sunakora zombie

1 oz Demerara 151° Dark Rum (Diamond Reserve)
1 oz Jamaican Dark Rum (Coruba)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 tsp Grenadine
2 dash Angostura Bitters
4 drop Herbsaint

Flash blend (whip shake) with crushed ice, pour into a Zombie glass (Tiki mug), top with crushed ice, and garnish with mint. Two Tuesdays ago, I scanned the recipe section of The Atomic Grog blog, and I was inspired by the Sunakora Zombie by Don the Beachcomber. The Atomic Grog blog found the recipe in the Sunny Sund: The Woman Behind Don the Beachcomber, Inc. book and adapted it as such. The blog described it as, "A hybrid Zombie that manages to be equally sweet, spicy and strong. It features many of the hallmark ingredients of the 1934 original, plus the passion fruit of the 1950 version, ...but it's still a Zombie and should be approached with caution... and great anticipation." Overall, it had the passion fruit, grenadine, falernum, Angostura, and Herbsaint/absinthe aspect of the Cobra's Fang, so I was intrigued. Once assembled, the Sunakora Zombie arose with mint and passion fruit aromas. Next, lime, passion fruit, and caramel notes on the sip sauntered forward towards funky and woody rum, passion fruit, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

highland diver

2 oz Blended Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Coconut Cream (Coco Lopez)
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a tropical mug, fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a pineapple wedge (omit) and freshly grated nutmeg. Two Mondays ago, I had spotted a reference to the Highland Diver at Clover Club in Brooklyn, and I was able to find a more recent recipe for it in Imbibe. The magazine attributed the drink to bartender Ryan Liloia as a riff on the classic Pearl Diver. While the article was new, I was able to find a photo of the Highland Diver on Yelp as far back as 2016 and a recipe on the Whisky Advocate in 2018. The idea of a Scotch Piña Colada variation reminded me of A Scotsman in Paradise that I had enjoyed only a few weeks prior. In the mug, the Highland Diver showcased a nutmeg aroma. Next, a creamy, pineapple, honey, and lemon sip switched places with Scotch, coconut, pineapple, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

green run

1 1/2 oz Broker's Gin (Treehouse Percy's)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with cubed ice, and garnish with mint. Two Sundays prior, I returned to the online recipe flashcards for Bastion in Nashville and was lured in by the Green Run from their Spring 2022 menu; I was able to spot it in a menu photo on their Instagram during that time frame. With Braulio, honey, and citrus, the combination reminded me of the Golden Eagle that I crafted last December with mezcal. Once shake and strained, the Green Run proffered a mint, caramel, and pine bouquet to the nose. Next, lime and honey notes on the sip transitioned into pine, minty, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

sunday service

1 1/2 oz Tequila (equal split of Arette & Cimarron)
1/2 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
3 slice Cucumber

Shake with ice strain into a glass (the app photo shows an old fashioned glass with ice), and garnish with salted cucumber slices. With a cut open cucumber at hand, I perused the Bartender's Choice app for uses. There, I honed in on the Sunday Service by Jose Cardenas at Diamond Reef in NYC circa 2019 that was described as a "slightly bitter & agave take on the Falls Cocktail [Bourbon, lemon, ginger, mint, Angostura]." Since the Aperol-cucumber combination to conjur watermelon notes was fresh in my head from the Ghost Hardware, I was curious to try it with ginger. In the glass, the Sunday Service began with cucumber and vegetal aromas. Next, a lemon sip with hints of orange arose to tequila, ginger, and watermelon flavors on the swallow.

hanalei moon

1 1/2 oz Koana Kea Agricole Rum (Uruapan Charanda)
1/2 oz Fed Street Gin (Tanqueray Malacca)
1/2 oz Strega
1 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Coconut Cream (Coco Lopez)
1/2 oz Honey-Ginger Syrup (fat 1/4 oz each Honey Syrup & Ginger Syrup)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
4 dash Absinthe (24 drop St. George)
1 pinch Seat Salt (4 drop 20% Saline)

