Red Cloud

There are storm clouds brewing, but this cocktail is a lovely red cloud. I'm not sure if the name of this cocktail comes from the influential Oglala Lakota chief, or just a description of the drink's color. I happen to think that the use of apricot brandy, lemon juice, and gin produces a light, cloudlike cocktail.

So here is MurLarkey distillery's ImaGination gin, with rosemary, celery, grains of paradise--dark flavors that ground things. Then sweet apricot brandy and grenadine to cut the lemon juice, but not by much. Angostura bitters distinguish this cocktail from many of these red cocktails with gin and apricot brandy--a very common classic trend.

• 2 oz. gin (ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

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

Swedish Punsch

I have only just assembled the ingredients for Swedish Punsch, a rum-based lemon and spice cocktail that is designed to be enjoyed warm. This isn't surprising because the Scandinavian countries have a lot of hot drinks to battle the cold climate. What is surprising is that a Duch and East Indian spirit is integral to this particular punch drink.

Batavia-Arrack isn't a North African Arrack like those anise flavored grain spirits similar to Metaxa and Ouzo. Batavia-Arrack is a cane sugar distillate that uses fermented rice to kick off the fermentation. It is close to cachacas from Brazil, which are also cane sugar rums, in that it is a little funky and sweet. There's almost a rice-like bitterness in the Batavia-Arrack which I have to think has to be a part of the reason it is included with Jamaican rum, which is also very flavorful.

Batavia-Arrack is hard to find. I searched many specialty shops before finding this bottle.

So after looking at a lot of recipes that vary in size from a single serving to a whole liter, I decided to go full on and make a big batch with lots of Arrack because I'm not going to use the Arrack for much else. Swedish Punsch is useful in many recipes that will appear soon.

This is my recipe, a combination of the strong points of three I looked at:

• 1 1/2 cups Batavia Arrack
• 1 cup Appleton Estate rum
• 1 cup strong black tea (Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast used)
• 2/3 cup demerara sugar
• 2 lemons sliced and de-seeded
• 12 cardamon pods crushed with shells removed
• 5 cloves

1. Make 1 cup of strong black tea and dissolve the sugar into it until it is a thick black tea simple syrup. Refrigerate until well chilled.
2. Slice lemons and place them in a large container that can be sealed air tight.
3. Add crushed cardamon and cloves and pour Arrack and rum and tea simple syrup over the ingredients. Seal and store for 24 hours. 
4. Remove the lemons from the container and strain the liquid to remove spices. Store sealed for up to five months.

Limey

Limey is the ultimate lime cocktail. It's like a Daiquiri that uses a lime liqueur, lime zest and juice to really get an intense lime flavor. I used Vitae platinum rum for the rum and Vitae orange liquor for triple sec. This triple sec is made of Virginia bitter hearty oranges and other sweet orange flavors in a rum base that tastes the same as the platinum label. 

Since there are few lime liqueurs available, I made my own. My experience making falernum came in handy here, since falernum is a lime and spice liqueur. I just made it without the spices. Instead of rum, this time I used MurLarkey Justice white whiskey. This is unaged barley and corn spirit that tastes a little like a cane juice rum. I made the liqueur by soaking the zest of two limes in six ounces of Justice for a week. When you are ready to use the liqueur, add the juice of one lime and simple syrup to taste and shake it. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. 

• 2 oz. light rum (Vitae platinum rum used)
• 1 oz. lime liqueur (homemade MurLarkey Justice lime liqueur used)
• 1/2 oz. triple sec (Vitae orange liquor used)
• 1 oz. lime juice
• lime twist. 

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until slushy and pour into a chilled wine glass. Garnish with the lime twist.

Jamaica Hop

Jamaica Hop is a dessert drink that's not very strong, and more sweet and creamy than anything. The idea is to feature another one of Jamaica's exports: coffee.

You do get a hit of coffee, especially with natural homemade coffee liqueur. I made mine a while ago with fresh coffee and rum as well as a whole bean steeped simple syrup. The only other ingredients are Creme de cacao and half-and-half. This is a relaxing drink for any time of day because of its low proof.

• 2 oz. coffee liqueur
• 1 oz. white creme de cacao (but dark would be fine too.)
• 2 oz. half-and-half

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

Limbo Cocktail

Calypso music, dancers trying to bend beneath the limbo stick and tropical drinks on the beach all scream Caribbean vacation. This light rum cocktail has banana flavors to make it tropical. It has banana rum from Cruzan instead of banana liqueur, which can sometimes taste like banana candy. I like that this is an all rum cocktail, with Vitae platinum rum to give the drink a heady scent of rum with real flavor.

• 2 oz. light rum (Vitae platinum used)
• 1/2 oz. banana liqueur (Cruzan banana used)
• 1 oz. orange juice

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

Jamaica Egg Cream

The point of an Egg Cream is to have a thick and tart drink that tastes like you used egg white to create foam. Most egg creams don't have egg in them, though. This one uses half-and-half. It is an unusual combination of rum and gin: dark rum specifically.

The dark rum you use in a Jamaican themed drink should be rich and flavorful like those of Jamaica. I had the next best thing on hand, Pusser's Guyana rum is pretty close. Then I chose Vitae modern gin because it is rum-based and will keep the spirits profile consistent. This is a rich and rewarding tropical drink that is unlike most I've ever tasted. It really lets the flavor of the rum shine.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Jamaican recommended but Pusser's British Navy used)
• 1 oz. gin (Vitae modern gin used)
• 1 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 oz. half-and-half
• sparkling water

Combine all ingredients except half-and-half and sparkling water in a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Add half-and-half and shake again to combine. Strain into a chilled Collins glass full of fresh ice and top with sparkling water.

Peaches and Cream

This is a simple dessert drink that you can make with only two ingredients. Peach liqueur, whether it's peach schnapps (which I don't recommend, or some other kind of peach brandy or whiskey will work. Then all you need is equal parts half-and-half. I added the peach slice because I have it.

• 2 oz. peach liqueur (Bird Dog Peach Whiskey used) 
• 2 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.