Tiger's Tail

What a fun cafe-style drink. I really appreciate a blended drink with a bold flavor and this fits the bill. It is full of bright orange and anise flavors. So much juice does Pernod the favor of taming its most intense notes and making orange juice taste more exotic.

But let's not pretend that a cocktail with a Pernod base is at all tame. Once you have one of these Tiger's Tails in your hand, you will know the danger you are in. It is easily slammable, but powerful in flavor and alcohol. Don't let your guard down.

• 2 oz. Pernod
• 4 oz. orange juice
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau (use the real deal)
• lime wedge

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

New Orleans Gin Fizz

If you are drinking a Fizz made with half-and-half and an egg white and someone throws a plastic bead necklace at you, you must be in New Orleans. That's how it works, right?

New Orleans is a cocktail Mecca known for taking cocktail a little farther than the standard ingredients usually indicate. In this case it is an extra tart helping of lemon and lime juice. The astounding thing about this is that this much citrus should curdle the cream, except that the egg white is designed to keep the drink tart and dry and add to a creamy fizz that tastes impossible: New Orleans makes the impossible happen.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination gin used)
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 1 tsp. sugar syrup
• 1/2 oz. half-and-half
• 1 egg white
• sparkling water
• lime slice

Combine all ingredients except sparkling water and lime slice in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then remove the ice and shake again to add foam. Strain into a chilled Collins glass full of ice and top with soda before garnishing with the lime slice.

Apple Rum Rickey

A Rickey is a Rickey--unless it is this apple rum thing. First of all, what is apple rum. It's not a thing, actually. Or maybe it is no different from apple whiskey, which is also known as apple brandy. So that still doesn't make it a thing. What you can do to make this drink is use a rum with some real sugar flavors as sweetener (Rickeys have no added sugar) to the apple brandy like mine that is made with winesap apples.

This Rickey is strange in that you are supposed to taste the brandy and rum and not lime juice. The twist is there as only a suggestion of lime. The drink is dry and doesn't mess around despite it's lower alcohol content. Very good on a hot day.

• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 1/2 oz. light rum (Vitae Platinum Used)
• sparkling water (Perrier used)
• lime twist

Combine rum and apple brandy in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled highball glass full of fresh ice cubes. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Garnish with the lime twist. 

Prince's Smile

Wow! That's all I can say for this refreshingly bright yet sweet gin cocktail. I was especially pleased (it made me smile) that it was well balanced and played to the strengths of all ingredients, including apple and apricot brandies.

So even though I used cheap apricot flavored brandy, I had real apple brandy that was infused with real winesap apple flavors. This, and spicy gin from MurLarkey, gave the drink a very classic taste that I couldn't get enough of. It was a great use of the last drops of my apple brandy.

• 2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1 oz. apple brandy
• 1 oz. apricot brandy
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

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

Mississippi Mule

I feel like I've done this drink before but with inferior creme de cassis. I was in the mood for something that tasted French, however, and G. E. Massenez fits the bill. Here it was the Copper Fox Vir Gin, with its single malted barley and funky anise and herbal flavors that made the cocktail hold up as a very classic cafe-style drink. I'm particularly happy with how it went on the rocks as well.

• 2 oz. gin (Copper Fox used)
• 1/2 oz. creme de cassis
• 1/2 oz. lemon juice

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

Cloister (Revisited)

I wanted to try the Cloister again with yellow Chartreuse instead of the green stuff. I have to say it makes a big difference and I really liked how sweet (not bitter) and refreshing the drink became with the change. Yellow Chartreuse has more honey and a lower proof, which is nice. I also used fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for this so it is really yummy and balanced now that I have all the right ingredients.

• 2 oz. gin (Filibuster Dual Cask used)
• 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp. lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp. sugar

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

Country Club Cooler

This is almost an aptly named cocktail in that it is something mildly alcoholic, a little glitzy and European, and perfect for early afternoon drinking in the summer. I'm not sure which country club this drink is associated with or why, but the reasons above are about as good as any.

First off, the alcoholic part of the drink is Lillet Blanc, which is a great Bordeaux spirit flavored with bitter oranges and sugar. It doesn't need grenadine for sweetness, but I like the color it gives. It is all packaged in this orange spritzer with a twist that make it rather tempting and more refreshing than potent.

• 4 oz. Lillet Blanc
• 1 tsp. grenadine
• sparkling water (Perrier used)
• orange twist

Build drink with chilled Lillet Blanc and grenadine in a Collins glass full of fresh ice. Top with sparkling water and stir gently. Twist orange peel over the glass and drop it in.