treaty of paris

1 oz Knob Creek Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Ambre Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1/4 oz Licor 43
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a cherry and a lemon twist.Two Fridays ago, I came across an online recipe flashcard set for the Baldwin & Sons Trading Co. in Woburn, MA, and I decided to make the Treaty of Paris. While this drink appears on their current menu, I found a menu photo that places it as early March 2017. The combination of Lustau East India Solera Sherry and Licor 43 is one favored by the Eastern Standard crew in the Black Douglas and Ponce de Leon; moreover, Equal Measure utilized that with the addition of Averna in their Velveteen. Once prepared, the Treaty of Paris brought forth lemon, Cognac, and nutty sherry aromas to the nose. Next, a grape-driven sip stepped aside for Bourbon, Cognac, raisin, citrus, vanilla, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

hamilton the hipster

3/4 oz Fords Gin
3/4 oz Mulassano Bianco Vermouth (Dolin)
3/4 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Cynar

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Thursdays ago, I decided to make a drink that I had bookmarked from Robert Simonson's Substack called Hamilton the Hipster created at Brooklyn's Grand Army circa 2021. Simonson had attributed the recipe to general manager Ally Marrone, but Ally commented on my Instagram that it was the work of bartender Jon Nutter, and Jon replied that it was a collaborative effort with bartender Robby Dow. Jon described how, "I was messing around with a version 1.5 [oz] gin and .75 [oz] of the modifiers, and Robby proposed letting the bitters shine more. Loved the body on this drink!" The bar's Instagram describes how "Hamilton the Hipster is our seasonal gin Negroni with notes of spiced apple and cola using Cynar, Cardamaro, and bianco vermouth. Inspired by the internet sensation @hamilton_the_hipster_cat and his luscious mustache." Besides a cat-themed drink being pretty cool, I was curious for Cardamaro and Cynar was a duo that I utilized in the Goblins Turned to Stone. In the glass, Hamilton the Hipster welcomed the nose with grapefruit, plum, and herbal aromas. Next, a grape and caramel sip curled up into gin, funky herbal, and cola flavors on the swallow.

bumbo

1 1/2 oz Aged Rum (R.L. Seale 10 Year)
1/4 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Varnelli Punch Fantasia
2 dash Scrappy's Lime Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I stopped into a local liquor store on my way home, and I spotted a possibly mismarked price sign for Punch Fantasia at the undervalued price of $18 for the liter. While I did not know of too many recipes to make with it, it was too good of a price to pass up. Punch Fantasia is an unusual liqueur with caramelized fruits, citrus peel, toffee, vanilla, roasted coffee, and nut flavors and aromas infused into a rhum agricole base. When I got home, I was able to find an Imbibe article from 2019 with a trio of recipes, and I honed in on the Bumbo by Sother Teague at Amor y Amaro in Manhattan. I merged that drink spec with his 2016 Instagram post which had the addition of Smith & Cross and a grapefruit twist. In the glass, the Bumbo shared a grapefruit, butterscotch, and pecan nose. Next, caramel notes on the sip sailed into funky rum, hazelnut, and lime flavors on the swallow.

barley & gold

2 oz Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1/2 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur (Suze)
1/2 oz Carpano Bianco Vermouth (Dolin)
1/8 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane
1/8 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Saline (4 drop 20%)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Another drink that I had spotted in the 2020 Community Cocktails book put out by the Seattle bartending community was the Barley & Gold by Adam Aly at the Stampede Cocktail Club. The Irish whiskey, vermouth, and gentian liqueur combo was one that I have enjoyed since the Second Wife at Local 149 back in 2013, so I was game to give one with blanc vermouth and light accents of banana and Yellow Chartreuse a go. In the glass, the Barley & Gold showcased a herbal and floral bouquet. Next, a semi-sweet sip flowed into whiskey and gentian herbal flavors on the swallow with a hint of banana on the finish.

three ways out

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Blanc Vermouth (Dolin)
1 oz Amaro Nonino

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Mondays ago, I ventured back to the online recipe flashcards for the menu-less speakeasy, Idlewild in Charlotte, North Carolina. There, I was lured in by the Three Ways Out that reminded me of a blanc vermouth for Lustau East India Solera Sherry and mole bitters version of the Hawthorne's Under the Volcano. Once prepared, the Three Ways Out greeted the senses with orange, vegetal, and smoky aromas. Next, caramel and white grape on the sip bloomed into vegetal, orange, and smoky flavors on the swallow.

