broken oath

1 1/2 oz Sombra Mezcal
3/4 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Galliano Ristretto
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters (Housemade)

Stir with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass (cocktail glass).
Two Thursdays ago, I turned to the Death & Co. Cocktail Book for inspiration. There, I spotted the Broken Oath in the agave section created by Eryn Reece in 2013. With mezcal, coffee liqueur, and sherry, the recipe reminded me of some of Misty Kalkofen's delights such as the Pare de Sufrir. Once mixed, the Broken Oath offered a smoke and coffee aroma with some grape notes from the sherry and vermouth peaking through. Next, the dark grape sip gave way to smoky agave, nutty sherry, and coffee flavors on the swallow.

jungle madness

1 1/2 oz Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur
1/4 oz Creme de Cacao
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Tiki mug filled with crushed ice. Garnish with mint and freshly grated nutmeg, and add a straw.

After a visit to Park, I made my way over to the Citizen Public House. There, bartender Jay Cool was serving up one of his creations for Tiki Tuesday called Jungle Madness. Jay clarified that the madness is "what happens after Jungle Fever." The rum, pineapple, and coffee liqueur combination reminded me of the Mr. Bali Hai, while the rum, pineapple, Chartreuse, and cacao was reminiscent of the Pago Pago -- but here, all fused into one drink sans citrus.
Jungle Madness began the disease with a mint and nutmeg aroma. A creamy-thick mouthfeel on the sip gave way to a flavor explosion on the swallow of the spiced rum, coffee, chocolate, and herbal notes.

town meeting

1 1/2 oz Infiniti Rhum Blanc
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Maurin Quina
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a Single Old Fashioned Glass. Garnish with lime oil.

Two Tuesdays ago, I headed over to Park Restaurant in Harvard Square where bartenders Nick Checchio and Luke Graham were at the stick. For a drink, I asked Nick for the Town Meeting, and he commented that it was most likely bartender Robert Grafton's creation. On paper, it came across like a hybrid of a Last Word and a Tiki drink, so I was intrigued. I was also curious about the agricole-style rum being produced by Infiniti in Portland, Maine, for I was only familiar with their beer that I had tried at Lord Hobo.
The Town Meeting began with a Green Chartreuse aroma that led into a lemon and cherry flavored sip. The swallow then offered the rhum's funk and the Chartreuse's herbal notes with a growing cinnamon finish.

midnight matinee

1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso
1 1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz Vanilla-Passion Fruit Syrup (1/4 oz each of BG Reynolds' Vanilla Syrup and Passion Fruit Syrup) (*)
1 tsp Nardini Amaro
1 tsp Laphroaig Quarter Cask Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with large ice. Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Perhaps passion fruit syrup plus 2-3 drops of vanilla extract would have kept the volumes intact.
After the Hadley's Tears, I turned to the recipes I received from the 2014 Vinos de Jerez Cocktail Competition. The one that called out to me and could be made with ingredients already on my shelves was the Midnight Matinee by Amanda Elder of Manhattan's Pouring Ribbons. This recipe that scored runner-up honors came across as a play on the Amour and Bamboo cocktails. Once prepared, the Midnight Matinee shared an orange oil aroma over that of the sherry and vermouth's grape. The grape continued on into the sip where it mingled with the passion fruit notes. Lastly, the swallow offered a lot of complexity with smoky notes from the Scotch, nutty ones from the sherry, and vanilla ones in the finish from the syrup.

hadley's tears

1 oz Appleton V/X Rum
1 oz Bols Genever
1 tsp Galliano Ristretto
1/2 tsp St. George Absinthe
1/4 oz Cane Syrup (Rhum J.M Sirop de Canne)
1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters (BT Jerry Thomas Bitters)

Stir with ice and strain into a Double Old Fashioned Glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.
Two Fridays ago for the cocktail hour, I was excited about the new arrival to our cocktail book library -- the Death & Co. Cocktail Book. The drink that called out to us to be made first was Hadley Tears created by Death & Co. bartender Jillian Vose in 2013. She named this post-dinner drink after Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Elizabeth Hadley Richardson. Once mixed, it offered an orange and malty aroma. The malt from the Genever continued on into the sip where it mingled with the coffee liqueur's roast and the rum's caramel notes. Finally, the swallow began with an interesting combination of the rum and Genever and ended with a coffee and anise finish. Overall, there were more Genever flavors on the sip and more rum ones on the swallow.

