:: fred's top 10 cocktail moments of 2025 ::

Back in 2010, someone asked what my favorite cocktail that year was, and I decided not only to start a list of my favorite drinks, but I decided to list the top moments of the previous 12 months. So to continue with the tradition, here is the 16th annual installment:

1. Changed jobs.
After helping to open the C-Side Bar in October 2024, I decided to leave in November 2025 to seek out adventures that would give me more hours, more money, and more purpose. Too many of the shifts were solo ones (not the original plan, but it was rarely busy enough for duo shifts which put a crimp into the number of hours I got scheduled for). It never felt like a team and more like a solo sport (save for the fact that all my night efforts to make money were split with the day time bartender). When it was time to leave, I reached out to my contact at the local tiki wonderland Wusong Road after seeing a job ad for a bartender there. That was countered by an offer to help open up their new space, the Mexican-themed Gato Exotico, on the otherside of the mall from the C-Side. I started there at the latter half of November to help set the place up and to do training, and we opened on Black Friday and are rounding out our 5th week in a few days. It is great to be part of a team again and feel part of growing a community of regulars. Here is a photo that a friend took during our soft opening during the Boston Tiki Society event: 2. Did some writing.
Since my job at the C-Side Bar was not paying the bills, I sought out freelance work for a bit. I wrote two more articles for Men's Journal and would have written more but my editor left for another magazine that was not liquor related; I wrote a history of Bock beer with bottle suggestions for each of the styles, and a piece on my favorite Canadian whisky: Lot 40 Rye. I wrote another article for Edible Boston that began with a pitch on rhubarb drinks for Spring that ended up being an article on local amaro options for the Summer issue (included a rhubarb-root liqueur). The biggest honor was getting my name in the bylines of Punch with the Georgetown Club that I remastered from the work of Charles H. Baker Jr.'s South American Gentleman's Companion for the menu at Loyal Nine years ago. Besides my Men's Journal editor leaving, I got stalled out when one publication accepted my pitch and later the article I submitted, but continuously delayed publication with mumblings that the photos were not good enough. This was a band retrospective and a collection bartender-submitted recipes and photos for a The Clash cocktail biopic. I ended up requesting the right to publishing it elsewhere since they had never delivered payment to own the piece. In addition, while I did not get the byline for these three articles, I was either the only or one of the two or three people quoted extensively in these articles in The Manual on best Bourbons for beginners, debunking cocktail myths, and what makes a winter beer. Also, I had my Hot Buttered Cider recipe published in issue #1 of the local 'zine The North of the Charles Revue.
3. Gave talks and wrote essays. I had two opportunities to speak in public this year. The first was in January when a bar guest at Josephine had invited me to give a talk in Colorado Springs for a historic preservation society that was a year and a half in the making. I presented a 44 slide Powerpoint for a 75 minute session at altitude (I practiced the talk at 60 feet above sea level and did not realize how much less oxygen there is at 6000 feet) on the intangible heritage of cocktails. I also made two drinks from the talk, namely Jerry Thomas' Saratoga and Brother Cleve's Ward Nine, at the happy hour afterwards. The second opportunity was in September when I participated in a Boston Rum Week panel discussion on "The Anatomy of Rum Cocktails: Choices, Trends and Culture in a Glass" with moderator Garnett Philip and co-panelists Shannon Mustipher and Katie Stryjewski. Speaking of rum, I finished up a historical piece on the distillery in Somerville, Massachusetts, about a mile from my house that lasted from the early 1880s until Prohibition. The publication of historical maps online gave the last bits to a story that began for me around 16 years before. I also wrote an essay on how to talk to your bar hero after returning home from Portland Cocktail Week this year. 4. Traveled a little
As I alluded to above, I ventured to Colorado Springs for two nights to give a talk. The first night, I visited a few local breweries (check out the ornate historic bar by clicking on the photo in my Untappd check-in at Phantom Canyon Brewing Company). After my talk on the second day, I hit 3 cocktail bars after dinner starting with Shame & Regret where I had this Malört drink. That bartender convinced me to go to Cocktails After Dusk where she introduced me (after doing a shot with the bartender there). And my final stop (which had been recommended by multiple people) was Chiba, a Japanese cyberpunk bar where I later met up with the bartender from the second bar after their shift. Wearing a Fernet Branca shift might have helped usher in that level of hospitality. In May, I traveled to Atlanta for the United States Bartenders' Guild (USBG) national meeting where I sat in on a number of great talks including a history of absinthe and its many uses in mixology by Darian Everding and Theodore Breaux that I wrote about in the Wide Eyed after being gifted the cocktail in an airline-friendly container. There were some great night time events with one of my favorites being at a hunting lodge-themed speakeasy called the Ranger Station for a Sazerac-sponsored event where I had the Tiger's Tale. Since the conference center was so far away from everything, I only hit one brewery on the way to the airport, Monday Night Brewing. My final bit of travel was in October for my third Portland Cocktail Week (2012 and 2022 were my other two). As a student, I had a full week of classes and great night time events including an over-the-top haunted house and yard done up by Campari. I also gave back by signing up to provide mentoring sessions; it started as 9 official ones that folks reserved in advance, and 3 more happened either on the fly or by messaging. It was also a great feeling to connect that week with folks in their 20s to remind me of the aspects of that time in my life including music and literature.

