hot apple toddy

1 medium-sized Apple (Gala)
1 1/3 oz Sugar (Turbinado)
2 2/3 oz Whiskey (Old Overholt Rye)
2/3 oz Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)

Roast the apple (30 minutes, 400°F (*)) in a pan. Scrape the pulp and juice away from the skin, core, and seeds, and add to a heat-resistant bowl or mixing glass. Add sugar, and pulverize the apple using a muddler until the sugar is dissolved. Add spirits, stir, and warm up before serving in microwave. Serve in punch cups with an equal part of boiling water; provide small spoons. Garnish suggestions: cinnamon stick or grated cinnamon (none listed in original recipe). Recipe makes two servings.

Last night, I decided to give the Hot Apple Toddy recipe I found in 1904's The Blue Grass Cook Book a try. The other recipe I made from the book, the Xalapa Punch, was a great success, so my confidence in trying another one of the drink recipes was high. The original called for a dozen apples and I scaled it down to what would make about two servings (although the recipe claims that the 'pug' before hot water dilution will keep indefinitely) besides a few other slight modifications.
The recipe gave me a good excuse to use my new bottle of Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaica Rum. In the toddy, the rum had a dominant signature to my palate whereas the whiskey stood out more for Andrea. The drink would definitely have been a different beast if I had interpreted the Jamaican rum as something as rich and full-bodied as Appleton's, but a rougher rum might have been more true to the ingredients more widely available when the recipe was created. The cinnamon garnish I added complemented the spiciness of the rum quite well in addition to pairing up nicely with the apple notes. The apple and sugar functioned to mitigate the alcohol's burn when the high proof was coupled with the heat. Overall, the Hot Apple Toddy made for a delightful nightcap on a cold winter's night.

(*) The apple still seemed chunky after being muddled extensively. Perhaps a longer or hotter roast/bake is in order, or perhaps Gala apples are a bit more structurally sound than other apples. A blender would help, but seems very un-1904...

cherry blossom

1 1/2 oz Hendrick's Gin
3/4 oz Stock Maraschino Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
2-3 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
On Sunday night, Andrea and I attended Eastern Standard's annual anti-Valentine's Day event. On the special menu were eight pink or red drinks. While Andrea went for something with tequila, I asked Bobby McCoy to make me the Cherry Blossom which he described as a variation on an Aviation. I surmise that this might be their original concoction for all other Cherry Blossom recipes that I found in my library and on the web were very different. Like an Aviation, the drink had a maraschino nose and sour cherry flavor; however, the Peychaud's, besides donating the theme-appropriate pink color to the drink, took the drink in a very different direction. We were glad that we showed up on the early side to this event and were able to have a drink at the bar before the place got packed. After that, we used our drink tickets for the beer and shot of Fernet Branca combo at one of the satellite bars they had set up around the room.

byculla cocktail

1/2 oz Sherry (Lustau Don Nuño Dry Oloroso)
1/2 oz Port (Ramos Pinto Ruby)
1/2 oz Curaçao (Curaçao of Curaçao)
1/2 oz Ginger Brandy (Domaine de Canton)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added an orange twist to the recipe.
On Sunday night after dinner but before going to Eastern Standard's anti-Valentine's Day event, Andrea and I had a drink to pass the time. I found the Byculla in Trader Vic's 1947 Bartender's Guide and decided to give it a go. Savoy's 1930 and Boothby's 1934 both had the recipe with the former being a liqueur glass (1 oz) and the latter 1/4 jigger measures for each ingredient. I opted for adding an orange twist for orange oils always seem to complement sherry rather well; moreover, it ended up bringing out a fresh juice flavor sensation from the Curaçao. In the drink, the sherry notes appeared early in the sip, orange liqueur in the middle, and ginger at the swallow. In addition, a pleasant port-like grape flavor lingered on in the aftertaste. The Byculla Cocktail was not as gingery as I imagined it would be; perhaps the fortified wines smoothed over the its sharpness for it appeared more as a light accent. The addition of a dash of Angostura bitters to the Byculla might help to bring out a more robust and complex ginger taste, and I could easily see orange bitters adding to the citrus complexity. The drink would be a good cocktail to have with dessert and Andrea imagined it working extravagantly well with a flourless chocolate cake.

esmeralda

1 1/2 oz Cachaça (Isaura Ouro 3 Year)
1/2 oz St. Germain
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass rinsed with a smoky Scotch (Caol Ila 12 Year).

