serpiente

1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1 dash Pastis (1/4 tsp Pastis d'Autrefois)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a ceramic mug, and top with crushed ice. Two Tuesday prior, I decided to make a drink that I had spotted on Instagram called the Serpiente by Rob Giuffrida that he posted on his tiki_after_midnight account. I met Rob around 16 years ago at work when I was still pursuing a career in science, and we bonded over our interests in beer, spirits, and later tropical drinks. The recipe reminded me of the Tequi la Banana from the Easy Tiki book with the added touches of pineapple, mezcal, and pastis but no passion fruit. Rob served this in a LowTiki snake mug, so perhaps that along with the Mexican spirits is why he named it after the Spanish word for snake. In the my non-reptilian mug, the Serpiente slithered to the nose with a smoky, earthy, vegetal, and anise bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon and caramel sip opened up into smoky agave, pineapple, almond, banana, and anise flavors on the swallow.

transmigration

3/4 oz Goslings Black Seal Rum
3/4 oz Cruzan Black Strap Rum
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Mondays ago, I selected my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion from the shelf and spotted the Transmigration by Tom Lasher-Walker at Brooklyn's Fresh Kills circa 2017 via the book's Manhattan section. Transmigration is related to reincarnation as it is "the movement of a soul into another body after death," but the only thing that I could tie to mortuary themes here were all the dark hues in the ingredients. Overall, the recipe reminded me of a coffee-driven Palm Viper especially given the two rums, and the rum, coffee, sweet vermouth, and Cynar stylings appeared before in the Belafonte. Once mixed, the Transmigration gave forth orange, coffee, and molasses aromas to the nose. Next, grape, caramel, and roast notes on the sip shifted into dark rum, molasses, herbal, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

oh, barnacles!

1 1/2 oz Brugal 1888 Rum (Don Q Añejo)
1/2 oz Chairman's Reserve Spiced Rum (Don Q Spiced)
1/2 oz Lost Spirits Navy Rum (Planteray Mr. Fogg No. 1)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Clement Creole Shrubb (Bauchant)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Crude Attawanhood #37 Bitters (King Floyd's Cherry-Cacao)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a sea-themed mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon (freshly grated cinnamon and a cinnamon stick). The Crude Bitters are aromatic bitters featuring cherry, clove, and cinnamon. Two Sundays ago, I was in a tropical drinks mood and decided to make a recipe that I had spotted a few weeks prior on Instagram called Oh, Barnacles! by Todd Yard on his Concoctails account. Todd named this after a swear on the SpongeBob SquarePants television series that he heard his daughter say. The Cynar and falernum duo here caught my eye for they have paired well in drinks like The Brooks and Commercial Free, and I utilized them in the Home Drum, a stirred drink inspired by The Brooks and the Corn'n'Oil. In the oceanic mug, the Oh, Barnacles! gave forth a cinnamon and caramel aroma. Next, caramel, lemon, and orange notes on the sip submerged into rum, herbal, orange, clove, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

shinola

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/4 oz Amaro Nardini
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1 tsp Rich Cane Syrup (1/4 oz 1:1)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I opened up my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and landed on the Shinola by Greg Keesee at Nashville's Attaboy in 2021 via the book's Old Fashioned section. I was drawn in for I recalled how well Nardini and Chartreuse pair such as in the Green Hornet and Key Party which had motivated me to create the Metal Urbain soon after. In the glass, the Shinola donated a lemon and green herbal bouquet to the nose. Next, a semi-sweet sip with a hint of caramel unfurled into rye, bitter herbal, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow. Indeed, the Nardini played well with the Chartreuse as it had before, and it gave depth to the Chartreuse's brighter notes.

fox river cocktail

1 glass Bourbon (2 oz Evan Williams Bonded)
1 lump Sugar (1/4 oz Simple Syrup)
Peach Bitters to saturate the Sugar (3 dash Fee's)
1 tsp Creme de Cacao (1/4 oz Bols)

Build in a glass, stir with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist.

When I made the River Styx, I read how bartender David Kinsey was influenced by the Fox River that I made in 2008 before I started writing for the blog. So I decided to remake it two days later, but not off the Fee's bitter bottle label's recipe like last time but from Harry of Ciro's ABC of Mixing Cocktails from 1923. The recipe off of the Fee's Peach Bitters bottle with notes from my LiveJournal entry reads as such:

Fox River
• 2 oz Whiskey (I used Knob Creek Bourbon)
• 1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (I most likely used Marie Brizard)
• 1 tsp Peach Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon peel.

My research led me to a 2024 Punch article that pointed out that Harry McElhone had adapted the Fox River Toddy that appeared in Charles Mahoney's Hoffman House Bartender's Guide from 1905. From the book scan on the EUVS library:

Fox River Toddy
• 1 wineglass Whiskey
• 3 dash Crème de Cacao
• 2 dash German Bitters
• 1 piece Lemon
• 1 loaf Sugar
• 1 lump Ice
Stir will and serve in a Toddy glass.

