italian leather sofa

3/4 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
3/4 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto
1/2 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash 18.21 Havana & Hide Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass pre-spritzed with Alice and the Magician's Tobacco Aromatics.

Two Wednesdays ago, I headed over to Backbar to see what they could do with the Angel's Envy Bourbon on their shelf; this interest began in the last few weeks as I became the Angel's Envy Whiskey Guardian for Boston. With that disclosure aside, bartender Kat Lamp opted to make Joseph Gabriel Habib's Vieux Carré riff called the Italian Leather Sofa. One of my friends on Instagram alerted me that this was named after a musical track by Cake, and it definitely seemed like the drink was shaped to match the song title. Also, a topic of conversation was the new Backbar cat mascot (see below) that is the third version of this bow tie cat design after the first two unfortunately got stolen (see cat #1 in this 2017 post and cat #2 in this 2019 post).
The Italian Leather Sofa greeted the nose with leathery aromas along with cedar wood ones. Next, grape and caramel on the sip led into whiskey, raisin, root beer, and citrus peel notes on the swallow with a leather and rose finish.

second surfin' bird

1 1/2 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1/4 oz Campari
1/4 oz Ruby Port (Sandeman Tawny)
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Blend with 12 oz crushed ice for 3 seconds or whip shake with crushed ice. Pour into a Tiki mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with tropical flair.
To continue on with the Tiki the Snow Away month on Instagram, I decided upon the Second Surfin' Bird published in the most recent issue of Imbibe Magazine. This Jungle Bird riff was crafted by Paul McGee and Shelby Allison at Chicago's Lost Lake, and its combination reminded me of their eponymous Lost Lake drink but with agave spirits and ruby port instead of rum and Maraschino. Once prepared, the Second Surfin' Bird called out to the nose with vegetal agave, tropical, and smoke aromas. Next, lime and passion fruit on the sip flapped its way to a smoky agave, pineapple, and bitter orange swallow with a passion fruit finish. Overall, the end result was perhaps not that dissimilar from a Commando Bird made with mezcal and tequila.

oh captain, my captain

1 oz Plantation OFTD Rum
1 oz Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/2 oz Aged Jamaican Overproof Rum (Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 tsp Fernet Branca
6 drop Absinthe (St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Zombie glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint bouquet (paper umbrella).

Two Mondays ago, to continue on with the Tiki the Snow Away event on Instagram, I delved into the Minimalist Tiki book and spotted Chad Austin's Oh Captain, My Captain. Besides the Walt Whitman allusion, I was attracted to recipe for it appeared like a Jet Pilot with pineapple rum, lemon juice, and Fernet Branca in place of an unflavored rum, grapefruit juice, and Angostura Bitters, respectively. Once assembled, the Oh Captain, My Captain launched off with cinnamon, funky rum, and minty aromas (even without a mint bouquet as garnish). Next, a caramel and lime sip sailed into funky rums, pineapple, cinnamon, menthol, and clove flavors on the swallow.

the witty comeback

2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe or rocks glass with ice (coupe), and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Sundays ago, I recalled a drink that I had spotted in a photo of a recent menu at Austin's Nickel City called the Witty Comeback. The recipe was crafted by writer Dan Saltzstein for a Bon Appetite piece in 2014. In that article, he discussed with Jim Meehan then of P.D.T. about what goes into creating a house cocktail to serve for guests at one's home. Jim's advice was to make something accessible such that "if your guests want to recreate it, they can source these ingredients." Other requirements were that the drink would "be indicative of your tastes, yet appeal to a broad enough audience." Even though Jim declared that the recipe would never make his menu, luckily others saw the value in it and proudly promoted it. And the combination seemed solid especially since it reminded me of Katie Emmerson's Calamity Jane that we served at our Women of the Wild West night in 2013.
The Witty Comeback offered up an orange, ginger, and rye bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and malt on the sip returned with rye, herbal-orange, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

who killed mr. moonlight?

