Alabammy Bound

The name, of course, refers to the southern state of Alabama where peaches and peach liqueur are symbolic of Southern drinking. The recipe calls for Louisiana's proprietary liqueur, Southern Comfort, but other peach flavored spirits are also acceptable. 

For this drink, I used a sample of Evan Williams peach bourbon, which seems appropriate because of Bourbon's prominent place in southern cocktails. It is the brandy that seems out of place in an Alabama-themed cocktail. That is, at least, until you realize that Southern Comfort is a brandy--not a bourbon--spirit. 

I heartily recommend this cocktail. The peach flavor tastes unique when paired with citrus and mint. This drink stands out from many southern-styled cocktails like the Alabama Slammer and a whole host eye catching drinks made from  flavored and artificially colored liqueurs. I enjoied Evan Williams peach bourbon so much that I would be happy to buy a full-sized bottle. 

• 1 oz. brandy (Korbel used)
• 1 oz. Southern Comfort (Evan Williams peach bourbon used
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup or to taste
• mint sprig

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

Southern Bride

It's lightly pink and a bit like a dress turned upside down. The Southern Bride is lovely and tropical, another one of those southern gin cocktails, whether this is actually a thing or not.

It is like so many other grapefruit and maraschino liqueur cocktails like the previous post. Go with it when you don't have mint to make the Seventh Heaven.

• 3 oz. gin (Strange Monkey used)
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 tbsp. maraschino liqueur

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

Southern Gin Cocktail

There's something to the idea that a gin cocktail in the South may be too dry for the warm weather. One should try the burst of orange flavor that you get from adding triple sec and orange bitters. I used Sunset Hills Virginia Small Batch gin to get a very soft American style gin that's more citrus and less bite. It plays right with the strong Triplum from Luxardo and allows orange bitters to stand out.

• 3 oz. gin (Sunset Hills Virginia Small Batch)
• 1/2 oz. triple sec (Luxardo used)
• 3 dashes orange bitters (Hella used)
• lemon twist

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

Searsucker

Named after the funny men's summer suits of the Carolinas. This isn't my recipe, and its not in the NY Bartender's Guide I'm doing for the blog, but it is a good one. Grilled lemon and sweet tea syrup make this cocktail a favorite for backyard barbecues in the American South. The recipe that follows makes preparations for about 20 cocktails, a fitting number for a party.

Sweet tea syrup is easy to make. Use your regular iced tea bags to steep about a cup of water in a saucepan. When finished steeping, remove the tea bags and add one cup of sugar. Stir while continuing to simmer until all sugar is dissolved and the solution is reduced somewhat (about five minutes.) Store in a sealable container in the refrigerator.

The grilled lemon halves make for great ice cubes that impart flavor as well as coolness to the cocktail. Halve a dozen lemons and roast them cut-side-down on a barbecue grill until they are sufficiently charred. Store them in the freezer to make juicy ice cubes when added directly to the drink.

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1/2 oz. sweet tea syrup
• frozen charred lemon half
• dash Angostura bitters

Combine bourbon, bitters and syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. Add frozen lemon half to the drink.