passion grove swizzle

1 1/4 oz Plantation 3 Star Rum
3/4 oz Jamaican Overproof Rum (Rumfire)
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum with strong ginger notes (Velvet Falernum with 2 coin Ginger muddled in the mix)

Building a Collins glass (I strained out the muddled ginger), fill with crushed ice, and swizzle to mix and chill. Top with crushed ice and garnish festively (mint sprigs).
Two Wednesdays ago, I returned home from work and raided my garden for mint to garnish my evening's Swizzle. The recipe that I was excited to make was the Passion Grove Swizzle crafted by Matt Pietrek on his CocktailWonk blog. Since Matt insisted that ginger notes were necessary to complement the pineapple, I ended up muddling ginger into the mix to supplement the rather mild Velvet Falernum that I have. Once prepared, the Passion Grove Swizzle presented mint over rum funk aromas. Next, lemon and hints of pineapple on the sip gave way to funky rum, passion fruit, pineapple, and ginger elements on the swallow.

leave me alone

1 1/4 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
1 oz Campari
1/2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Tuesdays ago, I finally got around to purchasing a replacement for my empty bottle of dry vermouth so I could make a Negroni variation that I intended to make a few days before during Negroni Week. That recipe was the Leave Me Alone by Phillip Childers of Manhattah's Middle Branch that he crafted at one of Gaz Regan's recent Cocktails in the Country retreats (Gaz published the details in his newsletter). Once built, the Leave Me Alone shared an orange oil bouquet from the twist that complemented the Campari's orange which melded into the gin's pine aroma. Next, a deep grape sip led into pine and a bitter orange flavor that was intensified by the gin with a dry quinine and orange finish.

straw dog

1 Strawberry
1 1/2 oz Compass Box Asyla Scotch (1 1/4 oz Famous Grouse + 1/4 oz Laphroaig 10 Year)
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup
1 dash Bittermens Grapefruit Bitters (Regan's Orange)

Muddle the strawberry, add the rest of the ingredients and ice, shake, and double strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with a half strawberry.
When I opened the refrigerator door two Mondays ago, I was reminded that we had purchased our season's first strawberries. My mind instantly turned to recipes that I had spotted in the Death & Co. Cocktail Book that called for them, and I ended up selecting Thomas Waugh's 2009 Straw Dog. A straw dog is both a sham creature made of straw as well as an argument or opponent set up so as to be easily refuted or defeated. In the glass, the fresh scent of strawberry mingled with floral notes from the blanc vermouth and smoky aromas from the Scotch. Next, a semi-dry lemon and white wine sip gave forth a vague berry note, and the swallow began with smoky Scotch that transitioned to an herbal strawberry flavor at the end.

octogenarian

3/4 oz jigger Sherry (2 1/4 oz Lustau Amontillado)
1/4 jigger Sweet Vermouth (3/4 oz Cocchi)
1 dash Curaçao (1/4 oz Copper & Kings)
1 dash Absinthe (1 scant bsp Butterfly)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
After my work shift two Sundays ago, I wanted to treat myself to a drink despite it being at such a late hour. Therefore, I opted for a low ABV recipe from the fortified wine-based section of Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 called the Octogenarian. Perhaps sherry had a bad rap even back then as being an old lady's drink as Derek Brown once spoke about. In the glass, my choice of Amontillado as the sherry provided a nutty bouquet along with the anise and floral orange aromas from the other ingredients. Next, orange and grape mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered grape, nutty, orange, and absinthe spice flavors. Overall, the combination reminded me of something William Schmidt would have created circa 1890, as well as a Fancy (and slightly Improved) Adonis.

gold coast punch

8 oz Bacardi Ocho Rum (4 oz Don Q Añejo)
4 oz Champagne (2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs)
3 oz Pineapple Juice (1 1/2 oz)
3 oz Lime Juice (1 1/2 oz)
2 oz Simple Syrup (1 oz)
2 oz Allspice Syrup (1 oz Hamilton's Allspice Dram)

Combine over ice (shake all but the sparkling wine with a few ice cubes, add the champagne, and pour into a bowl). Fill with crushed ice and garnish with lime wheels and orchids (mint sprig and honeysuckle blossoms).
Two Saturdays ago, I bought pineapple juice to make a recipe that I had spotted earlier in the week in Tom Sandham's World's Best Cocktails. That drink was Julie Reiner's Gold Coast Punch that she had created at Lani Kai in Manhattan; I was drawn to the combination for the rum, pineapple, lime, and allspice have worked well in libations like the Piñata and the Mytoi Gardens. Once prepared, the punch donated a mint and floral aroma from the garnishes over pineapple and allspice notes with hints of lime on the nose. Next, a lightly carbonated sip displayed caramel, pineapple, and lime flavors, and the swallow rounded things off with rum and allspice elements.

