puates delight

1/3 Johnny Walker Red Label (1 oz Famous Grouse Scotch)
1/3 Passion Fruit Juice (1 oz)
1/3 Caloric Punch (1 oz Homemade Swedish Punsch)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added an orange twist.
After getting back from the Sunday Salon, we were in the mood for a nightcap so I made the Puates Delight from the Café Royal Cocktail Book. The drink started with the orange oils from the twist which paired rather well with the passion fruit aroma. On the sip, the passion fruit juice and the lemon in the Swedish Punsch combined to make an apple-like flavor, and this was followed by a lingering Scotch note on the swallow. The Scotch and Swedish Punsch worked splendidly together to produce more of a spicy Scotch than a smokey rum flavor.

[lavender menace]

1 3/4 oz Bols Genever
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lavender Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Hartley & Gibson Amontillado Sherry
2 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
For my second drink at the Sunday Salon, I asked bartender Ben Sandrof for something off the menu. Ben mentioned that he had thought about tea and sherry earlier, and that while he did not have tea accessible at the bar, he did have lavender simple syrup. The drink he created sort of reminded me of the Southend, but the Genever and sherry took things in a different direction. The nose was full of Genever spirit with a hint of lavender floral notes. The malty flavors from the Genever appeared with the lemon on the sip, and the lavender and sherry notes mingled on the swallow. Indeed, the lavender and the botanicals in the Bols Genever made for a rather solid pairing.

silent order

2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Water
7-10 Sweet Basil Leaves

Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass.

On Sunday night, we went down to see Ben Sandrof as he hosted another Sunday Salon (now every two weeks with the next one on the 13th). I finally had one of Andrea's all time favorite drinks -- the Silent Order. The drink name refers to the Carthusian monks who make Chartreuse and live a very quiet, contemplative life. The herbal notes in the Chartreuse are bolstered by basil leaf oils; Ben warned not to muddle the basil for it will extract too much bitter chlorophyll into the drink whereas bruising the leaves through shaking with ice will release only the oils. The shaking will macerate the leaves somewhat, but the end result should not be pulpy. The most unique part of the recipe is not the addition of basil or the balancing with lime, but the addition of water. True, most drinks are diluted with water but only due to the shaking, stirring, or being built on ice parts (not counting the water in ingredients such as simple syrup). Here and in the Alamagoozalum, water is specified as an ingredient. Ben's rationale for its inclusion was to mellow the acid in the lime and to cut the sugar in the Chartreuse in order to balance the drink. While he did not mention it, it might also serve to soften the 110 proof heat of the green Chartreuse.
The Silent Order's nose was a combination of the Chartreuse and the sweet basil aromas. Basil and lime flavors appeared at the beginning of the sip with Chartreuse on the swallow. The simplicity of that description does not do justice to how amazing this drink tasted and how well the flavors balanced each other. Perhaps fewer words and more contemplation are in order here.

coffee milk punch

A. 500 mL Gold Rum (16 2/3 oz Don Q)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon Powder
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
6 Allspice Berries (ground, ~1/2 tsp before grind)
1 Tbsp Ground Coffee
B. 12 oz Simple Syrup (1:1)
5 oz Lime Juice
C. 10 oz Whole Milk
1 Tbsp Ground Coffee

1. In a large bowl, add rum, spices, and first measure of coffee grounds from "A" and let infuse for 1 hour. After that, add simple syrup and lime juice from "B".
2. In a sauce pan, add milk and second measure of coffee grounds from "C". Heat slowly to 180°F (or until the first signs of a boil if you lack a thermometer) with occasional stirring. Pour hot coffee-flavored milk into the bowl containing the rum and spices.
3. Stir and leave for 15-20 minutes until the milk is fully curdled. Strain through a tea towel to remove curds, spices, and spent coffee grounds; I strained into screw cap vermouth/wine bottles for easy storage and transport. A second filtering step through a coffee filter would clarify the punch, but I find it unnecessary. Also, allowing the particulates to sediment over time (several days) and decanting off the punch into a new bottle will work as well.
4. Cool punch in fridge. Keeps almost indefinitely when refrigerated. Serve in glasses or punch cups.

On Saturday afternoon, I received a phone call from some friends about an impromptu gathering later that evening. After hanging up the phone, I got the idea for this punch and immediately set to work on gathering the ingredients. Of course, inspiration struck just as Saturday's downpour began but my motivation was strong enough to brave the rain. The flavor profile was shaped after the Zambito and I further spiced the punch with elements from Turkish coffee, namely cinnamon, cardamom, and allspice. I bolstered up the spice levels to allow for a quicker infusion since time was limited before the event started

The end product was distinctly coffee flavored and scented but not overwhelmingly so. I was pleased with how well the coffee, rum, and lime juice meshed with the spices. While the cardamom and allspice flavors and aromas were rather distinctive, the cinnamon seemed a little shy in the profile. Moreover, the punch had a rather luxurious mouthfeel from the combination of milk whey and simple syrup.

[haitian monk (or the popa docquiri)]

2 oz Barbancourt Rum
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
2 dash Fee's Peach Bitters

Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass.

