first word

1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/8 oz Honey Syrup
3/8 oz Velvet Falernum
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Mondays ago, I turned to the Hawthorne's bar bible and spotted the First Word by bartender Ingrid Schneider. While the name suggested a Last Word riff, this one was veered off a bit. With Yellow Chartreuse and falernum, it was closer to the Eulogy save for the falernum being cut with honey syrup which would complement both the apple brandy and the Yellow Chartreuse here. Moreover, the name and the apple component made me think of the biblical first sin in the Garden of Eden in addition to the Detroit pre-Prohibition classic. In the glass, the First Word opened up with apple, honey, and clove aromas. Next, lemon and honey on the sip fell into apple, herbal, ginger, and clove flavors on the swallow.

shadow moses

3/4 oz Knob Creek Rye (1 oz Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Hine Cognac (1 oz Courvoisier VS)
1/2 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/4 oz Turbinado Syrup (Demerara)
2 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters (5 dash Strongwater Moutain Elixirs)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcards when I spotted a curious drink called the Shadow Moses that reminded me of the Lineage cocktail called the Red Sea because the bartender's nickname was Moses. This recipe was created at Minibar in San Jose, California, circa 2021, and I was able to find menu and drink photos on both Yelp & GoogleMaps. The structure reminded me of the Liberal variation in Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up but here with a split of rye whiskey and brandy with Demerara syrup instead of Bourbon with maple (and of course, Ciociaro for Picon). In the glass, the Shadow Moses offered up orange and Cognac aromas. Next, caramel and a hint of orange peel on the sip divided the swallow into rye, Cognac, herbal-orange, and walnut flavors.

gogol cocktail

30% Dry Gin (3/4 oz Ford's)
30% Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Dolin)
20% Cognac (1/2 oz Courvoisier VS)
20% Benedictine (1/2 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters (1 dash)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist (Myer lemon).Two Saturdays ago, I ventured back to the 1000 Misture book from 1936 and spied the Gogol Cocktail perhaps named after the Ukrainian author. On paper, it read like a Martini met a B&B and perhaps morphed into a De la Louisiane form. In the glass, the Gogol donated a lemon, caramel, and herbal aroma. Next, the caramel notes continued into the sip where they evolved into Cognac, pine, herbal, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Overall, it came across somewhat close to a Cognac-tinged Poet's Dream or Joan Blondell.

a serious man

25 mL Del Maguey Mezcal Vida (1 oz Peloton de la Muerte)
25 mL Suze (1 oz)
25 mL Lillet Blanc (1 oz Cocchi Americano)
2.5 mL Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal (1/2 tsp)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Fridays prior, I returned to the Instagram account for Satan's Whiskers in London and selected A Serious Man from a 2023 posting. The drink read like a mezcal White Negroni with a dose of herbaceousness, and it seemed like a good use of our Elixir Vegetal that we only used one other time in the Prodigal Son since we acquired it as a gift at the launch party in November 2023. If the Elixir Vegetal were a larger amount of Green Chartreuse, the drink would read like the pineapple rum-based Pirate Radio, so I was game to see it with mezcal. Once prepared, A Serious Man showboated an orange, vegetal, and smoke aroma. Next, a vaguely fruity sip opened up into mezcal and Suze's vegetalness that melded into herbaceousness and smoke notes on the swallow.

portorico cocktail

50% Gin (1 1/4 oz Beefeater)
30% Blanc Vermouth (3/4 oz Dolin)
10% Jamaican Rum (1/4 oz Wray & Nephew)
10% Crème de Banane (1/4 oz Tempus Fugit)
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a thin sice of banana (omit).Two Thursday ago, I opened up my translated copy of the 1936 1000 Misture book and spotted the Portorico Cocktail. The name is the Italian spelling of Puerto Rico which is curious for this tropical gin drink calls for Jamaican rum. Moreover, and the combination reminded me of the rhum agricole-containing Preston-Baker. Once mixed, the Portorico gave forth a banana, pineapple, floral, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and white grape notes on the sip flowed into tropical, rum funk, and pine flavors on the swallow.

