ferrari colada

1/2 oz Plantation Trinidad Rum
1/2 oz Rhum Clement Select Agricole
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Vallet Fernet
1 1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz House Coconut Cream
1/4 oz Demerara Syrup

Shake with crushed ice and pour into a coconut tiki mug. Top with crushed ice, garnish with a lime wheel coated with a dash of pineapple-infused Angostura Bitters, and add a straw. Regular Angostura Bitters (as well as other glassware) will work here.

Two Sundays ago, we closed up Loyal Nine in time for me to get last call at Backbar. Moreover, in time to get another chance to sit at Luc Thiers bar since he was in back in town for the bar he is helping to open in Upstate New York is not ready yet. As I was deciding on a nightcap option, Luc was making a drink with the house coconut cream and mentioned that he had an idea for me: he had merged the cult Fernet-Campari shooter, the Ferrari, with the classic Piña Colada. Since my re-creation of the lost Hungry Mother No. 34 recipe for a Fernet Colada was so delicious, I was game.
The Ferrari Colada's lime wheel garnish filled the aromatic aspect of the drink. While the sip was creamy and thick, the swallow offered coconut, pineapple, and bitter herbal flavors. Moreover, just as Luc had mentioned, the swallow did have an intriguing strawberry feel from the Campari interacting with the other ingredients.

hanseafen-glory

1 liqueur glass Gin (1 1/2 oz Bluecoat)
1/3 liqueur glass Grenadine (1/2 oz)
1/3 liqueur glass Curaçao (1/2 oz Van der Hum)
Juice of 1 Lemon (3/4 oz)
1 tsp Sugar (omit)
1 Whole Egg

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a tumbler glass and fill with soda water (strain into a Fizz glass containing 2 oz soda water). I added an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I uncovered while researching the H.S. Special called the Hanseafen-Glory. Both of these drinks as well as a third were created by a UK Bartenders Guild member, H. Seifert, and published in the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book. The Hanseafen-Glory reminded me of a Tiki drink with its grenadine and curaçao combination balanced by citrus as in the Outrigger Tiara all with a classic Royal Gin Fizz (whole egg) format.
The twist I added to the Hanseafen-Glory contributed greatly to the drink's aroma. A creamy and carbonated sip was filled with fruity orange, pomegranate, and lemon flavors, and the swallow was a combination of gin botanicals and orange peel notes.

dead italian cocktail

1 1/2 oz Four Roses Bourbon
3/4 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Cynar
2 dash Angostura Bitters

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

Two Fridays ago, I decided to make a recipe that I had spotted on the GeeksWithDrinks blog called the Dead Italian Cocktail. They acquired this recipe after attending a Four Roses Bourbon charity cocktail competition that pitted San Francisco bartenders to craft the best drink with the Bourbon. The winner was this one from Eric Rickey of %ABV, and it appealed to me for it reminded me of a Boulevardier riff akin to the No. 72 and the Criminal Mastermind with their use of sherry instead of vermouth.
The Dead Italian presented a lemon oil and grape nose that prepared the mouth for a malt, grape, and caramel sip. Next, the swallow began with the Bourbon, the sherry's nutty, and the Cynar's funky herbal bitter flavors and ended with a dry spice finish.

winnie the pooh

1/2 oz Banks 5 Island Rum
1 oz Campari
1 oz Gancia Bianco Vermouth (Dolin Blanc)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/6 oz (1 tsp) Fernet Branca
3 dash Fee's Orange Bitters
3 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Build in a rocks glass, stir with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Thursdays ago, I ventured into my copy of the Experimental Cocktail Club, a collection of recipes from the various E.C.C. bars across the world, and found a recipe from the E.C.C. in New York's Chinatown. That recipe, the Winnie the Pooh, was a Negroni riff that included both Cynar like the Negroni Tredici and the Double Double and Fernet Branca like the Southpaw and the Countless Night along with the Campari. There is also a base spirit- and vermouth-free combination of these three bitter liqueurs as a Negroni riff in the Bottecchia, but here in the E.C.C. number, the spirit is a half part of rum.
The Winnie the Pooh started off with an orange oil aroma with hints of Campari. Next, a white grape flavor on the sip transitioned into a complex bitter medley ranging from funky Cynar notes to bitter orange Campari ones on the swallow with a Fernet menthol finish.

adriatic yacht club

1 oz House Rum Blend (*)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Housemade Falernum
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a Collins glass. Fill with crushed ice and garnish with mint and grated nutmeg.
(*) A mix of 4 rums: Plantation Dark and Three Star Rums, and Hamilton Jamaican and 151 Proof Demerara Rums.