Last Thursday while at the Boston Shaker's St. Germain event, I mentioned to Kate, our St. Germain and hopefully soon Creme Yvette rep, that we were going to the cachaça event at the Franklin Southie afterward. Kate mentioned that the folk at Drink had a great cachaça and St. Germain recipe that they were making for a while, and when I expressed interest in the drink, she immediately sent a text off to Ben Sandrof. Soon after, I experienced my first recipe via text message (I know it's a phenomenon with bartenders needing a recipe at that moment, but for me, things are rarely that fast paced)! I spoke to Ben a few days later when I saw him at the Eastern Standard anti-Valentine's Day event and told him how much we enjoyed the drink. He shared the story of the the Esmeralda, a drink he created using and named after the Armazem Viera's Esmeralda Cachaça and how the recipe traveled across the country to end up on San Francisco's Laïola's cocktail menu.
At first, the Esmeralda's nose was an elegant smoky Scotch aroma, but over time the cachaça grassy-funky notes started appearing as well. The sip started with sweet St. Germain and lime flavors followed by cachaça and Scotch's funk and smoke, respectively, on the swallow. The drink was nicely balanced although slightly on the sweet side especially compared to most other Daisy-style drinks I have had lately. The Esmeralda worked for two main reasons. The first was how well the lime and St. Germain paired up, and the second and more important was how the Scotch and cachaça interacted. The Scotch brought out an entirely different side to cachaça than ginger did in the Maison Leblon, a more earthy than spicy one. Moreover, it made me recall how it was the smoke notes in the Rochinha Cachaça I had tasted a few months before that made it so tasty; Rochinha's producers obviously understand the flavor pairing magic as well as they purchase used Scotch barrels instead of utilizing indigenous woods for their barrel aging step.

maison leblon

1 1/2 oz Leblon Cachaça
3/4 oz Domaine de Canton Ginger Liqueur
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and pour into a rocks glass. Garnish with 3 slivers of ginger.

For my second drink at the Leblon Cachaça Party at the Franklin Southie, I opted for the Maison Leblon which was almost the ginger liqueur instead yellow Chartreuse version of the drink Andrea had for her first beverage:

Grande Elixir
• 1 1/2 oz Leblon Cachaça
• 3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 oz Lemon Juice
• 1/2 oz Honey Syrup
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Maison Leblon that bartender Joy Richard made for me started with a very ginger- and cachaça-scented nose. I think the key to the success of this drink was how well the ginger's sting mixed with the cachaça's funk similar to how Campari's sharp notes functioned in the Lua Bonita. In addition, the lemon's crispness added to this delightful bite. The yellow Chartreuse in the Grande Elixir, on the other hand, brought out a more herbaceous side to the cachaça and might be a better choice for someone looking for a more mild yet interesting cocktail.

lua bonita

1 oz Leblon Cachaça
1 oz Campari
1 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth

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

Last night after going to the St. Germain event at the Boston Shaker's store, Andrea and I hopped on the Red Line and got off at the Broadway stop to go to the Franklin Southie's Leblon Cachaça event. Bartender Joy Richard assembled a list of seven cachaça drinks; I was greatly impressed that none of the ones on the list was the Caipirinha (although I was told that they would gladly make one if requested). All too often, cachaça gets pigeonholed as the spirit to make Caipirinhas. The second best known cachaça drink, the Batida, was on there though and was flavored with a combination of mango puree and cream of coconut, and the other six were a combination of variations and original creations. Hopefully, efforts like this to expose people to cachaça's functionality in a variety of cocktail recipes will broaden the spirit's appeal in this country.
The first cachaça cocktail I chose was the Lua Bonita (Beautiful Moon) which substituted the gin in a Negroni for cachaça. The drink started with a distinctive cachaça grassiness and an orange oil nose. Sweet vermouth flavors were rich at the beginning of the sip, while the cachaça's funk and Campari's bitter notes were evident on the swallow. The funk and bitter notes played extremely well together and took the drink in a very different and intriguing direction from gin's effect in the classic Negroni. Moreover, these two elements served to partially dry out the drink's sweetness at the swallow. The Lua Bonita had a nice amount of acid crispness and when combined with the Campari and vermouth colors, one could probably be tricked into thinking for a moment that the glass contained a good proportion of cranberry juice.
My Lua Bonita immortalized in 2/17/2010's Globe article on restaurant/bar industry events.

