perverted by language

1 1/2 oz Dry Gin (Brooklyn Gin)
1/2 oz Sloe Gin (Plymouth)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Alessio)
1/2 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe rinsed with absinthe (St. George), and garnish with a lemon twist; or strain into a rocks glass rinsed with absinthe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.
In thinking about the variety of sloe gin and other related plum gins on our shelves at Our Fathers, I recalled the great combination of sloe gin and Cynar that appears in Phil Ward's Lipspin and Colin Shearn's Transatlantic Giant. Using that duo as a base and adding gin to the mix, my initial idea of dry vermouth was wrong for the fruitier notes of sweet vermouth rounded out this combination rather well. And for added herbal complexity and aromatics, I opted for an absinthe rinse. Originally, I was thinking of doing it Sazerac style in a rocks glass, but I prefer the look and feel of our coupes over our double old fashioned glasses at work. For a name, Andrea suggested a reference to the indie rock band The Fall as Mark E. Smith had just passed away this week, and I dubbed this one after their 1983 album Perverted by Language.

nelson

2/3 Rye Whiskey (1 3/4 oz Old Overholt)
1/4 Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Maurin)
1 dash Sherry (1/4 oz Amontillado)
1 dash Picon Bitters (1/4 oz Torani Amer)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.
After my work shift two Thursdays ago, I turned to Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 to find the straight spirits sort of drink that I was craving. There, I found the Nelson that reminded me of the original 1908 Brooklyn Cocktail in Jack's Manual that contained sweet vermouth instead of the dry vermouth that won out in history. In parallel to the nutty Maraschino liqueur in the Brooklyn, what if the sherry here was an oxidized one like an Amontillado or Oloroso? Once mixed, the garnish I added to the Nelson donated bright orange oils over the cocktail's darker grape and Picon notes. Next, a semi-dry grape sip led into rye and nutty flavors on the swallow with a complex quinine and orange swallow. Perhaps an Oloroso would have added more nutty notes than an Amontillado, but it still was a decent Manhattan riff albeit not as delightful to my palate as the dry vermouth Brooklyn.

cobra's fang

1 oz Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum
1 1/2 oz Plantation Original Dark Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/4 oz Grenadine
1 dash Absinthe (Butterfly)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Flash blend with ice and pour into a Collins glass (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). The 1937 version was garnished with a cinnamon stick (a citrus peel Cobra here).

One of the drinks that I had been meaning to make was Don the Beachcomber's 1937 Cobra's Fang ever since having a riff of that called the Snake Pit. My search through Beachbum Berry's books only yielded the 1962 variation called the Cobra. I later discovered that the recipe for the Cobra's Fang lives on Tiki forums as well as the Beachbum Berry recipe app, but I put off making it due its close similarity to the Cobra (see below). During Tiki the Snow Away on Instagram, someone pointed to a Matt Pietrek (CocktailWonk) article that listed the 1937 original as well as the riff (presented here) done by Tacoma Cabana's Jason Alexander. To the classic Cobra's Fang, Jason split the 1 1/2 oz of 151 proof Demerara rum into two lesser proof Plantation rums, increased the two citrus components by a 1/4 oz each, and added a 1/4 oz of grenadine to the combination. The Cobra was pretty close as far as riffs go (see the Zombie or even the Mai Tai for how far things can vary) and simply had less 151 proof rum and lacked falernum in the mix. Overall, the combination of rum, passion fruit, falernum, orange juice, and lime reminded me of the 1950s South Pacific Punch except the Cobra's Fang had spice elements and more rum heft.
Once the Tacoma Cabana's version of the Cobra's Fang was prepared, it shared a lemon oil aroma from the garnish over passion fruit and rum notes. Next, an orange-passion fruit flavor on the sip was accented by lime and the rums' caramel, and this was followed by bold rums, passion fruit, clove, and anise spice on the swallow.

escape from monkey island

1 1/2 oz Dark Rum (Plantation Original Dark)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio Espadin Joven)
3/4 oz Amontillado or Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Crème de Banana (Giffard Banane du Bresil)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Fee's Whiskey Barrel Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with Tiki intent (spent lime shell with Don Q 151 proof Rum ignited).

Earlier in the month, I wrote down several ideas for January's Tiki the Snow Away event that included the Monkey Pilot and the Ginui Nui. Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the list and decided upon the Escape from Monkey Island to test; the recipe was inspired by a hybrid of two classics -- the Test Pilot and the Mai Tai -- as well as my Kuula Hina and some other drinks I have tried. Actually, the Monkey Pilot concept came after this one on that idea list when I decided to challenge myself to craft a "monkey" drink that did not rely on crème de banana.
I split the rum base with some mezcal to instill the feeling that there was some sort of fire and destruction that needed fleeing, and it donated a smoke note to the nose along with nutty grape and lime aromas. Next, a creamy lime and grape sip ran to rum, smoky mezcal, banana, and nutty flavors on the swallow.

mi-5

3/4 oz Plymouth Gin (GrandTen Wireworks)
3/4 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy
3/4 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth (Maurin)
3/4 oz Cynar

