absinthe suissesse

1 oz Absinthe Verte (Pernod Absinthe)
1/4 oz Orgeat
1 oz Heavy Cream (Trader Joe's Vegan)
1 Egg White
1/4 oz Crème de Menthe (as float) (Tempus Fugit)

Shake absinthe, orgeat, and egg white without ice. Add cream and ice and shake again. Strain into a coupe, float crème de menthe, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.Two Saturdays ago, I spotted a recipe for an Absinthe Suissesse on PunchDrinks that made me realize that I had never written one up here despite riffing on it for an absinthe competition in the Mai Tai Suissesse mashup given the common orgeat component. This recipe was crafted by Kirk Estinopal at Cure in New Orleans, and it was surprisingly different from the one in Neal Bodenheimer's Cure: New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix'Em. The book version has a slightly heavier pour of absinthe and simple syrup instead of orgeat, and I decided to use the article's recipe for orgeat in my mind has seemed like an important ingredient after reading multiple recipes throughout the years. Using Kirk's recipe, the Absinthe Suissesse donated a minty, wood spice, nutty, and licorice aroma to the senses. Next, a creamy sip subsided into licorice, nutty, and star anise flavors on the swallow. My guess is that much of the crème de menthe float sank for the last few swallows were rather minty.

nog tripper

12 Eggs, separated into Whites and Yolks (2 Eggs)
2 oz Sugar (1/3 oz or 2 tsp)
24 oz Evan Williams Bonded Bourbon (4 oz)
9 oz Averna (1 1/2 oz)
6 oz Strega (1 oz)
32 oz Heavy Cream (5 1/3 oz Trader Joe's Vegan Heavy Cream)
32 oz Whole Milk or at least 2% (5 1/3 oz Trader Joe's Oat Milk)

Separate the egg whites and yolks. Beat the egg yolks until thin and then gradually whisk in the sugar until dissolved. Slowly add the spirits to the yolk-sugar mix while whisking. Add the milk and cream and whisk in. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, then fold into the yolk-dairy-sugar-spirits mixture until well combined. Decant into bottles or a large pitcher and place in the refrigerator until chilled; preparing this a day or two before will work well. Serve with a garnish of freshly grated nutmeg.For the Holidays, my work asked me to come up with an egg nog recipe for a pre-order menu. Given our restaurant's Italian theme, I wanted to utilize some Italian liqueur and amari in the mix. Chris Hannah's Night Tripper with Strega and Averna came to mind and I crossed the idea sans Peychaud's Bitters with George Washington's Egg Nog for what I dubbed Nog Tripper (though I entitled my recipe submission "The Yarm Family Traditional Italian Egg Nog" to our director of operations, and the pre-sale menu just read "Egg Nog"). Two weeks ago, I decided to scale it down six fold at home and adapted it for my dairy-intolerant wife. In the glass, the Nog Tripper greeted the senses with nutmeg and star anise aromas. Next, a creamy and caramel sip slid into Bourbon, herbal, pine, and anise flavors on the swallow.

duke of suffolk

1 1/4 oz Fords Gin
6 oz Hot Sweetened Black Tea Blend (*)

Build in a preheated 8 oz mug and float 3/4 oz whipped cream on top. Recipe for the sweetened tea aspect is from Thrillist; Daiquiris & Daisies uses a cold process black tea base for a syrup.
(*) 3 parts of a 50:50 mix of English Breakfast & Earl Grey Teas to 1 part simple syrup.After helping to host a Westward Whiskey-USBG Boston event in the Financial District, I made my way over to Daiquiris & Daisies. There, bartender and co-owner Daren Swisher pointed out the special "Let It Snow" menu with a few bonus offerings. The Duke of Suffolk caught my eye for I was reminded of it recently as I had just listened to a Cocktail College podcast where host Tim McKirdy was talking to Erick Castro. Towards the end of the show, the topic came upon hot drinks, and Erick mentioned that he really loved the Duke of Suffolk that was created by Giuseppe Gonzalez at Suffolk Arms. Erick described how, "It's essentially the same build more or less as Irish whiskey except Earl Grey instead of coffee. Then gin instead of Irish Whiskey, but everything else was essentially the same. It's just an absolutely lovely drink... and I wish it was more popular." Given the weather outside, I was excited about the idea of a warm beverage. Here, the cream layer seemed to stifle aromas from escaping, but that layer added a glorious richness to the sip that was punctuated by piny juniper notes. Next, the swallow was all about the orange-y bergamot and black tea flavors.

