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.

stranger in paradise

1 oz Corazon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Clement Premiere Canne Rhum Agricole (Rhum JM 100° Blanc)
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3 dash St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (30 drop Hamilton's)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Absinthe (20 drop St. George)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a glass or mug (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish in a tropical way such as including a cinnamon stick (mint and cinnamon stick). Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the recipes that Lost Lake in Chicago published after they closed their doors, and the one that called out to me was the Stranger in Paradise from their second menu. Tequila and rhum agricole have appeared together in the Seas the Day, Menehune Gonzalez, and my Gunwale Punch (more often, rhum has been paired with mezcal though), so I wanted to see their spin on the duo. Here, the Stranger in Paradise welcomed the senses with cinnamon, mint, and pineapple aromas. Next, pineapple and lime notes on the sip uncovered funky rhum, vegetal, cinnamon, clove, allspice, and anise flavors on the swallow.

elected official

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
3 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Tuesdays ago, my Instagram friend Tim Kirkland posted a drink called the Elected Official. At first, I figured it was an election day thing until he described how it was a tribute to me. He explained that when I post drinks on Instagram that he wants to remake, he jokes with comments like "Frederic Yarm for President." Here, I felt like he was imitating my style a bit sort of like how I ripped off Jason Alexander's style in my 2020 election night drink the Doomscroller or studied my Secret Santé 2022 pick's favorite ingredients to craft The Phrasemaker. Indeed, the 3:1 rye to mezcal with 2 dashes of mole bitters is one that I use a lot such as in the Vaquero, and I definitely love Maraschino especially in stirred drinks. While I do not reach for Nonino much in my own creations, everything else is very much in my wheelhouse. Once assembled, the Elected Official cast out an orange, caramel, smoky, vegetal, and nutty cherry aroma. Next, caramel and a hint of cherry on the sip led into rye, smoke, nutty cherry, orange, vegetal, and chocolate flavors on the swallow. This combination definitely yielded a good number of layers of flavor.

tammany hall

1 oz Redbreast Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1 oz Bols Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, garnish with lemon oil from a twist and a cherry. Two Mondays ago after making the No Bye/No Aloha, I selected a nightcap from the KindredCocktails database called Tammany Hall. It was not the century's old Tammany that is a rye Manhattan with Yvette and noyaux accents, but a split base Irish whiskey-Genever Manhattan with Benedictine created by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles circa 2013. The combination of two spirits, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and bitters reminded me of Death & Taxes (and later Mergers & Acquisitions); therefore, I was curious to give this one a go. In the glass, Tammany Hall ruled on a lemon, malty, and grape aroma. Next, grape and malty notes on the sip passed an order for Irish whiskey, malty Genever, herbal, wormwood, and clove flavors on the swallow.

no bye/no aloha

1 1/2 oz Fords Gin
1/2 oz Dr. Bird Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)

Whip shake, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with tropical effects (mint and a nasturtium flower). I was a bit too tired two Sundays ago after celebrating surviving the morning bar of the Cambridge Half Marathon (we could not serve until 10am so we already had rows of people waiting to get their first drink) as well as later toasting my final shift at the C-Side Bar, so I skipped making a drink that night. Therefore, I made two drinks on that Monday with the first being the No Bye/No Aloha from Lost Lake in Chicago that the bar published right after they closed up. This reference to a song by The Breeders seemed to be a Saturn riff with the addition of rum (I did have a rum riff call the Janus recently), sherry, ginger syrup, bitters and absinthe; true, that is just as many ingredients added as the Saturn itself contains but the vibe is still there for me. Once prepared, the No Bye/No Aloha gave forth mint aromas over nutty sherry and rum funk ones from underneath. Next, lemon and grape notes from the sip departed with a rock promoter and left behind pine, funky rum, ginger, passion fruit, allspice, and anise flavors on the swallow.

arrow through me

1 oz Gin (Tree House's Hildegard Von Bingen)
1 oz Amaro Pasubio
1 oz Cocchi Americano

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon (orange) twist. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan, and there I landed upon the Arrow Through Me by Andrew Cordero at Seneca in San Diego circa 2022. I was drawn in by the lightly bitter and fruity Negroni style, and I am always looking for uses for my bottle of the blueberry vino amaro Pasubio. Here, the Arrow Through Me landed with a pine, woody spice, and blueberry aroma. Next, berry and grapefruit notes on the sip released pine, blueberry, herbal, and gentian flavors on the swallow.

dad bod

1 oz Pig's Nose Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
3/4 oz Angostura Bitters
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/4 oz Orgeat

