Honshu Punch (Death & Co. Recipe)

Death & Co. keep a rotating Honshu punch for guests all year long. The recipe goes through variations depending on who is bartending, it seems. The settled-on recipe they put in the book involves Yamazaki 12-year-old whiskey. That all made sense back in 2008 when Japanese whiskey was still fabulous but inexpensive. Now it is just fabulous. 

This no-frills presentation is designed to keep your attention on the whiskey, which is a malted barley whiskey from Japan. That malt adds a tropical honey sweetness not unlike rum but with a more oat-like note. For this cocktail, I didn't use the expensive Japanese whiskey, opting for the slightly less expensive Catoctin Creek American Malt whiskey. This is a Virginia whiskey made from a Scottish wee heavy ale, so it has the malted barley component but no peat smoke. That makes it strikingly similar to Yamazaki single malt. 

• 2 oz. Yamazaki 12-year-old whiskey (Catoctin Creek American Malt whiskey)
• 3/4 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. cane sugar syrup
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers whiskey barrel-aged bitters (1 dash Angostura used)
• 2 dashes Bitter Truth aromatic bitters (Hella aromatic used)
• 1 oz. club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled snifter full of two large chunks of ice. Top with club soda. 

 

Hadley's Tears (Death & Co. Recipe)

I can't say that I've seen a lot of genever cocktails with dark rum and Galliano. The thing is, I've pretty much drawn the line just after rum-based Sazeracs and didn't consider what a great maritime spirit genever is and just how much it can influence a classic cocktail. 

Drinks of this proportion are all about the herbal presence of the absinthe and citrus bitters. Bols Barrel Aged Genever doesn't fight this trend with juniper and malty notes that melt right into the well aged rum. The recipe calls for Jamaican rum, and George Bowman's is a blend of Caribbean rums that hews closely to Appleton or Pusser's. I like featuring a local spirit as often as I can on this blog, so that is why its here.

But a Sazerac needs sugar. You get that from Galliano and simple syrup. More vanilla and anise isn't going to detract from the overall experience. Galliano and aromatic bitters just takes this drink closer to Itailian wedding cookies and away from carrot cake. 

• 1 oz. Appleton Estate rum (George Bowman's used)
• 1 oz. Bols Genever (Barrel Aged genever used)
• 1 tsp. Galliano
• 1/2 tsp. absinthe (Ricard used)
• 1 dash aromatic bitters (Hella used)
• 1 orange twist

Stir all ingredients over ice, then strain into a double rocks glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the orange twist. 

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Legend (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Going through the Death & Co. stirred brandy cocktail chapter section, I realized they have many drinks that follow this same format: brandy and rum, and bitter aperitifs and sweet fortified wines, served in a coupe with no garnish. 

And this is truly one of the best of them. I love this one because it is light and balanced, yet contains some really deep flavors. No wonder it's called Legend. In something like this, small differences can mean noticeable changes, so Legend may be one to try again with different rums, amari, or bitters. I went with aromatic bitters by Hella (not Bitter Truth) and Angostura. And I don't have Appleton estate rum or Amontillado, but I do have Caribbean rum and solera reserve from Lustau. Finally, I have a local amaro by Don Ciccio and Figili that has to stand in for Amaro Nonino. It doesn't quite cut it, so I used a splash of my Amer Picon to give it the bitter orange peel notes of Nonino.

• 2 oz. cognac (Martell single distillery used)
• 1/2 oz. Appleton Estate V/X rum (George Bowman used)
• 3/4 oz. Lustau Amontillado (Lustau East India Solera sherry used)
• 1/2 oz. Amaro Nonino (blend of Ambrosia and Amer Picon used)
• 1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bitters (Hella used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Jagermeister

This is not the German spirit that we grew up taking "dare" shots of at dive bars, but it is close. This vodka cocktail goes for sour and earthy flavors just like the famed Jagermeister, which means master of the hunt. That might lend insight into the green color scheme of this recipe.

Kummel and Jager (as it is called) are similar Germanic sweet and herbal infusions. Jagermeister has a lot more clove and licorice root and a number of ingredients that are secrets to all except a small few who work for the distillers. My addition to the cocktail recipe is intended to balance the brightness, a heavy dash of clove and spice aromatic bitters by Hella.

• 1 1/2 oz. vodka (Smirnoff #57)
• 1/2 oz. kummel (homemade recipe used)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice 
• lime twist
• dash aromatic bitters (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Twist a lime peel over the glass and drop it in.