5. Created some drinks. I wrote up around 28 drinks created in 2025 in a variety of styles. There were Old Fashioned ones like the Devil's Disciple, Illegal Dance Moves, and Souls of the Mountain. Tropical ones like the Cobra's Tail, Bucking the Tiger, and The Nameless City. Manhattan- or Martini-like numbers like Mexico City Blues and Dream of the Lava Beds. Unusual Sours like the Black Hand Society, the Angostura-heavy Rogue's Romance, Ghost Rider, and the Lechuza. I even created a potential cocktail for Gato Exotico that got workshopped and improved upon called the Aztec Death Whistle. 6. My drinks got featured in videos, databases, articles, and books.
I think the most amusing of these was being featured on Spike's Breezeway Cocktail Hour on YouTubewhere they made fun of my name and mixed up my Jungle Grog (my 2018 recipe). My Cantinflas Mustache based off of Chris Elford's Sharpie Mustache with base spirits inspired by Phil Ward's Oaxacan Old Fashioned was featured on Difford's Guide -- my fourth drink to make it there but my first to earn Simon's 5 star rating! That recipe was also published in Bar & Restaurant News renamed as La Calavera Catrina for a Day of the Dead article. Also in Bar & Restaurant News, my Bornean Spiderhunter with Cynar for an article on low ABV drinks, my Horror Hotel for Halloween, and my Army Navy Grog for Memorial Day. Horror Hotel was also published in Clair McLafferty's Spooky Cocktails book in late Summer. Many of my recipes and recipes gathered from my site found their way into five of J.E. Clapham's books this year, including ones on Benedictine, Chartreuse volume 2, Cynar, Suze, and Smith & Cross.

7. Read a bit.
I finished 20 books this year. My favorites include The Tequila Ambassador by Tomas Estes and associates and republished in a grand larger format by Matt Pietrek's Wonk Press, and also a cultural, historical, and scientific overview in Agave Spirits: The Past, Present, and Future of Mezcals by Gary Paul Nabhan and David Suro Piñera. Wayne Curtis' The Great Walk was an intriguing treatise on social changes that also highlighted to me how good of a writer he is and how he has other interests besides cocktails and spirits. I rather enjoyed the cultural overview in Marni Davis' Jews and Booze: Becoming American in the Age of Prohibition and the hops-worthy overview in Breandan Kearney's The Hidden Beers of Belgium. And despite misreading this as "forager" when I first heard about it, I ended up purchasing it after a high school friend messages me to pick it up, namely The Absinthe Forger: A True Story of Deception, Betrayal, and the World’s Most Dangerous Spirit by Evan Rail. 8. Got over my dislike of competitions. Back in November 2014, I was beaten four times, twice in person and twice online, by the same bartender in 30 days especially with the Dipolomatico one where I was told that I had the best cocktail but the other bartender was more marketable. Competing in person costs money for ingredients and travel (and sometimes hotels), time off whether from relaxation or in giving up work shifts, and more. While there were positive aspects, I had also experienced a bit of negativity at competitions including trash talking that I really have no desire to be a part of. I laid off of competing save for email or web-based ones that did not require video submissions or canvassing for votes for almost 11 years. This Fall, I was tempted by the Mai Tai competition at Wusong Road and even schemed up a great recipe, but alas, I could not pull the trigger to submit a drink. However, when the Malört competition reared itself, I decided I wanted to do this to hang out with folks sick enough to love Malört that much and also for the t-shirt and other swag. I presented my Swedish Paralysis and did it up in tropical style. My goal was to make a good showing and a good drink all without nerves, and I succeeded. The judges also noted that and awarded me third place! I earned enough prize money to break even with the cost of my ingredients that included freshly made syrups and fruit juices. While second and third places were really close with a point difference, first place was awarded to the disciple of that 2014-era bartender. That part of the game did not change, but my attitude towards competitions did change and perhaps I will compete again if the theme and guidelines speak to me.

9. A good year for beer. Besides writing an article for Men's Journal on Bock and being quoted about winter beers, I visited 153 different breweries in all 6 New England States plus New York, Georgia, Oregon, and Colorado. Some memorable visits included a trip to Sasanoa Brewery on Westport Island in Maine after hearing an interview with the brewer on the All About Beer podcast about how he includes botanicals from his farm into his saisons; it was the furthest north in Maine that we had traveled for a brew. We did travel pretty far north in New Hampshire to hit Schilling, Wildbloom, and Rek-Lis. A few in Vermont like Bent Hill, Foley Brothers, and River Roost and a few in Connecticut like Fox Farm were gems. Some great first time visits were to Rejects (a punk-themed brewery), Canterbury Ale Works (with a Monty Python and British theme), Witch Doctor (where I bought Andrea a handmade voodoo zombie doll) and Dead Language Project in Connecticut, and Belleflower and Allagash in Portland. We got last beers shortly before a few closed including at Honest Weight, Smug, and Flying Dreams. I also volunteered and drank at the NERAX Cask Festival this Spring that I have worked for many seasons since my first in 2014, and I have also been enjoying cask beer at my local, the Olde Magoun Saloon, that has three cask engines flowing. 10. Bits and bobs.
The previous nine went so quickly, so here are a bunch of random things to fill the last slot. The above is the image produced by the Bartenders podcast for the session we recorded in mid-November for broadcast in mid-late February 2026. A discussion of moments in bartending, being a natural introvert and professional extrovert, and more. In USBG news, after I finished my second three year term in December 2024 with the Boston USBG chapter, I took a break due to burn out. Unfortunately, without me there, the chapter stagnated and the remaining leadership fell apart. I still went to the yearly national meeting as the only representative of the chapter (the other was Geo Thompson but he is considered part of the national board more than our chapter these days) and have been active in the national education committee. Eventually USBG National reached out if I could be on the chapter's board of directors as a placeholder and a mentor in case local leaders want to step up and guide the chapter. To kick-start things, I have organized a pair of early afternoon coffee sessions, a tour and tasting at a local distillery, and gin and aroma blending education class with Silent Pool Distillers at Darling. In addition, I had a great time giving back to the community by volunteering to work the Campari Day of Service this year at a women's shelter here in Boston and to assist at Speed Rack to help breast cancer charities. Overall, 2025 turned out to be a rather interesting year. I look forward to seeing where my new restaurant can take things, and I am anticipating a few adventures over the next 12 months. Cheers!

last rights (tribute to the 2016 recipe)

1 1/2 oz Gold Rum (Barbancourt 8 Year Rhum)
1/2 oz Black Strap Rum (Cruzan)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)

Flash blend (whip shake) with crushed ice, pour into a Zombie glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. I garnished with a spent lime shell filled with El Dorado 151° white rum and ignited.

