bask intentions

1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Fosforo)
3/4 oz Marie Brizard Apry (Rothman & Winter Apricot)
1/2 oz Jeppson's Malört
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Honey Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a blackberry and a raspberry (cherry) on a pick. Two Saturdays ago, I looked to the online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago and landed upon the Bask Intentions from their Spring 2022 menu. The name makes reference to "Bäsk is a Swedish-style liquor flavored with wormwood ('malört' in Swedish)" according to Wikipedia, although it is sometimes questionable if anyone handing you Malört is doing so with the best intentions. Malört has been paired with apricot liqueur in Whistler's Lightning Swords of Death and in my Cutman, and paired with tequila in The Violet Hour's Honey I'm Home, so it felt like a good use of the last of my grapefruit juice garnered from my spent garnish fruit. In the glass, the Bask Intentions launched off with apricot and cherry aromas. Next, lemon, grapefruit, orchard fruit, and hint of honey on the sip progressed into tequila, apricot, and bitter grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

señor bali hai

1 oz Mezcal (Convite)
1 oz Black Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
3/4 oz Mr. Black Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz 2:1 Simple Syrup (2/3 oz 1:1)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1 pinch Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Whip shake, pour into a mug, and fill with crushed ice. I garnished with mint sprigs. Two Mondays ago, my Instagram pal Rob Balazs posted a recipe called the Señor Bali Hai created by his friend Charley Hicks. The idea is a Mexican-themed riff on the Mr. Bali Hai that swaps some of the rum for mezcal and Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur. I have tried mezcal in a split base Mr. Bali Hai variation in the Mistah Bittah Hai and in my King Kopeika, so I was curious to try it with Ancho Reyes in the mix. Once assembled, the Señor Bali Hai gave forth mint over coffee, agave, and smoke aromas. Next, pineapple, lemon, and roast notes on the sip opened up into rum, coffee, vegetal, chili pepper spice, and smoke flavors on the swallow. I felt that with the robust Mr. Black, if I were to make this again, perhaps I would tone down that volume to a half ounce or use a less intense coffee liqueur so that it did not take over the flavor profile here. Moreover, I could not help to think that the theme could be bolstered by replacing the Jamaican rum with one of the many cane spirits coming out of Mexico these days such as Uruapan Charanda (partly because Coruba's light funk note got lost in the mix here).

sidewinds

1 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Swedish Punsch (Kronan)
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
3/4 oz Coco Lopez Coconut Cream
1 oz Lemon Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs. Two Saturdays ago, my Coco Lopez run had me thinking about the Tradewinds, and its apricot liqueur made me consider how well bitter liqueurs would work in there. My original idea was to do a Ferrari-based (Fernet-Campari) riff, but the flavors ended up too muddied, so I changed it up by dropping the Fernet from that and returning it to being a bit more rum-driven. Nixing the Fernet over the Campari was a no brainer for the latter works rather well with apricot liqueur such as in the A Study in Pink and the Jungle Hotel Bird. The apricot also pointed me to its synergy with Swedish punsch which I learned about in the Havana Cocktail, and Swedish punsch works great with Campari from a trio of drinks I had in 2012 – namely, Sleeping with Strangers, Barefoot in the Dark, and Deck Hand. For a name, I dubbed it the Sidewinds named after a breezes that can blow a moving object off its direction of travel. Here, the Sidewinds gave forth mint, rum funk, and fruity aromas. Next, a creamy lemon and orange sip sunk into funky rum and bitter peach flavors on the swallow.

buster brown

1 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Amaro Braulio
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/8 oz Honey Syrup
3/8 oz Coconut (Coco Lopez)

Shake with ice and strain into a glass. The recipe's photo shows an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, so I followed suit. Two Fridays prior, I began perusing the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app on my phone, and I landed upon the Buster Brown by Jon Nutter at Manhattan's Attaboy in 2023. The app only listed the ingredient as "coconut," and since I had an opened Coco Lopez in the refrigerator, I interpreted it as coconut cream. The combination of spirit, Braulio, honey, and lemon reminded me of my Golden Eagle, but here with Bourbon and coconut instead of mezcal. Once mixed, the Buster Brown lumbered forward with herbal, coconut, and pine aromas. Next, a creamy honey and lemon sip twisted into Bourbon, bitter pine, and coconut flavors on the swallow.

cupid deluxe

1 1/2 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse)
3/4 oz Banana Liqueur (Tempus Fugit)
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Angostura Cocoa)

Shake with ice, serve tall (old fashioned glass, ice, 1 oz soda water), and garnish with a piece of candied ginger. Two Sundays ago, I returned to online recipe flashcards from Dutch Kills in Long Island City and selected the Cupid Deluxe. The drink for their Spring 2019 menu was attributed elsewhere on the web to bartender Jose Cardenas, and it was perhaps named after the 2013 album by the group Blood Orange. Scotch and banana worked so well in the Holy Molé! that I utilized it in my Artists and Models at the Cocktail Lab at Earl's, and I was curious to try it here. Once prepared, the Cupid Deluxe offered up a pineapple and ginger aroma. Next, a carbonated caramel, lemon, and pineapple sip flowed into Scotch, pineapple, banana, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

torreador del diablo

1 1/4 oz Tequila (Cimarron Blanco)
1/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
1/8 oz Honey Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Fridays prior, I began perusing The Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and happened upon the Torreador del Diablo by José Manuel Alvarez Gonzalez at London's Milk & Honey in 2013. The Campari, apricot liqueur, and lemon juice trio has worked well in the Juniper #3 and in my St. Botolph's Club, so I was curious to taste it with the ginger-honey-lemon of a Penicillin Cocktail. Once mixed, the Torreador del Diablo showcased a vegetal tequila, apricot, and ginger aroma. Next, lemon with a hint of honey on the sip stepped aside for tequila, bitter orchard fruit, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

maybe later

1 oz Gin (Tanqueray)
1 oz Amaro Braulio
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2-3 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a floated cucumber slice. Two Wednesdays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and spotted the Maybe Later by Chloe Martin in 2024 with no mention of where the drink was created. Given the name and structure, it was perhaps a riff on Sam Ross' Too Soon? and very reminscent of the Amaro Montenegro-laden Old News that I made around two weeks prior. In the glass, the Maybe Later showcased a lemon, pine, and cucumber bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip delayed pine, herbal, cucumber, and minty flavors on the swallow.

fort de france

1 oz Agricole Rhum (Rhum JM 100° Blanc)
1 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
Absinthe Rinse (20 drop St. George in mix)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Collins glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet and freshly grated nutmeg. Two Saturdays ago, I looked to The Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and landed upon the Fort de France by Michael McCollum at Nashville's Attaboy in 2024. Two combinations of interest stood out with the first being the Suze-rhum agricole duo that I have enjoyed in drinks like the Tour le Carbet, Pennington Daiquiri, and Is that All there Is?. The other is the Suze-orgeat pairing that worked well in the Little Oaxacan, Inna di Yard, and Frightened Tiger. Once prepared, the Fort de France began with a wood spice and mint bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon sip expanded into grassy rum, herbal, almond, anise, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

dahlia

3/4 oz Gin (Tree House Hildegard von Bingen)
3/4 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Absinthe (20 drop St. George)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist (included the twist). Two Thursdays ago, I opened up The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and selected the Dahlia by Michael McCollum at Nashville's Attaboy. The recipe appeared like a Corpse Reviver riff that was a step closer to Sam Ross' Sunflower. Elderflower and gentian have paired well in drinks like the Terrible Love and Tulip Thief, so I figured that this could work. Once mixed, the Dahlia offered up lemon, gentian, and some floral aromas. Next, a lemon-driven sip blossomed into pine, floral, gentian-herbal, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow. I did find that the Suze dominated my choice of elderflower liqueur, and I would perhaps adjust the quantities accordingly if I made it again.

atomizer

40 mL Tanqueray Gin (1 1/3 oz)
15 mL Wray & Nephew Overproof White Rum (1/2 oz)
5 mL Green Chartreuse (1 tsp)
20 mL Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)
20 mL Simple Syrup (3/4 oz)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make the Atomizer that London's Satan's Whiskers posted on their Instagram a week prior. On paper, it reads like a gin-Jamaican rum Champs-Élysées with perhaps a slight nod to the Nuclear Daiquiri given the name and two ingredients of overlap. Once prepared, the Atomizer set off with a juniper, herbaceous, rum funk, and clove aroma. Next, a lemon-driven sip exploded into funky rum, pine, herbaceous, and clove flavors on the swallow with a lemon finish. In the end, instead of a Champs-Élysées or Nuclear Daiquiri, the Atomizer's overall feel reminded me more of Dale DeGroff's embittered Gin Sour, the Fitzgerald, with a dose of rum funk and a little herbaceousness mixed in.

old news

1 oz Gin (Tree House Percy)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2-3 slice Cucumber
1 pinch Sea Salt (3 drop 20% Saline)

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Idlewild in Charlotte, North Carolina, to make a cocktail called the Old News that I had saved until I had cucumber in house. Given the name and structure, it was perhaps a variation on the Too Soon? with Montenegro and cucumber in place of Sam Ross' Cynar and orange slices. The drink itself is mentioned in a 2025 Yelp review as being recommended for folks liking gin and bitter, although the flashcard set was one that I found before that in 2024. Moreover, the Montenegro-cucumber aspect reminds me of the Manhattan riff, the Cobble Hill, but this is in a very different direction given the citrus. Once prepared, the Old News reported a cucumber, pine, and clementine aroma to the nose. Next, lemon and vegetal notes on the sip revealed juniper, orange, and cucumber-herbal flavors on the swallow.

shakedown street

2 oz Tequila (Fosforo)
1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Agave Syrup
1 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a cocktail glass (old fashioned glass with ice), and garnish with a cucumber slice. Two Tuesdays ago, I was looking through The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Shakedown Street by Rhiannon Enlil. Since Rhiannon was our first Cure bartender back in 2009, I followed my hunch and opened up the Cure: New Orleans Drinks And How to Mix'em book. There, it described how Rhiannon riffed on one of Maks Pazuniak's drinks called the Deadhead that was got its name from being herbaceous enough that it "tasted like some hippie shit," and perhaps that is why she named this one after a Grateful Dead song. Rhiannon kept the ratio but changed things around. "Cucumber and Aperol want to be together; cucumber and tequila want to go together... it came together naturally." The drink stood out due to the cucumber and Aperol combination; I first learned about how the two can conjure up watermelon flavors in the 3185, and I observed it in other drinks like the Sunday Service and Ghost Hardware. Once prepared, the Shakedown Street proffered a cucumber and watermelon bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and watermelon notes on the sip transitioned into tequila and orange flavors on the swallow. After I made the drink, I realized that I kept the serving style from The Madrusan Cocktail Companion without noticing that the Cure book calls for it to be strained into a coupe. 

smoking gun

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fosforo Ensemble)
1/2 oz Aquavit (Linie)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
2 slice Cucumber

Muddle cucumber in syrup, add rest of ingredients, shake with ice, double strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a fresh cucumber slice. Two Mondays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice Volume 3 app and looked for a recipe to celebrate my garden's first cucumber of the season. There, I landed on the Smoking Gun by Gabriel D'Alessandro at London's Satan's Whiskers in 2025. The bar's Instagram had a slightly different ratio of 1 oz mezcal, 1/2 oz aquavit, and 2/3 oz for both the lemon juice and simple, but I used the app's recipe better suited to American jiggers. While I have had a few mezcal-cucumber drinks like the Mexican Razor Blade and the Disco Nap, the only aquavit-cucumber recipe that I have tried is the Balsa Raft at Vandaag, a Manhattan bar that focused on Genever and aquavit. Gabriel recommended on Instagram, "If you can get hold of Aalborg Dild Aquavit, the dill freshness sets things off nicely." With Linie Aquavit though, the Smoking Gun revealed itself with a vegetal, cucumber, and caraway aroma. Next, lemon coupled with a greenness on the sip delved into vegetal, smoke, cucumber, and spice notes on the swallow.

savannah slammer

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Peach (Mathilde Peche Liqueur)
1/2 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 splash Steen's Syrup (1/8+ oz Demerara)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint and freshly grated cinnamon. Two Fridays prior, I decided to make the Savannah Slammer created at Good Company in St. Louis from their Spring 2025 menu that I had uncovered in a set of online recipe flashcards. This drink that still resides on their current menu reads like a Georgia Julep crossed with a Cynar Julep in a mint as a garnish-only Smash. Once assembled, the Savannah Slammer awoke the senses with a mint and cinnamon aromas over peach. Next, lemon with a vague orchard fruit note on the sip blossomed into Bourbon, peach, and funky herbal flavors on the swallow.

