utrecht-baden

1 oz Bols Genever
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth
1 barspoon Fernet Branca
1 barspoon Mirto
2-3 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top.

The other drink I had at Estragon was the Utrecht-Baden. Bartender Sahil Mehta explained that he had created it for the Spanish Sip event back in August of 2011, and that the recipe was a riff on a Negroni. Utrecht and Baden were two treaties signed by the combatants in the War of the Spanish Succession and the treaties helped to maintain the European balance of power in the 18th century. The two treaties were signed in the Dutch city of Utrecht in 1713 and in the Swiss city of Baden in 1714. The Dutch aspect would certainly explain Sahil's use of Genever here.
The orange twist brightened up the Genever's malt aroma. The malt continued on into the sip where it mingled with the fruit notes of the Aperol and vermouth. The swallow was a combination of the Fernet Branca, Mirto, and the Bols Genever's botanicals. Indeed, the Aperol in conjunction with the Fernet and Mirto did give a similar impression as Campari.

four moors

1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry
1 oz BG Reynolds Orgeat
1/2 oz Mirto Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For my second drink at Estragon, bartender Sahil Mehta made me the Four Moors which sounded appealing for its inclusion of Mirto, a Sardinian bitter liqueur flavored by myrtle berries and leaves. The name Four Moors is a reference to the four Moors on the Sardinian flag; moreover, the Moors' ties to Spain is what prompted Sahil to use sherry as the base spirit. In addition, the combination of sherry and orgeat was also tempting for it worked rather well in Clio's Joe Bans You.
The Four Moors began with a lemon oil and orgeat aroma that later became more sherry driven. The amontillado's grape filled the sip, and its nuttiness paired with the orgeat on the swallow. Finally, the Mirto's bitter notes worked well to give the Four Moors some complexity at the end.

saveur d'elegance

3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Mirto
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc

Stir with ice and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with ~2 oz sparkling wine and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I ventured over to Eastern Standard for dinner. For a starter, I asked bartender Hugh Fiore for the Saveur d'Elegance which was subtitled "A taste unexpected: bitter sweet." It turned out that this was one of Hugh's creations that just appeared on the Sparklers section of the menu. The drink began with an orange oil aroma with an herbal element lurking underneath. The crisp sip contained fruit notes from the Lillet and Aperol that came across as orangey, and the sparkling wine flavors appeared on the swallow along with Mirto's bitter complexity.

zelda fitzgerald

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Mirto Liqueur
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Garnish with a flamed lemon twist.

Two Wednesday ago, Andrea and I went down to Craigie on Main for cocktails. For one of my drinks, I asked bartender John Mayer for the Zelda Fitzgerald. The drink was created back in spring of 2010 by then bar manager Carrie Cole, and I remember Andrea enjoying it a lot as I drank my Monmartre. Carrie based this drink off of a cocktail from Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli called the Camino that appeared on Craigie's inaugural cocktail list. From the Camino, Carrie swapped the housemade amber vermouth for Aperol and Cynar, doubled the nonpotable bitters content, and switched citrus garnishes.
The Zelda Fitzgerald began with a lemon oil aroma that was joined by Aperol and Mirto notes. The rye's malt appeared on the sip along with the soft Aperol flavors; the rye's heat competed on the swallow with Mirto and Cynar's bitterness. Interestingly, the combination of flavors on the swallow generated an almost Campari-like note.

