[silver lining]

1 1/4 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Elderflower Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a Collins glass, top with tonic water (~3 oz), and add a straw.
Thursday two weeks ago, I decided to make a drink that I spotted on the Bols Bartending's Traveling Cocktail Book series on Facebook. The recipe was submitted by Matty Clark of the Silver Lining in New York; since it lacked a name, I dubbed it after the bar itself. Once mixed, it offered a floral and herbal aroma. A creamy, carbonated sip shared lemon flavors along with fruit notes from the Aperol and elderflower liqueur. Finally, a bitter herbal swallow from the Genever mixing with the tonic's quinine paired well with St. Elder's floral notes.

tamboo

1 oz St. George Terroir Gin
1 oz Sutton Cellars Brown Label Vermouth
1 oz Elcano Fino Sherry
1 dash Celery Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe. Garnish with an olive and twist an orange peel over the top.

For my first cocktail at Sarma, I asked bartender Vikram Hedge for the Tamboo. I figured at first that the name was a hybrid of Terroir Gin and the classic aperitify Bamboo Cocktail, but I was curious for I know Vik is a bit craftier than that. I discovered that the tamboo bamboo is a precursor of the steelpan drum invented in the Caribbean, and while it is antiquated, it still gets use in Trinidad at carnival. It was originally created to get around the European colonizers' ban on drumming, and bamboo of different lengths and hence pitches are thumped against the ground to generate the notes.
The Tamboo's orange oils contributed greatly to the nose. A white grape sip shared hints of citrus and savory flavors, and the swallow offered the gin tempered by the savory grape notes. Even with the addition of the gin, the Tamboo still worked perfectly as an aperitif.

aslan's reviver

1 oz Raki
1/2 oz Green Chartreuse
3 oz Yogurt Syrup (*)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glas. Fill with ice, add a straw, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) 2 parts yogurt, 1 part simple syrup. 6 drops orange blossom water per cup.

Two weeks ago, we ventured down the street to Sarma where we found seats at the bar in front of Vikram Hedge. For a first libation, Andrea requested the Aslan's Reviver. Perhaps she was drawn to the novel ingredients or perhaps the C.S. Lewis reference. Vik described how the recipe was crafted by Maxine Sharkey Giammo, and he passed the drink order on to her to make.
The orange twist's oils brightened the yogurt driven aroma. A creamy yogurt sip led into an herbal and anise finish. Andrea described the Aslan's Reviver aptly as "it's like a grown-up lassi."

libertine

1 1/2 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
1/2 oz Clement Creole Shrubb
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/2 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass.
For a final drink at the Barrel House in Beverly, I requested the Libertine from bartender John Wierszchalek. The ingredients list reminded me of an Army Navy with extra citrus flavors from an orange liqueur. Once mixed, the Libertine shared a floral, orange, and lemon aroma. A creamy citrus sip gave way to a gin and nutty swallow.

:: arctic chill ice ball maker review ::

A month or two ago, I was contacted by Rizzi at Arctic Chill to review their muddler. Since I already have way too many muddlers between my own purchases and swag at various events, I offered the suggestion that I review their ice ball maker instead. I was curious what their product could offer for I was a bit frustrated with my current ice ball maker, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) ice tray set (the pink device in the photos below) that I purchased cerca 2009 or 2010. One problem with it is that its hard plastic does not bend so it is hard to eject the ice ball; prying it out with a bar spoon or running how water on the outside to loosen things up seems to work. The hard plastic also makes me worry that it will shatter when separating the halves. The other problem with the MoMA one is due to the inherent nature of water freezing into ice -- namely that ice expands 10% from the water volume during freezing. This expansion leads to the top half of the tray lifting up and forming a ridge of ice around the equator of each ball. This ice has to be trimmed away through percussion with the back of the spoon or with hot water from a faucet. I definitely wanted to see if technology had improved.
Some time after that, she took me up on the suggestion and sent me a four pack for review purposes. Arctic Chill's product is made from BPA-free silicone so it seemed like that would solve the hard plastic issue for mold separation and ball ejection that I experience with MoMA's. But how would it work with water expansion during freezing and how easy would it be to free the ice ball from the mold? To answer this, I made a pair of ice balls using both the MoMA and the Arctic Chill molds. While MoMA requires the bottom tray to be filled up and the top to be lowered over it until all air is expressed, the Arctic Chill ones can be filled from the top hole (submersion in a bowl of water would work too). No leakage was noted during filling of the Arctic Chill. Possibly the Arctic Chill ball's water fill could be calibrated to allow for some expansion during freezing. The MoMA method makes this partial fill a bit more challenging but not impossible to try this out. One commenter to the post suggested "plac[ing] a weight, like an ice pack, on the top prior to freezing" to reduce the lifting up aspect of the MoMA molds, although the only place for the expansion to occur is out the small hole at the top.
After freezing, the MoMA separated more on one side which caused one of the two balls to have a crater on top. The separation also formed a thick ridge that needed a bit of effort to clean up on both balls; it was still evident after a bit of chipping (hard to make out in the last photo due to color contrast, but it is the 1/8-1/4 inch ridge that runs from 11 to 5 o'clock on the left ice ball). When put in a drink, the remnants of the ridge do go away over time. One of the two Arctic Chill balls separated more than the other; the less separated one seemed to have bled the excess out the top instead. Both Arctic Chill ice balls were easy to clean up since there was only a thin ridge at the mold half intersection; however, a nipple from the mold's fill hole remained though. As for removing the balls, the MoMA ones still had the problems associated with hard plastic and required a short time under the hot water tap. The Arctic Chill ones came free with only a minimal degree of effort; they were slightly adhered to the mold but did not require heat or tools to free them.
Overall, the Arctic Chill ball molds were quite nice, and I experienced little frustration with them. They did produce a more attractive and less labor intensive 2 1/2 inch ice sphere than my old set. I do not know how they compare to say Tovolo's model, but I am guessing that they are pretty comparable. On Amazon, a set of four ice ball molds sells for $24.95. Indeed, they will definitely be replacing my old set.

