sweet and vicious

2 oz Rye (Sazerac 6 Year)
1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino (Averna)
1 tsp Maple Syrup
2 slice Fuji Apple (1/6 medium apple)

Lightly muddle the apple slices. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir with ice. Double strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a thin slice of apple.

Two Sundays ago, we started the evening with Alex Day's Sweet & Vicious that I found in the Big Bartender's Book. While the book provided no history, my investigations seem to indicate that he created it for Allen & Delancey in Manhattan where Alex was the chief mixologist for a while. Moreover, the rye, amaro, and apple components reminded me a bit of Sam Treadway's Keep the Doctor Away that he based off of Hungry Mother's No. 47.
The Sweet & Vicious offered up an apple and rye aroma. The sip presented the amaro's caramel, the rye's malt, and a hint of the apple's fruitiness. Next, the swallow showed the rye's heat, the maple's richness, and the amaro's bitter complexity.

san francisco fizz

2 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Gum Syrup
1/2 oz Orgeat (BG Reynolds)
1 Egg White

Shake the lemon juice and egg white. Add the rest and ice, and shake again. Strain into a Fizz glass containing 2 oz of soda water.

Two Saturdays ago, I was flipping through Food & Wine: Cocktails 2012 when I spotted a series of Pisco Sour variations presented by Erik Adkins of the Slanted Door in San Francisco. Erik described the San Francisco Fizz as a mash up of a Pisco Punch, a Mai Tai, and a Silver Fizz. While the San Francisco part of the name could be due to where the drink was created, pisco has its historical roots in the United States in California where ships delivered the spirit that they picked up while looping around South America in the days before the Panama Canal.
The San Francisco Fizz offered up a pisco and pineapple aroma. The sip was creamy and carbonated with lime and almond flavors, and the swallow presented the pairing of pisco and pineapple notes again. Overall, the Fizz was a rather refreshing drink.

syncopation cocktail

2/5 Brandy (1 oz Courvoisier VS Cognac)
1/5 Triple Sec (1/2 oz Cointreau)
1/5 Calvados (1/2 oz Morin Selection)
1/5 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
A dash of Bitters (1 dash Angostura)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a lemon twist.

After the Coo-ee Special, I dropped back a decade to the 1927 Barflies and Cocktails by Harry McElhone. There, the Syncopation Cocktail finally called out to me; it was created or at least contributed to the book by Harry Cahill with the history of "between step and struts, Harry Cahill tosses off Syncopation Cocktail." Indeed, the American Cahill was well known in Paris during the 1920s for his dancing including performing in shows like the Midnight Blue Cabaret; to the right is a photo of him and his dance partner Fay Harcourt cerca 1925. Without the bitters and with equal parts, the Syncopation Cocktail looks a lot like the Deauville Cocktail; perhaps Cahill modified the Deauville into his own creation. This is not unlikely for Cahill frequently performed and probably drank at the Deauville Casino during that decade.
The Syncopation Cocktail's aroma contained fruit notes from the Cognac and Calvados that were accented by the lemon oil. The lemon and orange notes filled the sip, and the swallow offered apple and brandy flavors along with Angostura's spice. Moreover, the addition of the bitters to the recipe seemed to bring forward the apple flavors in the balance.

coo-ee special

1/4 Gordon's Gin (3/4 oz Cold River)
1/4 Pernod Absinthe (3/4 oz)
1/4 Orgeat (3/4 oz BG Reynolds)
1/4 Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a lemon twist.
Two Fridays ago, we started the evening with the Coo-ee Special from the United Kingdom Bartenders Guild's Approved Cocktails book published in 1937. The word "coo-ee" is an indigenous Australian term for "come here," and it is yelled out in the Bush to find missing people or indicate one's location. With the absinthe, orgeat, and lemon juice, the recipe reminded me of Bergamot's Momisette Sour which they based off a classic Parisian drink called the Momisette. The Coo-ee Special offered up a lemon oil and anise aroma that led into a sweet lemon sip. The swallow showcased the absinthe's and gin's botanicals that were soothed by the orgeat's almond.

elcano collins

1 1/2 oz Gutierrez Colosia Fino Elcano Sherry
3/4 oz Rhubarb Syrup (1:1) (a recipe)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Highball glass containing 2 oz seltzer water. Top with ice and add a straw.

Two Thursdays ago, Andrea and I stopped into Bergamot where bartenders Paul Manzelli and Kai Gagnon were manning the bar. For a first drink, I asked Paul for the Elcano Collins which he named after the fino sherry brand that was one of the stars of the show. I mentioned that the concept reminded me of the Conquistador Collins at Craigie on Main where Paul used to work. Paul confirmed that it was a major influence in the drink. His drink started with a combination of the bar having a delicious sherry on hand that he wanted to use, the kitchen having rhubarb, and his purchasing black walnut bitters which complemented sherry's nuttiness. In relation to the Conquistador Collins, Paul found that the fino allowed the other flavors to shine more and was more complementary to the rhubarb than the fuller-flavored oloroso that Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli opted for in his creation.
The Elcano Collin's rhubarb red color and nutty sherry aroma greeted the eyes and nose, respectively. On the tongue, a carbonated citrus sip was chased by the sherry's and bitters' nutty notes and the bittersweet rhubarb flavor on the swallow.

campari swizzle

3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Rhum JM Blanc (Vale d' Paul Aguardente Nova de Santo Antão)
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
3/4 oz Vergano Americano (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Build in a Collins glass on crushed ice. Swizzle to mix and chill, and garnish with a lemon wedge.