Two Wednesday, I scanned the recipes on The Atomic Grog and got intrigued by a few of the Mai-Kai tributes that Jim Hayward had created to replicate the bar's originals. The one I made was the updated 2016 version of the Last Rites that the bar created for their 60th anniversary. They tweaked their circa 2012 more neutral rum recipe to have a distinctive molasses note that Jim figured out to be black strap rum. Of course, both of these recipes were based off of the 1959 recipe that Jeff "Beach Bum" Berry published in Sippin' Safari straight from Mai-Kai bartender Lariano Licudine's notebook that featured an aged rhum agricole with the same ingredients list but slightly different proportions. Overall, it is a similar combination that I last saw in the Cannibalernum with a duo of pineapple and high proof rums. Once prepared, this 2016 recipe greeted the nose with passion fruit and molasses aromas. Next, lime, passion fruit, and caramel notes on the sip brought the coming of rum, molasses, tropical, lime, and clove flavors on the swallow.

buffalo soldier

1 1/2 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Maestro Dobel Diamante Tequila (Cimarron Blanco)
1/4 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz Maple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Angostura Cocoa Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a big cube, and garnish with a cherry and orange twist. Two Tuesdays ago, I opened up the Spec app that I learned about on the Bardtenders' podcast and selected the podcast's recipe collection. There, I was lured in by the Buffalo Soldier from Nineteen at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Jon Mateer, one of the podcast's hosts, is the beverage manager at TPC Sawgrass, so he most likely entered the recipe, but there is no indication if he had a hand in its creation. The closest thing that I have tried to the Buffalo Solder was Mr. Hyde, a Bourbon Old Fashioned (albeit without a split base with tequila) with Ancho Reyes combined with amaretto instead of maple. Once mixed, the Buffalo Soldier rallied the senses for an orange, vegetal, Bourbon, and pepper aroma. Next, roast and maple notes on the sip led into whiskey, agave, and pepper spice flavors on the swallow with maple, chocolate, and allspice on the finish.

cantinflas

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti (*)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier (Bauchant) (*)
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glsas with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Perhaps a 3/4 oz Meletti to 1/4 oz orange liqueur which Cure used in their Black & Bluegrass and I used in my Devil's Staircase with Averna instead of an equal split. In a circa 2011 interview that Difford's Guide did with Phil Ward at Mayahuel, a 2009 era drink called the Cantinflas was mentioned. Recently, the ingredients list from a menu were interpreted by Simon Difford into this recipe, and the result was entered on his site. In the process of searching for that recipe, he found my Cantinflas Mustache, enjoyed it, and posted it on Difford's Guide alongside Phil's drink. Simon's interpretation of Phil's Cantinflas began with orange, smoke, and herbal aromas. Next, caramel, grape, and orange notes on the sip slid into smoky agave, orange, nutty, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

stingray

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
2 drop Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Sunday two weeks ago, I grabbed my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion, and I soon landed upon the Stingray by Felix Woods at The Everleigh in Melbourne 2018 as perhaps a rye Hanky Panky. I previously had a Bourbon Hanky Panky riff without the Stingray's mole bitters called the Ada's Shadow, and a more spirits-driven rye one seemed worthy of a go. Also of note was Eastern Standard's rye-based Fernet Cocktail that called for Punt e Mes and orange bitters instead of regular sweet vermouth and mole. In the glass, the Stingray swam to the senses with an orange, grape, and minty-herbal aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip surfaced towards rye, herbal, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

saints & sinners

2 oz Sainte Louise Brandy (Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with an orange peel basket holding a star anise. Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make that a Sazerac riff called the Saints & Sinners by Craig Eliason, a home enthusiast from St. Paul, Minnesota, for Reddit Cocktail's December 2025 cacao and anise recipe challenge. I have previously had the cacao-Maraschino combination in a few drinks such as the Savage Detectives and Tropical Cocktail and enjoyed the resulting chocolate cherry note. Here, the Saints & Sinners marched down to the nose with an orange, anise, nutty cherry, and Cognac bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet sip led into Cognac, chocolate, nutty cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow.

megalodon's fang

1 1/2 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/4 oz Cointreau
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice (*)
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1 tsp Grenadine
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, strain into a Megalodon Relic Tiki mug (Pirhana mug), and garnish with mint sprigs and a dehydrated grapefruit wheel (grapefruit twist only).
(*) My guess is that there will be no harm if the lemon juice is omitted and the lime is upped to 1 oz (I happened to have a sample of lemon superjuice on hand to save juicing 3 fruits for this recipe). For another recipe for my new Tiki mug acquisition, I opted for the Megalodon's Fang from a collection of Tikiland Trading Co.'s recipes that were posted on Reddit's Tiki forum. The Megalodon's Fang was perhaps a riff on Trader Vic's Shark's Tooth No. 1 from the 1940s and probably not the Cobra's Fang. It was created by Kelly Merrell at Trader Sam's at Disneyland and included as a recipe card to accompany Tikiland Trading's Megalodon Relic mug. Once prepared, the Megalodon's Fang siezed onto grapefruit and dark spice aromas. Next, a trio of grapefruit, lime, and lemon notes on the sip swam towards pineapple, pine, berry, and clove flavors on the swallow.

pagan punch

2 oz Coruba Dark Jamaican Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. The instructions did not list a garnish, but the photo showed mint sprigs and a plastic spider (grapefruit peel snakes). Two Thursdays ago, my shipment of a half dozen new Tiki mugs arrived, and I sought out uses for them. On my phone, I found a screenshot of the Pagan Punch by San Francisco home enthusiast Joe Kennedy that he posted on Facebook's Tiki Recipes group back in October. It was a cross of Pagan Idol's Quarantine Order with Stephen Remsberg's Planter's Punch featuring Coruba Rum (which we had at his house in 2010 as alluded to in this post). The passion fruit-cinnamon syrup duo is one that I utilized in my Bucking the Tiger a few days after having it in the Samson Swizzle; my earliest blog post with the duo turns out to be something I came up with independently during Loyal Nine's Yacht Rock Sundays in 2015 called the Key Largo. In the new mug, the Pagan Punch prayed to the nose with grapefruit and cinnamon aromas. Next, caramel, grapefruit, lime, and passion fruit notes on the sip chanted until dark funky rum, passion fruit, cinnamon, and allspice flavors from the swallow reared their heads.

