window to the flor

1 1/2 oz Lustau Don Nuño Oloroso Sherry
1 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After the Bird's Eye View, I decided to make a drink that I had spotted in the collection of most recent Vinos de Jerez cocktail competition finalists. That one was the Windows to the Flor by Kevin Diedrich of Jasper's Corner Tap & Kitchen in San Francisco. Its resemblance to the classic Bamboo Cocktail lured me in besides having enjoyed Kevin's In 2 Deep from Left Coast Libations in the past.
The oloroso sherry added a nice raisiny aroma to the caramel and orange nose. The sherry also donated a grape note to the brandied citrus sip and a nutty raisin flavor to the orange peel-laden swallow. Definitely a different beast from the Bamboo, but just as light and delightful.

bird's eye view

1 1/2 oz Eagle Rare Bourbon (Bulleit)
3/4 oz Ramazzotti Amaro
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Dolin)
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

Stir with ice and strain into a wine glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Saturdays ago, we began the cocktail hour with a drink I spotted on Gary Regan's 101 Best New Cocktails of 2013 list called the Bird's Eye View. The drink was created by Steve Shur of the Boston College Club; since it is a private club only open to the public during restaurant week, I decided to make this one at home instead of having it made at the creator's bar.
The Bird's Eye View began with lemon oil notes that accented the Bourbon aroma. A combination of malt, grape, and caramel dotted the sip, and the swallow began with the whiskey and ended with herbal orange flavors. Overall, it was not as orangey as I thought it would be given the quarter portion of Ramazzotti, and it made for an excellent Manhattan variation.

dare i say?

1 oz Rye (Rittenhouse 100)
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Aperol
2 dash Rhubarb or Peychaud's Bitters (Peychaud's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

On Christmas Eve, we stayed in to cook and have cocktails. For a first drink, I opened up the January/February issue of Imbibe Magazine and spotted the Dare I Say? The drink was crafted by Karah Carmack of the Cured in San Antonio and seemed like an interesting Manhattan variation for post-prandial consumption. While we did not have rhubarb bitters which would have complemented the Aperol rather well, the recipe recommended using Peychaud's in a pinch.
The Dare I Say? began with a sweet menthol herbalness on the nose. A sweet grape and orange sip gave way to rye, Fernet Branca's bitter herbal flavors, and a fruity finish on the swallow. Overall, the drink was perfect for helping to digest our large Christmas eve dinner.

black douglas

1 1/2 oz Johnnie Walker Red Blended Scotch
3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1/2 oz Licor 43
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

A few Mondays ago, after my DJ gig, we headed over to Eastern Standard for dinner. For a drink, I asked bartender Kevin not-Martin for the Black Douglas; he explained how the cocktail name was a reference to James Douglas. Douglas besides mounting a guerilla war against the English in the 14th century also fought the Moors in Spain. The drink structure reminded me of their rum-based Ponce de Léon from their early 2009 menu.
The sherry and Licor 43 combined to provide a grape and sweet spice aroma. Similarly, the sip offered a sweet grape flavor, and the swallow began with Scotch notes and ended with vanilla, raisin, and smoke elements.

my leathers so soft

3/4 oz St. George Agricole Rum
3/4 oz Bigallet Viriana China China
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a wine glass. Top with ice, garnish with mint sprigs and a lemon twist, and add straws.

At Sichuan Garden II, one of the drinks Ran Duan made for Andrea was the My Leathers So Soft off of the current cocktail menu. I was quite curious to see how the dark orange peel and quinine notes of the Bigalett China-China would play with the agricole rum and pineapple in the mix.
The lemon twist and mint sprig garnishes contributed greatly to the drink's nose. A fruity lemon and pineapple sip led into a more complex swallow that began with grassy rum flavors and ended with a dark orange, cinnamon, and bitter herbal finish. Even with all of the flavors, the My Leathers So Soft proved to be an easy drinking Tiki libation.

no stone unturned

1 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry
1/2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz St. George's Absinthe

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing a large ice cube. Garnish the ice cube with a pinch of salt.

