black betty

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°)
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
1/2 oz Cynar
1/4 oz Herbsaint

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Sundays ago, I searched the Kindred Cocktails database for more Braulio recipes, and I stumbled upon the Black Betty by Max Greco at Vasco in Sydney, Australia, via a 2014 article in Saveur. Once this embittered recipe inspired by both the Manhattan and the Sazerac was assembled, it greeted the nose with an orange, caramel, and minty aroma. Next, the amari's caramel continued on into the sip where it was followed by rye, herbal, minty, and licorice flavors on the swallow. Overall, I thought the recipe was balanced with that much Herbsaint, but users on Kindred Cocktails thought otherwise; I do agree that if one uses absinthe instead, that the amount out to be halved or less to compensate the intensity.

commitment issues

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
3/4 oz Aged Rum (Rhum Barbancourt 8 Year)
1/2 oz Cafe Lolita (Kahlua)
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Build in an old fashioned glass, add ice, stir to mix and chill, and garnish with an orange twist.After I returned home from work two Saturdays ago, I powered up the Bartender's Choice app to quickly find a nightcap. There, I landed upon Commitment Issues by Kathryn Stashek at Manhattan's Attaboy circa 2018. Since the app described it as a riff on the Haitian Divorce, I reached for Barbancourt as the aged rum selection. The drink varies from Haitian Divorce by being more mezcal forward and swapping out Pedro Ximenez sherry and Angostura Bitters for coffee liqueur and orange bitters. Once prepared, the Commitment Issues donated an orange, vegetal, smoke, and roast aroma to the nose. Next, the roast notes continued into the sip, and the swallow followed up with smoky, coffee roast, and vegetal flavors with an orange, caramel, and smoke finish.

right place wrong time

1 3/4 oz Mezcal (Del Maguey Vida)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Strega
2 dash Peychaud's Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Fridays ago at work, my chef wanted a drink with Strega in it, so I made him Chris Hannah's Night Tripper. That inspired me to riff on the drink when I got home, and I swapped out the Bourbon and Averna for mezcal and Cynar while keeping the Strega and Peychaud's Bitters in place. Besides knowing that Cynar works well with mezcal, I recalled that I had two drinks, Alex Day's La Bateleur and Mike Steele's The Truth that elegantly paired Cynar and Strega. For a name, I kept Chris' Dr. John song title concept and dubbed this one the Right Place Wrong Time. In the glass, it welcomed the nose with an orange, vegetal, and smoke bouquet. Next, Cynar's caramel filled the sip and was followed by smoky agave, vegetal herbal, anise, and spice flavors on the swallow.

corpo reviver

3/4 oz Beefeater Gin
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
3/4 oz Lillet Blanc (Cocchi Americano)
3/4 oz St. Germain (St. Elder)
1/4 oz Fernet Branca

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

Two Thursdays ago, I decided to make a Corpse Reviver #2 riff called the Corpo Reviver that was in the collection of online flashcards that contained Franklin Mortgage & Investment Co. recipes as well as New York City drinks. With St. Germain in place of the orange liqueur, it fell somewhere between the classic found in the Savoy Cocktail Book and Sam Ross' Sunflower. However, instead of absinthe, the added herbal complexity was from a light touch of Fernet Branca. Indeed, the 3:1 ratio of elderflower to Fernet reminded me of the Cooper's Cocktail and Duboudreau Cocktail. Despite the lack of provenance, I was intrigued by the concept enough to make one for myself especially given the presence of Fernet in the Corpse Reviver #3.Once prepared, the Corpo Reviver donated a lemon and floral aroma to the nose. Next, lemon and orchard fruit notes on the sip bloomed into gin, orange, bitter, and grapefruit flavors on the swallow.

