save the robots

1 1/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass. Two Wednesday prior, I became inspired by the Nautical Mile with London Dry Gin and Calvados that I had the night before. I soon mashed up those spirits with the modifiers of Ce Soir, and I dubbed it Save the Robots after an after-hours club in New York City's East Village that I rediscovered in the book St. Marks is Dead and recalled from my time living in Manhattan in the early 90s. Here, pine and herbal aromas purchased entrance to the senses at the door. Next, caramel and honey notes on the sip danced their way into juniper, apple, vegetal, and herbal flavors on the swallow. I wondered if equal parts Calvados and gin would have worked better such that its richness would be closer the Cognac in the Ce Soir to balance the brighter herbaceous notes in the Yellow Chartreuse; however, I enjoyed the result enough not to retry it.

nautical mile

1 1/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
1/4 oz Pisco (Macchu Pisco)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Orgeat
1/4 oz Honey Syrup
1 dash Mole Bitters (Bittermens)

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. From the most recent issue of Imbibe Magazine in the article on Calvados drinks, I got lured in by the Nautical Mile by Chris Kiyuna at Holy Water in San Francisco. The gin and apple brandy in a Sour reminded me of the Pink Lady but with orgeat and honey instead of that classic's grenadine and egg white. Furthermore, the orgeat-honey duo was one that I last saw in Backbar's Platform Lime and 3/4 as well as some older drinks like Army Navy Grog. In the glass, the Nautical Mile reached out with a pine, apple, and almond bouquet. Next, a creamy lemon sip unfurled into juniper, almond, and apple flavors on the swallow with a honey and chocolate finish.

the capricorn

1 1/2 oz Aged Dark Rum (Planteray Original Dark)
1/2 oz Batavia Arrack (von Oosten)
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Falernum (Velvet)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with lime oil (lime twist). Two Tuesdays ago, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and spied an Erick Castro recipe that I had never made before – namely, the Capricorn that he created at Rickhouse in San Francisco circa 2009. It was reminescent of the Wray of Light with Jamaican rum instead of the dark rum and Batavia Arrack here, and with Becherovka as the clove source instead of falernum, it reminded me of Hop, Skip, and Jump. Once prepared, the Capricorn galloped to the nose with floral pineapple-lime melding into Batavia Arrack funk aromas. Next, lime with a hint of pineapple on the sip ushered in dark rum, Batavia Arrack's earthy funk, pineapple, and clove flavors on the swallow.

tuxedo no. 3

2 oz Probitas Rum (1 3/4 oz Hamilton's White 'Shache + 1/4 oz Wray & Nephew)
1/2 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth
1/4 oz Lazzaroni Maraschino Liqueur (Maraska)
1 tsp Pineapple Oleo Saccharum (Pineapple Syrup)
21 drop Chartreuse Elixir Vegetal
3 drop Salt Solution

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe. Two Mondays ago, my Instagram friend Darren Marks posted a recipe called the Tuxedo No. 3 that he created in 2025. It is also what he made for writer Robert Simonson when Robert visited Ruby's Lagoon Bar, Darren's home bar in Kansas City. Darren took the gin and absinthe of the Tuxedo No. 2 and replaced it with rum and Elixir Vegetal, and he added pineapple oleo akin to the Velvet Tuxedo No. 2 adding sloe gin. Once prepared, the Tuxedo No. 3 addressed the senses with a cherry and white rum with a hint of funk aroma. Next, white wine with a touch of pineapple and cherry on the sip opened up into rum with a little Jamaican funk, nutty cherry, pineapple, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow.

radio cocktail

50% Dry Gin (1 1/2 oz Tanqueray)
30% Dry Vermouth (1 oz Dolin)
10% Lemon Juice (1/4 oz)
10% Honey (1/4 oz Honey Syrup)
1 bsp Vanilla Syrup (1/8 oz)
1 dash Angostura Bitters

I shook but I do not feel that stirring would be out of place here. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe and garnish with a lemon twist. Two Sundays, I opened up the 1936 book 1000 Misture and became curious about the Radio Cocktail. It appeared like a Martini with a touch of lemon and sweetener structure previously seen in the Journalist and Cat's Eye and that I utilized in my Siege of Havana. Once prepared, the Radio Cocktail broadcast a lemon, allspice, pine, and vanilla bouquet to the nose. Next, honey and lemon notes on the sip flowed into gin, clove, honey, and vanilla flavors on the swallow. Overall, the citrus and vanilla aspects here reminded me of Licor 43.

gringo peligroso

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Amaro Montenegro
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Saturdays ago, I reached for my copy of The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and landed on the Gringo Peligroso by Lewis Caputa at the Rosina Cocktail Lounge. It reminded me of an M&M mashed up with the ginger-citrus Smoke Signals and Dragonfly that I had recently made. In the glass, the Gringo Peligroso offered up vegetal, smoke, orange and ginger aromas. Next, lime and clementine notes on the sip retired into smoky mezcal and ginger flavors on the swallow.

cannibal cove

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Pineapple Rum (Planteray Stiggins')
3/4 oz Amaro Sfumato
1/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
2 dash Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with a grapefruit twist. Two Fridays ago, I was motivated to create a recipe instead of taking the time to find one to make. Therefore, I mashed up two drink halves: the mezcal-pineapple rum that worked well in my Devil's Kitchen and Illegal Dance Moves with the Sfumato-cinnamon of my Hell Haggerty and Idlewild's Armstrong. For a name, I dubbed this one the Cannibal Cove after a section of the Tarawa coast that I learned about in the The Sex Lives of Cannibals book. In the glass, the Cannibal Cove offered up a grapefruit, herbal, and smoke sacrifice to the nose. Next, a roast-driven sip exalted vegetal, pineapple rum, smoke, cinnamon, and chocolate flavors on the swallow.

pole star

1 oz Hamilton Pot-Still Gold Rum (Privateer New England Reserve)
3/4 oz Hamilton 151° Rum (Diamond Reserve)
1 bsp Herbsaint (1/8 oz)
1 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Vanilla Syrup

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a double old fashioned glass (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a lime wheel and cinnamon stick (cinnamon stick and Hale Pele swizzle stick). Two Thursdays ago, I selected Nicole Schaefer's Portland Cocktails book, and Paddy Holland's Pole Star from the Hale Pele section caught my eye. Overall, it was very similar build to Jason Alexander's A Requiem for a Doomed Star but with different rums and anise source. Once built, the cinnamon aroma from the garnish and syrup below reached the nose. Next, caramel and lime notes on the sip exploded into rum, cinnamon, anise, and vanilla flavors on the swallow.

spice oddity

2 oz Cognac (Courvoisier VS)
1/2 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Allspice Dram (Hamilton)
1/2 oz Pineapple Syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a coupe glass. Two Wednesdays ago, I was looking through an online recipe flashcard set from the Liholiho Yacht Club in San Francisco and found the David Bowie pun of a drink called the Spice Oddity. I was able to get an approximate date through Yelp menu photos from December 2018 to March 2019 and a photo of the cocktail on Instagram from early 2019. The combination of pineapple juice and pineapple syrup was utilized before in the Swamp Water Fix and the Pineapple Margarita, and Cognac and allspice have appeared plenty including classics like None But the Brave and modern ones like Decadence & Elegance. Therefore, I set to work, and the end result generated a pineapple and allspice aroma. Next, pineapple and lemon on the sip drifted into Cognac, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.