stiggins' ruin

3/4 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
3/4 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Crème de Poire (3/4 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Pear + 1/8 oz Simple Syrup)
3/4 oz Gran Classico (Campari)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice. After having enjoyed the Smoke Along the Crescent Bend, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Club 33, the New Orleans-themed restaurant at Disneyland in Anaheim. There, I latched onto the Stiggins' Ruin as perhaps a fruity Right Hand riff. A Yelp drink photo dated this to at least 2023, and a 2024 Yelp menu photo provided the description, "Reverend Stiggins was a well-known character among the Crescent City. He would often enjoy a cocktail or two... or three, which ultimately led to his ruin." While I do not have Gran Classico, I had found Campari to be a decent substitute in a pinch, and I have had good luck pairing Campari and pear liqueur before in the Life on Mars. In the glass, the Stiggins' Ruin opened up with rum funk, pineapple, and pear aromas. Next, caramel and pear notes on the sip descended into funky rum, pineapple, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

the king's shilling

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Aged Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
2 dash Aromatic Bitters (Angostura)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist and pineapple frond (omit the latter). Two Wednesday ago, I received my copy of the Let's Do Drinks book by Elliott Clark who runs the Apartment Bartender account on Instagram. There, I selected the King's Shilling by Sean Traynor, now a bar owner in Phoenix, when he was at a bar called Counter Intuitive. Overall, the recipe reminds me of Shore Leave's Dawn of Hospitality that took the coffee-pineapple syrup concept in a Sazerac direction. In the glass, the King's Shilling served up an orange, caramel, and roast bouquet to the senses. Next, pineapple and roast notes on the sip shuffled into Bourbon, rum, coffee, tropical fruit, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

short rib

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Fosforo)
3/4 oz Grenadine
3/4 oz Lime Juice
4 dash Hot Sauce (a nickel-sized squeeze of 3 Mien Sriracha)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Two Tuesdays ago, I opened up The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and landed on the Short Rib by Phil Ward at Manhattan's Death & Co. in 2008. The recipe read like Drink's Bone Crusher also from 2008 but with grenadine and tequila instead of simple and mezcal. In the glass, the Short Rib released a briny, red fruit, and spicy red pepper aroma to the nose. Next, lime and berry notes on the sip transformed into tequila, strawberry, and spicy pepper flavors on the swallow.

the blade runner

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Luxardo Amaro Abano
1/2 oz Hamilton Jamaican Rum (1/4 oz Smith & Cross + 1/4 oz Appleton 8 Year)
1/2 oz Carpano Bianco Vermouth (Servito)
2 dash Bitter Cube Cherry Bark-Vanilla Bitters (1 dash King Floyd's Cherry-Cacao + 1 dash Savoy Society Orange-Vanilla)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with several drops of apple-infused olive oil (7 drop Dashfire Spiced Apple Bitters). Two Mondays ago, I reached for the Pittsburgh Drinks book which I had only utilized once before years ago with the Brooklyn Bridge. There, I spotted the Blade Runner by Fred Sarkis that I passed over years ago for I lacked Amaro Abano at home until 2022. Fred was inspired by the idea of what the detective-bounty hunter in Ridley Scott's movie would drink, and he commented on my Instagram post, "I always feel like the harden detectives in works of fiction would drink something stirred, brown, and bitter." Amaro Abano and Bourbon did work well together in a stirred drink before, namely the Forgetful Elephant (and a few others where the amaro was a minor component), so I was curious to give my best Voight-Kampff test of it. Once prepared, the Blade Runner conjured forth a caramel, rum funk, and apple aroma. Next, caramel and hints of molasses on the sip ventured into Bourbon, peppery, herbal, and rum funk flavors on the swallow.

que paso

1 1/2 oz Corazon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Amaro Braulio (*)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg White
1 Strawberry

Muddle the strawberry, add the rest of the ingredients, and shake without ice. Shake with ice, strain into a Delmonico (single old fashioned) glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
(*) Later made at the bar with Amaro Abano, see text. Two Sundays ago, I wanted to use the other half of my lemon, so I found the Que Paso from The Violet Hour's Winter 2022 menu through online recipe flashcards. While the flashcards had the amaro as Brauilo, their Instagram in late March 2022 had it as Abano. It is unclear when during the menu's progression that the liqueur switched, but I made it with Braulio, although strawberry-Abano has worked rather well in the Speaking In Tongues that was created across town at Sable in 2010. With Braulio, the Que Paso welcomed the senses with lemon, red berry, vegetal, and pine aromas. Next, creamy, lemon, fruity, and honey notes on the sip flowed into tequila, honey, pine, and strawberry flavors on the swallow.

