Peppermint Bark (Original Recipe)

 

This cocktail took several tries to get right. The first mistake I made was using any citrus juice. It was unnecessary--it made a good drink but not the drink I was going for. 

I guess I should explain that this original cocktail was an attempt at making peppermint bark in liquid form that can get you drunk. I imagined not only a dry-tasting, spirits-forward cocktail, but one that had the flavor of milk chocolate, mint and holiday sweets without using cream like so many dessert drinks tend to do. I wanted this drink to be an anytime of the day sipper, but especially on holidays. 

I came up with the solution of adding just a tsp. of simple syrup and several drops of Fernet Branca for a sweet and bitter balance that made this peppermint bark cocktail taste more adult than other candy-like versions. 

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/2 oz. MurLarkey cocoa whiskey
• 1/4 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1 tsp. Fernet Branca

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

7 Stinger

A good Stinger is a work to be treasured. I never felt that I'd come across one that I like as much as a Brandy Stinger. If you don't know, these are pretty basic cocktails that involve white peppermint schnapps and some other strong spirit to space it out. They have been done frozen and on the rocks. Stingers make good shots and awesome dive bar drinks. So it is not surprising to find America's most mixable whiskey in a Stinger recipe.

• 1 oz. Seagram's Seven Crown whiskey
• 1 oz. peppermint schnapps (white creme de menthe used and recommended)

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

Shamrock-7

You don't see too many Grasshopper taste-alikes made with whiskey, or with white creme de menthe for that matter. The effect is a snow-white cocktail that has the exact, if not better, mint and chocolate flavor of a classic Grasshopper with a whiskey kick. What I like, though, is that it isn't as sweet or as creamy. There's milk and a lot less of it, and the cordials are held in balance as well. You can do this drink anytime--and I mean breakfast is not off limits--and it won't fill you up.

• 1 1/2 oz. Seagram's Seven Crown whiskey
• 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1 oz. milk

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

(Napoleon's) Corpse Reviver

One of two Corpse Reviver recipes in the New American Bartender's guide, this one is not accompanied with a number like most. It is, however similar to the Savoy Corpse Reviver, which I haven't done for the blog, it being a bar guest request.

The difference is that instead of brandy, I used the brandy-based liqueur Mandarine Napoleon. This lead me to adopting the name Napoleon's Corpse Reviver for this particular variation. As all Corpse Revivers are intended as hangover remedies, as such, they are a mix of the liquors that the drinker had the night before--sometimes with a bracing effect.

That supports my use of Mandarine Napoleon, a citrus and spice cognac liqueur. Along with Frenet Branca and a mint liqueur, it has a refreshing morning cocktail finish. The minty scent may even help dispel the rumors that the drinker is hung over.

• 3/4 oz. brandy (Mandarine Napoleon used)
• 3/4 oz. white creme de menthe
• 3/4 oz. Fernet Branca

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

Cortina Cup

Cortina is a town in the southern Alps know for being a location along a famous bicycle race by the same name. This cocktail is a golden cup that emulates the race's prize, and it appropriately uses the Italian Alpine spirit, Strega.

Strega is made with saffron, mint and a number of proprietary herbs and fruits. It is gold but tastes chilly and cool. Add to this a bit of creme de menthe and a splash of Pernod and you have a sugary cocktail that is bursting with herbal flavor. You don't notice the mint as much as you'd expect with all of the juice. And the garnishes smell exactly like the drink tastes. 

• 2 oz. Strega
• 1/2 oz. peppermint schnapps
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. Pernod
• orange slice and mint sprig

Combine liquid ingredients except Pernod in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled wine goblet. Add garnishes and float Pernod on top. 

Virgin Cocktail

The is an old recipe from Harry Craddock's Savoy Cocktail Book. The recipe calls for the now defunct Forbidden Fruit spirit that was availible during Craddock's time but is no longer on the market. Fortunately I have reproduced this citrus and honey cognac spirit for use in these classic cocktails.

The recipe also says the drink is one third dry gin. I decided that with all the bright flavors of mint and grapefruit/ pomelo peel in this cocktail, that a wet spirit would also do well. Particularly a prohibition era style spirit that approximates an older style of gin. That is Bol's Genever. The choice may have been a mistake. The two liqueurs, creme de menthe and Forbidden Fruit, may have already been too syrupy and needed a dry gin to clean things up. On the other hand, I enjoyed the richness and was glad that my gin choice stayed in the background and allowed me to appreciate the interplay of flavors.