unicorn fizz

1 1/2 oz Hayman's Old Tom Gin
1/2 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
3/4 oz Heavy Cream
1 Egg White

Shake one round without ice and on round with ice, strain into a Highball glass with 2 oz soda water, and garnish with a long, thin orange twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, Andrea and I ventured down to Backbar for Rachel Kopelman's last night, and she was joined by alumni Kat Lamp for moral support. On Rachel's "Final 50" cocktail list, besides many classics and some of her own creations were a few of Kat's. While I opted for a Sidecar since I had been hankering for one after hearing the episode on that drink on the Cocktail College podcast, Andrea selected the Unicorn Fizz which lacked a description (although the name reminded me of this one). It ended up being a Ramos riff akin to the Sureau Fizz but with St. Germain and Amaro Nonino as modifiers. When I asked Kat for a back story, she provided that it was a drink of the day, and it became a prank between her and bar manager Sam Treadway since it appeared on a few menus with a different set of ingredients each time. She said that this was the original way that it was concocted though.The Unicorn Fizz welcomed the nose with an orange-herbal aroma. Next, a creamy citrus sip flowed into caramel and floral flavors on the swallow.

benson flip

1 1/2 oz Old Monk Rum
3/4 oz Dark Crème de Cacao (Giffard White)
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Heavy Cream
Coffee Beans (3 Espresso Roast)
1 Whole Egg

Muddle the coffee beans. Add the rest of the ingredients, shake once without ice and once with ice, double strain into a rocks glass or cocktail coupe, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.Two Fridays ago, I opted for the Benson Flip that had caught my eye a few times in the "Drinks of Drink" binder. Once prepared, this Flip welcomed the senses with a woody spice and coffee aroma. Next, creamy caramel and roast notes on the sip framed dark rum, bitter coffee, nutty, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

egg nog (adapted from morgenthaler)

2 oz Bourbon (Old Forester 100°)
2 oz Rum (Smith & Cross)
6 oz Whole Milk (Oat Milk)
4 oz Heavy Cream
3 oz Sugar (2 oz)
2 Large Eggs

Blend eggs, add sugar, and blend further. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until combined. Chill and serve in wine glasses or coupes (punch cups) with freshly grated nutmeg as a garnish.Two weekends ago while I was bartending, Andrea was in the mood for Egg Nog and made a batch of Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Clyde Common's Egg Nog. She found a spirits combination in the comments section that spoke to her more than the original's añejo tequila and Amontillado sherry (2 oz and 2 1/2 oz, repectively), and she also dropped the sweetness level down a touch. Unfortunately, it was way too late to treat myself to a glass when I got home from work on Saturday night, so I dove on in on Monday. After garnishing, this version of Egg Nog welcomed the nose with a nutmeg and rum aroma. Next, a creamy and caramel sip transversed into Bourbon and rum flavors on the swallow with a rum funk finish.

partner in crime

1 oz Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
1/2 oz Averna
1/4 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
2 dash Walnut Bitters (Strongwater)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Top with whipped cream made with 4 parts heavy cream to 1 part cinnamon syrup (2 oz to 1/2 oz) whipped until thick and fluffy.Two Fridays ago, Andrea had bought some heavy cream for she fell in love with the Partner in Crime recipe in the most recent issue of Imbibe Magazine. This stirred dessert-style cocktail was created by Will Lee at the Grey Ghost in Detroit and featured Scotch, Averna, and banana liqueur as the star ingredients along with some nuttier undertones. After assembling it, the Partner in Crime showcased the cinnamon notes from the flavored whipped cream. Next, a creamy and caramel sip led into banana and cinnamon flavors that later gained nuttier notes on the swallow. Overall, the Scotch got a little buried here, so perhaps using something more assertive than my choice of Famous Grouse might be of a benefit.

barbary coast

1/4 Gin (3/4 oz Barr Hill)
1/4 Scotch (3/4 oz Cutty Sark Prohibition)
1/4 Crème de Cacao (3/4 oz Tempus Fugit)
1/4 Cream (3/4 oz)

Shake with cracked ice and pour into a Highball glass (shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon).