the wardlow

2 oz Bulleit Rye (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and accent with 2 spritzes absinthe (10 drop St. George). The recipe did not specify if the spritzes were before (like a rinse) or after straining, and I did the latter. Note: a Yelp photo from June 2015 showed this drink served with what appears to be an orange twist (not included here). Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the set of online recipe flashcards from Roxanne's and honed in on the Wardlow created circa 2015 and named after their street address in Long Beach, California. Overall, the drink read like a Gold Rush meets a Frisco Sour, so I was intrigued. Moreover, the combination of Benedictine, honey, and lemon is one that I have seen before in the Castle Garden with gin and Angostura, the Bail Out with Bourbon and allspice dram, the Fecamp 500 with applejack and lemon bitters, and my French Film at Loyal Nine with dry vermouth. Once shaken and strained, the Wardlow showcased an anise and floral bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and honey notes on the sip unfurled into rye, herbal, floral, cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow.

soul wandering

3/4 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

After making the City to City the day before that was related to the Transmigration, I was inspired to turn the two-Scotch and two-rum drinks, respectively, into a Genever-gin one. Genever and gin have worked in everything from stirred drinks like the Precursor to tropical ones like the Modern Prometheus. Moreover, Genever has paired well with Cynar and coffee liqueur such as in the Wild Card and the Hard Times, respectively, so I figured that the combination had a good chance to click. For a name, I ended up on Soul Wandering to stick with the migration theme. Once prepared, the Soul Wandering opened up with an orange, malty, caramel-roast, and herbal aroma. Next, roast and grape notes on the sip shifted into malty, coffee, and herbal flavors on the swallow. A day or two later, my Instagram friend Tim Kirkland made this drink and wrote in his own post, "Bold, complex, rich. Genever lovers, listen up! As a huge Genever fan, I'm always looking for creative ways to showcase this amazing spirit. This cocktail checks all boxes. Offering hints of juniper, malt, a little cola, coffee, black grapes, orange peel, and a very slightly bitter/malt/coffee finish, the Genever was perfect in this. The gin/Genever combo worked well to bring out the bitter notes from the Cynar, while accentuating the rich coffee notes. The orange oils sort of brought everything together in a wonderful way."

city to city

3/4 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Islay Scoth (Ardbeg 10 Year)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Thursdays ago, the second drink I made was one that I found on my Instagram feed as posted by my friend Daniel Zajic called the City to City. The recipe was crafted by Tom Lasher-Walker at Fresh Kills in Brooklyn as a riff on Sasha Petraske's Migration and named after Gerry Rafferty's 1978 album. I learned of the Migration through Tom's other riff, the rum-based Transmigration, that also utilized the coffee element not found in Sasha's drink. Once prepared, City to City gave forth an orange, smoke, and coffee aroma. Next, roast, grape, and caramel notes on the sip traveled to smoky Scotch, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

smoke along the crescent bend

3/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
3/4 oz El Dorado 8 Year Rum (Hamilton's Demerara River)
3/4 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Benedictine
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned home from my trip to Philadelphia for the USBG Bar Summit to a house with no electricity. When I learned that power would not be back until 3am, I decided to go to bed and double up my efforts on Thursday. The first drink I made then was from a set of online recipe flashcards that I found for Club 33 which is a restaurant in the New Orleans Square part of Disneyland in Anaheim. The drink was called Smoke Along the Crescent Bend as a Vieux Carré riff, and a Yelp menu photo from 2025 provided the description, "Aromas of campfire smoke and tobacco fill the air as riverboats travel along the mighty Mississippi. Goods are bought and sold by travelers at each stop along the way." While I have had rum-based Vieux Carré riffs like the Rhum with a Vieux and a Scotch-based De la Louisiane riff called Islay Louisiane, I have not had the combination in a single glass. Once mixed, the Smoke Along the Crescent Bend paddled to the nose with peat smoke, grape, and anise aromas. Next, caramel and grape on the sip unloaded smoky Scotch, woody rum, herbal, allspice, and anise flavors on the swallow.