bastard's sour

2 oz Planteray Xaymaca Jamaican Rum
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1 oz Lemon Juice
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Tiki mug, and garnish with a mint sprig, orchid, and snow-like powdered sugar (orange slice and cherry). Two Saturdays ago, I was in the mood for something tropical, so I searched my list of interesting recipes from the Geeki Tiki site. The one that called out to me was the Bastard's Sour crafted by Jason Alexander, a/k/a Tiki Commando, at the Devil's Reef in Tacoma, Washington. The recipe was included in the company's Jon Snow mug and was subtitled "Cheers to the king in the north!" Given the name, I thought about the Suffering Bastard, but on paper, it was closer to an Eastern Sour and a Scorpion Bowl. Instead of that recipe, the first part of the name derives from Jon Snow being the bastard son of Eddard Stark, Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North in The Game of Thrones. Once prepared, the Bastard's Sour welcomed the senses with an orange, nutty, and dark rum aroma. Next, a creamy lemon and orange sip developed into funky rum, orange peel, floral, and nutty flavors on the swallow.

carajillo old fashioned

1 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/4 oz Coffee Liqueur (Mr. Black)
1/4 oz Licor 43

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with 3 coffee beans. On Instagram, I noticed a few friends posting about two similar drinks called the Carajillo Old Fashioned. The Carajillo is a drink created in Spain that moved to Latin America, and it consists of espresso or coffee mixed with Licor 43 (or sometimes a coffee liqueur or spirit). The one I selected led to The Educated Barfly where host Leandro DiMonriva found it in The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book that attributed it to Sean O'Connor-Combes at J & Tony's Discount Cured Meats and Negroni Warehouse in San Diego in 2022. The other recipe floating around is one that Jordan Hughes, the High Proof Preacher, came up with in 2025 that uses reposado tequila, a little more Licor 43, and bitters, but I opted for the older recipe. While I have tried a Carajillo and a stirred espresso-laden variation before, the closest recipe to this on the blog is the Raining on 110th St. that is a rye Manhattan with accents of Licor 43 and coffee. In the glass, the 2022-era Carajillo Old Fashioned launched off with a coffee and vanilla bouquet. Next, a roast-driven sip landed on rye, brandy, vanilla, citrus, and bitter coffee flavors on the swallow.

hi-tide boogie

1 1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum
1/4 oz Don's Spices #2 (1/8 oz Vanilla Syrup + 1/8 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton's))
1/4 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
1 oz Lime Juice

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a TIki mug, and garnish with a mint sprig (swizzle stick). Two Thursdays ago, I spotted a reference to the Hi-Tide Boogie by Justin Wojslaw at the Diller Room in Seattle that I traced back to Andy Boimila's Mixing Up Tiki channel on YouTube. Justin named this after the rockabilly and surf music studio Hi-Tide Recordings. The cinnamon and Don's Spices #2 combination reminded me of the classic Nui Nui and Colonel Tiki's (And) Knobs is Thirteen, and cinnamon and passion fruit are a natural duo that I last tried in the Pagan Punch a few short weeks ago. In the mug, the Hi-Tide Boogie swept in with dark rum, vanilla, and cinnamon aromas. Next, grapefruit, lime, and caramel notes on the sip receded into burly rum, vanilla, passion fruit, and cinnamon flavors on the swallow.

bar room brauler

1 1/2 oz Brandy (Courvoisier VS Cognac)
3/4 oz Amaro Braulio
3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed). Two Wednesdays ago, I spotted on my Instagram feed, a drink called the Bar Room Brauler. I was able to track down the recipe to Coach Vino's YouTube where he posted it in a video of three Braulio drinks that included my As I Lay Dying; Coach Vino attributed this amari-laden drink to Brandon Lockman at Red Star Tavern in Portland, Oregon. Braulio and Montenegro have appeared together in the Bourbon cocktail Spaghetti Western from Urban Grub in Nashville, so I was curious to try this brandy version. When the Bar Room Brauler geared up to fight, it hit the nose with an orange aroma rounded out by Cognac's richness. Next, caramel and orange notes on the sip sidestepped the Cognac, pine, clementine, and bitter herbal flavors on the swallow.

perfectionist

2 oz Woodford Reserve Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/2 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
2 dash Woodford Sassafras Sorgham Bitters (The Bitter Queens Sarsparilla)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe or rocks glass (coupe), and garnish with a lemon twist and a cherry. Two Tuesdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set for Cork & Cow in Franklin, Tennessee, and was lured in by the Perfectionist as a curious Manhattan riff. An article in Visit Franklin has the drink mentioned in 2017. The combination reminded me at first of the Hoots Mon from the Savoy Cocktail Book but that was sweet vermouth instead of sweet sherry not to mention Scotch instead of Bourbon. I later made the connection with the Manhattan Harbor Co. that Carlo Caroscio crafted for me at Backbar that utilized a semi-sweet cream sherry along with the Bourbon and Cocchi Americano (instead of Lillet). Once stirred and strained, the Perfectionist came forth to the nose with a lemon and raisin bouquet. Next, sweet raisin on the sip gave way to Bourbon, raisin, grapefruit, and root beer flavors on the swallow.

