Vanity Fair

This is a very opulent cocktail in terms of ingredients, not presentation. It has a jumbled and dessert-like quality that reminds me of tiramisu. It's not that the drink tastes creamy, it is just that there are many things going on, and all of them contribute to a general flavor direction, but some flavors contend with each other for your attention. It's best not to have too much of this drink, as it becomes cloying after a few sips.

Laird's Apple Brandy, Kammer Kirschwasser, Lazzaroni Amaretto, and Luxardo maraschino liqueur make this cocktail a heavily sweet brandy and cordial cocktail. I recommend splitting the glass up into three shots to be shared with a holiday dessert. 

• 2 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 tbsp. amaretto

Combine all ingredients except amaretto in a mixing glass with ice (the NY Bartender's guide says to shake, but don't) and stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float amaretto on top. 

Casa Blanca

"We'll always have Paris." That's what I think about when I make this drink. It's very European, with Luxardo maraschino liqueur and triple sec, but there's this North African flavor of lime and a rich white rum. This drink would do Bogart proud, and a coupe glass makes it look like something that would be served at Rick's American Bar in Paris.

• 2 oz. white rum (Plantation 3 Stars used)
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur

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

Lollypop

Sometimes I'm just in the mood for a liqueur cocktail--one that is very strong and complex, anyway! The Lollypop is no weak girl drink. The flavors, by themselves, are harsh and off-putting. There's the extreme herbal and citrus zest flavors of Chartreuse mated with the funky black cherry distillate (that's similar to mezcal) in the kirschwasser. Then bitter and sweet orange of triple sec and maraschino liqueur send this drink over the top.

What happens is remarkable: the flavors are so well balanced. No one overwhelms and you move from one pleasant experience to another with anticipation. My gut tells me that this is the doing of the triple sec. As a much derided liqueur, triple sec doesn't get the credit it is due for taming harsher flavors in drinks. No wonder it is present in Margaritas as well as drinks like the Chapel Hill and  Champ Elysees. Gin, bourbon and tequila have some funky edginess that triple sec manages to tame nicely.

• 1 oz. green Chartreuse
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 1 tsp. maraschino liqueur

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

Tutti Fruity

On the surface, Tutti Fruity is a tropical fruit drink with spice and exotic flavors. In fact, it is a very Italian drink with amaretto and maraschino cherry liqueur. I used Lazzaroni amaretto and Luxardo liqueur brands, so no domestic knock offs here.

But "tutti" in Italian (especially in orchestral direction) means to combine voices following a solo. That is what you have here, a combination of fruit, each doing a counterpoint to each others' melodies that we already know so well. There's summery peaches and winter pears and apples. There's cherry (and I dropped some of my wishniak soaked cherries into the blender to up the alcohol content and dark fruit flavors for bass effect), and there's apples for juiciness.

Peels are pureed and give the drink texture and flavor as well. Then there's the funky interplay between gin spice with Bombay Sapphire East in my recipe (with lemongrass and black pepper botanicals) and almond and maraschino liqueurs that are a little bittersweet. If you have a lot of fruit and the liquors on hand, this is a "must do!"

• 2 oz. diced apples
• 2 oz. diced pears
• 2 oz. diced peaches
• 3 oz. gin
• 1 oz. amaretto
• 1 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. pitted Michigan cherries (optional but recommended)

Combine all ingredients in a blender with 1 cup of cracked ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into a chilled highball glass. (Makes two servings.)

Colonial Cocktail

There's some cocktails in the New York Bartender's Guide that I always swore I would never make. The Colonial Cocktail is one of these. The idea of an olive and grapefruit juice just didn't sit right with me. But I have to say that after my experience with the Highland Fling, which was pretty positive, I gave it a chance.

Lately I've learned that gin, grapefruit and maraschino liqueur are perfect together. The olive just grounds the flavor in earthiness. I still don't get the reason for the name, but in reading about early colonists, they often drank just about anything, including a spirit called cherry bounce, which may have been a gin with a flavor like this drink.

• 2 oz gin
• 1 tsp. maraschino liqueur (Luxardo used)
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• olive (kalamata used)

Combine all ingredients except for olive in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the olive.

Hemingway Daiquiri

This is another drink I photographed at Fiola. It's not because I don't have the ingredients, I just happened to spot it on the cocktail menu and bought one to use for the blog. The Hemingway Daiquiri is a more modern version of the drink Hemingway would probably have enjoyed on the rocks.

• 1 1/2 oz. white rum (El Dorado used)
• 1/4 oz. Luxardo maraschino cherry liqueur
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. sugar syrup
• lime or grapefruit peel

Combine all ingredients except fruit peel in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime or grapefruit peel.

Brooklyn Cocktail

This drink has some notable variations from its neighbor, The Manhattan. One is the almost impossible to find Amer Picon bitters. What I have here is the milder Picon Biere, which has a nice bitter orange flavor and dark brown color. It isn't a s strong as Amer Picon, but you won't find anything like the original in the U.S. for now.

