8-10 large cored and sliced strawberries in a cup of water until the berries are soft and the water has cooked down (about 5 minutes.) Cut heat and add 1/2 cup of fine white sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Using a potato ricer, mash the strawberries until they are pulverized and their juice is extracted. Allow the mixture to cool. Add 1 cup of 100-proof vodka or light rum and stir until evenly combined. Using a fine strainer, remove the strawberry pulp and preserve the liquor and sugar mixture in a clean saleable bottle.

Now the recipe for the cocktail:

• 2 oz. vodka 
• 1 oz. gold rum (Lyon Bijou Batch used)
• 1/2 oz. strawberry liqueur (homemade liqueur used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine 
• orange slice
• lime wedge
• strawberry

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