A few Thursdays ago, we made the pilgrimage to Woburn to have dinner at Sichuan Garden II. Behind the bar that night were bartenders Vannaluck Hongthong and Joel Atlas who were later joined by Ran Duan. For a first drink, I asked Vannaluck for the No Stone Unturned for it reminded me of their Royal Flush with a raisiny sherry in place of that one's crème de cacao. Moreover, this one had the addition of a pinch of salt to sooth the intensity of the bitter herbal notes.
The No Stone Unturned presented a robust grape note that was accented by the absinthe's anise and the Fernet Branca's menthol aromas. A caramel and grape sip gave way to a raisiny swallow, an anise finish, and a lingering menthol flavor. Over time, as the salt melted the ice cube and dripped into the drink, the Fernet Branca diminished in strength while the absinthe seemed less changed.

dwarf leopard

2 oz Ron Abuela Rum
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Allspice Dram
1 Egg White

Shake once without and once with ice. Strain into a rocks glass.

Before the year end wrap-ups, I was describing the Emperor's New Clothes that I had at Estragon. That night, one of the guests a few seats down the bar was John Drew of Blue Dragon, and he and I began discussing the White Witch from Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide. Since that got me in a Tiki frame of mind, I asked bartender Sahil Mehta for the Dwarf Leopard that I had spotted earlier in his recipe notebook. I was a little confused by the name until I figured out that the rum he used was Panamanian, and the Dwarf Leopard is another name for the ocelot relative that lives there.
The Dwarf Leopard offered a minty, herbal, and spiced aroma that led into a creamy and crisp lime sip. The rich aged rum began the swallow that contained herbal, lime, clove, and allspice notes. Just as I figured, with the collection of ingredients such as this, it could do no wrong.

:: fred's picks for the top cocktails of 2013 (in) ::

I will complete my fourth annual trilogy of year end wrap up posts by picking out the best recipes we tried at our home bar this year. While I did create a few recipes this year both at home and at work, I will tack a few of my favorite ones at the end and keep this list solely to recipes created by bartenders, living, deceased, and unknown, from around the world.

January: It was easier to pick the top 3 drinks of the month than to sort out the order. In the end, I gave the nod to the tempered Fernet Branca La Yapa crafted by Jamal Hassan from the Ox Restaurant and Whey Bar in Portland, Oregon. For runners up, the Hemingway Daiquiri and Creole Contentment-like Throw The Horns from Jeff Baumann of the beer Mecca the Prohibition Pig in Waterbury, Vermont, and the seasonal Tiki-inspired Winter Daiquiri by Mindy Kucan of Hale Pele in Portland, Oregon, get the mention.

February: For a winner, I opted for the beer cocktail version of his Michigander, namely Jason Schiffer's Detroiter from 320 Main in Seal Beach, California. For a runner up, I narrowed it down to one, the Kirkwood by Miles Macquarrie of Leon's Full Service in Decatur, Georgia; the recipe triggers thoughts of Evan Harrison's Peralta and Stephen Schellenberger's Alto Cucina.
March: Making me think of Gilda and Underneath the Volcano, Chris Lane's Broken Flower at Lolinda in San Francisco acquires March's slot. For bronze and silver (in no particular order) are Colin Shearn's equal parts number Sideways in Reverse that he concocted at Philadelphia's Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co., and Yao Lu's Campari-driven Swizzle, the Witchy Woman at Houston's Anvil Bar & Refuge.

April: Chris Hannah's amaro riff on the Martinez, the Amertinez, from Arnaud's French 75 in New Orleans captivated me with both Cynar and Averna variations. Also worth mentioning are Donato Alvarez's mezcal-cucumber Going Back to Mezcali from the Sixth Engine in Washington, D.C., and the lesser known Brown Derby from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933.

May: For a pick of the month, I selected Joaquín Simó's Mutiny Suppressor from Manhattan's Pouring Ribbons; a great complexity was generated with lesser used Galliano and Amaro Nardini ingredients. For runners up, both came from Gary Regan's The Negroni book, namely Joseph Boley of Paris' Red House's variation on Sam Ross' Left Hand called the Southpaw and Kevin Burke of Denver's Colt & Gray's salt-tempered amaro Bottecchia.
June: For the win, I picked Bobby Heugel's Cortez Julep, a tequila and sherry Julep he invented at the Anvil in Houston. For place and show (in no particular order) are the rum and Madeira Fix, the White House, from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933, and the Fernet-containing Champagne cocktail the Imperial Delight from 1940's The How and When.

July: The quirky sherry-containing Pimm's Cup, the Moretta Cocktail, from The Mutineer Magazine's event at Tales of the Cocktail soothed the discomfort of not being in New Orleans for the event. For second honors, the refreshing aperitif, the Queen Elizabeth Cocktail, from The How and When, and the Scotch-Madeira 91st Division from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 got selected.

August: For a pick, I went with Jacob Grier's Cognac, smoky tea, and spice Lion's Share at Metrovino. For support, there are the Honeymoon- and Scofflaw-esque Argentina from 1934 Boothby's World Drinks And How To Mix Them and the Genever-amaro-maple Western Front by Adam Robinson of Portland's Rum Club.

September: Another beer cocktail grabbed me, namely the End of Days from Saison in Richmond, Virginia, that I spotted in Beer Advocate. The Hurricane-like Wicked Wahine from Brice Ginardi of Okolemaluna Tiki Lounge in Hawaii and the soft Irish whiskey-honey-citrus-vermouth Copywriter from Steven Weiss of Craftbar in New York City share the supportive honors.
October: The Lindsey's Whimsy got the slot for the October; this light sherry and herbal liqueur recipe was created by Lindsey Baird at San Francisco's Comstock Saloon and published in The Art of the Shim: Low-Alcohol Cocktails to Keep You Level. Also worth mentioning is Leo Robitschek's Daiquiri variation, the Heart of Stone, from Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan.

November: I guess this month was more of a go out for cocktails and stay home for beer type of month which might have had something to do with Thirst Boston occuring during this time period. The winner is the autumnal Manhattan variation, the Autumn Sunset, from Sanctuaria: The Dive Bar of Cocktail Bars.

December: Timothy Miner of the Long Island Bar in Manhattan's Sherry Duval caught my eye on the ShakeStir website with the sherry, Cynar, and maple elements. Another one from ShakeStir gets honorable mention -- the Tiki Stranger than Paradise by Jade Brown Godfrey of Manhattan's Pouring Ribbons. In addition, there was the rum-sherry-bitters Act of Faith by Dan Greenbaum of Manhattan's The Beagle and Attaboy.
My favorite creations of 2013: I narrow it down to six drinks which was tough, but I did it in pairs. Two from the "Women of the Wild West" night at the Blue Room were the pisco-Campari-cacao Stagecoach Mary that I later competed with in the Bols Around the World competition and the quirky nondiluted room temperature cocktail, the Madame Mustache. Two that I created at home for no menu in particular were the Sherry Mai Tai and a Vieux Carré variation for Mixology Monday: Flip Flop, the Cocktail à la Salle, which took it in a tequila-sherry direction. And the two that I invented at Russell House Tavern were my menu items, the tequila-Swedish Punsch Chutes & Ladders as a riff of a drink from the Café Royal Cocktail Book, and the mezcal-apple brandy herbal Downtown at Dawn (which was a progression from my Blue Room Pearl de Vere).

:: fred's picks for the top cocktails of 2013 (out) ::

In December 2010, someone asked me the difficult question of what was my favorite cocktail of the year, and I was a little lost for words for there were so many. In working out a post for this, I decided to sort it out by dividing the list down by month and also by whether I had them out at a bar or in at home. My choices were influenced by two factors -- tastiness and uniqueness; it had to be both memorable and worth repeating. The drinks were organized by when the drink post appeared and not when they were had. Since this list was very popular the past three years, here is the fourth yearly installment. Without further ado, here is the monthly breakdown for drinks I had out on the town for 2013 with a runner up or two listed. If I had to pick recurrent themes, Tiki and sherry pop out with amaro and grappa being new and old trends, respectively. Oh, and mezcal, plenty of mezcal.

January: For the best drink out, I am going to pick Backbar's Confederation Bridge which was their drink-of-the-week riff on the Prince Edward that was the combined work of a few of the bartenders. For the runner up position, the Blue Room's Nebbia di Garda; Matthew Schrage pairing of floral and herbal alpine amari that were softened by the citrus made for a wonderful libation; here, the modern flare of the amaro melded well with the classic feel of the cocktail's base.