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I decided to make the Dad Bod that I found in a set of online recipe flashcards from The Violet Hour's Spring/Summer 2023 menu. I decided to finally make it for it has the heavy Angostura Bitters, Cherry Heering, and lemon juice that I first tried in the Death or Glory that I recently republished in my The Clash cocktail biopic and just utilized in my Blood & Sand riff called the Rogue's Romance. Once shaken and strained, the Dad Bod gave forth an orange, allspice, and clove aroma. Next, creamy lemon and molasses notes on the sip stepped aside for Scotch, cherry, orange, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

razorgrass

1 1/2 oz Rhum JM 100° Rhum Agricole
1/2 oz St. George Absinthe
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Homemade Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
5 drop Saline Solution (20%)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a snifter (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs and a spritz of absinthe (5-6 drops). Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a recipe by Andrew Boimila that he posted to Facebook's Tiki Recipes group called the Razorgrass. Andrew created the drink in 2023 during his time at Wusong Road in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he was going to be competing with it in a cocktail competition soon in Rhode Island. The rhum agricole, absinthe, and orgeat trio was one that I used in my Mai Tai Suissesse for an absinthe competition years ago; the trio worked great but it was less intentional than this for it was the result of mashing up two classics. Once mixed, the Razorgrass offered up mint and star anise aromas. Next, a creamy lemon sip cruised into grassy, anise, herbal, and almond flavors on the swallow.

dark hand

2 oz Aged Dark Rum (Dos Maderas 5+5)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
3/8 oz Amaro Lucano
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan, and there I spotted the Dark Hand by Yao Wong at The Elysian in Melbourne circa 2020. I figured that the recipe would be a good inaugural use for the aged rum finished in sherry casks, Dos Maderas 5+5, that I was sent as a sample along with a bottle of Spanish brandy and a bottle of Bauchaunt orange liqueur. Perhaps the name is a reference to the Right Hand but made dark by the rum choice as well as Amaro Lucano in place of Campari. Once mixed, the Dark Hand waved to the nose with an orange, caramel, and sherry grape aroma. Next, a semi-sweeet grape and caramel sip gave way to dark rum, nutty, dark orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

rogue's romance

1 oz Smoky Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Angostura Bitters
1 Orange Peel approx. 3/4"x3" or 1"x2"

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. After thinking about the Death or Glory that I republished in the The Clash cocktail biopic article, I became inspired to tinker with the structure. The drink's Cherry Heering made me think of the Blood & Sand and I later dubbed the end result after another of Rudolph Valentino's movies, namely the Rogue's Romance. I opted for lemon instead of Blood & Sand's orange to mirror Johann Goes to Mexico and the Trinidad Sour, and after making it once, I decided to include a regal shake with an orange peel to add back some elegant notes found in the classic. Once made the second time with the orange peel in the shake, the Rogue's Romance served up a peat smoke, red fruit, orange, and clove bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip blossomed into smoky Scotch, cherry, clove, and orange flavors on the swallow.

el burladero

2 oz Spanish Brandy (Gran Duque d'Alba)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/8 oz Cane Syrup (Sirop JM)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Another recipe that I wanted to make with my sample bottle of Gran Duque d'Alba was a recipe on the Bartender's Choice app that called for Spanish brandy named El Burladero. The drink was created by Brandon Bramhall at Attaboy's Nashville branch in 2018, and a burladero is a wooden panel in a bullring near the wall to offer a safe space for bullfighters. Since coffee liqueur and Fernet have worked well in the Queen Village, Mount Makana, and Don't Flip Out, I was curious to see how it would modify a sherry-driven brandy. In the glass, El Burladero gave forth orange, sherry, coffee, and mint aromas. Next, grape and roast notes on the sip eluded brandy, nutty, coffee, menthol, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

petty crime

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1/2 oz Orgeat

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into an old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), top with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs. Two Sundays ago, I rediscovered an old screenshot of a friend on Instagram posting a bitter tropical drink called Petty Crime, and I decided that it was perfect for the evening's nightcap. The recipe was created by Jon & Siobhan of SubtleTiki and was posted on both their Instagram and their blog. The Fernet-rum Daiquiri aspect of it reminded me of the Tar Pit, and the orgeat-banana duo appeared in the Brightside, Banana Hammock, and other drinks and is one that I utilized in my Escape from Monkey Island. Once prepared, the Petty Crime launched off with mint, banana, and rum funk aroma. Next, a creamy lime and caramel sip developed into funky rum, banana, nutty, and bitter menthol flavors on the swallow.

