doubleheader

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Wild Turkey 101°)
1/2 oz Amontillado Sherry (Lustau)
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I turned to the Bartender's Choice app for the evening's libation. There, I was attracted to the Doubleheader by Dan Greenbaum at Brooklyn's Diamond Reef in 2017 for apricot liqueur and oxidized sherries have paired well together in the past. Once prepared, the Doubleheader approached the nose with a lemon oil, apricot, and nutty grape aroma. Next, a semi-dry grape sip was followed up by a swallow replete with Bourbon flavors plus apricot melding into a dry oxidized fruit finish.

mr. buttle

2 oz White Rum (Privateer)
1 oz Manzanilla Sherry (Tio Pepe Fino)
1/2 oz Giffard Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Tuesdays ago, I was searching through the Kindred Cocktails database when I landed on the Mr. Buttle by Erik Hakkinen at Seattle's Zig Zag Café as published in Imbibe Magazine in 2014. Overall, the combination of white rum, dry fortified wine, and a liqueur reminded me structurally of the Georgetown Club, so I was curious to give this one a go. Once prepared, the Mr. Buttle welcomed the senses with lemon oil and caramelized fruit aromas. Next, a semi-crisp sip of white wine and caramel flowed into rum, almond, and banana flavors on the swallow.

east harlem

2 oz Aged Rum such as Havana Club 7 Year
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry.Two Mondays ago, I was discussing the Periodista's history in relation to Boston, and I was inspired that evening to tinker with the concept. I ended up honing in on the apricot liqueur and mashing the 1940s Cuban classic with Julie Reiner's Slope to make a Rum Manhattan riff. For a name, I dubbed it the East Harlem after a major Cuban center in New York City. Once prepared, the East Harlem conjured up dark rum, apricot, orange, and spice aromas to the nose. Next, caramel and grape notes on the sip was reported to dark rum, bitter citrus and orchard fruit, and spice flavors on the swallow.

vacationland

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 oz Braulio Amaro
1/8 oz Absinthe (Kübler)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry.Two Sundays ago, I was perusing the online flashcards from Atlanta's Paper Plane when I stumbled upon the Vacationland which reminded me of the Black Betty that I recently had with rye, Braulio, and absinthe/Herbsaint. Here, it utilized Bonal instead of Cynar as the fourth component. Once stirred and strained, the Vacationland ventured to the nose with a grape and anise bouquet. Next, the grape continued into the sip where it mingled with Braulio's caramel note, and the swallow finished things up with rye, pine, anise, and herbal flavors.

inside job

1 1/2 oz Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with an orange twist.After my bar shift two Saturdays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice app in a rush to find a recipe as I was opening later that morning for brunch. There, I landed upon the Inside Job as my nightcap that was crafted by Zac Pease at Manhattan's Attaboy circa 2017. In the glass, it showcased an orange oil, pine, and vegetal aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip set up tequila, pine, and herbal flavors on the swallow. Curiously, the only other recipes that paired Braulio with Yellow Chartreuse were both created at Backbar, namely the Rye-O de Janeiro and We Don't Talk About Braulio.

kentucky cyclist

1 1/2 oz Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Fridays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted in the Eventide cookbook called the Kentucky Cyclist. The recipe was created by John Myer at Eventide in Portland, Maine, and named after how Bonal was one of the early sponsors of the Tour de France. Overall, the recipe reminded me of the Disco Ball with the split of Green and Yellow Chartreuse, spirit, aromatized wine, and bitters, but it ended up tasting closer to the American whiskey Bijou dubbed the Family Jewels. Once prepared, the Kentucky Cyclist rode to the nose with orange oil and herbaceous aromas from the Green Chartreuse. Next, a grape-driven sip pedaled to Bourbon, herbaceous, honey, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

the brooks

3/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Thursdays ago, I was perusing various online flashcard sets, and a recipe appeared on both the Dutch Kills and Raines Law Room collections called The Brooks. They were both the same save for the former version having a grapefruit twist and the latter lacking a garnish. Overall, the combination reminded me of the Commercial Free that utilized Old Monk Rum and grapefruit juice instead of Smith & Cross and lime but kept the equal parts nature and the Cynar and falernum duo intact. Once prepared, The Brooks showcased grapefruit oil over caramel and rum funk aromas. Next, the caramel continued on into the sip where it mingled with the lime, and the swallow rounded things up with rum, vegetal, and tropical flavors.

Post note 10/26/23: I uncovered that it was created by Theo Lieberman at Milk & Honey, and he was there from 2009-2014.

saucy minion

1 1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Absinthe (8 drop Copper & Kings)

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe.

Two Wednesdays ago was National Daiquiri Day, and I was inspired to riff on the Two Gents that I had back in January which was a rye Old Fashioned sweetened with Cynar and Amaro Ciociaro. I had the Navy Dock Daiquiri and Little Zeddie in mind, and I swapped out the whiskey for Smith & Cross Rum, added lime juice, and exchanged the Angostura Bitters for a dash of absinthe. For a name, I dubbed it the Saucy Minion after a line from Shakespeare's Two Gentlemen from Verona, "You, minion, are too saucy."The Saucy Minion welcomed the senses with a rum funk and caramel aroma. Next, caramel, lime, and dark orange notes on the sip flowed into funky rum, herbal, dark orange, and anise flavors on the swallow.

la jetée

3/4 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
3/4 oz Cognac (Pierre Ferrand 1840)
1 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Angostura Cocoa)

Stir with ice and strain into a glass (coupe here but old fashioned would work too).

I was stymied two weeks ago with power outages on Monday and Tuesday nights, so I skipped making drinks in the dark and jeopardizing the remaining chill in our freezer and refrigerator. Therefore, on Wednesday, I played a little catch-up by making two drinks. The first one was inspired by the mezcal-Braulio combination in the Montañista a few nights ago. From there, I drew influences from the 1910 Cocktail by matching the mezcal with Cognac as well as its recipe structure; the Cognac aspect first came about when I thought of the St. Bernard's Pass that essentially makes a Cognac Black Manhattan with Braulio. Since Bonal pairs elegantly with both mezcal and Cognac, I decided to take that route instead of the 1910's Punt e Mes. For a name, I dubbed it La Jetée after the 1962 French science fiction movie that inspired Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys.La Jetée jumped to the nose with a richness from the Cognac and Braulio and with a smoke and vegetal aspect from the mezcal. Next, grape and caramel on the sip landed on Cognac flavors as well as mezcal interplaying with Braulio's minty herbal notes on the swallow with a chocolate and smoke finish.