bigmouth strikes again

1 1/2 oz Old Forester 100 Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Bigallet China-China (Amaro Ciociaro)
1/2 oz Aperol
1/2 oz Punt e Mes
2 dash Cherry Bark Bitters (King Floyd's Cherry Cacao)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Wednesdays, I went back to the online flashcard set for house recipes at Atlanta's Paper Plane, and I paused on The Smiths tribute named Bigmouth Strikes Again. Besides the musical reference, its similarity to Eastern Standard's Prospect Park lured me in. Through an Eater article, I was able to identify the creator as Paul Calvert circa 2013. In the glass, the Bigmouth Strikes Again displayed an orange and dark fruity bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel, orange, and grape notes on the sip stepped aside for Bourbon, bitter cherry, and orange flavors on the swallow.

the mouse's tale

3/4 oz Gin (Beefeater)
3/4 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau)
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse

Stir with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe pre-rinsed with Campari. The photo in the book shows a citrus twist in the shape of a mouse's tail, so I did an orange curl (but it could have been a lemon one).Two Tuesdays ago, I wanted to make a recipe from The Through A Cocktail Glass book that Steven Canfield who I know as @boxesandbooze on Instagram sent me. In this Lewis Carroll tribute drink book, I was lured in by The Mouse's Tale as a drier, nuttier Tailspin riff. To the Bijou base, the author swapped out the sweet vermouth for Oloroso sherry and kept the Campari rinse found in the Tailspin in place. Once prepared, The Mouse's Tale proffered orange oil over Green Chartreuse's herbaceuous aromas. Next, a semi-dry grape sip curled up into gin, Chartreuse herbal, nutty, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

a farewell to arms

1 1/2 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Falernum (Velvet)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a mint leaf.Two Mondays ago, I spotted on Kindred Cocktails a recipe that appeared in 2014 on Fernet Branca's Facebook page called A Farewell to Arms by Chad Owen of Manifesto in Kansas City, Missouri. As a Fernet Daiquiri, the added complexity with falernum not unexpected since I had used it a few months back in the Devil Makes Work in a rum-forward design, and I first learned of the pairing in Murray Stenson's Porteño in 2009. Once shaken and strained, this tribute to Ernest Hemingway's 1929 novel began with menthol, mint, lime, and clove aromas. Next, lime and caramel mingled on the sip, and caramel, lime, menthol, and clove flavors rounded out the swallow.

ghostwriter

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti (*)
2 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters (4 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs Walnut Bitters)

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.
(*) Another online recipe I found had 2 oz Bourbon, 1 oz Meletti, 3 dash walnut bitters akin to a Black Manhattan instead of an Old Fashioned-like build.Two Sundays ago, I went back to the online flashcard set from Raised by Wolves and landed upon the Ghostwriter by Leigh Russ at the Ironside Fish & Oyster Bar in San Diego. The pairing of Meletti with walnut bitters was one that I had recently in the Pine Tavern Road; moreover, it was in the Fernet About Dre which utilized rye instead of the Bourbon here and embittered the mix with a healthy slug of Fernet. Once prepared, the Ghostwriter gave forth a Bourbon, herbal, and floral bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel on the sip from the amaro was chased by Bourbon, herbal, lavender, and walnut flavors on the swallow.

paradise garage

2 oz Scotch (Cutty Sark Prohibition)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
2 dash Angostura Bitters
Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass.While looking on Brick & Mortar's website, I discovered that their Toast Tab provides some of the drink recipes in the description. One that caught my eye was the Paradise Garage circa 2017 that was probably named after the NYC discotheque from 1977-87 that was a famous members-only LGTB dance club. I believe that this was the cocktail that I did not order at the bar one night, but it inspired my Library Card that added Bonal and removed the Angostura from the combination of Scotch, Cynar, and apricot liqueur. Moreover, the pairing of Cynar and apricot was one that I picked up at Brick & Mortar in 2015 when I had their One One Thousand as an equal parts combo with Bourbon and lemon juice. Once assembled, the Paradise Garage parked a smoke, malt, and orchard fruit aroma under the nose. Next, a caramel-driven sip exited into Scotch, herbal, and apricot flavors on the swallow with a clove and smoke finish.