pineapple peat

1 1/2 oz Great King Street Glasgow Blend (Ardmore Traditional Cask)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Martelletti Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a bucket glass, and top with crushed ice. Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco that I last utilized in November with the Spice Oddity. Here, the Pineapple Peat called out to me and made me think of a Scotch Algonquin – a drink that I made a lot the summer of 2007 of rye, pineapple juice, and dry vermouth. The citrus aspect was something that I saw in the dry vermouthless Far East Algonquin by Ryan Fitzgerald of San Francisco's Beretta at a Tales of the Cocktail 2011 happy hour, but here, the pineapple aspect is amplified. As for a timeframe, Yelp has photos of the drink at the Liholiho Yacht Club as early as 2015, and a 2015 blog post has a photo and specifies the Scotch. It is unclear if it was named after a Pineapple Pete character: the two most famous ones, a Fortnight outfit and Six Flags mascot, came after 2015, but there are some instances like the restaurant in St. Marten that came before that. In the glass, the Pineapple Peat came forth with a peat and pineapple aroma true to its name. Next, lemon, malt, and pineapple notes on the sip switched into smoky Scotch, herbal, and pineapple flavors on the swallow.

silk stockings

1 1/2 oz Aged Martinique Rhum (Rhum Clement VSOP)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup

Whip shake, pour into a Zombie glass, top with crushed ice, and garnish with a lemon wheel and mint sprig. Two Thurdays ago, I went out shopping for a bottle of aged rhum agricole to make a few recipes that I had stored up. The first one I set off with was Justin Wojslaw's Silk Stockings from his Coconuts & Carnage book which looked like an agricole Mai Tai crossed with a Gold Frond. Once prepared, the Silk Stockings gave forth a mint and lemon aroma over a nutty, orange, and rhum funk one. Next, a creamy lemon, pineapple, and orange sip slid into caramel, grassy rhum, almond, orange, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

wry grin

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
4 wedge Lemon (1/2 Lemon in quarters)
6-8 leaf Mint

Muddle lemon wedges and mint. Add rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint bouquet. Two Sundays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and spied the Wry Grin by Sam Ross at Manhattan's Milk & Honey circa 2010 in the Smash section. Overall, it reminded me a little of the Job's Lament which did the rye-Fernet combination in Mint Julep form but with Amaro di Angostura instead of the simple and lemon here. In the glass, the Wry Grin greeted the senses with fresh mint over rye and menthol aromas. Next, lemon with a hint of caramel on the sip revealed rye whiskey, caramel, and minty-menthol flavors on the swallow.

rest in pieces of eight

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
>1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/4 oz Licor 43
>1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake one round without ice and one round with ice. Strain into a Collins glass with ice (double old fashioned with a large ice cube) pre-rinsed with Cruzan Black Strap Rum. After making a fresh batch of ginger syrup, I perused Kindred Cocktails and spotted the Rest in Pieces of Eight by Doug Monroe at Nashville's The Patterson House that he entered into the database in 2012. The name seems to be a play on the pirate phrases "rest in peace" and "pieces of eight." Given that aspect, I expected some overlap with the tropical classic Pieces of Eight, but there was only rum and lemon in common. Once mixed, the Rest in Pieces of Eight put forth a molasses aroma from the black strap rum rinse. Next, a creamy caramel and lemon sip subsided into funky rum, funky herbal, ginger, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

primavera

1 oz Espolon Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Pimm's No. 1
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Agave Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a snifter (double old fashioned) glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig (or 3). Two Mondays prior, I came across online recipe flashcards for the Spring 2026 menu at The Old Pal in Athens, Georgia, and the seasonally-appropriate Primavera stood out. Their website displays this drink on the current menu along with a drawing of it. The combination of tequila and Pimm's appeared in two drinks including the Indian Summer, and I utilized it in the Blind Hen as a mashup of the Metexa and Pimmeron from the 1930s. Once built, the Primavera gave forth mint aromas over caramelized vegetal ones from the tequila. Next, lemon and caramel on the sip blossomed into aged agave, red berry, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

start me up

1 oz Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum (Doorly's 12 Year) (*)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Strega
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice.
(*) The bar's 2019 cocktail book has this as Scarlet Ibis Rum. Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make the Start Me Up that I found in a set of online recipe flashcards for the NoMad in Los Angeles. I uncovered both a drink photo and menu photo on Yelp from 2018 that had it under the "NoMad Classics" section, and I later found the recipe in The NoMad Cocktail Book where it was attributed to Leo Robitschek and Jessica Gonzalez; there it called for the Trinindad rum Scarlet Ibis. While the book did not say, if I had to wager, I would guess that it was named for the Rolling Stones song. As for the recipe, Strega has been paired up with either honey or ginger in a few drinks, but only appeared with both in Skull & Crown Trading Co.'s Hanalei Moon mixed in with a few other tropical ingredients. Once assembled, the Start Me Up gave forth a star anise and lemon aroma. Next, lemon and honey notes on the sip evolved into Bourbon, rum, honey, ginger, anise, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.