Alembic (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Alcohol my first have been made by Arabic alchemists in the middle ages, but it was the Dutch who invented Genever, the predecessor of gin. This spirit used juniper berries in the malted barley mash as well as juniper and other botanicals in the distillation to create a gin-like spirit with a rich nutty body and pale color. It is so much like whiskey, that you can use it in a Sazerac variation and it comes across as very much like the New Orlean's original. 

• absinthe
• 2 oz. Anchor Genevieve gin (Bols Barrel-Aged Genever used)
• 1/4 oz. demerara syrup
• 3 dashes Peychaud/s bitters
• 1 lemon twist garnish
  

Coat a double Old Fashioned glass with absinthe (Absente used) and add one large ice cube. In a mixing glass, stir the remaining ingredients with ice and strain into a absinthe-coated glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Buffalo Soldier (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

Yep. That's my label on the bottle of pecan-infused bourbon (not honey-infused this time). I had fun with this Death & Co. recipe that only uses three ingredients: bourbon, pecans and demerara sugar syrup. Doing the infusion is easy. Just soak a cup of pecans in a cup of bourbon for more than a week and it is ready to strain through cheesecloth and use in the drink. 

I used Ancient Age bourbon because it is made at the Buffalo Trace distillery and is where this drink takes its name from. This is very much a cocktail in the dessert spectrum with a ton of vanilla-and-pecan-coated in-rich-sugar sort of experience, not unlike having one of the bourbon and pecan bon-bons they sell at Buffalo Trace. As I drank it down, however, there was increasing bitterness and a dry nutty note from the pecans that I appreciated much more than the sweetness of the sugar. 

Play around with the sugar portion as well as the proportions of pecans to bourbon, to find your favorite Buffalo Soldier. I adjusted the sugar down a little because I don't like my drinks too sweet, but everyone will have their preferred recipe with something this simple. 

• 2 oz. pecan-infused Buffalo Trace bourbon
• 1/4 oz. demerara sugar syrup

Stir all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a double rocks glass over a large single piece of ice. 

Sure Shot (Death & Co. Recipe)

This is a winner of a recipe, for sure. Very few stirred cocktails go with chili infusions. This one is nice and smokey and plays up the rich, whiskey-like flavors of old Tom and genever. I've never infused chilis in sweet vermouth before, and I have to say it goes in faster than you expect. Only a few hours are necessary to make the infusion. It also tastes great, like adding smoke and heat to your bittersweet  vermouth. Why wouldn't this be great?

Gallian and orange bitters have their own role to play in Sure Shot. I like how the vanilla and anise of Galliano are more like spice additions than sweeteners. Galliano also adds a richness to the texture to support the vermouth. This is a hefty drink and orange bitters suggestion of baking spices makes it even that much more rounded. 

• 1 1/2 oz. Old Tom gin (Vitae used)
• 1/2 oz. Bols Genever (Bols barrel aged genever used)
• 3/4 oz. ancho chile-infused Dolin rouge vermouth
• 1 tsp Galliano
• 1 tsp. demerara syrup
• 1 dash orange bitters (Hella used)

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

 

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. 

(Blended) Whiskey Cocktail

This cocktail recipe specifically calls for blended whiskey. Unlike the Rye Whiskey Cocktail and the Bourbon Whiskey Cocktail of the same proportion and ingredients, a blended whiskey makes this drink a little smoother and more reliant on other ingredients to keep it interesting. I used a demerara sugar syrup which really added a sweet richness that blended whiskey often lacks. Angostura bitters, even a single dash, were totally appreciated here.

• 3 oz. blended whiskey (Black Velvet Special Reserve used)
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup (demerara used)
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Whiskey Cooler

Cleveland bourbon makes a rich backbone to this Fizz style of drink. I used demerara syrup to sweeten the cocktail and the lemon twist really added a lot on the nose--as you can imagine. The fresh lemon scent and oils in the soda contrasted perfectly with dark whiskey and cane sugar sweetness for a drink that does as advertised on a hot day.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Cleveland bourbon used)
• 1/2 tsp sugar (demerara syrup used)
• club soda
• lemon twist

Build drink in a Collins glass with ice, whiskey and syrup. Top with club soda and stir before twisting the lemon peel on top.

King Cole (Blood Orange variation)

Save this tiki-like Old Fashioned for the winter holidays when rhymes about Old King Cole being a merry soul are more appropriate. Or make it instead of an Old Fashioned if you happen to have pineapple pieces left over from other recipes that need using.

The recipe calls for a typical orange (like a naval orange) and blended whiskey. For more richness, I used Cleveland bourbon, which has a debatable status as bourbon anyway. It is rich compared to many blended whiskies and suited to a rocks sipping cocktail like this one. Blood orange, just because it is good, is another wonderful addition.

One last change, or enhancement, to this recipe includes the use of demerara syrup instead of sugar. A syrup is already dissolved and does not require as much stirring, but demerara still imparts a rich flavor, too. See how I made this along with D.I.Y. falernum and you'll know why I love this stuff.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Cleveland bourbon used)
• orange slice
• pineapple slice
• 1/2 tsp sugar (demerara syrup used)

Add fruit and sugar to an Old Fashioned glass and muddle fruit to extract juices from pulps. Add whiskey and ice and stir. 

Dr. Funk (Smuggler's Cove recipe)

Smuggler's Cove is magnificent San Francisco tiki bar that's raised the bar for the tiki experience. I'm using owner Martin Cate's recipe for a Dr. Funk, a Tahitian cocktail that goes back more than a century.

Dr. Funk was Robert Lewis Stevenson's persona physician. The cocktail, which includes a spicy herbal liqueur, herbsaint, is supposed to cure people of laziness or lack of aspiring to greatness. Trader Vick attributed the recipe to a fictional Dr. Fong, who he credited for all the Trader Vic's restaurant's recipes. Whatever the ailment or the doctor, Dr. Funk is still a great drink. Spicy and fizzy and so tropical.

Smuggler's Cove has very particular ingredients for recipes, so I've included some extra preparation instructions for this one.

First, you'll need demerara syrup, which you can see on my recipe for falernum. Then you will need an unaged black pot still rum. I could only find aged pot still rum, but it wasn't black. So I added 1/4 oz. of black strap molasses to the syrup to achieve the right color and molasses flavor.

The important thing is to use a pot still rum with a funky character. I used Pusser's Navy Rum, because it is really interesting and balances the herbsaint.

For herbsaint, an absinthe substitute made in America, I used French Absinte Refined, which is also an absinthe substitute. Finally, I'm ready to do the recipe.

• 2 1/4 oz. unaged pot still black rum (Goslings is acceptable, but add a little pot still Pusser's for character.)
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. demerara syrup
• 1/4 oz. herbsaint (Absinthe Refined used)
• 1/4 oz. grenadine
• 1 oz. club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda with ice in a shaker. Shake and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass packed with crushed ice. Top with soda and garnish with pineapple leaves and lime slices.