smoke signals

1 oz Del Maguey Mezcal (1 1/2 oz Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Crème de Cassis (Massenez)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice and dirty dump into a single old fashioned glass (strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube). Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make the Smoke Signals from Alcove in Boston that I uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. Overall, the combination reminded me of Trader Vic's El Diablo with ginger syrup instead of ginger beer/ale as well as mezcal for tequila. There was also Ted Kilgore's Count Diablo that was a Diablo riff with ginger liqueur instead of ginger beer/ale as well, but that was also a mashup with Negroni. Once prepared, the Smoke Signals relayed to the senses a smoke and dark berry aroma. Next, lime and red fruit notes on the sip smoldered into smoky, agave, ginger, and tannic berry flavors on the swallow.

dream of the lava beds

1 3/4 oz London Dry Gin (Fords)
1/4 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin)
1/4 oz Benedictine
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I thought about the next drink to make for a regular who I hooked on Martini variations and as a follow up to the Portorico, a Martini with Jamaican rum and banana liqueur, that I had just served them. Here, I took the Poet's Dream and merged it with a Madame Lou (gin, dry vermouth, pineapple syrup) but with pineapple rum in place of the syrup. Plus a dash of Angostura was added to the equation for a little depth. I originally tried a 3:1 gin to pineapple rum ratio but that was a bit distracting, so I toned it down. For a name, I dubbed it the Dream of the Lava Beds with the first part of the name from the Poet's Dream and the second part from Madame Lou's nickname, the Queen of the Lava Beds. In the glass, the Dream of the Lava Beds erupted with an orange, pineapple, and allspice aroma. Next, white wine and caramel notes on the sip relaxed into pine, pineapple, herbal, orange, and clove flavors on the swallow.

demure thoughts

1 1/2 oz Planteray Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
1/2 oz Peated Scotch (Caol Ila 12 Year)
1/3 oz Campari (2 tsp)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Rich Simple Syrup (Sirop JM)

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Thursdays ago, I recalled meeting Shawn Soole at Portland Cocktail Week this year, so I reached for his Great Northern Cocktails book. There, I latched onto the Demure Thoughts by Dinah Kisil at Calgary's Proof Cocktail Bar that read like the Daiquiri with Scotch version of the Campari Swizzle. Moreover, rum and Scotch have worked well in Daiquiri riffs like the Mr. Howell and Strangeways Daiquiri, so I was sold. In the glass, the Demure Thoughts expressed itself with a peat smoke and herbal orange aroma. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip were mindful of the rum, pineapple, whisky, smoke, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

the man comes around

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Sombra Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Spanish Brandy (Gran Duque D'Alba)
1 tsp Fernet Branca
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass (with ice), and garnish with a mint sprig. I was recently sent a three pack of bottles that included the sherry-tinged Gran Duque D'Alba Grand Reserva Brandy, and I recalled a recipe from New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles that I had been wanting to make once I had a Spanish brandy in stock. The drink was The Man Comes Around circa 2013 via KindredCocktails. Rafa was inspired after having a mezcal-Cynar cocktail at Pouring Ribbons in Manhattan followed by hearing subway musicians on the ride home who played Johnny Cash covers. When he made it back to his home bar, he whipped this up as a nightcap and named it after one of the songs he had just heard. The recipe was alluring for it had the mezcal, brandy, and Cynar trio that I utilized in my Papa Was a Rodeo and enjoyed in the Witch Doctor. Here, the Man Comes Around broadcast a mint and caramel aroma to the senses. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip flowed into brandy, herbal, vegetal, menthol, and smoke flavors on the swallow.

cannibalernum

1 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray Stiggins' Fancy)
2/3 oz High Proof Rum (1/4 oz each Planteray OFTD, Smith & Cross, and Privateer Navy Yard)
3/4+ oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, and fill with crushed ice. Float dashes of Bitter Truth Creole Bitters (Peychaud's) and Matthias' 2022 post shows a mint garnish. The weird measurements make more sense in metric. On Instagram, I spotted one of my friends making a tropical drink called the Cannibalernum that was created by Matthias Soberon circa 2019. I most recently had the combination of rum, passion fruit, falernum, and lime in the Saturn riff the Janus, and it has prospered in drinks ranging from the Sunakora Zombie to the Last Rites. Besides that, the mashup of the words "cannibal" and "falernum" made for an equally tempting concept as the ingredients. In the glass, the Cannibalernum hunted down the nose with a mint and anise aroma. Next, lime, melon, and tropical flavors on the sip ensnared rum, pineapple, passion fruit, clove, and funk flavors on the swallow.

