good john

2 oz Jameson Irish Whiskey
1/2 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/4 oz Maraschino Liqueur
2 dash Bitter Truth's Jerry Thomas Decanter Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

On Monday night after Eastern Standard, we went over to the Citizen Public House for a nightcap. The bar had just opened a few days before and we learned through Twitter that Sean Frederick was at the stick, so we stopped on by. The drink I picked was the Good John which was pretty much the Irish whiskey and lemon facsimile of the Old Tom gin and lime Emerson Cocktail. I was partially drawn to it for after spending several days in Ireland, I completely missed the chance to have Irish whiskey there. Perhaps, it was due to the fact that the two most widely available brands in Cork from the nearby Midleton Distillery are Powers and Jameson which are rather abundant here in Boston.
The Good John's nose was mainly lemon oil with a hint of Maraschino liqueur. The sip was a combination of the whiskey and lemon followed by the rich Carpano sweet vermouth and funky Maraschino on the swallow. The balance was surprisingly more on the drier side than I expected. Andrea went for a tequila drink on the menu named after bullfighter Miguel Espinosa's nickname "Armillita Chico."

While sipping our drinks, a motley crew of the New York chapter of the United States Bartending Guild (USBG) showed up as the Citizen was one of the later destinations of their day long barcrawl through Boston. While we did not try any of the Fernet Branca on tap (at $3 a shot, it is the cheapest in town), we were roped into a shot of Rittenhouse 100 Rye with some of the USBGNY members. Besides the Fernet tap, the Citizen is rather notable for its impressive list of whiskeys from across the country and around the world. Most of them, unlike the Rittenhouse and a few others, should be savored instead; the Citizen has an ice ball maker just for this purpose.

indian summer julep

1 oz Calvados
1 oz Old Monk Rum
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 barspoon Allspice Dram
2 sprig Mint

Muddle mint in a rocks glass. Add rest of the ingredients and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with a fresh sprig of mint, grated nutmeg, and straws.

On Monday, Andrea and I visited Eastern Standard for dinner and cocktails. One drink that caught my eye was on their menu's Calvados section called the Indian Summer Julep. With the temperature dropping closer each week to a killing frost temperature and thus threatening the local mint population, I figured that this could be my last chance to celebrate the beverage style until late spring next year (excluding imported and hothouse mint, that is). Bartender Hugh Fiore described how the drink was created on a recent Friday night perhaps by Kit Paschal, and it was such a hit that Jackson Cannon put it on the menu.
The julep started with an aroma of mint coupled with the freshly grated nutmeg. A rich rum and apple brandy sip gave way to cinnamon and allspice on the swallow. Moreover, the mint provided a lingering flavor that continued throughout the drinking experience. Andrea similarly had an autumnal drink, but hers fell outside of the Calvados section. The drink she asked Hugh Fiore to make for her from the menu was one of his originals:

Farm House Flip
• 1 1/2 oz Walnut-infused Whiskey
• 3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
• 1/2 oz Maple Syrup
• 2 dash Angostura Bitters
• 1 Egg
Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg. The walnut infusion was done for 48 hours.

Besides being rich and delicious, this flip contained a delightful walnut flavor from the infusion that complemented the sherry and maple syrup rather well.

maguey sour

2 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Orgeat (Trader Tiki)
1/2 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg and an orange twist.
Last Sunday night, I flipped through Food & Wine: Cocktails 2010 and spotted the Maguey Sour in Jacques Bezuidenhout's section of agave-based drinks. The drink initiated with a nose of mezcal, orange oil, and nutmeg; moreover, the mezcal and nutmeg aromas complemented each other rather well. The first few sips were mainly lemon and mezcal, and after that, the drink began to open up flavor-wise. At this point, the beginning of the sip was a combination of the citrus and orgeat that was followed by mezcal on the swallow. The swallow also contained a light degree of herbal complexity from the Benedictine which became more pronounced over time. Andrea thought that perhaps it was the increasing amount of nutmeg on the tongue that magnified the perception of the Benedictine.

french toast flip

1 oz Sweet Oloroso (Lustau Don Nuño Dry Oloroso)
1/2 oz Apple Brandy (Marquis de Saint-Loup Calvados)
1/2 oz Malt Whiskey (Ardmore Scotch)
1/2 oz Grade B Maple Syrup
1/4 oz Allspice Dram
2 dash Aromatic Bitters (Angostura)
1 Egg

