bikini bottom

1 1/2 oz Plantation Stiggins' Fancy Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Averna
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
5 leaf Mint

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Fill with crushed ice, add straws, and garnish with a mint sprig and 3 spritzes Laphroaig Scotch.
Two Tuesdays ago, my bar shift let out in time to catch last call at Brick & Mortar. For a libation, I asked bartender Rob Hoover for the Bikini Bottom which seemed like a delightful yet complex Daiquiri-Smash hybrid. Once built, the Bikini Bottom shared a mint and smoke aroma. Next, caramel from the Averna paired with the lime on the sip, and the swallow offered rum, herbal, pineapple, and mint notes.

the snake pit

1 oz Angostura 7 Year Rum (Old Ipswich Tavern Style)
1/2 oz Hamilton 151 Rum (Lemon Hart 151)
1 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Grenadine
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Amaro di Angostura

Blend with 1 cup crushed ice and pour into a Double Old Fashioned glass (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). Garnish with a cinnamon stick and an orange peel snake (I added a mint sprig, too).

Two Mondays ago, I was excited to make a drink that I had spotted on TikiDontSurf's Instagram called the Snake Pit. The recipe was a Cobra's Fang riff created by Kevin UptheGrove of 5MinutesOfRum for the recent Tiki Caliente Festival. I had never had the original Cobra's Fang, and later rectified that by making a streamlined version, the Cobra, a few days later. I was definitely excited to use my new bottle of Amaro di Angostura for this recipe; perhaps a spice-driven herbal liqueur such as Becherovka or Jägermeister could substitute here in a pinch.
The Snake Pit shared an orange, cinnamon, and mint aroma from the garnishes. Next, the sip was rather fruity from the orange, pomegranate, and lime elements, and the swallow offered rum accented by dark rich notes as well as clove and other spices.

kahala cooler

1 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (Caliche)
1 oz Brandy (Camus VS Cognac)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
Juice of 1/2 Lime (1/2 oz)
3/4 oz Amer Picon (Torani Amer)
1 dash Grenadine (1/4 oz)
1 dash Rock Candy Syrup (Omit)

Shake with shaved ice and pour into a 12 oz glass. Garnish with a spent half lime shell.
I was in a tropical drink mood after my shift two Sundays ago, so I turned to Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery for a recipe. The Kahala Cooler stood out for it reminded me of Trader Vic's use of Amer Picon and grenadine in the Jayco. In the glass, the Kahala Cooler shared a mint and lime oil bouquet to the nose. Next, lime and a caramel richness from the Picon on the sip transitioned into rum, brandy, bitter orange, and pineapple flavors on the swallow.

death bed

1 oz Pampero Aniversario Rum (Plantation Dark)
3/4 oz Barbancourt Rhum Blanc (Depaz Rhum Agricole)
3/4 oz Cherry Heering
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice

Build in a Collins glass, add crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice, and garnish with a lime wheel and brandied cherries on a pick.
Two Saturdays ago, I reached for the PDT Cocktail Book for my evening's nightcap. The one that spoke to me was John Deragon's Death Bed that he created circa 2009 to sooth the malaise from a cold that left him bedridden. Once prepared, the Death Bed greeted the senses with a lime and grassy aroma. Next, the sip was filled with vague fruit notes from the muddled combination of lime, cherry, and pineapple, and the swallow began with dark and grassy rum flavors and ended with dark cherry notes.

voodoo echo

1 oz Rhum Barbancourt 8 Year
1 oz Pimm's No. 1
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing 2 oz ginger beer. Top with crushed ice, add a straw, and garnish with a lime twist.
Two weekends ago, a guest in the restaurant finished his Hungry Like a Wolf and wanted "something similar but different." The drink I sent out took a more Tiki direction with Haitian rhum for the Bourbon, passion fruit syrup for the elderflower liqueur, and lime for lemon. The general structure with the Pimm's and ginger beer held steady. For a name, I stuck with the Duran Duran theme and took note of the Haitian aspect and dubbed this one Voodoo Echo after one of the band's lesser known tracks.