Bartender Ryan Lotz mentioned that he had two drinks in the works, and after hearing their description, I definitely wanted to try the rum-based one for my second drink on Friday at Lineage. The drink was a basic Daiquiri with the curveball addition of green Chartreuse and peach bitters. Ryan's concept was to pair a savory and a fruit component to add to the Daiquiri base, and the Chartreuse and peach combination was his favorite. The new cocktail lacked a name, and while Ryan came up with the Haitian Monk due to the rum's origin coupled with the Chartreuse being created by monks, my idea was a bit more irreverent with the Popa Docquiri. Perhaps naming a drink after a blood thirsty voodoo-worshipping dictactor might not be P.C. for a restaurant menu, but the word play was too hard to avoid.
The Haitian Monk's nose sang out with green Chartreuse and lime aromas, and these elements also paired up nicely flavorwise as they do in the Green Ghost. Rum and lime on the sip were followed by the Chartreuse on the swallow. The peach flavor from the bitters built up over time; elements of them became detectable on the very first part of the sip with other peachy aspects lingering on the swallow.

coolidge

2 oz Sazerac 6 Year Rye
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 - 1/3 oz Clear Creek Eau De Vie Of Douglas Fir

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist a lemon peel over the top and discard.

We continued celebrating Andrea's birthday on Friday by going over to Lineage where head bartender Ryan Lotz was presiding. The drink that called out to me for my first round was Ryan's tribute to his restaurant's Coolidge Corner neighborhood which he based off of the Red Hook. Instead of the Red Hook's Maraschino liqueur, the Coolidge utilized an eau de vie of springtime-harvested Douglas Fir buds. Ryan found that this spirit paired well with spicy rye and he retained the Punt e Mes from the Red Hook recipe to round out the drink.
The Coolidge started with a lemon oil nose that led into a sweet, caramel, and malty sip. The sip was dried out by a bitter and spicy swallow that was full of pine tree notes. While Ryan might have been attracted to the eau de vie's pairing with the rye, I felt that its complementary flavors to the bitter notes in the Punt e Mes vermouth was what made the drink for me.

royal wedding

1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin
3/4 oz Swedish Punsch (Housemade)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Grand Marnier

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

Besides the cachaça drinks on Clio's menu (the multi-paged tome appears in this photo as well as the # Tres') that caught my eye, Todd Maul's Swedish Punsch recipes stood out. Todd uses the same "Tales (of the Cocktail) Version" recipe by Eric Ellested for his drinks as I do; however, he does have a precious bottle of the real thing hidden away behind the bar. The real version from Sweden was a lot more subtle and smoother of a flavor, and I cannot wait for someone to start importing it again into this country. But in the meanwhile, the Ellested replica is close enough to make these classic recipes work.
The Swedish Punsch-containing recipe I selected was the Royal Wedding which Todd found in Ted Saucier's 1951 cocktail book Bottoms Up. Gin with a hint of Grand Marnier and spice aroma prepared my taste buds for the sip ahead. That sip was filled with gin and lime crispness with Grand Marnier and Swedish Punsch complexity on the swallow. Amongst the spices on the swallow, clove was one of the more discernible ones. Overall, it was rather well balanced and a good progression from the # Tres.

The original recipe for the Royal Wedding seems to stem from the 1934 Café Royal Cocktail Book which lists Fred Gage as the inventor. That recipe also includes a grenadine sink (similar to the # Tres) and gives the option of lemon or lime, but in other ways is rather identical.

the # tres

1 oz Beija Cachaça
1 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Lillet Blanc
1 oz Luxardo Triple Sec

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Gently add a dash of grenadine so it sinks to the bottom.

As I mentioned at the end of the Rum Ramsey post, Andrea and I went to Clio on Wednesday to celebrate her birthday. When I first saw the Clio cocktail menu posted on Grub Street Boston, I commented to Andrea that I was impressed at how many cachaça drinks there were. Andrea replied that head bartender Todd Maul mentioned that he enjoys substituting cachaça for regular rums as it makes for some interesting variations. So for my first drink request, I asked Todd what cachaça cocktail on the menu he recommended. His pick was the # Tres which he based off of the Corpse Reviver #2 cocktail except with the absinthe swapped for grenadine (besides changing the gin and lemon for cachaça and lime, that is).
The # Tres' nose was a soft funk with perfumey and citrussy notes mingling in the mix. The sip began with a complex and sweet citrus flavor that was chased by cachaça on the swallow. While the cachaça acted almost like a drying bitter note on the swallow, the Beija was not as raw of a spirit as most other cachaças. Todd said that he selected Beija for this drink as it was less smokey; moreover, it was more earthy and contained a grapefruit note like a tequila. Without the absinthe in the recipe, the drink reminded me more of a Hoop La which he also serves on the menu as a Frank Sullivan (those along with the Hey Hey and the Odd McIntyre being four of the names I have seen for this same recipe).

rum ramsey

1 1/2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (Diplomático Reserva Exclusiva)
1 tsp Bourbon (Booker's)
Juice 1/4 Lime (1/4 oz)
1/2 tsp Sugar (1/8 oz Gomme Syrup)
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

At the Appleton event last week, we spoke with Todd Maul from Clio and he recommended that we try the Rum Ramsey from Trader Vic. I found the recipe in both the 1948 and the 1972 editions and decided to give it a go on Tuesday night. While the recipe specifies Puerto Rican rum, Todd recommended that we try it with Diplomático or Appleton rums. Since the Bourbon was only a teaspoon, we selected Booker's which is one of our spiciest and most flavorful in our collection.
The Rum Ramsey was rather crisp and boozy and was a less lime-flavored Daiquiri variant. Moreover, the bitters and Bourbon added a good deal of spice on the swallow that definitely took the drink in a different direction from the classic recipe. The Peychaud's paired splendidly with the Booker's and perhaps the aged rum as well.

The next night, it was Andrea's birthday, so after our dinner at Myers and Chang, we made our way over to Clio for birthday cocktails. While waiting for seats at the bar to open up, Todd Maul greeted us with a pair of Rum Ramseys! His version was a bit sweeter and better balanced than our crisp version; however, the Elmer T. Lee Bourbon he used was less spicy and less distinctive in the flavor profile. Todd seemed to approve of our use of Booker's the night before and might start using our suggestion as his go-to whiskey.