white rose

3/4 Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)
1/4 Maraschino (1/2 oz Luxardo)
Orange Juice (1/2 oz)
Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 Egg White

Shake once without ice and once with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Two Thursdays ago, I returned to the 1937 Café Royal Cocktail Book after a long hiatus from flipping through its pages. There, I spotted the White Rose that seemed rather delightful as an egg white Aviation-like drink. After making it, I discovered that I had already written about Hugo Ensslin's 1916 White Rose Cocktail that varied by utilizing lime instead of lemon; given that it was six and a half years ago, I was not upset to remake this recipe especially given the slight difference.
The White Rose greeted the senses with a nutty cherry aroma from the Maraschino poking through the egg white froth. Next, a creamy lemon-orange sip gave way to gin and nutty Maraschino flavors on the swallow. Overall, the White Rose reminded me more of the Cherry Blossom than the Jack Rose, Bermuda Rose, or other "rose" drinks.

hawaiian

2/3 jigger Applejack (1 1/2 oz Boulard VSOP)
1/3 jigger Pineapple Juice (3/4 oz)
1 dash Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1 dash Maraschino Liqueur (1/4 oz Luxardo)
1 spoon Simple Syrup (1/4 oz)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

For my post-work shift drink, I thumbed through my book shelves until I stopped upon Boothby's 1934 World Drinks and How to Mix Them. There, I spotted the Hawaiian among other similarly named recipes. This Hawaiian was perhaps closer to the Hawaiian Room given the applejack, pineapple, and lemon components; that drink was more rum forward, had orange liqueur instead of Maraschino, and temporally came after Boothby's. For a structure, I based things off of the gin and orgeat Royal Hawaiian.
The Hawaiian said aloha with an apple and nutty cherry bouquet. Next, lemon and pineapple on the sip led into apple, nutty, and pineapple flavors on the swallow. Given the similarities between orgeat and Maraschino, the balance did come across here like a cousin of the Royal Hawaiian.

phoebe snow

1/2 Dubonnet (1 1/2 oz Byrrh Grand Quinquina)
1/2 Brandy (1 1/2 oz Camus VS Cognac)
1 dash Absinthe (1/2 bsp Kübler)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass; I added a lemon twist.

Two Tuesdays ago, I selected Hugo Ensslin's 1916 Recipes for Mixed Drinks book and spotted the Phoebe Snow. This three ingredient drink was named after a fictional character at the turn of the century who was created to showcase how clean anthracite coal was in trains via jingles like, "Says Phoebe Snow/about to go/upon a trip to Buffalo/"My gown stays white/from morn till night/Upon the Road of Anthracite". The fanciful New York socialite promoting the Lackawanna railways made such an impact that this cocktail was named in her honor. I had previously skipped over this cocktail for the Dubonnet then was a rather poor quinquina (the reformulated Dubonnet that I tasted over the summer was delicious though; however, I have not yet spotted it in stores); instead, here I substituted another rouge quinquina, Byrrh, in its place.
The Phoebe Snow cocktail began with a lemon and grape nose that led into further grape notes with cherry undertones on the sip. Next, Cognac, grape, anise, chocolate, and quinine flavors rounded out the delightful swallow.

italian buck

1 1/2 oz Cynar
1 1/2 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a Collins glass (Moscow Mule mug), add 3 oz ginger beer (Reed's), fill with ice, and garnish with a lime wheel. Note: the recipe in Boudreau's book is scaled down to 1 oz each of the amari and 1/2 oz lime juice; the ginger beer amount is the same but the garnish is a lime wedge.
Two Mondays ago, I reached for Brad Parsons' Amaro book and came across the Italian Buck that reminded me of the unopened bottle of ginger beer in my refrigerator. The recipe was crafted by Jamie Boudreau at Seattle's Cannon featuring two bitter liqueurs in a Buck format similar to the Fernet Buck at Deep Ellum. I followed the recipe that Parsons provided, but I later checked in Boudreau's book, The Canon Cocktail Book and noted that some of the volumes were adapted (see the note in the instructions above). Boudreau also commented in his book that, "While the Cynar carries all the funky bitter vegetal notes, the Montenegro helps round it out with its abundance of citrusy flavors." Once prepared, the Italian Buck welcomed the nose with lime, ginger, and orange aromas. Next, a carbonated caramel and lime sip bucked into ginger, funky herbal, and clementine flavors on the swallow.

champion

2/3 Rye Whiskey (2 oz Old Overholt)
1/6 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1/6 Sweet Vermouth (1/2 oz Cocchi)
1 dash Picon Bitters (1/4 oz Torani Amer)
(1/4 oz Simple for balance)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
After a day of visiting brewery tap rooms on Sunday, I was in the mood for a nightcap and turned to Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933. In the American whiskey section, I spotted the Champion that appeared like a Liberal in a Sour format. Once prepared, the Champion donated a rye, orange, and lemon bouquet to the nose. Next, lemon, malt, and grape notes on the sip were beaten out by rye, grape, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

banana cow

1 oz Trader Vic's Light Puerto Rican Rum (1 1/2 oz Privateer Tres Aromatique)
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 whole Banana (sliced)
1 tsp Sugar
1 dash Vanilla Extract
3 oz Milk

Blend with 1/2 scoop shaved ice and service in a Planter's Punch glass or in a 12 1/2 oz tumbler. I garnished with 3 slices of banana on a pick and 5 drops Angostura Bitters.

After a grueling late night buyout at the bar two Saturdays ago, I got home too exhausted to do much more than eat some leftovers and go to sleep. Sunday morning, however, I decided to make up for my lack of home mixology by delving into my Trader Vic's 1974 Rum Cookery & Drinkery. I was inspired by Andrea preparing banana-coconut waffles to make Trader Vic's own Banana Cow which was a banana-forward version of his Rum Cow, and thus, I got out the blender.
Without the additional garnish, the Banana Cow proffered a banana and vanilla nose, but with the additional garnish it shared hints of clove and allspice. Next, a creamy banana sip gave way to a funky rum, banana, and vanilla swallow.

the weeper's joy

3 dash Gum (1/4 oz Simple Syrup)
1/2 pony Absinthe (3/4 oz Kübler Absinthe)
1/2 pony Vino Vermouth (3/4 oz Cocchi Sweet)
1/2 pony Kümmel (3/4 oz Helbing)
1 dash Curaçao (1/4 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

When I got home two Fridays ago, I thought that it might be time to revisit a drink never made it on to the blog. The recipe was the Weeper's Joy -- an oddball combination that appeared in William Schmidt's 1891 The Flowing Bowl. I made that drink before I got a reprint of that tome for I was able to source it from David Wondrich's Imbibe! Many of the cocktails in Schmidt's book were weird ones, and it was not surprising that the 2010 Beta Cocktails zine (the photocopied one that came out between the book printing of 2009 Rogue Cocktails and 2011 Beta Cocktail books) hosted what appeared to be a riff on it called the Spice Trade with overlapping absinthe, kümmel, and curaçao ingredients.
For an absinthe, I selected Kübler for its softer balance seems to work the best in my collection with absinthe-forward recipes. Once prepared, the Weeper's Joy offered an anise and caraway aroma that preceded a sweet grape sip. Next, caraway, cumin, orange, anise, and other spice notes filled the swallow. Overall, it was the orange flavors that donated an elegance to the combination.

el catador

1 oz Añejo Tequila (Cimarron Reposado)
1 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
1 oz Galliano
3-4 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, twist a lemon peel over a cocktail coupe, strain into the coupe, and garnish with a second lemon twist.

For a nightcap two Thursdays ago, I delved into my Food & Wine: Cocktails library and selected the 2010 volume. There, I spotted Charles Vexenat's El Catador that he crafted at London's HIX which seemed intriguing with the aged tequila befriending nutty sherry once again but here spiced with Galliano and molé bitters. Strangely, the drink was named after the food taster who ingests dishes prepared for someone else to confirm that it is safe from poison.
The Catador had the nose sensing lemon, agave vegetal, nutty, and star anise aromas before determining that it was safe to taste. Next, a semi-sweet grape sip led into tequila, nutty sherry, and vanilla on the swallow with a chocolate and star anise finish.

it's not me, it's you

1 oz Fernet Branca (1 1/2 oz)
1/2 oz Dry Curaçao (3/4 oz Pierre Ferrand)
1/2 oz Sloe Gin (3/4 oz Atxa Patxaran)
5 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass or coupe (coupe), and garnish with a grapefruit twist (lemon twist).
Two Wednesdays ago, I was in the mood for a nightcap after my work shift and turned to Clair McLafferty's Romantic Cocktails for the answer. There, I selected the It's Not Me, It's You by San Francisco bartender Christina Mae Henderson that was subtitled, "A little dry, a little bitter, a little citrusy: just like a breakup." I was drawn in for the combination of sloe gin and Fernet Branca in that drink was one that worked so well in the Sloe & Unsteady. In the glass, the It's Not Me offered up a lemon, caramel, and menthol nose that set up a caramel and orange sip. Next, minty, berry, orange, and menthol flavors on the swallow rounded out this complex sipper.