Affinity #2

This is the after-dinner Affinity to set across from the before-dinner Affinity #1. I think I like this one just as much if not more than its vermouth laden brother. This one has a good helping of sherry and port, which makes it sweeter. I let these dessert wines stand out by using Barrelhound blended scotch. There's no peat flavor here, just sweet wines with a scotch backbone.

• 1 oz. scotch
• 1 oz. dry sherry
• 1 oz. port
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• maraschino cherry 
• lemon twist

Combine all ingredients except cherry and lemon peel in a mixing glass with ice. Stir well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the maraschino cherry and lemon twist.

Rum Swizzle

Rum Swizzle: Is there any other kind? This was one drink in which the caramel sweetness of Lyon dark rum is well balanced with a lot of lime juice acidity. A swizzle requires a decent amount of stirring. Unlike other swizzles I've made, though, this one has club soda, which means you don't want to stir the finished product too much or you will lose carbonation and make the drink flat. You do want to serve it with a swizzle stick shown above as a garnish that gives the drinker something to play with.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Lyon Bijou Batch used)
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• several dashes Angostura bitters
• 1 tsp. sugar
• club soda
• lime slice
• swizzle stick 

Combine rum, lime juice, sugar and bitters in a highball glass with ice. Stir quickly with the swizzle stick and add ice while drink chills. Top with soda and garnish with lime slice and leave swizzle stick in the glass. 

Rum Daisy

As far as Daisies go this is not the most outstanding. It is, however, much like its family members, a light, strong, and pink drink. I still like the Canadian Daisy (all other types listed here as well) as the strange one with raspberries. But the Rum Daisy is the one I want in a beach cabana. There's nothing like the taste of rum when you are sunbathing poolside. Now that its almost summer, I can see the appeal of this drink.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. grenadine
• club soda
• maraschino cherry
• orange slice

Combine all ingredients except club soda, cherry and orange slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass. Top with club soda and garnish with orange slice and cherry.

Rum Collins

There might be some debate if this drink is necessary. If all you have is rum and soda, though, it's pretty necessary. Lime juice is the only other substitute from the Tom Collin's lemon juice. Everything else is done the same.

• 3 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• club soda
• lemon slice
• maraschino cherry

Combine rum, lime juice and sugar in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Top with soda and garnish with lemon slice and cherry

Sloe Gin Fizz

This is perhaps the most famous sloe gin cocktail. It's like a sweet Fizz or Collins that has some distinctly gin-like flavors, but it also has a ruby red color and fruity taste that has nothing to do with the lemon juice. It's fun on a warm day, stronger than a Pimm's Cup and eye-catching to boot.

• 2 oz sloe gin
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• soda
• lemon slice

Combine all ingredients except soda and lemon slice in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. Fill with soda and stir. Garnish with lemon slice.

Bourbon Sloe Gin Fizz

Bourbon differentiates this sloe gin fizz from the other fizz drinks that fortify sloe gin with more gin. I loved the inviting color of this cocktail, so cherry red it was unbelievable. But that's what an ounce of sloe gin will do to a drink. It will also make your drink taste a little like cough syrup. After drinking half a bottle of sloe gin while suffering through a cold, I am amazed that I am struggling with the stuff now that my senses are back to normal.

• 2 oz. bourbon (Four Roses yellow label used)
• 1 oz. sloe gin
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• maraschino cherry
• lemon wheel

Combine all ingredients except cherry and lemon wheel in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a chilled highball glass. Garnish with cherry and lemon.

Barrow Blues

This must be a reference to Barrow Island off the coast of New Zealand. That funky industrial place where workers had to fly to and home from on commute. There's even a Paul Hunt song called Barrow Island Blues. This is a simple drink, a dive bar special, that I spruced up a bit to make more attractive and to connect it with tiki style drinks of Pacific islands.

To that end, I used crushed ice and a few garnishes I had on hand. Strawberry and mint are especially fitting with the color. I thought about serving it in a tiki mug, but the color is too important to hide.

• 1 oz. blue curacao
• 1/2 oz. light rum
• 1/2 oz. dark rum
• 1 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1 tsp. coconut cream
• fruit garnish and mint

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled rocks glass full of crushed ice. Top with more crushed ice and decorate with fruit and mint.