the end of something

1 oz Absinthe (Kübler)
1 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Germain at work, St. Elder here)
1 oz Grapefruit Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a flute with 2-3 oz dry sparkling wine, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.

At work, the general manager of Menton asked if there was a secret to making the Death in the Afternoon a good drink. I replied that there really was not; basically, either you enjoy the combination or you do not. Then that evening at Drink, a guest asked for an absinthe cocktail. I then recalled how well absinthe paired with pink grapefruit juice via one of the drinks at the Kübler Absinthe release party here in Boston pushed on me by woodland nymph characters circa October 2007. With that, I added elderflower liqueur to take the mix in a Bohemian direction, and cava to circle back to the conversation earlier that afternoon. For a name, I dubbed this one The End of Something after a short story by Ernest Hemingway as a nod to the Death in the Afteroon inspiration.When I got home that night, I decided to make one for myself to truly appreciate the combination past a mere straw taste. The End of Something welcomed the nose with grapefruit, anise, fennel, and sparkling wine aromas. Next, a carbonated grapefruit sip flowed into anise, floral, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

panama papers

1 oz Plantation Pineapple Rum
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur (King's Ginger)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Orange Juice (Cara Cara)

Shake with ice, strain into a flute glass containing 2 oz champagne (La Burgondie Cremant de Bourgogne), and garnish with a lime twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I continued on with my search for sparkling wine recipes and recalled that there was one in T. Cole Newton's Cocktail Dive Bar called the Panama Papers. This pineapple wonder was crafted by Megan Devine at New Orleans' 12 Mile Limit. Once assembled, the Panama Papers proffered a lime, ginger, and sparkling wine aroma to the nose. Next, a carbonated white wine and pineapple sip wrote off rum, pineapple, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

seven year itch

1 1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Cane Sugar Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Bitter Truth Aromatic Bitters (Jerry Thomas Decanter)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe with 1 1/2 oz dry sparking wine (La Burgondie Cremante de Bourgogne).Two Tuesdays ago, we had an opened bottle of sparkling wine, so I returned to Death & Co.'s Welcome Home book for a possible use. There, I was charmed by Eryn Reece's Seven Year Itch that she created in 2014 that came across like an apple brandy for Cognac Champs-Élysées plus bubbles. In the glass, the Seven Year Itch gave forth an apple and herbal bouquet. Next, lemon, apple, and honey notes on the sip led into apple, tart, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

bicyclette

3/4 oz St. Germain (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a flute glass, and top with sparkling wine (Gloria Ferrer).

Two Saturdays ago, it was my birthday; after I returned home from my shift at the bar, Andrea surprised me with Thai take out in the kitchen followed by cake and sparkling wine on our deck. For a cocktail to follow, I saved some of the sparkling wine and recalled a recipe that I had spotted in the Hawthorne bar bible the night before called the Bicyclette. This was a very different one from Jamie Boudreau's 2007 La Bicyclette, and it was closer to the Pink Penelope but with different citrus. With the great combination of Campari and elderflower liqueur, I was game to give this one a try.

The drink appeared in a blogger's post about the bar in late 2015, and the bar bible provided the menu subtitle containing the wise words of "Love is a bicycle, fall off & ride again." Indeed, that subtitle sounded like it could be found in the "Letter to a Young Bartender" that Jackson Cannon wrote during his tenure at the Hawthorne. Here, the Bicyclette began with grapefruit and bitter orange aromas. Next, sparkling wine and orange notes on the sip pedaled off into grapefruit and floral flavors on the swallow.

pink twizzler (was the pink derby)

