chase

1/3 Dry Gin (1 oz Beefeater)
1/3 Dubonnet (1 oz)
1/3 Dry Sherry (1 oz Lustau Amontillado)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a lemon twist.
Two Mondays ago, I returned to Jere Sullivan's 1930 The Drinks of Yesteryear: A Mixology to one of the recipes that I had bookmarked called the Chase. The drink was subtitled, "Authorized by a New Haven merchant -- plagiarized by New York Hotels." In the introduction, the author mentioned that he had bartended in New Haven for a while as well as in Boston before Prohibition, so perhaps he was the creator of this Submarine Cocktail-like number. When I asked Andrea whether she wanted this with Fino, Amontillado, or Oloroso, she selected Amontillado to perhaps split the difference. In the glass, the Chase proffered lemon, cherry, raisin, and grape notes to the nose. Next, a plum-like sip led into gin, nutty sherry, blackberry, cherry, and black tea flavors on the swallow.

pearl diver's punch

1 1/2 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Añejo)
3/4 oz Demerara Rum (El Dorado 5 Year)
1/2 oz Gold Jamaican Rum (Appleton Select)
1 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Pearl Diver's Mix (*)
1 tsp Falernum (Velvet)
6 oz Crushed Ice

Blend everything but the ice, add the ice, and blend for 20 seconds. Pour into a Pilsner glass (Tiki mug) and fill with crushed ice.
(*) 1 oz softened sweet butter, 1 oz honey, 1 tsp cinnamon syrup, 1/2 tsp vanilla syrup, 1/2 tsp allspice dram (Hamilton's).
The blender drink that I wanted to make a week before for Andrea's birthday was the Pearl Diver's Punch, but I lacked oranges to juice, so I made the Daiquiri Menta instead. With having bought oranges this past week as well as making fresh batches of cinnamon and vanilla syrups, I was ready to tackle this recipe two Sundays ago. I had tried Beachbum Berry's passion fruit riff, the Pontchartrain Pearl Diver at Latitude 29 four years ago, but I had never tasted the original that Berry had published in Sippin' Safari from the Don the Beachcomber restaurant circa 1937. Once prepared, the Pearl Diver's Punch gave forth an aged rum nose that seemed to call out for some sort of aromatic garnish; none was specified, so I kept things simple. Next, an orange and lime sip showed off a rich mouthfeel from the butter, and the swallow finished things off with rum, honey, and spice flavors.

beachcomber's gold (chicago)

1 1/2 oz Light Puerto Rican Rum (Havana Club 7 Year)
1/2 oz French Vermouth (Noilly Prat Dry)
1/2 oz Italian Vermouth (Martini Gran Lusso Sweet)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
6 drop Pernod (St. George Absinthe)

Blend with 2 oz crushed ice and fine strain (shake with ice and strain) into a cocktail coupe with an ice shell hood. I added a lemon twist garnish.

Since I still had an ice shell left over from making the 1930s Beachcomber's Gold the night before, I decided to make one of the of newer recipes from Beachbum Berry's Remixed book. The 1980s one required passion fruit nectar that I lacked, but the 1970s one was a Perfect Rum Manhattan with 6 drops of Pernod in the mix that was perfectly do-able. The drink was served at the Chicago Don the Beachcomber in the early 1970s, and I eschewed the blending for a shake step. Also, to attached the ice shell to the glass, I laid the coupe on its side, set the shell inside, dropped cold water at the interface, and allowed it to freeze. The technique was indeed effective for several minutes before it slid off.
This Beachcomber's Gold donated a dark rum and bright lemon oil aroma. Next, a semi-dry grape sip transitioned into an aged rum, grape, clove, allspice, and anise swallow.

beachcomber's gold (hollywood)

1 oz Gold Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Añejo)
1/4 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (Coruba)
1/4 oz Gold Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup (1/2 oz Orgeat)
4 drop Almond Extract (utilize orgeat as above)
6 drop Pernod (St. George Absinthe)

Blend with 2 oz crushed ice and strain into a coupe with an ice shell (shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with an ice shell, mint, and honeysuckles).

Two Fridays ago, I honored the call for the Instagram-based Beachcomber's Gold Challenge after having participated in the previous week's 151 Swizzle Challenge. For recipes, I found that Beachbum Berry's Remixed contained three different Beachcomber's Gold recipes all sourced from Don the Beachcomber establishments. The one I selected was the oldest from Dick Santiago's 1937 notebook that Santiago assembled as the head waiter at the Hollywood location, and this same recipe was found in a 1950s notebook from a Palm Springs location. In terms of technique, I have always had a problem with the making the shell in a coupe glass and nudging it over to keep building it instructions that Berry recommended as I mentioned in the Aku Aku Gold Cup post. For that drink, I utilized a hand juicer to force the crushed ice into the proper shape. For this one, I opted for building it in a cheaper julep strainer, pressing it together with another strainer to force the shape, freezing it, and then squeezing the strainer's metal until the shell separated (my more solid ones such as the Cocktail Kingdom brand were not bendable and did not work here). While I was able to make a few attractive ones, I was unable to attach the shell to a glass very well (I believe that I had matched the shell to the perfect glass in the Aku Aku Gold Cup to keep it in place). Therefore, I opted for the crushed ice-filled rocks glass route that the Devil's Reef bar utilizes to solve the dilemma. For speed, the hand juicer technique works the best since it does not require a freezing step (although it helps to retain its form).
This Beachcomber's Gold version proffered minty, floral, and almond aromas. Next, a creamy lime sip receded into a funky rum, nutty, and hint of spice swallow.