Whip shake and pour into a pineapple glass (coconut Tiki mug). The earlier garnish instructions were mint and an orchid and later ones were pandan, lemon wedge, and basil sprig (mint sprigs and ornamental pea blossoms). Two Fridays ago, I was in a tropical mood, so I revisited the online recipe flashcards for Skull & Crown Trading Co. in Honolulu, and I was able to find the Hanalei Moon in two sets of different vintages. I found Yelp photos as early as 2023, and it appears on the current menu. One Yelp review described it as "a spicier Piña Colada on steroids. Delicious." Perhaps the drink was named after the popular 1974 Bob Nelson song that describes the beauty of Hanalei Bay on the island of Kauai and that later frequently got covered by other artists. Once prepared with the older garnish set, the Hanalei Moon rose to the senses with mint over coconut and rum funk aromas. Next, a creamy lime and pineapple sip cast a glow on funky rum, star anise, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

mexico navy

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Arette)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Thursdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted in Punch called the Mexico Navy as a riff on the classic Army & Navy Cocktail that was updated by Jordan Valls at Palomar in Portland, Oregon. Jordan swapped in tequila and lime for the gin and lemon plus added ginger as a spice (or in place of the Angostura Bitters that later found its way into the recipe -- see the blog post link above for more on that) to the classic first mentioned in the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book and first published recipe-wise in David Embury's 1948 The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. Overall, it read like a ginger Infante, so why not give it a whirl? Once prepared, the Mexican Navy sailed to the nose with a ginger, agave, and hint nutty aroma. Next, a creamy lime sip dropped anchor to mineral-vegetal tequila, almond, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

m&m colada

1 1/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 1/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
1 1/4 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Coco Lopez Cream of Coconut
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned or Tiki mug, top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon. After writing up the Piña Verde for the blog earlier in the day, I began to wonder what other Piña Colada riffs had not been done. I have previously had a variety of unique riffs like the Ferrari Colada, so I wondered why not an M&M (Mezcal-Montenegro) Colada? I had already had success tinkering with the mezcal-Montenegro motif in the Trash Vaudeville and Oaxacan Lady and a bit more abstractly in the Songs My Mother Taught Me, so away I crafted. Since Montenegro has clementine-cinnamon notes, I figured that bolstering that spice aspect with cinnamon syrup and a cinnamon dust garnish would work, and mezcal drinks are frequently better with molé bitters. I worked with the Piña Verde's lime juice-containing recipe skeleton to craft the M&M Colada. Once mixed, it offered up a cinnamon bouquet to the nose. Next, a creamy pineapple and lime sip worked its way into vegetal, smoky, clementine, coconut, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

happy/sad girl

2 oz Blanco Tequila (Tequila Arette)
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)

Shake with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice (coupe), top with a splash of soda water (omit), and garnish with a lime wheel and/or candied ginger (candied ginger only). Two Tuesdays ago, Carey Jones' Brookyln Bartender book caught my eye, and I soon found the Happy/Sad Girl by Katherine Pangaro at No. 7 in Brooklyn. The recipe has the same amazing combination of ginger syrup-Maraschino liqueur that I learned about in the New Rider from that same book (technically, first in the One for Jimmy that used a housemade ginger beer years before that) and that I utilized in my Who Killed Mr. Moonlight? as a result. In the glass, the Happy/Sad Girl welcomed the senses with a nutty cherry, ginger, and tequila aroma. Next, lime and cherry notes on the sip transformed into agave and nutty cherry-ginger flavors on the swallow.

aztec warrior

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Coconut Cream (Coco Lopez)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Ancho Reyes Chile Liqueur
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), top with crushed ice, and garnish with freshly grated cinnamon. Two Mondays ago, I recalled that there were unmade cream of coconut recipes in Chad Austin's Everyone Has a F*cking Cocktail Book, and there I found the Aztec Warrior. Since Ancho Reyes paired well with coffee liqueur in three previous drinks – namely, Nighthawks, Cafe Lunaire, and Bonfires of the Vanities, I was curious to see how it would work in a cream of coconut direction. In the Tiki mug, it proffered a cinnamon aroma from the freshly grated garnish. Next, creamy lime and roast notes on the sip were attacked by smoky vegetal, roast pepper, coffee, and pepper spice flavors on the swallow.