fantasma

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth (Servito)
1 oz Luxardo Bitter Bianco
2 dash Scrappy's Cardamom Bitters (The Bitter Housewife)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lime twist. Two Mondays ago, I was perusing an online recipe flashcard set for Pammy's in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and a Luxardo Bitter Bianco recipe called the Fantasma caught my eye. The closest thing to this mezcal White Negroni on the blog was perhaps the aged gin-based Jaded Sensibilities, so I was curious. Moreover, a Yelp menu photo points this to the December 2017 timeframe. Once served, the Fantasma met the nose with a lime, vegetal, herbal, and smoke bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet white wine sip opened up into smoky mezcal, bitter herbal, wormwood, and cardamom flavors on the swallow.

the law firm

1 1/2 oz Diplomatico Exclusiva Rum
3/4 oz Quintinya Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
3/4 oz Amaro Lucano
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 dash Tiki Bitters (2 dash Bittercube Trinity)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Two Sundays ago, I looked up the folks offering mentoring sessions alongside me at Portland Cocktail Week, and some of them were apart of a Columbus, Ohio, bartender-built company called Historic Revelry. On the company's website was a recipe section where I landed on the Law Firm. Its rum, sweet vermouth, and amaro structure reminded me of drinks like the Palm Viper, Laughing Boy, and Bridgetown Stomp; therefore, I gave it a whirl. Once stirred and strained, the Law Firm summoned caramel aromas with a hint of rum funk. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip defended the rum, herbal, molasses, citrus peel, and dried fruit flavors on the swallow.

magician's downfall

3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Demerara Rum (Hamilton 86° Demerara River)
1/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Juice (1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (omit, see above)
1/2 oz Grenadine (Mulberry Syrup)
1 fistful Mint (12-14 leaves)

Spindle blend with crushed ice and pour into a Tiki mug (shake with ice and double strain into a Tiki mug). Top with crushed ice and garnish with mint sprigs. Two Saturdays ago, I saw a reference to a drink called the Magician's Downfall by James Hoffman on the Reddit Tiki forum, and I tracked down the recipe to the creator's How To Drink YouTube channel. While this was most likely inspired by the Missionary's Downfall given the name, this one had the rum, mezcal, passion fruit, mint, and lime of my Lili'uokalani's Downfall albeit with different rums and modifiers. Once prepared, the Magician's Downfall enchanted the nose with a mint aroma. Next, berry, lime, and tropical flavors on the sip shapeshifted into funky rum, smoky, passion fruit, berry, and mint flavors on the swallow.

mirage

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1/2 oz Aged Dark Rum (1/4 oz each Planteray's OFTD & Fiji)
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. After I landed back in Boston from my Portland adventure, I was in the mood for a nightcap so I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book by Michael and Zara Madrusan. There, I selected the Mirage by Joyce Chang at Bar Margaux in Melbourne circa 2024 from the book's Manhattan section. Since maple and sherry have been good bedmates in recipes ranging from the Mapplethorpe to the Midtown, I was game to give this one a go (when I was drinking it, Erick Castro's French Toast Flip came to mind, but the other examples in retrospect are more stripped down ingredient-wise). In the glass, the Mirage glimmered to the senses with rum funk, maple, and nutty grape aromas. Next, grape and amber notes on the sip opened up into Bourbon, nutty sherry, and maple flavors with rum undertones on the swallow.

:: how to talk to your bar hero ::

I recently returned from Portland Cocktail Week where there was a mixed array of attendees, presenters, and staff in the bar industry at all levels from being in their first few years to being well into their second decade with tons of accolades. There is always the question of how do you approach someone that you have heard about or look up to and make it seem authentic and not awkward? And if you are at a level where folks might want to learn from you, how can you make yourself more approachable?

Back in the first year of graduate school, I joined the college radio station's punk programming team, the Record Hospital. I was trained by senior DJ Morgan Andrews who also played bass for the Boston band the Swirlies at the time. While Morgan gave me a lot of tips on everything on how mix records to how to do a proper ticket give away, the most valuable advice that he gave me that still carries on is, "If you want to meet a big rockstar, don't talk about music. Talk about something like skateboarding. That way they are on the same level as you." I remember talking to Dale DeGroff the first time. He, my wife, and I were all taking a way too early flight from Tales of the Cocktail 2010 to an airport in New York City (and we would be connecting on to Boston). When I spotted him reading the newspaper in the terminal and mentioned to my wife that I would like to talk to him, she encouraged me. I did not have a gameplan in mind, but luckily Dale is always on. He immediately asked where I was from and then praised how well various Boston bars and bartenders had done at the awards or in the events that they helped run that past week. That meeting went well mostly due to the fact that Dale is a consummate hospitalitarian, but I have had other meeting moments of people that I had looked up to on paper (especially due to their recipes that I had made in my home bar) that have come off as at best awkward and at worst traumatizing to me (or both of us) and that I wish had been avoided.