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish liberally with freshly grated cinnamon.
On Saturday night, we ended up staying in after Andrea got home from the Boston Shaker rather late for she was helping to set up for the Crème Yvette speakeasy event for the following night. In order to unwind, I offered up the suggestion of making something from the Secret Sherry Society cocktail booklet. The flip created by Erick Castro from San Francisco's Rickhouse had been on my radar since we got the recipe book at Tales of the Cocktail in July, and it seemed like the perfect occasion. The drink lived up to its name of the "French Toast Flip" quite perfectly! The nose of the drink was similar to the breakfast -- cinnamon and maple. The sherry and the maltiness of the whiskey appeared at the beginning of the sip with the Scotch's smokiness and the Dram's allspice notes on the swallow. Once I hit the cinnamon on the egg froth, the spice began to permeate the whole drink from sip to swallow; on the swallow, the cinnamon then complemented the Allspice Dram rather well. While we did not possess a sweet oloroso (only dry), the drink was plenty sweet to our palates given the half ounce of maple syrup in the mix. Perhaps the drink did not taste like French toast at first, but after three or four sips, the flavors came together to give a pleasing yolky bread, maple, and cinnamon spice wholeness.

wildwood

2 oz Sazerac 6 Year Rye (*)
1/2 oz Housemade Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
2 dash Angostura Bitters
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
6 drop Pernod Absinthe

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Twist an orange peel over the top and drop in.

Just as I was finishing my first drink at Island Creek Oyster Bar, I gained a surprise drinking companion of Avery Glasser of the Bittermens Bitters. After speaking with Avery for a bit, bartender Bobby McCoy came by to talk drinks. When I inquired about the Wildwood, he commented that it was a Toronto meeting a Sazerac all with Red Hook proportions. He commented that the drink should be made with a bonded rye, but due to the Rittenhouse shortage, he was forced to substitute Sazerac Rye. Since my family once lived on a Wildwood Street, I was curious as to the name. Apparently, it must be a common street name for it is Bobby's family's address as well. The drink was created for the rehearsal dinner before his wedding as a tribute to where he and his friends used to drink. Those cocktails were made under the care of Bobby's father; alas, I did not realize that Bobby was a second generation bartender, but since he seems like such a natural at the stick, I am not surprised that it is in his blood.
The Wildwood began with an orange oil aroma with hints of Amaro Nonino and aniseseed. After a few sips, the cinnamon notes from the syrup became apparent on the nose. A malty rye sip was followed by cinnamon notes that were chased by a nice bitter finish. The absinthe in the Wildwood was present only as an accent, and the light hand in administering the dose paid off in that the drink was not overwhelmed by it.

Somewhere in the middle of drinking the Wildwood, Janet of the Bittermens joined our end of the bar. Soon after, it was time to move on to my next engagement -- my friend's mom's 70th birthday celebration up the street at the Chilton Club. There I discovered a bartender that could have used either of the McCoys' mentoring. What he lacked in recipe knowledge and bottles in front of him, he made up for enthusiasm to learn. Amongst the bottles of straight spirits and vermouths was a lone outlier -- a bottle of Campari! Quickly, I taught him how to make a Negroni; soon after, the other guests got wind of it and started ordering one after another. Even with building and free pouring on the rocks and with no orange twists, the drink was a success.

spanish caravan

1 oz Daron Calvados
1 oz Herradura Reposado Tequila
3/4 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a spiced dehydrated apple slice.

