how to kill a friend

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
1/4 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
4 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs.
Two Tuesdays ago, I selected a recipe that I had spotted in December's Imbibe Magazine called the How to Kill a Friend that I set aside since I lacked mint for the garnish (given that I grow so much mint throughout the year, I refused to buy it in the off season). This mezcal Jungle Bird riff was crafted by Paul Shanrock at Seattle's Stampede Cocktail Club. Once prepared, the How to Kill a Friend lent a mint, smoke, and grape aroma to the nose. Next, grape, lime, and pineapple notes on the sip plunged into smoky mezcal, raisin, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with a clove finish.

elusive dreams

1 oz Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1 oz Blended Unaged Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique (unblended))
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a pineapple wedge (omit) and an orchid (honeysuckles).
Two Mondays ago, I was in the mood for something tropical, so I reached for Chloe Frechette's Easy Tiki book. There, I was lured in by Demi Natoli's Elusive Dreams that she created at Nashville's Patterson House as her spin on the Hotel Nacional Special. In the glass, the Elusive Dreams conjured up cinnamon, banana, and pineapple notes to the nose. Next, lime and pineapple mingled on the sip, and the swallow showcased rum, pineapple, banana, and cinnamon flavors to create an apple pie-like feel.

5th amendment

1 3/4 oz Bourbon (Angel's Envy)
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
2 dash Hawaii Bitters Lilikoi Bitters (Bittermens Burlesque)

Stir with ice, strain into a rock glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted earlier in the week in Punch Drinks called the 5th Amendment by David Thor Newman of Pint & Jigger in Honolulu. Since I had a chance to meet Dave in Louisville as we visited the Angel's Envy distillery for training in late January, I figured that utilizing their port-finished Bourbon would be quite apropos. The 5th Amendment welcomed the senses with a lemon, menthol, and Bourbon aroma. Next, malt with a hint of caramel and honey on the sip passed into whiskey, herbal, menthol, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

three treasures

1 1/2 oz Unaged Cachaça (Cuca Fresca)
1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Lunazul)
1/2 oz Byrrh Quinquina
1/2 oz Black Tea Honey Syrup (equal parts strong Oolong Tea and Honey)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
5 dash Absinthe (1 bsp Pernod Absinthe)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist, edible flower, and plastic mermaid (omit).
Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the Minimalist Tiki book and spotted the Three Treasures by Jeanie Grant. The drink name most likely refers to the concept of Chinese and Taoist philosophies that the body is made up of three substances or energies, although there are other cultures that have similar three treasures or jewels concepts. In the glass, the Three Treasures proffered a lemon, herbal, and anise bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon, pineapple, and plum notes on the sip morphed into funky cachaça melding into tequila on the swallow along with tannin black tea and minty anise accents.

chip shop punch

750 mL Beefeater Gin (3 oz)
1 cup Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur (1 oz)
1/2 cup Coruba Rum (1/2 oz)
1 cup Lemon Juice (1 oz)
1 cup Simple Syrup (1 oz Lemon Oleo Saccharum Syrup (*))
2 2/3 cup Cold Water (2 1/2 oz)
2 tsp Angostura Bitters (4 dash)

Combine in a large container with an ice block to chill.
(*) Place the peels of 1/2+ lemon, cover with 3/4 oz sugar in a small bowl or Ziplock bag, and mix. Let sit for 60-120 minutes to extract the oil into the sugar (with occasional mixing). Add 3/4 oz hot water, stir to mix, and strain. Makes a little over an ounce.
Two Fridays ago, I delved into Dan Searing's The Punch Bowl and spotted the Chip Shop Punch by Jake Parrott now of Haus Alpenz. This punch was Jake's riff on the classic Philadelphia Fish-House Punch taken in a British direction with gin as the main spirit; overall, the ingredients reminded me of the Barnum Was Right, so I was quite intrigued especially with the Jamaican rum in the mix. Given that it was still quarantine and our party size was two, I scaled this recipe back eight fold. Once prepared, the Chip Shop Punch welcomed the nose with an apricot bouquet that preceded a lemon and orchard fruit sip. Next, gin, a hint of rum funk, apricot, and clove flavors rounded out this softly balanced tipple. Author Dan Searing commented on my Instagram post that the lemon oleo saccharum was a nice modification, and I also think that swapping out the still water for sparkling would do no harm here either as a variation.

