Flor De Jerez (Death & Co. Recipe)

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I love apricot liqueur. I used to make the stuff when apricots were plentiful in early summer. I'd soak the fruits in brandy and cook a sugar and apricot juice. When you cant find Rothman and Winter at your liquor store or you just don't have time to do all that with the apricots, you can use jelly. It comes together easily in the shaker tin when you stir a bar spoon of jam into citrus juices. 

 

In this case, I built the entire drink in the shaker before adding the apricot jam. (And I used a little less sugar syrup than I would have if I had liqueur because jams are sweet.) And, yes, I stirred in my shaker tin, but the result is pretty exceptional and I recommend the jam trick to any home bartender. Your refrigerator is loaded with good ingredients, so you don't need to go hunting around for liqueurs that are expensive and hard to find.

And Death & Co. knows this. How many of their drinks have marmalade or apple butter or some such ingredient or infusion. Be creative with your cooking staples, that's how cocktails were invented in the first place.

 

• 1/2 oz. Jamaican rum (George Bowman used)
• 1 1/2oz. Lustau Amontillado (Alexandro Amontillado used)
• 1/4 oz. Rothman and Winter apricot liqueur (apricot jam used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. sugar syrup (1/4 oz. when using apricot jam)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters 

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. If using apricot jam, make sure to stir before adding ice to dissolve the solids into the liquid ingredients. Add ice and shake, then double strain into a coupe glass. 

Jesper Lind (Death & Co. Recipe)

Vesper Lind is James Bond's beau. This is the woman for whom he never married. And we all have had a Vesper or a 007 Martinii. This is different. In fact if I was to suggest a  Bond Enemy drink, this might be it. 

There is a lot of richness in the nose: vanilla and orange. When you sip it is full of raisin from the sherry and herbal notes from the gin and aquavit. And that last bit is where the name comes from: a common masculine name in Norway, Jesper. All of which hints at the addition of aquavit as a botanical ingredient. This is the dude drink to match Bond's woman. And I'm down with that. It's richer and more herbaceous. There's no vodka to tame it down. The flavor is full and ready. 

What it lacks is garnish, if that is even necessary. At a cool bar like Death & Co., I'd be surprised if that was even necessary. And truthfully, you don't need lemon oil from the twist or a cherry to throw off the perfection of the individual ingredients. 

• 1 1/2oz. dry gin (homemade bathtub used)
• 3/4 oz. Lustau East India Solera Sherry
• 1/2 oz. Linie aquavit (homemade used)
• 1 tsp vanilla syrup 
• 1 dash orange bitters

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a coupe glass. 

Valencia Cocktail

Valencia is a large city on Spain's east coast. This cocktail is a little more refined than the Straight Law Cocktail with a bit more gin and a twist. It's the perfect size for a coupe glass.

Vir Gin, a gin that Copper Fox distillery gave me to play with, has a wonderfully malty and rich body that comes with its all single malt barley base. There's a ton of botanicals in it as well, including basil, rosemary, nutmeg, ginger, black pepper and lemongrass. It goes well with a little nutty and rich Amontillado sherry.

• 2 oz. gin (Copper Fox Vir Gin used)
• 1 oz. Amontillado sherry (Lustau Los Arcos)
• lemon twist

Combine gin and sherry in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.