saints & sinners

2 oz Sainte Louise Brandy (Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with an orange peel basket holding a star anise. Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make that a Sazerac riff called the Saints & Sinners by Craig Eliason, a home enthusiast from St. Paul, Minnesota, for Reddit Cocktail's December 2025 cacao and anise recipe challenge. I have previously had the cacao-Maraschino combination in a few drinks such as the Savage Detectives and Tropical Cocktail and enjoyed the resulting chocolate cherry note. Here, the Saints & Sinners marched down to the nose with an orange, anise, nutty cherry, and Cognac bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet sip led into Cognac, chocolate, nutty cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow.

pole star

1 oz Hamilton Pot-Still Gold Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
3/4 oz Hamilton 151° Rum (Diamond Reserve)
1 bsp Herbsaint (1/8 oz)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a lime wheel and cinnamon stick (cinnamon stick and Hale Pele swizzle stick). Two Thursdays ago, I selected Nicole Schaefer's Portland Cocktails book, and Paddy Holland's Pole Star from the Hale Pele section caught my eye. Overall, it was very similar build to Jason Alexander's A Requiem for a Doomed Star but with different rums and anise source. Once built, the cinnamon aroma from the garnish and syrup below reached the nose. Next, caramel and lime notes on the sip exploded into rum, cinnamon, anise, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

caracara

1 oz Sazerac Rye
1 oz Jung & Wulff Trinidad Rum (Raising Glasses 8 Year Cask Strength)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup
4 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I had spotted an interesting recipe called the Caracara from the A Quick Drink book in my Instagram feed, and I noticed that it was one of the recipes that I had written on my bookmark that I never got around to making. The drink was created by Kitty Corbo for the dealer's choice round of Speedrack 2019 as a Sazerac riff. Indeed, there have been a few pineapple syrup-sweetened Sazerac variations that I have tried including the Bounty, Harbourmaster, and Dawn of Hospitality, so I was curious to try this one. In the glass, the Caracara gave forth a lemon and anise bouquet like a good Sazerac will. Next, a semi-sweet sip with hints of tropical notes on the sip opened up into rye, dark rum, pineapple, cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow.

saint's gallery

1 1/2 oz Carpano Bianco Vermouth (Vermouth Servito)
3/4 oz The Famous Grouse Smoky Black
1/2 oz Benedictine

Stir with ice and strain into a 5 1/2 oz coupe glass pre-rinsed with Herbsaint. Two Fridays ago, I reached for my copy of Julep: Southern Cocktails Refashioned by Alba Huerta and Marah Strets and found the Saint's Gallery in its pages. A blog post puts this at Julep in Houston circa 2019. Overall, it appeared like an inverse Bobby Burns of sorts, so I was curious. Once prepared, the Saint's Gallery hung an anise, Scotch, and herbal bouquet on the nose. Next, a semi-sweet white wine sip developed into smoky Scotch and herbal flavors on the swallow, and it was akin to a Scotchy Chrysanthemum with a little New Orleans flare.

sunakora zombie

1 oz Demerara 151° Dark Rum (Diamond Reserve)
1 oz Jamaican Dark Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 tsp Grenadine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
4 drop Herbsaint

Flash blend (whip shake) with crushed ice, pour into a Zombie glass (Tiki mug), top with crushed ice, and garnish with mint. Two Tuesdays ago, I scanned the recipe section of The Atomic Grog blog, and I was inspired by the Sunakora Zombie by Don the Beachcomber. The Atomic Grog blog found the recipe in the Sunny Sund: The Woman Behind Don the Beachcomber, Inc. book and adapted it as such. The blog described it as, "A hybrid Zombie that manages to be equally sweet, spicy and strong. It features many of the hallmark ingredients of the 1934 original, plus the passion fruit of the 1950 version, ...but it's still a Zombie and should be approached with caution... and great anticipation." Overall, it had the passion fruit, grenadine, falernum, Angostura, and Herbsaint/absinthe aspect of the Cobra's Fang, so I was intrigued. Once assembled, the Sunakora Zombie arose with mint and passion fruit aromas. Next, lime, passion fruit, and caramel notes on the sip sauntered forward towards funky and woody rum, passion fruit, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

