freydis

3/4 oz El Dorado 3 Year White Rum (Hamilton White Stache)
3/4 oz Krogstad Aquavit
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz L'Orgeat Almond Liqueur or Orgeat (Orgeat)
1/4 oz Orchard Peach Liqueur (Mathilde)

Whip shake, pour into a Hurricane or Pearl Diver glass (Collins), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig and orchid (ornamental pea blossom).As I was making my way through Amanda Schuster's Signature Cocktails book, one of the first drinks that seemed intriguing that I had not tried before and was also easy to make without crafting ingredients or utilizing time- and labor-intensive processes was the Freydis. The recipe was created by Selma Slabiak at Mother of Pearl in Manhattan circa 2018, and it was also meaningful to me for I got to meet Selma when we both attended the same session of Gaz Regan's Cocktails in the Country in 2015. Selma named her Nordic take on the Mai Tai after the sister of Leif Erikson and the first Scandanavian woman to make it to America. The combination reminded me a little of Death & Co.'s Mr. Wednesday but here in a peach instead of banana way. Once prepared, the Freydis landed with a mint and nutty bouquet. Next, a creamy lime sip sailed into rum, caraway, star anise, and nutty peach flavors on the swallow.

famous on paper

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange flag (orange twist).Two Thursdays ago, I finally got around to replacing my empty bottle of Amaro Nonino, and I decided to make a recipe that I had collected to encourage me to eventually go shopping. That drink was the Famous on Paper by Lisa Lauck from Chicago's The Violet Hour's Fall 2022 menu via online recipe flashcards that was also described in TastingTable in December 2022. Given the name and the ingredients, I figured that a mashup of a Naked and Famous with a Paper Plane would be a treat. Moreover, Yellow Chartreuse and Amaro Nonino worked rather well together in Backbar's Peat's Kiss. In the glass, the Famous on Paper took off with an orange, smoke, and vegetal aroma. Next, lemon, caramel, and honey on the sip cruised into smoky, vegetal, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a lemon finish.

under the veil

2 oz Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/2 oz Amaro Sfumato
1/2 oz Crème de Cassis (Massenez)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Cardamom Bitters (The Bitter House Wife)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cherry.Two Wednesdays ago, I opened up my new purchase of A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood by Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix for the evening's libation. While flipping through the pages, I stopped once I read the ingredients for the Under the Veil by Brooklyn bartender Alisha Neverson as her take on a Black Manhattan, for the combination of Sfumato and cassis worked rather well together in the Emotional Tailspin. Therefore, I decided to make the Under the Veil and reach for the bottle of cassis that I had not touched in a year since I made that other recipe. Once prepared, the Under the Veil showcased a char, roast, and cherry bouquet to the nose. Next, a dark fruit, roast, and caramel sip progressed into Cognac and bitter dark berry flavors on the swallow with a smoke and char finish.

seafarer's delight

6 cL Aged Rum (2 oz R.L. Seale 10 Year)
1.5 cL Falernum (1/2 oz Velvet)
0.5 cL Allspice Dram (1 tsp Hamilton's)
3 cL Lemon Juice (1 oz)
2 cL Orgeat (2/3 oz or 1/2 oz + 1 tsp)
2 dash Aromatic Bitters (Angostura)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass (rocks glass with ice), and garnish with a lemon twist and mint sprig.Two Tuesdays ago I spotted the Seafarer's Delight by German tropical drinks aficionado Kevin Heinze on Facebook's Tiki Recipes group. The combination reminded me a little of the spiced-Mai Tai riff, the Cuban Anole, but with falernum, allspice, and bitters instead of cinnamon syrup as well as a major change of citrus with lemon instead of lime. I opted for a single old fashioned glass with ice, for the larger build size here and the garnish I crafted would have problems working in most of my coupes. Kevin explained his glassware choice on my Instagram, "I have choosen the coupe, because I wanted to mix a rum-based Manhattan at first, which is why I had pre-chilled this glass type instead a rocks glass. But considering... the warm weather, it ended up as a Sour." Once prepared, the Seafarer's Delight pleased the senses with lemon, minty, and nutty aromas. Next, a creamy lemon sip sailed into aged rum, almond, allspice, and clove flavors on the swallow.

