the dog that bit me

30 mL Aquavit (1 oz Linie)
15 mL Mezcal (1/2 oz Peloton de la Muerte)
1.5 mL Campari (1/8 oz)
25 mL Lime Juice (3/4 oz)
20 mL Sugar Syrup (3/4 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with grapefruit oil from a twist.Two Thursdays ago, I had a bar guest at Drink who requested an aquavit drink. When I discovered that he was from Copenhagen, I mentioned that I had found a great site called the Cocktails of Copenhagen and made the Hazard (has a link to that blog) and other drinks from it. He got excited since two of his friends run that page. Therefore, when I got home, I returned to it and found the Dog that Bit Me for the evening's libation. The text seemed to suggest that it was Thomas Klem Anderson's recipe inspired by the Feels Like Berlin at the Barking Dog in Copenhagen with aquavit in place of the tequila. Thomas commented that "aquavit seems to have a weird affinity with grapefruit" and how the combination in this drink comes across like a funky toasted grapefruit. In the glass, the Dog that Bit Me lurched at the nose with grapefruit, smoke, and caraway aromas. Next, a semi-sweet citrus sip barked at a grapefruit and caraway swallow with a smoke finish.

brigadoon

50 mL Johnnoe Walker Black (1 1/2 oz Famous Grouse + 1/4 oz Laphroaig)
20 mL Apricot Liqueur (3/4 oz Rothman & Winter)
20 mL Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)
5 mL Orgeat (1/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to my new purchase of the Claridge's Cocktail Book where I landed on Adam McGurk's Brigadoon that he crafted at the Player in London. Its combination of apricot liqueur and orgeat is one that I have traced back to 1937 with the Yellow Mist and has been utilized to grand effect in Tiki drinks like the Conquistador's Downfall and Beachbum. Here, the Brigadoon donated a smoke, almond, and apricot aroma to the nose. Next, a creamy lemon sip marched towards a smoky Scotch, apricot, and nutty swallow.

salacious crumble

2 oz Teeling Single Grain Irish Whiskey
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Grenadine
1 heaping bsp Raspberry Jam
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.

After completing the monthly inventory at Drink two Tuesdays ago, I decided to treat myself to a cocktail as a reward. Therefore, I took the new Green Line extension stop to Union Square and visited Backbar for their Star Wars week centered around May the 4th. Folks came out for this in droves, but luckily, there was a single open seat at the bar, and it was in front of Backbar alumni and current Teeling Whiskey brand ambassador Matt Conner. That day's menu (it seemed that they had a new one for each day of that week) had the Salacious Crumble which seemed to match my desire for something flavorful yet easy going. The menu explained, "The little rat alien thing next to Jabba is named 'Salacious Crumb' but we made a delicious berry crumble-inspired cocktail." My research revealed that the more accurate description is "Kowakian monkey-lizard" according to Wookieepedia, and I certainly remembered him despite not having seen the movies in quite a while.
The Salacious Crumble that Matt made me laughed at the senses with lemon, berry, and orange aromas. Next, a creamy lemon and orange sip mocked the whiskey and berry flavors on the swallow.

firmin's folly

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Angostura Cocoa)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

Two Mondays ago, I opened up Robert Simonson's Mezcal & Tequila Cocktail Book and landed upon Firmin's Folly. The recipe was created by Dylan O'Brien at Prizefighter in Emeryville, California, in 2019, and he named it after the protagonist of Malcolm Lowry's 1947 Under the Volcano. Since I have enjoyed two other tributes, the Under the Volcano from the Rogue Cocktail Book and the Hawthorne's Under the Volcano, I decided to make this homage to Geoffrey Firmin, the dipsomaniac British diplomat in Mexico. Dylan described how his creation "struck me as the kind of thing a British alcoholic might have drunk in the '40s while whiling away the day."Firmin's Folly opened up with smoke, caramel, and tropical aromas on the nose. Next, a caramel-driven sip flowed into smoky, vegetal, cooked banana, and spice flavors on the swallow.