electric mayhem

1 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/4 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make a drink that I uncovered in an online collection of recipe flashcards for Long Island Bar and the Rockwell called the Electric Mayhem. The cocktail was attributed to bartender Tim Miner who currently works at the Long Island Bar, and a Timeout article in 2014 placed it at the Jakewalk which closed back in 2016. Once shaken and strained, the Electric Mayhem gave forth a lemon, orange, and clove bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon, orange, and honey notes on the sip evolved into Bourbon, herbal, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Although the recipe reads like a Bourbon Naked & Famous, the Angostura took things in a different direction.

storm king

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse Bonded)
1 oz Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Tuesdays prior, I got a copy of Sammi Katz and Olivia McGiff's Cocktails in Color book in the mail and was ready to use it that night for a drink. Their Storm King named after the sculpture park in Beacon, New York, was an autumnal Manhattan that quickly caught my eye. Although it had the same name as Damon Boelte's Storm King, it was closer to Sasha Petraske's Fallback with a different ratio of sweet vermouth to Montenegro and here Angostura instead of Peychaud's. Once stirred and strained, the Storm King opened up with orange and apple aromas. Next, the vermouth's grape filled the sip that transitioned into rye, apple, herbal, clementine, and clove flavors on the swallow.

knife fight

2/3 oz Del Maguey Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/3 Brokers Gin (Beefeater)
1 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Aperol
1/4 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Mondays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcard sets when I came across a noteworthy Negroni riff at Valkyrie in Tulsa. That drink was the Knife Fight that a Yelp review placed around 2019, and it was curious for it had a split mezcal-gin base with the bitter component being a mix of Aperol, Punt e Mes, and Campari. I last tried the mezcal-gin combination in my Mexico City Blues, and it also was utilized in the White Mezcal Negroni. Once mixed, the Knife Fight lunged to the senses with a grapefruit, bitter citrus, and smoke aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip parried a vegetal, pine, and bitter orange swallow with a smoke, tangerine, and grapefruit finish.

right paw of destiny

1 1/2 oz Santa Teresa Rum (3/4 oz Monymusk Gold + 3/4 oz Hamilton Demerara 86°)
1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 dash 1821 Havana & Hide Bitters (Extinct Chemical Co. Abbott's)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.Two Sundays ago, I decided to make a drink from Backbar in Somerville called the Right Paw of Destiny that they posted on their Instagram a while back. This riff on the Right Hand appeared on their 2023 cat-themed menu and would probably be a great companion to their other riff, the Left Hand of Darkness. The Instagram post describes how, "Its name comes from the question: there is a cat with a top hat and monocle riding a raging fiery unicorn with a cigar in its left paw; what’s in its right paw???" Once prepared, the Right Paw of Destiny conjured up caramel, clementine, and grape aromas. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip switched places with rum, bitter orange, nutty, and spice flavors on the swallow.

odessa cocktail

25% Batavia Arrack (3/4 oz von Oosten)
25% Dry Gin (3/4 oz Tanqueray Malacca)
25% Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Giacomo Sperone)
25% Campari (3/4 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry.Two Saturdays ago, I returned to 1000 Mistures from 1936 and spotted the Odessa Cocktail which read like a Negroni meets a funky Right Hand. It also bore some resemblance to my Dutch Hand with Genever and mole bitters instead of the gin and Angostura here. In the glass, the Odessa Cocktail presented a grape, herbal, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, a grape-driven sip opened up into funky rum, pine, sharp bitter orange, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

the chicago underground

3/4 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Fridays ago, I spotted a reference to a two year old post on Reddit's cocktails forum from user Fnordianslips for a drink called The Chicago Underground. They describe it as their Chicago-style take on the Industry Sour. The post described, "This Industry Sour riff is an attempt at a cocktail tasty enough to get me through a bottle of Malört. And by God, it works! Fernet adds the complexity Malört's wormwood needs, and it all plays very nicely with lime and simple." Not one to back down from the challenge of drinking two of the most surly liqueurs in one glass (which I did one time before in the Ada Lovecraft), I mixed this one up. The result proffered minty, menthol, pineapple, and grapefruit aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and lime on the sip shuffled into bitter grapefruit, gentian, minty, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

wicked games

1 1/2 oz Pineau des Charentes
1/2 oz Clairin Vaval
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
4 drop Saline Solution

