revenge of the lawn

1 1/2 oz Berkshire Ethereal Gin
1/2 oz Green Tea Syrup
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime "lawn" twist.
For our Spring-themed drink of the day week at Loyal Nine, I thought about my grass coming back in from its Winter slumber as well as figuring out how to fill in bare patches and do in the weeds that were also cropping up. So two Thursdays ago, I went with the grassiness of green tea syrup and the earthiness of Punt e Mes and paired those with gin botanicals to capture the green blades and the fertile dirt. For a name, I paid tribute to author Richard Brautigan and his 1971 collection of short stories entitled "Revenge of the Lawn." Perhaps Brautigan was on my mind (despite not having read any of his books in years) since I had been proofreading my new book's recipes and remembered Scott Holliday's Brautigan. The lawn theme was solidified with a lime twist that looked like either a mustache guard or a lawn as it was attached to the side of the coupe glass.

hemingway daiquiri

2 oz Banks 5 Island Rum (Plantation 3 Star)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime wheel.
After making the Dovetail a few nights before, it dawned on me that I had never written about the Hemingway Daiquiri despite having had and made plenty at both home and work and riffed on the general recipe such as in the Maneater. The recipe that I sourced two Wednesdays ago was from the PDT Cocktail Book for it was the closest to the recipe I make at work (1 1/2 oz Privateer Silver, 1/2 oz each grapefruit juice, lime juice, and Maraschino) since many recipes have less grapefruit in the mix. Author Jim Meehan described the drink as the "Cuban Bar La Florida's Daiquiri #3 served without the sugar for diabetic author and barfly Ernest Hemingway." Looking at my copy of La Florida Cocktail Book, their Daiquiri #3 was listed as follows:

Daiquiri Num. 3
• 2 oz Bacardi Rum
• 1 spoon Sugar
• 1 tsp Grapefruit Juice
• 1 tsp Maraschino
• Juice 1/2 lime
Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Serve frappe.

Despite the sugar or simple syrup being removed in the PDT and many other recipes for the Hemingway Daiquiri, the citrus' tartness is balanced by a higher proportion of Maraschino liqueur (other recipes, split the Maraschino with simple syrup to tone down the overall nuttiness or specifically call for a less nutty Maraschino liqueur brand such as Stock or Maraska). The reason I prefer a bit more grapefruit in the mix is that it helps to differentiate the #3 and the Hemingway Daiquiris from the Daiquiri #4 (rum, sugar, Maraschino, lime juice). Once prepared, the Hemingway Daiquiri shared a lime and nutty cherry aroma. Next, the citrusy sip of lime and grapefruit had hints of cherry, and the swallow gave forth rum and cherry flavors with a tart grapefruit finish.

elvis in swim trunks

1 1/2 oz Ron Abuelo 7 Year Rum (Barbancourt 8 Year)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Absinthe (1 bsp Pernod)

Shake with ice, strain into a double Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube (Tiki mug with crushed ice), and garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Mondays ago, I replenished my pineapple juice supply so I was ready to make a drink that I had spotted on the ShakeStir site by Dean Pryor of The Gorbals in Los Angeles. The recipe was called the Elvis in Swim Trunks, and the name was partially explained with "Rum did for the Gimlet [Daiquiri?] what Elvis did for the PB & J." Overall, the combination reminded me of the Hotel Nacional Special from Charles H. Baker Jr. with a touch of absinthe in the mix.
The recipe also let me utilize the my garden's mint that has resurfaced early after a short and not too cold winter, and that garnish pleasantly greeted the nose. On the sip, the lime and pineapple juices took center stage, and the swallow was a combination of the rum, apricot, and pineapple with the absinthe flavors appearing on the finish.

tre amari fizz

3/4 oz Averna
3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 oz Heavy Cream
1 Egg White
4 drop Orange Blossom Water

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a Collins glass with 2 oz ginger beer, garnish with an orange twist, and add a straw.
Two Saturday nights ago, one of the blog readers from San Francisco was back in Boston and visiting Loyal Nine. One of his tablemates approached the bar and asked for a drink to end out the West Coast visitor's evening. Instead of a Flip, I decided to go in the style of a New Orleans (a/k/a Ramos) Fizz using three different amari akin to my single amaro Fizz, the Fratelli Fizz. For the trio, I selected Fernet, Averna, and Cynar and instead of soda water, I opted for ginger beer akin to the Fernet Buck and Cynar Buck. The end result was so good, that the original requester of the drink got envious and asked if he could have one as well (and that second one is the the one in the photo above).

