queens

1 1/2 oz Tanqueray No. 10 Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Cinzano Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
1 wedge Pineapple muddled or 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice (1/2 oz)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Muddle the pineapple wedge (used the juice option). Add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a pineapple wedge (omit).

Two Thursdays ago, I ventured into Frank Caiafa's The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book and spotted the Queens in a section on the Bronx. Frank traced the lineage back to Ted Saucier's 1951 Bottoms Up which attributed the recipe's creation to the bar at the New Waldorf. Essentially, the Queens was a pineapple for orange riff on the Bronx similar to the grapefruit one, the Toronja Bronx, from Prohibition era Cuba. My search for Bronx riffs on the blog uncovered one part way between it and the Queens with a hint of anise called the Beaux Arts. Finally, Frank mentioned that the original Queens was equal parts, but he found that the recipe worked better when it was more gin forward.
Once prepared, the Queens greeted the senses with pineapple and pine aromas. Next, grape and pineapple on the sip flowed towards gin, orange, herbal, and fruity flavors on the swallow.

the time has come

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse 100)
1 1/2 oz Manzanilla Sherry (Lustau Fino)
3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
3 dash Angostura Bitters
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 pinch Salt

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist and a singe flower petal (tickseed petal aka Coreopsis californica which is non-toxic).

Two Tuesdays ago, Brian Maxwell put up his 100th daily recipe that he created and posted on his Shaker of Spirits blog throughout the pandemic quarantine. The name signified the end of this run for he was returning back to work, but it also formed a loop to his first drink if the series which was also a line from Lewis Carrol's "The Walrus and the Carpenter" poem. Five years ago, that poem was the theme for an event at Loyal Nine that was significant to me for it was my first event that I helped to run after getting promoted to lead bartender there. For that event, I crafted a six drink menu and I wrote up four of them: a Pegu Club-Jasmine-inspired Of Shoes and Ships, a Pimm's Cup riff No Birds to Fly, the West Indies Punch-influenced Shining on the Sea, and the Mexican Hurricane Hopping through the Frothy Waves.
The Time Has Come seemed like an amazing combination of American whiskey, sherry, and four types of bitters that were softened by a pinch of salt, and my hunch proved correct in the glass. It began with a lemon, rye, and tangerine bouquet on the nose. Next, a caramel and crisp sip led into rye, mandarine, and gentian flavors on the swallow; as the cocktail warmed up, it became more Fernet driven but in an earthy bitter way instead of a more minty-menthol one.

without faculty

2 oz Angel's Envy Bourbon
1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a banana slice and 3 drops Tiki bitters (Bittercube Jamaican #2).

Two Tuesdays ago, I spotted an intriguing Whiskey Sour riff in a Father's Day drink article in The Bourbon Review called Without Faculty. The recipe was crafted by Tony Burke, a bartender and Virginia's Angel's Envy whiskey guardian, and he named it after his father's reason for not drinking much. His dad explained, "I don't want to lose control of my faculties"; the rest of Tony's tribute was relate to his father's love of Banana's Foster dessert and all things ginger. Since that pairing was delicious in the Holy Molé! and the X Marks the Spot, I was excited to give this one a go.
The Without Faculty met the nose with banana and ginger aromas. Next, lemon and malt on the sip led into Bourbon, banana, and ginger flavors on the swallow. Moreover, the port finish notes from the whiskey added a delightful level of fruity complexity on the swallow.

arinato

1 1/2 oz Ilegal Mezcal Joven (Fidencio)
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/2 tsp Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist laid over the cube.
Two Mondays prior, I returned to Ivy Mix's Spirits of Latin America book and spotted a Mezcal Martini of sorts, the Arinato. According to a video on PannaCooking, Ivy mentioned that the drink name does not mean anything per se, but it was invented for a friend of hers. In that video, she also recommended using a less smoky mezcal to provide a bit more harmony in the end result. Here with Fidencio Mezcal, the Arinato met the nose with a grapefruit and smoky vegetal aroma. Next, apricot and peach notes from perhaps the Cocchi Americano on the sip gave way to smoky agave softening into herbal flavors on the swallow with an anise finish.

backward's point

2 oz Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Sundays ago, I spotted the Backward's Point on Kindred Cocktails and learned its provenance on Reddit. This Scotch riff on Audrey Saunder's Little Italy was created by Andrew Rice at Attaboy in 2017 with the proportions of Cynar and sweet vermouth swapped. What drew me in was how well Cynar pairs with Scotch in drinks like the Black Diamond Flip and the Italian Heirloom. Once prepared, the Backward's Point proffered a peat smoke and orange oil bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel, malt, and grape mingled on the sip, and the swallow continued on with smoky and briny whisky melding into funky herbal bitterness.

ginger rogers

1/4 jigger Gin (3/4 oz Beefeater)
1/4 jigger French Vermouth (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Dry)
1/4 jigger Apricot Brandy (3/4 oz Rothman & Winter)
2 dash Lemon Juice (3/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I began flipping through Boothby's 1934 World Drinks & How to Mix Them for something easy to make and enjoy. There, I spotted the Ginger Rogers which pre-dated the tribute to the acting and dancing star one on here by Brian Miller of Death & Co. I upped the lemon juice to be an equal parts drink, and I later realized that I had previously enjoyed this combination as the Darb Cocktail over a decade ago. Moreover, the Boomer shared the mix with the inclusion of Peychaud's Bitters and more gin, and the Dick, Jr. Cocktail from Hugo Ensslin's 1916 book was a lime for lemon alteration.
The Ginger Rogers danced its way to the nose with orange and apricot aromas. Next, pear, orchard fruit, and lemon notes on the sip played into pine, apricot, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

our man in havana

2 oz Byrrh Quinquina
1 oz Rhum Barbancourt 8 Year
1 tsp Dry Orange Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)
1/2 tsp Orgeat
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with a spiraled lime twist.

For a second drink from Chloe Frechette's Easy Tiki book, I selected Our Man in Havana by Garret Richard at Existing Conditions in Manhattan as his perhaps Mai Tai-influenced take on the El Presidente (or the dry vermouth way we were first introduced to in 2008). As an aromatized wine-forward aperitif-style concept here with Byrrh instead of the dry or blanc vermouth, I was definitely curious especially with Paul McGee's Rum River Mystic in mind.
The Our Man in Havana welcomed the nose with lime aromas over orange, cherry, and grape ones. Next, a creamy red cherry and grape sip led the taste buds to rum, orange, nutty, and plum flavors on the swallow.

50/25/25

3/4 oz La Diablada Ancholado Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
3/4 oz Fords Gin (Tanqueray Malacca)
1 1/2 oz Lo-Fi Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a Martini glass (cocktail coupe), and garnish with a lemon twist and 2 Manzanilla olives (1 Kalamata olive).
Two Thursdays ago, I returned to pick a second cocktail from Ivy Mix's Spirits of Latin America book, and I spotted a recipe that would fulfill my recent hankering for a Martini. That drink was the 50/25/25 which was a play on the Fifty-Fifty Martini that appeared in William Boothby's World Drinks & How to Mix Them and was made famous over the last decade or so by Audrey Saunders at the Pegu Club. Here, the gin was split with pisco, and I have enjoyed that duo in the Martini riff the Diamond Queen. Once prepared, the 50/25/25 proffered a lemon, pine, and earthy grape aroma. Next, a dry white wine sip slid into a juniper, funky brandy, and orange swallow. The pisco was rather complementary with the gin flavors as it had in classics like the Juanito Rosado and modern ones like the Love Makes You Feel 10 Feet Tall.

careful whisper

1 oz Cardamaro
1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to the Haus Alpenz recipe sheets where I latched on to the Careful Whisper. The drink was their riff on the Whisper from the Savoy Cocktail Book except with Cardamaro instead of whiskey. The Careful Whisper began with a grape and plum bouquet. Next, grape and cherry notes on the sip led into grape, bitter herbal, and plum flavors on the swallow. Overall, this lower proof version of the Whisper made for an elegant aperitif.