Shake with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora glass.Two Thursdays ago, I ventured down to Assembly Row in Somerville to visit my old co-worker Lucy Comer at Parla XXI. For my first drink, I requested the Wicked Games by Steve Matin and subtitled "Get lost in the thrill of temptation." When Steve sat at my bar a few weeks ago, he showed off a few of his recipes for the new menu on his phone, and I made the comment that the Wicked Games reminded me of a Pompadour. He confirmed that he based it off of Frank Meier's 1934 recipe; his choice of lime instead of lemon reminded me of my tequila riff that I created called The King's Mistress that I created for Loyal Nine (the only bar that I have worked at where we had Pineau des Charentes other than at Drink which seemed to have everything). After Lucy shook and strained the Wicked Games, it greeted the nose with funky rum, melon, and orange aromas. Next, white grape and melon notes on the sip let go into funky rum, lime, and orange flavors with a hint of cinnamon on the swallow.

darling cocktail

20% Cognac (1/2 oz Courvoisier VS)
20% Demerara Rum (1/2 oz Hamilton 86°)
20% Batavia Arrack (1/2 oz von Oosten)
30% Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Giacomo Sperone)
10% Zara Maraschino (1/4 oz Luxardo)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a glass rimmed with grenadine and sugar, and garnish with a cherry.Two Wednesdays ago, I received my copy of 1000 Mistures from 1936 by Elvezio Grassi and recently translated by J.E. Clapham. For a starter, I honed in on the Darling Cocktail since I had not used my bottle of Batavia Arrack that much in the last year (save for the Lethal Weapon and Hitman). The trio of Cognac, rum, and Batavia Arrack screams out classic punches, but the only recipe that I could find that called for all three was Shannon Mustipher's modern Old Rogue punch. Here the three spirits were in a Martinez sort of format, so the straight spirits nature made me curious. In the glass, the Darling Cocktail offered up dark rum and nutty cherry aromas. Next, grape notes with a hint of molasses on the sip shifted into Cognac, funky and woody rum, nutty cherry, and clove flavors on the swallow.

patty o'cann

1 oz Teeling Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1/2 oz Bowmore 12 Year Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
3/4 oz Dolin Rouge Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone Sweet)
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass (coupe), and garnish with a cherry.Two Tuesdays ago, I was looking through online recipe flashcards for Irish whiskey drinks when I came across the Patty O'Cann at the Butcher Chef in Toronto for their August 2021 menu. I soon confirmed the drink, ingredients, and approximate date from a GoogleMaps menu photo. The Cynar, Benedictine, and sweet vermouth trio is one that has prospered in the Tight Five and Halls of Power, so I was curious to try it with a split of whiskies. Once stirred and strained, the Patty O'Cann gave forth a peat smoke, grape, and herbal bouquet. Next, grape and caramel notes mingled on the sip and were chased by smoky whisky, dark fruit, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

bully pulpit

2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Rabarbaro (Bully Boy) (*)
1/4 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens Mole)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Zucca and Sfumato are other rabarbaros.

For an article on local amari that I am currently writing, I visited a few distilleries to get their stories, and I was tasked with creating a recipe for three of them. For Bully Boy in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, I selected their rabarbaro over their standard amaro (Montenegro-Nonino-like) and their rosso amaro (Campari-ish) to craft a recipe. Rabarbaros are made with the smoky, earthy, roasty, and bitter root of rhubarb which is very different from the fruity stalk above ground. Two famous rabarbaros are Zucca and Sfumato, and Bully Boy's is closer to Zucca with a touch of root beer notes akin to Ramazzotti. For a direction, I latched onto the rabarbaro-orange liqueur combination that I have tried in a pair of drinks, namely the Lush Interlude and Dark Matter. I used the 3:1 ratio that I extracted from Cure's Black & Bluegrass (overlooking the Aperol) that I used in the Devil's Staircase. For a spirit, I chose for mezcal (although I will offer up tequila as an option in the article) and accented it with mole bitters for depth and roundness. For a name, I dubbed this one the Bully Pulpit which is a conspicuous position that allows one to speak and be listened to and was coined by Teddy Roosevelt. In the glass, the Bully Pulpit shouted out orange, roast, vegetal, and smoke aromas. Next, the curaçao's orange note filled the sip and the swallow gave forth smoky vegetal, roast, and chocolate flavors.

