Warehouse C (Death & Co. Recipe)

There is no end to the great drinks you can make with bourbon. This one comes as no surprise, but it seems a little unusual to find orgeat, strawberry an cinnamon all in the same cocktail. To me, the flavors in the Warehouse C signal the end of summer berries and the beginning of fall spice cocktails.

Death & Co. recommends batching your own cinnamon infused syrup for drinks like this, but I never do. I rely on a dash of MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey, which is basically cinnamon infused whiskey. It is the real deal, and so adding some to your simple syrup effectively makes it cinnamon syrup. I did the same with my homemade ginger liqueur and simple syrup to make the ginger syrup.

• 1 strawberry
• 1 1/2 oz. Buffalo Trace bourbon (Ancient Age by Buffalo Trace used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 1/4 oz. cinnamon syrup (simple and a dash of MurLarkey cinnamon whiskey used)
• 1/4 oz. ginger syrup (simple and a dash of ginger liqueur used)
• 1 dash aromatic bitters (Hella used)

Muddle the strawberry in a shaker tin. Add ice and the remaining ingredients. Shake and double strain into a chilled coupe glass.

 

Maggie Smith (Death & Co. Recipe)

This cocktail is named after the famed British actor, though I wonder how much Maggie Smith enjoyed pisco or even Daiquiris for that matter. It does seem a bit like a custom classic cocktail that a Dame might appreciate, though I've not heard any apocryphal story about a bartender coming up with the recipe for her like there is with Greta Garbo. 

Anyway, this is my first time trying Capel pisco from Chile. The thing about Chilean pisco is that every label tastes different and the flavor swings from fruit brandy to whisky to vodka. Capel is very close to vodka, which is fine, but it doesn't do much for changing the flavor of this drink. 

I've got a few of my own ingredients here as well. I have homemade Mandarine Napoleon and orgeat, though they are in bottles that appear to have the proper brands on them. 

Finally, I want to mention Mt. Defiance rum as an exceptional Virginia rum that makes a damn good Daiquiri. It's pretty amazing just how light yet complex their white rum's flavor actually is. 

• 1 oz. pisco (Capel used)
• 1 oz. white rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 1/2 oz. orange liqueur (homemade Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. orgeat (homemade used)
• 1 tsp honey syrup
• lime wheel garnish

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

Get Lucky (Death & Co. Recipe)

There's a lot to like about Get Lucky. It is bountiful and pretty, to start with: crushed ice and muddled blackberries. Then there's sweetening ginger and honey syrup and orgeat. Balance all of that with citrus bitters and lemon juice. The flavor is familiar and comforting, the recipe is a little outside the ordinary, and I love it. 

Some fun changes I had to make include flavoring my simple syrup with ginger brandy that I made over the winter and using Mt. Defiance rum. This rum is as good as you can ask for in a small batch, colonial style white rum. It is rich on flavor but mixes well with a flavor of cooked brown sugar and a hint of ginger in the finish. 

• 3 blackberries
• 2 oz light rum (Mt. Defiance used)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/4 ginger syrup (simple with ginger brandy added)
• 1/4 oz. orgeat
• 1/4 acacia honey syrup
• peychaud's bitters garnish

Muddle blackberries in a pilsner glass. Fill with crushed ice. In a shaker combine the remaining ingredients except for bitters and shake until incorporated. Strain into the pilsner glass and dash Peychaud's bitters on top of the ice. 

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Rodeo Drive Rammer

 

This is a fun, and a little silly, drink to salute the crazy that is part of driving in Los Angles. Really, this is a cocktail that is part deluxe, part gaudy, and all American--just like Beverly Hills itself.

Here is a  punch drink with the usual rum. falernum and orange juice: but it's not stereotypically American enough until you add peach liqueur and bourbon. In fact this drink flips the tables with bourbon being the base spirit in a punch, which I like. I happened to have a dash left of Evan Williams peach bourbon, which worked for the peach brandy that was specified in the recipe. 

Go ahead and make this one if you are in the mood for day drinking, just don't get behind the wheel.

• 1 1/2 oz. bourbon (Ancient Age used)
• 1/2 oz. Jamaican rum (George Bowman used)
• 1/2 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• 1/2 oz. peach brandy (Evan Williams peach used)
• 3 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. falernum or orgeat (homemade falernum used)
• pineapple slice and cherry garnishes
• club soda

 Combine all liquid ingredients except for soda in a shaker or blender. Shake or blend and pour into a Hurricane glass. Top with soda and garnish with fruit.

