becky's battle

1 oz Batavia Arrack
1 oz Becherovka
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice

Whip shake, pour into a snifter glass, and fill with crushed ice. Float 3-4 dash Angostura Bitters, and garnish with a lime, cherry, and mint sprig flag.

Two Fridays ago, I found myself in Harvard Square, so I headed to Russell House Tavern for a drink. There, I found a seat in front of lead bartender Lex Russo, and I requested the Becky's Battle off of the cocktail menu. With Batavia Arrack, honey, and lime, I wondered if the name was a reference to the Battle of Trafalgar which just came off their menu after an 8 year run. Lex explained that he crafted this with Corey; the drink evolved in an Iron Chef sort of way where two bottles were blindly grabbed from the well -- Batavia Arrack and Becherovka. And when he listed off the recipe, the split base with Becherovka reminded me of the Flight Deck that I recently made.
The Becky's Battle shared a mint, lime, and clove bouquet with the nose. Next, lime and honey mingled on the sip, and the swallow gave forth Batavia Arrack's funk, pineapple, and cinnamon spice flavors to round out the drink.

deadbolt

1 1/4 oz Peloton de la Muerte Mezcal
1 1/4 oz Banknote Blended Scotch
1/2 oz Cynar 70 (Cynar 33 will work here too)
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
2 dash Fee's Chocolate Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass, and garnish with grapefruit oil from a twist.

After my second bar shift at Our Fathers Deli two Fridays ago, I stopped into Russell House Tavern on my way home. There, I found a seat in front of bar manager Joe Slavinski and asked him for the Deadbolt. Joe described how that was his menu item; he was inspired by a similar drink he had once read about in one of his books but could never find again, so he made his own take on it. His cocktail was first crafted with the original Cynar before being put on the menu with Cynar 70, so Joe explained that either version would work well here.
The Deadbolt teased the nose with smoke and dark notes from the Cynar that were brightened by the grapefruit oil. Next, malt and caramel on the sip led into a swallow where smoke transitioned into funky herbal flavors with a chocolate and lime-clove finish.

skyfall

2 oz Cutty Sark Scotch
1/2 oz Dow's Fine Ruby Port
1/2 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

Stir with ice, strain into a single Old Fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Wednesdays ago, I ventured down to Russell House Tavern for dinner. For a first drink, I asked bartender Brett Howard for the Skyfall. Brett confirmed my guess that this was recipe was created by bar manager Ashish Mitra; I made that assumption for I know that Ashish favors Manhattans made with port when he goes out. In the glass, the Skyfall first provided a lemon and grape aroma that later shared menthol notes from the Fernet. Next, a grape and malt sip had hints of pear from the elderflower liqueur, and the swallow was a complex medley of Scotch, grape, floral, and menthol-herbal flavors. Overall in this Chancellor Cocktail-like drink, the port's grape had a stronger presence in both the sip and the swallow than vermouth, Madeira, or sherry do in comparable proportions.

funky kingston

1 1/2 oz Sons of Liberty True Born Genever-style Gin
3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
3 dash Angostura Bitters
2 slice Ginger Root

Muddle the ginger slices, add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, and strain into a double Old Fashioned glass. Fill with crushed ice, garnish with freshly grated nutmeg, and add straws.

While at Russell House Tavern, bartender Jay Miranda wanted to show me his new creation called the Funky Kingston. The base spirit was a Genever-style gin from the Sons of Liberty distillery where they began with a Belgian-style white beer containing all the botanicals save for the juniper. For a name, Jay paid tribute to the distillery's home in Kingston, RI, and dubbed this one after a reggae song from Toots & the Maytals.
Once prepared, the Funky Kingston shared a nutmeg aroma that led into a lime, orange, and malt sip. Next, the swallow gave forth juniper, lemon from perhaps the lemongrass and coriander in the gin, ginger, and clove flavors. Overall, the spirit worked great in what otherwise seemed like a Royal Bermuda Yacht Club or Test Pilot structure.

cesaire daiquiri

2 oz Clement Premiere Canne Rhum Agricole
1/2 oz Bacardi 8 Year Rum
3/4 oz Honey Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a single Old Fashioned glass, and garnish with a lime twist.
Two Wednesdays ago, I headed over to Russell House Tavern for dinner. For a first drink, I asked bartender Brett Howard for the Césaire Daiquiri. The recipe was created by bar manager Ashish Mitra as a tribute to Aimé Césaire, a French poet from Martinique. Once prepared, the Daiquiri donated a lime, grassy, and hint of floral bouquet to the nose. Next, lime and honey on the sip led into a grassy and floral swallow with a honey finish.

hoti hoti

1 1/2 oz Pyrat Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Velvet Falernum
3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
2 dash Absinthe

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with 4-5 dash Angostura Bitters and garnish with a grapefruit slice.
After Brick & Mortar, I headed up Mass Ave to have dinner at Russell House Tavern. For a drink, I asked bartender Trevor Christian for the Hoti Hoti on the menu created by Robert Sanford. Despite the Swizzle format, the structure reminded me a bit of the Jet Pilot, so I was definitely excited to try out this flavor combination. Once prepared, the Hoti Hoti shared a grapefruit and clove bouquet. Next, a fruity sip from lime, grapefruit, and grape notes led into rum, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow.

guadalajara

2 oz Olmeca Altos Plata Tequila
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 pinch Mint Leaves

Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass. Top with 1 oz sparkling wine and garnish with a lemon twist.

After the Novecento, Andrea and I headed over to Russell House Tavern for dinner. For a drink, Andrea asked bartender Jay Miranda for the Guadalajara which appeared to be an Old Cuban in structure. Jay confirmed that and also likened it to a Southside, and he added that it was bar manager Ashish Mitra's creation and that it has been a top seller as of late.
Tequila and lemon on the nose preceded the carbonated crisp wine and lemon notes on the sip. The swallow then yielded the tequila and mint which made for a refreshing pairing.

guiding light

2 oz Xicaru Mezcal
3/4 oz Gran Classico
1/2 oz Clement Creole Shrub
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

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

I was pleasantly surprised on the most recent Russell House Tavern cocktail menu that there was a drink on there by Joe Slavinski. Joe recently switched from being a server to a bartender and took to the trade rather quickly. His creation, the Guiding Light, was named as a homage to everyone he has learned from, but it was left unclear if he is also a soap opera junky (which would not interfere with his more nocturnal professional wrestling watching). In a way, his drink reminded me of a smoky and spiced agave-based Lucien Gaudin.
The Guiding Light began with an orange oil and smoky aroma with a hint of bubblegum from the Gran Classico. An orange-driven sip led into a smoky mezcal swallow followed by orange and bitter herbal notes and lastly a smoky allspice finish.

camparipolitan

The Cosmopolitan has been getting bashed a lot by modern mixologists as of late, and I have found myself defending it a bit more than expected. Sure, the 1980s drink got fame in the 1990s and made big splashes thanks to Madonna and Sex and the City. It is often touted as a chick drink as well. During my early bar years in the 1990s, the Kamikaze was still revered as a serious shot. Vodka, lime juice, and triple sec. So if you add a splash of cran to a Kamikaze, what do you get? True, it would be so much better as a gin drink, and that had already been done in the first few decades of the 20th century with the gin-based Cosmopolitan using raspberry syrup instead of cranberry. In fact, at a Milagro buy-out event, I asked the bartender for a tequila Cosmo perhaps with a hint of irony given that it was expected that I would request something highfalutin to stump the bartender. People looked at me funny until I explained that it was a Margarita with a dash of cranberry. The idea came to me after asking for a tequila Scofflaw since that whiskey classic was on their menu already, and I was thinking of other classics to tequila-ize.

Two days ago on Facebook, there was a thread where one bartender complained that, "Tonight a man told me, after ordering a Cosmo, that he 'truly hated' mine. And that it was 'undrinkable'." I commiserated and shared how someone once called my 3:1:1 Margarita at work the worst he had ever had. But the rest of the thread devolved into bashing the Cosmopolitan ranging from the drink itself to the people who order them as well as questioning their masculinity and class. It got me thinking about how the art form of a Daisy with a splash of tart and bitter cranberry juice could be elevated. My mind went straight for Fernet Branca for it works well in drinks containing triple sec and citrus such as the Ali-Frazier (which was inspired by the citrus-less Alcazer from the same book as the 1903-33 Cosmo). However, all that rosiness from the cranberry and brightness from the other ingredients would be drowned out by a sea of black or brown from the liqueur. But wait, what about Campari? It has worked well for drinks in Beta Cocktails, at the Anvil, and in my own experiments, so why not? I sent myself an email at 1:30 that day to remind myself to tinker with it at work during a slow moment over the next few days.
That night during my shift, CJ, one of the servers, had spoke highly of me to his table, and he came by to relay their question if I could make something with Campari as the base spirit. It just doesn't get any better timing than that! When the ticket for "Campari Up$ (Message: YARM)" came in, I set to work and whipped one up as a modification of my standard Cosmo (more lime and cranberry juice by a touch). It was still a bit bitter before I shook it, so I added a pinch of salt to cut that bitterness and bring out Campari's rich orange flavors that would complement the other citrus notes in the drink. Before I could get their opinion through the server, another ticket came in for "Campari Up$ (Message: YARM)" to the same table which answered my question. Apparently, one of the tablemates fancied it as well. That second one before I sent it out is pictured above. For a name, I opted for the Camparipolitan although the Cosmopari was a close second.

Camparipolitan (or Cosmopari?)
• 2 oz Campari
• 1 oz Triple Sec (Clement Creole Shrubb here)
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Cranberry Juice
• 1 pinch Salt
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist. A home version of 1 1/2 : 3/4 : 3/4 : fat 1/4 : 1 pinch would work well too.

Yesterday, I made a mini version to get tasting notes. The orange twist at first contributed a lot of bright orange oil notes, but as those oils were sipped away, the nose became more orange peel driven over time. The sip was tart lime and orange, and a different orangeness, a darker more bitter one from the Campari, came through on the swallow along with the cranberry flavors. Finally, the drink ended with a slightly tart and bitter finish. Overall, it was like a Cosmo made with some extra citrussy vodka with some additional bitter herbal complexity.

The Daisy itself is such a strong base of a drink. I even tinkered with it for a recent Mixology Monday with the Double Daisy where I hybridized the Margarita and the Sidecar. Indeed, it is a family of drink that still makes people very happy and has a classic and elegant history and feel to it.

eye of the storm

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1 oz Clement Premiere Canne
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Caffè Borghetti
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass containing 2-3 oz ginger ale, ice cubes, and 3 lime wheels. Add a straw.
One of my favorite new drinks on the Russell House Tavern cocktail menu is the Eye of the Storm. This recipe was created by bar manager Ashish Mitra as a play on a Dark & Stormy with inspiration from the Jungle Bird and other tiki drinks. To me, it seemed like a more complex Suffering Bastard or a riff on a Mr. Bali Hai before I read the recipe notes. Once prepared, it offered the respective funkiness of the Smith & Cross and rhum agricole on the nose. Next, carbonated lime, rum's caramel, and hints of coffee roast filled the sip. Finally, the swallow was a combination of grassy and funky rums that finished with ginger, vanilla, and lingering dark roast coffee notes.

fleming fizz

1 1/2 oz Great King Street Scotch
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass with 2 oz of sparkling wine. Float 1/8 oz Laphroaig 10 Year and garnish with a lemon twist.

Some time last week at work, I decided to act on an idea I had about the neo-classic Penicillin Cocktail. While I have had variations that include spirit choice such as the Little Branch Cocktail (tequila and mezcal) and Panacea (Banks Rum and Batavia Arrack) and form such as the Penicillin Flip, what if I were to cross it with a French 75? I could not recall a smoky Scotch champagne cocktail off the top of my head, but I knew that blended whisky and honey do work in that format via the Dancing Scotsman.
For a name, instead of calling it a Penicillin 75, I thought about the scientist who discovered the drug back in 1928, Alexander Fleming. I opted to pay tribute with the Fleming Fizz, although the Fleming 28 did cross my mind. The drink's Islay Scotch float and lemon garnish contributed a bit of smoke and citrus oil to the aroma. A sparkling lemon, honey, wine, and malt sip gave way to the smoky Scotch swallow and a honey ginger finish. Indeed, the elegance of the French 75 was maintained with the idea of the Penicillin intact save for the flavor components being diluted a bit by the sparkling wine.

sinnerman swizzle

1 oz Bombay Dry Gin
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Build in a Collins glass, fill with crush ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with more crushed ice, garnish with mint sprigs and 5-6 dash Angostura Bitters, and add a straw.

While looking through the Death & Co. Cocktail Book and making the Park Life Swizzle, I thought about the power of their Swizzle recipe that Death & Co. alum Katie Emmerson paid tribute in her Company Swizzle at the Hawthorne. Moreover, it influenced Matt Schrage in making his Red Duster Swizzle at Brick & Mortar. One of the drinks and flavor combinations that I was still thinking about was Mike Fleming's Sinnerman at West Bridge; the simple combination of sweet vermouth, gentian liqueur, and allspice dram made for a rather good aperitif. I did find it a touch sweet and figured that some citrus would dry it out a little. Or if I added some citrus and made a Swizzle out of it...
So I went into work the next day and made a Swizzle variation of the drink. I had not made a gin drink up in a while so I reached for that, but whiskey or especially Scotch might work well here too (or rum if the citrus was switched to lime). For a name, I thought about riffing on the concept of the Sinnerman song by paying tribute to Nina Simone or other performers who helped to make the piece popular. Instead, I decided to pay honor to the original drink that I riffed off of. Once made, it shared a mint and allspice aroma. A lemon and grape sip led into an earthy, gin, and allspice swallow. Like the original, the combination had layers of flavors that revealed themselves as the ice in the drink melted over time.

consigliere

1 1/4 oz Branca Menta
1 1/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Meletti Anisette
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Single Old Fashioned glass. Twist a grapefruit peel over the top and discard.

Every once in a while, there's a drink recipe that passes in front of you and you shake your head. Then, people start either talking about it or ordering it followed by re-ordering it. The Consigliere is one of them. At Russell House Tavern, bar manager Ashish Mitra crafted the Consigliere with what seemed like odds and ends of our liquor stock. While seemingly no one ordered the drink at first after it appeared on the menu, the drink has begun to take off with people ordering more than one in a sitting. Ashish described his drink as, "Named as such due to the abundance of Italian ingredients. Consigliere means 'advisor' in Italian, but the connotation is dark. Smooth on the surface, but packing a punch just underneath." That dark connotation is that it often describes counselor positions to leadership in the Italian or American mafia, and the term came part of the modern lexicon due to The Godfather movies.
The Consigliere began with bright grapefruit oil aromas complemented by the minty notes from the Branca Menta. Lime and caramel on the sip gave way to a smooth herbal swallow with mint, anise, and menthol flavors. Overall, it the Consigliere was cleansing but balanced and gentle, and it reminded me of a more complex Southside of sorts. I can definitely see why people order more than one now.

el morro

1 1/4 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Tres Agaves Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina
1/2 oz Grenadine
8 drop Hibiscus Flower Water (*)
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain in to a small cocktail coupe.
(*) In a pinch, sub another flower water.

One of the recipes that caught my eye on the new Russell House Tavern cocktail menu was the El Morro. Created by bar manager Ashish Mitra, the combination of sherry, Byrrh, and tequila was one that would certainly draw me into ordering it off the menu. Ashish described El Morro as, "named for a Spanish Fort I visited in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, ...[that] was featured in Pirates of the Caribbean. This cocktail reminds me of sitting at the Convento Hotel Bar just down the street from the Fort -- open air in the middle veranda of the hotel. Tropical plant life everywhere, thunderstorms every 6-8 hours, sultry Latin music, cigars, and dancing."
The El Morro began with sweet and savory grape aromas from the sherry and Byrrh that were accented by the pomegranate. The grape and pomegranate continued on into the sip, and the swallow offered nutty, quinine, and savory spice on the finish.

ask the dust

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXXXIX) was picked by Chris of the A Bar Above blog. The theme he chose was "The Unknown" which seemed like a good contrast to the ingredient-specific events like coconuts, pineapple, and nuts. Chris elaborated on the concept by describing, "Basically the idea is to try something new, an ingredient or technique that you've never had experience with before and create a cocktail around it... Use a spirit that you've never used before. It could be a base spirit, modifier or that Belgian Ale that rings in at 15% alcohol. Use an ingredient that has always captured your imagination in the supermarket. Maybe that weird looking fruit that you always walk by at Whole Foods, or that unusual looking vegetable that you can't even pronounce. [or] Use a new technique that you've never tried, but have always wanted to. Have you been dying to make your own vermouth, amaro, or martini glass made completely out of flavored sugar."
When I read this theme, I thought about a drink I just created for the most recent menu at Russell House Tavern. While looking for inspiration, I spotted in the fridge a bottle of Byrrh Grand Quinquina -- an ingredient that I had tried in a few drinks created by others but had never made into one of my recipes. After a few false starts, I search the web for a clue and discovered a Tweet that declared that Haus Alpenz founder "Eric Seed is right: 3:1 Byrrh to Mezcal works beautifully." I mixed the two closer to equal parts, and while it tasted good, it needed some depth. Crème de cacao seemed like a natural complement both to the quinquina and the agave, and Angostura Bitters could add some spice and dryness to the mess. I made it for Andrea when she visited me at the bar one day, and she commented that it needed some brightness. Since some of the brighteners like elderflower were in some menu items already and others like Strega and Galliano we lack, I turned to a hint of absinthe for these notes. After Andrea tasted this before and after chilling and diluting, she commented that it tasted better before the ice. Perfect -- a Scaffa was born! For a name, I looked to the back of my bar notebook which contains a list of possible names; the John Fante book title Ask the Dust seemed to work well with the Mexican roots of the mezcal in this drink. Originally, I submitted the recipe using a rocks glass; however, my bar manager suggested a snifter to not only diversify the glass usage on the menu, but he felt it was more contemplative of a drink like a fine glass of brandy.

Ask the Dust
• 2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina
• 1 1/2 oz Mezcal
• 1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
• 2 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1 scant barspoon Butterfly Absinthe
Build in a snifter (or single Old Fashioned) glass. Briefly stir to mix without ice. Note: This is a room temperature drink.

Once assembled, the Ask the Dust began with a mezcal aroma that later gained chocolate and herbal notes over time. While the quinquina's grape filled the sip, the swallow was much more complex with chocolate, herbal quinine, and smoke flavors and lingering mezcal notes. When I created this recipe, I was not expecting it to move very well between the high price point and the oddity of ingredients. Instead, it is currently on the 86 list as of yesterday since the bar ran through the case of Byrrh it had bought; more should be in on Tuesday though.

So thank you to Chris for picking the theme to challenge each and everyone of us and for running this month's show, and thanks to the rest of the Mixology Monday participants for keeping the shakers shaking and the spirit of the event alive!

mytoi gardens

1 1/2 oz Old Monk Rum (*)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with 2-3 dash Angostura Bitters and a pineapple wedge. Add straws.
(*) Originally and best made with El Dorado 12 Year.

A few weeks ago, our new bar manager Ashish Mitra wanted to turn over the brunch cocktail menu and asked if I had any Tiki drinks to add to a Daiquiri Time Out section. I mentioned that I had the Kuula Hina and that I could simplify it a bit by removing the sherry and Blackstrap Rum float, switching around the proportions and presentation, and changing the garnish. Ashish liked what he tasted and suggested that I tinker with the rums. The best rum combination here was with El Dorado 12 Year, but in the end, Old Monk Rum got the nod to keep the drink on a better price point; I was not bothered by the change since the dark notes and vanilla accents worked well here too, although not as much as ED12's elegant richness. For a name, a remembered Naomi Levy's description of Eastern Standard's DTO, the Chappaquiddick; she bought into Kevin Martin explaining that he was inspired by the beauty and tranquility of the Japanese gardens on Martha's Vineyard and how it was the closest to an island paradise as one could get in Massachusetts (she was unaware of the connection of a DTO to the island at the time). Therefore, I latched into the idea of the gardens and discovered that they were the Mytoi Gardens and the drink name stuck.
Once prepared, the garnishes contributed pineapple, clove, and allspice aromas. The sip then offered lime, caramel, and pineapple flavors, while the swallow shared rum, vanilla, and allspice notes with a pineapple finish. Overall, the Mytoi Garden's easy drinking seems to work well for the brunch-time cocktail menu.

cocoa puff smash

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXXXVII) was picked by Stacy of the Stacy Markow blog. The theme she chose was "The Smash" which seemed perfect for the herb and fruit-laden summer. Stacy elaborated on the concept by describing, "...The Smash, those ice-laden, refreshing concoctions designed to celebrate my favorite things about life: stiff drinks and warm weather. It's no surprise that in 1862 Jerry Thomas was the first to declare that "the Smash is simply a julep on a small plan." The drink originally gets its name from the way mint was smashed up in the shaking process. Fast forward twenty-five or so years later to 1888 and barman Harry Johnson addresses the Smash as a separate cocktail from the julep entirely and expands the components to include "fruits in season." What little was originally written about the Smash can lead most to believe it wasn't a terribly popular beverage, but that couldn't be further from the truth... The basic elements of the drink have remained the same over the years: they always include a spirit base, ice, fresh herbs (most popular is mint), sugar, seasonal fruit, and a little bit of water. Let's get ultra creative, smash things, and then drown them in alcohol and ice."

While I have made a fair share of Whiskey Smashes, I wanted to move to some less charted territory. I did consider the Meletti Smash that I made for a regular guest who rather adores the amaro neat. And I guess that I could have used the Pugilist that I wrote about on Friday. However, I was drawn to one of the brunch cocktails at work created by Sam Gabrielli. In Russell House Tavern's section of cereal cocktails next to the Applejacks Rose on the brunch menu is the rather delicious Cocoa Puff Smash. The beauty of this drink is that it pairs something better than peanut butter with chocolate -- that being Green Chartreuse! Originally, the drink was being done with Cocoa Puff-infused Green Chartreuse, but during a busy brunch shift, it was learned out of necessity that à la minute cereal muddling worked almost as well. From there on out, the drink has been done that way to reduce the amount of bottles we carry and bar reagents we need to prep.

Cocoa Puff Smash
• 2 oz Cocoa Puff-infused Green Chartreuse (*)
• 1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
• 3 wedge Lemon
• 6-8 leaf Mint
Muddle lemon wedges and mint leaves. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into a rocks glass. Fill with crushed ice, garnish with mint sprigs and a few Cocoa Puffs, and add straws.
(*) See infusion instructions below. Alternatively, muddle two dozen Cocoa Puffs à la minute with the lemon and mint.

Cocoa Puff-infused Green Chartreuse
• 750 mL Green Chartreuse
• 4 oz Cocoa Puffs
Crush cocoa puffs and add to the Chartreuse. Mix vigorously, let stand for at least 1 hour, strain, bottle, and refrigerate.

Once prepared, the Smash offered a mint and chocolate aroma from the garnishes, and the lemony sip shared a malty richness. Next, the swallow was rather herbal with a chocolate finish. The Chartreuse notes were more rounded and less distinct than expected, but the mint was undeterred and carried from the beginning to the end of the swallow. With two ounces of 110 proof spirit not to mention the crème de cacao, this is quite the way to face the day!
So thank you to Stacy for picking the theme and running this month's show, and thanks to the rest of the Mixology Monday participants for keeping the shakers shaking and the spirit of the event alive!

howling winds

1 3/4 oz Ansac Cognac
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 barspoon St. George Absinthe
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
One of the elegant drinks that appeared on the Russell House Tavern in the fall was a Champs-Élysées riff created by bartender Adam Hockman. To the classic, he supplemented the flavor profile with additional spice and herbal elements via absinthe and cinnamon syrup. Once mixed, the Howling Winds offered a lemon and Cognac aroma with notes of anise as the drink warmed up. A lemon and honey sip gave way to a Cognac, herbal, anise, and spice swallow with a cinnamon finish. While created for the autumn and winter weather, the Howling Winds still remains a popular drink through the spring and now summer months.

kuula hina

The theme for this month's Mixology Monday (MxMo LXXXVI) was picked by Thiago of the BartendingNotes blog. The theme he chose was "Pineapple" which is perfect for the warming temperatures here even if that is not what Thiago is thinking as things cool down there in Brazil. Thiago elaborated on the theme with his description of, "Let's bring the king of fruits back! After being canned, mixed with all sorts of sugary liquids and blended into... some 80s dreadful cocktails, the pineapple needs more respect! Once a symbol of hospitality, the King of Fruits might be know misunderstood. One of the greatest non-citrus souring agents, used for crazy garnish ideas, infusions, old gum syrup flavoring, the pineapple is a fruit to be reckoned. Be in a tiki cocktails, an old school classic like the Algonquin, a crazy flavor pairing or just mixed in a delicious Verdita, get creative and make a cocktail using any part of this delicious, juicy fruit or share you favorite pineapple cocktail with us!"

At work, we have been going through a lot of pineapple juice with the Algonquin, the Tiki-esque Decatur Respite, and the Broken Shoe Shiner all appearing on the menu. Around a week and a half or so ago during a day shift, one of my bartender friends sat at my bar. She lamented that she would have to face her old academic institution for her graduate school classmate was defending her thesis that afternoon; therefore, she would need the drink to be rather stiff. My thoughts instantly went to Navy-strength Smith & Cross rum, and since the Nui Nui had been on my mind through something I had just read, I decided to do something Tiki with Don's Mix #2 (a/k/a Don's Spices) and to include sherry since my guest is a big sherry fanatic. Then it dawned on me to kill two birds with one stone and use some pineapple juice for Mixology Monday! I tried to use the sherry and pineapple juice as the only acid sources since sherry alone worked so well in the Endicott Cobbler. The feed back that I received was that it needed some citrus to brighten things up. In working out the recipe a few days later, I switched to our too-good-to-be-well-rum well rum, Privateer Silver made in Ipswich, MA, added some lime juice, and moved some of the proportions around. The end result was as follows:

Kuula Hina
• 1 1/2 oz Privateer Silver Rum
• 1/2 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry
• 3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
• 3/4 oz Don's Mix #2 (1:1 vanilla syrup:allspice dram)
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a Hurricane glass. Fill with crushed ice and float 1/2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum. Garnish with a pineapple wedge and add straws.

Since my guest used to study fruit flies, I looked up the god of flies, but Beelzebub did not seem to be all that fitting. Instead, I opted for the Hawaiian fish deity, Kuula, and paid tribute to the fisherman god's wife Hina as well. While the Nui Nui and the Pago Pago were my base inspirations for the Kuula Hina, I did pilfer the blackstrap rum float and pineapple wedge garnish ideas from Sam Gabrielli's Decatur Respite especially since they were handy nearby in the well and garnish tray.
Once mixed, the garnish and float donated a pineapple and coffee-like molasses rum aroma. Next, the pineapple and sherry's grape on the sip were brightened by the lime juice, and the swallow began with the rum and vanilla flavors and ended with allspice and pineapple notes.

So thank you to my bar guest who inspired me, Thiago of BartendingNotes for picking the theme and running this month's show, and the rest of the Mixology Monday participants for keeping the spirit of the event alive!

ibsen's door

1 1/2 oz Spring 44 Old Tom Gin
3/4 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

One of the new Braulio drinks on the menu at Russell House Tavern was created by Hannah Moore. While seeming like a bitter take on a 20th Century, the name is a tribute to Henrik Ibsen's 19th century A Doll House. One of the characters exits her house at the end of the play with an act that has been called a "door slam heard 'round the world" and perhaps the Braulio element here would be just as jarring? Similar to how Fernet Branca pairs well with crème de cacao such as in the Royal Flush, I was eager to see if chocolate notes worked just as well with Braulio. The Spring 44 Old Tom Gin falls in intensity somewhere between the light Hayman's and the potent Ransom products and shares nutmeg, juniper pine, and cinnamon notes.
Ibsen's Door began with a chocolate aroma with bright herbal and menthol notes from the Braulio and citrus notes from the lemon juice. A rich sip offered some darker caramel notes and led into a chocolate, juniper, and menthol-laden swallow. The crème de cacao helped to round out the drink with a degree of elegant and earthy smoothness.