buccaneer

1 1/2 oz Spiced Rum (Kraken)
1/2 oz Creme de Cacao (Marie Brizard)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Falernum
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
After the Blood of My Enemies, we were still in a rum mood, so I turned to Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide 75th anniversary edition. There, I spotted the Buccaneer which seemed like an elegant Tiki drink. Once in the glass, the drink shared a nutmeg and lime aroma. The rum's caramel notes were countered by the lime's crispness on the sip, and the swallow presented rum, pineapple, and clove flavors.

blood of my enemies

1 oz Plantation 5 Year Barbados Rum
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 oz Amaro Montenegro

Stir with ice and strain into a Double Old Fashioned glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a drink I spotted in the OnTheBar app's drink database. It had just been entered by Erick Castro who has recently helped to open Boilermaker in Manhattan besides running Polite Provisions in San Diego. Overall, the recipe was reminiscent of a rum Negroni of sorts, and the name caught my attention for it was the same as another rum recipe created by Tony Iamunno at Stoddard's.
Castro's Blood of My Enemies offered a bright lemon oil notes to counter that of the rum's rich caramel aroma. The caramel continued on into the sip where it mingled with grape flavors and hints of tangerine. Finally, the rest of the rum came through on the swallow along with Amaro Montenegro's citrus notes and Punt e Mes' bitter complexity. In the end, the amaro and Punt e Mes combine to provide a different by comparable bitter signature to a rum Negroni's Campari.

ardsley

2/3 jigger Sherry (1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso)
1/3 Sweet Vermouth (1 oz Dolin)
1 dash Yellow Chartreuse (1/2 oz)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Two Tuesdays ago for the cocktail hour, I turned to Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 and spotted the Ardsley in the wine section. At first the recipe reminded me of a sherrified Puritan Cocktail, but the sweet vermouth aspect then made me think of a Green Point more. The Manhattan variation idea is perhaps supported by Ardsley being a village just north of New York City. Once mixed, the Ardsley offered a nutty sherry aroma with minty-herbal notes. Next, honey and grape on the sip gave way to a nutty and herbal swallow.

double daisy

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo XC) was picked by Joel of the SouthernAsh blog. The theme he chose was "Perfect Symmetry," and he elaborated on the theme with his description of, "A 'perfect' drink splits the liquor or liqueur evenly between two related ingredients. The most common 'perfect' drink is a Perfect Manhattan where the vermouth is split between sweet and dry to create an altogether different experience. A perfect Old Fashioned splits the bourbon and rye are both used to create a singularly distinct experience. When done well, splitting the liquor lets each of the unique flavors and components of the shine through. Because they share a background, they don't war with each other but instead you get both the mellow sweetness of the bourbon with the spicy backbone of the rye in that Old Fashioned... Why make a choice when you can have it all?!"

For an idea, I started thinking about the classics. I did consider doing one of my favorite Sazerac variations, the split Cognac-rye one that celebrates both pre- and post-Phylloxera times with the body of the brandy balancing the spice of the whiskey; however, I was not sure if that covered enough new ground to warrant a post. Similarly, I considered riffing on Remember the Maine to divide the cough syrup-like Cherry Heering with Maraschino; with absinthe in the mix, it would become "improved" in addition to "perfect." Instead, I thought about the Sidecar and considered doing a post on Audrey Saunders' Tantris Sidecar that I made in 2007 before writing for the blog. When I reacquainted myself with the recipe, I realized that it was not a "perfect" split of the ingredients, but unequal modifications and expansions on flavor. Could I make a Sidecar "perfect"? As my mind turned over possibilities that included splitting the orange liqueur between Cointreau and Amer Picon, what I honed in on is the similarities between a Sidecar and a Margarita. Both have spirits, orange liqueur, citrus, and some sort of crystalline rim on the glass. What if I were to meld the two drinks into one?
Since the orange liqueur was the same in both cases, I decided to keep it as the only unsplit aspect. For the changes, I opted for equal parts brandy and tequila for spirits and for equal parts lemon and lime to match, respectively. Although the classic recipes for both drinks lack sugar or salt rim garnishes, I decided to include them since that is often what people expect when they order the drinks at a bar. Should I make a salty-sweet mixed rim? No, I instead listened to the wise words of Don Lee at my BarSmarts Advanced practical. One of my three drinks that afternoon was the Sidecar, and I fully sugared the rim as per the BarSmarts' recipe. Don's list of what I did wrong during the practical was not what I did wrong in terms of BarSmarts, but what I could improve on in terms of being a better bartender. In this case, he suggested partially sugaring the rim to give imbibers a choice. Therefore, I decided to have three sections of rim here: sugar, salt, and no garnish.

