historic core cocktail

1 oz Bonded Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
3/4 oz Bonded Apple Brandy (Laird's)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.
In searching for a nightcap two Saturday nights ago, I ventured into my Food & Wine: Cocktails section of the drink book library and selected the 2011 edition. There, I was drawn to John Coltharp's Historic Core Cocktail that also appeared in Left Coast Libations in 2010. The Food & Wine book provided the history that John created this recipe for a 2008 contest for drinks named after downtown Los Angeles sub-districts, and the Historic Core was the one that he lived in at the time. The Left Coast Libations recipe varies somewhat from the above for it is:

Historic Core Cocktail (Left Coast Libations)
• 1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse or Thomas Handy Rye
• 1/2 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
• 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
• 1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
• 1 generous dash Angostura Bitters
Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Overall, the recipe reminded me a bit of PDT's Harvest Moon with Lillet and Abbott's Bitters in place of the sweet vermouth and Angostura, and perhaps the Swafford with Maraschino instead of vermouth. Once in the glass, the Historic Core proffered a lemon and apple bouquet. Malt and grape on the sip led into rye, apple, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a clove and apple finish.

kingston

2 oz 12 Year Old Jamaican Rum (Appleton Reserve)
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (La Quintinye)
1/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 bsp Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.
After work two Fridays ago, I sought out my nightcap in A Spot at the Bar and happened upon the Kingston crafted by Everleigh bar manager Felix Allsop. This was not the Daisy-like Kingston that appeared in Stan Jones' Barguide but a straight spirits one featuring orange liqueur and an amaro. Once prepared, the Kingston imparted an orange oil over aged rum aroma. Next, sweet caramel balanced by dry white wine made up the sip, and the swallow gave forth rum, orange, and tangerine notes.

oriente

1 1/2 oz White Rum (Angostura White Oak)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
Juice 1/2 Lime (1/2 oz)
1/2 tsp Sugar (1/2 oz Simple Syrup)
2 dash Amer Picon (1/4 oz Torani Amer)

Mix in a blender with shaved ice and serve in a champagne glass (shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe).
Two Thursdays ago, I desired something tropical after my bar shift, so I turned to Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide (1948 edition of the 1947 book) for inspiration. There, I was curious about the Oriente that was a pineapple juice-laden Daiquiri embittered by Amer Picon especially since Picon and pineapple pair so well together such as in the Kahala Cooler. In the glass, the Oriente offered pineapple and floral lime aromas to the nose. Next, lime and pineapple on the sip gave way to rum and pineapple flavors merging into dark orange notes on the finish.

by way of the dodo

1 oz Green Chartreuse (3/4 oz)
1 oz Lime Juice (3/4 oz)
1 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (3/4 oz)
1 oz Privateer Navy Yard Rum (3/4 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins (rocks) glass, fill with crushed ice, garnish with a cherry and Angostura Bitters (3 dashes), and add a straw.

Two Wednesdays ago, I was searching for one of my drinks via the OnTheBar app when I pulled up one of Matthew Rose's recipes that he created at the Watson and the Shark Tiki bar upstairs at Short & Main in Gloucester. The recipe was the By Way of the Dodo that he described as his "Tiki version of The Last Word." Since my work week overlaps with that bar's schedule of Thursday-Sunday, I decided to make it at home instead of waiting for a random day off. Since Green Chartreuse and passion fruit have worked well in some of Sahil Mehta's drinks like the Fangataufa and Chachalaca, I was ready to give this one a whirl.
The By Way of the Dodo presented a clove and allspice aroma from the Angostura Bitters garnish that led into a lime and passion fruit sip. Next, the overproof rum and Green Chartreuse herbal notes mingled on the swallow that finished smoothly from perhaps the passion fruit syrup.

rancho la vista

1 jigger Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 jigger Lime Juice (1/2 oz)
1/2 jigger Falernum (1/2 oz)
2 tsp Honey (1/2 oz Honey Syrup 1:1)
1/2 jigger Light Bacardi Rum (1/2 oz Caliche)
1/2 jigger Dark Lemon Hart Rum (1/2 oz El Dorado 5 Year)
1/2 jigger Havana Club Rum (1/2 oz Havana Club 7 Year)

Mix and pour over ice in a 14 oz Collins glass (shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass, and fill with crushed ice). Float 1/2 jigger Myers Rum (1/2 oz Coruba), garnish with an orange twist, and add a straw.