In March of 2020, I hosted a post-Speedrack afterparty at Silvertone where I organized a fundraising effort to benefit the Ellie Fund charity. My contact there recently reached out to see if I was interested in contributing a cocktail to their gala in honor of their 25th anniversary. Since the event would be held virtually this year, I schemed with them to create a cocktail followed by a video demonstrating how to make it. We wanted to work with Angel's Envy Bourbon as the spirit, and the idea of a Brown Derby elongated with sparkling wine was formed. For a name, I proposed the Pink Derby for both the libation's color (especially when made with sparkling rosé) and in symbolism for the breast cancer ribbon, and they opted for the Pink Twizzler since the gala was usually held at a movie theater in Newton, MA, and the event this year on April 25th coincides with Hollywood's biggest awards night of the year. The Brown Derby as an inspiration was also perfect for its genesis traces back to Hollywood as well. More on the charity, the drink, and the video below.Pink Twizzler (was the Pink Derby)
• 1 1/2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
• 1 oz Pink Grapefruit Juice
• 1/2 oz Honey Syrup (equal parts honey and hot water, mixed)
• Optional: 1 piece Grapefruit Peel (around 3/4 inch x 2 inches)
Shake with ice, add 2-3 oz dry sparkling wine (sparkling rosé if possible but white is fine too), and strain into a cocktail glass, flute, white wine glass, or an iced-filled Collins. Optional: garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Here's the text that went along with the video:

The Ellie Fund's 25th anniversary Red Carpet Gala that they are hosting virtually on April 25th at 6pm before Hollywood's biggest award night. The Ellie fund was founded in 1995 and for the last 25 years has provided essential support services for breast cancer patients to ease the stresses of every day life as they receive treatment. Ticket sales for the gala will help support the assistance provided to around 600 Massachusetts patients each year, and this year’s performer lineup is amazing.

For something to drink while watching the gala, here's the Pink Twizzler that I crafted for this event. It is based off a classic Hollywood cocktail called the Brown Derby created in the 1930s in honor of that Los Angeles establishment. The Brown Derby is a combination of bourbon, pink grapefruit juice, and honey, and here with the addition of sparkling wine, we'll transform it into the Pink Twizzler. The whiskey we’ll be using is Angel's Envy Bourbon which is a high rye Bourbon finished in ruby port casks, and this finish elegantly donates light cherry, cranberry, and chocolate notes along with a delicious roundness to the spirit.

So remember to buy a ticket, make the drink, and enjoy the show on April 25th. Information can be found here under "Events":

https://www.elliefund.org/

You can watch the video here on YouTube replete with a jazz soundtrack and me wearing a smoking jacket and a tie (luckily, I still remembered how to tie one after this pandemic-induced period of casual fashion). Originally, we were to film at the theater, but the bar there had been packed away and the mirrors on the wall were a bit distracting. Therefore, I did it in my dining room in front of my cocktail glass cabinet.

happy hemingway

2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Light Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique)
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail (Fizz) glass with 1 1/2 oz Champagne (Chandon sparkling wine), and garnish with a lemon or grapefruit twist (grapefruit twist).

Over the past few weeks, I have been getting more involved on the national level with the United States Bartenders' Guild to make better use of my downtime. For one of the educational committees, I began chatting with Kim Haasarud, and it dawned on me that I owned a book or two by her from our early purchases. Two Sundays ago, I hunted out our copy of the 2008 101 Champagne Cocktails that I last wrote about in my beer riffs on sparkling wine libations back in 2009. I began flipping through the pages and selected her sparkling abstraction of the Hemingway Daiquiri that she dubbed the Happy Hemingway.
The Happy Hemingway welcomed the senses with a grapefruit and nutty cherry bouquet. Next, a carbonated and grapefruit sip meandered into a rum, nutty cherry, and white wine swallow with clove and allspice notes on the finish.

cortez

1 1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, and strain into a Highball glass with ice and 2 oz Champagne (Chandon sparkling wine).
Two Fridays ago, I reached for The NoMad Cocktail Book and spotted the Cortez that could utilize our opened bottle of sparkling wine. The Cortez read like a sherry and cinnamon French 75, so I was intrigued. Once served, it conjured a cinnamon and nutty aroma. Next, a carbonated lemon and grape sip gave way to a nutty sherry and cinnamon swallow. Like the French 75, it was simple and elegant.