Mint and grapefruit are great flavors in cocktails. The Virgin Cocktail allows you to have them together in liquor form--no juice added! The herb and citrus flavors are perfectly balanced. It made for a strong drink that could be enjoyed over a long time, appreciating the rich spices of the Forbidden Fruit as it warmed up.

• 1 oz. Forbidden Fruit (homemade recipe used)
• 1 oz. dry gin (Bol's Genever used but a dry gin may be more appropriate)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe

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

Icelandic Air

The name for this drink came to me during a late winter cold snap. I wanted to create a drink with the chill and scent of Iceland's landscape. There's sea air, dry grasses, glacial frost and flowers in every breath of Iceland's air in summer. Brennivin is Iceland's native spirit, an aquavit with a strong caraway seed presence and light, clean taste.

In addition to aquavit, there's pomelo juice, sugar, bitters and white creme de menthe. In small proportions, creme de menthe adds a crispness that is herbal but does not immediately give itself away to the drinker as mint. The tingle of chill is perfect and hidden in a tart and herbal cocktail that perfectly represents the country of Iceland.

• 1 1/2 oz. Brennivin (or aquavit)
• 1 1/2 oz. pomelo juice
• 5 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 1/4 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/4 tsp. white creme de menthe
• pomelo peel sliced thin as a twist

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the pomelo peel.

Mocha Mint

I was afraid that this cocktail would be too much like a dessert. It was far from that, though. A combination of liqueurs that add coffee, chocolate and mint in equal measure, what's not to like about the Mocha Mint?

Even better, since there's plenty of sugar in the cremes, I could use MurLarkey coffee whiskey without having to add more sugar to balance it. If anything the coffee whiskey was the balance.

• 1 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur (MurLarkey coffee whiskey used)
• 1 1/2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao

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

Peppermint Patty

Not the shot version, this cocktail is actually a pleasant sipper that not too rich to enjoy any time. It's also easy to make, with equal parts white creme de cacao and white creme de menthe. It is chocolatey, minty and attractive with a little creamy whiteness, not that fake green color of most creme de menthe.

• 2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 2 oz. white creme de cacao
• 1 oz. half-and-half

Shake all ingredients with ice and pour into a chilled Old Fashioned glass. 

White Way

The White Way is an outmoded term describing the main business strip, the street of a city that is electrified at night. The term could only be used seriously in the early Twentieth Century as cities were switching to electric power.

The cocktail is still true to it's name--brilliantly white and fresh. It also makes use of white creme de menthe, a liqueur that was very fashionable in the metropolises of the19th and 20th century.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe (Leroux used)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to stir up air bubbles and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Coffee Grasshopper

This is a final instillation of the Grasshopper series of cocktails that use creme de menthe and cocoa flavors in cream to make a creamy dessert drink. This time I'm using white creme de menthe to blend mint flavor into the mix without turning the whole thing a mucky green color that green creme de menthe would create when mixed with coffee liqueur.

Here again is MurLarkey coffee whiskey, a good stand in when the sweetness of creme de menthe is enough to balance. And again the rich roasted taste of real coffee infused into the whiskey makes for an interesting twist to this old cocktail. This recipe makes the original drink even stronger.

• 1 1/2 oz. coffee liqueur (MurLarkey coffee whiskey used)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh ice. 

Stinger & Vodka Stinger

I don't know why I hadn't considered these for a double post, but it makes sense. The original Stinger is two parts Cognac and one white creme de menthe. It is far better than expected, even when you only have peppermint schnapps. The mint just cools the whole drink down and leaves you feeling more refreshed than a cognac on the rocks.

The Vodka Stinger is pretty self explanatory: two parts vodka to one part creme de menthe. For some reason it is served up, rather than on the rocks. The same serving is suggested for the most unusual of this family, the Tequila Stinger.

•  2 oz. base spirit (Cognac for the original Stinger and vodka for the Vodka Stinger)
• 1 oz. white creme de menthe (peppermint schnapps is a fine substititue)

Shake all ingredients and pour into an Old Fashioned glass (for the Stinger) or strain into a cocktail glass (Vodka Stinger.)

Lady Be Good / Cold Deck

One drink with two names; one feminine, one masculine. Perhaps it has to do with the sex of the person you are selling it to. A man wants an allusion to harsh maritime conditions. Women just want to know if the drink will pacify.

Whatever you call it, this cocktail is an improvement on the original Stinger, which is 2 to 1 brandy to white creme de menthe. A half ounce of vermouth almost makes this cocktail taste like a spicy and smooth brandy cocktail with only a hint of minty finish so as not to overpower the drink.