The drink itself is sweeter than a Manhattan. I recommend making it with rye so that you don't confuse the flavors with vanilla in the bourbon. What you experience is that sugary nuttiness of rye whiskey with bitter orange from Picon, bitter maraschino from Luxardo, and a general dry wine flavor of dry vermouth. It is a complex drink that is more than the sum of its parts. I think I like it as much as a Manhattan, but they are just so different, it's impossible to decide.

• 1 1/2 oz. rye
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/4 oz. Luxardo
• 1/4 oz. Amer Picon (Picon Biere used)

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

Buttafuoco

I've been wanting to try this drink for some time. The name is sweet and the ingredients sounded like they would be great together, and they are. The thing that turned me was when I combined the spirits themselves with an ounce of lemon in the shaker before I added ice. They looked and smelled like stomach acid. That really turned me off, and I might have stopped there. But I didn't want to waste this opportunity to try something different. Let me just say that a little sugar and half as much Luxardo would have made the drink much better, but here's the recipe as it is written.

• 2 oz. white tequila
• 1/2 oz. Galliano
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• club soda
• cherry

Combine all ingredients except soda and cherry in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a highball or Collins glass. Top with soda and garnish with cherry.

Brandied Port

Apparently you can "brandy" anything, even other liquors. This one rocks with "the duct tape of cocktails" Luxardo.

• 1 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. port
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• orange slice

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

Philly Flyer

This is the Philadelphia version of the Aviation. It's supposed to be made with Bluecoat gin to make it Pennsylvanian. I didn't have any of that, but any dry gin will do. It has a cool opacity in the glass due to the creme de cassis, which makes it more pink than the aviation, but the flavor is basically the same.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/3 oz. Luxardo
• 1/4 oz. creme de cassis
• 1/2 lemon juice

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

Weep No More

I'm sad to say goodbye to my bottle of Dubonnet. It was probably the best investment for my bar above all other liquors and liqueurs. It opened up hundreds of possibilities that no other wine spirit could replace. While I'm sad I never made a Bob Danby and dozens of other Dubonnet drinks, I'm glad to end my Dubonnet rouge run with Weep No More. Dubonnet may be hard to find, but it is inexpensive at about $12 dollars if you do find it. There will be more Dubonnet cocktails in the future, but for now I have this great drink.

• 2 oz. Dubonnet rouge
• 1 1/2 oz. brandy
• 1 tsp. Luxardo
• 1 oz. (3/4 oz. recommend) lime juice

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

Southern Bride

I'm not sure what is southern or wedding-themed about this drink, but it is light and refreshing with grapefruit and just a hint of Luxardo maraschino.

• 3 oz. gin
• 2 oz. fresh squeezed grapefruit
• 1 tsp. Luxardo

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

Yale

This is my final Ivy League cocktail unless someone can point me to one I missed. There are other schools, but I can't find their cocktails. Yale is a bitter cherry Martini--classically Italian with maraschino and dry vermouth. I just thought it needed a cherry to complete the whole picture.

• 3 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/4 tsp. Luxardo
• 3-5 dashes of bitters (Peychaud's shown)

Shake all ingredients on ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry if desired.

Cornell Cocktail

This is another excellent Ivy League cocktail, this time made with gin. The egg white gives it a very milky and otherworldly color to what would be a clear cocktail. Here's how to make it:

• 2 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. egg white
• 1/2 oz. cherry liquor (Luxardo for clarity)

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

Tahiti Club

This is a nice tiki-style drink along the lines of a Trader Vic punch. It was easy to make, too as long as you have Luxardo.

• 2 oz. gold rum
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except orange slice in a shaker or blender with ice. Pour into a highball glass and garnish with orange slice.

Quebec Cocktail

Doing research for my Irish whiskey drinks led me to a few good Canadian whisky drinks. I especially like how these drinks fit the same profile as the Irish ones where the whiskey takes a back seat to liquor and wine flavors. Here's how to make the first one.

• 3 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1 oz Amer Picon
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur

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

Irish Rainbow

As kitschy as this name sounds, it is still a solid drink and falls into the "Do" category for St. Patrick's Day. It is a flavoring to a drink that basically lets the whiskey stand out for itself. The overall flavor is of orange whiskey, so very pleasant.

•  1 1/2 oz. Irish whiskey
• several dashes Pernod
• several dashes triple sec
• several dashes Luxardo
• several dashes Peychaud's Bitters
• orange peel

Mix all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake or stir and strain over new ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Drop orange peel into the glass.

Diplomat

This was a great international cocktail that was light on alcohol, but had lots of flavor to keep you interested. It gets its red color from sweet vermouth, and that small amount of maraschino liqueur makes for a very pleasing cherry flavor.

• 2 oz. dry vermouth
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 tsp. maraschino liqueur
• 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
• Lemon slice and cherry as garnish

Combine all ingredients except fruit in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry and lemon wheel. 

Opera

Another Dubonnet Rouge cocktail is really a cherry bomb of flavor. Very dessert-like, or more like a lollypop.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge
• 1/2 oz. Luxardo 
• 2-3 maraschino cherries

Stir all ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Strain into a cocktail glass with plenty of cherries for garnishes.

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.