sparkling boulevardier

1 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth

Build in a rocks glass, add ice, and stir. Top with 1 oz Cava and garnish with an orange twist.
Two weeks ago, I traveled down to Louisville as part of my Angel's Envy Whiskey Guardian training. After spending the day at the distillery, we headed over to the Logan Street Market for a class on photography. As a welcome drink, bartender and Whiskey Guardian Ryan Day from Indiana served us Sparkling Boulevardiers that coincided with the Bourbon & Bubbles campaign. While I have had Negronis lightened by soda water (read about the addition of soda water to amaro and vermouth drinks in my notes on the Americano talk given by Eric Seed and David Wondrich), I have not had any Boulevardiers that took that route much less a sparkling wine one. The end result was rather delightful to drink assuming that you're a fan of whiskey and bitter orange notes.

perfect circle

1 1/2 oz Campari
1 1/2 oz Fino or Manzanilla Sherry (Lustau Fino)

Chill in a Collins glass in the freezer. Add 3 oz dry sparkling wine (Gloria Ferrer Brut), add ice, and garnish with an orange wheel (orange twist).
Two Saturday nights ago, we were drinking a bottle of sparkling wine with dinner. Andrea wondered if we should save the last glass for that night's cocktail, and I remembered a few champagne recipes in Maggie Hoffman's Batch Cocktails book. In that collection, I spotted a recipe from Paul McGee and Shelby Allison of Lost Lake that was not a tropical libation but a sherry riff on the Americano called the Perfect Circle, and I adapted the 8 serving pitcher drink to a single serving one listed above. In the glass, the Perfect Circle offered an orange and white wine bouquet to the nose. Next, a carbonated wine sip led into bitter orange followed by dry savory flavors on the swallow.

cobra's spritz

1/2 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
1/4 oz China China (1/2 oz Torani Amer)
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 bsp Falernum (Velvet)

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass (Fizz glass), top with Prosecco (2-3 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs), and garnish with a mint sprig (orange twist).
Two Mondays ago, I kept with the Tiki mood and made the Cobra's Spritz which was posted on Tales of the Cocktail's social media. The recipe was crafted by bartender Andrew Rhea as a sparkling riff on Don the Beachcomber's 1937 Cobra's Fang; however, it eschews the rums to keep with the lighter proof of most spritzes, and it only keeps the passion fruit syrup and falernum as constants. Once prepared, the Cobra's Fang shared an orange and white wine nose. Next, a crisp white wine and pineapple sip slithered into a gentian, passion fruit, and dark orange swallow that came across as an orange pith flavor.

chatham artillery punch

Peels of 6 Lemons
1 cup Sugar
8 oz Lemon Juice
12 oz Maker's Mark Bourbon
12 oz Courvoisier VSOP Cognac
12 oz Plantation Xaymaca Rum
1 - 1 1/2 Bottles Sparkling Wine

Make an oleosaccharum of 6 lemon peels plus 1 cup sugar; after 1-2+ hours, dissolve the sugar in 8 oz lemon juice and bring the final volume to 12 oz with water. Add the syrup to 12 oz each of Bourbon, Cognac, and rum over large format ice in a punch bowl. Stir to chill and top off with the Champagne.
Two Thursdays ago, the Boston Shaker shop in Somerville hosted two rounds of the History of Bar Tools seminar. The seminar was taught by Ethan Kahn, the general manager of the Cocktail Kingdom store and product line, and I attended the noon session aimed at bartenders. To greet us, Lonnie Newburn of the Boston Shaker and Jack Kavanaugh of Beam Suntory assembled the Chatham Artillery Punch via the recipe provided in David Wondrich's Imbibe! and Punch books. I estimated that they made this recipe to half scale (and provided the measurements as such above) and assumed that any aberrations to Wondrich's recipe were slight. As a further connection to Wondrich, the punch was served in the bowl and ladle set that Cocktail Kingdom collaborated with him on, and I was impressed at how elegant the set was (see the second photo for the attention to detail).
In Punch, Wondrich described how the punch was created by Mr. A. H. Luce in the 1850s to welcome the Republican Blues when they visited Macon, Georgia. The earliest recipe that he sourced was from The Augusta Chronicle in 1885 which built the punch in a "horse bucket," and it was described as, "Rumor hath it every solitary man of the Blues was put under the table by this deceiving, diabolical and most delightful compound." Indeed, the combination was rather smooth with a lightly carbonated and citrus flavor and a blurred identity for the liquor component.