When I first met David Wondrich at an event in Boston, we talked extensively about music which was what he was writing about before he started focusing on cocktails for Esquire and his books. In fact, most future meetings with Dale have led into discussing music especially jazz, and it was probably a joy for him not to be talking about cocktails and bartending for a brief moment. Especially when Dale had a chance to talk about all the jazz greats that he got to meet or convinced to play an impromptu set at his bar. I have enacted similar tactics with other bar professionals, although first that commonality in an outside field or interest has to be gleaned whether in conversation, in observation, or by online research. During Portland Cocktail Week, I was surrounded my a lot of young bartenders with a smattering of amazing veterans like Shawn Soole, Kate Gerwin, and Toby Maloney. I tried to talk to as many people as I could especially while waiting in line for an event or on the shuttle bus. I connected with one 25 year old bartender not by discuss bartending or recipes but through literature; I was able to share books that I was reading during those years such as post-WWII Japanese authors and beat authors that taught me much about life and discovering our place in the world when I was their age. With a married distiller couple, I had an amazing conversation about our respective experiences vegetable gardening and pickling this season instead of discussing their whiskey (that I knew I was going to hear about later that evening). Others displayed clothing or other items of punk, goth, or metal theme that made for interesting ways of chatting with them about art, culture, travel, and music; it did lead into some discussions about the job ranging from how to advance in the craft to how to rework a resume. Even cool tattoos helped start a conversation with bartenders that were in a different style of bonding than the circa 2010 discussions of bars, recipes, and techniques.

Besides taking the initiative, I also made myself more approachable by dressing down in t-shirts and wearing brand swag of things like Fernet Branca, Malört, or Jagermeister instead of dressing up to my professional statute. Perhaps the professionalism is necessary when doing business or at certain brand events, but for Portland Cocktail Week, it seemed like a bit of overkill and out of place for the liberal bastion of "war-torn" Portland. Smiling, keeping a sense of humor, and joking with folks made me more approachable. A few folks sought me out for advice or renegade mentoring sessions (past the nine official ones I did that week) because I made myself appear welcoming. There were definitely a few people that I wanted to speak to that week but their intensity of clothes or facial expression was a little off putting. One bar professional was dressed to the nines, and I did not feel as comfortable approaching them although I did introduce my mentee to them since they were in the same city. Another bar professional who had a serious look to them, although I later chatted with them (since we had briefly met at the USBG nation event in Atlanta this past May) that led to an hour long phone call about career trajectories a few days after PDXCW was over.

The bottom line is to always be searching for that talk about skateboarding moment when not only looking up but over or even down to the less experienced. You never know where that great conversation will lead or how it will inspire you, so make yourself less intimidating and more inviting to see what can transpire. My wife was pleased and noted how much of the old me had returned back from Portland and how inspired I seemed as a result of these interactions all week.

crooked kilt (accomplice bar)

1 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch (*)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (*)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Falernum
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Whip shake, pour into a Cobbler-appropriate glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs.
(*) Original has: 1 1/2 oz J&B Blended Scotch as the base spirit and a Laphroaig spritz as part of the garnish; this is my guess on the Laphroaig and sherry amounts assuming that the Accomplice Bar held everything else constant from the NoMad recipe. The Wednesday night of Portland Cocktail Week, I stopped by an unofficial event at the Scotch Lodge after the last official event of the evening, ChurroFest, was over. Scotch Lodge was hosting the Accomplice Bar with their menu of "The Accomplice Guide to Los Angeles Cocktails." The one I selected was the Crooked Kilt which appeared to be their take on Leo Robitschek's recipe from The NoMad Cocktail Book. All the ingredients appeared the same except for the removal of the blended Scotch base and perhaps shifting the aromatic Laphroaig garnish to replace it; moreover, Oloroso made an appearance. Therefore, the above recipe is my best guest using the original combined with Accomplice's menu's ingredient list and my intuition from tasting it. The two visiting bartenders were way too frantic to keep up with all the service tickets to ask, and the bar never replied to my Instagram message, so I figured that this was the best that I could do. Leo described his creation as "A Scotch Cobbler with bitter, green pineapple notes," and I was all for that with an upping of Islay smoke and the addition of dried fruit notes. In the glass, this Crooked Kilt emanated mint and herbaceous aromas. Next, pineapple, grape, and lime on the sip blossomed into smoky Scotch, pineapple, nutty sherry, and clove flavors on the swallow.

