irresponsible husband

1 1/2 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/8 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
3/8 oz Orgeat

Whip shake, pour into a double old fashioned glass with crushed ice, mix, top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Two Thursdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and latched on to the Irresponsible Husband by Brian Lee at San Diego's Noble Experiment circa 2013 via the book's the Fix & Swizzle section. The apricot, orgeat, and lemon juice combination was one that I could date back to the 1937 Yellow Mist, and it appeared once before on the blog with Scotch in different proportions in the Brigadoon. Here, the Irresponsible Husband alerted the nose with a woody spice, nutty, and apricot aroma. Next, a creamy lemon sip was forgotten by Scotch, apricot, and almond flavors on the swallow.

fists of fury

1 1/2 oz Tequila (Cimarron Blanco)
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Wednesdays ago, I opened up my file of recipes that I have uncovered on online flashcard sites, and I opted for the Fists of Fury at the now shuttered The Varnish in Los Angeles. While I found the drink in a 2019 set, I spotted it in a Yelp menu photo and review from 2022, so it must have been popular enough to put on the cocktail list more than once. While the name made me think of Erick Castro's Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique, instead of a Kill Bill: Vol. 2 reference, it was most like a tribute to the 1972 Bruce Lee movie. Tequila and Meletti have paired well in drinks such as the Aces & Eights and Guapo Buffone, and I used them to great effect in the Cantiflas Mustache, so I was definitely curious to try this one. Once shaken and strained, the Fists of Fury unleashed a vegetal aroma from the tequila. Next, an attack from caramel, grapefruit, and lime notes on the sip opened up tequila, caramel-herbal, and floral flavors on the swallow.

hustle & cuss

2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Marie Brizard White Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Maple Syrup
1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a grapefruit twist (omit). Two Tuesdays ago, I selected Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book off of the shelf and found the Hustle & Cuss by Jon Armstrong in 2016. There was no indication about why it was named that, but perhaps it was a tribute to the 2010 song by The Dead Weather. The grapefruit-maple-cinnamon trio appeared to be a driving force here; grapefruit-cinnamon is a proven duo in the Don's Mix as featured in the 1934 Zombie and grapefruit-maple is one that I learned to appreciate in Don's Volcano Bowl. In structure, the recipe vaguely reminded me of the Dead Rabbit's Doctor's Orders with the Bourbon, two citrus juices, cinnamon syrup, and modifiers, but the two take different paths. Here, the Hustle & Cuss donated a Bourbon, maple, and cinnamon aroma to the nose. Next, grapefruit and lemon on the sip flowed into Bourbon, maple, chocolate, cinnamon, and clove flavors on the swallow.

murder of crows

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Nocino (Russo)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Bitters (Angostura)

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a dehydrated lemon wheel (lemon twist). Two Mondays prior, I began perusing the KindredCocktails database and spotted the Murder of Crows created by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles in 2017. The combination of walnut liqueur and cinnamon syrup is one that worked well in the Five Year Plan and The World is Yours and that I utilized in my Shadows & Tall Trees at Russell House Tavern back in 2013. In the glass, the Murder of Crows gathered around the nose with a lemon, walnut, and cinnamon bouquet. Next, grapefruit and roast notes on the sip opened up into rye, walnut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

rising sun

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Maraska Maraschio
1 pinch Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lime wheel. Two Sundays ago, I recalled a mezcal drink on Reddit called the Rising Sun, and I tracked down the recipe to a 2014 Saveur article. The drink created at Toro Bravo in Portland, Oregon, came across like a mezcal Hemingway Daiquiri, but the recipe that popped into my head first was the Prado that I was reminded of the day before via the latest Imbibe Magazine issue (the magazine used the Stan Jones' recipe with egg white and simple instead of grenadine one in the link). Moreover, there were of course traces of the Division Bell's flavor profile here. Once shaken and strained, the Rising Sun greeted the senses with a lime, smoky, and nutty cherry aroma. Next, lime and grapefruit notes on the sip unfurled into vegetal, smoky, and nutty cherry flavors on the swallow with a lime peel and grapefruit pith finish.

