Grand Street (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

This cocktail is the perfect mash up between a Martinez and a Negroni. If it sounds like that would be a mouthful of bitterness, it is. But I would say that it is the most pleasing thing made with gin an amari that I've had lately, and that includes a few Negroni variations. Part of it is the intensity and part of it is the way the grapefruit twist leaves a lovely scent on the surface that leaves you ill prepared for what lies beneath.

Punt E Mes is a wine-based apartivo that is like the most bitter form of vermouth you can get. It is super rich. Cynar 70 is the more intense version of the bitter artichoke liqueur, and Luxardo, while lifting in its almond-like maraschino notes, is pretty bitter despite its sugar content. Blend these three things in a rich Martini and you have the Grand Street--an homage to the pretty New York street.

• 1 grapefruit twist
• 2 oz. dry gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 3/4 oz. Punt E Mes
• 1/4 oz. Cynar
• 1 tsp. Luxardo maraschino

Muddle the grapefruit twist in a mixing glass before adding liquid ingredients. Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe.

Caprioska

I can't believe I've never posted about this classic. I must have made it a dozen times for vodka drinkers who wanted a Caipirinha but didn't want to have the cachaça. The trick to success with this cocktail is to use a raw (coarse) sugar and crushed ice. I personally don't like to shake the lime hulls after I've juiced them, but I will leave one or both in the glass with fresh crushed ice. 

I also don't use only raw sugar, but a simple syrup made from the stuff so that the drink is at least a little bit sweet. See, the large sugar crystals don't really dissolve unless you really shake hard, and that seems to water down the drink a lot. A rich simple with sugar crystals in it should give that grainy flavor that lasts even after you sip away the liquid from the straw. This drink is tart, but it shouldn't be shockingly so. A mix of simple and raw sugar grains is the best of both worlds.

• 2 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• juice and hulls of one lime
• 1 tbsp. raw sugar crystals (1/2 oz. raw simple syrup with sugar crystals used)

Combine all ingredients including lime hulls in a shaker with crushed ice. Shake and pour into a rocks glass. (Alternatively, I like to shake without the lime hulls in the shaker and place them in the glass with fresh crushed ice. Then strain the cocktail into the crushed ice.)

Imperial March (Death & Co. Recipe)

This cocktail is nearly the same as a Martinez served in a "fancy Fizz glass." I think that this vintage glass will do. I made two small adjustments to the recipe: first because I am only using MurLarkey ImaGination gin as my dry gin right now and, second, I had to find substitutions to the fortified wine because I cant find Alvear Festival Pale Cream Sherry. I'm using Oloroso instead; and, while it is darker in color, it has the sweet nuttiness I'm looking for. In such large portions, it is important for the taste of the sherry to fit the style of the drink.

On tasting this Death & Co. recipe, I discovered that I was correct--this is a Martinez with sherry and a bit of grapefruit flavor. Not bad, and the change of glass does affect your impression of it, but orange (and grapefruit) bitterness blends well with sherry richness and all of it is lifted by Luxardo.

• 1 1/2 oz. Martin Miller's Westbourne Strength gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz Alvear Festival Pale Cream Sherry (Faraon Olorso used)
• 3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
• 1 tsp Luxardo maraschino liqeur
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)
• 1 grapefruit twist garnish

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into the fancy Fizz glass and twist a grapefruit zest over the glass and drop it in. 

 

Mainland (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Dense, boozy, and bittersweet describe this twist on a Martini. For its size it has a lot of power. First there's the craft ImaGination gin by MurLarkey that packs in more botanicals than a London Dry style in a spirit that isn't characterless. Galliano and two grapefruit twists add to the bitterness of the botanicals. Unusually, for a Martini anyway, there's a hint of sugar that adds body. Do this drink if you are looking for something unique and craft that doesn't pull any punches. 

• 2 grapefruit twists
• 2 oz. high botanical gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. Galliano 
• 1 tsp. simple syrup
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Twist two grapefruit zests over a mixing glass and drop them in. Add the remaining ingredients and ice and stir. Strain into a chilled coupe with no garnish. 

Grand Slam

 

I can't believe I've never tried this cocktail before, much less heard of it. Given how much I like Swedish punsch, you'd think the idea of a perfect punsch Manhattan would be way up on my to-drink list. 

