laura lee

1 1/2 oz Old Overholt Rye
1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot Liqueur
2 tsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Cherry Heering
1 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.

After the French Armada at Clio, bartender Todd Maul asked if I wanted another cocktail, and I decided that a nightcap was in order. I requested something not too boozy, and Todd selected the Laura Lee off of the aperitif section of the menu. While I did not get the specifics of whom the drink was named after, Todd mentioned that he developed this drink two years ago which would have put him behind the bar at Rialto.
The Laura Lee started with an apricot and rye aroma that led into much the same on the sip. The swallow, on the other hand, was the combination of the rich cherry flavors of the Heering, the cinnamon of the bitters, and crispness from the lemon. When I commented that it was like an apricot High Hat, Todd agreed but pointed out that the bitters donated some extra complexity that the High Hat lacked and thus accentuated the spice of the Cherry Heering.

french armada

4 oz Mandrin Au Sapin Saison Beer
1/2 oz Brugal Añejo Rum
1/2 oz Plantation Barbados Rum
1/2 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
2 dash Fee's Cranberry Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass.
For my third drink at Clio, bartender Todd Maul was very excited about a beer cocktail he created. When he tasted Mandrin Au Sapin, a French Saison brewed with pine needles, he knew that he had to create a drink around it. The beer was funky and fruity like a Flemish Sour with hints of pine on the swallow. In the drink, Todd supplemented this fruity note with sloe gin and cranberry bitters. The French Armada started with a cranberry aroma coupled with the sour elements of the beer. This cranberry note in the nose was mirrored by the beer's pine and fruit elements and the sloe gin's berry on the sip. Todd explained that the pine notes worked to wipe the palate clean with a citrus finish and functioned very much like a vermouth. Moreover, the beer was meant to be rather forward in the drink and the spirits were there to support its flavor profile. Indeed, the French Armada had a very autumnal feel to it that will help to solidify Clio's fall cocktail menu.

smoking cinnamon

1 oz Brugal Añejo Rum
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Batavia Arrack
1/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Light a stick of cinnamon until it is smoldering on one end. Place on a plate and cover it with a coupe glass so the smoke accumulates. Shake the drink with ice, upend the coupe, and strain the drink into glass.
For my second drink at Clio, bartender Todd Maul followed up his experiments with juice clarification with his tinkerings with smoke as a flavorant. The temporary name for the drink was "Smoking Cinnamon," and Todd planned on formally naming it on the menu after a cigar brand. Indeed, the drink started with a burnt cigar aroma which led rather well into the pineapple on the sip. These flavors were a bit overwhelming for the first sip or two, but after that, the Punt e Mes and the Batavia Arrack began to appear and play a role in diversifying the flavor profile. Finally, the smokiness of the Batavia Arrack tied in splendidly with the lingering burnt cinnamon notes.

naked apple

1 1/2 oz High West Silver Western Oat Whiskey
1 oz Apple Cider, reduced and clarified (*)
1 dash Bitter Truth Lemon Bitters

Shake (or stir?) with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a baked disk of cider and caramel; serve with a straw.
(*) Reduce two-fold with heat. Add gelatin and freeze-thaw through cheesecloth as described in the Cooking Issues link below.
Last week, I stopped in at Clio to visit bartender Todd Maul. Todd asked if I was looking to try something new that would be on the menu the following week; without any further information, his enthusiasm was surely contagious and I gave the go ahead. The drink he prepared for me was in theory a riff on a Manhattan that used a lightly oaked whiskey made from 85% oat and 15% barley. The "in theory" part was that he did not use a vermouth, port, or even an amaro to balance the spirit; instead, he used a modified apple cider that acted like a vermouth. Todd had concentrated the cider and stripped it of its color so that it was like "apple juice on steroids." I had just read in the last round of Mixology Mondays about Jacob Grier's experiments to do similar clarifications of lime juice; furthermore, Jacob referenced a more comprehensive article in the Cooking Issues blog where this technique and others were explained in great detail. Instead of Angostura Bitters in this Manhattan facsimile, Todd chose lemon bitters for he found that it accentuated the apple notes in the drink. Overall, the drink was clean and rich tasting with the essence of a Stone Fence with the barrel aging notes of the whiskey and thick fruity flavors of the cider stripped away.

scotland the brave

2 oz Laphroaig 10 Years Old Scotch
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Mathilde XO Orange Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Flame an orange peel over the top and discard.
When bartender Ted Kilpatrick asked if I had a direction for my nightcap drink, I mentioned that I had not had any whiskey drinks in a while. When I suggested rye or Bourbon, Ted asked if Scotch was fine. The drink Ted made me was entitled Scotland the Brave after the unofficial national anthem of Scotland, and the concept reminded me slightly of Russell House Tavern's Scottish Play. The cocktail's nose was orange from the twist and the peaty malt of the Scotch. On the sip, the most notable flavor combination was how well the Fernet and the Laphroaig's smokiness matched up. The Punt e Mes paired well with the Fernet, but alas, I could not detect the orange liqueur very well. When I mentioned this to Ted, he commented that the Mathilde Orange functions to soften the drink, and its flavors integrate with the Punt e Mes rather well; furthermore, the orange liqueur and Punt e Mes were transcendent components of the drink. Indeed, the Scotland the Brave did serve as a great last drink of the night.

brandy fix

2 oz Landy VSOP Cognac
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Pineapple Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Ornament with grapes and berries in season (blackberry, blueberries, mint). Serve with a straw.