snowbirds & townies

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Dry Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Snowbirds & Townies that I spotted in the KindredCocktails database. It was created by Tonia Guffey at Brooklyn's Dram circa 2013 and was first published by Robert Simonson in the New York Times. Tonia named the drink after a song about winter by the group Further Seems Forever and based the flavor profile on the chocolate-orange candies she used to get every Christmas. She mollified the bitterness of Fernet with a trio of sweet holiday flavors: orange, cocoa, and cinnamon. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Alligator with orange juice and crème de cacao in the mix (plus lemon for lime). In the glass, the Snowbirds & Townies mingled with a chocolate and minty aroma. Next, lemon and orange notes on the sip opened up to bitter menthol, chocolate, cinnamon, and orange flavors on the swallow.

alpine drive

1 oz Drouin Calvados (Morin Selection)
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Becherovka
2 dash Maple Bitters (3 drop Maple Syrup + 1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass, and garnish with an apple fan. Two Tuesdays ago, the apple fan on the Beyond the Solar System reminded me of the recipe that I had saved for the Alpine Drive by Mark Stoddard. I had uncovered this recipe via online recipe flashcards for the Fall 2024 menu at Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon, and the current menu describes it as "A leisurely stroll through the changing colors" with evidence in the Willamette Weekly that it was being served at the bar as far back as 2017. I have only had Becherovka with an apple brandy base in the Meadowlands but several times in split base apple brandy drinks such as the Orchard in Manhattan, so I was curious to see try it here in a spiced Marconi Wireless riff. Once prepared, the nose offered up apple, dark grape, and cinnamon aromas. Next, grape, plum, and maple flavors on the sip dispersed into apple, herbal, clove, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

westpoint

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a lemon wedge (lemon twist). Two Mondays prior, I grabbed my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion, and the Westpoint by Daniel Zacharczuk circa 2015 at Salt's Cure in Los Angeles spoke to me. For some reason, the structure quickly reminded me of the Sky Pilot despite that drink being an apple brandy and grenadine one without bitters but still with the dark rum as an accent. Searching the database, it is closer to the Lazy Bear though with lime and a different call of bitters. Once prepared, the Westpoint showcased lemon, honey, and whiskey aromas to the nose. Next, lemon, honey, and caramel notes on the sip marched into rye, funky rum, honey, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

beyond the solar system

3/4 oz Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat

Whip shake with crushed ice, dump into a glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with an apple fan dusted with freshly grated cinnamon. Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink that I had bookmarked on Instagram back in October from user WeeklyTiki called Beyond the Solar System. This Saturn riff seemed like a good followup to the tequila Saturn called the Papa Noel from the Sippin' Santa series I had two days prior. Here, a rye-funky rum version had me curious for the rum-laden Janus was so delightful; moreover, the falernum was also swapped to cinnamon syrup. In the mug, the Beyond the Solar System welcomed the nose with an apple and cinnamon aroma. Next, creamy, lemon, and tropical notes on the sip launched off to rye, funky rum, earthy nutty, cinnamon, and passion fruit flavors on the swallow.

nova scotia

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (2 oz Evan Williams Bonded)
1/3 oz Islay Scotch (>1/2 oz Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca (1/3 oz)
1/4 oz Honey Syrup (1/3 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I opened up The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and became enchanted with the Nova Scotia as a Toronto riff by Paul Hammond and Priscilla Leong now of The Flowing Bowl Cocktail Company in Melbourne, Australia. Overall, it reminded me of the rye-Speyside Scotch Toronto riff, All Bark, All Bite from the Violet Hour that I discovered in the Bartender's Manifesto two years ago. In the glass, the Nova Scotia approached the nose with a lemon, floral, and peat smoke bouquet. Next, honey and malt notes on the sip transitioned into smoky whiskey flavors accented with bitter minty menthol on the swallow.

papa noel v1

1 1/2 oz Camarena Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Orgeat
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a 12 oz Pearl Diver glass (coconut Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a pineapple wedge, orchid, and paper umbrella (umbrella only). Two Fridays ago, I reached for the recipe collection from the Sippin' Santa events and selected the Papa Noel version 1 from the 2018 menu (version 2 posted down below seems to be from 2019). Overall, it read like a reposado tequila Saturn with Peychaud's; I recently had the Jamaican rum and lime juice version, the Janus, so trying an agave version seemed intriguing. Once prepared, this version of the Papa Noel orbited the nose with agave and passion fruit aromas. Next, a creamy lemon sip landed upon tequila, passion fruit, nutty, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow. Indeed, I was impressed how the vegetal nature of the agave completely reshaped the way a Saturn-like drink came across.

Papa Noel v2
• 2 oz Blanco Tequila
• 1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur
• 3/4 oz Orgeat
• 3/4 oz Lime Juice
• 1/4 oz Pineapple Juice
• 3 dash Cardamom Bitters
Similar directions as v1.