the ruthorford

1 1/2 oz Knob Creek Bourbon (Four Roses Small Batch)
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti
1/2 oz Amaro Nardini
1/4 oz Benedictine

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays prior, I returned to the 2020 Community Cocktails book and spotted a recipe from the late, great Murray Stenson at the Zig Zag Café in Seattle. That drink was the Rutherford which came across like a 3 liqueur Black Manhattan, and I was able to spot it in a 2017 menu photo on Yelp and also uncovered elsewhere that it was named after another bartender. Perhaps that bartender is the one who was mentioned in a 2012 Jeffrey Morgenthaler interview in FineEatDrink, "One of my favorite bars is also one of Murray Stenson's favorite bars, the Clinton Street Pub, and it's a great dive. They've got a great bartender named Phil Rutherford." In the glass, the Ruthorford launched off with bright orange oil, caramel dark orange, and violet floral aromas. Next, caramel and dark orange peel notes on the sip flowed into Bourbon, brown sugar, herbal, and orange flavors on the swallow.

the alligator

2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lime wheel.Two Saturdays ago, I was researching a Fernet Branca recipe when Google led me to the Alligator on the The Educated Barfly's February 2023 post and video. The drink was attributed to Dante Wheat of the Neat Bourbon Bar in Louisville, Kentucky, as perhaps his take on a Jägerita (Jägermeister, Cointreau, lime, simple). The combination of Fernet Branca and orange liqueur was one that I encountered years ago in the Alcazer from Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933 that inspired me to make a citrus spin of it with the Ali-Frazier. I later found an earlier Fernet-orange liqueur combination in Louis' Mixed Drinks from 1906 with the Fernet Cocktail. Here, that combination with lime and cinnamon syrup began with a lime, caramel, minty, and herbal aroma. Next, lime, orange, and caramel notes on the sip snapped at caramel, bitter herbal, menthol, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow. Overall, I was amazed at how much the Fernet dampened my robust batch of cinnamon syrup on the balance.

firebreak

1 1/2 oz Mezcal Verde Momento (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Estancia Raicilla (Balam)
1/2 oz Giffard Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 tsp St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Fridays ago, I returned to the online flashcard sets for Dear Irving in Manhattan, and there I spotted the Firebreak from their Spring 2021 menu that would finally make use of my dusty bottle of raicilla. Raicilla is a "mezcal" produced in the tequila-centric state of Jalisco, and the quotes around the style are due to the fact that Jalisco is not legally sanctioned to make mezcal. I purchased that small bottle at the Guadalajara airport back in 2016 and was able to smuggle it into my bag of duty-free purchases, and I had only opened it for a taste and never a cocktail. A few years after that trip, Raicilla has become easier to purchase in this country, and thus craft recipes utilizing it began to appear. The Firebreak was essentially an Agave Old Fashioned akin to the Oaxacan Old Fashioned but instead of agave syrup, it was with the sweetener of apricot and allspice liqueurs that I had tried in drinks like the Sass Mouth and Pleasure Island. Once prepared, the Firebreak opened up with a grapefruit, vegetal, apricot, smoke, and allspice bouquet. Next, orchard fruit notes on the sip ignited into vegetal, smoky, apricot, and allspice flavors on the swallow. Indeed, the concept came across like a fruity Oaxacan Old Fashioned.

place de la concorde

1 3/4 oz Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
2 dash Peach Bitters (Fee Brothers)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with both an orange and a lemon twist.Two Thursdays ago, I returned to A Quick Drink: The Speed Rack Guide to Winning Cocktails for Any Mood by Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix for ideas of that night's drink. There, I latched on to the Place de la Concorde as 2015 Speed Rack winner Brittini Rae Peterson's take on a Cognac Manhattan. The idea of a Manhattan-style drink with Punt e Mes and maple fondly reminded me of the Burlington at the Citizen, so I was curious to try the combination again. Once prepared, the Place de la Concorde opened up with an orange, lemon, maple, and Cognac bouquet. Next, grape notes and maple's richness on the sip gave way to Cognac, bitter herbal, and peach flavors on the swallow.