Perfect Manhattan

I've not made a Perfect Manhattan for this blog yet, but I mentioned it in the original Manhattan entry. The thing is, it's not that different from an ordinary Manhattan, but I've not had a Manhattan in so long because I don't want to waste liquor or my liver on a drink I've already had. The exception, however, is that I have good rye now, not just blended whiskey, which makes all the difference. I also have aromatic bitters, not Peychauds. So the drink is very different from the DIY and amateur Manhattan and a Perfect Rye Manhattan.

• 3 oz. rye (Catoctin Creek used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Antica Formula used)  
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Mancino used)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters (Hella aromatic used)
• maraschino cherry

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

Indian River

"Indian" cocktails tend to have raspberries or blackberries in them, even in spirit form. This one is made with my homemade raspberry liqueur that is made from fresh raspberries coocked, mashed and strained into sugar syrup. Vodka makes it a liqueur. This drink got great reviews, and I knew it would be good because of how much a fresh squeezed grapefruit juice can improve any cocktail.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1/2 oz. raspberry liqueur (Chambord is acceptable)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. grapefruit juice

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

Canadian Cherry

I made my own cherry brandy for this cocktail, and I have to say it gives this drink that cherry flavor you loved as a kid. You know the cherry Skittles or Starbursts that you refused to share with your sibling or buddies when you opened a pack and started divvying.

I already had cheery Wishniak with vodka infused with cherries and sugar. I added a little kirschwasser and just a drop of Luxardo maraschino.

The rest of the drink falls out just as you expect. But because it is Canadian, you can't assume the bar has cocktail glasses. Canadians don't do cocktail glasses. Everything must be in a rocks glass, so here it is.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky (Black Velvet Reserve used of course)
• 1 oz. cherry brandy (homemade version used)
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. orange juice
• bar sugar

Coat the rim of an Old Fashioned glass with cherry brandy and dip in sugar to coat the rim in cherry flavored sugar.  Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into the glass.

Canadian Blackberry Cocktail

This is a beautiful drink in the model of the Allegheny and other blackberry and whisky cocktails with lemon. I think what I like most is that it is a simple and, might I say, Canadian presentation. "Put it in an Old Fashioned glass and let me drink it," says the Canuck. And I have to agree, it is an easy drink in a rocks glass with no rocks.

I've made my own blackberry brandy for this cocktail. I debated about which brandy I wanted to use as the base before deciding that the flavor I was going for was apple brandy, specifically Laird's. So I used blackberry jelly--seedless, that's key--and dissolved a tablespoon in about two ounces of apple brandy. Then I fine strained it three times to catch any large chunks.  

This is me pushing the apple brandy through the strainer.

Once the jelly is dissolved you get the sugars you need for the cocktail as well. Most store bought blackberry brandies are pretty sweet anyway and this means you can omit any simple syrup.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1/2 oz. blackberry brandy (homemade blackberry brandy used.)
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. bar sugar (omit)

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

Canadian Old Fashioned

The Canadian Old Fashioned is not really an Old Fashioned in the bitters, sugar cube and stirring the cocktail in the glass sense. Canadian's, it seems don't have time for stirring, muddling sugar, and fussing over a drink. This is as much a virtue as a detractor, because I've enjoyed this little cocktail and made many similar lately for people I serve at my bar. It's cold, it's smooth and it goes down easy.

There's no maple syrup in the Canadian Old Fashioned, despite the trend of putting syrup in all Canadian themed drinks. No raspberries either. But orange and lemon twists are called for. I used Hella Aromatic Bitters but Angostura are just as good.

• 2 oz. Canadian whisky
• 1 tsp. triple sec
• dash lemon juice
• dash Angostura bitters
• orange twist
• lemon twist

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into an Old Fashioned glass and garnish with twists.

Glad Eyes

What a simple and weird drink. It's going for that crisp cooling effect that peppermint schnapps and Pernod are known to have. The flavor is instantly cooling in the mouth and in the body. Interestingly, this drink is nearly clear in the mixing glass, but as soon as you stir it with ice it becomes a cloudy yellow-green, which is a cool trick if you are making it for someone.

But I don't really recommend making it for anyone. Americans have a hard time with anise flavors and don't appreciate overwhelming mint flavors either. I thought it was a good way to use up my peppermint liqueur that I made two years ago. The stuff is a little harsh, but nothing stands up to two ounces of Pernod. It covers all.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 1 oz. peppermint schnapps

Mix all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. 

Baltimore Bracer

What's up with Baltimore that it gets so many egg drinks to its name? There's the Baltimore Bracer and the Baltimore Eggnog (one I'm looking forward to making this winter.) The Bracer is pretty simple and rewarding. Pernod goes great with cognac and egg white, it is a changeable liqueur that is thick but also light and easy to whip into a froth if there are proteins in the drink. It is a clear green shade but it becomes opaque and yellow when mixed with ice. This drink takes advantage of all of that and the anise flavor of Pernod to give you this classically French colonial style cocktail.

• 1 1/2 oz. brandy (I recommend cognac like Remy Martin 1738)
• 1 oz. Pernod or anisette 
• 1 egg white

Shake all ingredients in a shaker without ice until frothy. Add ice and shake to cool. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.