aztec death whistle

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Bauchant)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca (*)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass (or Tiki mug) with ice. Garnish with orange oil or an orange twist (a later addition than the first photo).
(*) Fernet Vallet, a Mexican Fernet, worked just as well as Fernet Branca at work if not better at work. At Gato Exotico, we have a Tiki-style mug in the form of an Aztec death whistle that was too small for our Margaritas and needed a use. It was also thought that something more aggressive needed to accompany a mug of that name, so I set to work at home. My creation started as an abstraction of the Don't Give Up the Ship that swapped the gin and Dubonnet for mezcal and chile liqueur. Ancho Reyes and Fernet have worked well in one of the versions of My Name is Nobody, and Ancho Reyes and orange liqueur have been great in drinks like Third Times' the Charm. The drink and the mug were named after a type of whistle used by the Aztecs to produce a high-pitched human-like shrieking sound. It was originally believed that it was used to scare off their enemies in war, but after finding it in the hands of a sacrificial victim, it may have been ceremonial or perhaps functioning in both capacities. At home, the Aztec Death Whistle served like an Old Fashioned (before an orange twist was added) gave forth smoky, roasty, vegetal, and minty aromas. Next, an orange-driven sip expanded into smoky, spicy pepper, and bitter menthol flavors on the swallow. At Gato Exotico, the team tried it with Fernet Branca, Amargo Vallet, and Fernet Vallet, and the Mexican Fernet seemed to be the favorite. My manager felt it needed a citrus twist, and orange won out over lemon. Also, since the mug is branded to Espolon, the spirit will probably change to an equal split of Espolon Tequila and Montelobos Mezcal (same portfolio) keeping all other things equal. There will also need to be a change to a shorter and thinner straw since it is more difficult to enjoy a higher proof Old Fashioned-style drink with a wider and thus higher volume straw.

on christmas island

1 oz El Dorado 8 Year Rum (Hamilton Demerara River 86°)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Donn's Spices #2 (1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's))
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass or mug (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish in tropical fashion (mint and nutmeg). Two Wednesdays ago, I was perusing the Pandemic-era Lost Lake email recipe collection when I spotted the On Christmas Island created for their first Christmas Pop-up in 2017 alongside drinks from Boilermaker in Manhattan and Latitude 29 in New Orleans. I also found this in the Sippin' Santa recipe collection which attributed it to a year earlier in 2016. The lemon juice balanced by ginger and passion fruit syrups reminded me of Lost Lake's No Bye/No Aloha but with Donn's Spices #2 instead of orgeat and vanilla. It turned out that this recipe made good use of the last of this season's mint before a killing frost took out every last plant in the yard soon after. In the mug, On Christmas Island presented mint, woody spice, and hints of caramel, rum funk, and passion fruit to the nose. Next, lemon, caramel-molasses, and hints of passion fruit on the sip flowed into funky rum, ginger, and allspice flavors with a vanilla-passion fruit finish.

stardust (bar lunette)

2 oz Bacardi White Rum infused with Butterfly Pea Blossoms (*)
1 oz Marie Brizard Parfait Amour
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice (*)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with edible glitter (*).
(*) See the Green Street and Eastern Standard recipes below for something closer to the original. For a second drink, I asked bartender Corey Campbell at Bar Lunette in Coolidge Corner for their version of the Stardust that has ties to the Paris Creperie next door. The late, great Brother Cleve created the Stardust at the B-Side in Cambridge over 25 years ago, and later he consulted with the Paris Creperie right before the Pandemic in 2019 to start up their cocktail program in the now closed Seaport location. While the original is white rum, parfait amour liqueur, and lemon, Bar Lunette gussied this one up a bit, and it is very possible that Cleve crafted this version 2.0 at the Seaport Paris Creperie. Here is the recipe from both the Green Street A to Z recipe book and Eastern Standard bar bible:

Stardust
• 1 1⁄2 oz White Rum (Green Street called for Cruzan 2 Year Light Rum)
• 3⁄4 oz Parfait Amour
• 3⁄4 oz Lemon Juice
Shake, strain into a Martini glass, and garnish with an orange wedge.

Blogger and professional food critic MC Slim JB wrote, "[The Stardust]: a drink which Boston hospitality legend Brother Cleve created for the opening specialty cocktail menu of the late, lamented B-Side Lounge in Cambridge, MA. (Cleve in turn describes his cocktail as a variation on Don the Beachcomber's Royal Daiquiri, a Tiki drink of early 1940s vintage.)" The Royal Daiquiri is a lime-driven drink whereas the original Stardust is a lemon one, so the Bar Lunette one splits the difference (besides adding in additional color from the butterfly pea blossoms and changing the garnish from something simple to something fabulous. In the glass, this newer rendition of the Starlite offered up lemon, floral, and vanilla aromas. Next, lemon and lime notes on the sip twinkled into rum, grapefruit, and bubblegum vanilla notes on the swallow. It is also worth mentioning that Trina's Starlite Lounge (name perhaps unrelated) pays tribute to Cleve's creation by doing a French 75-esque version with the addition of sparkling wine.

day for night

1 oz Barr Hill Gin
1 oz Avèze Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/4 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
1 dash Bitter Truth Cucumber Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with a cucumber slice on a pick. Two Mondays ago, I ventured down to Coolidge Corner to visit Corey Campbell who was bartending at Bar Lunette. For a first drink, I requested the Day for Night that Corey described as a White Negroni variation created by Nick Mallia, one of the owners of Paris Creperie and Bar Lunette. In the glass, the Day for Night offered up cucumber, gentian herbal, and floral aromas to the nose. Next, white grape and grapefruit notes on the sip transformed into juniper and cucumber herbal flavors on the swallow. Indeed, cucumber and gentian liqueur flavors paired rather elegantly here as they did in the Little Oaxacan.

bid farewell

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
2 dash Walnut Bitters (4 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs)

No instructions were given but I interpretted this as an Old Fashioned so I stirred with ice and strained into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. A citrus twist such as lemon or orange would not be out of place here and would probably round out the bouquet. Two Sundays ago, I returned to my notes from a set of online recipe flashcards for the Boise, Idaho, location of Tavolata where I previously found the Golden Eagle. There, I selected the Bid Farewell from their current menu as a Toronto accented with Donn's Spices #2. Moreover, Fernet has been been paired with allspice dram in a few drinks including the Colonial Bastard and The Aftermath, so I was curious to see how it would be mollified with vanilla syrup. In the glass, the Bid Farewell gave forth a vanilla, Bourbon, and allspice bouquet. Next, light caramel notes on the sip flowed into Bourbon, vanilla, allspice, and bitter minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.