Last Tuesday, I made my way down to No. 9 Park where bartender Ted Kilpatrick was presiding. For my first drink, I requested something made with brandy, and Ted replied that he was really excited about the Brandy Fix found in Harry Johnson's New & Improved Illustrated Bartender's Manual and asked if I wanted to give it a try. Despite a few changes to the proportions, his version was pretty true to Johnson's recipe. Keeping it old school was important for Ted will be serving this drink at an event at the Boston Athenaeum in early October. In addition, Eastern Standard's Kevin Martin and Drink's Josey Packard will also be making drinks at that event as well.
Honestly, I had never had a Fix before, and when I was reading David Embury a few weeks ago, I realized this. Fixes lost out to Daisies like (mint) Smashes lost out to Juleps. According to Embury, Fixes are pretty much the same as Daisies -- both are Sours with a flavored syrup or liqueur for the sweetener instead of sugar or simple syrup -- except that Fixes generally call for pineapple syrup and Daisies often specify raspberry syrup or grenadine. True, there are recipes such as Jerry Thomas' that contradict this, but Embury at least made an attempt to differentiate things.

This Fix started with a visually attractive assortment of berries in season and an aromatically alluring combination of brandy and mint. The sip was a sweet pineapple and lemon flavor followed by green Chartreuse complexity on the swallow. Overall, this drink could do no wrong, and its magic has certainly help up since Johnson transcribed it over a century ago.

:: patience ::

I just started a project that will require 6-12 months of waiting, but I am posting it now to encourage others to give it a try in parallel with me. The recipe is for Coquiña or Cachaça de Coco that Charles H. Baker, Jr. wrote about in The South American Gentleman's Companion. Baker acquired this recipe from the Furna de Onça Restaurant in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is for coconut-aged rum! He presented it as follows:

Take husked coconut, bore out 1 of the "eyes" in the "monkey's face" you'll find at 1 end. Pour-out water. Refill nut with any white rum like new Cuban or Key West aguardiente, or inexpensive white Puerto Rican or Cuban rum - NOT brown or Jamaica. Cork tightly with a soft-wood peg driven-into the shell firmly. Bury in ground, dig-up after 6 month to a year. Drink the stuff neat, out of small glass.

The process will add a ruddy amber color and a "most unusual and pleasant taste." Moreover, it will make the spirit more mellow the longer it stays in its tropical cask. Baker did give the option of cachaça later in the text.
Earlier today, I bought 3 coconuts at Whole Foods. The best part of the experience was when the cashier dropped one from about a foot up. She apologized and said that she did not want to break it before I got it home. I told her that it could be replaced, and beside, it would take a lot more than that to crack a coconut. She then asked how I was going to open them and recommended a hammer. When I finally told her that I was going to drill a hole in each of them and fill them with rum, she shot me a dirty look. The stunned and judgmental expression quickly shifted to her ignoring what I just said and re-recommending the use of a hammer to open the nut.

For a method, I did end up using a hammer albeit later in the process. I used a 1/2 inch drill bit and made a hole in one of the eyes in each coconut. The wider the eye, the easier the bit went in for there was less tough, fibrous matter in the way. I then filled two with Seleta Cachaça and one with J.Wray & Nephew Rum. I did not realize until afterward that the directions specifically stated not to use Jamaican rum, but I now interpret that to mean dark aged and not white overproof Jamaican rum (which could stand a bit of mellowing). I sealed the holes with pieces of whittled tree branch and the recommended hammer. Instead of burying them, they are being stored in the kitchen for safe keeping.

I am curious to see if the rum will become coconut-flavored à la unsweetened Malibu or fat-washed with coconut oils. Only time will tell since Baker was rather vague about the effect.

elisabeth aplegate

1 1/2 Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Cucumber Purée with Herbsaint and Hyssop-Anise Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice cubes. Garnish with a cucumber slice and straws.

For my last drink at The Gallows, I asked bartender April Wachtel to make me the Elisabeth Aplegate off of the menu. The drink was named after an example of the brutal punishment and harrassment that women suffered during Puritan times; Elisabeth Aplegate in 1636 was declared guilty of swearing and reveling and was forced to stand in public with her tongue inserted into a cleft (split-ended) stick. For such a dark sounding story, the drink was rather light with a bounty of herbal notes.
The drink's aroma was mainly cucumber and anise, and these notes carried over into the sip. The flavor was supplemented by the mint-like hyssop in the syrup and balanced by the crispness of the lemon juice. While the Elisabeth Aplegate was different from the Fin du Saison I had at Craigie on Main, the pairing of cucumber with farm-fresh herbs had a very similar effect.

roxbury russet

1 oz Cognac
1/2 oz Laird's Applejack
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
4 dash Fee's Aromatic Bitters
3-4 slice Apple (~1/6 medium apple)
4 Cloves

Muddle cloves. Add apple slices and muddle again. Add rest of ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an additional apple slice.

For my second cocktail at The Gallows on Sunday night, I asked bartender Carl Donheiser about another drink on the menu, but after talking with him, he steered me toward the Roxbury Russet. The Roxbury Russet was Carl's creation and the least darkly named drink of the three I had. Not named after a blood sucking beast or a sinning Puritan who was severely punished, the drink refers to an apple varietal believed to be the oldest apple cultivar grown in this country. The varietal was started about a mile or two away from the bar in Roxbury (now a suburb of Boston) in the seventeenth century.
The Roxbury Russet cocktail started with an autumnal aroma of clove and apples. The clove continued on in the sip to spice a sweet apple, lemon, and honey flavor. The cloves along with the cinnamon and other botanicals in the bitters appeared in the swallow and helped to dry out the sip. Indeed, Carl had described this drink as elegant and light, and that was pretty accurate. The cloves were the breakthrough ingredient for him in this recipe and their effect was rather stunning. Shortly before he served this drink to me, he made a hot toddy variation of it to someone else at the bar; while I did not try it this way, my neighbor seemed rather pleased by the result.