Silver Cocktail

This is another cocktail that is similar to an Aviation. It is that trusty gin and maraschino liqueur combination that keeps coming back in a good way. In this instance, there's a lot more dry vermouth to enjoy in here. I also liked spicing things up with Vigilant gin from Joseph Magnus Distillery in D.C. Their gin is dry and loaded with interesting botanicals like tarragon, sesame, grapefruit and sumac. This is one cocktail that stands out with a good gin base but would fall flatly otherwise.

• 2 oz. gin (Vigilant used)
• 1 oz. dry vermouth (Dolin used)
• 1 tsp. maraschino liqueur
• 3 dashes orange bitters (Regan's used)
• lemon twist

 Combine all ingredients except lemon twist in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

Floradora

Floradora is a nice gin long drink that is similar to a Rickey but sweetened with grenadine. That accounts for the pretty pink color that is rightly described by its name. I was saddened to see that no garnish was suggested for a drink that just asks to be dressed up. I went with mint, but a flower or fruit slices would be acceptable as well.

• 2 oz. gin
• 2 oz. lime juice
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water
• Optional garnish of mint sprigs or a flower recommended.

Combine all ingredients except for garnish and sparkling water in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish at will.

Verona Cocktail

I'm always happy when good ingredients take what could be an overly sweet cocktail in an interesting direction. In the case of the Verona cocktail, that is almost every one of the ingredients I chose. This quintessentially Italian cocktail shows off flavors of northern and southern Italy.

First a good amaretto like Lazzaroni is less bitter and has more of the Sorrono cookie flavor than the mainstream brands. Punt E Mes is a very bitter sweet vermouth. There's so much packed into it that it doesn't even resemble other sweet vermouths. Finally, Copper Fox VirGin is a gin spiced like no other gin. All together this is one of the most flavorful and equally light and interesting rocks cocktails you can make with these same ingredients. It's totally luxurious and at the same time, simple. The ingredients really make the difference.

• 2 oz. gin (Copper Fox VirGin used)
• 1 oz. amaretto (Lazzaroni used)
• 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Punt E Mes used)
• 1/4 tsp. lemon juice
• orange slice

Combine liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass full of fresh (large) ice. Garnish with the orange slice. 

Allen Cocktail

So who is this Allen guy? Someone messaged me on Instagram to tell me that this drink is like an Aviation. Yes, it is. An Aviation with no creme de violette, anyway. It is a very classic drink with a good portion of gin and maraschino liqueur, as it should be.

I'm trying to use more local gins so today I'm featuring K.O. Distillery's Battle Standard Navy Strength gin. It packs a broadside of alcohol at 114-proof. That makes this diminutive cocktail go a little farther for sure.

• 2 oz. gin (Battle Standard Navy Strength used)
• 1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Morning Joy

This cocktail belongs in the cannon of breakfast drinks. The Morning Joy is strong, sweet and tropical and accompanies a lot of sweet or savory breakfast dishes. I'll take it over the Mimosa any day.

The recipe relies on banana liqueur and orange juice for flavor and gin for strength. In actuality it is a very strong morning drink. Three ounces of orange juice simply mitigates the alcoholic burn and covers any unpleasant flavors. A creme de bananes will do here, but I used the natural banana flavor of MurLarkey banana whiskey.

There's no sweetness other than orange juice, though. So it might be helpful to sweeten this cocktail to taste. A teaspoon of sugar will help.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination gin used.)
• 1 1/2 oz. creme de bananes (MurLarkey banana whiskey used)
• 3 oz. orange juice
• (optional sugar to taste if using unsweetened banana whiskey.)

Combine all ingredient in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled sour glass. 

Angler's Cocktail

Sometimes it's nice to have a bitter gin cocktail on the rocks. There's no messing around with a lot of ingredients and really not much mixing at all. The shaking seems like an automatic move, not a requirement. That's the only reason I can see why this drink would be called an Angler's cocktail. It's not that there's anything fishy going on with the recipe or the presentation or that fishermen enjoy their gin this way. It's just that, like with fishing, an angler can't be bothered with superfluous steps or actions. Something simple and to the point--a decidedly bitter one--is the way to go.

The bitterness of Angostura and orange bitters is really pronounced here. It adds lots of tropical spices to your gin. For this reason, you want to let the bitters shine and you'll need a gin that is ok with that. Too much going on will crowd the drink. A wet American gin like Filibuster Dual Cask will do the trick.

• 2 oz. gin (Filibuster Dual Cask used)
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• 3 dashes orange bitters (Hella used)
• 3 dashes grenadine

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled Old Fashioned glass with fresh (large) ice cubes. 

Silver Fizz

There are many Fizzes out there. Most are gin and soda drinks and a lot of them use egg in some form to get a head of foam on them. Almost all the Gin Fizzes in the New York Bartender's Guide are served on ice, though this wasn't always the norm back in the busy heydays of the Fizz cocktail.

The thing to remember here is that gin used to be the main clear spirit and as such it didn't always have the extremely spicy characteristics of liquors we have now. Most had only a few botanicals, mainly juniper, and left it at that. Filibuster Dual Cask gin is great for a pre-Prohibition style gin with a smooth character. It makes for an extremely creamy Silver Fizz--a cocktail named after the fact that it is made with egg whites.

• 3 oz. gin (Filibuster dual cask used)
• 1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp. sugar
• sparkling water (San Pelligrino used)

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain out the liquid into another glass to remove the ice. Shake again vigorously to create foam and pour into a highball glass full (or half full) of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently.