10 cent loosie

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Black Cardamom Syrup
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

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

Two Wednesdays ago, I ventured over to Brick & Mortar for cocktails. One of the new drinks on the menu, the 10 Cent Loosie, was created by bartender Kenny Belanger during an USBG-sponsored mezcal event which featured a talk given by Misty Kalkofen and a chance to play around with various mezcals. I believe that Kenny mentioned that he developed this one with Del Maguey Chichicapa, but they changed to the Vida to keep the menu price down. He also explained that he named the drink after single cigarettes that used to be for sale in certain stores for a dime, but I am guessing that the days of purchasing smokes for that price are long gone.
The lemon oil from the twist brightened the mezcal and herbal aroma. The herbal notes continued on into the sip where it mingled with the Cardamaro's wine, and the swallow proffered the agave, cardamom spice, and bitter notes. Finally, the 10 Cent Loosie finished with a pleasing combination chocolate and smoke.

the olivia

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Ginger Liqueur (King's)
3 slice Cucumber

Muddle the cucumber. Shake with ice and double strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish with another slice of cucumber.

After the Suze Bramble, I stuck with the agave theme and decided to make the Olivia that I spotted on the Del Maguey website. It was one of the two cucumber drinks that I was looking at for the "Eat Your Vegetables" Mixology Monday last month, but I opted to make the Going Back to Mezcali for the event instead of this one. The Olivia was crafted by Max Kestenbaum from the Del Monte Speakeasy in Venice, California, and with honey and ginger flavors, it seemed like it would be a crowd pleaser.
Once mixed, the cucumber aroma mingled with that of the mezcal. A lime, honey, and vegetal sip led into the smokey agave and the zing of the ginger.

suze bramble

3/4 oz Suze Gentiane Liqueur (Salers)
3/4 oz Blanco Tequila (Piedra Azul)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 Blackberry

Shake with ice (I muddled the blackberry first) and double strain into a Highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with a fresh blackberry.

Two Tuesdays ago, we began the cocktail hour with a drink I spotted in the aperitif section of Food & Wine: Cocktails 2013 called the Suze Bramble. The drink was created by Ira Koplowitz and Nicholas Kosevich of Eat Street Social in Minneapolis, and I was drawn to the recipe for I recall how well gentian liqueurs work with blackberries such as in Tyler Wang's L'Année du Mexique. In this Bramble, the fruit element was muddled or shaken into the drink instead of being drizzled over the top in the way Dick Bradsell created the original Bramble in 1984.
The Suze Bramble shared a tequila aroma with herbal notes from the Salers. Next, a grapefruit and blackberry sip was followed by the tequila and a bitter complexity from the gentian liqueur.

1771

1 oz Citadelle Gin
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Curaçao
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Rhubarb Syrup (see recipe)
2 pod Cardamom
1 dash Orange Bitters

Muddle the cardamom pods with the bitters. Add the rest of the ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail glass. Top with 1 oz Louis Bouillot dry sparkling wine.

For my last cocktail at Bergamot, bartender Paul Manzelli suggested something that Tom Schlesinger-Guidelli had created at Craigie on Main called the 1771. The name refers to the year that the Citadelle Gin recipe was developed in Dunkirk, England. Moreover, the 1771's cardamom muddled in orange bitters as well as the sparkling wine reminded me of the Straits of Messina at Island Creek Oyster Bar, and I would not be surprised if Tommy played some role in that drink's genesis too.
The 1771 shared a bright orange and rhubarb aroma with a bit of cardamon spice. The sparkling wine on the sip joined the crispness of the citrus, and the swallow offered the gin and rhubarb flavors along with a bitter finish from the cardamom.

carlsbad flip

1 1/2 oz Becherovka
3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Pineau des Charentes
1/2 oz Cream
1/2 oz Honey Syrup (1:1)
1 barspoon Simple Syrup
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a rocks glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I paid a visit to Bergamot for drinks and dessert. Hidden away on the dessert menu beside the Cambridge Tea was the Carlsbad Flip which seemed quite tempting. Bartender Paul Manzelli explained that he had created it one night for a guest who wanted an Egg Nog. The use of Becherovka in place of a spirit seemed Eastern Standard-inspired, such as with their Bees' Knees-like Metamorphosis and their Pisco Sour-like Kysely, but the use of Pineau des Charentes was very Bergamot. For a name, Paul chose the Carlsbad Flip after the locale where the Czech herbal liqueur is made.
The nutmeg garnish combined with the Becherovka's clove to generate a gingerbread-like nose. The creamy sip contained honey flavors and perhaps a wine note from the Pineau des Charentes. Finally, the liqueur's clove and cinnamon spice rounded out the swallow.

basin street blues

1 oz Nardini Amaro
1 oz Pimm's No. 1
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Turbinado Sugar Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 3 drops of a smokey Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year).

