gravedigger

3/4 oz Aged Rhum Agricole (Rhum Clement VSOP)
3/4 oz Amaro Nardini
3/4 oz Cointreau
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I opened up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and spied the Gravedigger by Chris Hughes at Manhattan's Attaboy circa 2025. The equal part stirred drink with vermouth and amaro elements reminded me of the Last Mechanical Art, and the bitter liqueur-vermouth-Cointreau combination made me think of the Lucien Gaudin. Moreover, the only Nardini-rhum agricole drink on the blog is the Adventures Close to Home, so I was curious to try one that was not my creation. Once mixed, the Gravedigger prepared an orange, grassy, and caramel aroma. Next, orange and caramel notes on the sip led into grassy rum, caramel orange, apricot, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

kingston negroni (toby maloney)

1 3/4 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist and a lemon twist. Two Thursdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted in Toby Maloney and Emma Janzen's The Classic Cocktail Sessions book that was Toby's take on the Kingston Negroni which appeared in the book's Negroni variation section. To Joaquin Simó's tropical Negroni riff, Toby described, "I up the amount of booze (of course) and then lean into the dark brooding funky flavors of the Jamaican rum by plumping up the Campari with some of the artichoke-based Cynar." Toby's recipe joins the other Kingston Negroni riffs that I have made such as Paul McGee and Shelby Allison's Pineapple Kingston Negroni that included pineapple rum in with the Jamaican rum and Death & Co.'s Improved Kingston Negroni that swapped the vermouth and amaro to Punt e Mes and Zucca. This one is in the middle utilizing the pineapple rum split from the former and a change in bitter liqueurs from the latter. Once prepared, Toby's Kingston Negroni gave forth an orange, lemon, pineapple, and rum funk bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip delved into funky rum, pineapple, bitter orange, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

old news

1 oz Gin (Tree House Percy)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2-3 slice Cucumber
1 pinch Sea Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Idlewild in Charlotte, North Carolina, to make a cocktail called the Old News that I had saved until I had cucumber in house. Given the name and structure, it was perhaps a variation on the Too Soon? with Montenegro and cucumber in place of Sam Ross' Cynar and orange slices. The drink itself is mentioned in a 2025 Yelp review as being recommended for folks liking gin and bitter, although the flashcard set was one that I found before that in 2024. Moreover, the Montenegro-cucumber aspect reminds me of the Manhattan riff, the Cobble Hill, but this is in a very different direction given the citrus. Once prepared, the Old News reported a cucumber, pine, and clementine aroma to the nose. Next, lemon and vegetal notes on the sip revealed juniper, orange, and cucumber-herbal flavors on the swallow.

shakedown street

2 oz Tequila (Fosforo)
1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
1 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a cocktail glass (old fashioned glass with ice), and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Tuesdays ago, I was looking through The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Shakedown Street by Rhiannon Enlil. Since Rhiannon was our first Cure bartender back in 2009, I followed my hunch and opened up the Cure: New Orleans Drinks And How to Mix'em book. There, it described how Rhiannon riffed on one of Maks Pazuniak's drinks called the Deadhead that was got its name from being herbaceous enough that it "tasted like some hippie shit," and perhaps that is why she named this one after a Grateful Dead song. Rhiannon kept the ratio but changed things around. "Cucumber and Aperol want to be together; cucumber and tequila want to go together... it came together naturally." The drink stood out due to the cucumber and Aperol combination; I first learned about how the two can conjure up watermelon flavors in the 3185, and I observed it in other drinks like the Sunday Service and Ghost Hardware. Once prepared, the Shakedown Street proffered a cucumber and watermelon bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and watermelon notes on the sip transitioned into tequila and orange flavors on the swallow. After I made the drink, I realized that I kept the serving style from The Madrusan Cocktail Companion without noticing that the Cure book calls for it to be strained into a coupe. 

