montauk

1 oz Hayman's Royal Dock Gin (1 1/4 oz Beefeater)
3/4 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/4 oz Punt e Mes
6 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Mondays ago, I was browsing the classics section in The NoMad Cocktail Book, when I spotted the Montauk that I was not too familiar with. The original is an equal parts Perfect Martini without bitters, and this variation was attributed in Punch Drinks to Leo Robischek. The book described the combination with the addition of Punt e Mes and Peychaud's Bitters to be Negroni-like; however, it came across more like a Martinez to my palate. In the glass, the Montauk welcomed the nose with lemon and pine aromas. Next, a grape sip slid into gin and bitter grape flavors on the swallow with an anise finish.

conjurers & concubines

1 oz Rum (1/2 oz Smith & Cross + 1/2 oz Privateer Navy Yard)
1 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Benedictine
1 tsp Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.To finish off the last night of Sherry Week 2020, I searched the Kindred Cocktails database for an interesting recipe. There, I latched on to Rafa Garcia Febles 2015 creation called the Conjurers & Concumbines that reminded me slightly of the Rum River Mystic. Once prepared, the Conjurers & Concubines gave forth a caramel, rum funk, and allspice bouquet to the nose. Next, a caramel sip stepped aside for funky rum, nutty sherry, and herbal flavors on the swallow with an allspice and chocolate finish. For a final sherry Haiku, I wrote one in honor of the sherry cup-on-a-stick that I was gifted to practice pouring as part of a sherry competition; the venenciador is utilized to dip into the barrel and then pour from a height into a glass (if successful) to aerate the sherry. "The cellar master/amazes me with his flair:/Venenciador"

the second marriage

1 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
1 oz Calvados or Laird's 7 1/2 Year (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Valdespino El Candado Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
2 dash Angostura Bitters (*)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Omitted in Talia's book and my cocktail tasting notes here; included above afterwards via personal communication with the drink's creator.As Sherry Week 2020 continued on, I selected Talia Biocchi's Sherry book to see if there were any recipes that I had not made yet. There, I was lured in by Dan Greenbaum's Second Marriage that reminded me of similar Old Fashioned-like drinks that utilized Pedro Ximenez sherry as the sweetener such as the Haitian Divorce and the McKittrick Old Fashioned. In the glass, the Second Marriage welcomed the nose with an orange, apple, and raisin bouquet. Next, dark grape and apple flavors on the sip shifted towards Bourbon, apple, and rich raisiny grape on the swallow. For a Haiku to match this drink, I crafted, "Raisiny goodness/From Talia's Sherry book/Pedro Ximenez".

du pont hotel

1 1/4 oz Brandy (1 3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac)
1 oz Dry Sherry (3/4 oz Lustau Oloroso + 1/2 oz Lustau East India Solera)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Fridays ago, Sherry Week 2020 reminded me of a drink that was discussed on an episode of the Bartender at Large podcast called the Du Pont Hotel. The show's guest was Brian Bartels who recently wrote The United States of Cocktails book, and for Delaware, he featured this drink that was first published in Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up via said hotel in Wilmington. Using all dry sherry seemed a bit austere to balance the brandy's heat and the Angostura's bitter, so I added in a touch of sweetness from cream sherry. Once prepared, the Du Pont Hotel offered up orange oil over raisin and nutty grape aromas. Next, a semi-dry grape sip gave way to Cognac, nutty sherry, allspice, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow. My sherry-ku to support my post on Instagram was, "Ted Saucier's book/Naughty art and sherry drinks/Bottoms up, my friend."

ibiza bum

2 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs.