mary sharon

1 1/2 oz Chinaco Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz Martini & Rossi Bianco Vermouth
1/2 oz Mirto
1 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For my second cocktail at Eastern Standard two Sunday nights ago, I asked bartender Josh Taylor if he had any new tricks up his sleeve. He thought I might be interested in the Mary Sharon and I became intrigued after I heard it was a variation of the "Sex in the City" classic, the Cosmopolitan, albeit an abstract one using Mirto liqueur instead of cranberry juice. Moreover, he mentioned that Avery Glasser of the Bittermens had a hand in the genesis of this recipe most likely similar to how he helped create Craigie's Bird Bath and Green Street's Avery's Arrack-ari. For a name, the myrtle berry liqueur's Sardinian origin prompted a Mediterranean theme; the cocktail became dubbed the Mary Sharon after Kristin Scott Thomas' character in Prince's 1986 movie Under the Cherry Moon.
The Mary Sharon's aroma was full of citrus oils but I was confused as to whether it was orange or grapefruit. When I asked Josh, he informed me that it was actually lemon and explained that the bounty of orange notes in the bianco vermouth was really that strong. Indeed, the vermouth presented a good amount of citrus peel flavors and the sip was a rather blood orange-Campari taste when combined with the Mirto. The minerality of the tequila and a hint of bitter orange came through on the swallow followed by chocolate from the mole bitters at the very end.

[carrol ironwood]

2 oz Rittenhouse 100 Rye
1 oz Mirto Liqueur
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

On Monday last week, Andrea and I went over to Eastern Standard for a late night dinner after my DJ set was over. We had to wait a few minutes for seats to open up at the bar, but when they did, bartender Hugh Fiore greeted us and soon began discussing drink options. When I mentioned that I had not had any rye in a while, Mr. Fiore already had a drink idea queued up.
Hugh selected Mirto, a bitter liqueur made from the myrtle berry plant, and a housemade cinnamon syrup to go with the whiskey. I was surprised at how well the Mirto and cinnamon notes not only complemented each other but paired with the spiciness of the rye whiskey. Moreover, I was impressed at how the liqueur and syrup balanced the rye for intensity, as Rittenhouse can often be pretty domineering. The drink had almost no aftertaste at first; however, after a few sips, the cinnamon notes began to build on the swallow.

hoskins replica

2 oz Beefeater Gin
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Mirto
1/4 oz Maraschino Liquour
1/4 oz Clement Creole Shrub

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Flame a lemon peel and drop in the drink. The volumes for the Mirto and Creole Shrub might be reversed.

After my job fair on Thursday, I decided to treat myself to a trip to Eastern Standard to unwind with a cocktail. While looking over the menu, bartendresse Nicole Lebedevitch told me that she and the other bartenders had worked out a possible Hoskins replica, a drink created by Chuck Taggart that can no longer be made at Eastern Standard after their Amer Picon ran out and since neither that nor Torani Amer can be imported into Massachusetts. The drink itself was full of orangy and fruity bitter goodness. While it was not the same as a Hoskins (or my memory of the last one I had quite a while ago), it was a decent substitute and a delight to drink. Maybe other Hoskins fans can go to the bar to request it and report back with their opinions.

[myrtle point]

1 1/2 oz Old Weller 107 Proof Bourbon
3/4 oz Mirto
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 dashes Bittermen's Grapefruit Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist orange peel over the top and drop in.

For my second drink at Eastern Standard on Monday, I asked Hugh what he had been tinkering with, and he replied that he knew what he was going to make me. Without a hint, he was off preparing my drink. As the base spirit, he went with a high proof Bourbon to cut through the sweetness of the two liqueurs. The end result was kind of like the Manhattan variant the Green Point. Instead of the richness and spiciness of Punt e Mes vermouth, the Mirto added a thick wave of flavor and bitterness. The drink was a great sipping drink and required a bit of time to savor the intriguing complexities and the heat.

[sardinian alaska]

Anchor Distilling's Genevieve
Apricot Liqueur
Rhum Clément Creole Shrubb
1 barspoon Mirto

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist lemon peel over drink and drop in.
Last night, I met Andrea at Eastern Standard where she had saved me a seat in front of Hugh Fiore. I asked Hugh if he had something he was working on, to which he replied that he had an idea and I trusted him enough to not ask a question until I got the drink. His initial concept for this cocktail was to give some love to Anchor's Genevieve which often gets ignored relative to their Junipero gin. While Hugh conveyed the ingredients on his latest creation, he stated that he was still working on it so I have no clue on the proportions. He did state that the myrtle berry and leaf liqueur initially started as a rinse but was upped to a barspoon. While the cocktail was a slight bit sweet for my tastes, the mirto's bitterness did a decent job at cutting into the sweetness of the apricot liqueur and orange peel-infused rhum liqueur. Overall, the drink had some similarities to an Alaska, albeit a more full flavored fruited and bitter one. With a little bit more tweaking, this drink could be a contender.

camino cocktail

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Craigie's Amber Vermouth
1/2 oz Mirto
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir on ice and strain into a rocks glass. Flame orange peel over drink and drop in.