1 oz Dark (or Aged) Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
1 oz Rhum Agricole Blanc (Clement Premiere Canne)
1 1/2 oz POG Juice (1/2 oz each Passion Fruit Nectar, Orange Juice, and Guava Juice)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

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

Two Saturdays ago after my bar shift, I decided to craft something tropical for the Instagram event Tiki the Snow Away. For inspiration, I started with Trader Sam's Nautilus especially its core of POG (passion fruit, orange, and guava) juice. More significant than the rum and citrus changes that I made were my alterations of the fruit and spice sweeteners; in place of the peach liqueur, I opted for Maraschino, and instead of the falernum, I went with a zesty ginger syrup. The Maraschino-ginger duo was one that stood out in the rye-based New Rider and that I had previously noted in One for Jimmy (with ginger beer instead of syrup). For a name, I dubbed this after a 1983 Bauhaus song "Who Killed Mr. Moonlight?"
The Who Killed Mr. Moonlight? wafted to the nose with woody nutmeg aromas. Next, lime and orange notes on the sip waned into rums, passion fruit, and guava flavors on the swallow with a delightful ginger-nutty cherry finish.

daisy buchanan

3/4 oz Aged Rum (Flor de Caña Añejo Oro)
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Tempus Fugit)
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist and freshly grated nutmeg.
For the cocktail hour on Friday night two weeks prior, I decided to make the Daisy Buchanan that I spotted in Imbibe Magazine. This egg white Rum Sour had elements of Fernet Daiquiris like the Tiger Balm as well as the delightful Fernet-cacao duo that I tinkered with in my Fernet Alexander. Once prepared, this tribute to a character in The Great Gatsby welcomed the nose with lemon, woody spice, and minty menthol aromas. Next, a creamy lime and caramel sip was made jealous by rum, chocolate, and mint flavors on the swallow and a lime and menthol finish.

parade of the fairies

1 oz Banhez Espadin & Barril Mezcal
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1/4 oz Galliano
1/2 tsp Rosemary Tincture-Bigallet Thyme Liqueur (50:50)

Stir with ice and strain into a double old fashioned glass pre-rinsed with Mata Hari Absinthe.
After excusing myself at Amor y Amargo after a single round, I headed over to Pouring Ribbons a short walk away. There, I asked Steven the bartender for the Parade of the Fairies which seemed like an intriguing herbal mezcal cocktail that he described as their Sazerac riff. Here, the combination of Green Chartreuse and Galliano was one that I had noted worked well in the Jimador Sour at Craigie on Main. Once prepared, the Parade of the Fairies danced to the nose with vegetal and smoke notes from the mezcal plus herbal and anise accents from the Chartreuse and absinthe, respectively. Next, a sip with decent body and hints of orchard fruit twirled into a smoky mezcal, herbal Chartreuse, and spice swallow.

heaven or las vegas

1 1/2 oz Evan Williams Bourbon
3/4 oz St. Agrestis Infernal Bitter
3/4 oz Byrrh Quinquina
1 dash Ceylon Cinnamon Bitters.

Stir with ice, strain into a single old fashioned with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

As mentioned in the Jack Kearns post, I was headed into New York City for a new work venture. After my responsibilities were finished for the day on Wednesday, I was already in the East Village, so I headed a few blocks over to Amor y Amargo. There, I asked bartender Mel for the Heaven or Las Vegas -- I was not sure whether my love of the Cocteau Twins that began in the 1990s or the ingredients list drew me in more (Heaven or Las Vegas was the band's 6th album). The mystery ingredient in the mix was Infernal Bitter that was created by a Brooklyn-based company, and this aperitivo "has Campari bitterness, with more herbal complexity, more freshness, all natural color, and uses 100% organic ingredients. A juicy and refreshing combination of fruits, vegetables, and flowers... [with] three macerations: a bitter maceration, a floral maceration, and a citrus maceration." Essentially, the combination seemed to fall into the camp of a Boulevardier riff.
Once prepared, the Heaven or Las Vegas wafted to the senses with a lemon oil and orange-herbal aroma. Next, a citrus and grape sip gave way to a Campari-like swallow with a spicy cinnamon and vegetal pepper finish.

jack kearns

3/4 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)
1/4 Daiquiri Rum (1/2 oz Uruapan Charanda Blanco)
1 dash Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 dash Simple Syrup (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe; I added a lemon twist.
After my work shift two Tuesdays ago, I had already pre-selected a recipe so that I could expedite my bedtime for I was waking up rather early to travel to New York City. That drink was the Jack Kearns from the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book which came across like a Gin Sour crossed with perhaps a Daiquiri. It was perhaps named after the boxer from around that time who was better known as a flamboyant boxing coach who managed Jack Dempsey. To make the mix more intriguing, I utilized a funky half agricole style rum, Uruapan Charanda. Once prepared, the Jack Kearns led off with a lemon, rum funk, and pine combo to the nose. Next, the lemon dominated the sip, and the swallow swung with juniper, grassy rum, and citrus flavors.