pulitzer

40 mL Bacardi Cuatro Rum (1 1/2 oz Hamilton's White Stache)
10 mL Aperol (1/2 oz)
15 mL Honey Syrup (1/2 oz)
15 mL Lime Juice (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lime wedge (lime wheel).After uncovering the recipe posts on London's Satan's Whiskers' Instagram with the King's County, I returned and selected the Pulitzer from last year. There is another Pulitzer on this blog, namely Eastern Standard's, but the only similarity is the Aperol and the stemmed glassware. This one is more like a Brooklynite where the dash of Angostura Bitters was substituted for Aperol here. Once prepared, the Pulitzer welcomed the nose with a lime, floral, and orange aroma. Next, lime and honey notes on the sip developed into rum, bitter orange, and floral flavors on the swallow.

stink eye

2 oz Knob Creek Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Cynar
1 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters (2 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a recipe called the Stink Eye that a friend posted on Instagram earlier in the week. The drink was created by St. Paul, Minnesota, enthusiast Craig Eliason and posted on KindredCocktails. Overall, it read like Eastern Standard's Fernet Cocktail with a little more Punt e Mes, less Fernet and spice from the whiskey (rye vs. Bourbon), and the addition of Cynar and walnut bitters. In the glass, the Stink Eye showcased a lemon and minty-menthol bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and a hint of caramel on the sip opened up into Bourbon, herbal, and menthol flavors on the swallow. While it was indeed similar to that Fernet Cocktail, the Cynar did have a small modulating effect on the herbal signature to make it a touch more complex.

king's county

40 mL Aberfeldy 12 Year Scotch (1 1/2 oz Royal Brackla 12 Year)
15 mL Compass Box Peat Monster (1/2 oz Ardbeg 10 Year)
10 mL Punt e Mes (2 tsp, 1/3 oz)
10 mL Luxardo Maraschino (2 tsp, 1/3 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry.Two Fridays, I spotted an adapted version of the King's County on Difford's Guide and tracked it back to the source – namely, the bar's Instagram. In a 2024 post, Satan's Whiskers in London had posted the recipe of this double Scotch Red Hook of sorts. The combination of Scotch, Punt e Mes, and Maraschino appeared in the Cowboy Killer and the Meat Hook, so I was curious to try their take on it. Once prepared, the Kings' County proffered a nutty cherry and peat smoke bouquet to the nose. Next, grape, cherry, and malt notes on the sip opened up into smoky Scotch and herbal cherry flavors on the swallow.

rockefeller

2 oz Chairman's Legacy Aged Rum (Doorly's 12 Year)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Cinnamon Demerara Syrup
Stir with ice and strain into a coupe that had been partially rimmed with cinnamon and had the inside smoked with a torched piece of cinnamon stick.Two Thursdays ago, I uncovered online recipe flashcards for Otto's High Dive in Orlando, and I was drawn in by the Rockefeller for their Christmas 2024 menu. I was able to find both a menu photo and a drink photo via Instagram geotags to confirm the ingredients and the presentation. I was curious to try this one for its Braulio-Benedictine combination was one I utilized in the Mexico City Blues after mashing up two drinks. In the glass, the Rockefeller gave forth cinnamon, pungent smoke, caramel, and pine aromas. Next, a caramel-driven sip flowed into rum, herbal, pine, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

devil's disciple

1 1/4 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Amaro Zucca or Sfumato (Sfumato)
1/4 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)
Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.After thinking about the Sfumato-Ancho Reyes combination in two drinks, the Ashes in Our Mouths and Comanche Club, I decided to tinker. I combined that duo with the 3:1 rye to mezcal combination that I learned from recipes like the Devil's Soul plus a touch of mole bitters. For a name, I dubbed this the Devil's Disciple after a possible reference to Alestair Crowley in Ernest Hemingway's posthumous A Moveable Feast book written about Paris in the 1920s. Once prepared, the Devil's Disciple shot forth a grapefruit, vegetal, and roast aroma. Next, a roasted vegetal-fruity sip waylaid rye, vegetal, smoky, dried fruit, and pepper spice flavors on the swallow.