Last night, I made it out to Craigie on Main to check out the bar program Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli is heading up. Andrea was away this weekend and I needed to get out of the house, so checking the bar out on an off night became the plan. Others must have had the same idea since the restaurant and bar were pretty filled when I got there. Sitting at Tommy's 12 seat bar were 3 of the bartenders we have written about here on CocktailVirgin -- Bice from Green Street, Ben from Drink, and Evan from The Independent, and several of the others were assorted industry folk.

Having tasted the wonders of mirto, a somewhat bitter Sardinian liqueur made from myrtle berries and leaves, at Eastern Standard last month, I was very much game to try some more which lead me to choosing the Camino Cocktail. What really balanced this drink out was the housemade amber vermouth - a sweet but light creation. I tasted notes of vanilla in it and asked Tommy what else was in it. He confirmed the vanilla and mentioned bay leaf and chamomile. Later in the evening, Tommy offered me a small glass of the vermouth alone. To me it also had notes of cherry and seemed less aggressively herbal than a sweet vermouth (although this could be relative to how my tongue's baseline was reset by the mirto et al.). While another one of Tommy's vermouths has cherry bark in it, this one did not although he stated how he could see a cherry pit smell in it. Considering that Tom is a major fan of vermouths including drinking them straight up, I was not surprised at all by the efforts he put in to designing the at least 2 housemade vermouths on the menu.

[mirto cocktails]

Last night, Tim called us up and asked us if we wanted to meet him at Eastern Standard for which we were game. When we arrived, we found Tim talking to Jackson Cannon as they were drinking Corpse Reviver #3's (equal parts Cognac, Fernet-Branca, and creme de menthe). Jackson asked us what we wanted to drink tonight to which I replied "rye and Chartreuse". Jackson said he had a bitter he would like me to try that might fill the Chartreuse need. That bitter was Mirto, a Sardinian liqueur made with myrtle berries and leaves. While the drink he had been working on was gin-based, he said that he could try it with rye. I replied that I would be willing to go with gin especially if that was what he was comfortable trying. Jackson asked if I was up for two cocktails, one with each base spirit, since he wanted to give the rye version a shot.

Since Jackson had hung up the apron for the night, Hugh Fiore took over. The gin-based recipe he made for me was:

2 oz Plymouth Gin
1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Dry Vermouth
1/2 oz Amer Picon
2 barspoons Mirto

Stirred with ice and strained into a coupe. Garnished with a flamed orange peel.

The Mirto itself was syrupy sweet with a piny taste; Tim likened it to eucalyptus. In the cocktail, the Mirto played rather well with the Amer Picon for complementary bitter fruit flavors and with the vermouth and gin for sharper notes.
For my second drink, Hugh tried his hand at developing the rye version with guidance from Jackson. I watched as the first two versions got dumped before they were willing to serve me a drink they were proud of. And it was well worth their added effort for this:

2 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1/2 oz Martini & Rossi Bianco Vermouth
1/2 oz Bauchant Orange Liqueur
2 barspoons Mirto
1 dash Bittermens Boston Bitters

Stirred with ice and strained into a coupe sans garnish.

The Rittenhouse brought out the spice in the Mirto and formed the base for a complex and tasty concoction. To substitute the orange flavor of the Amer Picon, Hugh used Bauchant, and he added Bittermen's Boston Bitters which is heavy on the citrus. The description of the Bauchant I found was "Delicate aromas of orange and tangerine; complex and elegant with intense fruit flavors underscored by notes of caramel and butterscotch." The variety of flavors and notes going on in that glass were rather stunning. Hopefully one or the other of these drinks makes it on to Eastern Standard's menu in the not so distant future.