zeeland

1 1/2 oz Bols Genever
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Last Thursday, we headed down to the Franklin Southie for their Bols Genever night. For this event, bar manager Joy Richard asked us a few weeks ago if we wanted to submit a Genever recipe and we gladly accepted the challenge. I say challenge because Genever is not the easiest spirit to mix with for it can easily be overwhelmed. Not that the drinks lack deliciousness when mixed like that, but a lot of the beauty in the spirit can be lost (and Genever is mighty tasty drank neat). After a round or two of failed tinkering, I decided to adapt a whiskey drink into a Genever drink, and for a starting point I used the Scofflaw. I cannot remember now which Scofflaw version I used -- the grenadine or the Chartreuse one -- but the format of spirit, aromatized wine, citrus, and sweetener morphed into a Genever, Lillet, lime juice, and apricot liqueur recipe. The end result turned out to be rather similar to a rum-based recipe, the Culross Cocktail variation. For a name, I wanted to pay tribute to a Dutch scofflaw like Bruinsma, but Andrea found the idea of naming it after a criminal or mafioso a little too dark. Instead, I named it after after a province in the Netherlands which had a quirky name -- Zeeland. Not quirky when it translates into Sealand, but strange in terms of A-to-Z-land or in the inevitable similarities to Zoolander.
The drink seemed to be a success at the event given the positive feedback and my overhearing people recommending it to their friends. Joy Richard made me my Zeeland that night and it started with a malty nose. The sip was full of a dry citrus and apricot flavor with Genever botanicals and lime on the swallow. Andrea commented that it was a dry drink that would be perfect for a Martini lover, and Ben Sandrof likened it to a Periodista on a light note.

For Andrea's first drink, she chose the Cravat created by Brayden C. Burroughs, Esq., and I was lucky enough to score a taste:

The Cravat
• 2 oz Bols Genever
• 1/2 oz Luxardo Amaretto
• 1/4 oz Lemon Juice
• 2 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1 dash Peychaud's Bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice.

The Cravat was surprisingly dry which is an attribute I rarely associate with amaretto cocktails. It contained a delicate amaretto flavor with a decent bitters signature on the finish. One of the most notable flavor observations about the recipe was how well the amaretto complemented the malt flavors in the Genever.