washington cocktail

50% Gin (1 1/2 oz Ford's)
50% Sherry (1 1/2 oz Lustau Manzanilla)
1 bsp Pineapple Syrup (1/4 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Mondays ago, I spotted the Washington Cocktail in the 1936 Italian book 1000 Misture that referenced Adolphe Torelli's 1927 book 900 Recettes de Cocktails et Boissons Américanes. The combination of gin, sherry, and pineapple syrup reminded me of the dry vermouth for sherry Madame Lou from Boothby's 1934 World Drinks and How to Mix Them that inspired me to create the Diamond Queen for Tales of the Cocktail's Martini-themed competition in 2017. Here, the Washington Cocktail donated orange, pine, almond, and pineapple aromas to the nose. Next, a crisp wine sip with a hint of pineapple sweetness flowed into juniper, almond, and pineapple flavors on the swallow.

the witch doctor

3/4 oz Angostura Bitters
3/4 oz Mezcal Union Uno (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Lunazul Blanco Tequila (Cimarron)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice 

1/2 oz Honey 3:1 (3/4 oz 1:1)
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a big ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Sundays ago, I opened up my copy of The Bartender's Manifesto by Toby Maloney and Emma Janzen and spotted the Angostura-heavy The Witch Doctor by Patrick Smith at The Violet Hour in 2018. Patrick noted how orange oils and honey soothed Angostura's baking spice notes, and perhaps this worked just as good as the orgeat in the Trinidad Sour. The closest recipe to this that comes to mind is the Johann Goes to Mexico that includes an agave spirit base but lacks the honey aspect (although Demerara syrup has a bit of roundness to it). In the glass, The Witch Doctor proffered orange and floral aromas. Next, lemon and molasses-caramel notes on the sip opened up into smoky vegetal, clove, and allspice flavors on the swallow with a honey finish.

verrazano

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Cynar
1 tsp Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spotted the Verrazano by Leo Robetscheck at Eleven Madison Park in Manhattan. This one is different from the other Manhattan variation Verrazano on here which is much less bitter and closer to Julie Reiner's Slope. Once prepared, this Verrazano showcased a lemon and dark grape aroma. Next, the grape continued on into the sip where it mingled with caramel notes from the Cynar, and the swallow followed up with Bourbon, herbal, vegetal, and smoky flavors.

the urban archaeologist

1 1/2 oz Dark Jamaican Rum (3/4 oz Coruba)
2 oz Demerera Rum (1/2 oz Lemon Hart 80° + 1/2 oz Diamond 151°)
2 oz Spanish-style Lightly Aged Rum (1 oz Prichard's Crystal)
1/2 oz Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)
2 oz Lime Juice (1 oz)
1 oz Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 1/2 oz Orange Juice (3/4 oz)
1 1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (3/4 oz)
1 oz Orgeat (1/2 oz)
1 oz Simple Syrup (1/2 oz)
6 dash Angostura Bitters (3 dash)

Pulse blend with 2 cups of crushed ice (whip shake with crushed ice), pour into a Tiki mug, and top with crushed ice.

Two Fridays ago, I was perusing recipes on The Atomic Grog when I landed on The Urban Archaeologist by blog author Jim Hayward in 2020 in honor of Sven Kirsten who made a study of retro style. As for the name, Punch described, "Sven Kirsten, a German-born cinematographer and self-described 'urban archeologist,' whose The Book of Tiki: The Cult of Polynesian Pop in Fifties America, published in 2000, is touted as a veritable bible within the genre." Since the drink was designed to fit in a 30 ounce mug of a cannibal taking a bite out of The Book of Tiki, I halved the volumes to fit into a 16 ounce mug as suggested by Jim on his site; I also took up his advice of splitting the Demerara rum into normal and overproof to help cut through the sweetness. On my Instagram, Jim commented "Also a fine tribute to Beachbum Berry's research." I returned to his blog where he expounded on that thought with, "If these ingredients seem familiar, it's because they're among those featured most often in the 80+ recipes in Jeff 'Beachbum' Berry's influential Grog Log (1998), the go-to resource for creating cocktails while we studied The Book of Tiki. Not surprisingly, The Urban Archaeologist tastes exactly like Grog Log should taste like. There's a ton of flavor, with an emphasis on the tart and sweet, but it's also perfectly balanced with the requisite bold and rummy backbone." Overall, the recipe reminded me most of one of the drinks from Berry's collection, the Cocoanut Grove Cooler, with the orange juice, curaçao, passion fruit, and orgeat components, so it was definitely in Jim's intended ballpark for flavor. Once assembled, The Urban Archaeologist uncovered an orange and passion fruit aroma. Next, a creamy orange and lime sip dusted off dark funky rums, passion fruit, almond, and allspice flavors on the swallow.