bluegrass mai tai

1 oz Bourbon (Wild Turkey 81)
1 oz Bonded Rye (Rittenhouse 100)
1/2 oz Grand Marnier
1/2 oz Orgeat (B.G. Reynolds)
1 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.

Two Mondays ago, we decided to make the Bluegrass Mai Tai created by Smuggler's Cove bartender Marco Dionysos. The recipe was presented in Food & Wine: Cocktails 2012 as part of a progression from the classic 1944 Trader Vic Mai Tai, and this whiskey version seemed tempting especially after recalling the success of tequila-based Mai Tai, the Pinky Gonzalez. Marco most likely switched the citrus from lime to lemon to be more complementary with the whiskeys in the drink.
The Bluegrass Mai Tai's mint garnish contributed to the bouquet that contained a passion fruit-like note from the lemon, Grand Marnier, and Bourbon. The sip showcased the lemon, orange, and malt, and the swallow offered the whiskey and tart lemon notes that were balanced by the orgeat's rich almond flavors.

agave maria

1 1/2 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1 barspoon (1/8 oz) Fernet Branca
3 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Agave Nectar

Shake with ice and pour unstrained into a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Our adventures that Sunday took us later to the Independent in Union Square, Somerville, where MIT-WMBR DJ John Funke was spinning a mix of lost and found oldies and oddities. For a drink, I ordered the Agave Maria. On the nose, the pineapple aroma was joined by the garnish's orange oil. Next, the lime sip led into a swallow that began with mezcal, followed by pineapple and Fernet Branca, and ending with a lingering smoke note. Indeed, the Peychaud's Bitters and light touch of Fernet Branca added a bit of intrigue and character to the drink.

wheelwright

1 1/2 oz Tio Pepe Palomino Fino Sherry
1 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth
3/4 oz Galliano L'Autentico
1/2 oz Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with 2 drops orange blossom water.

Two Sundays ago, Andrea and I ventured down to West Bridge in Kendall Square, Cambridge, where Eastern Standard alumni Josh Taylor accepted a position as bar manager. For a drink, I asked Josh for the Wheelwright. The restaurant itself is named after the nearby West Bridge, also known as the Longfellow or Salt-and-Pepper-Shaker Bridge, that connects West Boston with East Cambridge. As for the drink, it was named after Edmund Wheelwright who was the consulting architect for the structure, and Wheelwright took his inspiration from the various bridges he studied in Europe. Josh decided to pay tribute to the architect by combining his love of sherry to make a lighter style aperitif for the West Bridge cocktail menu.
The Wheelwright presented Galliano's star anise and other herbal aromas that merged well with the fino sherry and orange blossom water notes. A crisp grape sip led into a nutty, vanilla, and herbal swallow with a lingering Jamaican rum finish. The drink succeeded as an aperitif, and its bright yellow hue certainly garnered a lot of attention at the bar.

benton park swizzle

2 oz Gold Rum (Don Q Gold)
1 oz Simple Syrup (Jaggery)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
8-10 Mint Leaves

Muddle the mint leaves with lime juice and syrup in a mixing glass. Add rum and pour into a Highball glass. Fill with crushed ice and swizzle to mix and chill. Float a 1/2 oz of Fernet Branca, garnish with a mint sprig, and add a straw.

Two Saturdays ago, we decided to make good use of our mint patch by making Ted Kilgore's Benton Park Swizzle that appeared in the supplementary recipes to Imbibe Magazine. Ted created this variation of the Queen's Park Swizzle at Niche in St. Louis, Missouri, and named it after the restaurant's neighborhood, Benton Park. The two differences are that the recipe does not call for Guyana rum, and the original's float of Angostura Bitters was swapped for Fernet Branca.
The aroma of the Benton Park Swizzle's mint garnish combined with the floated Fernet Branca's menthol note. The drink was a simple but refreshing combination of a lime sip and a rum and mint swallow; that is until the end, when Fernet Branca's bitter notes entered the picture and rather dried out the balance.

the red light

1 1/4 oz Bols Genever
1 1/4 oz Grand Marnier
1/3 oz Underberg Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe glass.

Two Fridays ago, I had purchased a bottle of Underberg Bitters to make the Red Light from Beta Cocktails. The recipe was created by Charles Joly at Chicago's Drawing Room for their menu in early 2010. At first I wondered if he had perfectly balanced the Underberg and felt that a half ounce was too much; however, I became skeptical when I realized that the 20mL bottle had enough to make two of these drinks.
The drink began with an aroma filled malt, orange, and gentian notes. The sip was filled with orange and malt flavors, and the swallow started with the Underberg's bitter notes and ended with some lingering herbal ones from the Genever. Later, as the drink warmed up, the Grand Marnier's orange began to appear more in the swallow. Over all, it was quite well balanced so perhaps the third of an ounce was a mark of trial and error more than convenience; moreover, the Red Light had the feel and flavor of a classic Fancy Cocktail with the spirits, orange liqueur, and bitters format.

root down

1 1/2 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur
1 oz Bols Barrel Aged Genever
1/2 oz Sour Orange Cordial (*)
1 barspoon Grand Classico (1/8 oz)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Originally this was made with bitter Seville oranges, and after the Seville season ran out, it is made with 2 parts regular orange to 1 part lemon. Regardless of the citrus identity, 1 cup of sugar was used to create an oleo saccharum with the peels for 1-2 hours. Next, 1 cup of citrus juice was added; the mix was stirred to dissolve the sugar and then strained.

