waking up ain't easy

1 oz Milagro Silver Tequila
1 oz Plantation Dark Rum
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
The other drink we tried at the Citizen Public House was the Waking Up Ain't Easy. Bartender Sean Frederick described how Richard Fiorillo created this Mai Tai-like split spirits number originally with a much longer name ("And They Said..." preceded things). I was drawn in because it somewhat reminded me of JM Curley's High Five, So Am I and many of the Campari-orgeat recipes such as the Pinwheel Swizzle. Once prepared, it showcased an earthy vegetal nose. Next, lime and rich caramel on the sip transitioned into tequila, rum, and nutty bitter notes on the swallow.

oaxacan punch

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass, top with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Two Thursdays ago, we stopped into the Citizen Public House to welcome back Sean Frederick to his old home. For one of our drinks, I asked Sean for the Oaxacan Punch created by bartender Patrick Clark. Pat was there, and he mentioned that he was rather happy with the drink's balance and later found some similarities with my Tainted Love after he created it. The Oaxacan Punch shared a grapefruit aroma that led into a rich lime sip. Next, the swallow offered smoky mezcal and complex notes from the Swedish Punsch including tea tannins, and things ended with a cinnamon finish.

smoke & mirrors

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
2 dash Bitter Truth's Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.
Two Thursdays ago, I ventured over to the Citizen Public House after work. For a first drink, I asked bartender Mary Stout for the Smoke & Mirrors which recently appeared on their cocktail menu. Mary commented that she thought the drink tasted like caramelized apricots. Once prepared, it offered an apricot and grape aroma with hints of smoke. The grape continued on into the sip along with vague orchard fruit notes, and the swallow shared smoky agave, apricot, and bitter nutty grape flavors. Indeed, the oxidized sherry and apricot liqueur paired rather well together as they have in the past in drinks like the Daley Fix and the Muckraker Punch.

jungle madness

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

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

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

11 + 2 / 12 + 1

1 1/2 oz Rabarbaro Zucca Amaro
1 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
2 dash Bitter Truth Grapefruit Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a grapefruit peel over the top.

Two Thursdays ago, we got dinner at Tasty Burger in the Fenway and headed across the street to the Citizen. There, John Mayer and Katie were tending bar, and for a first drink, John suggested a Zucca cocktail. The curiously named "11 + 2 / 12 + 1" might have stemmed from the proportions all having 1's, 2's, and /'s; however, John explained that both "11 + 2" and "12 + 1" both have the same 13 letters in them. And that seemed like a good enough reason to have a drink!
The 11+2/12+1 began with a bright grapefruit aroma over herbal notes. A sweet grape sip gave way to a swallow where the Green Chartreuse was smoothed over by the Zucca. Finally, light citrus notes finished off this simple but elegant libation.

uncosmopolitan

1 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy (*)
1 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso
1 oz Amaro Nonino

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
(*) Laird's 7 1/2 Year used here due to availability.

After the Hawthorne, I wandered over to the Citizen Public House where I found a seat in front of John Mayer. For a drink idea, he suggested an apple brandy, amaro, and sherry libation that he had just created for the Puritan & Co.'s new cocktail menu. He had also recently used this recipe in a ShakeStir competition and called it the Cosmo #2 with the explanation, "The Corpse Reviver and Corpse #2 are night and day, just two delicious drinks utilizing a great name. I decided to revive that tradition with an elegant, sophisticated and 'cosmopolitan' cocktail." However, when gave the recipe to the restaurant, he had changed the name to the Uncosmopolitan.
The Uncosmopolitan offered an apple and raisiny grape aroma. The grape continued on into the sip where it mingled with the amaro's caramel, and the swallow showcased the apple brandy along with the oloroso's nuttiness and the Nonino's herbal notes.

ciclope

1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado
3/4 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
3/4 oz Averna
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz Lemon Juice

Stir with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top with 2 oz soda and float 2 dash Angostura Bitters. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and a lemon twist; add a straw.