Double Daisy
• 3/4 oz Brandy (Foret)
• 3/4 oz Tequila (Espolon Blanco)
• 3/4 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau)
• 3/8 oz Lemon Juice
• 3/8 oz Lime Juice
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass partially sugar rimmed, partially salt rimmed, and partially unrimmed.

Since both of these drinks are classic Daisies, I went with the term Double Daisy which made me think about flowers in our garden that have double the number of petals or those few that were Siamese in nature. Once mixed, the Double Daisy offered a tequila aroma. When sampled from the unrimmed portion, the sip was citrussy with the lime being the strongest; next, the swallow had a mix of brandy and tequila notes with an orange finish. On trying the libation with the sugared rim, the lemon and brandy flavors were more pronounced. Lastly, drinking from the salted region diminished the lime's bitter notes such that it came across more lemon-like; in addition, the mineral aspect accented the tequila in the Daisy. So instead of giving drinkers a simple binary option of how to enjoy the drink like Don Lee recommended, the trinary option gave a much broader and complex way to bring out different aspects and balances out of the drink.

So thank you to Joel for picking the theme and running this month's show, and thanks to the rest of the Mixology Monday participants for keeping the shakers shaking and the spirit of the event alive!

jitterbug sour

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt)
1/2 oz Benedictine
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
1 Egg White
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.
After the Kentucky Island, I turned to Mr. Boston Official Bartender's Guide 75th anniversary edition and spotted the Jitterbug Sour. One of the weaknesses of the book is that it has very limited attribution to recipes; the editors and their friends get namedropped but many gems neglected with anonymity. A websearch found a single article that places the drink at Sasha Petraske's Middle Branch in Manhattan. Then again, it could have been created at his other establishments or perhaps borrowed from elsewhere. Regardless, I was game to try this Whiskey Daisy. Once mixed, the Jitterbug Sour presented to the nose a lemon and herbal aroma. A creamy lemon and honey sip gave way to rye on the swallow with a mellow herbal and spice finish. Indeed, the honey and egg white worked rather well to smooth out this drink.

kentucky island

1 1/2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat (BG Reynolds)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Fee's Peach Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail or snifter glass. Float a lime wheel spiked with a mint sprig as garnish (lemon peel with mint).

Two Fridays ago for the start of the cocktail hour, I turned to Sanctuaria, the Dive Bar of Cocktail Bars book and spotted the Kentucky Island. The idea of a whiskey Tiki drink reminded me of Marco Dionysos' Bluegrass Mai Tai and LUPEC-Boston's Ken-Tiki. The book described how the author created the Kentucky Island for Villa Farotto's 2009 summer cocktail menu; when the menu itself never appeared, he brought the drink back to the Sancturia bar.
The Kentucky Island began with a mint aroma with glimmers of pineapple and orgeat poking through on the nose. The sip was lemon and fruity with a thick mouthfeel from the pineapple juice and orgeat syrup. Finally, the swallow began with rye and nutty orgeat flavors and ended with a pineapple and hint of peach finish.

:: onthebar interview outtakes ::

Back over the summer, the OnTheBar blog interviewed a bunch of the "en fuego" bartenders and asked a series of questions. One of the answers, namely "Your Favorite Bartenders' Favorite Bartenders," appeared in a post, but the rest of the series dropped off. While sitting at Eastern Standard on Monday night while in front of Kevin Morrison, I remembered that the rest of my answers had lied fallow. Here are the outtakes (in addition to the one question/answer that they used) from back in June. Since sending in my reply, a few names have stepped off the Boston bar including Josh Childs and John Gertsen making this a bit of a time capsule.

Who is your go-to bartenders on your day off?

Sahil Mehta at Estragon for a Monday night of hospitality, tapas, and a gander at his drink notebook. Josh Childs and Zamira Hoyos at Silvertone on Tuesdays for Highlifes and veggie burgers. All the kids at Brick & Mortar for reasons my lawyers have asked me not to discuss.  And Tony Iamunno at Stoddard's (and the other places he works).

What's your favorite new spot in town?

Straight Law. Between Sean Sullivan's energy and enthusiasm, the not-in-Boston feel of the space, the drinks, and the food, it is an amazing escape destination.

Are there any new restaurants or bars opening soon that you’re looking forward to?