velvet tuxedo no. 2

1 3/4 oz Fords Gin
1/2 oz Fords Sloe Gin
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
1/4 oz Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Blanc Vermouth
2 dash Orange Bitter

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass, garnish with spritzes of absinthe and a cherry. For the drinks served in class, the batch bottles were rinsed with absinthe before being filled and chilled, and we were allowed to pour and garnish our own drinks (I chose an orange peel and cherry that appeared on the presentation's photo). Two Wednesdays ago, I attended a six hour class called "Hospitality by Design" sponsored by Fords Gin. In between the morning and afternoon sessions was a three-Martini lunch that began with a classic Gin Martini and Gibson and ended with one of the most elegant drinks of the week, the Velvet Tuxedo No. 2. The presentation's slide read, "Our final martini is a riff on the Tuxedo No. 2, made with Fords Gin, Fords Sloe Gin, dry vermouth, Maraschino liqueur, orange bitters, and a kiss of absinthe. Named after the Tuxedo Club in New York, it's a Martini dressed for evening. Elegant, aromatic, slightly sweet, with a touch of sloe and stone fruit notes, it finds its match in a rich chocolate dessert. The cocktail's floral notes lift the dessert, while the gin's structure cuts through its cocoa richness." In my glass, the Velvet Tuxedo No. 2 offered up orange, berry, nutty cherry, and pine aromas. Next, a semi-sweet, red and purple fruit, and hint of cherry notes on the sip gently slid into juniper, semi-bitter tannic fruit, and anise flavors on the swallow. For those wishing to make this as accurately as possible, Fords Sloe Gin is a seasonal limited release, so keep an eye out for it.

:: cocktail rock: drinks inspired by the clash ::

I recall my amazement back in 1982 when The Clash’s video for “Rock the Casbah” came on MTV. The edgy haircuts, the musicians stomping in the sand in front of an oil rig, the military-cut outfits, and of course the armadillo running by in various scenes caught my attention as something very different from the new wave and pop videos that station had been playing. I got exposed further to the band when my brother bought the 2-CD set of The Story of the Clash, but my true education of fitting The Clash into the scope of things was when I became a radio DJ at WHRB’s punk, hardcore, and experimental programming, the Record Hospital, during graduate school. There, I had access to music that had similar political messaging as well as punk that hybridized with reggae, rockabilly, and other influences. The Clash formed in 1976 in the early moments of the British punk scene around a year after the Sex Pistols began and concurrent with groups like The Damned, The Vibrators, and The Jam. The original band line up consisted of Mick Jones and Joe Strummer on both guitars and vocals, Paul Simonon on bass, and Terry Chimes on drums. Chimes’ initial time with the band was short for he was replaced by Topper Headon in May 1977 soon after the release of their first album, and the roster remained more or less as such until Headon was kicked out until he beat his drug habit and until the band was officially retired with Strummer’s death in 2002. Joe Strummer in a New Musical Express article in late 1976 described the band’s manifesto as “I think people ought to know that we’re anti-fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist and we’re pro-creative. We’re against ignorance.”

The band’s sound over the years fused their version of punk with reggae, dub, jazz, ska, funk, rockabilly, and hip hop throughout their tenure, and they sung about issues including racism, drugs, classism, aristocracy, police, and government overreach. The ties to Jamaican music were most strongly linked to bassist Simonon who grew up in heavily black neighborhoods in London where he bonded with the West Indian population there and witnessed police actions that rang out as institutionally racist to him. The band’s progressive voice was rather radical for the times and ventured into socialist, humanist, and anti-capitalist realms at various points.

It is hard to do The Clash justice in just a few paragraphs, so here are a few highlights. The most iconic image of the band is Simonon at a 1979 show smashing his bass in frustration of how the bouncers were treating the audience (see the final image below). In 1981, the group invited hip hop acts like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash to open for them, and this appreciation and cross-pollination also reared itself in songs like “The Magnificent Seven” and later in Jones and Strummer’s side project Big Audio Dynamite. In more modern times, their “Straight to Hell” song about societal injustices circa 1982 was sampled into the pro-immigrant 2008 hit “Paper Planes” by M.I.A.

