h.s. special

1/3 Gin (1 oz Hayman's Royal Dock)
1/3 Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Dolin)
1/3 Dry Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat)
1 dash Swedish Punsch (1/2 oz Kronan)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry (omitted) and twist an orange peel on top (garnish).

Sunday night after my shift found me perusing the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book where I spotted an interesting Perfect Martini recipe that added complexity with Swedish Punsch. The drink was created by bartender H. Seifert who had three recipes in the book, and this was his H.S. Special. Instead of leaving the Swedish Punsch as a dashed accent, I brought it a bit more forward to take up one-sixth of the pre-melt volume.
The H.S. Special gave forth an orange, grape, and juniper aroma. Next, the grape from the vermouths provided most of the sip's flavors, and the swallow shared gin, funky rum, and tea tannin notes.

radio days

1 oz Tanqueray Gin
3/4 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 crescent Orange

Muddle the orange crescent with the bitters. Add the rest of the ingredients and ice, shake, and strain into a coupe (flute) glass. Top with champagne (2 oz Gruet Blanc de Blancs) and garnish with an additional orange crescent.
Two Fridays ago, I wanted to cap off my work night with a drink, so I honed in on the Death & Co. Cocktail Book. There in the sparkler section was a citrus and herbal champagne cocktail called the Radio Days that was crafted by Alex Day in 2013. Once mixed, the Radio Days let loose an earthy and orange aroma. Carbonated orange, lemon, and wine notes on the sip set up the gentian, juniper, and orange peel swallow.

maxim

2/3 Gin (1 1/2 oz Bluecoat)
1/3 Sweet Vermouth (1 1/2 oz (Dolin)
1 dash Crème de Cacao (1/4 oz Tempus Fugit)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Two Wednesdays ago, I spied the Maxim from Boothby's 1934 World Drinks & How to Mix Them that I viewed as a Chocolate Martinez. Therefore, instead of a two parts gin to one part sweet vermouth, I made this one equal parts like I prefer my Martinezes. Once prepared, the Maxim gave forth juniper, chocolate, and vanilla aromas. The vermouth's grape filled the sip, and the swallow presented juniper, citrus, and complementary chocolate flavors.

juglans regia

1 1/2 oz Pig's Nose Scotch
1 oz Lustau Oloroso Sherry
1/2 oz Nocino Liqueur
2 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
The drink that Andrea requested at Estragon was a Scotch and nutty number that bartender Sahil Mehta later named Juglans Regia. I was familiar with the Latin name for walnuts from Craigie on Main's Jupiter's Acorn Flip. Here, instead of a Flip, it was more of a Bobbie Burns using a nutty sherry as the wine element. Once prepared, the twist donated orange oils on top of the dark grape notes and hint of smoke on the nose. Next, the sip offered dry grape and malt notes, and finally, smoky and nutty flavors filled the swallow.

hullabaloo

1 1/2 oz Beefeater Gin
1/2 oz Avèze Gentian Liqueur
1/2 oz Guava Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

A few Tuesdays ago, we were lured over to Estragon by the drink of the day. While we frequently visit Sahil on Mondays, he has been working at the bar on Tuesdays recently as well, and his guava-gentian liqueur drink seemed rather intriguing. Moreover, it reminded me of the passion fruit, gin, citrus, and bitters Tanglin Club. In asking Sahil for a name of the drink so I could post it on Instagram, Sahil came up with Hullabaloo after the Indian children's book Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard.
The Hullabaloo shared a foresty earthy-pine aroma from the gentian liqueur and gin. Lemon and guava on the sip led into cedar and spice flavors on the swallow. Overall, the drink did remind me of a Tanglin Club to some degree but also of a Groovy Child as well.

lost lake

2 oz Appleton V/X Rum
3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Campari

Shake with 1 cup crushed ice and pour into a Tiki mug (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). Garnish with a pineapple frond, pineapple slice, orange peel, and edible flowers (mint, orange slice, borage flowers, and Lost Lake swizzle stick).

A few Mondays ago, I began to flip through the latest issue of Imbibe Magazine where I came upon one of Paul McGee's Tiki recipes. This one was the eponymous recipe from Chicago's Lost Lake, and the combination reminded me of a Mary Pickford crossed with a Jungle Bird. Moreover, this recipe gave me a good excuse to garnish with the Lost Lake swizzle stick that I kept after McGee made me a Penang Afrididi #1 at an event at Tales of the Cocktail last summer.
The Lost Lake conjured mint, floral, and orange aromas by my choices of garnish. Next, lime, the rum's caramel, and passion fruit notes filled the sip, and the swallow gave forth rum, pineapple, and passion fruit flavors along with a funky Campari-Maraschino combination. Overall, there was too little pineapple and too much passion fruit to be close to a Jungle Bird, but it still fell firmly into that classic's realm of delicious yet complex Tiki recipes.

lavender lady

4/10 Booth's Gin (1 oz Tanqueray)
2/10 Cusenier Calvados (1/2 oz Boulard VSOP)
2/10 Cointreau (1/2 oz)
1/10 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1/10 Crème Yvette (1/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

A few Sundays ago after my work shift, I began scanning my copy of the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book and found the Lavender Lady by J.C. Armstrong. As an egg white-less riff on the White Lady series, this one had a split gin and apple brandy spirit base like the Pink Lady; however, instead of grenadine in the Pink, the Lavender went with Crème Yvette for color while keeping the White's orange liqueur as well for additional sweetness.
The Lavender Lady began with a floral, bright lemon, and orange peel aromas. Next, the sip was rather citrussy with lemon and orange flavors, and the swallow shared juniper, apple, and violet-herbal notes. Perhaps a slightly less aged apple brandy and more violet liqueur would garner a more lavender color, but the drink was delightful regardless.

julien sorel

1/2 oz Courvoisier Cognac (Camus VS)
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a flute glass, and top with champagne (Gruet Blanc de Blancs). Twist a lemon peel over the top (I included the twist).

After the Vatican City, I wanted one more drink to round out my Saturday night post-shift libations. Therefore, I began flipping through the Death & Co. Cocktail Book and stumbled upon Phil Ward's variation on the Last Word, the Julien Sorel, that he created in 2008. This variation stood out in two ways: Cognac as the spirit and it being a sparkling cocktail. I have had another sparkling wine Last Word-like drink, the Afterword, as well as a beer one, the Word to Your Mom, but the Cognac part was unique.
The Julien Sorel gave forth a lemon oil aroma that covered nutty Maraschino notes. Next, the sip was a combination of the lemon and sparkling wine, and the swallow shared the Cognac and subtle Maraschino and Chartreuse herbal notes. Definitely, the sparkling wine helped to lighten the flavor profile here.

vatican city

1 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur (Salers)
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
1 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with 3 oz soda water. Fill with ice, add a straw, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.
Saturday two weeks ago, I reached for my copy of The Essential New York Times Book of Cocktails to make a drink that I had spotted earlier in the week called the Vatican City. The recipe was created by Mikki Kristola of the Varnish in Los Angeles and appeared like a riff on Michael McIlroy's Rome with a View. Once prepared, it gave forth a grapefruit oil aroma. Carbonated lime and wine notes on the sip led into earthy gentian and other herbal notes.