After the Geneva, I was inspired to create something for Sherry Week 2020. The Geneva's apricot-sherry duo had me searching for a Tiki drink with apricot liqueur to further the field of sherry Tiki that includes the Sherry Colada and Sherry Tonga. Soon, I landed on the Beachbum; besides replacing the two rums with Amontillado, I swapped the original's lime for lemon juice and added in the allspice dram that worked so well in the U.S.S. Wondrich. For a name, I went with the Spanish isle for lounging (despite it being on the opposite side of the country from the sherry-producing region) and called this the Ibiza Bum.The Ibiza Bum met the nose with a mint bouquet over nutty grape, allspice, and orange-apricot aromas. Next, grape, pineapple, and lemon on the sip slid into nutty sherry, apricot, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow. The combination of apricot and orgeat worked just as well here as it did in the 1937 Yellow Mist, and the Amontillado complemented those flavors rather nicely. For a Haiku to round off the drink, I riffed on the Bow Wow Wow song "I Want Candy" from the 1980s:

Sherry on the beach
(Ain't no finer wine in town)
There's nothing better

geneva

2/3 jigger Sherry (1 1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado)
1/3 jigger Italian Vermouth (3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet)
1 dash Apricot Liqueur (1/4 oz Rothman & Winter)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to start participating in Sherry Week 2020, and I found the Geneva in the wine section of Pioneers of Mixing from Elite Bars: 1903-1933. To accompany the drink, I composed a Haiku to complement the experience (Sherrykus were requested by the week's host): Crisp autumn evening/I need a nutty cocktail/Amontillado. Since Amontillado and apricot liqueur have proven to be a great pairing such as in the Apricottage and Repossession, I went with that as the answer to recipe's vague call of sherry.The Geneva flowed to the nose with an orange and apricot waft. Next, grape with a hint of orchard fruit on the sip entered into a nutty sherry and herbal swallow with an apricot finish.

doomscroller

2 oz Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum
1/2 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs and freshly grated nutmeg.

As election night approached, I found myself spending a lot more time on social media and newsfeeds looking for tidbits of information about the various races. On the day itself, I spotted the term "doomscrolling" to describe what I and many of us were doing on our phones. The word reminded me of some of Jason Alexander's drinks like the Doomsayer's Grog and the Requiem for a Doomed Star, so I thought about creating a Tiki drink inspired by his style instead of searching through books for the some liquid distraction. Jason is a big fan of Plantation OFTD Rum, and I supplemented that with some rather smoky Scotch to amplify the doom quotient. To balance the lime juice, I opted for passion fruit syrup and Don's Spices as sweeteners which also feature prominently in Jason's creations. To tie together the aggressive rum and the burly Scotch, Benedictine seemed to be the answer to round off the drink with perhaps Shruff's End in mind. Usually, I come up with the recipe before the name, but the stress of election day helped to reverse the flow with the Doomscroller.The Doomscroller cursed the nose with a woody spice and mint bouquet. Next, lime and caramel on the sip launched into funky rum, smoke, tropical, vanilla, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Overall, it was rather well balance to my palate, and it disguised its alcoholic potency quite well.

more supreme

1 1/2 oz Rhum Agricole, pref. aged (Clement Premiere Canne)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cane Syrup (Sirop JM de Canne)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, pour 1/4 oz Campari down the side of the glass, and garnish with freshly cracked black pepper.Two Mondays ago, I was in the mood for a Daiquiri when I remembered the More Supreme that I had spotted in Punch. The recipe was crafted by Alec Bales of the Ticonderoga Club in Atlanta as a rhum agricole Daiquiri in the form of a layered drink with a sink of Campari. Once prepared, the More Supreme met the nose with a grassy, lime, and black pepper spice aroma, and the pepper complemented the rhum rather well. Next, a lime sip gave way to a grassy and funky rum on the swallow that was later joined by bitter orange and quinine flavors as the Campari mixed into the cocktail.

monte carlos

2 oz Reposado Tequila (Lunazul)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Sundays ago, I began flipping through A Spot at the Bar by Michael Madrusan and Zara Young. There, I honed in on the Monte Carlos which was Chris Bostick's tequila riff on the whiskey-based Monte Carlo from David Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks (rye, Benedictine, Angostura Bitters or a Frisco with bitters) that Bostick crafted at Half Step in Austin. Last year, I had enjoyed the Scotch version, the Highlander, from Paul Harrington's 1998 Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century, so I was intrigued especially considering how well agave and Benedictine work together. In the glass, the Monte Carlos wafted lemon, vegetal agave, and allspice aromas to the nose. Next, a lightly caramel sip with a decent mouthfeel from the Benedictine led into tequila, herbal with minty-chocolate accents, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.