white elephant

3/4 oz Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
3/4 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1 tsp Luxardo Amaretto
1/2 tsp Nocino (Russo)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry and an orange twist.Two Tuesdays ago, I turned to Imbibe Magazine's archives and found the White Elephant by Isaac Shumway as his take on fruitcake flavors via a 2021 article. Isaac opened the California Gold bar in San Rafael, California, in 2019, so perhaps he created it there. As sort of a Rob Roy meets a French Connection (a Cognac-based Godfather) with a touch of walnut in the mix, I was willing to give this one a shot. Here, the White Elephant approached with a grape and almond bouquet. Next, the vermouth's grape continued on into the sip where it was followed by smoky Scotch, Cognac, and herbal flavors on the swallow with fruity-nutty accents from the amaretto and walnut ones from the nocino.

exploding plastic inevitable

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.After seeing folks make my As I Lay Dying on Instagram, I thought about the Braulio-apricot combination and merged it with the Pendennis Club. In retrospect, I could have left out the Pendennis Club's Peychaud's akin to the Campari acting like the Pegu Club's Angostura in the Jasmine, but Peychaud's has a good track record of improving drinks. I named this weird one after the multimedia events in the 1960s thrown by Andy Warhol and friends called the Exploding Plastic Inevitable that I read about in Ada Calhoun's St. Marks is Dead book. In the glass, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable evolved a smoke, apricot, vegetal, and pine bouquet. Next, lime and orchard fruit on the sip spun into smoke, bitter pine and apricot, and vegetal flavors on the swallow.

on the beltline

1 1/2 oz Old Forester Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
1/2 oz Planteray Xaymaca Rum
1/4 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1 tsp Giffard Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1 dash Bitter End Moroccan Bitters (The Bitter Housewife Cardamom)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Note: no instructions were given, so this was my best guess.Two Sundays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcard sets when I came across an interesting recipe from the Forth Club in Atlanta last year. The drink was On the Beltline with a split Bourbon-rum base sweetened by sherry and crème de cacao, and its name seemed to be a boxing reference for a low but legal blow until I learned that the Atlanta Beltline is a 22 mile former railway corridor around Atlanta that has helped to redevelop the city. After I mixed this up like an Old Fashioned, the On the Beltline bloomed with orange, raisin, and chocolate aromas. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip flowed into Bourbon, funky rum, dried fruit, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

polynesian paradise

1 1/2 oz Gold Rum (Planteray Isle of Fiji)
1 tsp Brown Sugar
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1/4 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau)

Stir brown sugar and lime juice to dissolve. Add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of Stan Jones' 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide and spotted the Polynesian Paradise. The recipe reminded me of a Floridita in style: rum, lime, vermouth, and two sweeteners that I mirrored in the Devil Walking Next to Me and Creolita, and a Daiquiri riff sounded like a perfect way to end the evening. Once shaken and strained, the Polynesian Paradise welcomed the senses with a rum funk, lime, and brown sugar aroma. Next, lime, molasses, and grape notes on the sip sailed away towards rum, brown sugar, orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

five year plan

1 1/4 oz Yellowstone Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
1/2 oz Delord Napoleon Armagnac (Marie Duffau)
1/4 oz Don Ciccio Nocino (Russo Nocino)
1 tsp Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Bittertruth Aromatic Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with orange and lemon twists.Two Fridays ago, I returned to the Death & Co. marketplace site and landed on the recipe for the Five Year Plan. It was created by bartender Summer Goff at their Denver outpost in 2023, and Summer dubbed the drink after the question "Where do you see yourself in five years?" that sends Summer "reeling into absolute panic, and naming that cocktail after it is the closest thing I've gotten to an answer." With the same walnut liqueur-cinnamon syrup duo from The World is Yours from three days prior, I was game to give this one with Bourbon-Armagnac instead of Japanese whisky-sherry a go. In the glass, the Five Year Plan opened up with orange, lemon, cinnamon, and nutty aromas. Next, caramel-roast notes on the sip finished off with Bourbon, walnut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

yamabuki

1 1/2 oz Suntory Toki Japanese Whisky
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Thursdays prior, I turned to Imbibe Magazine where I found the Yamabuki in an October 2020 article. The recipe was created by Evan Leihy at the Swordfish Cocktail Club in Greenville, South Carolina, and Yamabuki translates to "mountain breath." Since the Montenegro-blanc vermouth combination worked well in the Catnap with Jamaican rum, I was curious to see how it would play out with Japanese whisky. In the glass, the Yamabuki gave forth lemon and clementine aromas to the nose. Next, white grape notes with a hit of orange-apricot came through on the sip and were followed by whisky, clementine, nectarine, and floral flavors on the swallow.

