San Francisco

What is it about San Francisco that inspires funky ingredients in cocktails. There's the S.F. Sour  (A.K.A. Frisco Sour) with Benedictine and grenadine, the Golden Gate with rum, gin and orgeat syrup, and San Franciscans' love of Frenet Branca served chilled and neat. You can really tell a west-coaster by their drink order. This cocktail implies that San Franciscans love their vermouth, and they probably do for all that. This cocktail has heaping equal parts of dry and sweet vermouth and gin. I used both Lacuesta blanco and limited edition vermouths. All the bitters really make this dry-ish and sweet-ish cocktail very herbaceous and interesting.

• 1 1/2 oz. sloe gin
• 1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth 
• 1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 3-5 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3-5 dashes orange bitters
• maraschino cherry

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

Moll Cocktail

Moll is, of course, a nickname for Molly. This cocktail, like Moll Flanders, is strong and stands apart, from typical Martinis that is. It's more seductive than an all-spirits drink like the Martini. Sweeter and more interesting, it combines dry gin and vermouth with sloe gin sweetness.

• 1 1/2 oz. dry gin (Bombay Sapphire East used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Vermouth Lacuesta used)
• 1 oz. sloe gin
• several dashes Angostura bitters

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

Sombrero

Again, I'm finding more than one drink by the name Sombrero. The one in the New York Bartender's Guide is basically a White Russian without the vodka. I might drink that one when I'm really drunk, but I'm still trying to experiment with Spanish vermouth.

This time I'm using Lacuesta's sweet limited edition bottle. This is more mild than Italian vermouths, and far less bitter than Antica Formula. It's really a lot like a Marsala wine with a little bit of herbs to give it zing.

I used Sauza gold tequila because it has more caramel flavors and less pepper and agave taste of the blanco. It was a good move.

• 1 1/2 oz. gold tequila
• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (Lacuesta limited edition used)
• 3/4 oz. dry vermouth (Lacuesta blanco used)

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

Matador (CocktailDB)

There is more than one cocktail named Matador. The New York Bartender's Guide has one by this name involving pineapple juice and lime juice, a sort of Margarita in a coup glass. The one I made here is a vermouth, curacao and tequila up drink. I found it on cocktaildb.com. I wanted to make a heavy blanco vermouth cocktail that had Spanish flair with the Spanish vermouth I just got.

Vermut Lacuesta is from a Spanish winemaker, Martinez Lacuesta. The blanco variety is mild and less herbaceous than French vermouth. It has a rich sauvignon blanc wine flavor and is so good for sipping by itself that it works well as a cocktail base. It's the kind of thing you can drink all afternoon on ice or in a cocktail without any ill results.

Here's how to make the Matador (CocktailDB version).

• 1 oz. dry (blanco used) vermouth
• 1 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• 1 oz. blanco tequila

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