Thursday, March 28, 2024

raining on 110th st

1 1/2 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 1/2 oz Vermouth Blend (1 1/8 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth + 3/8 oz Punt e Mes)
5 dash Coffee Tincture (1/8 oz Mr. Black Liqueur)
1/8 oz Licor 43

Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass (coupe), and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Thursdays ago, I returned to Punch's article on Manhattan variations where I sourced the Long Look Back and found the Raining on 110th St. The recipe was crafted by Carlton Dunlap of Portland, Oregon, and the combination with Licor 43 and sweet vermouth made me think of the Signals, Calls, & Marches despite that one being a gin drink instead of rye whiskey. Although the article did not specify, the cocktail could be named for the Los Lobos song "Wicked Rain / Across 110th Street". Once prepared, the Raining on 110th St began with an orange and vanilla nose. Next, a grape-driven sip trickled into rye, coffee, vanilla, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

louisiane and maine

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/4 oz Cherry Heering
1/4 oz Benedictine
1 dash Angostura Bitters
1 dash Peychaud's Bitters
1 dash Absinthe (10 drop St. George)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a cherry.
Two Wednesdays ago, I spotted a new entry on the KindredCocktails database called the Louisiane and Maine. The drink created by Massachusetts home enthusiast Todd Yard was named for its mashup of a Remember the Maine and a De La Louisiane, and the recipe was sourced from a recent post on his Concoctails blog. Moreover, the Cherry Heering-Benedictine pairing also reminded me of the Singapore Sling. Once prepared, this Manhattan variation gave forth an anise and cherry bouquet. Next, grape and cherry notes on the sip leapt to rye, herbal, clove, and anise flavors on the swallow with a cherry finish.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

amen corner

1 1/3 oz Bourbon (2 oz Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Sfumato (3/4 oz)
1/2 oz Crème de Peche (3/4 oz Mathilde)
1 tsp Cynar (1/4 oz)

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Tuesdays ago, I was perusing an album of screen captures on my phone when I came across one that I bookmarked a year ago an Instagram post from the Cocktails by Roberts and June blog. The drink they showcased was the Amen Corner from Russell House Tavern in a Fall 2020 post. Some time after that point, their site disappeared, but luckily, it still remains on the Wayback Machine via Internet Archive -- Amen to that! After having a good moment with crème de peche with the Prodigal Son a few nights before, I was game to try this Black Manhattan of sorts. Through an an online set of server menu information cards, I learned that the drink was "named after famous bend in Masters tournament" which encompasses the 11th, 12th, and 13th holes of the Augusta National Course. Given the general manager listed on the server training cards, the drink is older than the post; that would place it sometime after I left Russell House in March of 2015 and before that general manager departed in December of 2016. In the glass, the Amen Corner proffered up orange, peach, roast, and root-herbal aromas to the nose. Next, orchard fruit notes on the sip soared into Bourbon, bitter peach, vegetal, and roasty-smoky flavors on the swallow.

Monday, March 25, 2024

monkey business

1 1/2 oz Great King Street Glasgow Blend Scotch (Royal Brackla 12 Year)
1/2 oz Smith & Cross Rum
1/2 oz Crème de Cacao (Bols)
1/2 oz Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1 dash Smeby Black & White Bitters that are chocolate/vanilla (1 dash Savoy Society Chocolate & Chicory + 1 dash Savoy Society Orange Vanilla)
2 pinch Salt (5 drop 1:4 Saline)

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist.
Two Mondays ago, I ventured back to the online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago, and there I selected the Monkey Business from their Spring 2022 menu. The bar posted a photo and description of the drink on Instagram almost 2 years ago which coincides with the information I uncovered. The combination of cacao and banana liqueurs is one that has prospered in drinks like the Banana Clipper at the Hawthorne, Psycho Killer at Dead Rabbit, Antilles Jewel from Shannon Mustipher's Tiki: Modern Tropical Cocktails, and a few other recipes, so I was delighted to try it again here. In the glass, the Monkey Business displayed a lemon, Scotch, and tropical bouquet to the nose. Next, caramel on the sip flowed into whisky, funky rum, chocolate, and banana flavors on the swallow.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

tight five

1 1/2 oz Tequila (Olmeca Altos)
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi)
1/2 oz Apple Brandy (Laird's Bonded)
1/4 oz Cynar
1/8 oz Benedictine