 

Martinique Cooler

I feel that if a cocktail is called a Cooler, it needs to be a long drink. That's just me. This short one is still terrific. It is pretty much a blended Margarita made with rum and Mandarine Napoleon. Because I can't get Mandarine Napoleon, a spiced cognac and mandarin spirit, I made it by a process of estimation (below). I'm still keeping my recipe a secret until I've perfected it, because there was a lot of trial and error.

Martinique is a French speaking island in the Caribbean known for its fresh pressed sugarcane rum. I don't have any of that, but the cocktail doesn't specify this. Vitae Platinum is a good substitute anyway, with a fresh taste not unlike Martinique rum.

• 1 1/2 oz. light rum (Vitae Platinum used)
• 1/2 oz. Mandarine Napoleon
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup
• lime slice

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled highball glass (maybe if you double the recipe. As printed, it's not enough for a highball and I used and Old Fashioned glass). Garnish with a lime slice. 

Rush Street

I was doubtful at first that Rush Street was a real place, like the imaginary London Below in Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere. It turns out that it is a one-way street in northern Chicago, named after Benjamin Rush, an original signatory of the U.S. Constitution. That means it is another Chicago cocktail and a late colonial style drink. That explains why it is a cognac cocktail; before whiskey took over as a locally-made spirit, cognac and French liqueurs were popular with colonials who refused to drink British rum.

So the Rush Street belongs with the cognac-based Chicago Cocktail and the gin-heavy South Side! The fun ingredients that set the Rush Street apart display a  full-on Frenchness:  orgeat syrup and Mandarine Napoleon. I used to make my own orgeat syrup, but now I buy it. And now because of the Pandemic, I am making my own Mandarine Napoleon, the mandarin orange and spiced cognac spirit that Napoleon himself was said to enjoy.

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (Larressingle armagnac used)
• 1/2 oz. Mandarine Napoleon
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• several dashes orgeat syrup

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

Banyan Cocktail

It's not huge like the ancient tree it is named after, nor is it visually impressive. The flavor, however, can transport you to a tropical place. This is accomplished with exotic tasting rum, apricot brandy--which always makes heads spin--and rich, creamy orgeat.

Vitae has a special edition barrel aged rum that I selected for this cocktail. It has a rich and spicy flavor that is close to an aged rum from Barbados, and less funky than a Jamacian rum. This was definitely a good choice, but be careful in selecting any "gold" rum for your own version. A blended down gold rum like Bacardi will have less character and you lose some of the woody notes that I think the cocktail requires. Aged rum is the key (though also blended) because it isn't trying to sneak into a blended daiquiri, it is making a statement in a stiff tropical cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. gold rum (Vitae barrel aged rum used)
• 3/4 oz. apricot brandy (Jacquin's used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat (Liber & Co. used)
• dash grenadine

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

Humuhumunukunukuapua'a (Smuggler's Cove)

This cocktail is aptly named after the brilliantly colored Hawaiian state fish. The cocktail itself is beautiful and flowers and fruit accent it. One of the best things about Hawaiian drinks is that there is no spirit native to Hawaii. So you can use a gin; you can use a gin from Virginia; you can even use ImaGination.

If you have the ingredients and a blender, this drink is easier to make than it is to pronounce.

• 2 oz. gin (Murlarkey ImaGination used)
• 2 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 3/4 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat
• flowers/ maraschino cherry garnishes

Combine all ingredients except garnishes in a blender with cracked ice. Flash blend and pour into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with flowers and cherry. 

Pepper Pot (Non-Alcoholic)

The Pepper Pot is one of my favorite mocktails. It makes canned pineapple juice seem exotic again with curry powder, Tabasco sauce, ground red pepper and non-alcoholic orgeat. Fee Brothers orgeat is creamy and full of that maraschino bitterness that just screams tropical treat.

• 4 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. orgeat (Fee Brothers used)
• 3-5 dashes Tabasco sauce
• cayenne pepper to taste
• curry powder to taste

Combine all ingredients except curry powder with ice in a shaker. Shake and pour into a highball glass. Sprinkle with curry powder.

