Chinese Cocktail

For some reason any cocktails associated with China have to be made with dark rum. I'm referring to the Shanghai Cocktail, which is exotic with wormwood notes and spice. Both also have a nice helping of grenadine, which ensures that they are the obligatory red color to signify China.

I have to say that while these drinks have little to do with Chinese ingredients (which would be difficult to do in practice) this one comes closer to authentic Chinese flavors. The sweetness and ginger, clove, vanilla, and cinnamon spices that come from the spiced rum I used and also a healthy dose of Hella aromatic bitters give the drink a flavor similar to Chinese berry spice ice cream--which is surely an American invention but at least made with Chinese spices and enjoyed at Chinese restaurants. This is definitely a dessert drink, with a tablespoon of grenadine, there's no other time to enjoy this drink.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 tbsp. grenadine
• 3-5 dashes of curaco
•  3-5 dashes maraschino liqueur
•  dash of Angostura bitters (Hella aromatic used)

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

China

 

I've made the Chinese Cocktail, which is also a red cocktail that is made with dark rum, colored with grenadine, and spiced with Angostura bitters. This is a little different and I think I might like it a little better if only because passion fruit really makes this cocktail pop. In fact, it is the only difference between the China and Chinese cocktails, and it is probably the only Asian ingredients. Of course I used my homemade La Grande Passion liqueur because it is hard to find passion fruit nectar right now. I kept the proportions the same, however, with the passion fruit flavor of my liqueur being strong enough--maybe even stronger than actual passion fruit nectar or juice.

Rum, for some reason, is the principal spirit in China-themed cocktails, including the Shanghai Cocktail that also includes grenadine to make it a flag-red color. Angostura bitters is full of Asian spices like clove, cinnamon, allspice and exotic barks. It tastes like Chinese five-spice mix!  Anise, in the case of the Pernod in the Shanghai Cocktail, is also a very Chinese flavor, so that also seems appropriate. I'm glad that I've been able to try all three of these very similar cocktails.

• 2 oz. dark rum (Pusser's used)
• 1 oz. curacao (triple sec used)
• 1/2 oz. passion fruit juice (homemade La Grande Passion used)
• several dashes grenadine
• several dashes Angostura bitters

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

Prima China (Death & Co. Recipe)

How many puns can you make with the name Cynar. No there is no Chinese ingredient in this cocktail, but that is also true of the Chinese cocktail as well. Really, this cocktail is a split between Mexican and Italian ingredients, but you don't have an easy play on words there.

This was a rich and bittersweet chocolate cocktail. I really liked how all the flavors came together and each lending its special touch. I am not a huge el Jimador fan, but the bitterness of their Anejo tequila was perfect for this drink and paired well with Cynar. Creme de cacao is often overly sweet, as is Dolin blanc, but in this case it was needed for balance and did that perfectly.

The recipe calls for Earl Gray infused Dolin blanc. I skipped the infusion time and used a drizzle of MurLarkey Three Tea whiskey (really only a few drops to not upset the balance of alcohol in the Dolin or overplay the tea flavor.) MurLarkey flavored whiskies are great for this because they are already an infusion of a flavor into raw (not neutral) corn spirit. Three Tea whiskey is bitter because there is no sugar, and it tastes strongly of Earl Gray, so it was an awesome move. 

• 2 oz. Anejo tequila (El Jimador used)
• 3/4 oz. Earl Grey-infused Dolin blanc (Murlarkey Three Tea whiskey and Dolin blanc used)
• 1/4 oz. Cynar 70
• 1 tsp creme de cacao
• 1 dash Aztec bitters
• grapefruit twist garnish
  

Combine all ingredients except for garnish in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with the twist. 

Shanghai Cocktail (Revisited)

One of the reasons why I have returned to do this drink again is because I got a bottle of Pernod from my mother when she was in town. In the past, I've used absinthe when a recipe called for Pernod, keeping in mind that the flavor of absinthe is much harder to dilute and the liquor is much drier than Pernod. This means I've had to keep the portion a little smaller at times or add sugar syrup, but mostly I just avoided making Pernod drinks when the recipe called for a large portion of Pernod.

The other reason I'm re-doing the drink is I'm having fun with the Chinese-themed cocktails--how they are mostly exotically spiced dark rum drinks. This one is no exception. I went with a spiced rum with good vanilla and cinnamon presence and the Pernod actually gave the drink the needed sweetness. It has an air of incense to it, which I liked a lot, and though I used completely different ingredients the first time I made it, the flavor was instantly familiar.

• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 oz. lemon juice
• 1/2 oz. Pernod
• 1/4 tsp. grenadine

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

Golden Dragon

I've been waiting to make this drink a long time. This is mostly due to my need of yellow Chartreuse. Yellow Chartreuse is still the herbaceous and fruity alpine liqueur from Carthusian monks in France. It is less potent and is sweetened with honey, so it is sweeter and lighter than the green variety.

The Golden Dragon is the companion of the Rocky Green Dragon, not the Green Dragon, which is a Chinese-themed cocktail with green creme de menthe. This cocktail can be classified by its makeup of cognac and Chartreuse. So the Golden Dragon and Rocky Green Dragon belong to their own family of French cocktails (although it is a very small family of only two drinks.)

Both of these dragon drinks with their medieval-era liqueurs and lush cognac really play up the sense of high fantasy. It is easy to imagine while drinking this potion that characters in The Lord Of The Rings might enjoy something with these magical flavors. D'usse cognac has a fantasy-like bottle that goes well with this theme--a hammered and etched metal cross label on the front of a blown glass beaker. Even the lemon twist has a scaly, golden look to it.

• 2 oz. brandy (D'usse used)
• 2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
• lemon twist

Combine Chartreuse and cognac in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist. 

Green Dragon

The Green Dragon seems to be associated with Chinese and Asian restaurants. This could be because of it's lovely jade color that perfectly matches the bottle Jagermeister. (What is it about drinks that match the liquor bottle color?) Also: It's a dragon cocktail. This means that it is linked with the Rocky Green Dragon and Golden Dragon--the latter is one I haven't tried because I lack the yellow Chartreuse. All of these dragon drinks are herbal cocktails that have almost overwhelming root and herb bitterness. If you can get past the creme de menthe flavor of the Green Dragon, there's plenty of citrus and spice in there to enjoy. I used the rye-forward Commonwealth Gin to reduce the likelihood of the juniper clashing with all the spice in Jagermeister.

• 2 oz. gin (Commonwealth Gin used)
• 1 oz. creme de menthe
• 1/2 oz. lime juice
• 1/2 oz. Jagermeister
• 3-5 dashes orange bitters (Hella orange bitters used)

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

Petticoat (Death & Co. Recipe)

 

There are many strange botanicals in new American gin styles, from lemon balm to birch leaves. What you never see in gin is Szechuan peppercorns. I don't know why, though. Szechuan peppercorns are not pepper. They are a dried flower bud that has an interesting numbing effect that enhances spicy Chinese soups and roasted meats. In a drink, Szechuan peppercorns give you a flavorless tingle that blends with alcoholic burn that makes you salivate more--a good thing, right?

I made the peppercorn infusion with MurLarkey ImaGination gin. My reason for picking MurLarkey is because I didn't want to use a super-dry gin that would have a noticeable change in its profile. ImaGination is robust and can take some altering without being overwhelmed by new flavors. This infusion needs to be about 30 minutes. Any longer just invites ruining the gin with too much numbing effect. For the purpose of this drink, I made 4 ounces of infusion with 1/2 tsp. of Szechuan peppercorns.

I also altered the recipe by using a tsp. of apricot jam and a splash of cognac to replicate Marie Brizard apricot liqueur. The use of jelly and jam as a sweetener and a way of flavoring a cocktail is common and an easy way to get ingredients you don't have. Apricots, sugar and cognac are often ingredients in apricot liqueur; so I feel my decision is sound. When you can't get something, make it--I always say. 

• 2 oz. Szechuan peppercorn infused gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)
• 1/4 oz. falernum (homemade used)
• 1/4 oz. Marie Brizard apricot liqueur (1/4 oz. cognac and a tsp. apricot jam used)
• 3/4 oz. lime juice
• 1/4 oz. cane sugar syrup (omitted when using jam as above)

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

Lady Finger

This is a kirsh drink that might be named after the thin tea cookies or it might be connected to those Chinese fireworks that go off in a chain explosion. Either way, this is not a very lady-like drink. It calls for wishniak, which is a Russian cordial made from cherry juice and vodka. It also was a flavor of Canada Dry a while back--sort of like a dark cherry ginger ale. I'm sure that this cocktail calls for the former ingredient, though.

So I set out to make an infusion to approximate wishniak. Like many eastern European spirits, it's the kind of thing that people do at home with their vodka anyway. I removed the pits and stems from a cup of Michigan cherries and soaked them in 100-proof vodka for two days. Then I added 1/2 cup tart cherry juice (store-bought and sweetened with apple juice). This gave the mix a juicy but rich cherry flavor. Along with kirsh, you really couldn't tell that the base of this cocktail was gin.

• 2 oz. gin
• 1 oz. kirschwasser
• 1 1/2 oz. wishniak

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