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.

polite meeting

1 1/2 oz Bols Genever (Bols Barrel-aged)
1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/4+ oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1/8 oz Maple Syrup
13 drop Root Beer Bitters (1 dash Bitter Queens Sarsparilla)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Tuesdays prior, I returned to online recipe flashcards for The Patterson House in Nashville, and I was drawn in by a Genever-rye whiskey Old Fashioned called the Polite Meeting for their Fall 2024 menu. The Genever-maple pairing drew my attention since it has worked in drinks like the Western Front and the Smokin' Bols, but Genever-banana is something that I have only seen in the This That & The Other which had other flavors going on. In the glass, the Polite Meeting launched off with lemon and malty aromas. Next, malt and caramel notes on the sip unfurled into Genever, root beer, maple, banana, and wormwood flavors on the swallow.

love in the time of covid

1 1/2 oz Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky
1 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
1/4 oz Giffard Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Giffard Menthe de Pastille (Tempus Fugit Crème de Menthe)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail (coupe) glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Mondays ago, I selected my copy of Neil Ratliff's 2022 Seattle Cocktails book for the night's libation. There, I was lured in by Love in the Time of Covid at The Doctor's Office. Bar director Keith Waldbauer described how it was created as a one-off for a charity during lockdown, and it was so successful that it became the bar's first original on a menu of classics. The concept of apricot and mint accents was something that I was familiar with from the Leap Frog and that I utilized in my Derby Julep, so I was curious to see how it would work here with Japanese whisky. Once this updated Gabriel García Márquez tribute drink was mixed, lemon, apricot, and mint aromas jumped out to the nose. Next, pear and grapefruit notes on the sip broadened into whisky, grapefruit, apricot, and mint flavors on the swallow. As the drink warmed up, the Peychaud's cherry and anise aspects started to come out on the back palate.