1 oz Del Maguey Mezcal Vida (Peloton de la Muerte) 1 oz Punt e Mes 3/4 oz Cynar 1/4 oz Benedictine 1/8 oz Demerara Syrup 1 dash House Hellfire Bitters (my own Hellfire Bitters) Stir with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with a lemon sidewinder twist.Two Fridays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set for the Patterson House in Nashville and found the bitter and spicy mezcal recipe, Gasoline Boots, that was created circa 2022. With Punt e Mes, Cynar, and Benedictine in the mix, it reminded me of the Chachita that I crafted at Loyal Nine years ago. Once mixed, th ..read more

2 oz Redemption Rye Whiskey (Templeton) 1/2 oz Walnut Liqueur (Russo Nocino) 1/2 oz Averna 2 dash Bittermens Mole Bitters Stir with ice, strain into an absinthe-rinsed (St. George) coupe, and garnish with a cherry (Luxardo).Two Thursdays ago, I came across a recipe called the Left Hand of Darkness on the KindredCocktails database. Unlike the Ursula Le Guin tribute at Backbar that was more of a Left Hand (Boulevardier-like) riff with the same name, this one was crafted and recently posted by Pasadena home enthusiast Todd Brant and shared similarities with the rye, walnut, and Averna Oakshade ..read more

1 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte) 1 oz Campari 3/4 oz St. George NOLA Coffee Liqueur (3/8 oz each Kahlua + Mr. Black) 1/4 oz Amaretto (Disaronno) 2 dash Angostura Bitters Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Wednesdays ago, I came across the recipe for the Squeaky Wheel in a 2019 Imbibe Magazine article as created by Nicholas Bennett at Cedric's at the Shed in Manhattan. Bennett was the beverage director at Cedric's in Hudson Yards concurrent with his time at Porchlight which are both under the umbrella of Danny Meyer's Union Square Ho ..read more

1 oz Bacardi 8 Rum (Don Q Gran Añejo) 1/2 oz Balvenie Doublewood Scotch (Royal Brackla 12) 1/4 oz Johnnie Walker Black Scotch (Ardbeg 10) 1/2 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra) 3 dash Chocolate Bitters (Bittermens) Stir with ice and strain into a coupe.Two Tuesdays prior, I was perusing the KindredCocktails database when I came across the Smokey Old Quartermaster. The drink was created by Matt Pietrek and published on his CocktailWonk blog in 2014 as a riff on the Old Quartermaster at Rum Club in Portland, Oregon. Given the name and the combination of rum, whisky, and sherry, I assum ..read more

1 1/2 oz Planteray OFTD Rum 3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi) 1/4 oz Benedictine 1/4 oz Fernet Branca 1/4 oz Crème de Banane (Tempus Fugit) 6 drop Absinthe (St. George) Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with a large cube. Two Mondays ago, I uncovered a note that I had made on my phone with a riff on the Away Colors that I had thought up. To the rum, Fernet, and banana combination, I added in Benedictine and Punt e Mes and took the rum into overdrive with Planteray's OFTD. The combination did not work as well as planned, but switching the aromatized wine to regular sweet vermo ..read more

2 oz Rye Whiskey (Old Overholt 86°) 1/2 oz Bonal Gentiane-Quina 1/2 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth 2 dash Angostura Bitters 1 Orange Peel Express the orange peel into a mixing glass and drop in, add the rest of the ingredients and ice, stir, and strain into a coupe.Two Sundays ago, I returned to a set of online recipe flashcards for Raines Law Room in New York City and landed on the Greenwood. As a Manhattan variation with a split of vermouth and quinquina, it reminded me of the Aime from Louis' Mixed Drinks from 1906 and perhaps California Gold's Bicycle Thief with Cynar in the mix at the Blue Roo ..read more

1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac (Monnet VSOP) 1 oz Brugal Añejo Rum (Don Q Gran Añejo) 1 oz Cocchi Americano 1/4 oz Luxardo Maraschino 2 peel Lemon Express the lemon peels into the mixing glass and drop in, add the rest of the ingredients and ice, stir, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a cherry.Two Saturdays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcard set from the Patterson House in Nashville and was tempted by the Pedantic Revisited. Overall, it read like a rum-Cognac Martinez of sorts with Cocchi Americano as the aromatized wine, and the feel reminded me of the Genever-Old Tom gin P ..read more

2 oz Mount Gay Black Barrel Rum (R.L. Seale 10 Year) 1/2 oz Amaro Ramazzotti 1/2 oz Oloroso Sherry (Lustau) Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, garnish with a cherry at the bottom of the glass, and gently sink 1/4 oz Benedictine.After finding the That'll Take the Edge Off on KindredCocktails that was sourced from the Be Your Own Bartender book by Carey Jones and John McCarthy, I ordered a copy. When I finally opened up the book, I landed on the authors' Smooth Operator in the rum section that seemed like a great start. With rum, sherry, and Ramazzotti, it reminded me of the East India Tr ..read more

1/2 oz Hine Cognac (Monnet VSOP) 1/2 oz Roger Groult Calvados (Morin Selection) 1/2 oz Blume Marillen Apricot Eau de Vie (Shalakh Armenian Apricot Eau de Vie) 1/2 oz Cynar 1 oz Cocchi Sweet Vermouth Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with an orange twist.Two Thursdays ago, I found another online recipe flashcard set from Death & Co., and I selected the Bayonet from their Fall 2021 menu; Yelp helped me to identify the location as Death & Co.'s Denver branch. I was curious as whether the Bayonet was more a three-brandy Little Italy ..read more

1 1/2 oz Dubliner Irish Whiskey (Jameson) 3/4 oz Amaro Ramazzotti 3/4 oz Dolin Blanc Vermouth 1/4 oz St. George Pear Brandy (Rothman & Winter Orchard Pear) (*) 1 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange) 1 dash Peychaud's Bitters Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist. (*) This is most likely St. George's pear eau de vie and not their spiced pear liqueur. Rothman & Winter Pear Liqueur contains a pear eau de vie at its base and was my closest match.Two Thursdays ago, I ventured back to the set of online recipe flashcards for The Violet Hour in Chicago ..read more