false start

1 1/4 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Cardamaro
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Cynar
2 slice Cucumber

Muddle the cucumber, add the rest, and stir with ice. Double strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a cucumber wheel.
Two Tuesdays ago, I was in the mood for a stirred sort of drink, and the False Start from Punch Drinks called out to me. The recipe was crafted by Anne Robinson of Westlight in Brooklyn, and its aged spirit, vermouth, amaro, and muddled cucumber structure reminded me of the Cobble Hill. In the glass, the False Start shared a cucumber and agave nose with herbal grape undertones. Next, the grape from the vermouth and Cardamaro continued on into the sip, and the swallow came through with tequila, herbal, and cucumber flavors.

harlem no. 2

3/4 jigger Gin (1 1/2 oz Beefeater)
1 dash Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 spoon Orange Juice (1/2 oz)
1/2 lump Sugar (1/2 oz Simple Syrup)
4 leaf Mint

Crush mint with sugar (omit the muddling -- use the shake with ice to bruise the mint leaves). Add the rest of the ingredients, shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with 1 dash absinthe (8 drop St. George and mint leaves).
Two Mondays ago, I was perusing William Boothby's 1934 World Drinks & How to Mix Them when I spotted the Harlem No. 2. The recipe came across like a South Side gussied up with the addition of orange juice in the mix and a dash of absinthe as the garnish. Once constructed, the Harlem No. 2 shared an anise, mint, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, orange and lemon combined on the sip, and the swallow showcased the medley of gin and mint that was later joined by anise and other light absinthe notes from the garnish.

lewiston

1/4 wineglass Bacardi (2 oz Santa Teresa Claro)
1 dash Lime Juice (3/4 oz)
2 dash Grenadine (1/2 oz)
2 dash Green Crème de Menthe (1/4 oz Tempus Fugit White)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I garnished with a mint leaf.
Two Sundays ago, I ventured into the Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 book and spotted the Lewiston that came across as a Bacardi Cocktail with the addition of crème de menthe. Once prepared, the Lewiston conjured a berry and mint nose. Next, lime and berry notes mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered rum and pomegranate flavors with a mint finish.

gibson

2 oz London Dry Gin (Martin Miller Westbourne)
1 oz Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a pickled onion.

Two Saturdays ago, I felt like ending the night with a Martini, and then I remembered the pickled onions in the refrigerator and opted for a Gibson. In Imbibe, David Wondrich quoted the Oakland Tribune as declaring that, "The Gibson is a blend peculiar to San Francisco," and San Francisco bartender William Boothby described how it was named after Charles Dana Gibson. There were also other possible histories such as San Francisco financier Walter D.K. Gibson who drank alongside Charles at the Bohemian club and claimed to be the impetus of its creation circa 1898. Boothby's 1908 recipe was equal parts Plymouth Gin and French vermouth without bitters or garnish. Surprisingly, early recipes were unadorned with the onion that defines the modern day Gibson. Robert Simonson in The Martini Cocktail placed the garnish's timeline as, "By the 1930s, the onion had begun to sneak into the drink. By the 1940s, it had a permanent home." Alas, my favorite lore of how Gibson's bartender utilized the onion to demarcate the chilled water alcohol-free "Martini" so that he could be sober during business deals as his cohorts got a bit tipsy is mostly like just a barroom fable.
Normally, the mid-century Gibson Cocktail is garnished with a pickled pearl onion, but I figured that my lactic ferment onions (see below for more information) would work well here. This sort of naturally fermented style was what we used in our Martinis at Loyal Nine, and one of the regulars' favorites were the yearly batch of pickled ramps fermented in this style. The Gibson recipe that I utilized was the one from A Spot at the Bar which was a bit more dry vermouth forward than the one in Simonson's book. Once prepared, the cocktail wafted to the nose pine melding into onion aroma along with orange accents. Next, a clean, crisp sip marched into juniper, citrus, licorice, and cucumber-vegetal flavors on the swallow with an onion finish. Definitely some of the notes from the cut onion ring had pleasantly entered into the drink.
Since we had bought into a farm share (besides our own vegetable garden plot) as we are cooking more at home, we receive a bounty of vegetables. One of the early boxes contained a green cabbage and the next one a Napa cabbage. The green cabbage went into sauerkraut and the Napa into kimchi, and the ferments utilized the lactobacillus microbes naturally on the cabbage's leaves. The magic here is the addition of salt (generally in the 2-6% by weight) which inhibits other bacteria from acting on the vegetables; moreover, a weight of some sort to keep the vegetables under the brine and away from the air seals the deal. Within 7-10 days, the bubbling stops and the lactic pickles are ready to be refrigerated. To make the onions, I cut up two medium onions along with their green stem, added 2 ounces of sauerkraut brine as a lactobacillus starter, and filled it with 3.5% salt brine. The end result is a tangy and crisp vegetable without the harshness of vinegar's acetic acid used in the quick method; moreover, that vinegar generally requires a substantial sugar content to balance the zing, while my lactic pickles end up rather bone dry.