tropicale

3/4 oz Jamaican Dark Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
3/8 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1 tsp Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garish with an orange wedge (orange twist). Two Saturdays ago, I returned to The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and opted for the Tropicale by Lorenzo Antinori at Bar Leone in Hong Kong from the Negroni section. It was a different drink from the similarly named Negroni Tropicale that took things in a passion fruit and citrus direction. As a Kingston Negroni with sherry and banana accents, the Tropicale began with orange oil, caramel, nutty sherry, and dried fruit aromas. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip ripened into funky rum, nutty, bitter orange, and tropical flavors on the swallow.

black metal sleigh

1 1/2 oz Vodka (Goral)
3/4 oz Jägermeister
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Grapefruit Bitters (Bittermens)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Julep or Swizzle tin (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig. Two Fridays ago, I delved into a collection of Sippin' Santa recipes that was recently shared on Reddit. The one I selected as a starting point was the Black Metal Sleigh from the 2015 event that had the same vodka lengthening and fortifying a bitter liqueur technique that I first observed in the Sputnik. Moreover, it had a similar structure to the Jägermeister tropical recipe, the Escape Hatch, so I was sold. With the penultimate use of this season's mint as garnish, the Black Metal Sleigh greeted the nose with a mint bouquet. Next, lime and caramel on the sip slid into star anise, herbal, cinnamon, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

overtime

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime wedge (omit). Two Thursdays ago, I reached for my copy of the The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and honed in on the Overtime by Anthony Jayasekera at Bar Tobalá in Melborne circa 2023. It reminded me of the Mosquito and Dragonfly but with another bitter liqueur and lime instead of lemon. With Ramazzotti, I realized that it had the Maserati (mezcal-Ramazzotti duo) as its base, and that pairing has worked great in other recipes such as The Great Satan, There is no Spoon, and El Nacional. In the glass, the Overtime racked up a root beer, vegetal, and smoke aroma. Next, lime and caramel on the sip opened up into smoky vegetal, root beer, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

ghost rider

3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Wednesdays ago, I became inspired by the Maraschino, ginger, and lime trio in the Hitman from Dutch Kills and I mashed it up with the Ferrari (Fernet-Campari duo). Previously, I did a similar Ferrari mashup in the Blank Hand Society using the Gilda as the other inspiration point. For a name, I dubbed this one the Ghost Rider after a 1977 song from the synth-punk band Suicide that was a nod to a Marvel Comics character. In the glass, the Ghost Rider screamed the truth with a menthol, ginger, and nutty cherry aroma. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip rode off towards caramel, minty, menthol, and bitter nutty cherry-orange flavors on the swallow.

voorhees

1 oz Bonded Apple Brandy (Laird's)
1 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with cayenne pepper powder. Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and honed in on the Voorhees by D. Skinner. Overall, it appeared like a variation on the Holland Razor Blade with the Genever split with apple brandy and the simple syrup split with cinnamon. In the glass, the Voorhees donated an apple, cinnamon, and malty aroma. Next, a lemon-driven sip blossomed into apple, malty, cinnamon, and herbal flavors on the swallow that gained an increasing amount of hot pepper spice over time.

gnarly proposition

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

This is a doubled recipe. Shake with ice and strain into a single old fashioned glass or perhaps a coupe, or to be closer to the original, strain into two shot glasses. Two Mondays ago, I uncovered a set of online recipe flashcards for Navy Strength in Seattle and landed on the Gnarly Proposition. The drink is normally served as a shot, so I doubled the amounts to make it cocktail sized. A problem with the recipe was that it called for a batched mezcal-Cynar pour that I assessed to be 3:1 instead of 1:1 through the hue in a Yelp drink photo from 2022. Moreover, I ended up making the 1:1 version as well that was more opaquely brown than the photo as well as more quirky as opposed to more pleasing like a shot should be. Since the trio of mezcal, Cynar, and passion fruit worked well in the Bairdley Legal an Yvonne's, I was definitely excited about trying this one. In the glass, the Gnarly Proposition opened up with caramel, vegetal, tropical, and smoke aromas. Next, lime and passion fruit notes on the sip revealed smoky mezcal, tropical, and bitter herbal flavors on the swallow.

famous american novelist

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Averna
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/4 oz Campari
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a cherry-orange slice on a pick (cherry only). Two Sundays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcards when I came across the Famous American Novelist from the cocktail bar at Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan from Spring 2024. I found a discussion of the drinks for the performance mentioning this one on Reddit's Broadway forum circa June 2024. The name is most like a reference to the play's Herr Clifford Bradshaw and perhaps a nod to the Boulevardier – a drink of Bourbon, vermouth, and Campari named after an American-founded literary magazine in Paris. Overall, the recipe was rather similar to the Finishing School by Carlo Caroscio at Backbar as his riff on his Smoking Section, and somewhat similar to the NoMad's Brunswick. In the glass, the Famous American Novelist penned a Bourbon, cherry, and caramel bouquet for the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip concluded with Bourbon, herbal, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with clove on the finish.

dead man's hand

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 drop Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Saturdays ago, I opened up The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and spotted the Dead Man's Hand by Greg Keese at the Nashville branch of Attaboy circa 2022. This is the second drink here to reference this card game lore of the bad luck associated with a pair of black aces plus a pair of black eights that were in Wild Bill Hickok's hand when he was shot down; that other recipe is the Aces & Eights from Death & Co. On paper, the Dead Man's Hand reads like a Green Point meets a Left Hand, so perhaps the latter drink gave the inspiration for the name. Moreover, on the blog, there are only three other recipes with both Campari and Yellow Chartreuse with the only stirred one being the Trans-Europe Express from Beta Cocktails. Once prepared, the Dead Man's Hand dealt both bright orange oil and dark orange aromas along with piny notes from the Yellow Chartreuse. Next, a grape-driven sip folded into Bourbon, chocolate, herbal, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

honey badger

1 1/2 oz Barr Hill Gin
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Domaine de Canton (Barrow's Intense)
1/2 oz Honey Syrup 1:1
2 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a dehydrated citrus wheel (lemon twist). Two Fridays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Honey Badger that Bardtenders posted on their Instagram account earlier that day. I felt it was a good tribute for the folks from that site hosted me on their podcast two nights before for a recording to be broadcasted in late February. The combination reminded me of Michael Madrusan's Son of a Beesting at Milk & Honey that calls for ginger syrup instead of liqueur akin to a Bee's Knees crossed with a Penicillin. In the glass, the Honey Badger gave forth a lemon, ginger, and honey bouquet. Next, lemon and honey notes on the sip gave way to pine, ginger, honey, and orange flavors on the swallow.

