right paw of destiny

1 1/2 oz Santa Teresa Rum (3/4 oz Monymusk Gold + 3/4 oz Hamilton Demerara 86°)
1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 dash 1821 Havana & Hide Bitters (Extinct Chemical Co. Abbott's)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink from Backbar in Somerville called the Right Paw of Destiny that they posted on their Instagram a while back. This riff on the Right Hand appeared on their 2023 cat-themed menu and would probably be a great companion to their other riff, the Left Hand of Darkness. The Instagram post describes how, "Its name comes from the question: there is a cat with a top hat and monocle riding a raging fiery unicorn with a cigar in its left paw; what’s in its right paw???" Once prepared, the Right Paw of Destiny conjured up caramel, clementine, and grape aromas. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip switched places with rum, bitter orange, nutty, and spice flavors on the swallow.

odessa cocktail

25% Batavia Arrack (3/4 oz von Oosten)
25% Dry Gin (3/4 oz Tanqueray Malacca)
25% Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Giacomo Sperone)
25% Campari (3/4 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry.Two Saturdays ago, I returned to 1000 Mistures from 1936 and spotted the Odessa Cocktail which read like a Negroni meets a funky Right Hand. It also bore some resemblance to my Dutch Hand with Genever and mole bitters instead of the gin and Angostura here. In the glass, the Odessa Cocktail presented a grape, herbal, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, a grape-driven sip opened up into funky rum, pine, sharp bitter orange, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

the chicago underground

3/4 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Fridays ago, I spotted a reference to a two year old post on Reddit's cocktails forum from user Fnordianslips for a drink called The Chicago Underground. They describe it as their Chicago-style take on the Industry Sour. The post described, "This Industry Sour riff is an attempt at a cocktail tasty enough to get me through a bottle of Malört. And by God, it works! Fernet adds the complexity Malört's wormwood needs, and it all plays very nicely with lime and simple." Not one to back down from the challenge of drinking two of the most surly liqueurs in one glass (which I did one time before in the Ada Lovecraft), I mixed this one up. The result proffered minty, menthol, pineapple, and grapefruit aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and lime on the sip shuffled into bitter grapefruit, gentian, minty, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

wicked games

1 1/2 oz Pineau des Charentes
1/2 oz Clairin Vaval
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
4 drop Saline Solution

Shake with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass.Two Thursdays ago, I ventured down to Assembly Row in Somerville to visit my old co-worker Lucy Comer at Parla XXI. For my first drink, I requested the Wicked Games by Steve Matin and subtitled "Get lost in the thrill of temptation." When Steve sat at my bar a few weeks ago, he showed off a few of his recipes for the new menu on his phone, and I made the comment that the Wicked Games reminded me of a Pompadour. He confirmed that he based it off of Frank Meier's 1934 recipe; his choice of lime instead of lemon reminded me of my tequila riff that I created called The King's Mistress that I created for Loyal Nine (the only bar that I have worked at where we had Pineau des Charentes other than at Drink which seemed to have everything). After Lucy shook and strained the Wicked Games, it greeted the nose with funky rum, melon, and orange aromas. Next, white grape and melon notes on the sip let go into funky rum, lime, and orange flavors with a hint of cinnamon on the swallow.

darling cocktail

20% Cognac (1/2 oz Courvoisier VS)
20% Demerara Rum (1/2 oz Hamilton 86°)
20% Batavia Arrack (1/2 oz von Oosten)
30% Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Giacomo Sperone)
10% Zara Maraschino (1/4 oz Luxardo)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a glass rimmed with grenadine and sugar, and garnish with a cherry.Two Wednesdays ago, I received my copy of 1000 Mistures from 1936 by Elvezio Grassi and recently translated by J.E. Clapham. For a starter, I honed in on the Darling Cocktail since I had not used my bottle of Batavia Arrack that much in the last year (save for the Lethal Weapon and Hitman). The trio of Cognac, rum, and Batavia Arrack screams out classic punches, but the only recipe that I could find that called for all three was Shannon Mustipher's modern Old Rogue punch. Here the three spirits were in a Martinez sort of format, so the straight spirits nature made me curious. In the glass, the Darling Cocktail offered up dark rum and nutty cherry aromas. Next, grape notes with a hint of molasses on the sip shifted into Cognac, funky and woody rum, nutty cherry, and clove flavors on the swallow.

