chocolate stinger (audrey saunders)

2 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Menthe (Tempus Fugit)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao (Bols White)
1 tsp Kahula
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe or an old fashioned glass with ice.

Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I found in Pierre Ferrand's 2016 NYC Cocktail Book called the Chocolate Stinger that was created, or better stated improved upon, by Audrey Saunders at the Pegu Club in Manhattan. The Stinger is a classic first published in 1914 that dates back to the 1890s of shaken instead of stirred Cognac and crème de menthe. It is also a drink that I have a distinct memory of from Russell House Tavern. While we did put it on the menu in 2014, in 2013, I recall two troublesome townie women who sat at my bar one early afternoon and one of them ordered a Stinger. I recall shaking it, serving it on crushed ice, and garnishing with a mint sprig. She was appalled at the presentation and asked for it to be strained. Luckily, when it was later on the menu, my bar manager was smart enough to serve it up. I think that bar guest would be appalled by this variation of a Stinger as well given the excess flavors and lower mint quotient than expected. However, Audrey's recipe was tempting for crème de menthe and cacao work well together as I learned in Death & Co.'s Midnight Mountain and that I utilized in my Year of the Dragon, and minty Fernet works amazingly with crème de cacao. One Instagram friend commented that the Chocolate Stinger reminded them of the After Eight which is crème de menthe with either chocolate or coffee liqueur depending on the recipe with either vodka or Bailey's as the third ingredient; here, all three liqueurs are present, so that observation was rather on point. It turns out that there is a mid-century recipe known as the Chocolate Stinger that is simply the two crème liqueurs with or without vodka shaken together. Given Audrey Saunders' high level of perfecting drinks, it was a good reason to shake up (instead of stir) another straight spirits recipe. In the glass, Audrey's Chocolate Stinger gave forth brandy and mint aromas. Next, mint and roast notes on the sip developed into Cognac, chocolate, and mint flavors on the swallow with coffee and mint on the finish.

contemporary art

1 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Fridays prior, I opened up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and opted for the Contemporary Art crafted by Zack Gelnaw-Rubin at Manhattan's Attaboy in 2022. Its trio of Amontillado sherry, orgeat, and lemon juice have worked well in drinks like the Orientation with Cognac, and I utilized it well in my Sherry Mai Tai, so I was curious to experience the combination with mezcal. Once mixed, the Contemporary Art showcased a smoke, vegetal, and nutty aroma. Next, a creamy lemon and grape sip blossomed into smoky, vegetal, almond, and savory flavors on the swallow.

last one standing

1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/2 oz Jamaican Gold Rum (1/4 oz Smith & Cross + 1/4 oz Appleton 8 Year)
1 tsp Giffard Crème de Peche (Mathilde)
6-8 leaf Mint

Muddle mint leaves in liqueurs. Add rest of ingredients, top with crushed ice, and garnish with a peach slice (omit) and a mint bouquet dusted with confectioner sugar (no sugar). Two Thursdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and found the Last One Standing by Natasha David at Nitecap in 2014. My research uncovered a defunct Ask A New Yorker article from that year which mentioned that the bar used Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac and Hamilton Jamaican Rum as the spirits. The name made me think of the Last Man Standing from Brad Parson's Last Call book, but this one is an embittered Julep instead of a bitter bomb of an evening ender. In the silver cup, the Last One Standing gave forth a mint bouquet to the nose. Next, a caramel-driven sip from the amaro opened up into Cognac, minty, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with a mint and peach finish.

the ambassador

1 oz Shot Tower Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack van Oosten
3/4 oz Lustau Oloroso Sherry
3/4 oz Giffard Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
6 leaf Mint

Muddle mint in a footed rocks glass (regular old fashioned glass). Add the rest of the ingredients, fill with crushed ice, and give a quick stir. While the recipe I uncovered lacked a garnish, one of the two drink photos I found were ornamented with mint sprigs, so I included one. Two Fridays ago, I continued on with the mint drinks that I had saved up from online recipe flashcard sets and picked the Ambassador at Bygone in Baltimore. I was able to find a Yelp menu photo from June 2023, and while the recipe lacked a garnish, I spotted two Ambassador drink photos on Yelp from around that time: one with a mint garnish and one without (so I opted for one). Since split bases of gin and Batavia Arrack have worked well in the Odessa Cocktail from the 1930s and in the more modern Transatlantic Orbit, I was game to try this one out. Here, the Ambassador generated a mint, nutty grape, and hint of clove aroma. Next, lime and grape notes on the sip traded in for piny juniper, funky rum, nutty, mint, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

job's lament

1 oz Fernet Branca (*)
1/2 oz Amaro di Angostura
1/2 oz Wild Turkey 101° Rye (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
4 drop Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters (1 dash Bitter Housewife)
1 grip Mint (8 leaf)