For this project, I asked bartenders to help me by submitting cocktails based on songs or lyrics from The Clash, and if they were up to it, explaining how and why they connected to the band and song in creating the recipes. With stirrings of rebellion, political consciousness, and humanitarian issues in current day society, it felt like the right time to pay respect to The Clash with this cocktail biopic.

London Calling
1 1/2 oz London Dry Gin
1/2 oz Fino Sherry
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an expressed grapefruit twist.

It felt like a slight not to include this drink invented at London’s Milk & Honey by Chris Jepson. He submitted the drink to a cocktail competition hosted by Drinks International in 2002, and it has become a modern gin staple. The Gin Sour with fino sherry tribute to The Clash’s 1979 song has a classic feel to it reminding me of the dry vermouth version, the Laughing Soup, from Boothby’s 1934 World Drinks and How to Mix Them although others have associated it with the Barbara West also from the 1930s.

Death or Glory
3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Old Monk Rum
1/2 oz Angostura Bitters
1 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, and garnish with an expressed lemon twist.

The first The Clash-named drink that I personally had was this one paying respect to the 1979 song “Death or Glory”. It was created at Trina’s Starlite Lounge in Somerville, MA, in 2013 by one of the co-owners Beau Sturm and was included in my second book, Boston Cocktails: Drunk & Told. Both Beau and co-owner Josh Childs have had some bangers of musically-inspired drink names on the menu, and this one lured me in when Angostura Bitters was the third ingredient in the description instead of last. If love and hate were tattooed across the knuckles of my hands, I would be raising up the former in the approval given the elegant balance of this complex recipe.

Clash City Rockers
1 1/4 oz Rum-Bar Gold Rum
3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Akashi-Tai Yuzu Sake
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Purée
1/2 oz Honey Syrup (3:1)
1/2 oz Clementine Juice
1 dash Orange Blossom Water
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a dehydrated clementine slice.

Gergő Muráth dubbed this drink after one of The Clash’s singles released following their first album in the UK that was later included in the American release of said debut. Gergő developed it in 2019 while bartending at Trailer Happiness in the same London district, namely Notting Hill, that The Clash first called home. He picked the name for it is one of his favorite songs from the band, and he appreciated its connection to other musicians such as reggae DJ and producer Prince Far-I who are mentioned in the lyrics. The pair of Jamaican rums is duly noted here.

Rums of Brixton
3/4 oz Pusser’s Rum
3/4 oz Neisson Rhum Agricole Blanc
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orange Syrup (*)
Absinthe (as a rinse)

Shake with ice, strain into an absinthe-rinsed coupe glass, and garnish with an expressed lemon twist.

(*) Orange Syrup:
Zest of 1 Orange
8 oz Orange Juice (freshly squeezed and strained to be pulp-free, by volume)
8 oz Sugar (by volume)

Combine zest and sugar and let sit for one hour. Add orange juice, whisk until the sugar is dissolved, strain, bottle, and refrigerate. Syrup kept cold should be good for 2 weeks.

Jace Sheehan, bartender at Boston’s Eastern Standard and Equal Measure when this was submitted, offered up this recipe dubbed after the song “Guns of Brixton” from the 1979 album London Calling. Jayce explained the drink he crafted for a guest tiki shift in 2016, “The inspiration behind the cocktail stems from my love of punk music and the correlation to current affairs. The song was originally written to describe the heavy-handedness of police, the recession, and other urban factors of the time. Pusser’s English rum [founded 1979] as the base is an ode to this era.” The extra time taken to make the orange syrup is worth it!

Police and Thieves
2 oz Gin
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

Frank Cisneros submitted this recipe name after a song on The Clash’s first album in 1977 that was a cover of Junior Murvin’s 1976 reggae track. Frank came up with this crowd pleaser for the opening menu at the Gin Palace in Manhattan where it became one of the most popular drinks during the bar’s span from 2012 to 2015.

Wrong ‘Em Boyo
1 oz Navy Strength Jamaican Rum
1 oz Plymouth Gin
1 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur
1/2 oz Blanc Vermouth
2 dash Fee’s Walnut Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an expressed orange twist. Suze or Avèze will substitute for Salers in a pinch.