This cocktail as I experienced was very close to a Manhattan because I used a Swedish Punsch recipe that I came up with on the fly. It is basically a cup of dark rum and a half cup each of MurLarkey distillery three tea whiskey and lemon whiskey. This mix sits on lemon slices and cardamon and cloves for three days and is later sweetened with a quarter cup of sugar syrup. 

So the Grand Slam is that Sweet Manhattan experience we are looking for in the winter, but anytime you have some Swedish punsch around, you should try it. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Swedish punsch (homemade with MurLarkey products version used)
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. dry vermouth

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

Gin Bolognese

I like this cocktail. I like its name, too. A kind of mix of things that are gin and also go with gin. There's something quaint and quintessentially Italian about it. First it uses Fernet Branca unabashedly and doesn't try to sweeten things up at all. Then there's the half ounce of orange bitters! A half ounce! The Gin Bolognese is by far the most dry and bitter cocktail I've ever had. And yet, it is still balanced and enjoyable. Just make sure to make it your first drink of the night.

Here MurLarkey ImaGination gin is a perfect pairing because of its basil and rosemary botanicals. I like how it accentuates the Italianness of this cocktail. 

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination gin used)
• 1/2 oz. Fernet Branca
• 1/2 oz. orange bitters (homemade used, but I recommend Regan's)
• lemon twist

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

Fenneltini (Original Recipe)

The flavor of fresh fennel is unlike most other root flavors like licorice or anise. It is more subtle and vestigial, a good quality to have in a Martini. I've thought this for some time, but now I was able to make this drink a reality with fennel fronds and Don Ciccio and Figili Finnocchietto liqueur. It is sweet and fresh tasting, just like the fronds. You can experiment and try gin with this cocktail, but I rather prefer the clean taste of vodka as the background for a drink that already has a lot going on.

• 2 oz. vodka (MurLarkey Divine Clarity used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Carpano dry used)
• 1/2 oz. Don Ciccio and Figili Finnocchietto 
• fennel frond

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the fennel frond. 

Old South Martini

Greet tomatoes are just so southern. On a recent vacation in Virginia, I picked up these Tomolives, pickled greet tomatoes. These Old South tomatoes look like olives, but the explode with dill pickle flavor. I had to make a vodka martini with these.

• 3 oz. vodka (MurLarkey Divine Clarity used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Carpano dry used)
• 3 Tomolives

Combine liquid ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with Tomolives.

The Gherkson (Original Recipe)

Vodka and cornichons, those little spicy pickles that are often served with charcuterie, are a combination enjoyed all over the world. There's something amazing about dipping a pickle into a cold shot of vodka, shooting the vodka and finishing with the pickle. In Eastern Europe, vodka and onion is a common pairing. Drinkers enhance their experience by smelling a cut onion after taking a vodka shot.

All of this led me to the recipe for The Gherkson, a Gibson Martini with cornichons (gherkins) and cocktail onions. The garnishes are from Maille, makers of a very spicy Dijon style pickle brine that also includes these amazing cocktail onions and whole mustard. The vodka is MurLarkey Divine Clarity potato vodka, and I happily picked up Carpano Dry vermouth. This vermouth contains a lot of herbal echoes of their Antica formula and fits very well with a dry and savory Martini.

• 3 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Carpano Dry used)
• Maille cornichons and onions

Combine vodka and vermouth in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cornichons and cocktail onions.

(DIY) Amer Picon

I've done it! Finally, I have my own Amer Picon knock off. I got the recipe from PUNCH, which was easy except that finding Combier is pretty difficult depending on where you live. But that is all easier to get than Amer Picon--a bitter orange liqueur that hasn't been available in the U.S. for decades. Even the varieties available in France are no longer the same bitter boozy product that Amer Picon once was.

It all started with picking up a bottle of Ramzzotti amaro. I'd seen Combier on bar shelves in the past and figured that the other ingredient wouldn't be too hard to find. As it turns out, Elixir Combier (which may or may not be the ingredient listed in the PUNCH recipe) is not available in the Washingtion, Virginia, Maryland region. Elixir Combier is a biter French orange liqueur with spices from the Mediterranean like myrrh. It turns out that I could find Royal Combier, the same liqueur with cognac added so that it is a competitor to Grand Marnier. This, I assumed, would be a suitable substitute.