I have been out of the loop of imminent openings, but I cannot wait for Ran Duan of the Baldwin Room to open a space in Boston. The drive back from Woburn forces you to temper the night.

Who do you think is an up-and-coming bartender in the Boston area?

Kevin Morrison at Eastern Standard. Somewhere between being known as Kevin-not-Martin to me actually knowing his last name, I realized that he has quickly adapted to the high level of service that Eastern Standard is known for.

CNBC recently reported that gin is making a comeback because of a "craft distilling boom." What do you think the next "new" thing in the cocktail scene will be?

Craft domestic amaro. Between companies like the Bittermens and Leopold and bars like Alden & Harlow, American herbal liqueurs are on the rise. It is a natural extension of the nonpotable (dash-wise) bitters upsurge a few years ago.

Go-to drink on your day off (and who do you like to make it, if not at home)?

It is either a beer or a new cocktail recipe for the CocktailVirgin blog. As for the cocktails, I like as many enthusiastic and creative bartenders in Boston as possible to make it, teach me something new about cocktails, and give me something to write about.

What's your favorite old-school cocktail? Who makes the best one?

A Sazerac. John Gertsen for history's sake. While it has been rumored on the internets that he created it back in the 19th century, he was the one that taught me a love of this New Orleans treat back at No. 9 Park around 2007.

missing link

1 1/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Herbsaint
1/2 oz Water
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Build in rocks glass and stir to mix. Use no ice, this is a room temperature cocktail. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

Two Mondays ago, I was checking my social media and spotted that Backbar's drink of the day was a room temperature cocktail; I was intrigued by the concept and name "Missing Link" and headed over. There, I found a seat in front of bartender Greg Thornton who also happened to be the creator of the drink. He described the name as a tribute to the lost style of cocktails, the room temperature ones. When he first made this flavor combination using a standard stir with ice and strain technique, people thought it was better when it sat out for a bit and warmed up. Therefore, he kept a little of the symbolic ice melt through the addition of a half ounce of water in the room temperature version. While no longer a Scaffa at that point, it is a technique I have seen before in the Attitude Dancing, Miss Francine Kelly, and the Last Cold Night Before Spring.
The Missing Link began with a peaty smoke nose from the Scotch. A grape sip gave way to further smoke and whisky notes on the swallow with anise, chocolate, and spice on the finish.

wolfpack

1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Cardamaro
3/4 oz Averna
1/2 oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
For a cocktail at the Baldwin Room at the Sichuan Garden II, Andrea asked bartender Ran Duan for the Wolfpack. Once prepared, it offered a dark grape aroma, but over time, the nose included more walnut notes. Next, the sip began as a lighter grape flavor that shifted to more caramel as things warmed up. Finally, the swallow shared a complex bitter medley that transitioned well into the rich walnut finish.

offshore account

1 oz Four Roses Bourbon
1/2 oz Gran Classico
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Garnish with 2-3 dashes Angostura Bitters, a mint sprig, and a cherry, and add a straw.
Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I ventured over to Woburn to pay a visit to the Baldwin Room at Sichuan Garden II. For a first drink, I asked bartender Ran Duan for the Offshore Account which seemed like an interesting Sling and the combination of these ingredients worked rather well in his Sling & Arrow that I had there two years ago. Once mixed, the Offshore Account's garnishes played a large role in the drink's aroma with the mint aspect predominating. A lemon and fruity sip gave way to Bourbon followed by cherry and bitter-herbal Gran Classico notes on the swallow. Finally, the swallow ended with a pineapple finish. Andrea commented that the pineapple functioned well here to pull all of these disparate ingredients together.

copp's hill

1 1/2 oz GrandTen Wire Works Gin
3/4 oz St. Germain
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Campari

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass (*). Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Original was strained in a rocks glass over ice. See notes below.