Cocktail enthusiast and home bartender Craig Eliason who I know from eGullet and Kindred Cocktails sites offered up this honorific to the track from the 1979 London Calling album that was a cover of a 1967 song retelling the Stagger Lee legend by The Rulers from Jamaica. Much like me, Craig first encountered the band through the “Rock the Casbah” video on MTV, and he fell in love with the band after buying London Calling. Craig described, “Split base of gin from England and rum from Jamaica seems an obvious choice for the band. I also think the earthy gentian quality of Salers fits the bitter energy of the band. The rather high ABV doesn’t feel out of place, too!” His mix definitely captures the group’s energy and influences rather well in the glass.

Sherry, Don't like it?
2 oz Yobo Kish Earth Mushroom Soju
1 oz Amontillado Sherry
4 dash Coffee Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass rimmed with a sugar-cracked black pepper rim.

Connecticut bartender Anthony DeSerio made up this unique aperitif cocktail for his bar that he named after a spin on the lyric “Sharif don’t like it” from The Clash’s 1982 “Rock the Casbah”. Sharif is Arabic for a title of respect for a noble or highborn, but Anthony does not feel that sherry gets the respect it deserves. He paired it with an umami-laden California-made soju crafted with smoked mushrooms that the brand developed in partnership with Top Chef-competitor Kristen Kish.

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 oz Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Jim Beam Black Bourbon

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass.

Sam Treadway, bar director at Backbar in Somerville, MA, has been amazing me with his creativity with gems like this one since I started sitting at his bar when he helped to open up Drink in Boston back in 2008. Sam named this one after a lyric from the 1982 hit from the Combat Rock album (the song title itself lacks the word “now”), and he used the menu subtitle, “When deciding on your next move, just drink this. If you stay to have this lower ABV riff on a Black Manhattan then the rewards will be double.” Sam explained how the lyric “one day it’s fine and next it’s black” made him latch on to the Black Manhattan (a Manhattan made with an amaro in place of the sweet vermouth) as inspiration and the double-aged bourbon, Jim Beam Black, for fortification.

Overpowered by Funk
1 oz Smith & Cross or similar Jamaican Aged Rum
1 oz Cachaça
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Crème de Banane
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.

After I put out the call for recipes, a bartender called dibs on a song, “Lost in the Supermarket”, that I already had a recipe for; therefore, I developed this one inspired upon spotting the song title in the band’s 1982 Combat Rock album. Like the Wrong ‘Em Boyo recipe, I too latched onto the reggae aspect to reach for my bottle of Smith & Cross, and I followed up with cachaça since the duo worked well in the Jah Rule that I had just made from the Easy Tiki book. I rounded things off with the funky amaro Cynar as well as banana liqueur. I never did receive the Lost in the Supermarket recipe from that bartender, but mine as a Rob Roy-Apple Negroni mashup can be found here on the blog.

slow hands

1 1/2 oz Hayman's Navy Gin
1/2 oz Overproof Barbancourt 110° White Rhum
1/2 oz Comoz Blanc Vermouth
1/2 tsp Petite Canne Syrup
1/2 tsp Kalani Coconut Liqueur
1/2 tsp Giffard Pineapple Liqueur
1 dash Boker's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a footed rocks glass. Tuesday night of Portland Cocktail Week, I made my pilgrimage to Rum Club where I found a seat in front of bartender Mike "Juice" Treffehn. I asked Mike which of the drinks on the menu would be most easily reproduced by a home bartender, and he selected the Slow Hands as a tropical Martini with a gin over rum split base akin to the 1930s Portorico or my Preston-Baker. Once mixed, the Slow Hands carressed the senses with a dark spice and tropical aroma with pineapple and coconut elements dancing on the nose. Next, a coconut and white wine sip with a decent mouthfeel led into gin, rum, coconut, pineapple, and spice flavors on the swallow. After this drink, a Rhum Barbancourt special menu with $5 cocktails started, so I stayed for two more drinks, and I had another one or two from him two days later (see below). Sometime during the later point of the night, a bartender sitting next to me, Greg McDonald from Jacksonville, Florida, was tasting rum pours, and declared, "I want my rum to taste the way my socks smell. It's got to be funky." And Rum Club certainly had the bottles to fulfill his request and price range. When I saw Mike later in the week at an official event as a guest bartender at another bar across town, he said that he had something for me. I felt honored that he thought of me, until I learned that I was being Iced™. Mike was a good sport when I asked whether I could skip taking a knee to down this twelve ounces of delightful malt beverage since I was "getting old," and he agreed. It was actually that I did not want to kneel in the one pair of pants I brought onto the floor of a wacky industry event, but six of one half dozen the other. The next drink I got from him was at least voluntary which was a layback of the mezcal that they were mixing with the sponsor Mr. Black in one of the many coffee-flavored drinks that night.