sandstorm

1 1/2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Crème de Violette (Rothman & Winter)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cherry. While writing up Matty Gees' Sands from Milk & Honey on the blog which was a Casino Cocktail with the addition of grapefruit and no orange bitters or perhaps the Savoy Cocktail Book simplified Aviation with grapefruit, I became inspired. What if I took the Sands and crossed it with the classic 1916 Aviation? Sand in the air made me think of a sandstorm which in turn made me think of Darudes's 2000 hit song as the name. This gin Hemingway Daiquiri-Aviation mashup of sorts proffered a nutty cherry, grapefruit, and floral aroma. Next, grapefruit, lemon, and cherry notes on the sip landed on gin and nutty cherry flavors on the swallow with a grapefruit peel and violet floral finish. Overall, the grapefruit juice worked with the Maraschino to push the combination a half or even a full step away from the Aviation.

jimmy hoffa

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Amaro Lucano
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).Two Sundays ago, I decided to open up my new purchase of J.E. Clapham's recently published That's Amaro: An Amaro Cocktail Book. There, I landed on the Jimmy Hoffa by Andy Aitken of the Dutch site Proof Cocktails in 2017 as an American whiskey riff on his Scotch-based Lord Lucan named after Britain's Jimmy Hoffa equivalent. Once prepared, the Jimmy Hoffa orchestrated an orange and caramel bouquet. Next, caramel and grape on the sip drove into rye flavors, dark orange peel notes, and a rounded herbal bitterness on the swallow.

corpse reviver #4

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the bartender recipe collection from Eastern Standard and landed on the Corpse Reviver #4. Thrillist in May 2010 attributed it to Jackson Cannon in a list of Boston off-menu items as his addition to the Corpse Reviver canon. While Corpse Revivers #1 and #2 were codified in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, the third in the series was created either in the late 1940s or mid 1950s (depending on the competing claims) as Cognac, crème de menthe, and Fernet. Here, Jackson swapped the Cognac for rye and the menthe for Yellow Chartreuse in the #3 and added in a dash of mole bitters. In the glass, the Corpse Reviver #4 proffered a lemon, herbal, and minty bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel and honey on the sip gave way to rye, pine, minty, and bitter herbal flavors on the swallow with a menthol and chocolate finish. Overall, the combination was rather elegant for a Fernet drink!

redhead

2/3 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
2/3 oz Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/3 oz Campari
1/3 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/3 oz Averna
1 tsp Green Chartreuse

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Fridays previous, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database when I came across the Redhead. The drink was crafted by Mathias Alsen at Brooms & Hatchets in Oslo, Norway, circa 2014 that started with the Red Hook as inspiration, and it was published in Gaz Regan's 101 Best New Cocktails 2015. The equal parts Campari, Maraschino, and Averna combination was one that prospered in the Free Fallin', so I was game to see it here with Cognac, vermouth, and Chartreuse added in. After using my teaspoon a bit to make this metric system-derived recipe (1/3 oz is 2 tsp and 2/3 oz is 1/2 oz + 1 tsp), I enjoyed the lemon, nutty cherry, and herbaceous bouquet. Next, a grape, caramel, and hint of cherry on the sip ended up in rye, Cognac, bitter cherry, herbaceous, and nutty flavors on the swallow.

jaguar nap

2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Lime Juice (3/4 oz)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
3 slice Cucumber
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cucumber slice and cayenne pepper.Two Thursdays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice app and came across the Jaguar Nap by Matty Clark at Dutch Kills in 2017. Overall, it was just like Attaboy's Mexican Razor Blade but with bitters (although we made the Mexican Razor Blade a lot for guests at Drink with the suggested inclusion of jalapeño slices in with the cucumber for muddling since folks often asked for spicy tequila and mezcal drinks). The Jaguar Nap awoke with cucumber and chili pepper aromas. Next, a lime and vegetal sip pounced on smoky agave and cucumber flavors on the swallow with a dry baking spice finish that gained pepper spice over time.