Two Saturdays ago, I spent the evening as a judge for a cocktail competition hosted by the Boston Preservation Society and GrandTen Distilling. The evening entitled "Libations for Preservation" pitted 6 Boston area bartenders in a pair of three-way match ups; the two winner of these crowd-voted rounds would meet head-to-head in a secret ingredient round where myself and the two other judges would pick a winner. Bartender Mike Wyatt of Ward Eight won his heat with this drink, the Copp's Hill, although he lost in the end to Tom Hardy of Canary Square. Mike named his drink after the historic cemetery near his bar, Copp's Hill Burying Ground, that was Boston's second cemetery in 1659. The recipe caught my eye for it reminded me of Ben Sandrof's Cell #34 with its use of gin, Campari, and St. Germain, all in the format of the neo-classic Jasmine. For more information about the night, see the post on the BostonBarHopper's blog; he was the second judge of the night with the third being the GrandTen distiller Spencer McMinn.
The Copp's Hill began with an orange oil and Campari pairing that generated an almost grapefruit aroma. The sip was rather fruity with lemon being the most forward note, and the swallow was driven by the gin and Campari botanicals with a grapefruit-like finish. One minor quibble with the recipe was that the drink was served over ice, and as the ice melted, the sweetness dropped and the Campari's sharp bitterness became more dominant; this is why I adapted the recipe above to be served in a cocktail glass.

el morro

1 1/4 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Tres Agaves Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina
1/2 oz Grenadine
8 drop Hibiscus Flower Water (*)
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain in to a small cocktail coupe.
(*) In a pinch, sub another flower water.

One of the recipes that caught my eye on the new Russell House Tavern cocktail menu was the El Morro. Created by bar manager Ashish Mitra, the combination of sherry, Byrrh, and tequila was one that would certainly draw me into ordering it off the menu. Ashish described El Morro as, "named for a Spanish Fort I visited in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, ...[that] was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean. This cocktail reminds me of sitting at the Convento Hotel Bar just down the street from the Fort -- open air in the middle veranda of the hotel. Tropical plant life everywhere, thunderstorms every 6-8 hours, sultry Latin music, cigars, and dancing."
The El Morro began with sweet and savory grape aromas from the sherry and Byrrh that were accented by the pomegranate. The grape and pomegranate continued on into the sip, and the swallow offered nutty, quinine, and savory spice on the finish.

siboney

1 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (1/2 oz Smith & Cross, 1/2 oz Appleton V/X)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (BG Reynolds)

Shake with ice and strain into a Tiki-stemmed cocktail glass.

Two Sundays ago, I was in a Tiki mood and reached for Beachbum Berry's Potions of the Caribbean. There, I spotted the Siboney that Beachbum discovered in Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery. He was able to trace back the history of this Daiquiri variation to the Trader Vic restaurants sometime in the 1950s; he also noted that if the recipe is doubled, embittered with Angostura, and served on crushed ice, it would become Trader Vic's Grog.
The Siboney proffered a fruity and funky bouquet with pineapple and Smith & Cross rum aromas standing out the most. A lemon and passion fruit sip then gave way to caramel and funky rum flavors balanced by pineapple notes.

i know you know

1 oz Lustau Brandy de Jerez
3/4 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado
3/4 oz St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1/2 oz Averna
1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with grapefruit oil.

Two Thursdays ago, I stopped into Brick & Mortar for a drink. There, bartender Matt Schrage wanted to showcase his submission to the Lustau Spanish brandy competition that he was competing with in a few days. To ruin the suspense, the dude won with this recipe against some stiff competition! The name of the drink is "I Know You Know" after one of jazz musician Esperanza Spalding's songs; Matt explained that Spalding used to play at Wally's here in Boston all the time. When I saw the ingredients, I commented that it seemed a lot like my Endicott Cobbler with brandy; I viewed this as perfectly fair game since Matt helped me problem solve that Cobbler one night at Brick & Mortar, and he was the one that suggested the spiced pear liqueur to the sherry and amaro base.
The I Know You Know began with grapefruit aromas that brightened darker ones from the Averna and sherry. While the sip was full of caramel, grape, and fruit notes, the swallow showcased the brandy and pear flavors with cinnamon and spice notes on the finish. Indeed, the brandy here added an elegance and a perfect stirred cocktail fit to the Cobbler's ingredients.

medeine

1 oz Hayman's Old Tom Gin
1 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso Sherry
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Optional: garnish with 6 drops of chamomile tincture (*) or an edible flower.
(*) Tincture is made with 1 volume dry chamomile flowers in 2 volumes high proof neutral spirit; infuse for 8 hours and strain. Substitute 1 chamomile tea bag steeped in 3 oz spirits in a pinch.
After the Zaragoza, bartender Sahil Mehta wanted to showcase a drink that he created for Craft by UnderMyHost magazine called the Madeiné; Sahil named the drink after the Lithuanian goddess of the forest. Once mixed, the Medeiné shared a grape and floral aroma. On the palate, a tart lemon and wine sip led into a juniper, nutty, and chocolate-herbal swallow. Overall, it reminded me of a more complex Barbara West cocktail.