Spear Thrower

     The end of a five year challenge has finally come.  Cocky as I was in my younger years, I made the mistake of opening my mouth, "I can make a cocktail out of anything!" I think was the gist of it.  Boy did that statement bite me in the butt.  But after years of cocktailing and blog following I came across the Corn Goddess created by one of the best (if not the best David Wondrich) and this drink got the wheels a moving.       Although the drink sounded amazing and looked as everyone had described it ,"fresh," I was not a fan of Campari or tomatoes at that crossroad in life. A little further research and I stumbled upon the Atole de Elote, a Salvadoran corn drink that dates back to the Mayans.  Now this is more my style; thick, rich, creamy and sweet; now all it needs is a little alcohol.
     Starting with some fresh wood-oven roasted corn, thanks Dante crew, I began to puree it with a little half & half.  The yield was small and insignificant, but enough for a trial rum.  Trying to add a bit of complexity I opted to use some "corn crema" that gets used in a pasta dish to help add some thickness and round out the palate.  Now to make it alcoholic.  The first thing that came to mind bourbon and spiced rum, I believe these will work beautifully.  A little time spent with the Vita-Mix and a chinois  and we have run number one.
     The mixture concocted was rich, creamy and subtle on the corn. The definitive flavors actually came from the spiced rum; it had an intense nutmeg and cinnamon note on the aftertaste. All in all the drink was delicious and I can only wonder how it will taste with Pyrat rum or a nice rich dark rum.

Ransom Note

     Ransom Old Tom Gin is finally here,  praise the liquor gods!  After a nice tasting I find myself leaning more towards the vermouth than the actual gin,  I love the taste Ransom produced on the dry vermouth,  it's like nothing I have ever tasted before.  This is seriously a sippable dry vermouth,  I didn't think that was possible. Outside of the Chrysanthemum Cocktail a dry vermouth was never the highlighted base, or at least one I would go for.  I am quite fond of the Chrysanthemum and my beer-based Dusted Mums Cocktail.
     Now let's just see what a martini version of these two lovely spirits would produce.  I prefer to follow the Marguerite Cocktail recipe for making my martinis,  I believe it is the most true to spirit as does David Embury.  Pick up a copy of The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks,  if you'd like some light reading, the recipes are exactly the same.
   





Ransom Note
2 oz. Ransom Old Tom Gin
1 oz. Ransom Dry Vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters (Regan's)
- stir and strain;  lemon twist garnish






The nose of the drink was quite complex.  It smelled of old tom and citrus and a nice white wine fruitiness. The initial sip was slightly boozy at first but melded into a very nice light cocktail with a spicy cinnamon and absinthe-like finish.  Everyone who tried it was so impressed they kept coming back for more.  If this is what drinking in the '20's was like I want to go back.

Corpse Reviver No. 3

     The challenge: to try them all, isn't that always the case?  But seriously, how many renditions of the Corpse Reviver are there?  Number one, it's kind of a beast, number two a nice tasty "warm weather" drink, and now let's try number three.
     The color is that of all descent drinks, a nice pink hue.  But the taste... Oh boy! I think I can stand Campari if it's served like this.  The flavor is much reminiscent of Hawaiian Punch with a nice bitter hint on the end.  I think I have found my favorite Corpse Reviver.  Try one some time.


Corpse Reviver No.3
1 oz. brandy (Hennessy Black)
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Triple Sec (Cointreau)
1/2 oz. lemon juice

Mont Blanc

     Thumbing through my newest cocktail book, World's Best Cocktails, I can only feel dubious to it's self-proclaimed greatness.  After a few days and some quick re-referencing here and there I believe that I have found another great cocktail book to add to my collection.  " The Provencal" from Employees Only keeps tickling my fancy. Lavender-infused gin, herbs de Provence-infused dry vermouth, how could this not be amazing?

     I infused the lavender into a bottle of Tanqueray for the better part of a shift (about 5 hours) and did the same with the vermouth, choosing to use fresh herbs for the herbs de Provence blend.  Some basil, a little thyme and of course rosemary all together with a nice vermouth blanc.  After the blends were steeped and strained my senses were overwhelmed with the aromas of Italian foods.  I think that this will work nicely.  A quick 2:1 "martini" mix was concocted just to have a control taste.  Overpowering!, Wow those are intense flavors, and very much a soapy texture were all presented in this mix.  It's definitely going to be needed toned down.  I see now why EO used a bit of Cointreau.  Sounds good but I want to keep it herbaceous as much as possible and this is where I think St. Germain would come in nicely.  A good floral tone with a nice citrusy undertone.  Just enough to tame this beast. 