frozen sherry cobbler

3 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1 oz Oleo Saccharum (Lemon & Orange Peel) (*)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 cup Crushed Ice (8 oz)

Blend until smooth, pour into a 12 oz glass, and garnish with an orange slice and cherry (orange slice and mint sprig).
(*) Sugar steeped with lemon and orange peels for a 1-2+ hours and dissolved in hot water (equal volume to the amount of sugar added). Here, it was 3/4 oz sugar, peel 1/4 lemon, and peel 1/6 orange; after a 3 hour incubation with a few shakes in between, the sugar was dissolved in 3/4 oz boiling water. The 1 oz for the recipe was fine strained from this syrup and peel mix.
To beat the heat two weeks ago, I decided to make the Frozen Sherry Cobbler by Rob Kruger of Brooklyn's Extra Fancy that was published in Punch. While it recommended a commercial oleo saccharum, I decided to start a few hours early and made my own from lemon and orange peels and sugar (see instructions above). Once prepared, the Cobbler proffered orange and mint aromas from the garnishes over a nutty sherry note from the Amontillado. Next, grape and lemon on the sip slid into nutty sherry and a citrus brightness from the oleo saccharum on the swallow.

martinez no. 7

2 oz Plymouth Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
15 drop Bittercube Orange Bitters (1 dash Angostura Orange)
1 slice Cucumber
1 pinch Salt

Muddle the cucumber slice with the salt. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir with ice, double strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cucumber wheel.
Two Thursday ago, I spotted the 2012 North Star Cocktails book on my shelves that I last touched in early April and began flipping through the pages. The one that caught my eye was the Martinez No. 7 by Nicholas Kosevich and Ira Koplowitz which varied from the classic recipe by splitting the vermouth with dry as well as adding a cucumber element and a pinch of salt. Once prepared, the Martinez No. 7 welcomed the nose with a cucumber, orange, and nutty Maraschino aroma. Next, grape and cucumber mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered gin, herbal, and nutty cherry flavors.

prizefighter no. 3

1 oz Fernet Branca
1 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
6-8 leaf Mint
3-4 wedge Lemon
1 pinch Salt

Muddle the lemon, mint, and salt. Add the rest, shake with ice, double strain into a double old fashioned glass, fill with crushed ice, and garnish lavishly with mint.
Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to Nick Jarrett's Prizefighter series. The one I decided upon was the third one that varied from the first Prizefighter by calling for Pedro Ximenez instead of Carpano Antica vermouth, and I was curious to see how it turn out as it headed in the Sherry Cobbler direction. Once prepared, the Prizefighter No. 3 donated a raisin, menthol, and mint bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon, grape, and caramel notes on the sip swung at raisin, mint, and menthol flavors on the swallow. Indeed, the great depth of flavor from the Pedro Ximenez sherry made for a more complex drink than the sweet vermouth original albeit with a less herbal focus.

brave companion

2 oz Bourbon (Old Grand-Dad Bonded)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Tempus Fugit)
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, and garnish with a lemon wheel.
Two Tuesdays, I pulled Paul Clarke's 2015 The Cocktail Chronicles off the bookshelf to see if there were any glossed over gems. The one that I latched on to was Erick Castro's Brave Companion that he crafted for the 2013 opening menu at Polite Provisions in San Diego. Once prepared, the Brave Companion met the nose with a lemon and whiskey bouquet. Next, lemon with a caramel-roast note on the sip marched into Bourbon, chocolate, and vanilla flavors on the swallow. When I thought about the combination of Bourbon and cacao, I realized that this was one that I had enjoyed in the past in both classic recipes like the Commodore No. 2 from the 1935 Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book and modern ones like the Transatlantic Giant.

arkham kula

1 1/2 oz Plantation Xaymaca Rum
1/2 oz Plantation OFTD Overproof Rum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Orange Juice
3/4 oz Don's Mix (1/2 oz Grapefruit Juice + 1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup)
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Zombie glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Mondays ago, I was feeling a tropical vibe so I opened up Matt Pietrek and Carrie Smith's Minimalist Tiki and selected the Arkham Kula from Jason Alexander. The recipe seemed like a riff on Don the Beachcomber's Sumatra Kula with two heavier rums instead of one light one and with the addition of cinnamon and passion fruit syrups to the mix. The passion fruit when combined with the honey reminded me of the Don's Special Daiquiri, and the cinnamon syrup took the Sumatra Kula closer to Zombie riffs such as the Zombie at Park South. As for the name, Jason explained on Instagram that it was a reference to the fictional city in Massachusetts created by author H.P. Lovecraft that has been surmised to be Salem with elements of Danvers such as their state asylum blended in.
The Arkham Kula proffered a mint, passion fruit, and caramel aroma to the nose. Next, the caramel continued on into the sip to be joined by orange, honey, and lime notes, and the swallow reached out with funky rum, tropical flavors, and cinnamon spice. Indeed, the addition of rum complexity, tropical fruit elements, and spice made for a pleasing expansion of the Donn Beach original.