rumscullion

2 oz Aged Demerara Rum (Hamilton's 86° Demerara River)
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 tsp Falernum (Velvet)
8 drop Herbsaint
1 dash Fee's Old Fashioned Bitters (Fee's Whiskey Barrel-Aged)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a long orange twist.Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for Beachbum Berry's Remixed book to uncover a glossed-over gem. There, I found Craig Hermann a/k/a Colonel Tiki's Rumscullion that he created in 2008 at the Thatch Tiki Bar in Portland, Oregon. The combination reminded me of the Zakim but with rum and absinthe instead of whiskey, so I was intrigued. While the book's recipe suggested El Dorado 12 Year, I used what I had. Craig mentioned on my Instagram post that, "The original used ED15, and I must add any aged Demerara or like full-bodied non-funky rum work plenty fine: I have used Foursquare Barbados vintage/named expressions to great success. At its heart, the drink is a rum Manhattan variation. The inspiration was to recreate and home in on the Chinotto sour orange flavors I grew to love so much in bitter sodas (notably the San Peregrino)." Once prepared, the Rumscullion gave forth an orange, caramel, grape, and anise aroma. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip opened up into woody rum, bitter herbal, clove, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

speakeasy blues

1 oz Wild Turkey 101 Rye (Rittenhouse)
1 oz Brandy (Marie Duffau Napoleon Armagnac)
1/4 oz Peche Liqueur (Mathilde)
1/4 oz Simple Syrup
3 spray Herbsaint (24 drop)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with mint and powdered sugar (omit powdered sugar).Two Sundays ago, I decided to make the Speakeasy Blues from La Moule in Portland, Oregon, that I had found a few months ago in a set of online recipe flashcards where I also sourced the Paix to Play. The split spirit base, peach notes, and Herbsaint combination reminded me a little of Russell House Tavern's Sazerac riff called the Crosseyed and Painless, so I was drawn in. Once prepared, the Speakeasy Blues gave forth mint and peach aromas. Next, a semi-sweet sip with hints of orchard fruit hid behind rye, brandy, peach, and anise flavors on the swallow.

(and) knobs is thirteen

1 1/2 oz Knob Creek Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1 1/4 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup
1 dash Bitters (Angostura)
8 drop Herbsaint

Flash blend with 6 oz crushed ice and dump into a bucket glass (whip shake, dump, and fill with crushed ice). Garnish with an orange wheel (omit) and mint sprig.Two Tuesdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted on Reddit by Craig Herman a/k/a Colonel Tiki that I had been holding off on until my mint patch came back for the season. The recipe was (And) Knobs Is Thirteen which is his homage to the game Cribbage, a Fibonacci sequence, and an attempt to correct the Ward Eight. On paper, it reminds me of the Nui Nui with a split base driven by Bourbon (albeit supplemented by a more flavorful rum that the original's call for aged Virgin Island rum) and swapping the Nui Nui's lime for lemon. Moreover, this shares some aspects of his delightful tequila recipe, the Vendetta, so it was worth a go. Once prepared, the (And) Knobs is Thirteen opened up with mint, orange, cinnamon, and vanilla aromas. Next, an orange and lemon sip shuffled into Bourbon, funky rum, allspice, cinnamon, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

twelve five

1 1/2 oz Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Absinthe or Herbsaint (Herbsaint)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Thursdays ago, I reached for Jeff Mason and Greg Boehm's The Big Bartender Book and spotted the Twelve Five by Jamie Boudreau. I tracked down the recipe to Jamie's Spirits And Cocktails blog in December 2007 for the Mixology Monday XXII event with a Prohibition theme. This drink named after the date of repeal day and created before Jamie opened the Canon in 2011 reminded me of Frank Caiafa's Bobby Burns riff, Tale of Two Roberts, but with Punt e Mes instead of regular sweet vermouth and a substantial absinthe quotient. In the glass, the Twelve Five opened up with a lemon, Scotch, and anise aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip released Scotch, bitter herbal, and anise flavors on the swallow.

o mai

1 1/2 oz Tanqueray Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
4 dash Herbsaint (20 drops)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Thursdays ago, I uncovered a set of online recipe flashcards for Luc Lac in Portland, Oregon. There, I latched onto the O Mai that is on their current menu, and Yelp has it as early as 2014 which puts it a short time after I first visited there in 2012. The apricot-ginger combination in the O Mai reminded me of the Ninety Nine Roses which also has a gin base, and I utilized it in my sherry-driven Queen Anne's Revenge that I developed for CocktailCourier. On the nose, the O Mai proffered apricot, orange, and ginger aromas. Next, lemon and orchard fruit notes on the sip slid into gin, ginger, and apricot flavors on the swallow with an anise finish.

crosseyed and painless

2 oz Privateer Amber Rum (now called Privateer New England Reserve)
1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac (Du Peyrat Selection)
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Peach Bitters (Fee's) (*)

Stir with ice and strain into an Herbsaint-rinsed double old fashioned glass.
(*) The original recipe called for a larger volume of a house peach bitters that was less intense in flavor profile, so I adapted the above for Fee's.Two Thursdays ago, I opened up my files for recipes sheets from when I worked at Russell House Tavern in Harvard Square from 2013 to 2015. There, I honed in on the Crosseyed & Painless that was similarly named after the 1980 Talking Heads song as this drink from New Orleans' Ace Hotel was. The recipe appeared on the Spring 2013 menu which was when I just started working there, and it was a Sazerac riff that utilized house-made peach bitters. I adapted the house recipe to utilize commercially available Fee's Peach Bitters, and that yielded anise, Cognac, and peach aromas. Next, a honey sip danced into rum, Cognac, peach, and clove flavors on the swallow. Perhaps a half barspoon of peach liqueur would yield a more authentic peach flavor that the two droppers full of our house tincture did instead of the more artificial tasting Fee's bitters.

black betty

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Herbsaint

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays ago, I searched the Kindred Cocktails database for more Braulio recipes, and I stumbled upon the Black Betty by Max Greco at Vasco in Sydney, Australia, via a 2014 article in Saveur. Once this embittered recipe inspired by both the Manhattan and the Sazerac was assembled, it greeted the nose with an orange, caramel, and minty aroma. Next, the amari's caramel continued on into the sip where it was followed by rye, herbal, minty, and licorice flavors on the swallow. Overall, I thought the recipe was balanced with that much Herbsaint, but users on Kindred Cocktails thought otherwise; I do agree that if one uses absinthe instead, that the amount out to be halved or less to compensate the intensity.

l'incontro

1 1/4 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Mezcal)
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
3 dash Hersaint (30 drop Kübler Absinthe)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Fridays ago, I decided to make the L'Incontro from the "Drinks of Drink" binder for it reminded me of Phil Ward's Division Bell with the addition of Herbsaint, the swapping of lemon for lime, and a tweaking of the proportions. I later discovered that the recipe was attributed to Ezra Star in the Claridge's: The Cocktail Book. L'Incontro meaning "the meeting" once prepared called to order with a smoke, nutty, vegetal, and cherry aroma. Next, lemon and cherry notes on the sip concluded with vegetal, orange, nutty cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow with a cherry and smoke finish.

cut your tape

1 1/2 oz Privateer White Rum
1/2 oz Santa Teresa 1796 Rum
1/2 oz Joseph Cartron Dark Crème de Cacao
1/2 oz Briottet Crème de Cassis
1 dash Legendre Herbsaint

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with a spritz of regular Herbsaint.Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I attended a performance of Mr. Swindle's Traveling Peculiarium down near the Harpoon Brewery. Our travels afterwards led us to No. 9 Park where we stopped in for a drink. The cocktail that I selected from the menu was the Cut Your Tape, and bartender Brad Weidman set off to make this two rum number. Once prepared, it welcomed the nose with cassis' berry and Herbsaint's anise aromas. Next, a dark berry sip sailed into rum, dark berry, chocolate, and anise flavors on the swallow. While the combination was rather delightful, it did tend towards the sweeter side as the cocktail warmed up.

various positions

3/4 oz Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
4 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an Herbsaint (or absinthe) rinsed double old fashioned glass, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Fridays ago, I was inspired to tinker again with Phil Ward's Lipspin with its Cynar-sloe gin combination that previously led to my Perverted by Language. Here, I utilized a split rye-mezcal base and took things in a Sazerac direction. While crafting this number, a song from Leonard Cohen's Various Positions album was playing, and that ended up being the name. The Various Positions welcomed the nose with lemon, anise, smoke, red berry, and caramel aromas. Next, caramel and red fruit notes on the sip progressed into rye, vegetal, herbal, anise, and smoke flavors on the swallow.

out of the airlock

2 oz Wild Turkey 101° Rye (Rittenhouse Bonded)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
1/2 oz Campari
1/8 oz Demerara Syrup
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass pre-rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.After my bar shift two Wednesdays ago, I was drawn to The Bartender's Manifesto where I landed upon the Out of the Airlock by Zac Sorensen at the Violet Hour circa 2016. As a 1794-like drink with New Orleans stylings of Peychaud's Bitters and an Herbsaint rinse, I was indeed ready to mix it up. The result gave forth an orange and anise bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel-citrus notes on the sip led into rye, bitter orange, and anise flavors on the swallow.

amburana sazerac

2 1/2 oz Amburana-aged Cachaça (Salinas at home, Avua at work)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
4 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass pre-rinsed with absinthe (Kübler at home, Herbsaint at work), and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.I discovered the beauty of amburana wood notes with Peychaud's Bitters and absinthe one night on a whim at home circa 2016 when I reached for my bottle of Seleta Amburana Cachaça to make a Sazerac. Amburana is a tree that grows east of the Andes Mountains that was described in an 1920 American forestry journal as, "The Umburana of Brazil is a soft yellow wood so delightfully scented with vanilla that one is tempted to eat it." Besides the vanilla, it has been described as donating gingerbread, cocoa, cinnamon, sweet, savory, and spice notes to the spirit. And here in my late night experiment, I learned that it has a stunning synergy with the elements of a Sazerac. I started making these at Drink on occasion a few months ago and finally got one of my co-workers to start making them two weeks ago with our Avua Amburana with great success. With my Salinas Umburana at home, it proffered a woody, celery, and anise aroma to the nose. Next, a rich sip flowed into funky, grassy, balsa wood, rubber, light cherry, and anise flavors on the swallow. Some of those tasting notes belie the beauty of the combination but it was the best my vocabulary could do.

obituary cocktail

2 oz Gin (Bombay Dry)
3/4 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 bsp Absinthe (1/8 oz Kübler)
1 bsp Herbsaint (1/8 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After reading the Lift Your Spirits book about New Orleans' drinking culture, I realized that I had never written up the Obituary Cocktail despite having one at a hotel bar in New Orleans in 2010. Therefore, I set out to find a more definitive recipe out there such as perhaps the earliest published recipe, and instead, my search landed on a more modern one. This one published in Garden & Gun in 2018 was the recipe that Chris Hannah and Nick Detrich concocted for their Jewel of the South bar that was opening later that year. The two tweaks were upping the dry vermouth from the average recipe out there and splitting the absinthe with Herbsaint to craft in Hannah's words "a deadly spin on the Martini."The Obituary began with an anise and black licorice bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet sip slid into gin, anise, licorice, and herbal elements on the swallow.

the ernesto

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1 dash Herbstura (1 light dash each Angostura Bitters and Herbsaint)

Shake with cracked ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass with 2 oz Ting grapefruit soda, and garnish with a lime wheel (omit) and an edible orchid (nasturtium).Two Sundays ago, my nasturtium border on my vegetable garden was beginning to impress me with its blooms, so I searched for a Tiki drink to make. In The Smuggler's Cove book, I came across the Ernesto created by Martin Cate that was doable since we had Ting soda in the house to make Palomas. The text was very short on backstory, and all I was able to determine that it was created in or before 2010 when it was published in a magazine article on tequila recipes. Once assembled, the Ernesto shared a peppery, floral, and tequila aroma. Next, lime, grapefruit, and honey on the sip fell aside to tequila and apricot on the swallow with a grapefruit and anise finish.

little caribbean

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Plantation Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Orgeat
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass pre-rinsed with Herbsaint, and garnish with a cherry.

Two Mondays ago, one of my friends and regulars stopped into the Smoke Shop for dinner. For one of his drinks, he requested a Manhattan. When I inquired if he wanted a classic, a riff, or even something tropical, he latched on to the last option for he had spent part of the weekend making Tiki drinks for a gathering. I decided to riff on the Martinique from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933, and I altered the rye whiskey base and pineapple juice into a split of rye and pineapple rum. Also, instead of sweet vermouth, I swapped in Punt e Mes embittered by Angostura and Peychaud's. When I got home, I decided to make my own using my homemade orgeat instead of the Giffard that we have at work. Moreover, I dubbed it the Little Caribbean after a neighborhood in Brooklyn. It began with a pineapple, anise, and rye aroma. Next, a creamy, grape, and tropical fruit sip slid into rye, rum, pineapple, bitter herbal, and anise flavors on the swallow.