Mont Blanc

1.5 oz. Lavender-infused gin (Tanqueray)

1 oz. herbs de provence-infused vermouth (Dolin Blanc)

0.5 oz. St. Germain

1-2 dashes Celery bitters 

-stir and strain into chilled coupe

     lemon twist garnish (not shown)

     This cocktail, The Mont Blanc, had a good mouth feel, a decent amount of citrus "play", a nice herbal essence and was all together quite drinkable. 

Mexican Flower

     How I do love impromptu cocktails. "Fill the list," is always what I here on a precursor to the weekend. So let's have a little fun, shall we? Tequila is my ever elusive spirit. Don't like the stuff, not ordered often, but yet very similar to my all time favorite, rum. Let's use it as a basis for a cocktail.
     A little tequila, some cachaca, honey syrup, some wine-based amaro and of course some lime. This drink is beginning to come together. Wanting a little more herbal sensation to go with the amaro, I opted for a "sink" of creme de violette.
     I described the drink as a cachaca-based Aviation cocktail meets a honeyed Margarita. The layered effect work nicely and the drink was very similar to a tequila-based Bee's Knees. But on the sip the finish was all creme de violette. I was surprised at how well this cocktail turned out especially for its on-the-spot nature, but give it a try.

Mexican Flower
0.75 oz. Tequila (Sauza)
0.75 oz. Cachaca (Cabana)
0.75 oz. Cardamaro
0.5 oz. spiced honey syrup
1.0 oz. lime juice
- shake and strain
sink 0.25 oz. Creme de Violette

Supreme Poet

     Rhubarb season is here, and that entices me.  I love rhubarb and have always wanted to play with it in a cocktail.  Thankfully my allies in arms, the sous chef and all the other cooks had brought some in to make rhubarb jam.  I'll just reallocate that to the bar.  Nothing like a little fresh rhubarb juice and pulp to get the creative juices flowing.  After making a quick 1:1 simple syrup with the rhubarb juice, let the experimenting begins. I knew I'd be using Aperol but that was only the basis for this cocktail. I was thinking something akin to the Dulchin or the Final Rhuse.
     Trial one; cachaca and grappa mixed with Aperol and lemon juice.  Now that's a funky cocktail, but where is the rhubarb?  Trial number two; contemporary gin, Aperol, lemon and syrup.  Ok, we're getting close but man that syrup is subtle.  The final hope is a venture I don't take willingly, vodka.  I tend to find vodka an abomination that should be left to college kids and people who don't like flavor.  It's whole purpose it to be "flavorless".  With this in mind the rhubarb should shine through.  A quick equal parts cocktail a dash of bitters and yes let's throw some crushed rhubarb in for good measure.  I think we have it.
     The result is a light cocktail with a subtle hint of rhubarb and just the right amount of bitterness. Well rounded I must say and perfect for the summer heat.

Supreme Poet
(1) 1" chunk of rhubarb
0.75 oz. Vodka (Stolichnaya)
0.75 oz. Aperol
0.75 oz. rhubarb syrup
0.75 oz. lemon juice
1 dash Fee's Grapefruit bitters
- muddle, shake and strain, rosemary sprig garnish

Forest Fire

     Ever since my stunning night at Manifesto in Kansas City I have had a soft spot for this bar in my heart. Remembering, not so much, more reviewing the menu, online, I am coerced by the Beautiful Red Bell of a night long gone.  But more recently I had been researching cocktails on Post Prohibition and came across El Comediante  and was again intrigued by the red bell pepper cocktails. So let's make something, huh?
     Infusing red bell pepper into silver rum was rather simple. All one needs is a knife, a bell pepper, some rum, and a container... and about 24 hours. The real task for this drink becomes balance. My first attempt was a cocktail of four parts red bell pepper (RBP) rum, one part lime juice, one part falernum all shaken up and strained over ice with a ginger ale topper and a red wine float. A descent enough drink but many declared that it didn't have enough "spice", or kick from the said belle pepper. I had to remind them that the red bell pepper is the sweetest of all peppers. That being said I wasn't at all satisfied either. The red wine I float was giving me a rather vinegary taste on the initial sip, but that could be fixed.
     Trial number two produced a cocktail much to all's liking. I cut back the falernum and introduced a bit of allspice dram, that should bring the spice level up. The drink was well balanced with a definitive red bell pepper flavor and a finishing spiciness.