Muddle mint leaves in a Julep cup, add the rest of the ingredients and crushed ice, swizzle to mix and chill, top with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet.
(*) Originally created with Fernet Vallet but it became unavailable. The Yelp menu photo has it as Branca. Two Thursdays prior, I ventured back to the online recipe flashcards from the Patterson House in Nashville and selected the Job's Lament especially since my mint was finally back up to speed. I was able to find a Yelp menu photo with the drink from February 2022, and it joins the other two laments on the blog, namely the Mayor's Lament and my Piglet's Lament (as a riff on Eeyore's Requiem). Overall, the recipe reminded me of Giuseppe Gonzalez's Magic Julep except with Amaro di Angostura and rye whiskey in place of Guiseppe's full ounce slug of Angostura Bitters. Once built, the Job's Lament proffered a mint aroma. Next, caramel from the two amari filled the sip, and the swallow rounded things up with minty, menthol, allspice, and clove flavors.

slow drift

1 1/2 oz Santa Teresa 1796 Rum (Zaya)
1/2 oz Drouin Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/4 oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1/4 oz Amaro Meletti
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a big cube. No garnish was specified. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to online recipe flashcards for Dear Irving, and I selected the Slow Drift from their current menu at their Gramercy location from the Island Hop section. Its Meletti-banana duo occurred before in the DK Old Fashioned with Bourbon and the Kon'Nichiwa!!! with Japanese whiskey and crème de cacao, so I was curious to try it with a dark rum-apple brandy base that reminded me of the spirits in the Sky Pilot. Once served, the Slow Drift gave forth a caramel, violet-floral, chocolate, and apple aroma. Next, caramel on the sip blossomed into dark rum, apple, herbal, banana, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

love gun

2 oz Planteray 3 Star White Rum (Hamilton White 'Stache)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Raspberry Syrup
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton)

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with 1 1/2 oz soda water and a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon wheel. Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for my Death & Co.: Welcome Home book and found the Love Gun by Scott Teague in 2015. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a Knickerbocker with allspice dram instead of curaçao and lengthened by soda water. Once prepared, the Love Gun shot forward with a lemon, raspberry, and allspice aroma. Next, a carbonated lemon and red berry sip was countered by rum flavors as well as raspberry melding into allspice on the swallow.

dry daiquiri

1 1/2 oz Light Rum (Old Ipswich White Cap)
1/2 oz Campari
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 tsp Passion Fruit Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed). Two Mondays ago, I opened up my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and became intrigued by Dry Daiquiri from Kevin Armstrong at Match Bar in London circa 2005. The Dry Daiquiri has the Campari-passion fruit duo that I first learned about in the Novara; with dark rum and a touch of absinthe, this combination becomes the Benjamin Barker Daiquiri, and with pineapple, this combination shares similarities with the Commando Bird. In the glass, this Daiquiri offered up a tropical and complex orange aroma. Next, lime and melon notes on the sip stepped aside for rum, bitter orange, and passion fruit flavors on the swallow.

long nights, hard times

1 oz Elijah Craig Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a cherry. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink that I found through online recipe flashcards called the Long Nights, Hard Times. The recipe was created at Per Diem in Lilitz, Pennsylvania, and GoogleMaps confirmed the ingredients via a menu photo. Moreover, the bar's Instagram attributed the drink to beverage manager Dan Zeiders, and he perhaps named this after a Piebald song lyric. While the combination of American whiskey, Cynar, and Maraschino made me think of the Bensonhurst, there were closer recipes that I have tried such as the combination with sweet vermouth in the Five Keys, with aquavit in the Divine Wind, and with gin in the Grand Street. In the glass, the Long Nights, Hard Times offered up a caramel, sherry, and herbal aroma to the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip morphed into Bourbon, bitter herbal, and cherry flavors on the swallow.