skylarking

1 oz Rhum JM Gold Rhum Agricole (Clement VSOP)
1 oz Rhum JM Blanc Rhum Agricole (100°)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Don's Spices (3/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 3/8 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup
3 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Build in a Pearl Diver glass (Collins), fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs and an orchid (ornamental pea blossoms). Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Papaya Club at the Conrad in Orlando where I had found the Yellow Cloud, and I picked another of Paul McGee's creations, the Skylarking. That source provided the description, "This swizzle embodies all of the flavors found all around the Caribbean. Two rums made from fresh cane juice provide the backbone for this classic swizzle recipe with lots of warming spice and floral notes." I then found a photo on Scott French's Instagram in May 2025 that confimed the glassware and included the garnishes, although that drink was way more red in hue than mine. Given Paul's names many of his drinks after musical references such as the Music that Stays on for Extra Days, my guess is that he dubbed this after the 1986 album by the British indie rock group XTC. Once prepared, the Skylarking soared to the nose with mint over red fruit, floral, and grassy aromas. Next, lime and red fruit notes on the sip opened up into grassy rum, allspice, vanilla, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

savannah slammer

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Peach (Mathilde Peche Liqueur)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 splash Steen's Syrup (1/8+ oz Demerara)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated cinnamon. Two Fridays prior, I decided to make the Savannah Slammer created at Good Company in St. Louis from their Spring 2025 menu that I had uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. This drink that still resides on their current menu reads like a Georgia Julep crossed with a Cynar Julep in a mint as a garnish-only Smash. Once assembled, the Savannah Slammer awoke the senses with a mint and cinnamon aromas over peach. Next, lemon with a vague orchard fruit note on the sip blossomed into Bourbon, peach, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

golden boy

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Thursday ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and selected the Golden Boy by Jon Nutter at Manhattan's Attaboy in 2024. I recognized the bartender's name as being the creator of Hamilton the Hipster when he was at Brooklyn's Grand Army in 2021, so I was curious about trying this one especially with the sherry-Cocchi Americano pairing. Moreover, the recipe itself reminded me of another drink on that app called the Brigantine with rye instead of Bourbon and no sherry element. Once prepared, the Golden Boy offered up lemon, grape, and orange aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and grape on the sip pivoted into Bourbon, nutty grape, orange, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

locksmith

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (3/4 oz Rittenhouse + 3/4 oz Old Overholt 86°)
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Ardbeg 10 Year)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays prior, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book, and I landed on the Locksmith by Ingrid Archer and David Molyneux at The Everleigh in Melbourne circa 2018 in the book's Manhattan section. Scotch and either Lillet or Cocchi Americano seem to go rather well together in classics such as in the Prince Edward, and there is a very similar cocktail to the Locksmith in the NoMad Cocktail Book, the North Sea Oil, with aquavit instead of rye and a quarter of the Cocchi Americano swapped for orange liqueur. Once assembled, the Locksmith opened up the aroma with a lemon, peat smoke, and grapefruit bouquet. Next, white grape, orange, and malt notes on the sip unlocked rye, smoky Scotch, apricot, and grapefruit pith flavors on the swallow.

pineapple peat

1 1/2 oz Great King Street Glasgow Blend (Ardmore Traditional Cask)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Martelletti Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a bucket glass, and top with crushed ice. Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco that I last utilized in November with the Spice Oddity. Here, the Pineapple Peat called out to me and made me think of a Scotch Algonquin – a drink that I made a lot the summer of 2007 of rye, pineapple juice, and dry vermouth. The citrus aspect was something that I saw in the dry vermouthless Far East Algonquin by Ryan Fitzgerald of San Francisco's Beretta at a Tales of the Cocktail 2011 happy hour, but here, the pineapple aspect is amplified. As for a timeframe, Yelp has photos of the drink at the Liholiho Yacht Club as early as 2015, and a 2015 blog post has a photo and specifies the Scotch. It is unclear if it was named after a Pineapple Pete character: the two most famous ones, a Fortnight outfit and Six Flags mascot, came after 2015, but there are some instances like the restaurant in St. Marten that came before that. In the glass, the Pineapple Peat came forth with a peat and pineapple aroma true to its name. Next, lemon, malt, and pineapple notes on the sip switched into smoky Scotch, herbal, and pineapple flavors on the swallow.