A few Mondays ago, we stopped into the Citizen after my DJ gig. For a drink, bartender Sean Frederick wanted to make the recipe for the 2013 winner of the Vino de Jerez competition, the Ciclope. The Ciclope was created by Eric Simpkins of The Lawrence in Atlanta, GA, and it definitely seemed like a worthy victor since apple brandy and sherry have paired so well together in the past.
The Ciclope delivered a lemon oil, allspice, and nutmeg aroma. A carbonated honey, caramel, and grape sip gave way to a raisiny and nutty swallow with hints of apple and herbalness.

flintlock

2 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz Savory & James Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Montelobos Mezcal (*)
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Stir to dissolve salt. Add ice, stir, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) With a feistier mezcal like Vida, use 1/2 oz.

On Monday at Thirst during the lunch break, I stopped into the Genesis Tasting Suite. There, M.S. Walker was hosting the American Boutique Spirits Bar where a pair of bartenders were taking turns mixing up drinks every hour. Had I realized the line up, I would have tried to run up there more often between the talks. Luckily, I did get to catch the excellent Sean Frederick in action, and I requested the Flintlock, a smoky aperitif he created and served here with Montelobos Mezcal. Sean mentioned that when he developed the drink with Del Maguey Mezcal Vida, he used a half ounce, but the softer style of Montelobos allowed for a slightly larger pour to get the same degree of smokiness.
The Flintlock proffered a smoke aroma that was brightened by the twist's orange oil. The sherry and Lillet combined on the sip to conjure a lemony grape note. Finally, the swallow showcased a raisiny mezcal flavor, and the salt helped to cleanly close off the finish.

noah calhoun

1 oz Bookers Bourbon
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 dash Bitter Cube Vanilla Cherry Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

For my second drink at the Citizen Public House, bartender John Mayer suggested a drink that ended up in the recipe notebook at Local 149. The Noah Calhoun was a collaboration of his with Spencer at 149 for a drink about a break up. Alas, it never made the menu for fear that it would be sent back too often since people would be lured in by the name, a character from The Notebook, instead of the ingredients and balance. And the balance itself reminded me of the classic Saratoga, the one that often gets referred to as the possible predecessor of the Vieux Carré and not the citrussy one.
The Noah Calhoun proffered an orange and vanilla nose. A caramel sip led into a Cognac and Bourbon swallow; the whiskey's heat continued into the finish where it mingled with herbal, cherry, and Mandarine orange notes.

[pancho villa]

2 oz Tequila Ocho Plata
1/2 oz Lustau Oloroso Sherry
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Two Sundays ago, we ventured over to the Fenway area to visit bartender John Mayer at his new home, Citizen Public House. For a first drink, John suggested a tequila number that he had been working on; with sherry in the mix, I was certainly game. Once prepared, the drink began with a robust agave aroma that was punctuated by floral notes. A grape and lime sip led into a nutty tequila swallow with a Maraschino finish. Indeed, it was no surprise that the oloroso sherry worked rather well with the Maraschino liqueur here.

[kartini]

2 oz Batavia Arrack
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz B.G. Reynolds Orgeat
1/2 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1/4 oz Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Two Mondays ago, we ventured over to the Citizen Public House when Sean Frederick was bartending. For a drink, I asked Sean to make me something with Batavia Arrack and sherry. Sean thought for a moment and then set into action to craft a complex Tiki libation by putting orgeat, lime, and a healthy dose of Angostura Bitter into the mix. The structure of the drink reminded me of something he made for me on the fly after returning from the Angostura competition in Trinidad that eventually got dubbed the Jab Molassie. For this unnamed drink, I dubbed it the Kartini after Raden Ayu Kartini, an Indonesian heroine who was a pioneer of women's rights there.
The nutmeg garnish's aroma greeted the nose. A lime and grape sip led into a swallow filled with Batavia Arrack's rum-like funkiness and the sherry and orgeat's nutty raisin flavors. Finally, the bitters added a complex cherry, dryness, and spice to the finish.