February: Misty Kalkofen's Mistaken For Strangers at Brick & Mortar won with a grappa cocktail that had the feel of the Silent Order and Green Ghost. For a runner up, the simple elegance of Stoddard's Jack Frost crafted by Eric Cross  gets the nod at fit perfectly with the season.
March: This one I pondered over for a bit longer than others, but Ryan McGrale's Fishnets and Fangs at Tavern Road was pretty stunning with how well a large amount of Peychaud's Bitters was integrated into the drink. The beauty of Katie Emerson's Scotch-based Noble Order at the Hawthorne and Ran Duan's Appetizer l'Italienne-like Royal Flush at Sichuan Garden II share the runner up status for March.

April: Despite now working at Russell House Tavern now, Vic Pelegrin created his A Man About Town and I tasted the drink before that career move; a great riff on a Boulevardier. For runners up, No. 9 Park's riff on the Fog Cutter, the Bleeding Fog Swizzle, by Ted Kilpatrick, and Belly Wine Bar's sherry-laden Daley Fix definitely deserve mention.

May: For the nod, I opted for Stoddard's Mai Tai variation called I'm On A Boat; the Pegu Club-like phantom grapefruit combination of lime, orange liqueur, and Angostura Bitters was bolstered by actual grapefruit juice. Myers & Chang's blackstrap rum, Cynar, lime, and Coca Cola Fizz, the Black Snake, and John Nugent's rye Maximilian Affair-like Home Wrecker at Silvertone were the runners up for May.
June: The chocolate and herbal notes of Cory Buono's Bonatti & The Jets at Brick & Mortar get the win position for the month; they seem to have such a great touch with grappa there. For place and show, it seemed to be a cucumber toss up. In no order, there was Ran Duan's rum-Chartruese-coconut Lost in Laos at Sichuan Garden II and Sahil Mehta's mezcal-and-spice Garden of Good and Evil at Estragon. The wild card for the month is Will Thompson's Sherry Jungle Bird at Drink.

July: There certainly was a whole lot of sherry going around in July and all three picks contain one. Another tough decision, but Matt Whitney's Love in an Elevator had a delightfully rich complexity when it was served to me at Local 149. With a parallel style is Citizen Public House's Backyard Bitter; the other runner up is Katie Emmerson's Company Swizzle at the Hawthorne pictured below.
August: The month's winner was for a restaurant that had not even opened yet. Matt Schrage at Brick & Mortar had showcased the From the Hip that he was developing for the Ribelle cocktail menu and I was quite impressed. Deserving honorable mention are Sahil Mehta's room temperature Scaffa, the Coral Triangle, at Estragon and Franklin Café's Tiki number, Water Wings.

September: September was mezcal month. Katie Emmerson's Under the Volcano utilized it to an elegant equal parts style with sherry and amaro at the Hawthorne, and for a runner up, Ethan's 1940's era Zombie riff, the Oaxacan Dead at Deep Ellum was rather delicious.

October: I flagged more drinks of interest in October than any other month on the calendar especially with so many new programs visited. For a winner, I am picking Vik Hedge's Xocula at Sarma, a Negroni variation of sorts. For runners up, new comer Kirkland Tap & Trotter offered up the A Tale of Two Kitties via Tyler Wang; and relative old comer Backbar with a delightful nutty riff on the Bamboo, the Bamboozled, via Sam Treadway and Melinda Maddox.
November: Instead of picking a winner and two runners up, here are joint winners for the month. Josh Child's Bargellino at Silvertone reminded me of a Brooklyn cross with April's winner, A Man About Town. And Ryan Connelly's Upturn Flip at Belly Wine Bar had an alluring balance in spite of its inverse proportions.

December: Three drinks stood out for the month and I vacillated on which should get the tip of the hat. In the end, Mike Flemming's Hedy Lamarr with its fruity, floral, and herbal notes at West Bridge gets picked. For runners up, Deep Ellum's Penicillin-like Winter Cobbler and Lena Webb's 1919 sherry variation, the 1818 Cocktail, at Spoke Wine Bar definitely deserve mention.

So there are my 32 plus a wild card best drinks of 2013 that I had out spread out over 23 establishments across town. There were certainly ones that got edged out that I wish I could mention, but the scope of this post was kept tight. Although that is relatively tight for it is certainly a lot looser than picking a single drink or three for the year. Cheers!