tao of pooh

2 oz Coconut Water
1 1/2 oz 42 Below Honey Vodka (Barr Hill)
1/4 oz Galliano L'Autentico
2 dash Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters (Berg & Hauck)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the PDT Cocktail Book and spotted the Tao of Pooh that would make good use of the coconut water that I had in the refrigerator. The recipe was created by bartender and bar owner Jim Meehan in 2010 as "a tribute to Winnie the Pooh's love of honey." Lacking 42 Below's product, I instantly recalled the vodka distilled from honey crafted by Caledonia Spirits in my collection. Once prepared, the Tao of Pooh met the nose with a honey, star anise, and vanilla bouquet. Next, a briny sip with some heft to it gave way to honey, anise, vanilla, nutty, and lemon flavors on the swallow.

parade of the fairies

1 oz Banhez Espadin & Barril Mezcal
1 oz Cocchi Americano
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1/4 oz Galliano
1/2 tsp Rosemary Tincture-Bigallet Thyme Liqueur (50:50)

Stir with ice and strain into a double old fashioned glass pre-rinsed with Mata Hari Absinthe.
After excusing myself at Amor y Amargo after a single round, I headed over to Pouring Ribbons a short walk away. There, I asked Steven the bartender for the Parade of the Fairies which seemed like an intriguing herbal mezcal cocktail that he described as their Sazerac riff. Here, the combination of Green Chartreuse and Galliano was one that I had noted worked well in the Jimador Sour at Craigie on Main. Once prepared, the Parade of the Fairies danced to the nose with vegetal and smoke notes from the mezcal plus herbal and anise accents from the Chartreuse and absinthe, respectively. Next, a sip with decent body and hints of orchard fruit twirled into a smoky mezcal, herbal Chartreuse, and spice swallow.

garibaldi wallbanger

1 Orange, Juiced and Blended (2 1/2 oz)
1 oz Campari
1 oz Vodka (Barr Hill)
1/2 oz Galliano

Build spirits in a small glass and chill in the freezer. Juice a refrigerated orange and blend (stick blender). Pour the fluffy orange juice into the chilled glass with the spirits, mix, and garnish with an orange slice. If a Breville juicer is used, skip the blending step.

After brunch two Saturdays ago, I was reading Instagram and noted that the day before, November 8th, was National Harvey Wallbanger Day. I had written about the last time I had celebrated that holiday which was also the first time that I had that 1970s drink back at an event at Eastern Standard in 2010, and I was curious what direction that I could take it. One of the drinks that I had heard about for a year or two but finally tried late this past summer was the fluffy orange juice-Campari Highball called the Garibaldi. What if I were to merge the two of them? I lacked the Breville juicer that makes beautiful fluffy juice, so I improvised by whipping up freshly squeezed juice with a stick blender. It felt like a solid tribute to the holiday albeit 12 hours late.
The Garibaldi Wallbanger surfed on in with a star anise and bitter orange aroma. Next, a creamy orange sip landed with a slightly bitter orange, vanilla, and star anise swallow. The spice elements of the Galliano melded well with the orange juice and Campari flavors to elevate the classic Garibaldi. And using a local and quality vodka did not hurt things here.

Postnote 11/28/19: I later discovered that there was a 2017 Garibaldi Wallbanger consisting of "Stoli Vanilla, Galliano, San Pellegrino Blood Orange Soda." Considering the absence of Campari or orange juice, mine is closer to a mashup whereas theirs is closer to a spritzy abstraction, but they did beat me to the punch by 2 years or so.

el catador

1 oz Añejo Tequila (Cimarron Reposado)
1 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
1 oz Galliano
3-4 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, twist a lemon peel over a cocktail coupe, strain into the coupe, and garnish with a second lemon twist.