The small jar on the right of the photo is orange bitters. I made these using MurLarkey Justice White Whiskey--a version that is 110-proof so that it makes infusions better.



I takes 2 cups of Ramazzotti and one cup each of Combier and orange bitters. Add 1/4 cup of orange peels (I used bitter cara cara orange peels) and let the mixture steep for a week in the refrigerator. For my bottle, I used an old scotch bottle and printed one of the many images of this long-lost spirit

Imagine Espana (Original Recipe)

I've got a project underway to combine the local Virginia spirits from MurLarkey with international brands. How does one take liqueurs and whiskies from across Europe and Asia and turn them into great cocktails using a base spirit that is unknown overseas? It's easy when you consider that gin is a great base for refreshing spring cocktails.

Licor 43 is a Spanish cordial made from citrus, fruits, spices and brandy. It has a pleasing vanilla flavor and adds sweetness where sugar would usually go in a drink. But it is far more interesting than simple syrup in this twist on a Collins.  MurLarkey makes ImaGination gin, a rich botanical blend of a gin that can really outshine other American gins for its depth of flavor. Far from a juniper-heavy gin, MurLarkey goes for spice and herbs for an unexpected taste.

• 1 1/2 oz. MurLarkey ImaGination gin
• 1 oz. Licor 43
• 1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• sparkling water
• cherries and orange twist garnishes.

Combine lemon juice and liquors in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with cherries and orange twist. 

Biscayne Cocktail

It's been a long road to this cocktail. The New York Bartender's Guide of 1997 includes a drink of this name made with one ounce of Forbidden Fruit, a spirit that has been defunct since the middle of last century. That meant I had work to do. I'm not opposed to faithfully recreating a spirit for the sake of this blog, and I've been known to travel to Paris or Iceland to get something I'm looking for, but this spirit is probably my greatest success--and not undeserved.

A lot of things went right about the Biscayne Cocktail, as it turned out. Firstly, that I chose a full-bodied gin like ImaGination by MurLarkey. It is tempting whenever rum and gin are listed in the same recipe to use Vitae gin to match their rum, but I wanted that rosemary and grains of paradise (not to mention barley) to stick out and ground things. Vitae rum, however was a good call because it has a noticeable tropical taste.

But what went off splendidly was the Forbidden Fruit liqueur I made from this recipe I found on Three Points Kitchen. This recipe perfectly balanced the ounce of lime juice and was actively present in the taste throughout. It was a three week process (and months before that of scanning Asian markets for pomelos, which are in season in the winter here in the U.S.), but well worth it to make this spirit.

Once I had these fruits in hand (or by the armload) it was about juicing and peeling. I assembled and crushed the spices according to the recipe and was sure to include blood oranges and orange blossom honey. These items aren't available just anywhere at any time of the year.

Vanilla beans, cardamom pods, coriander, vanilla, cinnamon--this was a challenge. I picked out Meukow VS cognac for the infusion. This turned out to be a good choice because this young cognac had a heavy honeyed nose, but being aged in French oak, was smoother than American brandy, which hews closer to whiskey. 
After two weeks of infusing the juice, fruit peels, cognac, and spices, I removed the solids and added the orange blossom honey. And I'm glad I took the recipie's advice and looked for this specific organic honey. The scent and particular sweetness is exactly what this exotic liqueur needed. After another week, I used a coffee drip filter to remove fine particles and bottled the Forbidden Fruit in a cognac bottle.

Now, at long last, I could make the Biscayne Cocktail!

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. light rum (Vitae Platinum used)
• 1 oz. Forbidden Fruit (see recipe link above)
• 1 oz. lime juice
•  lime slice

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime slice. 

White Way

The White Way is an outmoded term describing the main business strip, the street of a city that is electrified at night. The term could only be used seriously in the early Twentieth Century as cities were switching to electric power.