gold coast punch

8 oz Bacardi Ocho Rum (4 oz Don Q Añejo)
4 oz Champagne (2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs)
3 oz Pineapple Juice (1 1/2 oz)
3 oz Lime Juice (1 1/2 oz)
2 oz Simple Syrup (1 oz)
2 oz Allspice Syrup (1 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)

Combine over ice (shake all but the sparkling wine with a few ice cubes, add the champagne, and pour into a bowl). Fill with crushed ice and garnish with lime wheels and orchids (mint sprig and honeysuckle blossoms).
Two Saturdays ago, I bought pineapple juice to make a recipe that I had spotted earlier in the week in Tom Sandham's World's Best Cocktails. That drink was Julie Reiner's Gold Coast Punch that she had created at Lani Kai in Manhattan; I was drawn to the combination for the rum, pineapple, lime, and allspice have worked well in libations like the Piñata and the Mytoi Gardens. Once prepared, the punch donated a mint and floral aroma from the garnishes over pineapple and allspice notes with hints of lime on the nose. Next, a lightly carbonated sip displayed caramel, pineapple, and lime flavors, and the swallow rounded things off with rum and allspice elements.

tropical champagne

3/4 oz Dark Rum (1 oz Coruba)
3/4 oz Orange Juice (1 oz)
dashes Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
dashes Passion Fruit Syrup (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a Champagne flute, and fill with Champagne (~2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs). I added an orange twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I recalled someone mentioning Charles Schumann's 1991 American Bar book earlier in the week and I reached for my copy. There, I was drawn to the Tropical Champagne that seemed to be a Schumann original that he dated as a 1980 creation. With dark rum and passion fruit in this sparkler, I felt that it was worth a try. Once prepared, the orange twist that I tacked on to the recipe added bright citrus aroma on top of the passion fruit nose. Next, a carbonated orange and lemon sip shared hints of passion fruit, and the swallow presented funky Jamaican rum, passion fruit, and dry white wine flavors. Overall, the drink succeeded in being both tropical and elegant.

royal street royale

1 cube Demerara Sugar
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 rinse Herbsaint
4-5 oz Champagne or Dry Sparkling Wine (Willm Blanc de Blancs)
1 Lemon Twist

Soak the demerara sugar cube in 3 dash Peychaud's Bitters. Rinse a flute glass with Herbsaint, add the bitters-soaked sugar cube, and top with the Champagne (leaving 3/4 inch or so of head space on top for the Herbsaint-coated walls to provide aroma). Garnish with a lemon twist. A large coupe, a double old fashioned, or small wine glass might work well here too. Filling the glass all the way up would stymie the Herbsaint rinse's aroma though.