growing old and dying happy is a hope, not an inevitability

2 oz Cynar
1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 pinch Salt
Oil from 5 Lemon Swaths

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe pre-rinsed with absinthe (Pernod Absinthe). Garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Fridays ago, I reached for the 'zine-style cocktail book that came after the 2009 Rogue Cocktails got discontinued due to legal actions from Rogue Ales & Spirits and the 2011 Beta Cocktails came out. This photoless photocopied and stapled collection called Rogue Cocktails printed in 2010 had many of the original recipes plus 5 or so new recipes. Many of those new recipes made it into Beta Cocktails, but one entitled Growing Old and Dying Happy is a Hope, Not an Inevitability never did; actually, a similar drink appeared in Beta Cocktails called the Italian Heirloom with the whiskey being a half ounce each of blended Scotch and Laphroaig instead of the full ounce of bonded rye here. I remember asking Maks Pazuniak at Tales of the Cocktail in 2010 whether the new book had come out yet, and instead he handed me the 'zine and said soon; moreover, this drink was one of his creations. I was drawn to it for it appeared like a proof-ier adaptation of the Little Giuseppe.
The Growing Old began with anise from the absinthe mingling with the fresh lemon oil on the nose. Next, the Cynar's caramel paired well with the rye's malt on the sip, and the swallow offered minty herbal and rye flavors with an anise-herbal finish. Indeed, the salt mollified the funky vegetal bitterness of the Cynar and brought out lighter herbal notes from the amaro as it has in many drinks including the Aguamiel.

central standard swizzle

2 oz Aged Rum (El Dorado 5 Year)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Velvet Falernum
5 leaf Mint

Muddle mint leaves with falerum in a Collins glass. Add rest of the ingredients and crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice, add a straw, and garnish with a generous amount of Angostura Bitters (4-5 dash) and mint (3 sprig).

Two Thursdays ago after my work shift, I turned to a recipe recently published by Imbibe Magazine that appeared like an interesting riff on the Queen's Park Swizzle. The drink created by Austin's Central Standard was their eponymous Central Standard Swizzle and seemed like an excellent use of my wood swizzle stick that I got as a thank you present from Angostura for representing them at the Blender Bender.
The Central Standard Swizzle gave forth mint and clove spice notes to the nose. Next, lemon and the aged rum's caramel on the sip transitioned to rum, clove, and mint on the swallow.

hoptimum pine

1 oz Denizen Aged White Rum
3/4 oz Pineapple Shrub
1/2 oz Orgeat
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass with 2-3 oz Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Fill with crushed ice, add a straw, and garnish with a pineapple fruit leaf.
Two Wednesday ago, we headed down to Firebrand Saints for dinner. For a drink, Andrea asked bartender Dave Erickson for the Hoptimum Pine that he credited Ashley Ruest as the creator. In the glass, this beer cocktail generated a lemon and pineapple bouquet. Next, the creamy, carbonated lemon sip was followed by pine, pineapple, almond, and tart lemon flavors on the swallow.

titania

3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Amaro di Angostura
3/4 oz Pineapple Shrub
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

As a second drink, I took Andrea's recommendation to request one of Sahil Mehta's drinks of the day that she had the last time she was in. Sahil explained that he had named this one Titania after the Fairy Queen in A Midsummer Night's Dream for he appreciated the grandness of the two big names in the ingredients list -- Angostura and Chartreuse.
The Titania gave forth a Green Chartreuse herbal aroma with hints of pineapple. Next, caramel and lime on the sip gave way to dark spice notes, brighter herbal flavors from the Chartreuse, and pineapple elements on the swallow with a clove-driven finish. Later as the drink warmed up, the swallow became more savory from the shrub's vinegar.