hotel de ville

1 1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Amaro Nardini

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Mondays ago, I opened up The Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and selected the Hotel De Ville by Zack Gelnaw-Rubin at Manhattan's Lion Lion circa 2019. The name Hotel De Ville translates to "city hall," and the term often refers to the magnificent one in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. I was familiar with the combination of spirit modified by Nardini which has appeared with Bourbon in the Closing Argument (plus chocolate bitters) and with rye in the Defeat by Greater Things (plus orange bitters) and the Mayor's Lament (plus a trio of bitters). Moreover, there was also a somewhat similar recipe spirits-wise with the Dark Horse with a Jamaican rum-Calvados pairing (albeit a non-funky rum) accented by Nardini and orange liqueur. Once prepared, the Hotel De Ville proffered an orange, caramel, apple, and rum funk bouquet. Next, caramel notes on the sip led into apple, funky rum, gentian, licorice, and mint flavors on the swallow.

wry grin

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
4 wedge Lemon (1/2 Lemon in quarters)
6-8 leaf Mint

Muddle lemon wedges and mint. Add rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet. Two Sundays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and spied the Wry Grin by Sam Ross at Manhattan's Milk & Honey circa 2010 in the Smash section. Overall, it reminded me a little of the Job's Lament which did the rye-Fernet combination in Mint Julep form but with Amaro di Angostura instead of the simple and lemon here. In the glass, the Wry Grin greeted the senses with fresh mint over rye and menthol aromas. Next, lemon with a hint of caramel on the sip revealed rye whiskey, caramel, and minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.

malua

2 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Giffard Crème de Peche (Mathilde)
1/2 oz Dry Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)
1 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
8-10 leaf Mint

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass (ceramic mug), and garnish with a lime wheel and mint bouquet. Two Saturdays ago, I was in the mood for something tropical, so I looked to my notes from my online recipe flashcard research and selected the Mālua at the Skull & Crown Trading Co. in Honolulu. A 2022 Yelp review made reference to it in the text and included a drink photo as well. Overall, the combination of mint, peach, and lime took the drink into Missionary's Downfall territory but with a tequila (and no pineapple and honey) spin on it. Here, the Mālua opened up with lime and mint aromas from the garnishes over peach and tropical ones. Next, lime, orange, and passion fruit notes on the sip were washed away by agave, peach, orange, and mint flavors on the swallow.

race to the bottom

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/8 oz Grenadine

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I got home from work and opened up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and selected the Race to the Bottom by Chris Hughes at Manhattan's Attaboy circa 2021-22. Grenadine historically has paired well with amari such as with Fernet in the Jim Rose, Cynar in the Giuseppe's Lady, and Amer Picon in the Jayco, but I have never previously had it paired with Braulio. In the glass, the Race to the Bottom started with an orange, grape, and dark berry aroma. Next, grape and berry notes continued on into the sip where they were chased by rye, apple, pine, herbal, and red berry flavors on the swallow.

rest in pieces of eight

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
>1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/4 oz Licor 43
>1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake one round without ice and one round with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with ice (double old fashioned with a large ice cube) pre-rinsed with Cruzan Black Strap Rum. After making a fresh batch of ginger syrup, I perused Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Rest in Pieces of Eight by Doug Monroe at Nashville's The Patterson House that he entered into the database in 2012. The name seems to be a play on the pirate phrases "rest in peace" and "pieces of eight." Given that aspect, I expected some overlap with the tropical classic Pieces of Eight, but there was only rum and lemon in common. Once mixed, the Rest in Pieces of Eight put forth a molasses aroma from the black strap rum rinse. Next, a creamy caramel and lemon sip subsided into funky rum, funky herbal, ginger, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