Two Mondays ago, I had been thinking about the 1850s Champagne Cocktail and how I have never written it up on the blog. I have written up variations such as the Alfonso and Casino Imperial, and I intended to do the classic. However, my mind drifted to how to change things up. For bitters, I considered Peychaud's instead of the Angostura generally associated with the classic, and this got me thinking about taking things in a New Orleans direction with Herbsaint. So what would a Champagne Cocktail crossed with a Sazerac be like as a Champagne Sazerac (instead of a Rye Sazerac floated with Champagne such as the Sea Captain's Sazerac)?
Playing off of the term Royale used to describe Champagne drinks, I paired it with one of the main streets in New Orleans' French Quarter, namely Royal Street, to make this the Royal Street Royale. Once mixed, the libation offered lemon and anise notes to the nose. Next, a crisp, carbonated sip transitioned to a dry and fruity swallow with an anise-driven finish.

flaquita

1 oz El Tesoro Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1/4 oz Marie Brizard White Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Campari
1 tsp Ginger Syrup (1 coin Ginger, muddled)

Shake with ice, strain into a flute glass, and top with champagne (2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs).

Two Mondays ago, I selected the Death & Co. Cocktail Book for a recipe idea. There, I landed upon the Flaquita by Jessica Gonzalez; she created this drink in 2011 and dubbed it after her nickname from when she worked in restaurants back in Florida. With the agave, Campari, and cacao combination found in Mon Sherry Amour and other drinks, I was game to give this one a go.
The Flaquita's herbal notes from the tequila mingled with sparkling wine and hints of chocolate on the nose. Next, a carbonated white grape and lemon sip led into tequila and bitter orange-chocolate on the swallow that finished with ginger's bite.

calva dorsa royal

1 1/2 oz Busnel VSOP Calvados (Boulard VSOP)
1/2 oz St. Germain (St. Elder)
2 dash Vieux Pontarlier Absinthe (1 scant bsp Kübler)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and top with dry Champagne (1 1/2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs).

Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for the Death & Co. Cocktail Book and uncovered Phil Ward's 2008 Calva Dorsa Royal. Calva Dorsa meaning "bald summit" refers to the chart indicator on 17th century maps for two cliff zones on the Norman coast that signified to sailors where the harbor was; sailors soon contracted this to Calvados, and later, the name stuck to the apple brandy produced in that region. For this drink, Phil Ward stuck to his template of spirit + liqueur + absinthe +/- a wine element that he utilized in the Cooper Union and Joy Division with the Calva Dorsa Royal like the Cooper Union opting for St. Germain as the sweetener. True to the Royal aspect of the name, this one was lightened with sparkling wine.
The Calva Dorsa Royal presented an apple and anise bouquet to the nose. Next, a carbonated white wine sip gave hints of apple notes, and the swallow followed up with the rest of the apple flavors along with elderflower and absinthe's anise. Overall, the whole combination came across much like a sparkling hard cider.

thug passion

1 1/2 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Combier Orange Liqueur (Cointreau)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, top with Prosecco (1 1/2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs), and garnish with 3 dash Angostura (styled with a toothpick pulled through the bitters).

After work two Saturdays ago, I reached for the Brooklyn Bartender for my evening's nightcap. There, I selected the Thug Passion by Tom Dixon at Roberta's that was his tribute to the 1996 Tupac song of that name. The lyrics defined the original sparkling drink as, "Aight, new drink / One part Alizé, one part Cristal / Thug Passion, baby." Here, the Cristal Champagne was swapped for a more affordable bubbly wine, and the fruit-flavored Cognac-based liqueur (although some varieties are vodka based) was changed to Cognac, pineapple juice, and orange liqueur. Indeed, I was drawn in for the combination of pineapple and orange liqueur reminded me of the Hawaiian Room and mid-century other recipes.
The Thug Passion gave forth a pineapple, orange, and cinnamon bouquet to the nose that led into creamy, carbonated wine notes on the sip. Finally, Cognac was joined by orange and pineapple fruit flavors on the swallow.

every dream a dream of escape even when it doesn't look like it

1 oz Rainwater Madeira (Blandy's 5 Year Verdelho)
1/2 oz Cointreau
3 dash Angostura Bitters
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, add a Champagne float (1 1/2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs), and garnish with a knotted lemon twist.

