devil's whisper

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Two Saturdays ago, I returned to a relatively recent set of online recipe flashcards that I found for Attaboy, and I picked the Devil's Whisper. While there are four Braulio-Yellow Chartreuse drinks on the blog such as the Inside Job, this is the first time that I had seen Braulio paired with Green Chartreuse. In the glass, the Devil's Whispered communicated a grapefruit, caramel, rum funk, and herbal aroma to the nose. Next, caramel and apple notes on the sip revealed funky rum, caramel, herbal, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow with a pine finish.

hillside cocktail

1 1/2 oz Junipero Gin (Tanqueray)
3/4 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz Amaro Nonino
2 dash Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Fridays ago, I spotted a reference to the Hillside Cocktail created by Chris Bostick at The Varnish. I soon uncovered a YouTube video from 2011 where Chris made the drink and provided the recipe. Back in 2011, this recipe would be notable for Elixir Vegetal had to be suitcase smuggled (although at some point Cocktail Kingdom had a stash), but now as of a few years ago, it is legally imported here. The recipe reminded me of Eastern Standard's Aprilia which is an equal parts number with Cocchi Americano accented by grapefruit bitters instead of dry vermouth and Elixir Vegetal. Once stirred and strained, the Hillside Cocktail proffered a lemon, herbaceous, and pine aroma. Next, light caramel notes on the sip tumbled into pine, herbaceous, and caramel-herbal flavors on the swallow.

the belafonte

1 1/2 oz Angostura Rum (Monymusk Classic Gold)
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. I added a lime wheel garnish. Two Thursdays ago, I looked through the recipes that I had marked down from online flashcard sets for the Wilson & Wilson Private Detective Agency, a speakeasy connected to Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco. There, I was lured in by the Belafonte from a 2017 menu. There is already one other Belafonte from The Hawthorne on the blog as well as the Stack Banana from the Baldwin Bar making reference to Belafonte's most famous song. Moreover, at the tail end of my tenure at Russell House Tavern in 2015, we had a Belafonte on the dessert menu of black strap rum, banana liqueur, allspice dram, and housemade coffee bitters. Regardless, this combination called out to be made. In the glass, the Belafonte offered up pineapple and banana aromas to the nose. Next, lime, pineapple, and caramel notes on the sip opened up into rum, banana, pineapple, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

the mental demands of modern life

1 1/2 oz Altos Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
3/8 oz Fernet Branca
3/8 oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Patterson House in Nashville, and The Mental Demands of Modern Life called out to me especially since I had just replaced my bottle of Pedro Ximenez. A 2022 StarChefs article attributed the drink to bartender Sam McCullough. While the aged spirit, banana, and Fernet trio makes me think of the Away Colors, the closest drink that I have tried is a mezcal with vermouth version called Dead in the Water, and I created a gin with vermouth Hanky Panky riff called Monkey Business. The Mental Demands of Modern Life in the glass evolved an orange, raisin, and menthol aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip unloaded vegetal agave, cooked banana, raisin, gentian bitter, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

dandelion

3/4 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
3/4 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass rinsed with absinthe (St. George), and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Tuesdays ago, I uncovered a recent set of online recipe flashcards for Attaboy, and I started with the Dandelion as a riff on Sam Ross' Corpse Reviver #2 variation, the Sunflower. A post with a photo on Reddit Cocktails dates this cocktail to at least two years ago. Surprisingly, elderflower liqueur and Montenegro have only appeared one time before on the blog, namely the Derby Scaffa at Backbar, so I was curious to try it here. Once mixed, the Dandelion gave forth an anise, smoky, caramel, and floral aroma. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip blossomed into smoky agave, orange, grapefruit, and floral flavors on the swallow with a smoke and anise finish.

pitter patter

2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Bigallet China-China (Amer Picon)
1/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/8 oz Demerara Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry. Two Mondays prior, I returned to the sets of online recipe flashcards from the Patterson House in Nashville and landed on the Pitter Patter from their Summer 2024 menu. While the recipe card lacked the serving style, I was able to glean it from an Instagram reel. Overall, it was akin to a Brooklyn Cocktail with sherry instead of dry vermouth, and also similar to the Blue Collar given the two bitters as accents. In the glass, the Pitter Patter roused up a dark orange and nutty cherry aroma. Next, a semi-dry caramel and grape sip crossed into rye, nutty cherry, dark orange, and oxidized sherry flavors on the swallow.

the noble experiment

1 1/2 oz Casa Noble Tequila (Cimarron Blanco)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Orgeat
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Sundays ago, I spotted an interesting looking tequila drink called the Noble Experiment in a set of online recipe flashcards for Roxanne's in Long Beach, California. While the recipe set was from 2015, it was older than that for I soon found a 2012 Yelp drink photo; moreover, perhaps their choice of tequila brands spurred on the reference to Prohibition in the name. The ginger-orgeat combination was one that I last saw a few weeks ago with the Set Sail, but that duo has only accented sugar cane spirits, gin, and amari but never agave distillates from what I have written about on the blog. In the glass, the Noble Experiment proposed a lemon, vegetal agave, and ginger bouquet for the nose. Next, a creamy lemon sip advanced into tequila, almond, and ginger flavors on the swallow with a cherry and anise finish.

casting spells

3/4 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Strega
3/4 oz Maraska Maraschino
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass (coupe), and garnish with a cherry. Recently on the Reddit Cocktail forum, user Mekmaann (same handle on Instagram) posted an intriguing drink called Casting Spells as a Final Ward-Last Word family member of sorts. I assumed that the name is a reference to Strega meaning "witch" in Italian. Up until this point, Strega and Maraschino have only been paired in two drinks that I have tried – one was Chris Hannah's 'Round Midnight and the other North of Sunset that I created mirroring Chris' drink making and naming style. In the glass, the Casting Spells put forth a nutty cherry and star anise aroma. Next, lime and cherry notes on the sip transfered into rye, anise, minty pine, cherry, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

bermuda dunes

1 1/2 oz Cruzan Gold Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
1 oz Cruzan Silver Rum (Rhum Barbancourt 110° White)
1 oz Orange Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a pilsner glass (coconut mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint, lime wheel, and cherry (cherry only). Two Fridays ago, I was feeling a tropical mood, so I chose to make the Bermuda Dunes from the Tonga Hut in Los Angeles that I had found in a set of online recipe flashcards. While the flashcards were for the 2015 menu, it is unclear what year this drink was created, and it is still served there under the house originals section on the current menu. Overall, this Mai Tai-like number shares a lot of similarity with the Nutty Like a Fruitcake with different rums, different proportions, and no bitters. Once mixed with somewhat more robust rums, the Bermuda Dunes arrived at the nose with orange, almond, allspice, and funky rum aromas. Next, a creamy orange and lemon sip stepped aside for rum, orange, almond, allspice, and a touch of grassy rum funk flavors on the swallow.