french alaska

2 1/4 oz Citadelle Gin
3/4 oz Bergamot Syrup (*)
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Scrappy's Lavender Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe pre-rinsed with spritzes of Pernod Absinthe. Garnish with a flowering lavender sprig.
(*) Slice up Bergamots and cover with sugar overnight to extract oils from the peel. The next day add water. End product is a combination of oils and juice.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I were celebrating our anniversary at Journeyman, and afterwards we stopped into Backbar for a nightcap. The drink that bartender Sam Treadway made for me was the French Alaska. Based off the classic Alaska, the drink added extra French notes to the original's Yellow Chartreuse by utilizing a French gin, French absinthe, lavender frequently associated with Provence in France, and Bergamot orange which grows in southern France.
The lavender sprig garnish contributed greatly to the drinks aroma along with the absinthe's anise notes. The sip was a lightly citrus-tinged honey flavor that led into an herbal gin and Yellow Chartreuse swallow. Lastly, the lavender returned on the finish via the floral bitters in the mix.

cradle of life

3/4 oz White Rum (Banks 5 Island)
3/4 oz Spiced Rum (Kraken)
1/2 oz Orgeat (BG Reynolds)
1/3 oz Lemon Juice
1/3 oz Orange Juice
1/3 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass containing crushed ice. Garnish with an inverted spent half lime shell filled with a 1/2 oz Green Chartreuse. Ignite the Chartreuse. Half a minute or so later, blow out the flame and mix in the Chartreuse before drinking.

Two Saturdays ago, we were in a bit of a Tiki mood, so I decided to make the Cradle of Life from Food & Wine: Cocktails 2011. The recipe was the creation of Karin Stanley, a bartender at Long Island City's Dutch Kills, for Manhattan's PKNY that was opened by two of her old co-workers. Besides being stunning, the flaming Chartreuse helps to warm and extract aromatic oils from the lime shell.
The Chartreuse and lime oils filled the drink's aroma even after the flame was extinguished and I had dumped in the liqueur. The sip was a pleasing combination of citrus, almond, and spice, and the Chartreuse and funky rum blend wrapped up the swallow. Indeed, the Chartreuse definitely added a bit of pizzazz to the drink as it had in other Tiki libations including the Pago Pago and Bikini Atoll.

yachting club

2/3 Holland Gin (1 oz Bols Genever)
1/3 Dry Vermouth (1/2 oz Noilly Prat)
2 dash Simple Syrup (1/4 oz)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Pernod (1/8 oz Pernod Absinthe)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

After the Old England, I began to peruse our 1975 edition of Patrick Duffy's The Official Mixer's Manual. There I spotted the Yachting Club which appeared like a lemon twist and rocks glass away from a Sazerac variation. The drink began with the aroma of Genever's malt and absinthe's anise. The malt notes continued into the sip with perhaps some grape elements from the vermouth, and the swallow contained the herbal flavors from the Pernod and the Genever. Overall, it came across a bit different than a traditional Sazerac with its lighter body and flavor profile, but not all that different from the Gin Sazerac John Gertsen made me with Anchor Steam Genevieve.

old england

1/3 Gordon's Gin (1 oz Cold River)
1/3 Odd Bottle Sherry (1 oz Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado)
1/6 Benedictine (1/2 oz)
1/6 Pollen's Orange Curaçao (Senior Curaçao)
3 dash Peach Bitters (Fee Brothers)
3 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

On Friday night two weeks ago, we began the evening with the Old England from from 1934's 1700 Cocktails for the Man Behind the Bar. One of the curious ingredients was the Odd Bottle Sherry; with a little searching, I was able to find a vintage 1930s advertisement on eBay which described the style as an old amontillado. I am not sure if Lustau's Los Arcos Amontillado is similar, but it was the closest I had.
The Old England offered up a sherry aroma that contained hints of orange and perhaps some peach. With fruit notes from the sherry's grape and Curaçao's orange on the sip, the swallow showcased the sherry's nuttiness, the Benedictine and gin's herbal notes, and a spicy peach finish.

fratelli fizz

2 oz Fernet Branca
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 oz Cream
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with. Strain into a highball glass containing 2 oz of soda water. Garnish with a mint sprig and an orange twist; add a spoon straw.