For a nightcap two Thursdays ago, I delved into my Food & Wine: Cocktails library and selected the 2010 volume. There, I spotted Charles Vexenat's El Catador that he crafted at London's HIX which seemed intriguing with the aged tequila befriending nutty sherry once again but here spiced with Galliano and molé bitters. Strangely, the drink was named after the food taster who ingests dishes prepared for someone else to confirm that it is safe from poison.
The Catador had the nose sensing lemon, agave vegetal, nutty, and star anise aromas before determining that it was safe to taste. Next, a semi-sweet grape sip led into tequila, nutty sherry, and vanilla on the swallow with a chocolate and star anise finish.

mainland

2 twists Grapefruit Peel
2 oz Tanqueray 10 Gin (regular Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Galliano L'Autentico
1 tsp Simple Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Squeeze grapefruit twists over the mixing glass and drop in. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir with ice, and strain into a cocktail coupe.
Two Thursdays ago, I ventured into the Death & Co. Cocktail Book for a glossed over gem. The one that caught my eye was the Mainland, Thomas Waugh's 2009 riff on the Alaska from the Savoy Cocktail Book that called for the spice-driven Galliano instead of the herbal Yellow Chartreuse. The recipe called for expressed grapefruit peels in the mix, and I am not sure if that technique when stirred falls under the same category of Regal when the peels are included in the shaker tin. However, adding oil to the mixing glass is a technique I have frequently seen Maks Pazuniak utilize a few times such as in the Growing Old and Dying Happy is a Hope, Not an Inevitability. Once prepared, the Mainland greeted the senses with a grapefruit, vanilla, and star anise nose. Next, a richness on the sip became juniper, vanilla, star anise, grapefruit, and clove on the swallow.

hurricane proof

1 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Dark Rum (Plantation Original Dark)
1/4 oz Galliano
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Purée (3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup (Combined with above)

Shake with ice and strain over crushed ice.

While searching for Galliano-containing Tiki drinks in crafting the Wavecrasher, I stumbled upon an article in Maxim of riffs on classic New Orleans cocktails. Perhaps the article was sponsored by the Bols company for there were many Bols Genever and Galliano recipes inside. Luckily, I am a fan of both, and I was drawn in by the Hurricane variation crafted by Brad Smith of Latitude 29 called Hurricane Proof. Actually, the recipe seemed closer to the Hurricane Buster given the split base spirit and the liqueur aspects.
Hurricane Proof met the nose with a malt, lime, and passion fruit bouquet. Next, caramel, lime, and passion fruit on the sip led into malty Genever, rum, passion fruit, vanilla, anise, and the Genever's wormwood note on the swallow.

wavecrasher

2 oz Don Papa Rum
1/2 oz Cruzan Blackstrap Rum
3 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Galliano
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Blend with 8 oz crushed ice, pour into a glass, and garnish with a pineapple wedge, lime wheel, and drops of both Angostura and Peychaud's Bitters. And a paper flamingo if available.
Two Tuesdays ago was the USBG Boston's annual "pool party," and this year instead of taking over a pool at a condo complex or other, we held it at a member's house out in Winthrop located half a block from the beach (also known as the large pool with sharks). After the inaugural round of blender drinks, I was nominated to craft the next round. While there were plenty of donated spirits, I had to search out modifiers. When I spotted the long, weapon-like Galliano bottle in a crate off to the side, I knew that was the direction to go in. After spying the pineapple juice and the blackstrap rum, I decided on working the Galliano into a Jungle Bird/Pago Pago-like structure. Galliano with its elegant vanilla and star anise notes has found its way into classic Tiki drinks like the Sundowner and more modern ones like the Maitalia, and the name Sundowner made me call this one the Winthrop Wavecrasher at first before I shorted it down to merely the Wavecrasher. I later realized that I had crafted something similar to the Barracuda with extra pineapple juice in place of that 1970s drink's sparkling wine.