green hornet

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
[1/8 oz Demerara Syrup]

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. The syrup was my addition after mixing and tasting it to give it some needed sweetness to balance the alcohol heat as well as to give it some body.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the KindredCocktails database when I spotted the Green Hornet by Thad Volger at Bourbon & Branch in San Francisco circa 2008. It was originally posted on eGullet, and the database entry alluded to the Fernet and Chartreuse with the note, "Sometimes a drink needs two tyrants." In my head, it reminded me of Ted Kilgore's Purgatory of rye, Chartreuse, and Benedictine, and to complete the trio, there was also the Oldfield of rye, Benedictine, and Fernet. Moreover, the Fernet-Chartreuse combination also starred in the Daiquiri-like Industry Sour. In the glass, the Green Hornet opened up with rye, herbaceous, and menthol aromas. Next, caramel notes on the sip transformed into rye, minty-menthol, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow.

the world is yours

2 oz Hibiki Harmony Japanese Whisky (Suntory Toki)
1/2 oz La Garrocha Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
1/4 oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur (Russo Nocino)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Bittermens Tiki Bitters (Bitter Cube Trinity)
Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist studded with cloves.Two Tuesdays ago, I was searching KindredCocktails for Japanese whisky drinks when I spotted The World is Yours by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles. The combination of walnut and cinnamon worked well in the Man In a Yellow Hat and in my Shadows & Tall Trees, and oloroso sherry seemed like it would tie it all together. My guess is that the drink name is based on the 1994 song by Nas that paid homage to the movie Scarface. In the glass, The World is Yours gave forth a lemon, nutty, and cinnamon aroma. Next, grape and malty notes on the sip led into whisky, walnut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

key cocktail

1 1/2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Falernum (1/2 oz Velvet)
1/4 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (1/2 oz Coruba)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a pineapple stick (omit garnish).Two Mondays ago, I reached for my copy of the 1977 Jones' Complete Barguide and spotted the Key Cocktail. While the name reminded me of Death & Co.'s Key Party, the four part rum, gin, lime, and sweetener structure reminded me of the 1937 Daiquiri Special but with falernum instead of grenadine. In more complex form, the gin, rum, falernum, and lime aspect was one that I had seen in the Bali Bali and included in the Monkey Pilot. In the glass, the Key Cocktail proffered a caramel, rum funk, lime, and clove bouquet to the nose. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip set up caramel, lime, juniper, and clove flavors on the swallow. While the combination was balanced as made (it seemed a touch tart as written), it definitely needed a little pizzazz like a dash of absinthe, a funkier rum, and/or a softer modern gin (like the Barr Hill that I used in the Daiquiri Special) to give it some intrigue.

zakim

2 oz Evan Williams Bonded Bourbon
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz House Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Sundays ago, I spotted an interesting Manhattan variation on KindredCocktails called the Zakim from Alcove in Boston circa 2022. The database only had a reverse engineered recipe, so I hunted one down on the restaurant's Instagram and update the database accordingly. The drink was named after the stunning bridge visible from their doorway that leads into the Big Dig tunnel, and the combination of Punt e Mes and falernum is one that I have only seen a few times such as in the Flor de Muertos but always with citrus. The tropical Manhattan variation with Punt e Mes reminded me of the orgeat instead of falernum Little Caribbean, so I was intrigued to give this one a try. In the glass, the Zakim showcased lemon, Bourbon, and clove aromas. Next, the Punt e Mes' grape filled the sip that flowed into Bourbon, bitter herbal, clove, ginger, and lime flavors on the swallow.

606

1 1/2 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Sperone)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays ago, I spotted a reference on KindredCocktails to the 606, and I was able to track it down in my 2010 copy of the Left Coast Libations book. The drink was created by San Francisco bartender Neyah White, and the recipe was on the same page as his Old Bill that I made shortly after purchasing the book at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010. The idea of Genever, Fernet, and vermouth reminded me a little of the Central Carré with Punt e Mes at Rendezvous, but if the Genever was a stand-in for gin, I could visualize this as a riff on the 1920s Hanky Panky. Once stirred and strained, the 606 presented an orange, malty, and bitter herbal bouquet to the nose. Next, malty, grape, and caramel notes on the sip opened up into malty, bitter herbal, and minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.