Two Saturdays ago, I selected Crosby Gaige's 1945 Cocktail Guide & Ladies' Companion and spotted the curiously named Death & Mr. Morgenthau. Soon, I realized that this combination of Scotch, gin, cacao, and cream was better known as the Barbary Coast first published in the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. While Gaige was the first (and occasionally the only one) to publish several recipes, that book is rife with renamed drinks (sometimes to fit the chapter's theme and other times for less obvious reasons). The original Barbary Coast was the section of North Africa patrolled by the Barbary pirates (also known as the Ottoman corsairs); however, the Barbary Coast with a cocktail connection was the saloon and red light district of San Francisco popular with sailors and gold seekers from 1849 into the early 1920s. It was the sailors who called this part the Barbary Coast in the 1860s due to its lawlessness. Gaige, though, opted to rename this quartet the Death & Mr. Morgenthau perhaps after Henry Morgenthau who was the US ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Henry was one of the most prominent Americans who spoke up against the Armenian genocide.Neither recipe specified a garnish, so I went with freshly grated cinnamon; grated nutmeg does appear in later recipes, but I had just used nutmeg the night before. Once prepared, the Barbary Coast welcomed the senses with chocolate and cinnamon aromas. Next, a creamy sip with roast notes flowed into smoky, chocolate, pine, and medicinal flavors on the swallow. The Scotch did take this Alexander-like drink in an unique direction; a softer, less smokier whisky might yield something a little less quirky.

elvis ziggurat

1 1/2 oz Cachaça (Avua Balsamo)
1/2 oz Heavy Cream
1/2 oz Crème de Banane (Giffard)
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)

Shake with ice, strain into a sherbert glass with ice (coupe no ice), and garnish with a banana slice dusted with nutmeg (omit banana slice).Two Fridays ago, I had some heavy cream open from filming this video on the Sazerac Toddy, and I sought out some more uses for it. In The Canon Cocktail Book, I was drawn towards the Elvis Ziggurat dessert drink created by Chris Goad. Once assembled, it donated a woody spice over raisin bouquet to the nose. Next, grape, honey, and creamy notes on the sip gyrated into funky cachaça, raisin, and banana flavors on the swallow with a grassy finish.

px sherry mudslide

1 1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
1 1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua)
1 oz Half & Half
1 pinch Sea Salt
1/2 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup Crushed Ice

Blend until smooth and pour into a chilled milkshake or Collins glass. I added a freshly grated coffee bean garnish.

After utilizing my purchase of vanilla ice cream a few days before in the Glorious Fourth, I considered making Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Grasshopper variation. However, in that search, I was more smitten by the Mudslide recipe that he posted back in May given the sherry component. When Morgenthaler opened Pepe Le Moko in 2014, he wanted to have a rotating seasonal milkshake drink and had developed a few to begin the series. The problem was that when he opened with the Grasshopper milkshake with a hint of Fernet Branca, it was such a hit that he decided that the slot was filled and thus would not be revamped every few months. Left behind was this gem; the classic Mudslide of coffee liqueur, Irish cream, and vodka got transformed here into coffee liqueur, Pedro Ximenez sherry, and vanilla ice cream that he described as "a wonderful, creamy milkshake built around flavors of coffee, rum raisin, vanilla, cinnamon, and dark chocolate. It's... kind of out of this world."
The PX Sherry Mudslide greeted the nose with a coffee and raisin aroma that led into a creamy and roast-filled sip. Next, the swallow continued on with coffee and raisin flavors with an elegant vanilla note from the ice cream.