transatlantic

1 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Plantation 3 Star White Rum
3/4 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 barspoon Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

After experiencing some of the Tiki menu from the Eastern Standard guest bartenders at Citizen, Nick Korn, one of the Citizen bartenders, wanted to showcase a drink he created called the Transatlantic. Nick gathered inspiration for this drink while in London where he not only had many cocktails using mixed spirit bases but ones that utilized Pedro Ximénez sherry as a sweetener. Perhaps the use of American rye whiskey as one of the two base spirits solidifies the name here given the French and Spanish brands here (the Plantation rum is a trio of Caribbean rums but blended and bottled by Pierre Ferrand in France).
The Transatlantic's orange twist added bright accents to the raisiny sherry aroma. A malt, grape, and orange sip led into rye, rum, and a return of the raisin notes on the swallow.

the angry parrot

1 oz Lemon Hart 151 Rum
1 oz Old Monk Rum
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Grenadine
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Triple Sec
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wheel floated on the surface, grate nutmeg over the top, and add a straw.
Two weeks ago, we ventured down to one of Citizen Public House's weekly Tiki Tuesdays. While we have made other nights of this recurrent event on occasion, what drew us out were the pair of guest bartenders, namely Eastern Standard's own Seth Freidus and Hugh Fiore (pictured above). For a start, I asked Hugh Fiore for the Angry Parrot, one of the original recipes that he crafted for the night. Seth commented that the genesis of the drink was quite Hunter S. Thompson like; Hugh then explained that he came up with the idea after two Rittenhouses, three glasses of wine, and a pair of Fernets. I tried to find a connection between Hunter and parrots but only found one with a Mynah bird in an interview with cartoonist Ralph Steadman:

Hunter had a Mynah bird called Edward. He kept it in a big iron cage. Then he would creep towards the cage and bang the wires loudly and say menacingly, "I'm coming to get you Edward," and the bird would start to squawk. Hunter would open the cage and grab the bird amidst more squawking and Hunter saying, "You cannot escape, Edward! I have you in my power," and the poor bird would struggle and peck furiously at Hunter's hands which held the creature. "Yes! Edward!! It's me and you are doomed. There is no bird god who can save you now. It is futile to struggle -- and I am hungry, Edward. Hungry!!" Then he would simply allow it to jump back on its perch. I think they tormented each other for fun. The bird often sat on Hunter's shoulder.

That aside, when the Angry Parrot was mixed, it offered a nutmeg aroma. Lime and orange flavors joined the rums' caramel on the sip; the rums continued on into the swallow where they joined the pineapple and cinnamon flavors.

backyard bitter

1 1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Gran Classico Bitter
1/2 oz Lustau Dry Oloroso Sherry
2 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a grapefruit peel over the top.
Two Wednesdays ago, we had dinner at Tasty Burger in Fenway and then headed across the street to the Citizen Public House. There, Andrea asked for the Backyard Bitter from bartender Sean Frederick. Once mixed, the cocktail offered grapefruit and nutty sherry aromas. The sherry continued into the sip as a grape flavor, and the swallow began with the Cognac followed by the sherry's nuttiness and the Gran Classico's herbalness. Finally, the drink finished on a chocolatey note along with the Decanter Bitters' spice.

[jab molassie]

2 oz Scarlet Ibis Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
1/4 oz Coconut Cream
1/4 oz Angostura Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

For Andrea, Sean Frederick at the Citizen made a drink that captured his experiences in Trinidad and recreated them in a glass. For ingredients, he used a Trinidadian rum, Scarlet Ibis, for the island, and Angostura Bitters for the competition that he was down there for. The coconut cream represented the coconut water that he used to keep hydrated, and the pinch of salt to symbolize all of the sweating everyone did during that week. Since he was down there during Trinidad's carnival season, I considered dubbing the unnamed drink after that except that Kevin Martin had previously named a pisco drink the Carnivale. Instead, I dubbed it after one of the traditional characters in the Trinidad carnival, the molasses devil or Jab Molassie.
The drink proffered a citrus aroma that led into a lime and coconut sip. While the swallow presented the rum and Angostura spice, it was pretty smooth for a drink containing that much Scarlet Ibis and bitters; perhaps a combination of the salt and the coconut cream softened the swallow.

