elected official

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur (Luxardo)
3 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Tuesdays ago, my Instagram friend Tim Kirkland posted a drink called the Elected Official. At first, I figured it was an election day thing until he described how it was a tribute to me. He explained that when I post drinks on Instagram that he wants to remake, he jokes with comments like "Frederic Yarm for President." Here, I felt like he was imitating my style a bit sort of like how I ripped off Jason Alexander's style in my 2020 election night drink the Doomscroller or studied my Secret Santé 2022 pick's favorite ingredients to craft The Phrasemaker. Indeed, the 3:1 rye to mezcal with 2 dashes of mole bitters is one that I use a lot such as in the Vaquero, and I definitely love Maraschino especially in stirred drinks. While I do not reach for Nonino much in my own creations, everything else is very much in my wheelhouse. Once assembled, the Elected Official cast out an orange, caramel, smoky, vegetal, and nutty cherry aroma. Next, caramel and a hint of cherry on the sip led into rye, smoke, nutty cherry, orange, vegetal, and chocolate flavors on the swallow. This combination definitely yielded a good number of layers of flavor.

tammany hall

1 oz Redbreast Irish Whiskey (Teeling Small Batch)
1 oz Bols Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, garnish with lemon oil from a twist and a cherry. Two Mondays ago after making the No Bye/No Aloha, I selected a nightcap from the KindredCocktails database called Tammany Hall. It was not the century's old Tammany that is a rye Manhattan with Yvette and noyaux accents, but a split base Irish whiskey-Genever Manhattan with Benedictine created by New York City bartender Rafa Garcia Febles circa 2013. The combination of two spirits, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, and bitters reminded me of Death & Taxes (and later Mergers & Acquisitions); therefore, I was curious to give this one a go. In the glass, Tammany Hall ruled on a lemon, malty, and grape aroma. Next, grape and malty notes on the sip passed an order for Irish whiskey, malty Genever, herbal, wormwood, and clove flavors on the swallow.

no bye/no aloha

1 1/2 oz Fords Gin
1/2 oz Dr. Bird Jamaican Rum (Smith & Cross)
1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau Amontillado)
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/4 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Velvet Falernum
1/4 oz Ginger Syrup
2 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)

Whip shake, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with tropical effects (mint and a nasturtium flower). I was a bit too tired two Sundays ago after celebrating surviving the morning bar of the Cambridge Half Marathon (we could not serve until 10am so we already had rows of people waiting to get their first drink) as well as later toasting my final shift at the C-Side Bar, so I skipped making a drink that night. Therefore, I made two drinks on that Monday with the first being the No Bye/No Aloha from Lost Lake in Chicago that the bar published right after they closed up. This reference to a song by The Breeders seemed to be a Saturn riff with the addition of rum (I did have a rum riff call the Janus recently), sherry, ginger syrup, bitters and absinthe; true, that is just as many ingredients added as the Saturn itself contains but the vibe is still there for me. Once prepared, the No Bye/No Aloha gave forth mint aromas over nutty sherry and rum funk ones from underneath. Next, lemon and grape notes from the sip departed with a rock promoter and left behind pine, funky rum, ginger, passion fruit, allspice, and anise flavors on the swallow.

arrow through me

1 oz Gin (Tree House's Hildegard Von Bingen)
1 oz Amaro Pasubio
1 oz Cocchi Americano

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon (orange) twist. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan, and there I landed upon the Arrow Through Me by Andrew Cordero at Seneca in San Diego circa 2022. I was drawn in by the lightly bitter and fruity Negroni style, and I am always looking for uses for my bottle of the blueberry vino amaro Pasubio. Here, the Arrow Through Me landed with a pine, woody spice, and blueberry aroma. Next, berry and grapefruit notes on the sip released pine, blueberry, herbal, and gentian flavors on the swallow.

dad bod

1 oz Pig's Nose Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
3/4 oz Angostura Bitters
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/4 oz Orgeat