fistful of dollars

1 1/2 oz Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon
1/4 oz Cointreau
1/4 oz Campari
1 oz Don's Mix (2/3 oz grapefruit juice + 1/3 oz cinnamon syrup)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays ago, I opened up Death & Co.'s latest book Welcome Home and landed upon the Fistful of Dollars which was Tyson Buhler's 2015 tribute to the 1964 Western movie. Overall, it reminded me of a Bourbon for gin Jasmine made more complex with Don's Mix of grapefruit and cinnamon. In the glass, the Fistful of Dollars proffered an orange, cinnamon, and grapefruit aroma. Next, a citrussy grapefruit and lemon sip flowed into Bourbon, orange, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

diki-diki

2/3 Calvados (2 oz Morin Selection)
1/6 Swedish Punsch (1/2 oz Kronan)
1/6 Grapefruit Juice (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a grapefruit twist.I had recently spotted a reference to the Diki-Diki, and I was surprised to discover that I had neither made one nor posted about it on the blog. To rectify that two Saturdays ago, I opened up my copy of the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book and made the recipe. I later traced the drink back to Robert Vermiere's 1922 Cocktails: How to Mix Them book where the ratio was a bit more Swedish punsch and grapefruit heavy (2:1:1 ratio instead of 4:1:1 in the Savoy). Vermiere described how he introduced this drink at the Embassy Club in London shortly before the publication of his book, and that "Diki-Diki is the chief monarch of the Island Ubian (Southern Philippines), who is now 37 years old, weighs 23 lb., and his height is 32 in." The Diki-Diki from the Savoy yielded a grapefruit, caramel, and rum aroma. Next, a semi-dry grapefruit and caramel sip transitioned into apple and tea flavors on the swallow. Overall, I felt that the flavor could be improved here, and perhaps Vermiere's ratio would fix that. Other recipe variations decrease the grapefruit and add simple syrup to balance the drink better and others add touches of dark rum and lemon juice into the mix.

disco ball (sother teague)

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Blanc Vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 dash Chamomile Bitters (Bittermens Burlesque)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist (include twist).

Two Fridays ago, I returned to Sother Teague's I'm Just Here for the Drinks to uncover any glossed over gems. There, I spotted the Disco Ball that reminded me of the H-Bomb given the split of Green and Yellow Chartreuse. Sother based this drink on a shot of equal parts mezcal, Green Chartreuse, and Yellow Chartreuse of the same name, and he modified it to be more cocktail-like similar to his alterations on the C.I.A.. The original can be traced back to Kara Newman's 2016 Shake. Stir. Sip. book where she sourced the recipe from Ford Roberts at Grain and Grape Exchange in Jacksonville, Florida, where the shot is on tap. Robert Simonson in the New York Times commented on the shot as, "If there are any booze bullies that can back mezcal into a corner, it's the tag team of Green and Yellow Chartreuse. They dominate here, creating a liquid riot of herbs in a glass, with a background smokiness the only hint that the mezcal's still hiding in there."Sother's alteration was to reduce the Chartreuse's effect by doubling the mezcal and adding in blanc vermouth to make the shot original more cocktail-worthy. Sother Teague's Disco Ball illuminated the senses with lemon, smoke, and herbal aromas. Next, a semi-sweet white grape sip spun into smoky, vegetal, and herbaceous notes on the swallow.

savoir faire

1 1/2 oz Gin (Bombay Dry)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with orange oil from a twist (include the twist).Two Thursdays ago, I was scanning the Kindred Cocktails database for the evening's drink. There, I spotted Rafa Garcia Febles' 2013 Savoir Faire that came across like a Poet's Dream crossed with a Puritan. The combination of Benedictine and Yellow Chartreuse has proven to be a wonderful combination that was first published with the Widow's Kiss in 1895 via George Kappeler's Modern American Drinks. The Savoir Faire in the glass donated an orange and herbal bouquet to the nose. Next, a semi-sweet sip with a hint of caramel elegantly danced into a gin, herbal, and orange swallow.

terms of treaty

1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac (Du Peyrat Selection)
1/2 oz Zurbaran Cream Sherry (Lustau East India Solera)
1/2 oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1 tsp Demerara Syrup
1 dash Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass.Two Wednesdays ago after my bar shift, I reached for Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book and landed upon Eryn Reece's 2014 Terms of Treaty. The combination of Cognac, sherry, and banana liqueur reminded me of the Baldwin Bar's French Connection and also The Zemurray with Bourbon instead of brandy. Once prepared, the Terms of Treaty welcomed the senses with a caramel and raisiny grape aroma. Next, caramel and raisin notes continued on into the sip, and the swallow proffered up Bourbon, chocolate, and banana flavors with a spiced finish.