broadside

2 oz Hayman's Royal Dock Navy Strength Gin
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Rooibos Tea Syrup
5 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass that had been smoked with a smoldering cinnamon stick.
Sean Frederick was one of the American finalists in the 2012 Angostura Bitters Cocktail Challenge, and that honor allowed him to compete recently for the global competition in Trinidad. When Andrea and I stopped in at the Citizen two Mondays ago, I asked Sean about his trip and the experience which happened to center around their carnival. As we got to talking, I asked if he could make me one of the drinks that he competed with; Sean replied that he only had the ingredients on hand to make one of them, the Broadside. The Broadside utilized a smoked cinnamon treatment to the inside of the glass before the drink was strained, and the smokiness matched the nautical meaning of the name. A broadside in naval warfare is the simultaneous firing of all of the cannons on one side of the warship which can definitely be a rather smoky ordeal. Indeed, once mixed, the smoke joined the spice aromas on the nose. Next, a lime and floral sip led into gin, tea notes, and spice on the swallow.

corpse reviver #6

3/4 oz Beefeater Gin
3/4 oz Becherovka
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist and add straws.
Two Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I decided to get dinner at the Citizen Public House. For a drink, I asked bartender Andrea Novak for the Corpse Reviver #6 which was a honey and spice variation on the citrus and absinthe classic. The cocktail's lemon twist filled the aroma and prepared the mouth for the lemon juice and citrus wine sip. Next, a gin, clove, cinnamon, and honey swallow gained more spice notes over time as the ice melted.

the independent

1 1/2 oz Citizen's Miltonduff Single Barrel Scotch
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe glass.

Two Mondays ago after my DJing gig, we headed over to Tasty Burger for dinner followed by a nightcap at the Citizen Public House where bartenders Sean Frederick and Dave Delaney were busy slinging drinks. For my cocktail, I asked Sean for the Independent. In discussing the drink, Sean poured us a taste of the unique Scotch that serves as the recipe's base spirit. Their barrel of the Miltonduff single malt was surprisingly soft and gentle with cacao and grassy notes.
The Punt e Mes' grape and the Curaçao and perhaps Cocchi Americano's orange aromas filled the Independent's bouquet. The Scotch's malt joined the citrus and grape flavors on the sip. Next, the Scotch continued on into the swallow along with orange peel notes and the Punt e Mes' bitter elements.

very old cow

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
3/4 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.
After the Repeal Party at the Hawthorne, I met up with Andrea at the Citizen Public House for a late night snack and drink. For a cocktail, bartender John Nugent recommended the mezcal-based Very Old Cow that he had created. The drink began with an orange oil, fruity Aperol, and smoky mezcal aroma. The Punt e Mes' grape and Aperol's orange sip was followed by the mezcal, Punt e Mes' bitter elements, and a light Maraschino finish. The Aperol and lighter touch of Maraschino in this drink definitely took it in a different direction than other mezcal Red Hook-like drinks like the Magoun Squad, South Congress, and 1910 Cocktail.

old york flip

1 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Brown Crème de Cacao
1/3 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Cream
Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

For a final drink at the Citizen, bartender Sean Frederick recommended the Old York Flip. The drink was created by Taylor Corrigan of Origin in Toronto who was sitting a few seats down to our left that night; Sean had met Taylor when they were both cocktail apprentices at Tales of the Cocktail in 2011. Old York is a reference to the name of a city that later became incorporated into Toronto in the 19th century.
The Old York Flip greeted the senses with a chocolate and nutmeg aroma. A creamy, malty sip gave way to a chocolaty swallow with a light menthol finish. Indeed, the combination of cacao, cream, and Fernet worked well here as it did in the Fernet Alexander I crafted during my tour of the Anvil's 100 Drink list.