Delirium Bijou

     Oh, the confused jewel. What better way to describe this gem. Wanting a more worked over version of the ever classic Bijou cocktail I am reminded of the concoction Alberta Straub ( http://cocktailsonthefly.tv/?s=bijou). This gets the wheels a rolling and not having the time to infuse my vermouth I chose a left over fruit tea infused gin. It is a very good one, and wanting a little more depth I added a barspoon of Zwack to bring in the herbal orange flavor a little more, a dash of grapefruit bitters to heighten the citrus notes of my vermouth, and a bit of Pimm's Cup to add to the tea flavors.

     The result was a citrus-herbal explosion. Very drinkable with a nice rounded flavor; not overpowering and yet complex enough for my taste-buds.

Delirium Bijou

1 oz. tea-infused gin

1 oz. Green Chartreuse

1 oz. Cocchi Americano

3/4 barspoon Zwack

1 barspoon Stirring's Blood Orange Bitters

1 barspoon Pimm's No.1 Cup

1 dash Fee's Grapefruit Bitters

The Bywater Cocktail

    The path through amaros doesn't necessarily have to be a bitter one. As I dig deeper and deeper in to the world of bitter liqueurs I find the fascination more and more compelling. Wanting to play around with my ever favorite ingredient, rum, I came across The Clermeil and The Bywater Cocktails. Unfortunately in my area we are lacking the ever elusive Allspice Dram so the next best will have to do.

Bywater Cocktail
1 3/4 oz. Angostura 7 year old rum
3/4 oz. Green Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Amaro ( I chose Zwack for its cinnamon and orange notes)
1/2 oz. Velvet Falernum
stir and strain

     The end result was a rather herbal concoction with the Chartreuse shining through on the nose. The initial sip reminded me of an intensified rum and Coke with an herbal finish. I could definitely come to like this one. I did use an orange zest for garnish due to availability but decided a lime twist would work much more nicely.

Chronic Cough

     Thinking of a bitter drink and wanting to play around with Cynar, I came up with this, a kind of play on the ever famous Bywater Cocktail. Playing around with a few substitute ingredients the Chronic Cough came together and ended the night with a bitter last bite. 

     Chronic Cough
2 1/4 oz. Appleton Reserve
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 Tbsp. Cocchi Americano
1 Tbsp. Chartreuse (Green)
1 tsp. Cynar
stir and strain

Banana Pith

Tossing around a few ingredients I had laying around I came up with a fresh rum screwdriver that fooled the senses. I added a dash of Angostura bitters and the result was a bitter screwdriver that left a weird fresh banana flavor in my mouth. All in all I think the drink is rather interesting, and since it contains rum it makes it even better. Apparently Angostura 7 has similar flavors to Bacardi 8; I only say this because Bacardi 8 was the first rum I found with a rather banana feel to it. Anyway this drink is very sip-able and kinda tasty.

Banana Pith

1 3/4 oz. Angosutra 7

1/4 oz. Velvet Falernum

juice of 1 orange

1 dash Angostura bitters

stir and strain

Champs-Elysees

     Craving an herbal cognac drink I'm reminded of the Champs-Elysees cocktail I had Binoy whip up for me; trying to work my way through the Anvil 100. The drink was great, more to my liking that the East India Cocktail. Reconstructing the drink at home, several months later, I turn to my trusty "bible", The PDT Cocktail Book.  Further investigation shows that the internet norm is a scant 1 1/2 oz. cognac while the PDT quotes a 2 oz. pour. I feel that the 2 oz. pour helps to show off the cognac rather than hide it behind a bunch of additives. Thus I give you;

Champs-Elysees

2 oz. cognac (Hennessy VS

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz. Green Chartreuse

1/4 oz. simple syrup

1 dash Angostura bitters

-shake and strain

garnish with a lemon twist

Old Fashioned

     Following the classic recipe for the Old Fashioned I concocted a drink as per the Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails book called. I chose instead of bourbon to go with a nice tasteful rye, Bulleit being my  favorite. 

     And next I tried it with the "original" recipe; omitting the orange zest for a dash of orange curacao. 

     The scent is lacking in the orange aroma, which I figured would happen. The drink is more palatable for my taste taming the bite of the rye and rounding out the cocktail with a hint of bite on the end. Either way I find the Old Fashioned a great way to start or end the night.

Old Fashioned

2 1/4 oz. rye

1 tsp. sugar

1 Tbsp. water 

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 dash orange curacao (optional)

stir and strain

1 large orange rind garnish (optional) 

Bollywood

     Following the Vintage Cocktails & Forgotten Spirits recipe for the Filmograph I sampled the drink and found it lacking in some way; which I couldn't put my finger on. It was good but not great. Playing around with the recipe and proportions nearly six months later I decided upon adding a bit of spice to the mighty tart cocktail. Finding a bottle of chai spice syrup laying around for lattes I decided to throw a bit of it into the mix in hopes that it would add a bit of depth to the drink. And without dissapointment the drink prevailed. A buttery, spiced depth rounded out the ever vintage cocktail and brought it to a newer flavorful height of enjoyment giving it the rebirth it so ever needed. A much better cocktail if you ask me. And I give you :

(incorrect glass and portion shown)

Bollywood

2 1/4 oz. cognac (Hennessey VS)

3/4 oz. kola tonic

juice of medium lemon

1/2 oz. Chai Tea syrup (Torani)

- stir with ice and serve 

lemon zest garnish (no shown)