Two Sunday mornings ago, I was perusing Instagram when I had spotted a literary-inspired drink by Chantal Tseng at Washington DC's Petworth Citizen called the Every Dream a Dream of Escape Even When It Doesn't Look Like It that impressed me first due to the name length for it had one more than the previous champ of 12 words, The Facts Concerning the Late Van Hagen & The Thirsty Man's Safari. This The Underground Railroad-themed drink also caught my eye for it reminded me of a Prince of Wales minus the brandy; however, Chantal revealed her influence as a "Seelbach Cocktail with Madeira replacing the Bourbon and half the bitters." Finally, it seemed like a great brunch drink (we had the Seelbach on the brunchtails list back at Russell House Tavern for a season or two), so I did not wait until the night to enjoy this creation.
The Every Dream shared a citrus aroma of lemon and orange along with darker notes from the Madeira on the nose. Next, a carbonated grape and orange sip escaped into an elegant red wine merging into bitter orange swallow. Indeed, the Madeira-orange liqueur duo seen in drinks like the 91st Division, Brotherly Advice, and Come Sail Away made this fortified wine for whiskey swap sing delightfully.

i.b.f. pick-me-up

1 glass Brandy (1 1/2 oz Copper & King Blue Sky Mining)
3 dash Fernet Branca (1/4 oz)
3 dash Curaçao (1/4 oz Copper & King Distillare Orange)

Shake with ice, strain into a medium wine glass, and fill with Champagne (2 oz 90+ Cellars Prosecco); I added a lemon twist.

After my bar shift two Saturdays ago, I returned home after midnight so it was technically New Year's Eve. My mind turned to Champagne cocktails and I went with one from Harry McElhone's 1927 Barflies & Cocktails that I was reminded of when looking in Greg Boehm's book two nights before. That recipe was the I.B.F. Pick-Me-Up crafted by Bob Card that varied from the book's other Pick-Me-Up, namely Harry's. The I.B.F. part stands for the International Barflies group founded in 1924 by O.O. McIntyre at Harry's New York Bar in Paris that Ted Haigh described in a Modern Drunkard article as a group that "really got a lot of these cocktail hankerers together in a real way. It's part bartending union, part cheering section, and part bartender." With brandy, Fernet, and orange liqueur, the combination seemed familiar but I could find no evidence that I had tried this drink under that name and I tried to convince myself that it was perhaps a blurful residual of Don't Give Up the Ship; however, I later found that I had tried it years ago from the 1940 The How and When as the Imperial Delight Cocktail.
In the glass, the I.B.F. Pick-Me-Up began with an lemon and orange aroma that later displayed Fernet's herbal notes to the nose. Next, a crisp carbonated wine with a hint of orange on the sip gave way to brandy, orange, and menthol flavors on the swallow.

cleopatra's champagne cocktail

3/4 oz Boulard VSOP Calvados or Laird's 7 1/2 Year Apple Brandy (Boulard VSOP)
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1/8 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe or champagne coupe glass with 4 oz brut Champagne (flute with 90+ Cellars Prosecco), and garnish with lemon oil (I included the twist instead of discarding it).

Two Fridays ago, I reached for Frank Caiafa's 2016 The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book and spotted the Cleopatra's Champagne Cocktail. The text attributed the recipe to the Waldorf Astoria Hotel but it never made it into the previous two books. Caiafa later explained in a personal communication that he had no clue about the drink's name with, "It was one of the few back stories that I had to leave open ended. The only assumption that I'm confident in making is that it originated from the current Hotel (not 5th Ave.)."
Once prepared, my nose was greeted by lemon and apple aromas. Next, the sparkling wine notes were joined by more apple flavors, and the swallow began with a tart apple leading into a bitter herbal orange ending. Overall, I was impressed at how much the drink expressed a red apple flavor such that I searched a directory of heirloom apple varietals to discover that there is indeed a Cleopatra apple. When I mentioned this to Caiafa, he seemed pleased at the possibility that the name was linked to an old apple variety.