prize winner

2/3 Brandy (2 oz Courvoisier VS)
1 dash Cointreau (1/4 oz)
1 dash Orange Bitters (2 dash Regan's)
1 dash Kümmel (1/4 oz Helbing)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.
Two Fridays ago, I set out in search of a nightcap in Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. There, I spotted the Prize Winner that came across like an orange spiced Cognac Old Fashioned that seemed like it might live up to its name. Once prepared, it shared a Cognac, orange oil, and caraway-cumin spiced nose that preceded a lightly orange sip. Next, the swallow gave forth brandy, orange, and caraway flavors. Over all, it was a solid tipple, but perhaps not dynamic enough to get a trophy or a ribbon.

negroni crusta

3/4 oz Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
3/4 oz Campari
1/4 oz Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand Dry)
1/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a narrow cocktail glass (sub narrow wine glass or small flute) rimmed with sugar, and garnish with a long wide lemon or orange twist (lemon twist) wrapped around the interior of the glass' rim.

Two Thursdays ago in the midst of Negroni Week, I began pondering what Negroni mashups that I could do. My mind set off in a Tiki direction such as I did last year for Negroni Week with the Negroni on Saturn and as I have done more recently with the Negroni Grog and the Zombie riff The Count Rides Again. Somewhere along the line, it dawned on me that a Crusta would be delightful. I had not touched the 1852 vintage structure since last summer with the Deauville Crusta. In pondering whether to make the added sweetener to balance the citrus and bitters the classic curaçao or the slightly newer Maraschino, I thought "why not both?" akin to what I did with the Bamboo Crusta years ago. While curaçao would round out the orange flavor in Campari, I have learned from drinks like the Carnivale (née the Pisco Disco) how Maraschino can soften Campari in the direction of Aperol. Lemon juice and Angostura Bitters were the additions that I went with by routine, and I did consider a wide orange swath for garnish but my orange at home has had too much peel taken off of it to make that happen. I ended up sticking with a lemon peel garnish, but orange would not be out of place here.
The Negroni Crusta greeted the nose with lemon oil over an orange and grape aroma. Next, the sip mirrored the bouquet with lemon, orange, and grape notes, but the swallow took things in a more complex direction with gin, bitter orange, and nutty Maraschino flavors and a clove and allspice finish. Overall, the citrus and liqueurs worked to make this rather gentle for a Negroni-based drink.

tropical champagne

3/4 oz Dark Rum (1 oz Coruba)
3/4 oz Orange Juice (1 oz)
dashes Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
dashes Passion Fruit Syrup (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a Champagne flute, and fill with Champagne (~2 oz Willm Blanc de Blancs). I added an orange twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I recalled someone mentioning Charles Schumann's 1991 American Bar book earlier in the week and I reached for my copy. There, I was drawn to the Tropical Champagne that seemed to be a Schumann original that he dated as a 1980 creation. With dark rum and passion fruit in this sparkler, I felt that it was worth a try. Once prepared, the orange twist that I tacked on to the recipe added bright citrus aroma on top of the passion fruit nose. Next, a carbonated orange and lemon sip shared hints of passion fruit, and the swallow presented funky Jamaican rum, passion fruit, and dry white wine flavors. Overall, the drink succeeded in being both tropical and elegant.

midnight mountain

1 1/2 oz Amaro Nardini
1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Menthe (Tempus Fugit)
1/4 oz Marie Brizard Crème de Cacao (Tempus Fugit)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Tuesdays ago, I ventured into the Death & Co. Cocktail Book for a nightcap to round off my work night. In the fortified wine section was an alluring amaro-driven number called the Midnight Mountain by Brad Farran circa 2013. The drink was centered around Amaro Nardini and seemed to build on the chocolate and mint notes that I often find in that liqueur such as in the Stigmata and the Bitter Swagger. Once prepared, the Midnight Mountain shared orange, herbal, and caramel notes to the nose. Next, grape and caramel on the sip slipped into bitter herbal, minty, and chocolate flavors on the swallow. The end result was something more akin to Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies than Fernet Branca.