the glorious fourth

1 drink Brandy (2 oz Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1 dash Jamaican Rum (1/4 oz Smith & Cross)
Juice of 1 Lime (3/4 oz)
4 dash Gomme Syrup (1/2 oz Simple)
1 large tablespoon Ice Cream (1+ oz Vanilla)

Shake and strain into a fancy glass.
The Glorious Fourth was one of the fancy drinks created by William Schmidt in his 1891 The Flowing Bowl, and the recipe came under discussion on Kindred Cocktails due to an early July post on Punch Drinks. Therefore, two Saturdays ago, I picked up some vanilla ice cream on my shopping expedition to test out this Brandy Sour taken in a dessert direction. Once prepared using the ice cream as the only cooling agent, the Glorious Fourth conjured up a Cognac and vanilla aroma with a hint of rum funk. Next a creamy lime sip with a touch of caramel notes proceeded into brandy, funky rum, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

coquito

56 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk (4 1/2 oz Goya)
48 oz Evaporated Milk (3 3/4 oz Stop & Shop)
24 oz Cream of Coconut (2 oz Goya)
4 tsp Vanilla Extract (3/10 tsp)
4 tsp Ground Cinnamon (3/10 tsp Freshly Grated)
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg (1/10 tsp Freshly Grated)
750 mL White, Añejo, or Spiced Rum (2 oz Don Q Extra Añejo)

Mix all but the rum in a pot, bring to a simmer while stirring, and then let cool. Stir in the rum and refrigerate. Serve over ice in a rocks glass and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
After I mentioned the buzz about Coquito, the Puerto Rican version of Egg Nog, Andrea was curious and went out shopping for the ingredients to mix up a batch. For a recipe, I wanted a more authentic voice (I believe that some of the web chatter was about Martha Stewart declaring that Coquito was "a take on a coffee drink made in Puerto Rico"), so I found one by Giuseppe Gonzalez, a well-respected bartender who grew up in Puerto Rico and has graced the posts on this blog several times. I scaled down his recipe that I sourced from Liquor.Com to make around a single serving. Once in the glass, this Egg Nog without eggs offered up luscious coconut, cinnamon, and caramelized milk aromas. Next, a thick and creamy sip led into a rum, coconut, cinnamon, and vanilla swallow. The coconut and dairy here provided plenty of sweetness and richness to make the eggs and sugar of the classic unnecessary.

tom & jerry

Two Sundays ago was our first significant snowfall of the year. It used to be a tradition that John Gertsen at No. 9 Park and later Drink would announce with the first snow that it was officially Tom & Jerry season, and batter would only be made on snowy evenings. Alas, John departed to the West Coast, so I carried on the tradition by announcing the beginning of this Winter tradition on Instagram and Facebook.

John has been immortalized in a few publications with regards to this tradition. In the 2012 edition of Food & Wine: Cocktails, he declared, "It may seem like a bit of a nuisance to make such a labor-intensive drink, but at the end of a long shift there's nothing better than a nice, hot Tom & Jerry." A 2016 article in Punch traced John's fascination back to Audrey Saunders and his being enraptured at the Japanese art deco bowl at Bemelman's in 2002. John's version was to acquire a cream-colored Homer Laughlin version with gold lettering for No. 9 Park to make this "liquid internal sweater" for the first snowfall of the year, and he expanded his collection with other sets after moving on to Drink.

Tom & Jerry is a 19th century style of Egg Nog first written about in 1827. According to David Wondrich in Imbibe, Jerry Thomas tried to take credit for the drink, but alas Thomas was born in 1830, and several other references appear before his claim of creating the drink in the 1847. The drink has always been linked with cold weather for its combination of hot water or milk, batter, and spirits delivers a lot of warmth and richness. Commercial sets of drinkware began appearing in the early 1870s, and vintage sets can be found in antique stores and on eBay.
Our introduction to the Tom & Jerry was at Drink in 2009 (despite having seen the bowl and mug set since 2007 at No. 9 Park). It was that night that we were exposed to how weird Tom & Jerrys could get -- instead of brandy, rum, or whiskey, we were served one with Fernet Branca! Since then, we have tinkered at home with strange spirits like Cynar and Angostura Bitters as well as cocktail combinations like the Negroni. This season, we tried out four using this recipe as a base:

2 Eggs (separated into whites and yolks)
3 oz Sugar
1/2 oz Aged Rum (Appleton Signature)
1/10 tsp Ground Clove
1/10 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1/10 tsp Ground Allspice (~3 berries)

Beat yolks until watery and then add rum and spices. Beat egg whites separately (I shook in a Boston shaker containing a balled up Hawthorne spring) until whites are stiff. Fold yolk mixture into the whites. Thicken with sugar until the mix has the consistency of cake batter. This is enough batter for six 4 oz servings (see below) or three 8 oz servings depending on your mug size.

Pre-warm each cup with boiling water (and dump), and then add:
1 part Batter
1 part Spirit
2 part Hot Milk (hot water is okay, but less rich)
Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

After making this batch, my research pointed out that many people utilize equal parts batter, spirit, and hot milk. There is a trade off in temperature for ABV in this decision though.

The four combinations we made were:
(1) Baltimore T&J based off of the Baltimore Egg Nog. 1/2 oz Blandy's 5 Year Verdelho Madeira, 1/4 oz Camus VS Cognac, 1/4 oz Stolen Jamaican Overproof Aged Rum. Here, Jamaican rum funk worked well with delightful Madeira dried fruit notes.
(2) Ferrari & Jerry based off the Fernet-Campari shot. 1/2 oz Fernet Branca, 1/2 oz Campari. Minty, menthol, and orange for a great Christmas-y feel.
(3) Tropical & Jerry. 1/2 oz Coruba Rum, 1/4 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao, 1/4 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil. Funky rum, caramel, banana, and chocolate flavors underneath a nutmeg and banana nose.
(4) Smoky & Jerry. 1/2 oz Cutty Sark Prohibition Scotch, 1/2 oz Sfumato. The Chinese rhubarb came through on the nose and its bitter herbal flavor worked well with the Scotch on the swallow.

Overall, the tropical one was the winner with the Fernet-Campari one garnering second place.

banana cow

1 oz Trader Vic's Light Puerto Rican Rum (1 1/2 oz Privateer Tres Aromatique)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 whole Banana (sliced)
1 tsp Sugar
1 dash Vanilla Extract
3 oz Milk

Blend with 1/2 scoop shaved ice and service in a Planter's Punch glass or in a 12 1/2 oz tumbler. I garnished with 3 slices of banana on a pick and 5 drops Angostura Bitters.

After a grueling late night buyout at the bar two Saturdays ago, I got home too exhausted to do much more than eat some leftovers and go to sleep. Sunday morning, however, I decided to make up for my lack of home mixology by delving into my Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery. I was inspired by Andrea preparing banana-coconut waffles to make Trader Vic's own Banana Cow which was a banana-forward version of his Rum Cow, and thus, I got out the blender.
Without the additional garnish, the Banana Cow proffered a banana and vanilla nose, but with the additional garnish it shared hints of clove and allspice. Next, a creamy banana sip gave way to a funky rum, banana, and vanilla swallow.

grog mutiny

3/4 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry (3 parts Lustau Amontillado to 1 part Oxford Pedro Ximenez)
3/4 oz Cynar or Averna
3/4 oz Cream
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a glass, and garnish with Angostura Bitters.