save the robots

1 1/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass. Two Wednesday prior, I became inspired by the Nautical Mile with London Dry Gin and Calvados that I had the night before. I soon mashed up those spirits with the modifiers of Ce Soir, and I dubbed it Save the Robots after an after-hours club in New York City's East Village that I rediscovered in the book St. Marks is Dead and recalled from my time living in Manhattan in the early 90s. Here, pine and herbal aromas purchased entrance to the senses at the door. Next, caramel and honey notes on the sip danced their way into juniper, apple, vegetal, and herbal flavors on the swallow. I wondered if equal parts Calvados and gin would have worked better such that its richness would be closer the Cognac in the Ce Soir to balance the brighter herbaceous notes in the Yellow Chartreuse; however, I enjoyed the result enough not to retry it.

nautical mile

1 1/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/4 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
1 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. From the most recent issue of Imbibe Magazine in the article on Calvados drinks, I got lured in by the Nautical Mile by Chris Kiyuna at Holy Water in San Francisco. The gin and apple brandy in a Sour reminded me of the Pink Lady but with orgeat and honey instead of that classic's grenadine and egg white. Furthermore, the orgeat-honey duo was one that I last saw in Backbar's Platform Lime and 3/4 as well as some older drinks like Army Navy Grog. In the glass, the Nautical Mile reached out with a pine, apple, and almond bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon sip unfurled into juniper, almond, and apple flavors on the swallow with a honey and chocolate finish.

the capricorn

1 1/2 oz Aged Dark Rum (Planteray Original Dark)
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack (von Oosten)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lime oil (lime twist). Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spied an Erick Castro recipe that I had never made before – namely, the Capricorn that he created at Rickhouse in San Francisco circa 2009. It was reminescent of the Wray of Light with Jamaican rum instead of the dark rum and Batavia Arrack here, and with Becherovka as the clove source instead of falernum, it reminded me of Hop, Skip, and Jump. Once prepared, the Capricorn galloped to the nose with floral pineapple-lime melding into Batavia Arrack funk aromas. Next, lime with a hint of pineapple on the sip ushered in dark rum, Batavia Arrack's earthy funk, pineapple, and clove flavors on the swallow.

tuxedo no. 3

2 oz Probitas Rum (1 3/4 oz Hamilton's White 'Shache + 1/4 oz Wray & Nephew)
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Lazzaroni Maraschino Liqueur (Maraska)
1 tsp Pineapple Oleo Saccharum (Pineapple Syrup)
21 drop Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal
3 drop Salt Solution

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe. Two Mondays ago, my Instagram friend Darren Marks posted a recipe called the Tuxedo No. 3 that he created in 2025. It is also what he made for writer Robert Simonson when Robert visited Ruby's Lagoon Bar, Darren's home bar in Kansas City. Darren took the gin and absinthe of the Tuxedo No. 2 and replaced it with rum and Elixir Vegetal, and he added pineapple oleo akin to the Velvet Tuxedo No. 2 adding sloe gin. Once prepared, the Tuxedo No. 3 addressed the senses with a cherry and white rum with a hint of funk aroma. Next, white wine with a touch of pineapple and cherry on the sip opened up into rum with a little Jamaican funk, nutty cherry, pineapple, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow.

radio cocktail

50% Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)
30% Dry Vermouth (1 oz Dolin)
10% Lemon Juice (1/4 oz)
10% Honey (1/4 oz Honey Syrup)
1 bsp Vanilla Syrup (1/8 oz)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

I shook but I do not feel that stirring would be out of place here. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Sundays, I opened up the 1936 book 1000 Misture and became curious about the Radio Cocktail. It appeared like a Martini with a touch of lemon and sweetener structure previously seen in the Journalist and Cat's Eye and that I utilized in my Siege of Havana. Once prepared, the Radio Cocktail broadcast a lemon, allspice, pine, and vanilla bouquet to the nose. Next, honey and lemon notes on the sip flowed into gin, clove, honey, and vanilla flavors on the swallow. Overall, the citrus and vanilla aspects here reminded me of Licor 43.

gringo peligroso

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and landed on the Gringo Peligroso by Lewis Caputa at the Rosina Cocktail Lounge. It reminded me of an M&M mashed up with the ginger-citrus Smoke Signals and Dragonfly that I had recently made. In the glass, the Gringo Peligroso offered up vegetal, smoke, orange and ginger aromas. Next, lime and clementine notes on the sip retired into smoky mezcal and ginger flavors on the swallow.