prayers for rain

2 oz Espolon Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Cantaloupe Syrup (*)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Galliano L'Autentico
1 dash Regan's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass (or cocktail coupe), and garnish with an oregano sprig (here, clipped onto the glass with a slitted lemon twist).
(*) Cubed cantaloupe melon blended and fine strained. This juice was mixed with an equal part of sugar and stirred until dissolved. I avoided heat to retain more aroma and to not give the melon a cooked flavor.
Two Mondays ago for my second shift at the Cocktail Lab located in Earl's Prudential, I decided to do an uniting theme of drinks named after song titles from The Cure's Disintegration album. For the first of the trio that I dubbed Prayers for Rain, I was inspired by the cantaloupes that I had been buying at my local market, and it reminded me of a Day of the Dead cantaloupe drink that I had tried years ago called the Marigold Ofrenda. I thought of this drink as a re-envisioned Margarita and returned some orange notes to the mix via Regan's bitters. However, the combination needed some pizazz so I added a touch of Galliano to donate complementary vanilla and star anise notes to the mix. For a garnish, my oregano patch in my garden had been doing rather well and it seemed like a perfect Mexican-appropriate touch to the drink.

barracuda

1 oz Gold Rum (3/4 oz Diplomatico Añejo + 1/4 oz Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Galliano
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Lime Juice (*)
1/4 tsp Sugar (1 bsp Simple Syrup) (*)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass or pineapple shell, and fill with Champagne (strain into a Champagne flute containing 2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs). Garnish with a cherry and a lime wheel (nasturium flower).
(*) Increasing to a 1/2 oz lime juice and/or dropping the sugar/simple syrup aspect would probably not be out of line here.
While editing the blog to free myself of Photobucket (who drastically changed their TOS), I spotted Scott Holliday's Whiskey-A-Go-Go that he created at Rendezvous shortly after the Galliano L'Autentico (re)release in 2009. I read my post-note that Scott was inspired by the Galliano-containing Barracuda, and I was inspired to make the original which I found in Stan Jones' 1977 Complete Barguide. Once prepared, the Barracuda offered vanilla aromas that joined my garnish choice's peppery floral notes. Next, a crisp lime with hints of pineapple led into funky rum and vanilla on the swallow with a pineapple, white wine, and anise finish.

sundowner

1 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Galliano (Galliano L'Autentico)
3/4 oz Cointreau
1 1/4 oz Cognac (Camus VS)

Shake with crushed ice and pour into an Old Fashioned glass (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). Garnish with a lime wheel (spent half lemon shell and mint sprig).

Wednesday two weeks ago, I was in a Tiki mood, and I looked to Beachbum Berry for something that I had glossed over in the past. The uncovered number that I selected was Steve Crane' Sundowner that he concocted at the Sheraton Waikiki Resort in the 1960s that appeared like a Galliano-infused Sidecar. Moreover, this recipe published in Remixed reminded me of Benedetto's Maitalia which paired Galliano with triple sec in a Mai Tai riff.
The Sundowner gave forth vanilla and tropical citrus aromas before I added the garnish, and the mint dominated the nose afterwards. Next, orange and lemon notes on the sip led into Cognac, orange, and vanilla in an almost mango-like flavor on the swallow with a star anise finish.

aphrodisiac dinner jacket

1 oz Dos Maderas 5+3 Rum
1 oz Great King Street Scotch
1/2 oz Galliano l'Autentico
1/2 oz Benedictine
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a snifter glass.

For my final drink at Estragon, I selected a split spirits Scotch and rum shaken drink that got dubbed the Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket after another one of Salvador Dali's works. I was drawn in for the combination of Benedictine and Galliano was one that worked rather well in Josey Packard's Winifred Banks. Sahil Mehta described his cocktail as rather perfumy which is why he opted for a snifter glass.
The Aphrodisiac Dinner Jacket gave forth a vanilla and herbal bouquet from the two liqueurs. Next, the sip was rather citrussy from the lemon, and the swallow provided lightly peated Scotch, rum, vanilla, and herbal-spice flavors.

letters of marque

1 oz Scarlet Ibis Rum (Privateer Navy Yard)
1 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Galliano

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe or cocktail glass, and garnish with flamed orange oils from a twist (unflamed oils).

Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to Brad Parson's Amaro Book to make a recipe after having replenished my Cynar supply. The drink was the Letters of Marque by Jerry Slater of H. Harper Station in Atlanta, and the name refers to the government documents that authorize privateers to profit from the goods that they seize on the ocean. Since I did not have Scarlet Ibis Rum, I opted for another strong rum that I purchased on that recent shopping trip, namely Privateer's Navy Yard Rum which seemed rather fitting of a distillery name for this tipple.
The Letters of Marque shared an orange aroma from the twist oils that joined the caramel and star anise nose from the drink. Next, orange and caramel on the sip led into rum, vanilla, orange, herbal, and star anise on the swallow. Overall, the combination reminded me a bit of the Son of Man that opted for Calvados and Amaro Montenegro for the rum and curaçao.

maitalia

1 oz Appleton Reserve Rum
3/4 oz Borducan Orange Liqueur
1/2 oz Galliano l'Autentico
1/4 oz Giffard Orgeat
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with 2-3 dash Angostura Bitters and a mint sprig.
After attending the Boston Bacardi Legacy competition at Yvonne's, I took the subway back to Harvard Square to pay a visit to Benedetto which just opened in the old Rialto spot. There, I was greeted by Charles Coykendall who is an alumni of the Baldwin Bar and Tiger Mama. For a drink, I asked for the Maitalia which Charles explained was his Italian-inspired Mai Tai riff that he crafted for the opening menu. The Maitalia exuded mint and clove aromas that preceded a citrussy sip of lime and orange notes. Next, the swallow gave forth rum flavors, a hint of nutty that blended into more orange, and spice notes included star anise and vanilla. Overall, the combination was a touch sweet, but integrating the bitters dried out the balance considerably.

paddy wallbanger

1 1/2 oz Black Bush Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1 1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Galliano L'Autentico
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

For a post-shift cocktail two weeks ago, I reached for the PDT Cocktail Book and stumbled upon Gerry Corcoran's 2009 Paddy Wallbanger. Shortly after the current formulation of Galliano was launched, many bars began reconsidering the spirit such as Craigie on Main with their Jimador Sour and Rendezvous offering the Whiskey-A-Go-Go. PDT was no exception, and Gerry decided to reinterpret the Harvey Wallbanger as an Irish Manhattan riff with perhaps the orange bitters subbing in for the original's orange juice.
The Paddy Wallbanger gave forth a whiskey aroma that was spiced with vanilla and star anise notes. Next, the whiskey's malt filled the sip, and the swallow continued on with further whiskey notes and a variety of herbal and spice flavors including licorice and lavender.

bossa nova special

3/4 oz Privateer Silver Rum
3/4 oz Galliano
1/4 oz Apricot Liqueur
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a Collins glass, top with crushed ice, garnish with a lemon twist, and add a straw.
For a final drink at the Baldwin Bar at Sichuan Garden II, I asked bartender Vannaluck Hongthong for the Bossa Nova Special. This recipe appears in Stan Jones' Complete Barguide and the proportions were modified by bartender Ran Duan. Here, the drink shared a lemon aroma with hints of vanilla and spice. The egg white donated a creaminess to the sip that was joined by lemon and some pineapple notes. And finally, the swallow showcased rum, pineapple, and vanilla flavors with an apricot finish.

dessert l'italienne

1 oz Santa Maria al Monte
1 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Galliano
1/4 oz Espresso Syrup (*)

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.
(*) Espresso liqueur will sub in a pinch.
For a cocktail at Belly Wine Bar, I requested the Dessert L'Italienne from bartender Ryan Connelly. I assumed, especially from the ingredients list of digestifs, that it was his post-meal answer to the classic Appetizer L'Italienne from William Schmidt's 1891 book The Flowing Bowl. Ryan explained that the Galliano's star anise notes were taking the place of the absinthe's anise in the classic. Interestingly, Ryan's OnTheBar account has an early version of the recipe as:

Dessert L'Italienne (early version)
• 2 oz Santa Maria al Monte
• 1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
• 2 barspoon Galliano
Stir with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

When made with the newer, more complex recipe, the Dessert L'Italienne provided a pleasing menthol and camphor herbal aroma that shifted towards a more coffee-driven one over time. The amari's caramel flavors joined that of the espresso's roast notes on the sip, and the swallow was a complex herbal medley that ended with a coffee finish.

andean flamingo

1 1/2 oz La Diablada Pisco
3/4 oz Vya Whisper Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Creole Shrubb Orange Liqueur
1 barspoon Galliano
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe.

