waterloo sunset

2 oz Tanqueray Gin
1 oz Martini & Rossi Rosé Vermouth
1 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1 dash Bittermens Burlesque Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass rinsed with Lillet Blanc. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Mondays ago, we made our way down to the South End to have drinks at Toro. For a first beverage, I asked bartender Andy McNees for the Waterloo Sunset. Andy explained that he had always wanted to name a drink after that Kinks' song. For ingredients, he described how the gin represented the English and the Lillet represented the French in the battle; as for the sherry, his answer was that Toro was a Spanish restaurant after all.
The orange twist's oils welcomed the nose and prepared the mouth for the grapefruit-citrus sip that also contained robust grape notes from the sherry. Most of the sherry flavors though were in the swallow along with the gin's juniper and the bitters' spice and light pepper heat. Stylistically, the Waterloo Sunset reminded me of the Buckminster at Highland Kitchen.

l'amerique

1 1/2 oz Low Gap White Whiskey
3/4 oz House Rosé Vermouth (see here)
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

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

Two Monday's ago after my DJing gig, we headed up to Eastern Standard to catch a late dinner. For my first drink, I asked bartender Carrie Cole for the L'Amérique that was described as " Green Point Elegance" on the menu. Instead of the Green Point's rye, they opted for an unaged 100% wheat whiskey that many reviews describe as having pleasing fruit, grain, and spice notes. Keeping the Yellow Chartreuse untouched, the original's Punt e Mes was swapped for the house strawberry-infused rosé vermouth.
The L'Amérique possessed an aroma of orange oil, whiskey, and something earthy and almost chocolate like. The sweet malty sip led into a strawberry and herbal swallow. Overall, it was a lot lighter than a Green Point for it lacked Punt e Mes' bitter and the rye's barrel aged notes. As the drink got warmer, it became much sweeter and almost dessert-like in balance; for my palate, the simple syrup could have been left out entirely.

augusta

1 1/2 oz George Dickel Whiskey
1 1/2 oz House Rosé Vermouth (*)
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
(*) A recipe for this strawberry-infused vermouth can be found here. A less labor intensive way would be to infuse 6 sliced strawberries in a 750 mL bottle of commercially available rosé vermouth (such as Cinzano or Martini and Rossi) for several days before filtering. Or downscaling to 1 strawberry per every 4 oz. In the Jackson's recipe, the fortifying brandy is infused with the strawberries (instead of the lower proof end product), so it may take more than the 2 days listed there.

On Christmas Eve, Andrea and I made our yearly pilgrimage to Eastern Standard to celebrate the holiday. Many thanks to Kit Paschal, Hugh Fiore, and Naomi Levy for keeping the tradition alive by manning the bar that night. For my first drink, I asked Naomi for the Augusta which sounded rather tempting with its strawberry and chocolate notes over a Dickel Tennessee Whiskey base. While George Dickel is best known for creating the whiskey, the distillery was founded in conjunction with his wife Augusta in 1870. Or according to some historians, they contracted distillers Matthew Sims and McLin Davis that year to start making spirits for them. Regardless of which version is the truth, Augusta Dickel was the company's chief financier and later inherited it after George's demise. In her honor, this drink was created.
The Augusta offered a chocolate and strawberry aroma that led into a light fruity grape sip. The whiskey provided much of the swallow's flavor that was softened by the cacao; moreover, the vermouth's botanicals including a distinctive wormwood note finished the drink. I was quite impressed at how the chocolate notes in the liqueur helped to emphasize the berry aspect of their rosé vermouth in the Augusta.

[apotecario]

1 oz Cynar
1 oz Martini & Rossi Rosé Vermouth
1 oz Espolón Blanco Tequila
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail or other small glass.

Monday last week, Andrea and I went to Pomodoro in Brookline and sat at the bar to have dinner. There, the honorable Stephen Shellenberger was presiding, and for a first drink, he made me an equal parts tequila number that matched the agave spirit with Cynar and rosé vermouth. While I have mentioned how well tequila and Cynar pair up such as in Under the Volcano, I had never had it with rosé vermouth. However, I have noticed how well it works with blanc (sweet white) vermouth such as in the Rojo Bianco and the Mary Sharon, so I figured this would be similar. When I asked Stephen about the drink concept, he described how he inverted the aromas in the classic Negroni but left the gustatory proportions the same.
In the drink, the dark, funky Cynar aroma was balanced by the light fruitiness of the vermouth and the floral and vegetal notes of the agave. I soon understood Stephen's drink concept because the combination of the liqueur and the vermouth was indeed reminiscent of Campari to the nose. The rosé vermouth's grape flavors filled the sip, and the tequila and Cynar rounded out the swallow. Overall, it was a different tasting drink than the tequila-sweet vermouth 1836 and the tequila-sweet and -dry vermouth Rosita, but just as delightful.