cannibal cove

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray Stiggins')
3/4 oz Amaro Sfumato
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Two Fridays ago, I was motivated to create a recipe instead of taking the time to find one to make. Therefore, I mashed up two drink halves: the mezcal-pineapple rum that worked well in my Devil's Kitchen and Illegal Dance Moves with the Sfumato-cinnamon of my Hell Haggerty and Idlewild's Armstrong. For a name, I dubbed this one the Cannibal Cove after a section of the Tarawa coast that I learned about in the The Sex Lives of Cannibals book. In the glass, the Cannibal Cove offered up a grapefruit, herbal, and smoke sacrifice to the nose. Next, a roast-driven sip exalted vegetal, pineapple rum, smoke, cinnamon, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

pole star

1 oz Hamilton Pot-Still Gold Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
3/4 oz Hamilton 151° Rum (Diamond Reserve)
1 bsp Herbsaint (1/8 oz)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a lime wheel and cinnamon stick (cinnamon stick and Hale Pele swizzle stick). Two Thursdays ago, I selected Nicole Schaefer's Portland Cocktails book, and Paddy Holland's Pole Star from the Hale Pele section caught my eye. Overall, it was very similar build to Jason Alexander's A Requiem for a Doomed Star but with different rums and anise source. Once built, the cinnamon aroma from the garnish and syrup below reached the nose. Next, caramel and lime notes on the sip exploded into rum, cinnamon, anise, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

spice oddity

2 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Wednesdays ago, I was looking through an online recipe flashcard set from the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco and found the David Bowie pun of a drink called the Spice Oddity. I was able to get an approximate date through Yelp menu photos from December 2018 to March 2019 and a photo of the cocktail on Instagram from early 2019. The combination of pineapple juice and pineapple syrup was utilized before in the Swamp Water Fix and the Pineapple Margarita, and Cognac and allspice have appeared plenty including classics like None But the Brave and modern ones like Decadence & Elegance. Therefore, I set to work, and the end result generated a pineapple and allspice aroma. Next, pineapple and lemon on the sip drifted into Cognac, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

dragonfly

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Amaro Braulio
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan and stumbled upon the Dragonfly by Brandon Bramhall at the Nashville branch of Attaboy. Overall, it read like Sam Ross' Mosquito but with Braulio instead of Campari, so that seemed like a curious and delightful change given how well mezcal and Braulio work together in drinks like the Montañista and La Jetée. In the glass, the Dragonfly alighted on the nose with a vegetal, smoke, and ginger bouquet. Next, lemon notes on the sip with some texture from the ginger flowed into ginger, smoky mezcal, bitter herbal, and pine flavors on the swallow.

colonel gentleman

1 2/3 Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
1/3 oz Laphroaig Scotch (Ardbeg 10 Year)
2/3 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Benedictine
3 dash Apple Bitters (Dashfire)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with grated cinnamon. Two Mondays ago, I returned to my list that I garnered from online recipe flashcard sets, and I landed on the Colonel Gentleman at Valkyrie in Tulsa. The combination of smoky spirit, orgeat, Benedictine, and lemon appeared in the Maguey Sour with mezcal and egg white instead of Scotch, so I was game to give this one a whirl. Once shaken and strained, the Colonel Gentleman offered up an almond, smoke, and cinnamon bouquet to the nose. Next, a creamy lemon sip supported smoky Scotch, lemon, almond, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

smoke break

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Famous Grouse Smoky Black Scotch
1 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with 3 spritz Laphroaig Scotch (12 drops). Two Sundays ago, I was looking through online recipe flashcards, and I spotted the Smoke Break at the now closed La Moule in Portland, Oregon, and dated to around 2021 through a GoogleMaps menu photo. Besides having Trinidad Sour vibes, with the Fernet, it came across a little like the Golden Gate Swizzle but with some Scotch and a touch of oxidized sherry to enrich the orgeat's notes notes (and here no falernum). In the glass, the Smoke Break clocked out with a peat smoke, nutty, and menthol aroma. Next, a creamy lemon sip exhaled into an almond, minty, and menthol swallow that was overall rather mellow for a Fernet-driven recipe.

caracara

1 oz Sazerac Rye
1 oz Jung & Wulff Trinidad Rum (Raising Glasses 8 Year Cask Strength)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup
4 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I had spotted an interesting recipe called the Caracara from the A Quick Drink book in my Instagram feed, and I noticed that it was one of the recipes that I had written on my bookmark that I never got around to making. The drink was created by Kitty Corbo for the dealer's choice round of Speedrack 2019 as a Sazerac riff. Indeed, there have been a few pineapple syrup-sweetened Sazerac variations that I have tried including the Bounty, Harbourmaster, and Dawn of Hospitality, so I was curious to try this one. In the glass, the Caracara gave forth a lemon and anise bouquet like a good Sazerac will. Next, a semi-sweet sip with hints of tropical notes on the sip opened up into rye, dark rum, pineapple, cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow.

hijos de borinquen

1 oz Aged Rum such as DonQ Añejo (DonQ Añejo)
1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a dehydrated lime wheel (omit). Two Fridays ago, I was perusing a thread on Reddit's cocktail forum about apricot liqueur recipes when I came across the Hijos de Borinquen. The drink created at La Factoria in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was mentioned a bit on travel log sites. The bar's Instagram described, "Originally known as Café Hijos de Borinquen when revolutionaries and artists of the 50s and 60s used to meet, our main bar is where it all started... years ago." On paper, the spirit, cinnamon, apricot, and lime combination reminded me of the Baldwin Bar's Southern Belle but with gin and egg white instead of rums. In the glass, the Hijos de Borinquen gave forth a cinnamon, apricot, rum funk, and vanilla aroma. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip blossomed into funky aged rum, apricot, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

pineapple paralysis

1 1/2 oz High Proof Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Bauchant)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
3 drop Bittermens Tiki Bitters (1 dash Bittercube Trinity)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a coconut mug or double old fashioned glass (mug), and garnish with a mint sprig, pineapple wedge, and orchid (chocolate mint sprigs). Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a reference to the Pineapple Paralysis from the The Minimalist Tiki Book by Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith, and I realized that the recipe was not in my first edition but in an edition that followed. The recipe that I was able to find in a few places on the web was crafted by Eric Bogan as a riff on the Polynesian Paralysis with the orange juice swapped to orange liqueur à la Paul McGee. Moreover, the name reminded me of how Ames Street Deli created the Pineapple Project as a riff on Bourbon & Branch's Laphroaig Project. Once assembled, the Pineapple Paralysis lumbered to the nose with a mint over pineapple and cinnamon bouquet. Next, a creamy caramel, lemon, and pineapple sip converted into Bourbon, pineapple, orange, cinnamon, and almond flavors on the swallow.