the barrymore cocktail

2 oz Unpeated Scotch (Famous Grouse)
1/2 oz Peated Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1/2 oz Amaro Ramazzotti

Stir with ice. Add 1/8 oz Green Chartreuse into a coupe and ignite. After a few seconds, strain into the coupe to extinguish the flame and garnish with orange oil from a twist.Two Sundays ago, I decided to make The Barrymore Cocktail by Kenneth McCoy at New York City's Rum House as published in Punch. Overall, it reminded me of a less smoky Scottish Cyclops but with Green Chartreuse accents thrown in akin to the Krakatoa. The Barrymore Cocktail started out with orange oils over peat smoke aromas. Next, caramel and malt on the sip turned towards smoky Scotch and root beer flavors on the swallow with a herbal finish from the Chartreuse.

prime inspector

1 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 oz Averna
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with a cherry.Two Saturdays ago, I sought out the Bartender's Choice app for a nightcap. There, I was lured in by the Prime Inspector created by Mitchell Taylor at Nashville's Attaboy in 2018. The combination of Punt e Mes and Averna has worked well in the Bourbon-based Big Chief, rum-based Black Prince, and other drinks, so I was game to try it with apple brandy. Here, the Prime Inspector generated an apple and caramel bouquet. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip gave way to apple and minty herbal flavors on the swallow.

heaven sent

1/2 Coates' Plymouth Gin (2 oz Beefeater)
1/4 Lemon Juice (1/2 oz)
1/4 Cointreau (1/2 oz)
1 dash Grenadine (1/4 oz)
1 dash Absinthe (12 drop St. George)

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.Another recipe that I had spotted in the 1934 1700 Drinks From the Man Behind the Bar was the Heaven Sent. The combination of gin, Cointreau, grenadine, and citrus reminded me of the Boxcar except that utilized egg white akin to a White Lady and no absinthe. Here, the Heaven Sent gave forth a pine, orange, and floral aroma with a hint of anise. Next, lemon and berry notes on the sip rose into gin, orange, and pomegranate flavors on the swallow with a licorice and anise finish.

joe camel

1 1/2 oz Islay Scotch (Laphroaig 10 Year)
1 oz Punt e Mes
1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur (Kahlua)

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Thursdays ago, I opened up the Bartender's Choice app and came across the Joe Camel by Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin at Dutch Kills in 2014 that was described as "smoky and bitter kinda like a cigarette but without the carcinogens." The combination of smoky Scotch, Punt e Mes, and a cigarette theme reminded me of the Cowboy Killer, but this one took a coffee instead of Maraschino direction. Once mixed, the Joe Camel proffered an orange oil and peat smoke bouquet to the nose. Next, grape and roast notes on the sip exhaled into smoky Scotch on the swallow along with herbal elements melding into roasted coffee ones.

chelsea special

2/3 Gordon's Gin (2 oz Beefeater)
1/6 French Vermouth (1/2 oz Dolin Blanc)
1/6 Curaçao (1/2 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry)
3 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.Two Wednesdays ago, I returned to my digital copy of the 1934 1700 Drinks for the Man Behind the Bar and spotted the Chelsea Special that reminded me a little of a Joy Division but with Angostura instead of absinthe. I was able to track down through the UKBG's 1937 Approved book that it was created by British bartender W. Campbell. When I mixed it with dry vermouth as the French style, the Chelsea Special was a bit too dry and bitters forward, so I remade it with blanc vermouth instead. With that sweeter French style, it approached the nose with orange and pine aromas. Next, an off-dry sip with orange notes gave way to gin, orange, clove, and allspice on the swallow.

el raton

1 1/2 oz Spanish-style Rum (Don Q Gran Añejo)
1 oz Lustau East India Solera Sherry
1/4 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/4 oz Yellow Chartreuse

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with an orange twist in the shape of bull horns.Two Tuesdays ago, I spotted a recipe on Lustau brand ambassador Nathan Layman's social media called El Ratón. Bartender Matt James at Seattle's Bathtub Gin named his drink after a famous bullfighting bull, the "Terrible Mouse", who gained infamy by killing three people in bullfighting rings in Spain from 2006 to 2011. In the glass, El Ratón charged at the nose with an orange, nutty, and raisin aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip was chased by rum, nutty cherry, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

atlas

1 oz Calvados or Applejack (Morin Selection)
1/2 oz Demerara 151 Rum (Plantation OFTD)
1/2 oz Cointreau
(1/8 oz 1:1 Demerara syrup added for my prefered balance)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.

Two Mondays ago, I was perusing Dave Stolte's Home Bar Basics and spotted the Atlas which he attributed to Marco's Liquors in Chicago during the 1940s. A web search brought up an eGullet thread that directed me to Trader Vic, and I was able to find it in Vic's 1948 Bartender's Guide. The recipe that I used was mostly from Vic with the lemon twist garnish idea from Stolte and the addition of simple syrup to my preferred balance. Stolte later chimed in on my Instagram post that he learned of this drink from Paul Harrington's 1998 book Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century. In addition, Eric Witz ellaborated on the Marco's Liquors reference with, "I'm guessing this is from Hyman Gale and Gerald Marco's cocktail book The How and When... Marco owned a couple liquor stores in Chicago and published the book", and I was able to confirm that with my copy of the 1940 tome. The Atlas welcomed the senses with a lemon, apple, and dark rum aroma. Next, apple and caramel notes on the sip lifted up an apple, orange, caramel, and rum swallow.

drunken dodo

2 oz Scarlet Ibis Rum (1 1/2 oz Raising Glasses 8 Year Trinidad Cask Strength Rum + 1/2 oz water)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram (Hamilton's)
2 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays ago, I spotted the Drunken Dodo by Brian Miller in 2008 as published in the first Death & Co. Cocktail Book, and I realized that while I do not have Scarlet Ibis Rum, I do have another Trinidad rum that I could use. Once prepared, the Drunken Dodo proffered an orange, molasses, and allspice aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip entered into rum and allspice flavors on the swallow.

pin cushion

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1 dash Absinthe (1 bsp Kübler)

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Saturdays ago, I opened up the Bartender's Choice app and uncovered the Pin Cushion by Hunter Orahood at Attaboy in Manhattan circa 2018. The recipe was his riff on the Boulevardier, and perhaps the addition of absinthe helped shape the name for it reminded me of the classic Negroni called the Quill. Here, the Pin Cushion set the stage with an orange oil, rye, and anise aroma. Next, a grape-driven sip flowed into whiskey, bitter orange, and anise flavors on the swallow.