monte cassino

3/4 oz Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz Benedictine
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass; garnish with a lemon twist.

To continue on with the night before's four-equal part whiskey-yellow Chartreuse cocktail theme, it was time to try the Monte Cassino on Wednesday. The Monte Cassino was Damon Dyer's (Louis 649 in New York City) creation and the winner of the cocktail contest to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Benedictine herbal liqueur. Dyer described his Last Word variant as, "This drink requires no dramatic flourishes, no additional flavor notes, no aromatic supplements. Simply four ingredients in equal parts, in perfect balance, allowing the Benedictine to make its noble presence felt."
The drink was indeed a great balance between the two sweet liquors and the acid and heat of the lemon and 100 proof rye whiskey. The Benedictine and yellow Chartreuse combined to form a wall of herbaceousness, although one that was not too tall or too intense especially when compared to what other pairings of bitter liqueurs can bring to the table. The Benedictine and lemon took the drink in a different direction than the Last Word's Maraschino and lime such that the parallels seemed more in theme than in flavor. Dyer's choice of Rittenhouse was a good one for it has enough backbone to handle the other ingredients without getting drowned out. Moreover, the rye grain's spice contribution to the whiskey's mash bill played quite well with all of the other ingredients.

van dieman

1/4 Canadian Club Whiskey (3/4 oz, equal parts Eagle Rare Bourbon + Midnight Moon)
1/4 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
1/4 Caloric Punch (3/4 oz homemade Swedish Punsch)
1/4 Yellow Chartreuse (3/4 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
On Tuesday night, Andrea desired a whiskey-based nightcap, so I found the Van Dieman in the pages of the Café Royal Cocktail Book. I am not sure if the unique spelling of this drink's name was intentional or a misspelled reference to Van Diemen's Land, now Tasmania, where British convicts were once sent. Since we lacked Canadian whiskey, I simulated the lighter style with a Bourbon diluted with Midnight Moon un-aged corn whiskey. Andrea's reaction after her first sip of the Van Dieman was, "sweet, vanilla-y with an herbal aftertaste." The vanilla notes were most likely a combination of the barrel aging of both the Bourbon and the Punsch's Appleton VX. Dilution of the Bourbon was probably not that necessary as it ended up playing a diminutive role in the final balance. The dominant flavors were the Swedish Punsch and yellow Chartreuse which paired up rather well; moreover, they donated a lot of spice at the end of the swallow especially from the Punsch's Batavia Arrack.

bonsoni

3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
1 dash Cynar

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top.
On Monday night, Andrea and I went to Allston to get food at Deep Ellum. After dinner, I asked Max Toste if he had an idea for a digestif and he suggested the Bonsoni from the Rogue Cocktail Book. The book credits Patrick Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual as their source. Both of these recipes use a 2 oz sweet vermouth to 1 oz Fernet Branca recipe; however, the Rogue recommends splitting the vermouth part into half sweet vermouth and half Punt e Mes as well as including an orange twist. Max upped the ante on the Rogue's version by adding a dash of Cynar. In the Bonsoni, the aromatized wines tempered the Fernet quite a bit until the menthol notes appeared in the aftertaste. The addition of Punt e Mes, besides adding extra herbal complexity, donated a sweet grape taste on the early part of the sip. In addition, the Cynar was detectable in the middle of the sip and played rather well with the Fernet Branca and Punt e Mes notes. The closest thing I have had to this drink is the Appetizer a l'Italienne which jazzes the classic Bonsoni up with a dash of absinthe and simple syrup.