cooper

1 1/2 oz Riverboat Rye
3/4 oz Pineau des Charentes
3/4 oz Averna

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.
For my first drink at the Barrel House in Beverly, I asked bartender John Wierszchalek for the Cooper for I had honed in on the Pineau des Charentes in the ingredients list. There is something about how elegant and floral that this fortified wine is that repeatedly draws me in. That, and how well it paired with Averna in the Marksman at Craigie on Main. Once mixed, the Cooper began with a floral, herbal, and caramel nose that later gave way to a more rye-driven aroma. On the sip, caramel and malt led into rye spice on the swallow and herbal notes from the Averna on the swallow.

midtown

2 oz Old Fitzgerald Bonded Bourbon
1 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
2 barspoon Maple Syrup (1:1)
4 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass.

Two Sundays ago, we drove up to the North Shore to have dinner at the Barrel House in Beverly, MA. For a first cocktail, Andrea asked bartender John Wierszchalek for the Midtown. I had first heard of this libation created by bar manager Sean Maher when it won the ShakeStir sherry recipe competition back in November. Sean described his entry as, "Created for a guest, this Manhattan variant utilizes the nutty profile of both the sherry, whiskey and bitters, with the tiny bit of maple rounding it off and giving it body. The cocktail has a full rich flavor evoking New England in the fall without being cloying or sweet."
The Midtown proffered a raisiny sherry aroma at first that later became more maple driven. Next, the sherry's grape filled the sip, and the swallow presented the whiskey that was complemented by the interplay of the maple syrup's richness, the sherry's raisin notes, and the bitters' walnut.

incanto

1 oz Cynar
1 oz St. Germain (St. Elder)
1 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a flute glass. Top with 2 oz cava (Gruet Blanc de Blanc) and garnish with a lemon twist spiral.

Two Saturdays ago, after making the Moxie Highballs for Mixology Monday, I turned to Sanctuaria: The Dive Bar of Cocktail Bars for our next libation. There, I spotted the Incanto which seemed like a delightful sparkling wine cocktail especially given how well elderflower liqueur and Cynar pair such as in the Alto Cucina. Instead of St. Germain, I opted for St. Elder which is produced here in Somerville, MA. We were gifted a bottle by the producers, and I was quite pleased to receive it for we have had good luck with it at work such as in the Battle of Trafalgar. While I would probably be able to identify each liqueur in a blind taste test, the flavor profiles are definitely rather similar and St. Elder has a much more attractive price point.

Once mixed, the Incanto offered a bright lemon oil aroma from the twist. The citrus elements continued on into the sip where they mingled with the crisp sparkling white wine and the St. Elder's pear notes. Finally, the swallow offered floral flavors mixed with earthy bitterness.

chicago typewriter

3/4 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Rye Whiskey
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
3/4 oz Aperol
2 dash Angostura Bitters

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

After the Graduate, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted on the Bols Bartending Facebook page called the Chicago Typewriter. The drink was created by Brian Summers of the Parish in Los Angeles, and it was named after one of the many nicknames for the Thompson submachine gun. The combination of rye, Punt e Mes, Aperol, and bitters reminded me of the Arthur Avenue that James Miranda crafted at Russell House Tavern over the summer (see below), although that had a more citrus angle to it.
The Chicago Typewriter offered a lemon oil aroma that combined with the Genever's malt and the Aperol's orange-rhubarb notes. The malt continued on into the sip along with the Punt e Mes' grape and the Aperol's orange. Finally, the Genever's botanicals and Punt e Mes' bitter notes mingled on the swallow.

Arthur Avenue
• 1 1/4 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey
• 1 1/4 oz Aperol
• 3/4 oz Punt e Mes
• 3/4 oz Grapefruit Juice
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Twist a grapefruit peel over the top.