dirk diggler

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1 1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1 tsp Fernet Branca
2 dash Peach Bitters (Fee Brothers)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Saturdays ago, I opened up my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted in the Manhattan section a recipe called the Dirk Diggler by Lorenzo Antinori at Bar Leone in Hong Kong circa 2023. Overall, it read like a Moto Guzzi (originally equal parts Booker's Bourbon and Punt e Mes) met a Toronto. In the glass, the Dirk Diggler gave forth an orange, peach, and minty aroma. Next, grape notes on the sip boogied on over to rye, bitter herbal, and menthol flavors on the swallow with a peach and clove finish.

my favorite mutiny

1 1/2 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray Stiggins' Fancy)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum

1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a mug, fill with more crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. Two Fridays ago, I was still thinking about a drink that Andrea had recently had at Trina's Starlite Lounge called the Wagon Wheel Watusi with rye, Smith & Cross, Benedictine, crème de cacao, and lime. Trina's has paired cacao and Benedictine together before in the Grandpa's Drunk, and I have enjoyed the combination in drinks like the Divorcé in NYC and included it in my King of Birds. For a direction, I took it in the way of the Jet Pilot riff Benny & the Jets and I dubbed it after a 2006 hip-hop song by The Coup called My Favorite Mutiny. I had enjoyed that song in a playlist created by a tequila brand ambassador, and I made note of it in my list of potential drinks names a few years ago. Once prepared, My Favorite Mutiny launched off with a woody spice, rum funk, and chocolate aroma. Next, lime, grapefruit, and caramel notes on the sip sailed into funky rum, pineapple, herbal, chocolate, and clove flavors on the swallow.

black jewel old fashioned

1 1/2 oz Glendalough Double Barrel Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1/2 oz Old Overholt 86° Rye Whiskey
1/4 oz Crème de Cassis (Massenez)
1/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/8 oz Cane Syrup (Sirup JM)
1 dash Bittercube Bolivar Bitters (Bittercube Trinity)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Another recipe from The Patterson House in Nashville that I spotted in online recipe flashcards when I made the Polite Meeting two days prior was the Black Jewel Old Fashioned. This drink from the Fall 2024 menu collection appeared in a Yelp review that praised it in November 2024 and confirmed the timeframe. With Ciociaro being very much like Amer Picon, the combination reminded me of the Manhattan-like Rock Island from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. Cassis has also worked well paired with other amaro such as the Instant Crush with Fernet and the Under the Veil with Sfumato. Here with Irish whiskey and American rye, the Black Jewel Old Fashioned proffered an orange and dark fruit bouquet to the nose. Next, red and purple fruit coupled with caramel notes on the sip stepped aside for whiskey plus tannic and bitter dark fruit flavors on the swallow.

salvador dali lama

1 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/2 oz Giffard Chili Liqueur (Ancho Reyes)
1/2 oz Manzanilla Sherry (Lustau)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with a Calabrian pepper (dried Thai Matchstick). After making the Love in the Time of Covid, I was reminded that I had another recipe from Seattle's The Doctor's Office saved up. That one was the Salvador Dali Lama by Keith Waldbauer that my friend Daniel Zajic posted on his Instagram after acquiring the recipe from one of the other bartenders. Daniel mentioned that while the drink was created with Giffard Piment d'Espelette, he has had good success at home with Ancho Reyes. Overall, it reminded me of a less bitter and citrus-driven Aztec Death Whistle, so I was curious to give this one a go especially with the intriguingly fused drink name. Once prepared, the Salvador Dali Lama gave forth a smoke, roasted vegetable, and clementine aroma to the nose. Next, an orange and caramel notes on the sip led into smoky agave, chili pepper, almond, and tangerine flavors on the swallow.