crazy crossing

1/2 Plymouth Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)
1/4 Noilly Prat Vermouth (3/4 oz NP Dry)
1/4 Dubonnet (3/4 oz)
1 dash Maraschino (1/8 oz Luxardo)
1 dash Van der Hum (1/8 oz) (*)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.
(*) Since this aged brandy-based South African tangerine and spice liqueur is hard to source (I got mine at Julio's Liquors around a decade ago), substitute Amaro Montenegro, Mandarin Napoleon, or perhaps Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao.
Two Thursdays ago, I returned to the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book to see if there were any glossed over gems. There, I spotted the Crazy Crossing by F.G. Hunt that appeared like Ensslin's Submarine with Maraschino and Van der Hum as dashed modifiers (plus, this one was gin forward opposed to the Submarine being Dubonnet forward). In the glass, the Crazy Crossing provided an orange, cherry, and grape bouquet to the nose. Next, the grape sip gave way to gin, nutty cherry, chocolate, and tangerine flavors on the swallow.

good samaritan

1 oz Bourbon (3/4 oz Wild Turkey 101)
1 oz Amontillado Sherry (3/4 oz Lustau)
1 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil (3/4 oz)
1 oz Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a dehydrated or fresh lemon wheel (dehydrated).
For the cocktail hour on Wednesday night, I selected a recent recipe from Imbibe Magazine called the Good Samaritan. The equal parts recipe was crafted by Paul Rodgers at the Mash House in Nashville, and the combination of Amontillado and banana liqueur lured me in for it has worked rather well in the Park Genoves Swizzle, Cutlass, Father's Advice, and other drinks. Once shaken and strained, the Good Samaritan helped out with a nutty sherry aroma melding with banana undertones to the nose. Next, lemon and a vague banana note on the sip gave way to Bourbon, rich banana, and nutty grape on the swallow.

heartbreaker coffee house

1 1/2 oz Tequila (Lunazul Blanco)
3/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (3/4 oz Copper & Kings Destillaire + 1/8 oz Simple Syrup)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

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

Two Tuesdays ago, I began my evening's cocktail search with Michael Madrusan and Zara Young's A Spot at the Bar book. There, I spied the Heartbreaker Coffee House that came across like a tequila Revolver. The recipe would also give me a chance to try the sample of Copper & King's new coffee liqueur. On its own, the liqueur shared a brandy and coffee aroma that led into medium roast flavors and a brandy finish. Overall, rather delightful but a bit drier than other coffee liqueurs such as Kahlua and Ristretto; therefore, some additional sweetener will need to be added to use it as a substitute. Perhaps the intention was an after dinner cordial to be drank on its own for the sweetness is perfect for that purpose and the flavor has me coming back for more.
The Heartbreaker Coffee House gave forth lemon, roasted coffee, and agave aromas to the nose. Next, the roast filled the sip and preceded the tequila and coffee swallow with a vegetal agave finish.

sensation

3/4 Dry Gin (2 oz Beefeater)
1/4 Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)
3 dash Maraschino (1/2 oz Luxardo + 1/4 oz Simple Syrup)
3 sprig Mint (6 leaf)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a floated mint leaf garnish.

Two Mondays ago, I turned to the 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book after a long time away from its pages. There, I spotted the Sensation that was like a crème de violette-less Aviation, a lemon for grapefruit Seventh Heaven, and a Southside with Maraschino as the sweetener. I was served a Genever variation, the New Sensation at Bergamot, but I had never had the gin classic.
The Sensation offered up minty, nutty cherry, and pine notes to the nose. Next, lemon and a hint of cherry on the sip became gin and nutty cherry flavors on the swallow with a minty herbal finish.

daiquiri menta

2 oz White Rum (Privateer Silver)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 tsp Sugar (Florida Crystals)
1/4 oz Crème de Menthe (Tempus Fugit)
5-6 leaf Mint
10 oz Crushed Ice

Combine all but the rum in a blender and blend on low. Add rum, blend until smooth, and pour into a large Martini glass or go-cup (stemmed water glass). Garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Sundays ago for Andrea's birthday, she requested a blender drink to christen our new Vitamix blender. Since I ran out of oranges and could not make the Pearl Diver that night, I remembered a blender drink that I had spotted in Punch called the Daiquiri Menta. The recipe was crafted by Nick Detrich and Chris Hannah at their new Cuban-inspired spot, Manolito in New Orleans, and the blending with mint leaves reminded me of the Missionary's Downfall.
Once prepared, the Daiquiri Menta was all about the mint on the nose. Next, lime on the sip slid into rum and more mint on the swallow with a herbal chlorophyll bitterness on the finish.