The cocktail is still true to it's name--brilliantly white and fresh. It also makes use of white creme de menthe, a liqueur that was very fashionable in the metropolises of the19th and 20th century.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe (Leroux used)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to stir up air bubbles and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Coco Chanel

This cocktail is named after the famous fashion designer. I have trouble believing that Coco Chanel would drink such a rich cocktail, however. The recipe is simple, almost too easy, with almost three ingredients. I changed it up, however because I chose MurLarkey coffee whiskey instead of Kaluah. Since the coffee infused whiskey has no sugar, I added a tsp. of black tea and demerara sugar simple syrup that I had left over from making Swedish Punsch.

Since I've not posted the Punsch recipe, I'll give a description of my syrup: Make a cup of hot black tea and dissolve a half cup of demerera sugar into it. Allow it to cool and store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur (MurLarkey coffee whiskey used)
• 1 1/2 oz. half-and-half 
• 1 tsp. black tea demerara suger syrup (optional)

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

Red Cloud

There are storm clouds brewing, but this cocktail is a lovely red cloud. I'm not sure if the name of this cocktail comes from the influential Oglala Lakota chief, or just a description of the drink's color. I happen to think that the use of apricot brandy, lemon juice, and gin produces a light, cloudlike cocktail.

So here is MurLarkey distillery's ImaGination gin, with rosemary, celery, grains of paradise--dark flavors that ground things. Then sweet apricot brandy and grenadine to cut the lemon juice, but not by much. Angostura bitters distinguish this cocktail from many of these red cocktails with gin and apricot brandy--a very common classic trend.

• 2 oz. gin (ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

South Pacific

There's no liqueur that represents the Pacific Ocean in the way that Caribbean rum or Scotch represent the Atlantic. That opens the door to vodka (mainly) or brandy, which comes in handy as the brown spirit in exotic drinks.

I really like this cocktail. That may be because I like brandy and Martell cognac is the clean tasting spirit that a punch-like drink needs. But I also appreciate the need for vodka to control for color and also to keep the drink strong. It wouldn't do to just add more brown spirit in this instance when vodka can thin out the richness and keep the drink bright.

• 2 oz. brandy (Martell VS used)
• 1 oz. vodka (MurLarkey Divine Clarity used)
• 3 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. grenadine

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

Vodka Grasshopper

This is a simple recipe intended to strengthen the potency of the famous Grasshopper, but here vodka takes the place of the cream. I rather liked the change. While I would still consider the Vodka Grasshopper a dessert drink, it no longer resembles a scoop of mint chocolate chip ice cream. If you make the drink according to the original recipe, be careful to have a large cocktail glass--its a whopping six ounces! It's also strong. Feel free to scale it down to your liking as I did.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 2 oz. green creme de menthe
• 2 oz. white creme de cacao

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

Godchild

The Godchild is part of the Godfather family of amaretto cocktails. When I made this I liked it better than I expected. Godchild is the only family member of these drinks that is blended and made with half-and-half. It retains that spike of vodka of the Godmother, however, and I was happy that this wasn't another of those weak amaretto dessert drinks.

• 1 1/2 oz. amaretto (Lazzaroni used)
• 1 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• 1 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a blender with cracked ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled champagne flute. 

Kamikazi

I forgot how delicious a Kamikazi is when made with quality vodka. Three ounces of vodka, in such large proportion to the other ingredients, really makes the vodka you choose a main feature of the drink. I enjoyed sipping a Divine Clarity Kamikazi with it's 100-percent potato vodka. This is a really clean vodka that is still produced in small batches. You can find it in Virginia ABC stores now, but if you can't get MurLarkey spirits, make sure you use a good vodka. That will keep this drink from sliding back to the pre-craft era of the 90's when bad cocktails were the norm.

• 3 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• 1/2 tsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. triple sec
• lime wedge

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

Polynesian Cocktail

The Polynesian Cocktail is really an attempt at making a cocktail taste tropical with traditional bar ingredients. There are no native Polynesian spirits, so vodka is an acceptable base. The flavor comes from cherry brandy, which would be very rich if it wasn't for the citrus juices.

In the photo I'm paying homage to Duke Kahanamoku, the famous Hawaiian surfer, with this necklace of shells and coaster. These ideas are loosely connected to the theme of Polynesia. 

• 2 oz. vodka (Divine Clarity used)
• 1 oz. cherry brandy (Heering used)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• lime wedge 
• sugar

Rim a cocktail glass with sugar. Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wedge.