mai fernet has a first name

1 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz White Rum (2/3 oz Hamilton White 'Stache + 1/3 oz Wray & Nephew)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet (chocolate mint). Two Mondays ago, an intriguing drink appeared on my Instagram feed called Mai Fernet Has a First Name. It was created by Jason Dolley as a Mai Tai riff that is part of his "Will it Fernet?" series where he replaces a key ingredient with Fernet Branca. The Fernet-orange liqueur aspect reminded me of the century's old Alcazer where I learned how well the two pair, and Fernet-orgeat have paired well together in a number of cocktails including the Smoke Break. For a white rum, my mind went to Wray & Nephew for this recipe reminded me of the Bikini Atoll, but since Jason utilized the more mild Planteray Three Star Rum blend, I split the base for I did not want the funky Jamaican rum to take too big of a role. Once prepared, my senses were greeted with a mint, caramel, orange, and menthol aroma. Next, a creamy lime, caramel, and orange sip was displaced by funky rum, minty menthol, earthy, and orange flavors on the swallow. Overall, I was surprised at how Fernet seemed to subdue the orgeat's presence in the mix, but I was generally pleased at how Fernet worked in this combination.

tell me more

1 oz Bertoux Brandy (Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1 oz Russell's Reserve Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 spray Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur (20 drop Russo Nocino)

Build in a Julep cup, add crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint and more Nux Alpina (10 drop Russo Nocino). Two Sundays ago, I ventured back to online recipe flashcards for Chicago's The Violet Hour and spotted a good use of mint in the Tell Me More from their Winter 2022 menu. With the sherry, ginger, and walnut aspect, I could see why it would be a more cold weather-styled Julep, but I figured that it could work in early July as well. On the bar's website advertising their Bartender's Manifesto book, there is a photo labeled Tell Me More of a drink served in a Julep cup garnished with a dried lime wheel (said recipe is not in that tome though). I know from Toby Maloney's second book, The Classic Cocktail Sessions, that he does not see the point to dried garnishes but it might have been for the photo shoot. Nutty oxidized sherries like Amontillado and Oloroso have been paired with walnut liqueur with great success in recipes like the Bamboozled and Towser the Mouser and I utilized it in my Folly Ruins, so I set off to crush some ice. Once prepared, the Tell Me More shared a mint and walnut aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip wandered towards brandy, Bourbon, ginger, nutty grape, walnut, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

shotgun wedding

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
3/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bitter Truth)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice (* see text), and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays prior, I fired up the The Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and opted for the Shotgun Wedding by Chris Hughes at Manhattan's Attaboy in 2022. The combination seemed familiar for it appeared with Scotch and a much lower quotient of apricot liqueur in Held in Contempt also created at Attaboy. In the glass, the Shotgun Wedding prodded the nose with a lemon, apricot, and vegetal aroma. Next, a caramel-driven sip from the Ciociaro blossomed into smoky vegetal and bitter orange-apricot flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish. As the ice melted, the drink began to fall apart as the flavors subsided, and perhaps this would be better served up in a coupe; this did not happen in the whisky-based Held in Contempt, so perhaps this was due to the lighter-style mezcal that I utilized.

mojave punch

1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum such as Coruba (Coruba)
1 oz Silver Puerto Rican-style Rum (Hamilton White 'Stache)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice (3/4+ oz) (*)
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Juice
3/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup (**)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a pilsner (collins) glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a paper umbrella skewering a cherry.
(*) Even at a heavy 3/4 oz, the drink was still a bit sweet so perhaps 1 oz would be a good lime juice amount. Over perhaps 1/2 oz lime juice + 1/2 oz lemon juice to keep the acidity where I want it but with the remainder as a more neutral citrus juice.
(**) I did a hibiscus tea bag in 4 oz boiling water for 5 minutes. After removing the tea bag, I added an equal weight of sugar and stirred to dissolve. Two Fridays ago, I returned to the 2015 set of online recipe flashcards from the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles where I had found the Bermuda Dunes and selected the Mojave Punch. I was able to find photos of the drink at the Tonga Hut in blogs from 2017 and 2022 and multiple photos on Yelp. The recipe came across like a gussied up Hurricane with extra juices (the original Hurricane had fassionola syrup which some recipes include hibiscus); however, it also read a bit sweet so I upped the lime juice a bit (but perhaps not as much as I should have (see note above)). Once prepared, the Mojave Punch proffered a cherry, passion fruit, and floral bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel, lime, and orange notes on the sip shifted into funky rum, pineapple, passion fruit, and red berry-herbal flavors on the swallow. If you made a batch of hibiscus syrup, I recommend using some of the remainder on Aaron Butler's Koki'o Punch, Brick & Mortar's Velvet Rope, and my Red Skies at Night from Loyal Nine.