Forest Fire 

1.5 oz. RBP infused rum

0.25 oz. Velvet Falernum

0.5 oz. homemade allspice dram

0.5 oz. lime juice

-shake and strain over ice

near fill with ginger ale

float dry red wine (nero d'avola or nebbiolo)

Newton's Quandary

     Finocchietto, an interesting liqueur with a certain je ne sais quoi, boy do I need to learn Italian.  I had been serving it as a vin santo, which I thought it was.  The most I could describe at that moment was it was an interesting after dinner liqueur with similar aspects to sambuca, kinda anise-y.  But after a month or so of my sheer ignorance, my well-traveled chef  explains to me that finocchietto is the literal translation for fennel in Italian.  What a "mensa" moment.  Now on to a challenge, I love challenges. 

     The impromptu challenge was to come up with a summertime cocktail to be served over crushed ice, a la swizzle or julep, but what goes with fennel?  A little research and a day later and I have an intrigue  that I can't wait to bang out.  Fig Newtons came to mind and thus it shall be.  A quick mix, a little citrus and a hint of sweetness and we have the:

Newton's Quandary 

1 oz. grappa

0.5 oz. liquore di finocchietto

0.5 oz. spiced honey syrup

0.75 oz. lemon juice

2 dahses Fee's Plum Bitters

2 Fig Newtons (broken up)

- muddle, hard shake and fine strain over crushed ice

dash cinnamon garnish

     A delicious concoction with an interesting grappa backbone, a nice fennel touch and a creaminess I didn't expect from the Fig Newtons. 

Twelfth Amendment

     Last month or so I had an after dinner drink at the I.O., a favorite cocktail bar of mine in the Old Market of Omaha that had originated as the first Indian restaurant in the state as well as the region. As I had already partook in a smoky Zaya cocktail at the new Berry &Rye I was up for a digestif per say. I chose to mix rum, as my love of sugar-based spirits never abstains; but I also wanted some Fernet-Branca. It's like a drug, the first time you have Fernet-Branca, it may not be your most pleasant, but then after, you crave it more and more. So a ratio of 2 oz. to 1/2 oz. seemed appropriate. It was a "good" cocktail, but not great at all. The term "blasphemous ," was even thrown around the bar.

     A month later I find myself at the I.O. which hosts the monthly gathering of Libation Association. After an hour or so of rum-soaked learning we convene to the main level for our complementary cocktail. A little discussing later with my man behind the stick,Brad Kinkade, he enticed me with a working cocktail off of my faux pas from my previous visit. A drink that's name was debatable between our left-right politics, I came to the conclusion that the Twelfth Amendment was suiting. 

     I must say Brad found a way to make an "eh" drink great.

Twelfth Amendment

2 oz. Pampero Aniversario

1 oz. Fernet-Branca

1/2 oz. spiced honey syrup

1/2 oz. lime juice

-shake and strain

Palermo

     Continuing our barrel-aged program at Dante, we decided to mix the newly great Dumante pistachio liqueur with a descent bourbon. At first it was deemed The Silcian Manhattan , but as I pointed out it wasn't a "Manhattan" at all. So thus we agreed upon The Palermo, a great cocktail it was but I knew it could be better. The first recipe had called for orange bitters, as was the go-to flavor additive for this establishment. But a little brainstorming couldn't hurt huh?
     Barrel aging was a good idea as most whiskey-based cocktails will gather some depth from a charred oak barrel. So a quick 2:1 ratio and six weeks later and we have a vessel to deliver a magnificent drink. Now for the bitters. With a never-ending array of bitters options out there, there must be one perfect for this cocktail. As I had a bottle of Fee's Black Walnut Bitters at home, I figured that would be a good starting point to enhance this soon to be lovely cocktail. And boy was I right. Just the right mix for someone who wants a "strong" drink with a bourbon backbone and a nutty undertone.