patty o'cann

1 oz Teeling Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1/2 oz Bowmore 12 Year Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
3/4 oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone Sweet)
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass (coupe), and garnish with a cherry.Two Tuesdays ago, I was looking through online recipe flashcards for Irish whiskey drinks when I came across the Patty O'Cann at the Butcher Chef in Toronto for their August 2021 menu. I soon confirmed the drink, ingredients, and approximate date from a GoogleMaps menu photo. The Cynar, Benedictine, and sweet vermouth trio is one that has prospered in the Tight Five and Halls of Power, so I was curious to try it with a split of whiskies. Once stirred and strained, the Patty O'Cann gave forth a peat smoke, grape, and herbal bouquet. Next, grape and caramel notes mingled on the sip and were chased by smoky whisky, dark fruit, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

bully pulpit

2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Rabarbaro (Bully Boy) (*)
1/4 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens Mole)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Zucca and Sfumato are other rabarbaros.

For an article on local amari that I am currently writing, I visited a few distilleries to get their stories, and I was tasked with creating a recipe for three of them. For Bully Boy in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, I selected their rabarbaro over their standard amaro (Montenegro-Nonino-like) and their rosso amaro (Campari-ish) to craft a recipe. Rabarbaros are made with the smoky, earthy, roasty, and bitter root of rhubarb which is very different from the fruity stalk above ground. Two famous rabarbaros are Zucca and Sfumato, and Bully Boy's is closer to Zucca with a touch of root beer notes akin to Ramazzotti. For a direction, I latched onto the rabarbaro-orange liqueur combination that I have tried in a pair of drinks, namely the Lush Interlude and Dark Matter. I used the 3:1 ratio that I extracted from Cure's Black & Bluegrass (overlooking the Aperol) that I used in the Devil's Staircase. For a spirit, I chose for mezcal (although I will offer up tequila as an option in the article) and accented it with mole bitters for depth and roundness. For a name, I dubbed this one the Bully Pulpit which is a conspicuous position that allows one to speak and be listened to and was coined by Teddy Roosevelt. In the glass, the Bully Pulpit shouted out orange, roast, vegetal, and smoke aromas. Next, the curaçao's orange note filled the sip and the swallow gave forth smoky vegetal, roast, and chocolate flavors.

pulitzer

40 mL Bacardi Cuatro Rum (1 1/2 oz Hamilton's White Stache)
10 mL Aperol (1/2 oz)
15 mL Honey Syrup (1/2 oz)
15 mL Lime Juice (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lime wedge (lime wheel).After uncovering the recipe posts on London's Satan's Whiskers' Instagram with the King's County, I returned and selected the Pulitzer from last year. There is another Pulitzer on this blog, namely Eastern Standard's, but the only similarity is the Aperol and the stemmed glassware. This one is more like a Brooklynite where the dash of Angostura Bitters was substituted for Aperol here. Once prepared, the Pulitzer welcomed the nose with a lime, floral, and orange aroma. Next, lime and honey notes on the sip developed into rum, bitter orange, and floral flavors on the swallow.

stink eye

2 oz Knob Creek Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Cynar
1 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters (2 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a recipe called the Stink Eye that a friend posted on Instagram earlier in the week. The drink was created by St. Paul, Minnesota, enthusiast Craig Eliason and posted on KindredCocktails. Overall, it read like Eastern Standard's Fernet Cocktail with a little more Punt e Mes, less Fernet and spice from the whiskey (rye vs. Bourbon), and the addition of Cynar and walnut bitters. In the glass, the Stink Eye showcased a lemon and minty-menthol bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and a hint of caramel on the sip opened up into Bourbon, herbal, and menthol flavors on the swallow. While it was indeed similar to that Fernet Cocktail, the Cynar did have a small modulating effect on the herbal signature to make it a touch more complex.