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

Two Mondays ago, I was in the midst of reading Matt Teacher's The Spirit of Gin book, and I took note when I spotted the MI-5 created at the now defunct Gin Palace in Manhattan. The Gin Palace named its drinks after all things London and British, and the MI-5 is the British government's counter-intelligence agency. What lured me in was how it reminded me of a split spirits Little Italy with the two bases being the gin and apple brandy found in a Pink Lady. Moreover, the apple brandy, vermouth, and Cynar combination made me think of the Nassau Street Cocktail.
In the glass, the MI-5 encircled the nose with an apple and funky herbal bouquet. Next, grape and Cynar's caramel filled the sip, and the swallow began with juniper and Cynar's herbal flavors and ended with apple and mint-like notes. The barrel aging of the apple brandy and the grain base of the gin in the end did not equate to the feel of whiskey in the Little Italy, but the MI-5 was still a delight to drink.

the dapper little gent

1 1/2 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
2 dash Cinnamon Bitters (Fee's Whiskey Barrel)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime wheel.
For a nightcap two Sundays ago, we ended the evening with a recipe from Chris Resnick while at Cardinal Spirits via the BarNotes app. The recipe was the 2013 Dapper Little Gent that reminded me of two other drinks created that year, namely the 2011 and the Stagecoach Mary due to the sherry-Campari and Campari-pisco pairings, respectively. Once prepared, the Dapper Little Gent gave forth lime, nutty grape, and almost floral notes from the pisco to the nose. Next, lime and sherry's grape combined on the sip, and the swallow proffered pisco with nutty sherry melding into bitter orange flavors.

torino zombie

2 1/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Maurin)
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Funky, High Ester Jamaican Rum (Wray & Nephew)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1 dash Absinthe (10 drop St. George)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with Tiki intent.

Two Saturdays ago, I stopped into Russell House Tavern after work, so by the time I got home, it was rather late. On the walk home, I started brainstorming on a vermouth Zombie idea based off how well the classic Fig Leaf works, but I decided that since it was such a late of an hour that it might make for a better brunch drink concept the next morning. On Sunday, I touched up the recipe that I had scratched down to make it less of a pure 1934 Zombie by incorporating the apricot brandy element that started appearing in Zombie recipes around 1941 (which I described in the Bath Salts Zombie riff). Since Tiki is usually based on a mix of rums, so why not a mix of vermouths here? To add some depth, I included Punt e Mes which would work well with the apricot liqueur, and while I considered keeping this drink rum-free, I did spike in a small amount of high-impact rum to add some funky complexity to the swallow. Moreover, I kept the cinnamon syrup (after dropping the grapefruit in the Don's Mix) when I recalled how well cinnamon syrup worked with apricot liqueur in the Southern Belle. For a name, I dubbed it the Torino Zombie after Turin, one of the centers of sweet vermouth production.
The Torino Zombie gave forth a grape and spice aroma akin to an anise-y mulled wine. Next, the sip shared grape and lime flavors akin to the Fig Leaf cocktail, and the swallow followed up with more grape leading into bitter apricot and spice notes. In the end, it was less like mulled wine and closer to a Tiki Sangria.

nertz!

1 1/2 oz Cachaça (Seleta Gold)
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Grenadine
2 dash Regan's Orange Bitters
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Fridays ago after my work shift, I reached for Sarah Baird's New Orleans Cocktails for a refreshing way to end the evening. There, I found the Nertz! by Scott Stierwatt from his time at Cane & Table as his Brazilian riff on the State Street Punch from Stanley Clisby Arthur's Famous New Orleans Drinks & How to Mix'em. In the glass, it began with orange oil over grassy funk and a fruity note from the pineapple or grenadine on the nose. Next, lemon and pomegranate's berry came through on the sip, and the swallow shared grassy rum, pineapple, and berry flavors.

poison dart

2 oz Bourbon (Old Granddad Bonded)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Allspice Dram (1 bsp Hamilton's)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe (shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice). Garnish with an orange peel dart.

After my work shift two Thursdays ago, I decided to stick with the month's Tiki theme and go with another drink that I had spotted on the BarNotes app called the Poison Dart. That drink was posted by Chad Austin, and it turned out to be a vintage 2010 Craig Herman a/k/a Colonel Tiki recipe that I had considered making a year or two ago after trying Craig's Vendetta and Golden Frond. The Poison Dart somewhat reminded me of a Lion's Tail given the Bourbon, citrus, and allspice dram; however, it was the orgeat-Cynar combination that finally lured me in for it has worked well in drinks like the Aster Family Flip, Artichoke Hold, and other recipes. Interestingly, this citrus-laden drink recommended stirring with ice to mix as a silky number; however, I took it in a shaken Tiki mug direction to better fit my mood as well as the way the ingredients spoke to me.
The Poison Dart gave forth an orange oil and Bourbon aroma. Next, a creamy lemon and malt sip led into Bourbon, earthy funk, and allspice on the swallow with a cinnamon finish. The whiskey here was a touch assertive so perhaps a softer Bourbon like Four Roses would have kept a better balance. Perhaps as a stirred drink with less dilution and thus a higher sugar content, my original spirit choice might have been better.