Inca

This is a massive wine cocktail! I get why it is called Inca after the Pre Columbian empire; sherry would have been the drink of the conquering Spaniards, and orgeat or almond syrup represents almond drinks that are made in South America.

The rest of the drink is sweet with rich wine and nuttiness. Again, I opted for Commonwealth gin to cut down on all the botanicals you find in London dry gins. Then I added more orgeat than is called for because if you have it you should flaunt it. It makes for a cloudier cocktail, but I would have already been cloudy with the original proportions.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. dry sherry
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1 oz. dry vermouth
• dash orange bitters
• several dashes orgeat (more if you like)

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

Hasty Cocktail

I wonder why I didn't make this drink earlier. Maybe its because each time I think about making it, I just go ahead and make a Martini. It is really close to a Martini with some fruity and spicy flavors. Pernod doesn't really show up here, just a nice bitterness to balance out the sweetness of the grenadine that does more than color the drink.

I used a rye gin like Commonwealth gin for this one. Not as much juniper in that as other gins, and it allows the flavor of vermouth to come out. The Hasty Cocktail is a small drink in proportions. It doesn't fill a Martini glass very well. I liked how it fit in a pousse cafe glass or cordial glass.

• 2 oz. gin (Commonwealth gin used)
• 1/2 oz. dry vermouth (Mancino used)
• 3-5 dashes of Pernod
• 1 tsp. grenadine

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

Dream Cocktail

Roy Orbison should supply the soundtrack to this post. Here is a velvety smooth cocktail that is even silkier with the addition of Remy Martin 1738 cognac. Pernod's presence is so light it is almost imperceptible, but without it, the Dream would be an uncomfortably sweet treat. Pernod has a way of nudging cocktails toward a plot, an experience with a beginning and end. That licorice flavor gives traction to the grape of brandies and a freshness where you might otherwise wallow in richness. This is the cafe dream cocktail.

• 2 oz. brandy (Remy Martin 1738 used)
• 1 oz. triple sec (Luxardo Triplum used)
• 1/2 tsp. Pernod

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

Earthquake

I like that this drink doesn't hold back, even in the name. It's bitter and herbaceous and so ridiculously strong that Earthquake is a fitting name. Someone a long time ago probably wondered what would happen to you when you mixed nearly equal parts bourbon, gin and Pernod. The results are in. If you finish this drink, the ground seems to move.

I made an interesting choice with my gin for this drink. Bluecoat Barrel Aged Gin had all the right qualities for blending with a spicy bourbon like Jim Beam. Pernod, of course overwhelms, but throughout drinking, there is this delicious impression of aged spirits. Oak and barrels and yumminess under a heavy curtain of French absinthe liqueur.

• 2 oz. bourbon
• 1 oz. gin (Bluecoat Barrel Reserve gin used)
• 1 oz. Pernod

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

Byrrh Manhattan

I said I'd be making cocktails with Byrrh when I got the chance. This is an experimental Manhattan with the rye-forward Basil Hayden's bourbon. I used Byrrh and a quinine-heavy Antica Formula vermouth and Hella Aromatic bitters. The combination was a huge sock in the mouth. Byrrh adds to the aged characteristics of the Manhattan, and even gives it an aroma of violets! I guess when you have a bottle of Byrrh, you have to get a little crazy to find uses for it.

• 3 oz. Basil Hayden's bourbon
• 1/2 oz. Byrrh Quinquina
• 1/2 oz. Antica Formula vermouth
• maraschino cherry

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

Tequila Ghost

Just in time for Halloween, the Tequila Ghost swoops in to elevate the season with herbal and licorice flavors that you won't find in your trick-or-treat bag. This is a relatively simple cocktail that is strong on flavor, so something to sip slowly at a Halloween party. The Pernod is a translucent green that becomes eerily whitish when shaken with lemon juice. You have to love the creepy look of this cocktail if not the strong anise flavor.

(Ghosts dance in the background of this photo.)

• 2 oz. silver tequila
• 1 oz Pernod
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Whiskey Sling

The Whiskey Sling is a blended whiskey drink, but all I had was bourbon, Cleveland Bourbon, that is. A sling, it seems, is a "helpmate" cocktail. These drinks, like Fixes and Fizzes, are designed to help soften a spirit and get it down your gullet in a hurry, hence the "sling" terminology.

One thing I found fascinating about the Whiskey Sling--and it's the reason it differs from a Whiskey Sour--is it's preparation precludes chilling. I'm not sure why, but the idea is to have a rocks drink that is still pretty warm when served, which melts the ice cubes just as if it was all room temperature hard liquor. But it isn't; it's juice and sugar and a little water, which is easy to drink.

A word about Cleveland Bourbon. It's isn't really bourbon, but it is probably a straight whiskey. The Sling calls for a blend for the obvious mixability of blends. But Cleveland Bourbon is a "black label" of the brand, distilled in Indiana and rapidly aged in Cleveland. It can't be bourbon because of its origins and rapid aging process, but it is very much in the style of bourbon, perhaps more than most American whiskies like Jack Daniels.

• 2 oz. blended whiskey (Cleveland Bourbon used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. fine sugar
• 1 tsp. water 
• orange twist

Combine water and sugar in a mixing glass and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add whiskey and lemon juice and stir. Pour over ice in an Old Fashioned glass. Garnish with the orange twist and give one more gentle stir.