A few Wednesdays ago, Andrea and I had dinner at Sarma. For a first drink, I asked bartender Brandon Rucker for the Adriatic Yacht Club. I recognized it as an Amaro Montenegro riff on the early 20th century Royal Bermuda Yacht Club that I first had at Island Creek Oyster Bar; I had done a similar swap with elderflower liqueur in the Hold the Line over the summer. This particular variation turned out to be Brandon's, and his pedigree from ICOB perhaps explained his interest in that classic.
Instead of the cocktail glass format of the Royal Bermuda, the Adriatic variation went in the direction of tall with crushed ice and garnished accordingly. Once assembled, it gave forth mint and nutmeg notes on the nose. Lime with a decent mouthfeel on the sip led into rum, orange, clove, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a spice-driven finish.

sun stealer

2 oz Letherbee Gin (Bluecoat)
3/4 oz Punt e Mes
1/4 oz Crème de Cacao (Tempus Fugit)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca
1 dash Orange Bitters

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

After the Tiki drink, I switched to another modern recipe with a bit more of a classic feel. From Punch Magazine, I turned to Henry Prendergast's Hanky Panky variation, the Sun Stealer, created at Analogue in Chicago. The recipe also reminded me of a chocolate Martinez, the Maxim, from 1903-1933, and Eastern Standard's variation on the classic Pall Mall. Actually, combining the crème de menthe Pall Mall with the crème de cacao variation would come rather close to the Sun Stealer minus Punt e Mes' bitter complexity.
The Sun Stealer shared a lemon oil aroma over that of Fernet Branca's menthol notes. Grape on the sip was supplemented by darker notes like caramel, and the swallow offered juniper, clove, minty, and bitter herbal flavors.

heaven is a place/this is the place

2 oz London Dry Gin (Beefeater)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao
1/2 oz Velvet Falernum
1/2 oz Honey Syrup
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with 1 cup crushed ice, pour into a tiki mug, and top with crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple leaf, mint, Luxardo cherry, and edible flower (mint, spent half lime shell with El Dorado 151 proof rum and ignited).

Two Tuesdays ago, we began the night with another recipe from Chicago's Lost Lake via Imbibe Magazine. Just like the eponymous Lost Lake a few weeks ago, this Tiki-ism was created by Paul McGee and he dubbed it Heaven is a Place/This is the Place. What caught my eye was that instead of rum in this fruit and spice number, it called for gin in a very similar way as the Saturn.
The Heaven is a Place/This is the Place began with a mint and lime oil aroma. The lime notes continued on into the honey sweet sip along with the curaçao's orange, and the swallow shared herbal and spice flavors from the gin, allspice dram, bitters, and falernum.

the outlaw

2 oz Lunazul Añejo Tequila
3/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1/4 oz St. George Coffee Liqueur
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with orange twist oil.
After State Park, I headed towards Central Square to visit Brick & Mortar. For a nightcap, I asked bartender Ryan McLoughlin for the Outlaw since a stirred straight spirits drink seemed perfect for the night's trajectory. Once prepared, it offered bright orange oil notes over the lower aromas of coffee and agave. Next, honey richness on the sip led into agave, roast, and herbal flavors on the swallow with a chocolate and coffee finish.

iguaçu

3/4 oz Novo Fogo Cachaça
1 1/2 oz Cardamaro
1/2 oz Demerara Syrup
1/2 oz Orange Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a rocks glass with a large ice cube. Garnish with an orange twist.

Two Mondays ago, I headed over to State Park after having dinner with Andrea at Cambridge Brewing Company. For a first drink, I asked bartender Evan Harrison for the Iguaçu. Evan described how the recipe was created by Andrew Ianazzi who really likes Cardamaro and Blood & Sands. In crafting the Iguaçu, Andrew found that Cardamaro was akin to a combination of vermouth and cherry liqueur in that classic, and he crafted this as a cachaça drink. Keeping the State Park cocktail naming convention, this one was dubbed after a national park in Brazil.
The Iguaçu offered up orange oil aromas that led into a rich, grape sip. The swallow was much more complex though with funky rum, herbal, and orange notes and a spice-laden finish.