the southern point

3/4 oz Apple Brandy (Morin Selection Calvados)
3/4 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Orange Liqueur (Cointreau)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass pre-rinsed with absinthe (Pernod Absinthe).Two Fridays ago, I opened up the Raising the Bar book by Jacob Grier and Brett Adams and spotted Eryn Reece's Southern Point. I was able to track down the recipe to a 2010 post on the St. Germain Cocktails blog which would place it before her time at Death & Co. in Manhattan which began in 2011. The combination fell between Sam Ross' Sunflower of a Corpse Reviver #2 with elderflower instead of Lillet and Scott Holliday's Johnny Jump Up of a Corpse Reviver #2 with apple brandy instead of gin. In the glass, the Southern Point opened up to the nose with apple, black licorice, orange, and floral aromas. Next, lemon and grapefruit notes on the sip relaxed into apple, orange, and licorice flavors on the swallow.

adderly

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a cherry.Two Thursdays ago, I fired up the Bartender's Choice app and decided to make the Adderly. Sam Ross based this rye drink at Milk & Honey in 2005 on the gin-based Casino (sort of an Aviation with orange bitters and no violette) originating from Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks. In the glass, the Adderly opened up with nutty cherry and rye aromas. Next, lemon and cherry notes on the sip stepped aside for rye and cherry flavors on the swallow with an orange finish. Overall, the combination reminded me of a less herbal Final Ward.

sparrow

2 oz Gale Force Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/4 oz Maple Syrup
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1/8 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Wednesdays ago, I decided to make a drink from an online collection of recipe flashcards from Cook & Brown in Providence. The one I selected was the Sparrow from their Fall 2012 menu, and its combination of gin, maple, apricot liqueur, and allspice dram reminded me of Ames Street Deli's Gin Cobbler so I was intrigued; moreover, the maple-apricot combination is one that dates back to the 1940s with the Euthanasia from Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion. Once assembled, the Sparrow flew to the nose with apricot, allspice, and pine aromas. Next, lime and maple on the sip landed on gin, apricot, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

oh, sherrie

1 1/4 oz Amontillado Sherry
1/2 oz D'Usse VSOP Cognac
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz St. George Spiced Pear Liqueur
1/4 oz Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a dehydrated piece of pear on a pick hanging off the glass.Two Tuesdays ago, I ventured down to Backbar to try another drink off of their Mix Tape menu. The one I selected was Oh, Sherrie by Sam Treadway in honor of the 1984 Steve Perry solo recording post departing Journey. A few moments after bartender Jesse Lane made my drink, I had a chance to talk to Sam about his creation; the most amusing part was how he latched on to the song lyric "holds on" and made the hanging garnish mirror that using a bamboo cocktail skewer. In the glass, the Oh, Sherry welcomed the nose with dried fruit and pear aromas. Next, grape, pineapple, and orchard fruit notes on the sip ventured into nutty sherry and herbal flavors on the swallow with a tart, tangy, and allspice finish.

stenton

1 1/2 oz Scotch (1 oz Famous Grouse + 1/2 oz Cutty Sark Prohibition)
1/2 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1/8 oz Lemon Juice

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe pre-rinsed with mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte), and garnish with an orange peel-cherry flag.Two Mondays ago, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database when I came across the Stenton by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles in 2014 that he described as "an aromatic, slow-sipping version of the Blood & Sand." Once prepared, the Stenton showcased an orange, caramel, grape, and smoke bouquet. Next, grape, caramel, and dark cherry notes on the sip flowed into Scotch, dark orange, herbal, and cherry flavors on the swallow.

flowers of st. francis

1 1/2 oz Citadelle Gin
1/2 oz St. Elder Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Acidified Rosemary Syrup (*)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1/4 oz Lemon Juice
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 oz Whole Milk

The above is for a single drink and scaled according to need. Combine all but the milk, add the milk, and gently stir. Strain through a coffee filter. Add the first third or so that passes through back into the filter but gently so as not to disturb the curd bed (I utilize a ladle). Repeat with the first third re-strain if it is not clear enough. Bottle and refrigerate. Serve over ice in a double old fashioned glass and garnish with a short sprig of rosemary.
(*) A 1:1 syrup with 1 gram citric acid per ounce (~3% or around half the strength of lemon juice). In a pinch, add an extra 1/4 oz lemon juice if not using acidified.At Josephine, we were in need of another clarified milk punch batch since my co-worker who started making them had left and their last bottle was just opened. I had made a few clarified milk punches back in 2010 right after Drink revived the style in Boston in 2009 with their Hibiscus White Rum Milk Punch; the two recipes that I created and recorded here were the Coffee Milk Punch and the Wu Wei Milk Punch. For a starting point, I looked in our restaurant's walk-in, and with it being winter, I was not inspired by what I saw. I then turned to the modern classics and a housemade syrup. I was inspired by Misty Kalkofen's Bohemian, Paul Clarke's Dunniette, Drink's Dejeuner, and how well rosemary, gin, and grapefruit combine. The Peychuad's Bitters from the Bohemian was my final addition when the combination of gin, elderflower, aperol, rosemary, grapefruit, and lemon still seemed a little flat, and that trick worked once again. Once I prepared a small batch, I showcased the result and got approval; for a name, I suggested a Fellini movie title, and this one became dubbed the Flowers of St. Francis.

Update 7/11/26: The drink I created in January 2024 is still on the menu in July 2026. It was originally critiqued as either too Spring or Summery by one manager, yet has lasted over 2 1/2 years through all the seasons without coming off the menu.

palisades

1 1/2 oz Laird's Jersey Lightning (Copper & Kings Unaged Apple Brandy)
1 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Varnelli Caffè Moka (Glliano Ristretto)

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make the Palisades that I spotted in an online collection of Dutch Kills bar recipes. The drink created by Matty Clark in 2016 utilized the pairing of Cynar and coffee liqueur seen in the Sissy Gun, Lake Union, and Fair Trade but here with an unaged apple brandy. In the glass, the Palisades met the nose with orange, coffee, and roast aromas. Next, caramel and roast notes on the sip flowed into apple, coffee, caramel, vegetal, roasty, and minty flavors on the swallow.

café racer

1 1/2 oz Park VS Cognac (Du Peyrat Selection)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Giffard Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a dried apricot on a pick.Two Fridays ago, I spotted the Bar & Restaurant News article on brandy where my Algiers Point was published. Amongst the other recipes, the Café Racer by Jesse Cyr at Heritage Steak & Whiskey in Woodmere, Ohio, stood out. The name most likely refers to a sports motorcycle style popular with British riders in the early 1960s. I was drawn in for the combination of apricot liqueur and orgeat dates back to at least 1937 via the Yellow Mist and appears in several tropical-style drinks like the East Somerville Sour, Lightning Swords of Death, and Apricole Swizzle. Here, the Café Racer showcased a nutty, earthy, apricot, and allspice aroma. Next, a creamy lemon sip sped into brandy, apricot, almond, and clove flavors on the swallow.

fluorescent grey

2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida (Peloton)
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Cynar

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe pre-rinsed with Pernod Absinthe (Kübler).When I posted about the Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co.'s rum-based Dead Moon, someone on Instagram commented that it was like their Fluorescent Grey with mezcal and that both were created by bartender Colin Shearn. That pushed me to find the recipe via online flashcards and narrow down the date to an article about the menu launch in February 2013. Two Thursdays ago, the Fluorescent Grey that I assembled provided an anise, vegetal, and smoke aroma. Next, caramel on the sip bloomed into vegetal, herbal, and smoke flavors on the swallow with an anise finish.