dovetail

1 1/2 oz Tequila (Lunazul Reposado)
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
1 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lime wedge (wheel).
For my post-shift drink at home two Friday nights ago, I began flipping through A Spot at the Bar: Welcome to Everleigh. There, I came upon the Dovetail that was Andy Chu's 2015 riff on the Hemingway Daiquiri that he created at Everleigh, although the "dove" part me think of a Paloma thanks in part to the Dove & Daisy drink. Once prepared, the Dovetail filled the nose with agave, lime, and nutty Maraschino notes. Next, grapefruit and lime on the sip transitioned into tequila and dry cherry on the swallow with a nutty and anise finish.

born on the bayou

1 oz Privateer Amber Rum
1/2 oz Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum
3/4 oz Dolin Rouge Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass rinsed with "smoky Herbsaint (2 parts Herbsaint to 1 part Laphroaig Scotch)". Garnish with lemon oil from a twist.
Two Thursdays ago, I was able to get out of work early enough to catch last call at Backbar. For a nightcap drink, I asked Carlo Caroscio for the Born on the Bayou. Carlo described how it was created by Josh Cross as his rum riff on the Cocktail à la Louisiane. Moreover, the recipe utilized a more spirit forward recipe seen in the PDT Cocktail Book opposed to the original's equal parts structure. Once served, the Born on the Bayou generated a lemon, smoke, and anise aroma. Next, caramel and grape on the sip transitioned into rum, herbal, allspice, clove, and cinnamon on the swallow. While a somewhat different flavor profile than the classic, the smooth complexity and general feel of the original was still present.

thistle & vine

1 1/2 oz Lunazul Blanco Tequila
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Wednesdays ago, Andrea and I visited Eastern Standard for dinner. For a first drink, I asked bartender Sebastian Tlls for the Thistle & Vine. I was a little confused since Cardamaro was not listed as an ingredient, and the combination of tequila, cinnamon, orgeat, and lemon reminded me a bit of an agave Cuban Anole. However, with the Cardamaro in the mix, not only did the name make sense since it is a wine-based amaro made with blessed thistle, but the drink took a different direction than a Mai Tai riff.
The Thistle & Vine began with a tequila and cinnamon bouquet that led into a creamy lemon sip. Next, the swallow provided tequila, nutty, herbal, and cinnamon flavors that rounded out this cocktail that surprisingly turned out to be more elegant than tropical given the menu's listed ingredients.

100 year old cigar

1 3/4 oz Zacapa 23 Rum (Plantation Dark)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into an absinthe-rinsed (Pernod) coupe glass.
Two Mondays ago, I turned to a recipe that I had spotted in a SeriousEats article that had recipes from the Brookyln Bartender book. The one that called out to me was Maks Pazuniak's 100 Year Old Cigar that he created at Jupiter Disco. Once prepared, it offered an anise aroma from the absinthe rinse that later gave way to smoke and Cynar's herbal notes. Next, the sip was rather caramel from the Cynar and aged rum, and the swallow shared rum, peaty smoke, and funky herbal flavors.

black magic

1 oz Hine H Cognac (Camus VS)
1 oz Angostura 5 Year Rum (7 Year)
1/2 oz Marie Brizard White Crème de Menthe (Tempus Fugit)
1 tsp Fernet Branca
1 tsp Simple Syrup

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe pre-rinsed with Pontarlier Absinthe (Butterfly).

For a nightcap two Mondays ago, I selected the Death & Co. Cocktail Book from the drink book shelf and stumbled upon the Black Magic that I had somehow overlooked before. The recipe was Thomas Waugh's 2009 creation that utilized small amounts of absinthe and Fernet to color a classic Stinger (with rum). Indeed, the combination of rum, brandy, and crème de menthe reminded me of the Tangier Nights from 1937s Café Royal Cocktail Book where the rum component was Swedish punsch.
The Black Magic greeted the nose with a complex but not overpowering combination of anise, minty, and menthol aromas. Next, a lightly caramel sip shared a decent amount of sweetness, and the swallow was a pleasant blend of brandy, rum, and mint flavors. With Tempus Fugit's crème de menthe, the drink was rather elegant as opposed to Stingers that I have tried with cheaper mint liqueurs.