Since the Andean Flamingo came so highly recommended, I tried it next at the Macchu Pisco La Diablada event at the Hawthorne. Bartender Jackson Cannon described how Katie Emmerson had crafted this recipe and based it off of the El Presidente. The drink was named after one of the rarest flamingo species in the world that happens to reside in the wetlands around the Andes mountains in Peru, Argentina, and Chile; with the Peychaud's Bitters in the mix, the color of the libation matched the birds' plumage rather well.
The Andean Flamingo proffered an herbal, floral, orange, and anise nose. A citrussy wine sip led into the pisco on the swallow; finally, the swallow ended with vanilla and anise spice notes from the Galliano and Peychaud's Bitters. Definitely the lighter balance of this drink allowed the subtleties La Diablada Pisco to shine through more than it did in the rather flavorful Montesco.

mutiny suppressor

1 oz Amaro Nardini
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Navy Strength Gin (Hayman's Royal Dock)
1/4 oz Galliano

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a large cube. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Two Fridays ago, I opened up Food & Wine: Cocktails 2013 and honed in on the recipes crafted by Joaquín Simó. The one that called out the most was the Mutiny Suppressor, and on Manhattan's Pouring Ribbons' menu, they use the same Hayman's overproof gin that I reached for.
The Mutiny Suppressor greeted the nose with bright grapefruit oils, and the sip proffered grape and caramel notes. The swallow was an intriguing chocolate note from the Amaro Nardini with vanilla and anise from the Galliano, juniper from the gin, and other bitter herbal notes from the Punt e Mes and other ingredients.

yellow bird

1 1/2 oz Light Rum (Caliche)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Galliano
1/2 oz Triple Sec (Cointreau)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Sunday afternoons ago, Andrea was in the mood for a cocktail. For an idea, my eyes latched onto one of the recipe sheets from the Boston USBG-sponsored talk about aperitifs and digestifs that I attended at Backbar about a month ago. There I found the Yellow Bird, a drink that we served at an International Migratory Bird Day party that we threw in 2008 (and I wrote up here). The Yellow Bird was one of the 20 bird-themed drinks on the menu, but it never made it onto the blog. The recipe provided by Bols-Galliano was somewhere between the sweeter 2:1:1:1 recipe we made that night (unsure now as to which book was the source) and the crisper 3:2:1:1 recipe in Stan Jones' Complete Barguide. Of course, when we made the Yellow Bird the last time in 2008, it was with the old Galliano (the New Coke-like) formulation, and this time it would be with the new (the Coca Cola Classic-like) one.
The Yellow Bird shared an orange, anise, and vanilla aroma. A citrussy lime and orange sip gave way to a rum swallow with a mint-like and star anise finish. Indeed, the Yellow Bird came across like an herbal Rum Sidecar.

cruella

1 1/2 oz Leblon Cachaça
1/2 oz Galliano
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 barspoon Maraschino Liqueur
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 Lemon Peel (twist and include)

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

For Andrea's last drink at Tavern Road, she asked Will for the Cruella which turned out to be another one of his creations. While I neglected to ask him if the drink name was a Disney reference, I did discuss the use of the lemon twist in the ingredients. Will explained that he included it in the mix to elongate the citrus flavor on the finish of this decadent and smooth drink. With cachaça, Galliano, chocolate, and anise notes, the ingredients list somewhat reminded me of Jacob Grier's Midnight Shift.
The lemon oils on the surface of the drink joined the aroma of the cachaça and Peychaud's anise. Next, a lemon and grassy sip led into a swallow containing vanilla and chocolate notes with a hint of Maraschino. For some reason it was the cacao-Maraschino combination that seemed most pleasing on the swallow.