Palermo
(2:1) Bulliet Bourbon : Dumante Pistachio Liqueur
     barrel-age for 6 weeks
mix in 2 dashes Fee's Black Walnut Bitters
- stir and strain
lemon twist or cherry garnish

Double Tea(m)

     Mixing up a batch of orgeat to play around with, we decided to concoct a cocktail with complexity and depth similar in form to the Cameron's Kick, or the Supreme . As I favor both of those cocktails I accepted the challenge unabridged. The proportions would be similar and the spirits would be the only variable. We decided upon cognac and pear liqueur, a great combination.
     The resulting cocktail was a bit gritty,(from the orgeat) had a strong cognac nose, and a bright pear and citrus pop. This could work for the adventurous, as it did look like murky water but had a good flavor.
     Finally a bottle of St. Germain shows up. The first though that came to mind was," Hey, this will work amazingly with my tea syrup." But as I began to play around with cocktails I found that even though the syrup had a great nose, it was a wee bit to subtle to hold its own in a drink.
     So an infused liquor we shall need. A spare bottle of vodka? I think we found what I'm looking for. But let's add a little depth to this drink, shall we? Earl Grey anyone?

Double Tea(m)
(cocktail on the right)
2 oz. "Tea Liqueur"
- (equal parts Earl Grey infused vodka, and homemade oolong syrup)
0.75 oz. lemon juice
0.5 oz. St. Germain
dash Regan's Orange bitters
- shake and strain, lemon garnish(not shown)

Death From Above vs. Daffy's Nightmare

     A recent trip to Saint Louis, Missouri produced a world I was not accustomed to. Outside the winding dead-end roads and changing street names even a veteran could have issues getting around. Aside from that I hear St. Louis is a hub for the midwest gastropub and craft cocktail.... You have my attention.
     After an evening with "the family" we decided to end the night at a local casino, which had an upscale bar near the top floor overlooking the East/West St. Louis divide. Four Season St. Louis showed me a bit of St. Louis I didn't know existed. Aside from all the "ghetto" areas I was surprised to find an upscale bar in the heart of the city; no wonder its attached to a hotel. This swank hotel bar, Cielo, offered much to the seasoned as well as the novice drinker. A variety of spirits not available in my area aroused my senses. Even more did the cocktail menu arouse my girlfriend's, a duck fat infused scotch cocktail, what are they thinking? Never saw that coming, even though in hindsight why wouldn't we progress from bacon- infused to duck fat infused liquor? Infused scotch mixed with pistachio liqueur, dry vermouth, Cointreau, and a house-made allspice dram, The Daffy's Nightmare sounds quiet intriguing. The initial sip led from scotch to a cloying artificial flavor to citrus and then finished with a rather intense allspice flavor. Lisa claimed the allspice was overpowering, but I interjected with the feeling of artificial flavoring and cloying duck-fat. Maybe my senses are off, but all in all the drink was okay, very interesting with a mystique of curiosity that reels me to come back.
     Previous to the end we had had a tapas dinner at a place called Mosaic. The meal was an amazing presentation that had the taste buds flourishing. A definitive avant-garde restaurant, I was ready the moment I walked in the door. A  plethora of flavor and sensation among each small plate drug me "through the garden," loving the journey. A debate among flavor profiles ensued and of course no one won that battle. Inviting newbies to the gastro experience was a delight that I relished to enlighten those less experienced than I or my girlfriend to indulge.  Is that capsicum-infused melon? The quail egg salad was the most peculiar. Leading my girlfriend and I to debate among its character ingredients. Definitely a must try.
     Drink wise I went with a "safe" Dark and Stormy as I didn't want to bother the waitstaff to retrieve the cocktail menu from the bar. Lisa loving the intricate flavors decided upon the Death From Above; a mixture of spiced rum, lime juice, cinnamon honey syrup, smoked scotch and tobacco bitters. Wow!, is all I can say. I am not a fan of spiced rum as any person who knows will tell you, but this drink is well rounded in all aspects. The lime juice, rum and spiced honey all bleed out at the appropriate times with a smoothing smoky scotch note and tobacco spiciness round this cocktail out. Looking at it on paper I would have never thought that I would like it so much .
     All in all St. Louis threw me a curve ball I would have never swung for, but I am glad that I did. Inning for inning this town has alot to offer and I can't wait until I go back for more.

Tobago Shipwreck

     Following the  idea of the month,"herb garden," I came up with the Tobago Shipwreck . An herbaceous tea mixture combined with rum, lime and a sweetened soda. The rum on this was definitive with a nice backing of sweetness rounding out to a descent herbaceous bitterness. Try it and tell me what you think.