• 2 oz. brandy (E & J XO used)
• 1/2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth

Stir all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Knockout Cocktail

This cocktail will knock out your taste buds. With a full ounce of Pernod, it is strong on herbal anise flavor, but white creme de menthe cools the spiciness, as does a heaping gob of dry vermouth.

I like the color of this cocktail, absinthe green. That kind of glowing nuclear radiation color that tastes just like it appears--and tastes great with that glowing maraschino cherry. Don't substitute absinthe for Pernod here, it's too dry and you need that sweetness to give you some relief from the powerful spices and herbs.

• 2 oz. dry vermouth (Mancino used)
• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Bombay Sapphire used)
• 1 oz. Pernod
• 1/2 tsp. white creme de menthe
• maraschino cherry

Shake all ingredients except cherry in a shaker full of ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with cherry. 

Scotch Cooler

I was expecting this drink to be a little gross like most creme de menthe drinks. It helped that I was using a better quality white creme de menthe and that the recipe doesn't call for that much of it or it would have been overpowering. This cocktail shouldn't taste like a Christmas Tree or a Green Goblin (I have not even bothered to make either of these for my blog, having tasted them before. But then there is always the possibility that I can get someone else to drink them.)

Anyway, this one tasted a lot like a Scotch and Soda made with a scotch that sourced its water from a spring that flows through fields of mint plants rather than heather. It's that subtle hint that is interesting without being overpowering that makes the Scotch and Soda such a hit for me when I go out for social drinking. I always recommend Chivas Regal for a Scotch and Soda, but I only had Famous Grouse to make this one.

• 3 oz. scotch
• 1/2 tsp. white creme de menthe
• club soda

Build the drink in a highball glass with ice. Stir in alcoholic ingredients until chilled and top with club soda. The mint spring (since the creme de menthe is really a substitute for the real thing) is optional.

Savoy Corpse Reviver (Revisited)

Fernet Branca is like taking your medicine. You waffle between whether it soothes or makes you feel more ill. I don't recommend this drink unless you are really sick or hung over, but I was surprised at how much white creme de menthe makes the drink more palatable. It is my first experience with something like this, Fernet blending in in any shape or form. Fernet Branca is pretty minty itself, and creme de menthe occupies a lot of the bitter and unpleasant space that the Fernet usually takes up. I found that this drink improves dramatically when had with cookies.

• 1 oz. Fernet Branca
• 1 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. creme de menthe

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

Dixie Whiskey Cocktail

I made this up drink for Meghan, who doesn't like up drinks as a rule. It turns out she didn't like it, but that was probably because it was very strong. That wasn't a problem for me, though. Dixie Whiskey Cocktail tastes like a liquor-only version of a Bourbon Smash, using Cointreau and creme de menthe as substitutes for real orange and mint.

Town Branch is a Lexington Kentucky bourbon that is light and clean tasting. I use it in cocktails more than my Evan Williams Single Barrel and Calumet Farms, which are both very strong flavored bourbons. Sadly, when it is gone, I won't be able to get more of it in Virginia.

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau
• 1/2 oz. white creme de menthe
• 1/2 tsp. sugar syrup or to taste 
• 1 dash bitters

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

Savoy Corpse Reviver

Last year I did an article on scary drinks that featured the Corpse Reviver #2. That is an easy drink to come to terms with because it has gin, Cointreau, lemon juice...the same stuff you probably drank the night before, which necessitated a Corpse Reviver in the morning. This one uses Fernet Branca. I was reluctant to buy a bottle of Fernet because it is so bitter, so I asked the guys at Potomac Wines and Spirits in Georgetown for help. They tell me that Meletti is a less bitter Amaro that doesn't have the mint flavor of Fernet Branca. After tasting it, I decided that it was good on its own and might even be a substitute for Campari.

The Savoy Corpse Reviver is an old-time recipe using white creme de menthe, Fernet, and brandy. It sounds disgusting. But the minty flavor of Fernet would be wasted in a drink that already has creme de menthe. Meletti made for a less bitter mint flavor but still medicinal tasting drink that was just awesome with chocolate chip cookies.

Here's how to make this Corpse Reviver:

• 1 oz. brandy
• 1 oz. Fernet Branca (Meletti Amaro used)
• 1 oz. white creme de cacao

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

Potomac Wines and Spirits is a premiere liquor store in D.C.'s fashion district, Georgetown. I catch the circulator bus from Roselyn to get there every few weeks to check out the cocktail scene and I make a point of stopping in and adding to my wish list. As you can see, they have an awesome selection of liqueurs, Amaros, vermouths, etc. It's expensive stuff and it goes quickly on the home bar. If anyone wants to know what I'd like as a gift, anything in this picture would be great.