bohemia

1 1/2 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz Krogstad Aquavit
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Thursdays ago, I delved into Leo Robitschek's The NoMad Cocktail Book for the evening's libation and spotted the Bohemia. That recipe was Leo's creation subtitled, "A rich Martini variation with caraway." While I have known about the elegant pairing of Genever and Maraschino for quite a while such as in the Improved Holland Gin Cocktail, I only learned about how well Genever and aquavit pair in that book's Forbidden Dance. Once prepared, the Bohemia danced with a lemon, malt, and caraway aroma to the nose. Next, malt, soft white grape, and cherry notes on the sip slipped into Genever melding into aquavit flavors on the swallow with a nutty cherry and wormwood finish.

mango daiquiri

1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (2 oz Flor de Caña Añejo Oro)
1 dash Maraschino Liqueur (1/4 oz Maraska)
Juice 1 Lime (3/4 oz)
1 piece Mango (3/4 oz Mango Syrup)
1 dash Rock Candy Syrup (omit)

Blend with 1 scoop of shaved ice and pour into a large Tiki champagne glass (double old fashioned); I garnished with honeysuckles.
Two Wednesdays ago, I was flipping through Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery book when I spotted one of his originals that could utilize the mango syrup I made recently. That recipe was the blender drink, the Mango Daiquiri, and it accented the fruit notes with a touch of Maraschino akin to how Vic used it in his Pisco Punch, Demerara Dry Float, and Kona Gold. Moreover, the blended aspect also reminded me of his Maraschino-containing Beachcomber that I made a month or so before. Once prepared, the Mango Daiquiri welcomed the senses with a lime, mango, and nutty bouquet. Next, mango and lime mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered rum flavors with added depth from the Maraschino liqueur.

island breeze

1 1/2 oz Avua Prata Cachaça (Avua Balsamo)
3/4 oz Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Pimento Bitters (1/2 bsp Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1 dash Cardamom Bitters (1 Cardamom Pod muddled + 1 dash Bittercube Jamaican #2)

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with palm fronds (pea blossoms) and mint sprigs.

Two Tuesdays, the Tiki by the Sea crew did another virtual seminar as a substitute the event that normally happens at the Hotel Barcelona in Wildwood, NJ, every year. The guest was Boston's own Brother Cleve with the title "Tiki Time Machine" that traced the path between the first wave and current glory years with all the intriguing missteps and curious establishments along the way. For a drink to make at home, Cleve selected the sponsor's cachaça and highlighted it in a recipe that he created for the Breezers Ball one year called the Island Breeze. The Breezers Ball just hosted its seventh annual soiree in March a week or so before quarantine set in; a breezer is a person who lives in Waltham, MA, but was not born there, and it pokes fun at the gentrification taking place in that city.
The Island Breeze moved in with a mint aroma over ginger and cachaça notes. Next, a lime-driven sip led into woody cachaça, ginger, cardamom, and allspice flavors.

joe rickey

2 oz Bourbon or Rye (Angel's Envy Bourbon)
Juice 1/2 Lime (a short 3/4 oz)

Build in a Highball glass, add ice, garnish with a lime shell, and top with soda water (4 oz).

Recently, I saw a reference for a Joe Rickey and realized that I had never had one, and two Mondays ago seemed like the perfect evening to break the heat with this historic Cooler. For a recipe and history source, I turned to David Wondrich's Imbibe book. Wondrich attributed the drink's invention to a "Colonel" Joe Rickey (some articles call him a co-inventor along with bartender George A. Williamson) sometime between his arrival in Washington DC in 1883 and the recipe appearing in the newspapers in 1889 (the quotation marks to show that it was an honorary title). Joe taught plenty of bartenders how to make his drink but it is surmised to have first been constructed at Shoomaker's in DC, and later in the 1890s the Rickey became more of a gin phenomenon than an American whiskey one. Unlike a Collins-like tipple where the citrus would be balanced by sugar or other sweetener, Joe felt that "any drink with sugar in it... heats the blood." Despite that being a late entry throwback to the Ancient Greek theories of Humorism, the soda water does help to dilute and mollify the citrus' acid bite to make for a very refreshing Cooler.
The Joe Rickey greeted the senses with a Bourbon and bright lime oil aroma. Next, a crisp, carbonate sip of lime and malt notes flowed into Bourbon flavors blending into a fruity element from the Angel's Envy port barrel finish and the lime. DC bartender Chantal Tseng described the Joe Rickey as "simply refreshing, like air conditioning in a glass," and the combination did rather well in society until Scotch took over a little after the turn of the century both in the Highball and in the Mamie Taylor (a Scotch Rickey of sorts with the soda water replaced by ginger beer).