sea air on sunday

1 1/2 oz Johnnie Walker Black Scotch (1 1/4 oz Famous Grouse + 1/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/4 oz Domaine de Canton (Barrow's Intense Ginger Liqueur)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with candied ginger on a pick. Since I had half a lime left over from the night before, I looked through my collection sourced from online recipe flashcards and landed on the Sea Air on Sunday from The Butcher Chef in Toronto via a 2021 set. I was able to find a menu photo on GoogleMaps from around that time period, but most of the photos from that restaurant were of the food not drink. The recipe came across like a Penicillin with Amaro Montenegro and ginger liqueur for the honey and ginger syrups, respectively. Moreover, the concept made sense as a Penicillin riff for sea air has been romanticized historically as a cure-all during the 18th and 19th centuries. Indeed, Jane Austen wrote in Sanditon that sea air and bathing could cure "every disorder of the stomach, the lungs, or the blood." Once prepared, the Sea Air on Sunday misted the nose with a spray of ginger, peat smoke, and caramel orange aromas. Next, lime and a hint of caramel on the sip receded into smoky Scotch, clementine, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

no. 39

1 1/2 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Serving it in an old fashioned glass on crushed ice was recommended to provide a drier experience (here, served up). Two Tuesdays prior, I looked through the recipes from the Kindred Cocktails database that I had bookmarked and landed on the No. 39. The recipe was crafted by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles in 2013, and the name reminded me of the menu convention at the old Hungry Mother in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with drinks like No. 64 and No. 43. The recipe itself made me think of a lime and pineapple syrup riff on the lemon, simple syrup, and Angostura Bitters Champs Élysées though. Once prepared, the No. 39 donated a pineapple and herbaceous bouquet to the nose. Next, a lime-driven sip set up Cognac, herbaceous, and pineapple flavors on the swallow.

high plains julep

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Amaretto (Luxardo)
6-8 leaf Mint

Muddle mint with the liqueurs in a Julep cup, add the rest of the ingredients, top with ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet. Two Mondays ago, I got home late from a series of industry events and felt like enjoying a Julep to round out the evening. Therefore, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and became intrigued by the High Plains Julep by Travis Hernandez at Half Step in Austin circa 2017. There was something about amaretto juxtaposed with Braulio that I needed to experience to understand, and I also have a lot of Luxardo Amaretto since shortly after buying a bottle, I was tasked with developing a recipe with Luxardo and Hotaling products and was sent another bottle for R&D. Checking back, "shortly" was two years ago (replacing my 15+ year old bottle of Disaronno that I finished a month before), but that does sum up my general use of that liqueur. There are a few instances on the blog of bitter liquids pairing with amaretto with the most extreme being a hefty slug of Angostura Bitters in the Sock Drawer Sexuality, but most are with softer amaro such as two that I created – the Bar Boss with Cynar and the Am-Am Sour with Averna. While the closest thing to amaretto meeting mint was in the garnish to the Caribbean Punch, Braulio has been paired before with mint including two other Juleps – the Ducati and the Thieves in the Night. So I set to work (and got one step closer to not dying with two bottles of amaretto bottles in the house), and the High Plains Julep offered up mint aromas over almond and stone fruit pit ones. Next, caramel on the sip expanded into rye, almond, minty, bitter herbal, and pine flavors on the swallow.

starward swizzle

2 oz Hamilton's Lost Voyage Rum (1 oz Hamilton's 86° Demerara River + 1/2 oz Monymusk Gold + 1/2 oz Smith & Cross)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Pernod (12 drop Pernod Absinthe)

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with a mint bouquet, dehydrated lime wheel (omit), and freshly grated nutmeg. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Starward Swizzle from Strongwater in Anaheim that I spotted in a set of online recipe flashcards. In researching the drink, I found a web-based set of recipes put out by the rum that included the spec verbatim. Since Lost Voyage Rum is described as a blend of rum from Guyana and Jamaica's Worthy Park, I tried my best to replicate the flavor profile with a trio of rums. Here, the rum, cinnamon, falernum, lime, bitters, and absinthe made me think of the Jet Pilot but with pineapple and Peychaud's instead of the classic's grapefruit and Angostura. In the glass, the Starward Swizzle emitted a woody spice, mint, and rum funk aroma. Next, pineapple and lime notes on the sip opened up into funky rums, pineapple, cinnamon, and anise flavors on the swallow.