Lil' Spanky

     Following the vintage cocktail scene for the last year I came across the Hanky Panky, being that most cocktails from that time were gin based and have a taste for Fernet-Branca this cocktail seemed fitting. Also based on the season strawberries and blueberries are fresh. I decided to mix up an infused version of the Hanky Panky that I call;

The Lil' Spanky
1.5 oz. Strawberry Pu-erh infused gin
1.5 oz. blueberry infused sweet vermouth (Martini & Rossi)
2 dashes Fernet-Branca
-stir and strain

Pedro Martinez

     The Martinez, my first endeavor into the vintage cocktail scene. The semi-sweet, highly herbal cocktail drove me to crave more. The vermouth showed it strength as the main ingredient and the gin, maraschino liqueur and bitters rounded the cocktail out. Vying for an updated version I threw together my version I call the Pedro Martinez, and not to be confused with the tequila version. My alter ego is Pedro.

Pedro Martinez 

1 1/2 oz. gin

1 1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Martini & Rossi)

1 barspoon Marie Brizzard Orange Curacao

1 dash Angostura Bitters

stir and strain 

Roscoff

     Roscoff is my play on the classic drink the Rum Scaffa. Skipping the light rum, Benedictine and bitters recipe, I chose the Cocktail Virgin's recipe; consisting of rum, Cynar and orange bitters. Playing on that recipe I came up with the Roscoff. 

Roscoff

1 barspoon Fernet Branca

1 oz. Cynar

1 1/2 oz. Angostura 7 rum

1 dash Stirrings Orange Bitters

stir and strain

    The end result came out very herbal and bitter, almost to the point of being undrinkable. But the strong herbal aroma leading into a semi-strong cocktail with a hint of citrus worked somewhat decently. The Cynar shined through with a backbone of Fernet-Branca and a rounding of rum. Definitely a drink that not for the beginners, but all together decent. 

Immigrant Mechanic

    Topping off the night at my favorite hot spot The Indian Oven, Binoy reminded me of the ever elusive Dirt and Diesel cocktail, as he didn't have enough Fernet to make the drink I took it upon myself to uphold the challenge at home, and came up with it's suitable predecessor. I deem thee, the Immigrant Mechanic.
     The first sip blasted me with herbal tones and lime sour notes and nicely blended off into the Pyrat Rum orange undertones. With every drink I find why the drink is so popular, It's very tasty, complex and satisfying.

Immigrant Mechanic
2 oz. Pyrat XO Reserve Rum
1/2 oz. Fernet Branca
1/2 oz. brown sugar syrup (1:1)
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz. Cynar

Pateta Sussurro

     After a night of drinking abbey ales I craved a drink with a tart, herbal tone to finish the night off. The Last Word came to mind but I wanted a more revamped style than the usual. Having a whole lime and some kola tonic on hand I decided to play around with those additives to the base of the classic Last Word. 

     Throwing together the first trial proved successful and rendered a lighter more simpler cocktail with cola undertones. With the herbal finish I found this cocktail to have a blend of the Last word mixed with a more Cuba Libre feel. 

Pateta Sussurro

1 1/2 oz. gin ( New Amsterdam)

1 1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse

1 3/4 oz. lime juice

3/4 oz. Clayton's Kola Tonic

3/4 oz. Marie Brizard Orange Curacao

- shake and strain 

Vieux Carre Veritas

    I decided to try my hand at the ever famous and somewhat forgotten cocktail, The Filmograph. I mixed up proportions that I felt appealing to me; 2 oz. Cognac, 1 oz. Kola Tonic, and the juice of 1 lime.

     The drink was so damn tart I could barely handle it, and I am a guy that loves the sour drinks. I found a dash a bitters really opened it up regardless of the type of bitters, I chose Fee's Black Walnut Bitters, as it was the newest to the bunch. It worked rather well to add some complexity and cut the sourness. Not being 100% pleased I thought of another idea and ran with it. 

   Having a few left over ingredients in the cupboard made me think that a Vieux Carre with a mix of Rhum Agricole,VSOP Cognac, a healthy dose of Stirrings Orange Bitters as well as Fernet Branca with just a dash of grapefruit bitters made sense. I do love the citrus forward drinks as well as the herbaceous undertones that Fernet adds. A nice backing of Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth helped to round out the cocktail. And within a flash of say 50-60 stirs I'd say we have a great, quick, complex rendition of that bitter classic that we all love so much.

Vieux Carre Veritas
3/4 oz. Remy Martin VSOP Cognac
3/4 oz. Barbancourt 8 year Rhum
3/4 oz. Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth
1/4 oz. Fernet Branca
1/4 oz. Stirrings Orange Bitters
1 dash Fee's Grapefruit Bitters
stir and strain

Night Mission

     Wanting to play around with Cognac I stumbled upon the "Knight" from David Embury's The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.  Following a somewhat playful version posted by Cocktail Virgin Slut , I came up with my own rendition. After playing around with the proportions I found a happy and tasty medium that suited me quite well. The Night Mission.

The Night Mission
2 oz. Hennessy VS Cognac
3/4 oz. lime juice
1/2 orange curacao (Marie Brizzard)
1 Tbsp. Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz. homemade fig syrup
1 1/2 dashed Fee's Black Walnut Bitters
- stir and strain into cocktail glass

     The drink displayed a heavy sweetness with a slight herbal note along with a hint of tang from the lime juice. An underlying richness developed from the Green Chartreuse, fig syrup and walnut bitters mixture as they melted back to into the sweet finish.Playing around with the proportions a bit I found that this mix was the most pleasing and satisfactory. For a new rendition on the Knight Cocktail, I find this one very satisfactory.

Horn of Plenty

     Awhile back I purchased a tea mixture from my local Teavana. The mixture of Citrus Lavender Sage and Golden Mojito was light and refreshing.Not being the huge tea drink that I am not I took the sales lady's advice and decided to use it in a cocktail. I immediately remembered the Earl Grey Mar-Tea-Ni. To round out the fruit salad feel I added a pungent Strawberry Pu-erh. Researching the recipe for the Earl Grey cocktail I noticed how the drink was more of a gin sour and less of a martini than I had expected. I thought that maybe a more traditional blend will allow the flavors to release better, rather than hide them among a sour mixture.

      After the three hour steeping process and a day to really allow the botanicals to mix I came up with this cocktail.
Horn of Plenty
2 oz. tea-infused gin (New Amsterdam)
3/4 oz. Cocchi Americano
1 barspoon Stirring's Orange Bitters
1 dash Fee Bros. Grapefruit Bitters
- stir with ice and strain

     The first sip was pulsing with fruit flavor and a somewhat tangy after taste. The bitters worked extremely well with the tea and gin mixture. I was a little weary of using an all alcohol recipe but the result was light, refreshing and all together a perfect cocktail.