the hearing trumpet

1 1/4 oz Scotch (Cuttysark Prohibition)
3/4 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Swedish Punsch (Kronan)
1/2 oz Campari
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Mondays ago, I was feeling inspired to create a drink instead of rooting through my books to find a recipe. I had spotted the Barefoot in the Dark earlier in the week, and I took the Scotch, Swedish punsch, and Campari aspect from it and merged it with another whiskey and Swedish punsch drink, the Mortimer Stump. The Mortimer Stump contained Cardamaro which has proven to be a great partner for Scotch such as in the Great King Street and the Romancing the Stone.For a name, I dubbed this one after the surreal story by Leonora Carrington called The Hearing Trumpet about growing old and retaining one's dignity. Once prepared, the Hearing Trumpet greeted the senses with an orange oil and peat aroma. Next, grape and malt mingled on the sip, and the swallow uncovered smoky Scotch, orange, caramel, and tea flavors with a chocolate finish.

phoenix down

2 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
3/8 oz Honey Syrup (3/4 oz)
3/8 oz Ginger Syrup (3 thin slice Ginger)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice (muddle ginger slices in the honey syrup, add the rest, and shake with ice), and strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with a spritz of absinthe (St. George) and candied ginger on a pick (omit).Two Sundays ago, I reached for Eric Alperin's Unvarnished book and headed to the recipe section in the middle. There, I was tempted by a house recipe, namely Daniel Eun's apple brandy riff on Sam Ross' Pencillin using absinthe as the floater instead of a smoky spirit. Eun's Phoenix Down began with an anise and licorice nose. Next, lemon and honey on the sip slid into apple and ginger on the swallow.

pink panther

2 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Orgeat
3 Raspberries
4 drop Rosewater
1 Egg White

Muddle the raspberries in the orgeat. Add the rest of the ingredients, shake once without ice and once with ice, and double strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Saturdays ago, I spotted the Pink Panther in Clair McLafferty's The Classic & Craft Cocktail Recipe Book and realized that I now had some frozen raspberries left over from making syrup. This drink was created by Yael Vengroff when she was in New York City, and it reminded me of a pisco Clover Club. The combination of orgeat and raspberry was one that I have had before in the obscure classic Jacksonville and the modern Rubus Swizzle, so I was game to give this one a go.The Pink Panther sleuthed the nose with raspberry, rose, and other floral aromas. Next, a creamy lemon and red berry sip uncovered a pisco, earthy-nutty, and raspberry swallow.

rainmaker

1 1/2 oz White Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup
1/4 oz Benedictine

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe pre-rimmed with lime salt (microplaned lime zest with salt).Two Fridays ago, I was lured in by a recipe on Punch Drinks called the Rainmaker. This Rum Sour was crafted by Alec Bales at Atlanta's Ticonderoga Club and featured pineapple syrup and Benedictine as the sweeteners; while the citrus balancing that was lemon, there was a lime aromatic as part of the garnish tying it slightly to a classic Daiquiri. Once prepared, the Rainmaker donated a rum, lime, and pineapple bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and pineapple notes on the sip trickled into rum, pineapple, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

red grasshopper

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Lunazul)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Honey Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a light dusting of cayenne chili powder.

Two Thursdays ago, I was perusing the recipe section in Eric Alperin's Unvarnished book when I spotted an interesting riff on the Honeysuckle (a white rum Bee's Knees). That drink was the tequila-based Red Grasshopper crafted by Michael Madrusan of The Everleigh that worked the red angle by including a piquant garnish of cayenne powder. Moreover, the idea of a tequila Bee's Knees reminded me of the 1940 Juschu Cocktail that I morphed into the Wheel in the Sky Collins in 2015.The Red Grasshopper jumped to the nose with an agave, red pepper, honey, and floral bouquet. Next, lime and a viscosity from the honey on the sip climbed to tequila, floral, and spicy heat elements on the swallow.

8 amaro sazerac

1/4 oz Averna
1/4 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
1/4 oz Aperol
1/4 oz Amaro Meletti
1/4 oz Campari
1/4 oz Amaro Ciociaro (Torani Amer)
1/4 oz Amaro Sibilla (Fernet Branca)
1/4 oz Amaro Lazzaroni (Cynar)
4 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Orange Citrate Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass pre-rinsed with Green Chartreuse, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make the 8 Amaro Sazerac recipe that I had spotted on the Kindred Cocktails database. Mayur Subbarao created this recipe for the opening menu at Manhattan's Amor y Amargo in 2011, and it has remained on the list there ever since. To confirm the ingredients on the database, I found a secondary recipe on the Alcohol Professor site that had only three exact matches in the eight amari, so perhaps the 8 Amaro Sazerac was a drifting target as different liqueurs came in and out of fashioned at the bar. I had previously made my own 2 Amaro Sazerac as I took a Ferrari shot (equal parts Fernet and Campari) in the direction of a Sazerac to craft the Diamonds & Spades, but I found the 8 amari content of Sother's to have rounded out the rough elements of individual liqueurs much better.My 8 Amaro Sazerac utilized mostly the database's spirit calls with some substitutions taken from the later post. In the glass, this Sazerac proffered lemon, caramel, minty-menthol, and anise aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and citrus elements on the sip led into a complex swallow of gentian, citrus, vegetal, menthol, and anise flavors to name but a few.

spring blossom

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3/4 oz Suze Gentian Liqueur
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.As I made my way through the recipe section of Eric Alperin's Unvarnished book, I made notes of some interesting recipes. The one that spoke to me two Tuesdays ago was the Spring Blossom as a mezcal White Negroni riff with mole bitters crafted at the Varnish by bartender Gordon Bellaver. Once built, the Spring Blossom shared a grapefruit oil, smoke, and gentian aroma. Next, a white grape sip gave way to smoky and vegetal agave and gentian flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish.

flamenco

1 1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Mondays ago, I decided to make a curious drink called the Flamenco in classics section of the Death & Co. Cocktail Book. I said curious for I have neither read this recipe elsewhere and web searches only pulled up references to their book. The combination itself was familiar save for the base of Amontillado and Genever as the rest followed the structure of the Oo-La-La and Eastern Sour. Moreover, orgeat has worked great with Genever in the Genever Daisy and Amontillado in the Four Moors, so I was game to give this one a go. In the glass, the Flamenco proffered a nutty, grape, and malt aroma. Next, a creamy orange, lemon, and grape sip danced into a Genever and nutty sherry and orgeat swallow with a tart, herbal finish.

harvest sour

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse Bonded)
1 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with drops of Angostura and Peychaud's Bitters and freshly grated cinnamon.

Two Sundays ago, I came upon the recipe section in the middle of Eric Alperin's new book Unvarnished. There, I latched on to the Harvest Sour from the section on egg white drinks; while there was no attribution in the book, Punch linked it to Sam Ross although with an apple slice (instead of the two bitters) and cinnamon as the garnish.The Harvest Sour met the nose with an apple, cinnamon, allspice, and anise bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon sip transitioned into rye and apple flavors on the swallow along with spice notes entering from the garnish.