Slow Screw

There are so many sloe gin drinks out there, and many are just repetitions of oldies with the substitution of sloe gin. The Slow Screw, of course, is just a screwdriver with sloe gin. Had I any Galliano left I would have also made a Slow Screw Against A Wall, a mashup of a Harvey Wallbanger and a Slow Screw. Look for this on in the future.

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• orange juice

Build the drink in a highball glass with ice. Add sloe gin and top with orange juice. Stir gently.

Cape Cod Cooler

Tired of the same old vodka and cranberry Cape Codder? Enhance your cranberry juice with sloe gin. Sloe gin is made from a liqueur from the sloe berry, which is related to the plum. It's much sweeter than gin, but there's still the juniper spice that dry gins have. The fun thing about sloe gin is the deep purple color--and of course the fun you can have with puns on the word "slow."

This cocktail was really sweet. The addition of orgeat syrup more than compensates for the sour lime and bitter cranberry juice. It has a tropical, Sling, sort of feel, much like the Singapore Sling without the fizz.

• 2 oz. sloe gin
• 1 oz. gin
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. orgeat syrup
• 5 oz. cranberry juice or to top
• lime slice

Combine lime juice, orgeat syrup and gins in a highball glass with ice. Top with cranberry juice and stir gently. Garnish with the lime slice.

Fireman's Sour

This bright red drink evokes the flashing lights and red paint of a fire engine speeding down the street, something I see a lot lately here in D.C. Rose's grenadine is responsible for sweetening and coloring the drink. Despite the fact that I'm making most of my own syrups, I still count on Roses grenadine (more than the lime cordial) when it is specifically called for in recipes. When you are trying to get a specific color for your cocktail, it's not worth leaving it to chance.

• 2 oz. light rum
• 1 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. simple syrup
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• lemon wheel
• maraschino cherry

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass (or small wine glass) and garnish with lemon wheel and cherry.

Colchique

This drink is intended to evoke Alpine flowers in autumn, but I'm going to make it for spring anyway. After all, floral notes are more in vogue in the spring and richer spices are called for in fall. For this drink I got to use St. Germain elderflower liqueur and a dash of orange blossom water, both of which have a potent blossom aroma. I also used the last of my bottle of Machu Pisco, a fitting end to a terrific run of grape spirit drinks.

• 2 1/2 oz. pisco
• 1/2 oz. orange juice
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1/4 oz. lemon juice
• dash orange blossom water
• orange twist

Combine all ingredients except twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled coup or cocktail glass (coup shown). Garnish with orange twist.

Cherry Blossom

I've re-made the classic Cherry Blossom this year to commemorate the annual Cherry Blossom Festival in D.C. Bars all over the city are making their own cherry-themed drinks in order to appeal to the thousands of tourists that come to see the flowering trees. I made this cocktail at work, but I'm doing it at home as well with a bottle of Destillerie Kammer-Kirsch Black Forest Kirschwasser. Kirschwasser or kirsch is a cherry brandy that is clear and strong and only faintly taste of cherries. That is why it is very different when you use the amaretto tasting maraschino cherry liqueurs for this drink, which often tastes too sweet. Cognac is a better substitute for the brandy as well, as it is smoother and will soften out the harsh notes of the kirsch.

• 2 oz. brandy or cognac
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1/2 oz. triple sec
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• tsp oz. simple syrup
• 1 tbsp. grenadine

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

Mexicana

Meghan's first response to tasting this was, "Wow! That's different!" It is different from your usual Margarita. It's a lot like the Batida I ordered in Mexico. The difference is the pink color it gets from Grenadine. So this is perfect for spring drinking and may even qualify as a Cherry Blossom Festival drink ripe for the tourism season in D.C.

• 1 oz. lime juice
• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• 1/4 tsp. grenadine

 Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and pour into a highball or large Old Fashioned glass.

El Centro's Red and Smokey

What an amazing drink. You won't find the Red and Smokey in any bartender's guide--it's a restaurant original. The thing about tequilerias like El Centro is that they have so many tequilas and mescals that they don't need any other spirits to produce varieties of flavors. They have to be especially inventive with their cocktails, though, because it is easy to have a cocktail menu made up entirely of margaritas.

The Red and Smokey is the antidote to this problem. It's deep and syrupy and full of hibiscus flavor with a smokey burn and prickle on the sides of the tongue. It can be an easy slurping straw pint and full-bodied slow sipper at the same time, both refreshing and strong! There's just one catch: you have to do a lot of prep with some strange ingredients.

It is sweetened by chili ginger simple syrup. This is made by blending fresh ginger and chili powder and soaking it in boiling water for a while before straining out the solids. This will infuse the chili and ginger spice flavors without making it lumpy. Add sugar and stir to make a solution. Do this the same way I made my raspberry syrup.

Then you need to make the hibiscus puree--which is a simple matter of blending dried hibiscus flowers in water until fine. Strain it to remove the solids. (I haven't done this, but this is how I am told they do it at El Centro, and it sounds easy as long as you start with a little water--less than 50 percent to the amount of flowers).

Once you have the hibiscus puree and the chili and ginger syrup, you are ready for mixing.

• 1 1/2 oz. El Silencio Mescal
• 1/2 oz. chili ginger simple syrup
• 1/2 oz. hibiscus puree
• 1 oz. lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Pour into a highball glass.