Two Fridays ago, I decided to make an Egg Nog that I had spotted on BarNotes called the Grog Mutiny. I had held off since I had not replaced my Lustau East India Solera Sherry that the recipe specified, but this time, I took my own advice that I wrote into Boston Cocktails: Drunk & Told to use 3 parts amontillado/oloroso sherry to 1 part Pedro Ximenez to replicate a cream sherry such as East India Solera. For the Averna or Cynar option, I considered Averna for it paired well with Scotch in the Egg Nog A Drunk in a Midnight Choir, but I wanted to change gears and take the Cynar route instead. I had forgotten that I had just mixed a Scotch Egg Nog with Cynar recently, the Barnaby Jones, and had already created one myself, the Wait Until Spring, four years ago.
The Grog Mutiny was created by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles, and he named it around the circumstances at the West Point Military Academy over Christmas 1826. That year, the Eggnog Riot or the Grog Mutiny occurred where one-third of the students rioted after dipping too heavily into eggnog laced with smuggled-in whiskey at a party; read more about it in this Smithsonian article. Once the tribute was prepared, the Grog Mutiny welcomed the senses with a cinnamon and clove aroma. Next, a creamy grape and caramel sip gave way to Scotch and funky rum on the swallow with a hint of nuttiness and funky herbal amaro on the finish.

the brunching dead

3/4 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Añejo)
3/4 oz Aged Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz 151 Proof Demerara Rum (Lemon Hart)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Grenadine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
12 drop Herbsaint or Absinthe (Herbsaint)
2 oz Cream
1 Egg White

Shake once without and once with ice, strain into a chilled 12-14 oz Tiki mug containing 2 oz soda water, add soda to bring to top (an additional 2 oz or less), and garnish with an orange twist and freshly grated cinnamon.

Since the bar at Nahita's speakeasy two Saturdays ago kept me there long enough to miss the train, it was rather late by the time I arrived home by foot. After a rather late dinner, I decided to go to bed without a nightcap. When I awoke on Sunday, I wanted to make up the gap in my once-a-day posting with a brunch drink. Since it was still in the midst of the Tiki the Snow Away event on Instagram I decided to give the 1934 Zombie the New Orleans-style Fizz treatment. Considering that I have had other rum-based drinks turned into Ramos-like numbers such as the 'Ti Punch Fizz, I figured that this would be a win. I ended up halving the rum content to make it a recuperative instead of a disabler. On my Instagram post, I wrote, "A great hair of the dog hangover cure, but warning: Limit 2 per customer!" Since Henry Ramos preferred that his guests only be served one alcoholic drink at brunch, making it half strength and serving two would fit both the Don the Beachcomber and Henry Ramos' lore.
For a name, I dubbed this one the Brunching Dead. I recalled years ago when I worked at Russell House Tavern how the Saturday and Sunday morning brunch guests would be swarming behind the locked door before we opened; I used to refer to them as the brunch zombies especially given how they probably felt before they had caffeine, booze, and food put into them, so the name stuck. Once built, the drink offered up an orange and cinnamon bouquet to the nose. Next, a creamy, carbonated sip presented citrus and caramel notes, and the swallow sent forth funky rum, clove, anise, and cinnamon flavors.

hawaii kai treasure

2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Half & Half
1/2 oz Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1 1/2 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Añejo)

Blend for 10 seconds with 8 oz crushed ice, pour into a Tiki bowl, and garnish with a gardenia (dried lemon wheel). The "treasure" was a small pearl hidden in the gardenia petals (pearl omitted).
The Tiki the Snow Away event led me to pick up Beachbum Berry's Remixed to find something tropical for the evening two Wednesdays ago. The one that called out to me was the Hawaii Kai Treasure created by Mannie "Black" Andall of New York City's Hawaii Kai Restaurant during the 1960s. Once blended and served, the Hawaii Kai Treasure greeted the nose with a nutty and floral aroma. Next, a creamy grapefruit sip led into a rum, lime, and nutty swallow with a honey-floral finish.

barnaby jones

1 1/2 oz Famous Grouse Blended Scotch
1/2 oz Cynar Amaro
1/2 oz Dark Maple Syrup
1/2 oz Heavy Cream
1 Whole Egg
12 Coffee Beans

Shake once without and once with ice, double strain into a cocktail coupe (single old fashioned glass), and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon.

