just the paperwork

1 1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1 oz Cognac (Pierre Ferrand Ambre)
1 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dash Orange Bitters (Scrappy's)
1/2 oz Water

Build in a rocks glass, give a quick stir, and garnish with an orange twist. Note: This is a room temperature cocktail.Two Sundays ago, I returned to Sother Teague's I'm Just Here for the Drinks book where I spotted the Just the Paperwork. This curious room temperature cocktail was something that Sother frequently mixed up for himself to do the finances at Amor y Amargo after closing the bar at night. Although he referred to it as a Scaffa, the presence of water in the mix put it at a room temperature cocktail; Scaffas are not cocktails due to their missing water component in the 1806 definition of a cocktail of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. One curious thing about this combination was that all three main ingredients are made from grapes for Amaro Nonino is grappa based. Once prepared, the Just the Paperwork wrote out an orange oil and brandy aroma. Next, caramel, orange, and peach notes on the sip waylaid into Cognac, orange, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

rodeo ghost

1 oz Fidencio Mezcal
1 oz Zucca Amaro (Sfumato)
1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
2 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Saturdays ago, I saw a mention of a mezcal drink called the Rodeo Ghost, and I hunted down the recipe in a 2012 article in Serious Eats. The drink created by Brent Butler at San Francisco's West of Pecos was a simple equal parter with Zucca and sweet vermouth accented with mole bitters; this was the recipe that I stuck with despite finding a perfect split of sweet and dry vermouth in Drink Me magazine and Punt e Mes as the vermouth on the Kindred Cocktails database. Since mezcal and rabarbaros like Zucca and Sfumato worked so well in the Chain Smoker, Gully Brood, and Postcard Home, I was excited to try this one out.The Rodeo Ghost welcomed the senses with orange oil over smoky, dark herbal aromas. Next, a roast and grape sip rode into smoky agave melding into smoky bitter flavors on the swallow with a chocolate finish. Overall, this combination brought out a mineral note from the mezcal.

mr. burgess

2 oz Hardy VS Cognac (Pierre Ferrand Ambre)
1/2 oz Walnut Liqueur (Rosso Nocino)
1/2 oz Aperol
2 dash Cardamom Bitters (Bitter Housewife)
2 dash Grapefruit Bitters (Bittercube Jamaica #2)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Fridays ago, I reached for my collection of The Cocktail Hour booklets and found an interesting one that I had not made before in the 2013 brandy volume. That recipe was Mr. Burgess by Vincenzo Marianella at Santa Monica's Copa d' Oro, and he named it after a famous motorcycle engineer. In the glass, the Mr. Burgess delivered a grapefruit oil aroma over Cognac notes to the nose. Next, a caramel and vaguely fruity sip drove into a Cognac, orange, and walnut swallow with a cardamom finish.

uptown manhattan

2 oz Bourbon (Four Roses)
3/4 oz Amaro Nonino
1 tsp Cherry Heering
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a cherry and orange oil from a twist (orange peel-cherry flag).

Two Thursdays ago, I wondered if there were any recipes that I could make with my new liqueur purchases in Paul Clarke's The Cocktail Chronicles book. There, I spotted the Uptown Manhattan that reminded me a little of the Remember the Maine (minus its absinthe part). This Manhattan riff was crafted by San Francisco's Marcovaldo Dionysos of Chartreuse Swizzle fame. According to an article that Gary Regan wrote in 2003, Marco created this at the Denton's Starlight Room for a Maker's Mark competition with syrup from a jar of brandied cherries instead of the Cherry Heering called for here.
The Uptown Manhattan greeted the nose with an orange oil over Bourbon and cherry aroma. Next, a caramel and vaguely fruit sip flowed into Bourbon, caramel, cherry, and orange flavors on the swallow.

rosa amargo

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Fidencio)
1/2 oz Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
1/2 oz Blanc Vermouth (Dolin)
1/2 oz Campari

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Wednesday two weeks prior, I began thumbing through my Food & Wine: Cocktails book collection, and I spotted the Rosa Amargo in the 2015 edition. This recipe by Jeremy Oertel at Donna in Brooklyn reminded me of a mezcal Rosita with grapefruit liqueur in place of one of the vermouths or perhaps a mezcal Lucien Gaudin with grapefruit instead of orange liqueur.The Rosa Amargo welcomed the senses with a grapefruit, smoke, and orange bouquet. Next, an Aperol-like orange note on the sip slid into smoky mezcal transitioning into a bitter grapefruit and orange on the swallow.

rock and a hard place

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth (Noilly Prat)
1/2 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Amaro Nonino
1 tsp Nux Alpina (Russo Nocino)
2 dash Fee's Walnut Bitters (Strongwater)

Stir with ice and strain into a Nick & Nora (coupe) glass.Two Tuesdays ago, I selected The NoMad Cockatil Book as the source of the evening's libation. There, I was lured in by the Rock and a Hard Place by Alisa Bobcat Rabovsky as an intriguing Manhattan variation with Amaro Nonino and walnut liqueur as the modifiers. In the glass, the cocktail shared a walnut aroma accented by caramel and rye notes. Next, a soft sip of malt, grape, and caramel gave way to rye, herbal, and orange flavors on the swallow with a walnut finish.

triple crown

1 oz Bourbon (Old Tub Bonded)
3/4 oz Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Mondays ago, I returned to Carey Jones' Brooklyn Bartender and spied the nearly equal parts Triple Crown. This recipe by Jay Zimmerman of Ba'sik reminded me of drinks like the Hurly Burly and Hoop La, and it would make good use of my new grapefruit liqueur purchase. In the glass, the Triple Crown presented a lemon oil aroma over Bourbon and grapefruit notes. Next, a lemon and tangerine sip conjured up thoughts about peaches, and the swallow came through with Bourbon, grapefruit, and tangerine flavors.

i want to believe

2 oz Aged Puerto Rican Rum (Don Q Gran Añeo)
3/4 oz Cynar
3/4 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (Oxford 1970)
4 dash Orange Bitters (Scrappy's)
1 pinch Salt

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass or cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.

Two Sundays ago, I delved into my new purchase of Chad Austin's Everyone Has a F*cking Cocktail Book and spied the I Want to Believe that was most likely an X-Files reference. The combination of rum, Cynar, and fortified wine reminded me a little of the Palm Viper, so I was intrigued to try it out.The I Want to Believe began with an orange, raisin, and rum aroma. Next, the raisin from the sherry continued on into the sip where it mingled with the Cynar's caramel, and the raisin aspect joined the rum and sweet vegetal flavors on the swallow with a caramel and orange finish.

los amargos

1 1/2 oz Reposado Tequila (Lunazul)
3/4 oz Amaro Nonino
3/4 oz Cardamaro
1 tsp Maraska Maraschino Liqueur
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.Two Saturdays ago, I turned to the Death & Co. Cocktail Book and spotted the Los Amargos by Thomas Waugh in 2009 as a recipe that I could now make given my purchase of Amaro Nonino. In the glass, it donated a bouquet of tequila's vegetal notes to the nose. Next, lemon, caramel, and grape mingled on the sip, and the swallow proffered tequila, nutty cherry, orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.