After Brick and Mortar, we made a stop at Moody's Falafel for sustenance, and this completely reinvigorated Camper. Therefore, we headed to our final destination of Craigie on Main. For a drink, I asked bartender Zachary Evans for the Root Down. What appealed to me about the drink was that it called for Salers Gentian Liqueur; like Suze, Salers is a French liqueur made with wild yellow gentian, but unlike Suze, it is apparently available in our market although I have not spotted on any shelves yet.
The Root Down offered up an orange oil aroma that was joined by other citrus notes in the mix. A sharp orange and malty sip led into a gentian swallow that was punctuated by light Grand Classico herbal notes. Overall, the Root Down did share a resemblance with the White Negroni but with more malt and citrus notes.

flying headlock

1 1/2 oz Nardini Grappa Bianca
1 oz Lustau Amontillado Sherry
1 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1 dash Angostura Bitters

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

For stop number four on the Camper English bar crawl, we crossed the bridge into Cambridge. I recommended that we hit Brick and Mortar before it got crowded, and luckily we did for the seats at the bar all vanished within 20 minutes after we sat down. Tending bar that night were Evan Harrison and John Nugent, and the cocktail I requested from Evan was the second grappa drink on the menu, beside A Bullet for Fredo, called the Flying Headlock. While I did not inquire, the recipe had all the signs that it was a Misty Kalkofen recipe.
The Flying Headlock's aroma began with a lemon and sherry bouquet that became more Curaçao as the lemon oil faded. The grape and orange sip led into a funky grappa flavor that paired well with the nutty sherry on the swallow. Also on the swallow were the Angostura's allspice and other notes to round out the drink.

lasky last knight

2 oz Frapin Cognac VS
1 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Luxardo Triple Sec
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Simple Syrup
1 dash Berg & Hauck's Lemon Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
After the Hawthorne, Camper English was ready for our third stop on our bar crawl. We considered doing the Commonwealth Hotel hat trick with Island Creek Oyster Bar, but by the time we passed by, the bar was filled with the dinner crowd. Instead, we traveled down Commonwealth Ave to Clio where bartender Todd Maul awaited. For my drink, I asked for Lasky Last Night as the combination of Cognac, Green Chartreuse, and orange liqueur worked so well in the Prospector. The drink is a riff on David Embury's Knight from The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks. True to Embury's preferred magic formula for the Sour, the Knight was as follows:

Knight
• 8 parts Brandy
• 2 parts Lemon
• 1 part Green Chartreuse and Cointreau (half part each)
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Lasky Last Knight began with a lemon and Cognac aroma that preceded a citrus-flavored sip containing lemon juice and orange liqueur notes. Next, the swallow began with Cognac followed by Green Chartreuse's herbal notes and finally a tart lemon finish. While I enjoyed it, I could not help but think what Embury would say about Todd's variation. Riffing on what Embury said about the original equal parts Sidecar, he might declare, "Unfortunately, however, the proportions are stated as two parts brandy and one part each of lemon juice and liqueur. This may not be a bad formula for a midafternoon drink, but for an aperitif it is simply horrible because of its sickish sweetness." While the variation would have been a sugar bomb to Embury (with too much distracting him from the base spirit), it was by no means a sweet drink to the average modern palate.

dartmouth highball

1 1/2 oz Pimm's No. 1
3/4 oz Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Simple Syrup
5-7 Mint Leaves

Shake everything including the mint with ice. Double strain into a Highball glass filled with fresh ice cubes. Top with ~2 oz Barritts Ginger Beer and gently stir. Add a straw and garnish with a mint sprig.

For the next stage on the Camper English bar crawl, we headed from Eastern Standard next door to the Hawthorne. For a libation, I asked bartender Katie Emmerson for the Dartmouth Highball. She explained that the drink was created by Bobby McCoy and that it had a tea-like feel to it. My searching on the web seems to indicate that Bobby crafted this drink while at Eastern Standard cerca 2008, and perhaps it appeared on Eastern's special Pimm's section on the menu along with the Rye and Dry. Moreover, it was not a tribute to the college but to one of the three East India Tea Company ships that fell victim in the Boston Tea Party. The other two were the Eleanor and the Beaver, but it is the Dartmouth that resides at the Boston Tea Party Museum in Fort Point near the Drink bar.
The mint garnish played heavily in the Highball's aroma. The sip was fruity with Pimm's berry pairing up with the lemon, and the swallow offered up ginger beer and the gin's botanicals. After the ice began to melt, the flavor of the mint muddled in the shake began to come through.