Two Tuesdays ago, I began perusing Ted Saucier's Bottoms Up for the evening's libation. There, I came across the Rancho La Vista from Reese L. Milner of Beverly Hills whose description accompanying the drink read, "One reclines in a large easy chair and, after a time, drifts into a peaceful state of oblivion. Amen." My later investigations turned up that the Milner family owned Rancho La Vista in Ojai, California, for 100 years or so. I was drawn in by the rum, citrus, falernum, and honey combination that worked so well in drinks like Three Dots and a Dash, Chappaquiddick, and the Island of Martinique. Moreover, I ended up altering the recipe and bringing it closer to how I make a Jet Pilot to reduce the amount of citrus used as well as the rate that the drink would send one to oblivion.
The Rancho La Vista presented orange oils from the twist along with dark funky rum notes from the Coruba rum float to the nose. Next, the rums' caramel joined the lemon and lime on the sip, and the swallow gave forth rum, honey, and clove spice flavors.

american negroni

1 1/4 oz Bourbon (Fighting Cock 103)
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
3/8 oz Aperol
3/8 oz Campari
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Build in a rocks glass, add ice, stir, and garnish with a lemon twist.

After the Shark's Tooth #2, I reached for Michael Madrusan & Zara Young's A Seat at the Bar and found the American Negroni in the "Aperitif Hour" section. Essentially a Boulevardier with bitters and with the Campari split with another amaro like in the Left Hand of Darkness. That amaro was Aperol and a similar split was seen in the Jungle Bird riff Jets to Brazil.
In the glass, the American Negroni wafted a floral lemon bouquet to the nose that colored the grape and malt sip. Next, Bourbon flavors were joined with bitter orange on the swallow with a clove and allspice finish from the Angostura Bitters. Overall, the American Negroni was drier and less bitter than a Boulevardier but not all that different in the end.

shark's tooth #2

1 1/2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (2 1/2 oz Plantation 3 Star)
1/4 oz Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1/4 oz Dry Vermouth (1/2 oz La Quintinye)
1/4 oz Sloe Gin (1/2 oz Atxa Patxaran)
1 dash Passion Fruit (1/4 oz PF Syrup)

Stir with ice, strain into a 10 oz glass, and fill with seltzer water (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and skip the soda).
Two Monday nights ago, I began the cocktail hour with a tropical number from our 1948 edition of the 1947 Trader Vic's Bartender's Guide called the Shark's Tooth #2. I adapted the recipe to my tastes including taking a Sling and converting it more into a Tiki drink. Once built, the Shark's Tooth #2 offered mint and lemon notes to the nose thanks to the garnishes I added. Next, tropical fruit flavors from the passion fruit and lemon filled the sip, and the swallow shared rum and sloe berry. Overall, the sloe berry seemed to dominate here and perhaps doubling the passion fruit amount would help balance the flavor profile more.

mercy, mercy

2 oz Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my new purchase of Clair McLafferty's The Classic & Craft Cocktail Recipe Book after my evening's work shift. There, I was lured in by the Mercy, Mercy crafted by Joseph Schwartz while at Little Branch in Manhattan that reminded me of Charlotte Voisey's Unusual Negroni but more spirit forward and with the addition of aromatic bitters.
The Mercy, Mercy began with an orange aroma that was joined by peach and pine notes. Next, a lightly citrus-driven sip led into gin and a Christmas spice-tinged bitterness on the swallow.

i love lamp

1 oz Reposado Tequila (Lunazul)
1 oz Demerara Rum (El Dorado 5 Year)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1/4 oz Agave Nectar
4 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a double Old Fashioned glass, fill with ice, and garnish with a pineapple fruit leaf (omit).
Two Fridays ago, I was excited to flip through my new issue of Imbibe Magazine where I stopped at the article on banana liqueur. Of the three recipes, I was lured in by the Anchor Man-themed I Love Lamp created by Jordan Browers of Mayahuel. Once mixed, the I Love Lamp gave forth a clove bouquet with hints of agave to the nose. Next, the lime and pineapple colored the sip, and the swallow shared tequila, rum, and banana flavors with an allspice and clove finish.