smoking gun

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1/2 oz Aquavit (Linie)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a fresh cucumber slice. Two Mondays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and looked for a recipe to celebrate my garden's first cucumber of the season. There, I landed on the Smoking Gun by Gabriel D'Alessandro at London's Satan's Whiskers in 2025. The bar's Instagram had a slightly different ratio of 1 oz mezcal, 1/2 oz aquavit, and 2/3 oz for both the lemon juice and simple, but I used the app's recipe better suited to American jiggers. While I have had a few mezcal-cucumber drinks like the Mexican Razor Blade and the Disco Nap, the only aquavit-cucumber recipe that I have tried is the Balsa Raft at Vandaag, a Manhattan bar that focused on Genever and aquavit. Gabriel recommended on Instagram, "If you can get hold of Aalborg Dild Aquavit, the dill freshness sets things off nicely." With Linie Aquavit though, the Smoking Gun revealed itself with a vegetal, cucumber, and caraway aroma. Next, lemon coupled with a greenness on the sip delved into vegetal, smoke, cucumber, and spice notes on the swallow.

left-handed banana

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens Mole)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a cherry. Two Sundays ago, I spotted a curious recipe on the Reddit Cocktails forum created by user The_Xozz called the Left-Handed Banana. The recipe was a riff on Sam Ross' Left Hand and named after a legendary item in the RuneScape game. After I made it, someone reminded me of Anvil's Banana Boulevardier, and I thought: just like a Left Hand is a Boulevardier with chocolate bitters and served up, this is its own drink. Unlike the standard Left Hand that opts for an orange twist and a cocktail coupe, this recipe calls for a cherry and an old fashioned glass with ice (the Banana Boulevardier recipe gives the option of either coupe or rocks glass with ice serving styles, both with an orange twist). Once prepared, the Left-Handed Banana conjured up a cherry and fruity aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip developed into Bourbon, bitter orange, and banana flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish.

skylarking

1 oz Rhum JM Gold Rhum Agricole (Clement VSOP)
1 oz Rhum JM Blanc Rhum Agricole (100°)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Don's Spices (3/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 3/8 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)
1/4 oz Hibiscus Syrup
3 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop St. George)

Build in a Pearl Diver glass (Collins), fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs and an orchid (ornamental pea blossoms). Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Papaya Club at the Conrad in Orlando where I had found the Yellow Cloud, and I picked another of Paul McGee's creations, the Skylarking. That source provided the description, "This swizzle embodies all of the flavors found all around the Caribbean. Two rums made from fresh cane juice provide the backbone for this classic swizzle recipe with lots of warming spice and floral notes." I then found a photo on Scott French's Instagram in May 2025 that confimed the glassware and included the garnishes, although that drink was way more red in hue than mine. Given Paul's names many of his drinks after musical references such as the Music that Stays on for Extra Days, my guess is that he dubbed this after the 1986 album by the British indie rock group XTC. Once prepared, the Skylarking soared to the nose with mint over red fruit, floral, and grassy aromas. Next, lime and red fruit notes on the sip opened up into grassy rum, allspice, vanilla, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

savannah slammer

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Peach (Mathilde Peche Liqueur)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 splash Steen's Syrup (1/8+ oz Demerara)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated cinnamon. Two Fridays prior, I decided to make the Savannah Slammer created at Good Company in St. Louis from their Spring 2025 menu that I had uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. This drink that still resides on their current menu reads like a Georgia Julep crossed with a Cynar Julep in a mint as a garnish-only Smash. Once assembled, the Savannah Slammer awoke the senses with a mint and cinnamon aromas over peach. Next, lemon with a vague orchard fruit note on the sip blossomed into Bourbon, peach, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

golden boy

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Thursday ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and selected the Golden Boy by Jon Nutter at Manhattan's Attaboy in 2024. I recognized the bartender's name as being the creator of Hamilton the Hipster when he was at Brooklyn's Grand Army in 2021, so I was curious about trying this one especially with the sherry-Cocchi Americano pairing. Moreover, the recipe itself reminded me of another drink on that app called the Brigantine with rye instead of Bourbon and no sherry element. Once prepared, the Golden Boy offered up lemon, grape, and orange aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and grape on the sip pivoted into Bourbon, nutty grape, orange, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow.