valkyrie

2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1/2 oz Averna
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz St. Germain

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

After the Snake in the Grass at Temple Bar, bartender Sam Gabrielli wanted to showcase a drink he created called the Valkyrie. Sam described how he was influenced by Evan Harrison's Peralta with its rye, Cynar, and grapefruit elements.
The twist's grapefruit oils filled the Valkyrie's aroma. The grapefruit oils carried over into the sweet sip along with malt and caramel notes. Next, the swallow started with rye followed by herbal notes, and it ended with a floral stonefruit flavor from the St. Germain. As the drink warmed up, the Cynar began to play a bigger role in the flavor profile.

snake in the grass

1 3/4 oz Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
3/4 oz Lemongrass Syrup (*)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Bittermens Boston Bittahs

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a long, coiled lime twist.
(*) For possible recipes, check out the Savory and Boudreau ones.

Since Andrea had enjoyed her Snake in the Grass at Temple Bar, I decided to get one too. I was correct in guessing that the drink was based off of the Scofflaw, and bartender Sam Gabrielli explained that the lime twist was like the snake and the lemongrass syrup was the grass.
The Snake in the Grass possessed a lime and tequila bouquet. The lime juice flavors worked well with the dry vermouth's wine notes in the sip. Moreover, the tequila and lemongrass elements complemented each other rather well on the swallow. Overall, the drink's balance reminded me of the Groovy Child perhaps due to the lime and dry vermouth pairing.

velvet goldmine

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4+ oz Agave Nectar
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig and add  straws.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I stopped in at Temple Bar for cocktails. The drink I started with was the Velvet Goldmine; bartender Sam Gabrielli mentioned that fellow bartender Evan Kenney created this drink. Perhaps Evan being the lead singer for the Bodega Girls had some influence in his naming the it after the 1998 glam rock movie hit. The ingredient list shared a bit of similarity with the Independent's Agave Maria, so I was definitely tempted to try it.
The Velvet Goldmine offered a mint aroma and a lime flavored sip. The swallow began with the smokey mezcal and pineapple notes and ended with Fernet Branca's menthol and the falernum's clove elements.

neighborhood nine

2 1/2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Aperol
1/4 oz Drambuie
1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.

After Russell House Tavern last Sunday, we continued our tour of Harvard Square and went to Temple Bar a little further up Mass Ave. There, bar manager Alex Homans pointed out some of the new drinks on the menu including the Neighborhood Nine, their Manhattan-like tribute to their Cambridge district. Alex described how the owner wanted a whiskey drink like Russell House Tavern's Harvard Yard (Pikesville Rye, Dubonnet Rouge, Benedictine, Allspice Dram) that reflected where the restaurant was located. The end result was a Perfect Manhattan-like drink that had a lighter feel for spring and summer.
The Neighborhood Nine began with lemon oil, Aperol, and some malty whiskey aromas on the nose. At first, the sip was slightly dry and sharp and full of Dolin vermouth notes, and as the drink warmed up, the Aperol began to appear. Next the swallow contained the rye's spice followed by a honey aftertaste; as the drink's chill subsided, the orange notes from the bitters helped to round out the swallow. Indeed, the Neighborhood Nine was a Manhattan variant which possessed an interesting degree of dynamicity as the drink progressed.

a little taste of cambridge

2 1/4 oz Bacardi 8 Year Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Strawberry Shrub
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Chocolate Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Midway through my Staghorn cocktail, Andrea met up with me at the Temple Bar. Along with an order for their tasty flatbread pizza, I later asked for the Little Taste of Cambridge. I was drawn to it because of the housemade strawberry shrub, and its pairing with the yellow Chartreuse and chocolate bitters did not hurt either. The drink's name makes reference to A Taste of Cambridge which is one of the major yearly food events in the city, and the Little version precedes the main event to build excitement and publicity for its big brother. Andrea was also drawn to the strawberry shrub for she requested a tall drink made with it:

Vikki's Fizz
• 1 1/2 oz Oxley Gin
• 3/4 oz Strawberry Shrub
• 3/4 oz Lemon Juice
• 1/4 oz St. Germain Liqueur
• 2 dash Bitters
Build in a highball glass filled with ice. Top with sparkling wine, garnish with an orange twist, and add a straw.

The Little Taste of Cambridge's aroma was a combination of the orange oil and the strawberry with a hint of the shrub's vinegar base creeping through. The strawberry joined the lemon on the sip, and the swallow contained the rum followed by a return of the strawberry flavor as it mingled with the chocolate from the bitters on the finish. The Little Taste of Cambridge had a delightful savory aspect to it from the vinegar, and the drink went incredibly well with the pizza which had been drizzled with balsamic.

staghorn

1 oz Tanqueray Gin
1 1/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Sambuca

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After stopping in at Green Street, it was time to rendezvous with Andrea at Temple Bar outside of Harvard Square. While waiting for Andrea to show, I asked bartender Sam Gabrielli for the Staghorn from their cocktail menu. Bar manager Alex Homans later explained that each of the bartenders had a chance to put a drink on the menu and the Staghorn was bartender Jane's take on the Corpse Reviver #2. Here, the major change was the orange liqueur being swapped out for a pine tree-flavored one. While the Staghorn also called for Sambuca instead of absinthe or pastis, all of those spirits share a similar strong anise flavor. Switching the ingredients in the Corpse Reviver #2 was something I had recently discussed for some books published during the 1940's contain a variation with Swedish Punsch instead of Lillet; I first find that change in my 1945 reprint of the 1941 Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion.
The Zirbenz component shaped the Staghorn the most in the nose and the swallow. Indeed, the Zirbenz's pine notes mingled well with the traditional anise aroma. The sip was semi-sweet and contained the citrus notes from the lemon juice and Cocchi Americano, and this was chased by the botanical burst from the gin and Zirbenz on the swallow. Indeed, the Staghorn had a sharper and more intriguing balance than the orange liqueur-laden Corpse Reviver #2. It was definitely interesting to have the liqueur being altered instead of the spirit, such as in the # Tres, or the citrus, such as in the Dover (albeit sans anise flavor), in the classic recipe.

[little otik]

2 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
1/2 oz Becherovka
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
1 dash Orange Bitters

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

After hearing that Alex Homans, one of the bartenders at Russell House Tavern, left to take over as the bar program at Temple Bar in Cambridge, Andrea and I have been meaning to go pay Alex a visit. Two Sundays ago, we finally stopped in for dinner and drinks. While Alex has been adjusting to the new bar and position, he has not had a lot of chance to rework the menu, but he did have an idea for my first drink. Alex paired up the spicy barrel-aged Ranson Old Tom Gin with the Czech herbal liqueur Becherovka; to balance these elements, he filled in the gaps with citrus notes from Cocchi Americano, orange bitters, and a lemon twist.
The citrus elements were rather strong in the early parts of the drink including the lemony aroma and the light citrusy sip from the Cocchi Americano. The swallow though displayed the spicy and herbal elements of the Old Tom and the Becherovka that were capped off with an orange note from the bitters at the end. Indeed, I was impressed at how well the two spicy spirits complemented each other in the drink.
For my second beverage, I was tempted to try either the barrel-aged Negroni or Cherry Valance cocktails, but I took Alex's recommendation to sample the Chatham Artillery Punch. The recipe was a hybrid of two historical ones that the previous bar manager had found and merged. The green tea, lemon and orange juice, and other fruit notes did a rather good job hiding the potency of the rum, brandy, rye whiskey, and sparkling wines in the mix.