For Thursday Drink Night on Mixoloseum two weeks ago, I decided to riff off of the Ramos Gin Fizz as I had once before with the Stamos Gin Fizz. Instead of gin, I subbed in Fernet Branca and named it after the Fratelli Branca distillery where that amaro is made.
The Fratelli Fizz first presented an orange oil and mint aroma from the garnishes, but later as the glass' walls became exposed, Fernet notes began to enter the nose as well. Next, the creamy, crisp citrus sip gave way to a smooth swallow that showcased the menthol and other botanical notes from the Fernet. Considering that the Ramos Gin Fizz was a popular morning drink and given that Fernet has great stomach settling abilities, my guess is that the Fratelli Fizz would make an excellent hangover palliative. Update 7/14/26: This is the one that I made in late June 2013. I described on my Facebook post that day, "After a little over a month of barbacking at Russell House Tavern, a daytime bartender slot opened up and I spent a week of training. Today was my first day day flying solo on the up bar (11a-5p Monday-Friday), and this photo is of the Fernet-for-Gin Ramos Fizz I made for Les who trained me..." I believe that I made it for him on Friday, June 22nd, and I posted it on the June 25th the following Monday.

hot spring

3/6 Seagram's Rye Whiskey (1 1/2 oz Redemption Rye)
1/6 White Curaçao (1/2 oz Senior Curaçao)
1/6 Pricota (1/2 oz Rothman & Winter Orchard Apricot)
1/6 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. I added a lemon twist.
On Wednesday last Week, I spotted the Hot Spring in the Café Royal Cocktail Book, and it reminded me of a rye and lemon Periodista. The Hot Spring began with a lemon and apricot aroma. A citrus sip from the lemon juice and orange liqueur preceded the rye blending into the apricot on the swallow.

chica fácil

2 oz Blanco Tequila
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Agave Nectar
1 dash House Orange Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass. Squeeze a lime wedge over the top and drop in.
Tuesday last week, we went over to Max Toste's new restaurant, the Lone Star Taco Bar in Allston next to Deep Ellum. Off of their tequila and mezcal-focused menu, I picked the Chica Fácil since agave spirits seem to go so well with Aperol such as in the Division Bell. The drink began with a lime and tequila aroma that led into a rhubarb and lime sip. The swallow was a smooth orange and agave combination, and overall the drink lived up to its name for it was rather soft and easy to drink.

four moors

1 1/2 oz Lustau Dry Amontillado Sherry
1 oz BG Reynolds Orgeat
1/2 oz Mirto Liqueur

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

For my second drink at Estragon, bartender Sahil Mehta made me the Four Moors which sounded appealing for its inclusion of Mirto, a Sardinian bitter liqueur flavored by myrtle berries and leaves. The name Four Moors is a reference to the four Moors on the Sardinian flag; moreover, the Moors' ties to Spain is what prompted Sahil to use sherry as the base spirit. In addition, the combination of sherry and orgeat was also tempting for it worked rather well in Clio's Joe Bans You.
The Four Moors began with a lemon oil and orgeat aroma that later became more sherry driven. The amontillado's grape filled the sip, and its nuttiness paired with the orgeat on the swallow. Finally, the Mirto's bitter notes worked well to give the Four Moors some complexity at the end.

remembrance of things past

2 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lavender-Lime Cordial (*)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
2 sprig Thyme

Shake with ice and double strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a fresh thyme sprig.
(*) 2 parts lavender simple syrup to 3 parts lime juice. In a pinch, making the cordial with simple syrup and lime juice will work if 1 tsp of dried lavender flowers are put into the shaker.

Two Mondays ago, we made a pilgrimage to Estragon in South Boston to sit at Sahil Mehta's bar. For a first cocktail, Sahil recommended the Remembrance of Things Past. When Sahil had read about Ted Gallagher's Everybody is a Nun in regards to how well Green Chartreuse and a lavender-lemon cordial paired, he thought about the lavender-lime cordial that he had at the bar. Basing the drink off of Ben Sandrof's Silent Order, he replaced the original's basil with thyme. For the name, he considered the French ingredients of lavender from Provence and Chartreuse, and he dubbed it after Marcel Proust's seminal work which he found multi-layered, elegant, complex, and beautiful like the cocktail itself.
The Remembrance of Things Past offered up an herbal aroma showcasing the lavender and thyme notes. At first the sip contained solely lime notes, but over successive sips, the thyme flavors entered into the equation. Finally, the swallow was the beautiful pairing of the Green Chartreuse and lavender with the latter lingering somewhat on the aftertaste.