It is unclear what those bitters were since there were several German Bitters around that time including Humboldt's, Dr. Hoofland's, Selner's, Lippman's, Kryder's, Knecht's, and Petzold's German Bitters. During my bitters making days, I made a batch of German Bitters in 2008 from a historic database, and that recipe included chamomile, calamus, orris root, coriander seed, centaury, and orange peel. Perhaps 18 years later when Harry updated the recipe on the other side of the Atlantic, those sort of medicinal bitters were less available, and he opted for peach instead. Peach and chocolate are an interesting combination that I have enjoyed in the reverse combination in the King's Peach that utilized crème de peche and mole bitters. Enough of the history and on to the drink that began with a lemon, chocolate, and hint of peach aroma. Next, a semi-sweet sip revealed Bourbon, chocolate, and peach flavors on the swallow.

what the dickens?

3/4 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. The recipe card from 2021 had no garnish, but their Facebook post form 2024 had a pineapple wedge as garnish. Two Thursdays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcard sets when I spotted a drink called What the Dickens? from Flask & Cannon in Jacksonville. I was able to find a reference to the drink as early as 2018 on their Yelp, and I found a description and photo of the drink on their Facebook from 2024. The Cognac-pineapple rum is a combination that I have used in my Why Don't You Do Right (renamed Sunken City for a competition) and enjoyed in the Tropical Sazzy. Here, the What the Dickens? offered up Cognac, caramel, pineapple, and allspice aromas to the nose. Next, lime and passion fruit notes on the sip evolved into brandy, rum, pineapple, passion fruit, allspice, and clove flavors on the swallow.

river styx

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (20 drop Hamilton's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I uncovered an intriguing drink in an online recipe flashcard set and was able to trace it back to a 2018 article in Imbibe Magazine. That drink was the River Styx created by David Kinsey in 2015 for the opening of Kindred in San Diego. It read very much like a coffee liqueur for Scotch Base Camp (which was created after this one), although the first recipe to pop in my head was The Sherpa given the Bourbon with allspice dram base (but orange liqueur instead of coffee and cacao). On David's Instagram, he explained, "The first proper Old Fashioned I had at a cocktail bar as the American Trilogy, the second: a Kentucky River [a combination of Bourbon, crème de cacao, and peach bitters that I mixed up pre-blog in March 2008 and that I ended up remaking two days after this]. The American Trilogy was what I pictured an old fashioned riff being: boozy, direct, showcasing the spirits with just a hint of citrus zest to perk up the taste buds. The Kentucky River caught me by surprise afterwards. It was heavy, but broke into sweet velvety ribbons that never tipped into the dreaded 'too sweet'." Once mixed, the River Styx flowed to the nose with a lemon, coffee, and allspice aroma. Next, a roast-drived sip cascaded into Bourbon, coffee, chocolate, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

teaching bad apples

1 oz Campari
1 oz Amaro Zucca (Sfumato)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake, pour into a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a lime wheel. Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for my copy of The Bartenders Manifesto book by Toby Maloney and became entranced by the Teaching Bad Apples by Jim Troutman at The Violet Hour circa 2018. Jim described this as "A training wheels cocktail for people interested in bitter spirits," and the concept was not too out of line with the Amaro Daiquiri save for the pineapple juice, honey, and bitters. In addition, I have tried Campari and a rabarbaro (such as Zucca and Sfumato) paired together in equal parts before in the Gully Brood and Preceptor, but not without a base spirit like here. Once mixed, the Teaching Bad Apples shared a bright lime oil, fruity, roast, and smoky char bouquet to the nose. Next, roast, lime, pineapple, and honey notes in the sip flowed into bitter orange, earthy bitter, and smoky flavors on the swallow with a honey-tinged finish.

the whole spectrum

1 oz Cynar
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/4 oz Lemon Juice

4 dash Fee's Peach Bitters
1 pinch Salt (4 drop 20% Saline)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist. One of the drinks that I spotted in Shawn Soole's Great Northern Cocktails book when I made The Kipling Cocktail instead was The Whole Spectrum by Kyle Guilfoyle at the Nimble Bar Company in Victoria, British Columbia. The Cynar, big cube, touch of lemon juice, and pinch of salt made me think of the Little Giuseppe, except the pinch of salt was incorporated in the stir and not placed on top of the ice cube to integrate over time to modulate the bitterness quotient. In addition, the equal parts Campari and Cynar with something smoky was seen in the Devotion & Desire, so I was curious to see it here with Scotch instead of mezcal. Once mixed, The Whole Spectrum offered up a lemon and peat smoke aroma. Next, a caramel-driven sip from the Cynar opened into smoky whisky, herbal, bitter orange, savory, and peach flavors on the swallow.