Two Saturdays ago, we were in the mood for something on the lighter side, and what came to mind was the Basin Street Blues that appeared in SeriousEats. The recipe was attributed to the Domenica Restaurant in New Orleans, and it is named after a song first published in 1926, frequently performed by Dixieland jazz bands, and made famous by Louis Armstrong. The connection to the Crescent City is that the song title and drink name refer to the main drag of Storyville, the French Quarter's old red light district in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Basin Street Blues greeted the senses with a peaty smoke from the Scotch and a chocolate note from the Nardini. Next, a fruity sip containing the citrus and the Pimm's strawberry flavor was followed by an herbal, coffee, and orange swallow.

courtney riley cooper

4 part Cognac (1 1/2 oz Foret Brandy)
1 part Dubonnet (3/4 oz Bonal)
1 part Cointreau (3/8 oz)
1 part Lime Juice (3/8 oz)

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

After the Colonia Roma, I still had some lime juice left over, so I grabbed David Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks to find a use for it. There I spotted the Courtney Riley Cooper. With the Dubonnet and orange liqueur, the recipe made me think of the Don't Give Up the Ship despite the different base spirit and presence of citrus here. The drink was named after Courtney Ryley Cooper who was a circus performer and later publicist for Ringling Brothers, Barnum, and Bailey Circus; moreover, Cooper was a prolific author of crime books and was Annie Oakley's first biographer.
The orange oil from the garnish brightened the candied orange aroma from the pairing of the brandy and Cointreau. A sweet lime and grape sip led into a rich Grand Marnier-like swallow. Over all, the drink was an elegant tribute to a curious man.

colonia roma

1 1/2 oz Blanco Tequila (Piedra Azul)
1 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz Branca Menta
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 barspoon Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Two Fridays ago, my copy of Food & Wine: Cocktails 2013 arrived, and I started perusing the book for cocktail ideas. This year, the format is similar to 2011 where there drink recipes are divided up by spirit type, but instead of one contributor for each section, there are four. Some notable and familiar faces include Will Thompson of Drink, Ivy Mix of Clover Club, Erick Castro of Polite Provisions, Paul McGee of Three Dots & A Dash, Nicole Lebedevitch of The Hawthorne, and Kirk Estopinal of Cure. The one I selected to start with was a tequila drink, the Colonia Roma, from the Anvil's Bobby Heugel.
The Colonia Roma proffered a grapefruit and mint-menthol aroma that blended in well with the agave nose. Next, a white wine and lime sip gave way to a minty tequila swallow with an herbal finish. Overall, the libation fell somewhere between a Virgin de Guadalupe and the Restauranteur.

are you for cereal?

1 1/2 oz Fidencio Joven Mezcal (*)
1 1/2 oz Cocoa Puffs-infused Cream
3/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Cherry Jar Syrup (**)
1 Egg White

Shake without ice and then with ice. Garnish with a touch of cayenne pepper (*).
(*) Appears on the menu as Old Monk Rum and nutmeg.
(**) Cherry Heering or other cherry liqueur would probably sub well here in a pinch.

For a final drink at Sichuan Garden II, bartender Ran Duan made us something desserty off of the menu called the "Are You For Cereal?" Ran was influenced by Manhattan's Momofuku and their use of cereal-infused milk in many of their items; I did find a SeriousEats article that provides a basic recipe for the flavored milk. Normally, the drink appears on the cocktail menu as an Old Monk Rum drink garnished with nutmeg to make it more accessible, but Ran prefers it with mezcal and dusted with hot pepper which is how he made it for us.
Once mixed, the mezcal aroma joined that of the spicy pepper garnish. A creamy sip led into a gentle mezcal swallow containing a touch of cherry and chocolate notes. Over all, the drink made for a delightful dessert cocktail.