far east cocktail

1 1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (2 oz Coruba)
1 tsp Curaçao (3/8 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)
3 dash Grenadine (1/8 oz)
1 dash Angostura Bitters (2 dash)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry (orange twist).

For a nightcap two Thursdays ago, I turned to Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery for ideas. The Far East Cocktail intrigued me for the name reminded me of the East India Cocktail as well as the Chinese Cocktail in both name and form. Here, the drink was a rum Old Fashioned served up with the grenadine-curaçao combination that Vic utilized frequently such as in his PB2Y2, Pondo Punch, and later Zombie recipes.
The Far East Cocktail met the nose with an orange, caramel, and molasses bouquet. Next, the caramel and orange notes continued into the sip, and the swallow offered funky rum, berry, and clove flavors.

boothby's special martini

2/3 jigger Gin (2 1/4 oz Alchemy)
1/6 jigger Italian Vermouth (3/4 oz Martini Grand Lusso)
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)
1 spoon Orange Blossom Water (3 drop)
2 drop Bitters (1 dash Jerry Thomas Decanter)

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

Two Wednesdays ago, I picked up Bill Boothby's 1934 World Drinks and How to Mix Them and came across the section with eleven Martini recipes. One that stood out was the Special Martini that opted for Italian vermouth instead of French and accented by absinthe, orange blossom water, and a hint of bitters. When I dubbed it Boothby's Special Martini, I thought about The Boothby -- the name given to Boothby's special Manhattan where he upsold a Champagne float if he thought he could part a few extra coins from the guest.
The Special Martini greeted the senses with a complex lemon oil, pine, grape, floral, anise, and spice nose. Next, a grape sip transformed into an elegant juniper, chocolate, clove, cinnamon, and anise swallow.

earl grey angel

2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz Averna
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash 18.21 Earl Grey Bitters (*)

Build in double old fashioned glass, add ice, and stir. Garnish with a spritz of 18.21 Earl Grey Bitters.
(*) Perhaps a strong two hour Earl Grey tea infusion in Angostura (or other aromatic) Bitters would work in a pinch. Or a short infusion into vodka or grain neutral spirits and later blending it 50:50 with Angostura Bitters. The 2 hour time point was taken from Audrey Saunder's Earl Grey MarTEAni recipe.
Two Tuesdays ago, I headed down to Backbar in Somerville and was lured in by their drink of the week, the Earl Grey Angel, that sounded like a delightful Black Manhattan riff. The name reflected the key aromatic accent that also entered into the swallow: 18.21 Earl Grey Bitters. If these are unavailable in your market, a short but strong infusion of said tea leaves into Angostura Bitters would work in a pinch to get those great bergamot citrus notes along with the tea black accents. In the glass, the Earl Grey Angel proffered bergamot aromas along with dark and nutty notes to the nose. Next, a grape and caramel sip descended into Bourbon, nutty, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a pleasing cinnamon and tea tannin finish.

berry dangerous fix

1 1/2 oz Krogstad Aquavit
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Cane Syrup 2:1 (1 oz 1:1)
1/4 oz Campari
4 drop Orange Blossom Water
1 Strawberry

Muddle the strawberry, add the rest of the ingredients, and shake with ice. Strain into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a fresh strawberry.
Two Mondays ago, Andrea had bought a carton of strawberries and requested a cocktail to use them. I remembered spotting a recipe or two fitting that bill in The NoMad Cocktail Book, and I selected the Berry Dangerous Fix from that tome. That Fix was created by Jane Danger, and it utilized the strawberry-Campari duo that worked great in the Louanalao, Royale Cup #4, and other drinks. Once prepared, the Berry Dangerous Fix welcomed the senses with strawberry, caraway, and star anise aromas. Next, a lemon and berry sip slipped into a caraway, star anise, and bitter strawberry swallow.

bali hai bastard

1 1/2 oz Pineapple Rum (Plantation)
3/4 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1/4 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Puree (3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup)
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup (omit -- combined with the puree)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with 2 pineapple leaves and a pineapple wedge (pink elephant swizzle).
Two Sundays ago, I was in a tropical mood, so I reached for Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith's Minimalist Tiki book and found the Bali Hai Bastard. That recipe was crafted by Marie King who manages the two Tonga Hut bars in California. Once prepared, the Bali Hai Bastard donated pineapple and passion fruit aromas to make a rather exotic bouquet. Next, the lime and pineapple notes on the sip led into rum, rye spice and dryness, pineapple, and passion fruit flavors on the swallow with hints of smoke on the finish from the mezcal.

the kid with the replaceable head

1 3/4 oz Genever (Bols)
1/2 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
2 dash Absinthe (1/2 bsp (1/16th oz) Butterfly)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I spotted the bottle of Cardamaro on the shelf at home, and I was inspired to create this Genever Manhattan riff based off of what would work well with that amaro. I went with Genever after having good success pairing it with Cardamaro in the Wooden Shoe; I was first exposed to that combination in 2012 at Portland Cocktail Week with the Deck Hand and the Walking Spanish. Cardamaro worked well with Punt e Mes in Father's Advice and other drinks, and the Maraschino and absinthe might have derived from my love of the Improved Gin Cocktail. For a name, I dubbed this one after a Richard Hell and the Voidoids song after thinking about how I was swapping around ingredients.
The Kid with the Replaceable Head proffered a lemon, malt, and anise bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and malt mingled on the sip, and the swallow changed gears with Genever notes melding into nutty cherry on the swallow with an anise-spice finish.

dear jane

1 oz Gin (Damrak)
1 oz Campari
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Martini Grand Lusso)
1/4 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder)

Stir with ice, strain into a single old fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Fridays ago, I had spotted a drink on Instagram called the Dear Jane created by Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin in 2015 at Attaboy in New York City. That led me to find the recipe on The Educated Barfly blog which provided little information on how they came about the cocktail spec or on the back story of the drink. The drink could be named after the 2014 song by the Madden Brothers which begins with the line "I met you down on the Lower East Side" which is the neighborhood that Attaboy resides. Regardless, Campari and elderflower liqueur have paired well in drinks like the Sweet Valley High and the Cell #34 so I was game to give this Negroni riff a try.
The Dear Jane welcomed the senses with lemon oil, floral, and bitter orange aromas. Next, a grape-driven sip gave way to gin's juniper and other botanicals along with Campari softened by elderflower flavors on the swallow with a grapefruit finish.

pina koala

1 1/2 oz Bacardi Añejo Cuartro Rum
1 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Coconut Cream (*)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a pineapple leaf.
(*) The Backbar house recipe is two parts Coco Lopez coconut cream to one part coconut milk and based off of Martin Cate's recipe at Smuggler's Cove.
Two weeks ago, Moe Isaza wrote to inform me that Bacardi was setting up a charity drink called the Piña Koala to raise money for the Australian Red Cross in the wake of the fires there. When I learned that Backbar already had the drink on the menu, I set off to give it a try and utilize the hashtag #pinakoala on Instagram. While Backbar did their own spin on it to match their house Piña Colada recipe, the original was crafted by Barney Toy at the Clipper Bar. That recipe is as follows:

Piña Koala
• 1 1/2 oz Bacardi Carta Blanca or Añejo Cuatro Rum
• 1 oz Pineapple Cordial (**)
• 1/2 oz Coconut Syrup (***)
Build in a Highball glass, fill with ice, top with soda, and garnish with a pineapple wedge. Pineapple juice and coconut soda will work here as well.
(**) Pineapple cordial is 500 mL strained pineapple juice, 100 g white sugar, 5 g citric acid, and 2.5 g malic acid.
(***) Coconut syrup is 3 parts coconut water, 1 part white sugar.

Once prepared the Backbar way, the Piña Koala climbed to the nose with coconut and pineapple aromas. Next, citrus and pineapple on the sip led into rum, coconut, pineapple, and spice flavors on the swallow.

sparkling boulevardier

1 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1 oz Campari
1 oz Sweet Vermouth

Build in a rocks glass, add ice, and stir. Top with 1 oz Cava and garnish with an orange twist.
Two weeks ago, I traveled down to Louisville as part of my Angel's Envy Whiskey Guardian training. After spending the day at the distillery, we headed over to the Logan Street Market for a class on photography. As a welcome drink, bartender and Whiskey Guardian Ryan Day from Indiana served us Sparkling Boulevardiers that coincided with the Bourbon & Bubbles campaign. While I have had Negronis lightened by soda water (read about the addition of soda water to amaro and vermouth drinks in my notes on the Americano talk given by Eric Seed and David Wondrich), I have not had any Boulevardiers that took that route much less a sparkling wine one. The end result was rather delightful to drink assuming that you're a fan of whiskey and bitter orange notes.