Last Friday I had the day off from work due to my business trip running Sunday to Thursday, and I decided to spend part of my afternoon at Kenmore Square's newest venue, the Island Creek Oyster Bar (the Citizen Pub did open more recently, but that is more in the Fenway region; anyways, we made a trip there as well two nights ago). Head bartender Bobby McCoy greeted me at my seat and walked me through some of the drinks on the menu. The Spanish Caravan, subtitled "From the Exotic to the Familiar," caught my eye and seemed like a good place to start.
Bobby described the interesting genesis of the drink. Jackson Cannon had come up with the idea of a seasonal apple chip as a garnish, and the cocktail itself came as an afterthought albeit a well executed one. The garnish, listed as "salted apple," was a thin slice sprinkled with salt, pepper, sugar, and Chinese 5 spice powder before being dehydrated. The apple and spice elements from the garnish paralleled the Calvados and Allspice Dram in the liquid portion. The nose was very apple-y with hints of sherry and tequila notes. The sip was a spiced apple from the tequila pairing with the brandy, and the swallow contained the sherry's grapeness and the liqueur's allspice flavors. Despite appearing in different parts of the sip, the tequila and allspice complemented each other splendidly. Moreover, the Calvados and sherry worked well together in a full bodied Marconi Wireless sort of way.

japanese punch

1 lump Sugar (1/2 oz Gomme Syrup)
Juice 1/2 Lime (1/2 oz)
1/2 jigger Batavia Arrack (3/4 oz van Oosten)
1/2 jigger Brandy (3/4 oz Martell VS)

Add ingredients to a cup (6 oz tea cup), fill with hot tea (3 oz strong green tea), and stir.

Two Saturdays ago right before I left for Ireland, we were in the mood for a nightcap. Andrea seemed to desire something in the hot toddy vein and found the Japanese Punch in George J. Kappeler's 1895 Modern American Drinks. Kappeler stated that this punch was usually served with cake; while we lacked dessert, we were still willing to give this one a try.
The punch's nose was mainly the Batavia Arrack with hints of something herbaceous and minty most likely from the tea. Lime and green tea on the sip were followed by Arrack notes on the swallow. Overall, the balance was a bit on the tart and astringent side due to the tea's tannins and the Arrack's harshness aiding and abetting the lime juice's crispness. If we had a slice or two of cake, this would not have been as much of an issue; perhaps increasing the sugar content to 3/4 or at most an ounce of simple syrup might improve the dessert-free presentation.

saturn

1 1/4 oz Gin (Bombay Dry)
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup (Trader Tiki)
1/4 oz Orgeat (Trader Tiki)
1/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)

Blend with 8 oz of ice and pour into a pilsner glass. Instead, I shook with ice and strained into a rocks glass filled with crushed ice and garnished with an orange slice.

On Thursday a week and a half ago, I was in the mood for something a little playful when searching for that night's cocktail. Therefore, I reached for Beach Bum Berry Remixed and found the gin-based Tiki drink, the Saturn. The drink was created by J. "Popo" Galsini, a bartender in Polynesian restaurants during the 1950s and 60s in California. The Saturn was one of his more famous recipes as it claimed first place in the IBA World Cocktail Championship in 1967.
The Saturn's aroma consisted mainly of orgeat and orange. Passion fruit flavors started the sip and these were followed by the lemon and the falernum's clove notes. The gin worked rather well in the drink for its botanicals complemented the falernum's spices rather deliciously; while rum would have made for a pleasing drink, it would have made for a much less complex one in that regard.

eighty years' war

1 1/2 oz Bols Genever
1 1/2 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1 bsp Housemade Amer Picon (sub Ramazzotti)
1 bsp Benedictine
1 pinch Kosher Salt

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Add straws.

On Wednesday a week and a half ago, Andrea and I went over to Lineage in Coolidge Corner for dinner. One of the drinks bartender Ryan Lotz made me was the Eighty Years' War off of their cocktail menu. The drink's name makes reference to the Dutch War of Independence that started in the mid sixteenth century as a revolt of the provinces against Philip II of Spain. By the mid seventeenth century, the resistance led by William of Orange succeeded and the Spanish were ousted from power.
The drink combined elements of the Dutch and Spanish, namely the Genever and sherry, respectively, in equal parts to do battle in the rocks glass. The battle started on the nose with a bit of nutty grape aroma combined with a little maltiness from the Genever. The war theme fizzled somewhat as I noticed how well the amontillado and Genever flavors paired together! The swallow contained a rich but not overwhelming bitter complexity from the Benedictine, Picon, and Genever, and this was followed by a lingering nuttiness from the sherry. Normally, Ryan used Ramazzotti, but he was out, so he switched to his housemade Picon recipe (which is based off of that amaro anyways). As the ice melted, the last remaining flavors to survive were the wormwood note from the Bols Genever and a faint nutty grape note from the sherry.