Virgin Island (Non-Alcoholic)

Another great non-alcoholic tiki cocktail with a great name, the Virgin Island sounds like it would be full of white rum. Instead, it is a rich and dessert-like drink with pineapple juice and creamy almond syrup. I was in a hurry when making this drink, so the impatient (flower garnish) while not edible seemed very fitting and beautiful.

• 3 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. coconut cream
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. orgeat
• pineapple spear

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until smooth and pour into a grim-faced tiki mug. Garnish with pineapple spear.

Inca

This is a massive wine cocktail! I get why it is called Inca after the Pre Columbian empire; sherry would have been the drink of the conquering Spaniards, and orgeat or almond syrup represents almond drinks that are made in South America.

The rest of the drink is sweet with rich wine and nuttiness. Again, I opted for Commonwealth gin to cut down on all the botanicals you find in London dry gins. Then I added more orgeat than is called for because if you have it you should flaunt it. It makes for a cloudier cocktail, but I would have already been cloudy with the original proportions.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. dry sherry
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• dash orange bitters
• several dashes orgeat (more if you like)

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

White Lion

I don't know how someone got away with naming this a White Lion. It's made with dark rum--black in this case. Either way it is a killer. The Kraken is 47 percent alcohol, and two ounces will have you seeing double. I didn't have raspberry syrup, but Chambord makes a delicious and alcoholic substitute.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup
• 1/4 tsp. raspberry syrup (Chambord used)

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

Polynesian Pepper Pot

This spicy tropical drink paradoxically uses vodka to boost its potency. The original recipe calls for several spices to get the necessary pepper heat. I am going to tell you not to bother with Tobasco. you don't want vinegar to sour your sweet drink. Instead, use ground red pepper, a dash of curry powder and chili pepper infused rum. You can make it yourself with a hot chili and your choice of rum.

• 2 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. rum (chili pepper infused used)
• 4 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• pinch ground cayenne pepper 
• pinch curry powder

Combine vodka, rum, orgeat and juices in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Add pinches of pepper and curry on top. 

Kamehameha Rum Punch

The Kraken makes an excellent vanilla spice topper to the Kamehameha Rum Punch, a recipe very similar to a Zombie. Tiki drinks are easy to make, but difficult to prep for--juicing citrus, making orgeat, and cutting pineapple. This was well worth the effort.

• 2 oz. white rum
• 1 oz. dark rum (Kraken spiced rum used)
• 2 tbsp. blackberry brandy (homemade blackberry infused E & J brandy used)
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 oz. orgeat syrup
• pineapple spear

Combine white rum, orgeat, brandy and juices in a shaker or blender with ice. Shake or blend and pour into a highball glass. Top with dark rum and garnish with pineapple spear.

Inverness Cocktail

The Inverness Cocktail is named after a small town and blending locale in northern Scotland. It calls for orgeat (pronounced or-zat), which is a syrup made from the oils extracted from almonds. I've been having a hard time finding orgeat in stores, but I had some luck finding one of the ingredients, orange blossom water, at World Market. At that point I decided to make my own orgeat. More on that recipe after the Inverness Cocktail.

This drink was soothing with butterscotch and nuttiness and a strong lemon zip. In fact it was so strong that I encourage you to use more orgeat to balance out the flavors and sweeten it a little.

• 2 oz. scotch
• 1 tsp. orgeat
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. triple sec

Combine scotch, juice and orgeat in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Float a teaspoon of triple sec on top.

Orgeat is easy to make but timeconsuming. It takes a lot of patience to wait for the almonds to soak, so it is not a good idea to try to make it in a hurry before a bar shift. You can make orgeat faster if you use hot water (about 150 degrees) and it will keep for several weeks, so there's no harm in preparing early. Here's how it is done.

Add 2 cups of sliced blanched almonds and 3 cups of water and let them soak for 30 minutes. Remove soaked almonds and chop them coarsely in a blender or on a cutting board.

Return almonds to the water to soak for 3 hours. Then strain the water and pulp through a colander and a cheesecloth, pressing to extract the oils. Repeat this step up to three times for a richer almond flavor.

Strain and discard the pulp and add 1/2 cup of sugar. (Optional: heat syrup and stir until all sugar is dissolved. Let cool 15 minutes.) Add 2 tbsp. orange blossom water and 1 oz. of vodka. Place in an air-tight container and shake vigorously to combine ingredients. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.