roman holiday

2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin (Beefeater)
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Cynar
1 oz Blood Orange Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with an orange twist and cherry. The text mentioned that regular orange juice can be used when blood oranges are out of season.When Andrea returned home from the store two Sundays ago with a bag of blood oranges, I recalled a recipe that I had been eying in Frank Caiafa's The Waldorf Astoria Bar Book called the Roman Holiday. This 2010 number matched the blood orange with gin and two bitter liqueurs: Aperol and Cynar which have worked well together in drinks like the Rucola Negroni and Juan Bautista. The name made me think of my initial taste of blood oranges which was on my first vacation that I took on my own where I bought the fruit from vendors in Rome. Once prepared, the Roman Holiday greeted the nose with orange and pine notes. Next, orange and berry on the sip gave way to gin and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

hawaiian war chant

2 oz Plantation Original Dark Rum
1/4 oz Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (1/2 bsp Kübler)

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

Two Saturdays ago, I began flipping through Amanda Schuster's New York Cocktails and spied the Hawaiian War Chant. The recipe was crafted by Mikey Diehl at Ward III as a Rum Old Fashioned variation that utilized a few elements from the 1934 Zombie including the Don's Mix (here with grapefruit liqueur instead of grapefruit juice), Angostura Bitters, and absinthe. The drink might have been named after the popular American tune that was modeled after an 1860s piece by Prince Leleiohuku. The original song was "Kāua I Ka Huahuaʻi" or "We Two in the Spray," and it was not a chant or battle tale but a story of two lovers sneaking off to meet. Diehl is a fan of Tiki but he worked in a bar that favored stirred whiskey drinks, so this was the menu item compromise to fit the clientele.The Hawaiian War Chant met the nose with orange, cinnamon, and dark rum aromas. Next, caramel from the rum filled the sip, and the swallow bellowed forth rum, cinnamon, and grapefruit flavors with an anise and allspice finish.

bitter branch

3 oz Rittenhouse Rye (2 oz)
1 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Walnut Liqueur (Russo Nocino)
1 dash Salt Tincture (1 pinch Salt) (*)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, and garnish with a candied walnut (omit).
(*) Another recipe said 3 drops which is more in line than a dash.Friday two weeks prior, I found my copy of Northstar Cocktails and found Pip Hanson's Bitter Branch. I was intrigued by its walnut-Cynar combination that I had first experienced at Russell House Tavern with the My Triumphs, My Mistakes and that I utilized in my Shadows & Tall Trees that I created there six month later (I joined the team a month or so after having the former drink). Once mixed, the Bitter Branch approached with a walnut and vegetal aroma. Next, a caramel sip bent towards a rye, minty, and walnut swallow.

bright hatchet

1 1/4 oz Olmeca Altos Reposado Tequila (Lunazul)
1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Combier Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
3 drop Bittercube Orange Bitters (Scrappy's)
2 drop Rose Water

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a grapefruit twist.Two Thursdays ago, I found a bookmark that I had left in Carey Jones' Brooklyn Bartender for the Bright Hatchet created by Jay Zimmerman at Ba'sik. This stirred tequila drink met the nose with a grapefruit, tequila, and floral aroma. Next, a sweet grapefruit and grape sip sliced into a tequila, grapefruit, and mineral swallow.

all's fair

1 1/2 oz El Dorado 12 Year Rum
3/4 oz Carpano Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Marie Brizard Curaçao (Pierre Ferrand)
2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters
8 drop Salt Tincture (1 slightly large pinch Salt)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I ventured into my copy of the 2011 Beta Cocktails to make the All's Fair that I had recently spotted on Reddit. The recipe crafted by Kirk Estonipal at Cure in New Orleans was the first part of the Halfway to a Three Ways to Lose Your Lover; the partner to it was The Flip Out that was vermouth- instead of rum-forward and, of course, included an egg, and a room temperature one as the third. In the glass, the All's Fair donated an orange aroma from the twist and Curaçao that was joined by caramel and molasses notes from the dark rum. Next, the caramel continued on into the sip where it was chased by dark rum, cola, and orange flavors on the swallow.

letter to a younger self

3/4 oz Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
3/4 oz Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano or Lillet (Cocchi Americano)
1/2 oz Orange Liqueur (Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

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

After spotting the recipe a couple weeks back for the Heather in Queue that Jackson Cannon created at Eastern Standard in 2008, the cocktail was still on my mind. The combination was a near classic one akin to the 1940s Don't Give Up the Ship, and I wanted to make my own take on it keeping the orange liqueur-Fernet Branca duo intact. Therefore, I switched the spirit from gin to a split of Scotch and apple brandy and swapped the blanc vermouth for Cocchi Americano. For a name, I dubbed this one Letter to a Younger Self as a nod to Jackson's infamous "Letter to a Young Bartender" that he penned for Tales of the Cocktail 2014.The Letter to a Younger Self greeted the senses with an orange, peat, and menthol bouquet. Next, apple and melon notes on the sip progressed into Scotch and apple-orange flavors on the swallow with a minty-menthol finish.

zephyr

2 oz Plymouth Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
1/4 oz Green Chartreuse
1 dash Orange Bitters (Scrappy's)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.Two Mondays ago, I spied a Little Branch cocktail in the Hawthorne bar bible called the Zephyr that seemed like a delicious Martini riff. The recipe which reminded me of an Albert Mathieu was created by Benjamin Schwartz in 2010, and I found that the Bartender's Choice app had it as a half ounce each of Cocchi Americano and Green Chartreuse with no bitters; I decided that the Hawthorne's slight variation was more in tune with my palate though. Once prepared, the Zephyr breezed in with a lemon and pine aroma with hints of Chartreuse's herbal elements. Next, a minty pear sip drifted into a gin and herbal swallow.

boulevard of broken dreams

1 oz Rittenhouse Bonded Rye
1 oz Campari
3/4 oz Averna
1/2 oz Fidencio Mezcal
1 bsp Demerara Syrup (omit)
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a flamed orange twist (unflamed).

Two Sundays ago, I spotted the Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Kindred Cocktails and was lured in by the name. It is a reference to the Gottfried Helnwein painting that was a remake of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks painting with Elvis Presley, James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Humphrey Bogart in place of the original characters. The drink itself was crafted by Kyle Martin in 2018 at the Grotto in Levenworth, Washington, and the combination of Campari, Averna, and mezcal reminded me of the rum-based Departed.In the glass, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams met the nose with orange oil over dark herbal aromas and smoke. Next, a caramel sip slid into rye, smoky mezcal, and dark bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

sade's taboo

2 oz Hine H Cognac (Pierre Ferrand Ambre)
3/4 oz Cocchi Americano
3/4 oz Dolin Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1 dash Bittermens Grapefruit Bitters (2 dash Bittercube Jamaica #2)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe.Saturday two weeks prior, I was flipping through the Death & Co. Cocktail Book and spotted the Sade's Taboo created by Jessica Gonzalez in 2009. Overall, the recipe seemed like a brandy version of the Hoots Mon so I was intrigued. Once prepared, the Sade's Taboo began with a Cognac, orchard fruit, and grape bouquet. Next, the vermouth's grape continued on into the sip where it was followed by Cognac and pear-like flavors on the swallow.