After the Pearl of Puebla, I decided to make the Campari Swizzle that I found on StarChefs. The drink was not the Campari Swizzle created by Ryan Lotz while at Lineage, but it was one created by Josh Loving from Fino in Austin, Texas. Unlike Ryan's that featured a Haitian rum, Josh's utilized a grassy rhum agricole. While we do have the Rhum JM Blanc called for in the recipe, I opted for a Cape Verdean rum that shares many of the same flavors as Martinician rums from the volcanic soil and use of sugar cane juice instead of molasses.
The rum's grassy notes appeared on the nose that preceded the lemon and grape sip. Next, the funky rum flavors paired well with the Campari on the swallow that finished with clove notes from the falernum. Overall, the Swizzle was rather soft and well balanced for a Campari drink.

:: american craft beer fest ::

We went to the American Craft Beer Fest last night at the Seaport World Trade Center here in Boston. I sort of stuck with Belgian-style, sour, saison, and dark beer themes, and here were some of the top finds:

• White Birch Brewing (NH) - Berliner Weisse. While I am not a big wheat beer fan, this one came recommended and I was glad I tried. Less wheaty and more citrus with a great funky sour note from the Lacto Bacillius.
• Enlightenment Ales (MA) - Brut. This nano-brewery made a bière de Champagne using classic French sparkling wine techniques which definitely paid off.
• Enlightenment Ales (MA) - Illumination. A solid saison.
• Element Brewing Company (MA) - Extra Special Oak. We had just had their Red Giant last weekend out in Northampton and have enjoyed their Dark Element before. While Andrea went for their 6:56 Double Red Giant which was a sweeter, fuller version of the more bitter Red Giant, I am glad that went with the ESO which was woody, sweet, creamy, and dark with a low hops signature.
• Maine Beer Co. (ME) - Mean Old Tom. A dark, chocolatey stout aged with vanilla, but without the vanilla being all that noticeable or domineering. Also had their much touted Lunch which was decent for the style, but IPA has not been my thing lately.
• Mystic Brewery (MA) - Flor Ventus. This one also came recommended to me -- a barrel-aged wild ale with the tart notes you would expect from a Belgian lambic style.
• Prodigal Brewing (NH) - Necromancer. A doppelbock that was described as a "dark foreboding lager."
• Boulevard Brewing Co. (MO) - Tank 7. A Belgian-style farmhouse ale with fruity and citrusy notes.
• Boulevard Brewing Co. (MO) - Saison Noir. Another farmhouse ale, but unlike others, this was a dark one with earthy, caramel, chocolate, and mild sour notes.
• Lagunitas Brewing (CA) - A Little Sumpin' Wild. A Belgian geuze-style with that citrus-pine hops signature that I have come to expect from this West Coast brewery.
• DC Brau Brewing Co. (Wash DC) - The Citizen. A Belgian-style pale ale that was rather drinkable with enough intrigue added from the Belgian yeast.
• NoDa Brewing (NC) - Monk's Trunks. An earthy and slightly fruit-accented Belgian-style pale ale.
• Night Shift Brewing (MA) - Trifecta. An amber trippel Belgian strong pale ale with decent spice notes.
• Somerville Brewing Co. (MA) - Slumbrew Trekker Tripel. This Belgian-style beer impressed me a full degree more than their other offerings.
• Widmer Brothers Brewing (OR) - Marionberry Hibiscus Gose. While I went with the Kill Devil Brown Ale aged in rum casks, I was impressed by the gose that Andrea picked. Pink, floral, berry, cleansing tartness. While not what I was expecting from a gose, apparently it is traditional for goses to sometimes be laced with flavored or colored syrups like this.

pearl of puebla

2 oz Sombra Mezcal
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 barspoon Ricard Pastis (1/8 oz Henri Bardouin)
1 barspoon Agave Nectar (1/8 oz)
4 sprig Fresh Oregano

Muddle the oregano with agave nectar. Add rest of ingredients and ice. Shake and double strain into a coupe glass.

Wednesday last week, we began the night with the Pearl of Puebla from the PDT Cocktail Book. Bartenders Jim Meehan and Euclides López created the drink in 2008 as a Mexican rendition of Audrey Saunder's French Pearl. Jim and Euclides utilized two staples of Mexican cuisine, namely mezcal and oregano. With our oregano patch not only being back for the season but spreading across the garden and into our neighbor's yard, the Pearl of the Puebla seemed like a great excuse to reduce the oregano's reign on the garden.
The drink presented an anise and herbal aroma along with the mezcal notes. The lime sip possessed a fresh green herb flavor, and the swallow offered up the mezcal and a complementary pairing of oregano and Yellow Chartreuse.

queensbury

1 oz Sheep Dip Scotch
1/2 oz St. Louis Kriek Lambic Syrup (*)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Top with 2 oz of La Marca Prosecco.
(*) Reduced down with heat, then sugar was added. I did not get the exact amount that it is reduced down. As a starting point, consider Misty Kalkofen's Guinness syrup which reduces 12 oz of beer to 8 oz and then adds 8 oz of sugar (makes 12 oz syrup). Perhaps 12 oz could be reduced in half to 6 oz and add 6 oz of sugar (makes 9 oz syrup).

Two Tuesdays ago, Andrea and I stopped into the Citizen in Boston where Nick Korn and Sabrina Kershaw were bartending. For a drink, I asked Nick for the Queensbury which caught my eye on the menu the last time we were there. When I inquired about the beer syrup, Nick explained that bartender Chad Arnholt used to work at a bar where they had drinks that were topped with Lambics and other beers. As the beers went flat, they thought it was wasteful to dump them and figured out that made good syrups.
The Queensbury began with a smoky lemon aroma that had hints of wine. Next, the crisp lemon and malt sip led into a Scotch swallow and a cherry finish. Indeed, the beer syrup's malt paired well with the Scotch and the sparkling wine worked well to re-carbonate the beer.