Two Sundays ago, I reached for the Cocktail Codex book and uncovered an Egg Nog variation called the Barnaby Jones by Maura McGuigan circa 2013. With Scotch, Cynar, and egg in the mix, I immediately thought of the delightful Black Diamond Flip, and the Scotch-amaro Nog idea reminded me of A Drunk in the Midnight Choir. Finally, the duo of Cynar and maple is one that has showed great promise in drinks like the Sherry Duval and the Mortal Sunset in the past, so I was game to mix this one up.
Just as impressive as the ingredients list was the fact that Maura named this drink after an almost forgotten television detective series from the 1970s. Once prepared, the Barnaby Jones gave forth a dark roast coffee and cinnamon nose. Next, a creamy and sweet sip slid into a Scotch and maple swallow that also showcased the Cynar elegantly merging with the coffee flavors.

blue hawaii

2 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Blue Curaçao (3/4 oz Cointreau + 1 drop blue food coloring)
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 tsp Cream (1/4 oz Soy Milk)
1 1/2 oz Vodka (Bak Bison Grass)

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a tall glass (snifter).

Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make the Blue Hawaii recipe that appeared in Beachbum Berry's Remixed. What got me thinking about this drink was receiving a request for one a few weeks back, and my fellow bartender Peaches and I brainstormed on how to make one. Honestly, I had never made one or had one (but have read various recipes) before; since the guest fell in love with them on vacation, we wanted to get it right. Without looking it up, we decided on this recipe minus the dairy. After the shift, Peaches and I messaged back and forth about the drink and the various recipes out there. The recipe that we both honed in on was Beachbum's, and his was a 1980s version of the 1950s drink named after the Elvis movie from earlier in that decade.
Lacking the bottom shelf blue curaçao at home that I had at work, I simulated things with Cointreau and a drop of blue food coloring that had worked in the past. In the glass, the Blue Hawaii pleased the senses with a pineapple and orange aroma. Next, lemon, orange, and a hint of tropical notes on the sip led into pineapple and orange on the swallow. Indeed, the swallow would have been more intriguing if I went with one of the modern variations that split the base spirit with white rum; however, the Blue Hawaii in my mind is a vodka drink just like the Chi Chi. Instead, I compromised with a bison grass-flavored vodka that donated a light cinnamon-like spice to the mix.

vert poinçon de lait

4 Lemons & 4 Limes (or 12 Limes)
1 bottle Green Chartreuse
1/2 bottle Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 bottle Batavia Arrack van Oosten
1 qt Scalded Milk
1 (or 1 1/2) qt Water
1/2 pound Sugar

Peel the citrus and steep the peels in the three spirits for 6 hours or overnight. Next, juice the citrus and add it to the mixture. Heat the milk to 180°F to scald it; add it, the water, and the sugar to the mix; and stir to dissolve the sugar. Let sit 12 hours or overnight, strain, and bottle. The recipe generates around a gallon of punch and can easily be scaled back a few fold. For a more detailed protocol on Drink's milk punch production, see this post.

Two Sunday nights ago, I was prompted by a discussion of clarified milk punches on Facebook to look into my liquor shelves. One of the participants in that thread was Drink alumni Scott Marshall who commented that he had come up with a Chartreuse Milk Punch recipe that was rather good. That reminded me that I had a small bottle of said punch that he had gifted me at Tales of the Cocktail 2011. Soon after, I sent Scott a message asking for the recipe and permission to share it, and he was enthusiastic that it would be given new light. Scott sent me two recipes that varied by citrus type, amount of water, and resting times, and I merged the two here. The name provided was Vert Poinçon de Lait, or the green hole-punch (as in a ticket punch) of milk, and the punch after 7 years of resting looked rather good albeit with a layer of sediment on the bottom. For a more detailed protocol, see the link above that leads to Drink's Rum-Hibiscus Milk Punch recipe instructions.
The bottled-aged Vert Poinçon de Lait when served at room temperature greeted the nose with a citrus notes and green herbal aroma that was oregano-like as its dominant aspect. Next, a syrupy smooth but not sweet sip shared some lime accents, and the swallow was a gentle medley of Batavia Arrack and herbal flavors. Overall, the nose was more reminiscent of Green Chartreuse while the flavor itself was more akin to Yellow Chartreuse.