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Fridays ago, I decided to make the Dad Bod that I found in a set of online recipe flashcards from The Violet Hour's Spring/Summer 2023 menu. I decided to finally make it for it has the heavy Angostura Bitters, Cherry Heering, and lemon juice that I first tried in the Death or Glory that I recently republished in my The Clash cocktail biopic and just utilized in my Blood & Sand riff called the Rogue's Romance. Once shaken and strained, the Dad Bod gave forth an orange, allspice, and clove aroma. Next, creamy lemon and molasses notes on the sip stepped aside for Scotch, cherry, orange, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

razorgrass

1 1/2 oz Rhum JM 100° Rhum Agricole
1/2 oz St. George Absinthe
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Homemade Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
5 drop Saline Solution (20%)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a snifter (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with mint sprigs and a spritz of absinthe (5-6 drops). Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a recipe by Andrew Boimila that he posted to Facebook's Tiki Recipes group called the Razorgrass. Andrew created the drink in 2023 during his time at Wusong Road in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he was going to be competing with it in a cocktail competition soon in Rhode Island. The rhum agricole, absinthe, and orgeat trio was one that I used in my Mai Tai Suissesse for an absinthe competition years ago; the trio worked great but it was less intentional than this for it was the result of mashing up two classics. Once mixed, the Razorgrass offered up mint and star anise aromas. Next, a creamy lemon sip cruised into grassy, anise, herbal, and almond flavors on the swallow.

dark hand

2 oz Aged Dark Rum (Dos Maderas 5+5)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
3/8 oz Amaro Lucano
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Wednesdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion by Michael and Zara Madrusan, and there I spotted the Dark Hand by Yao Wong at The Elysian in Melbourne circa 2020. I figured that the recipe would be a good inaugural use for the aged rum finished in sherry casks, Dos Maderas 5+5, that I was sent as a sample along with a bottle of Spanish brandy and a bottle of Bauchant orange liqueur. Perhaps the name is a reference to the Right Hand but made dark by the rum choice as well as Amaro Lucano in place of Campari. Once mixed, the Dark Hand waved to the nose with an orange, caramel, and sherry grape aroma. Next, a semi-sweeet grape and caramel sip gave way to dark rum, nutty, dark orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

rogue's romance

1 oz Smoky Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1 oz Cherry Heering
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Angostura Bitters
1 Orange Peel approx. 3/4"x3" or 1"x2"

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. After thinking about the Death or Glory that I republished in the The Clash cocktail biopic article, I became inspired to tinker with the structure. The drink's Cherry Heering made me think of the Blood & Sand and I later dubbed the end result after another of Rudolph Valentino's movies, namely the Rogue's Romance. I opted for lemon instead of Blood & Sand's orange to mirror Johann Goes to Mexico and the Trinidad Sour, and after making it once, I decided to include a regal shake with an orange peel to add back some elegant notes found in the classic. Once made the second time with the orange peel in the shake, the Rogue's Romance served up a peat smoke, red fruit, orange, and clove bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon and caramel notes on the sip blossomed into smoky Scotch, cherry, clove, and orange flavors on the swallow.

el burladero

2 oz Spanish Brandy (Gran Duque d'Alba)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Borghetti)
1/8 oz Cane Syrup (Sirop JM)
2 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Another recipe that I wanted to make with my sample bottle of Gran Duque d'Alba was a recipe on the Bartender's Choice app that called for Spanish brandy named El Burladero. The drink was created by Brandon Bramhall at Attaboy's Nashville branch in 2018, and a burladero is a wooden panel in a bullring near the wall to offer a safe space for bullfighters. Since coffee liqueur and Fernet have worked well in the Queen Village, Mount Makana, and Don't Flip Out, I was curious to see how it would modify a sherry-driven brandy. In the glass, El Burladero gave forth orange, sherry, coffee, and mint aromas. Next, grape and roast notes on the sip eluded brandy, nutty, coffee, menthol, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.