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.
Two Sundays ago, I reached for my copy of the Raising the Bar book by Jacob Grier and Brett Adams, and I landed on the Tight Five that they crafted with tequila and apple brandy in an herbal-tinged Manhattan of sorts. In the glass, the Tight Five unfurled with orange, vegetal, and minty aromas. Next, a grape-driven sip led into agave, apple, and herbal flavors on the swallow.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

plausible deniability

1 1/2 oz Famous Grouse Scotch (Famous Grouse Black)
3/4 oz Drambuie
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lime wedge (omit garnish).
Two Saturdays ago, I discovered a drink called Plausible Deniability via a set of online recipe flashcards. I was able to trace it back to 2013 article in Punch which described how it was created by Alex Waldman, a California ex-pat living in Turkey and running Alex's Place in Instanbul. The name derived from how the owner thought that the first proto-type with Bourbon had a youthful feel to it, and Alex later dubbed it with a more abstract name than the owner's suggestion. Once mixed, the Plausible Deniability opened up with lime, orange, honey, and Scotch aromas. Next, honey and lime notes mingled on the sip, and the swallow rounded things up with whisky, bitter orange, and honey flavors.

Friday, March 22, 2024

tiki mama

3/4 oz Planteray Pineapple Rum
3/4 oz Privateer Silver Rum (Privateer Tres Aromatique)
3/4 oz Combier Grapefruit Liqueur (St. Elder)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/2 oz Honey Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a Tiki mug, and fill with crushed ice. Garnish with 3 dash Angostura Bitters, a grapefruit twist, and an edible orchid (omit orchid).
Two Fridays ago, I wanted something refreshing after my tough bar shift that night. Therefore, I decided it was time to make the Tiki Mama created at Tiger Mama in Boston circa 2015 as found in an onine recipe flashcard set. Once assembled in the mug, the Tiki Mama brought forth grapefruit, cinnamon, and allspice aromas to the nose. Next, lemon and honey on the sip sailed into rum, pineapple, grapefruit, cinnamon, and honey flavors on the swallow.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

prodigal son

2 oz Evan Williams 1783 Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Ciociaro
1 tsp Crème de Peche (Mathilde)
1 dash Elixir Vegetal de la Grande-Chartreuse

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube.

Two Thursdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set from Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon, and I selected the Prodigal Son from their Spring 2023 menu. I was able to ascertain that it is an older drink than that via a mention on Yelp dating back to Summer 2021. I was drawn in for it would give me a reason to crack open my bottle of Elixir Vegetal that I got at the launch party held at Atlantico last November; Elixir Vegetal is akin to bitters that taste like Green Chartreuse but are not a direct substitute for that hard-to-find liqueur. I first tried Elixir Vegetal dashed onto a sugar cube in a spoon circa 2010 at Eastern Standard back when the product was categorized as a medicine and not allowed to be legally imported into the country; recently, they changed its categorization to fill the gap in the market for things that taste like Chartreuse. In addition, since Chartreuse flavors worked well with crème de peche in the Foreward, I was keen on trying out the Prodigal Son.
The Prodigal Son arrived with a caramel, peach, and herbaceous bouquet. Next, caramel on the sip gave way to Bourbon, peach, dark orange, and herbaceous flavors on the swallow.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

devotion & desire

1 oz El Buho Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1 oz Campari
1 oz Cynar

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

Two Wednesdays ago, I uncovered a set of online recipe flashcards for the Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and I locked into the oddball Mezcal Negroni of sorts called the Devotion & Desire from the Winter 2018 menu which reminded me of the Cynarita with tequila, Smoke & Mirrors with aquavit, and Bottechia with Fernet. Moreover, the combination of Campari and Cynar as the modifiers was one that I utilized in 2020 in the Pinball Racket. Through Instagram, I learned that the drink was created by Geo Thompson who managed the rock club-restaurant establishment around that time, and he described how they had a menu full of "classic riffs named after songs by bands that played there recently or upcoming. Devotion & Desire is a song by [the band] Bayside. The goal was to introduce the bartenders to some classics with goal of building knowledge out from there."
In the glass, Devotion & Desire began with an orange, caramel, vegetal, and smoke aroma. Next, Cynar's caramel filled the sip and was followed by smoky, vegetal, bitter orange, and herbal flavors on the swallow.