Tobago Shipwreck 
2 oz. Pyrat XO rum
1 oz. "tea syrup" (lime basil, pineapple sage, toasted coconut, and lime peel steeped for five minutes and sweetened with Truvia)
0.5 oz. lime juice
2 basil leaves
- muddle, add 2 dashes Jamaican bitters, and top with "7Up" (Sierra Mist)

Triple Berry Sidecar

     Ever since I picked up a copy of cocktails, shaken and stirred by Douglas Ankrah in 2005, I've always wanted to mix many of the them highlighted throughout this book. It's a great cocktail book with an emphasis on quality products and fresh ingredients. Being the rum nut that I am, one of the first cocktails I made this year was the Madagascar Sour; a mix of aged rum vanilla sugar, lime juice and vanilla liqueur. Working with the ingredients I had available I concocted a homemade vanilla simple syrup in which to use in place of the liqueur and infused sugar. I also traded out the rum for, of course my all time favorite, Pyrat XO. Who's up for a vanilla daiquiri? Sign me up, that's for sure.
     The drink was bright, acidic and finishing with a suprising vanilla richness I was not expecting. I knew the syrup was there but wow was that interesting.

     Next for Mother's Day we at Dante macerated some berries in cognac, to use to improved the complementary glass of prosecco we were offering. A last minute adjustment changed the whole ballgame and now I was sitting on three quarts of infusing fruit. The Triple Berry Daiquiri from the same book came to mind. A play on that cocktail was designed, around a mix of that recipe and the traditional Sidecar. Cognac infused blueberries and raspberries mixed with Gran Gala infused strawberries, how could this ever go wrong?

Triple Berry Sidecar
2.25 oz. Berry infused Cognac/Gran Gala mix(puree)
0.75 oz. lemon juice
splash simple syrup
- shake hard and strain into chilled cocktail glass

     This drink was delicious. Perfect for the warm weather that is to come, and a great way to utilize some seasonal fruits. We has sample this cocktail two different ways; once as a screwdriver and finally as the sidecar it became. We found the screwdriver version a bit to sweet. The Triple Berry Sidecar is here to stay.

Omaha Sling

     Searching around the wonderful plethora of cocktail websites (I love the endless inter-webs , I stumbled upon a semi-simplistic version of a Singapore Sling (Fenway Sling) that utilized a shrub. I recently had made a batch of shrub following a recipe I tried last year.
      Now the first cocktail I had tried with it was a play on the Arbusto Oaxaca, as we didn't have any mezcal I chose to mimic it the best I could and used a mix of mid-grade tequila cut with a smoky "Scotch-like" whisky, McCarthy's Whisky from Clear Creek Distillery. I followed the recipe's suggested measurements only substituting Patron XO Cafe for the Tia Maria. I figured that added tequila punch couldn't hurt.

     The drink came out a deep rich crimson to purple color,(the one on the right)to the point that the recipient stated was," a drink with character that only the adventurous would appreciate." As many other sampled the offering I soon began to understand what he had meant. West Omaha palates still aren't ready for roller coaster ride of flavor that craft bartenders are accustomed to.
     So as I had stumbled upon the Fenway Sling I took the challenge to attempt to create a similar drink that would be appealing to the masses. I have lately been working with a lot of tea-infused liquors and decided to whip up a batch of tea infused rum. We had a good amount of Bacardi Gold lying about(as it's not my preferred rum of choice I hoped it would make a good vessel to incorporate). Two and a half hours later I had an intriguing strawberry pu-erh tea infused rum to play with.
     I immediately imagined the ingredients I would use; infused-rum, falernum and shrub. Now let's build something around it. Hoping a simple 2:1:1 ratio would suffice, I threw together my cocktail, added some lemon juice for added zip(my shrub tends to be sweet in a cocktail), shook it all up strained it into a lowball glass and topped it with gingerale. what have we here?

Omaha Sling
2 oz. Strawberry Pu-erh infused rum (Bacardi Gold)
0.75 oz. Velvet Falernum
0.75 oz. homemade blackberry shrub
0.25-0.33 oz. fresh lemon juice
- shake and strain into lowball galss with ice
top with gingerale
lemon twist garnish

     The resulting drink took the imbiber on a fantastical ride of flavors with a great underlying amount of sugar that was heavy, but not cloying (almost but not quite, i did cut the falernum back a bit to aid this). The cocktail was so good we literally got the "Wow!," from nearly all who tried it. Some said it reminded them of something from their childhood, What could that be I wonder? Anyway the resulting effect treats you, this cocktail is EPIC!

Pineapple Peril

     Playing around with our happy hour menu on an all day happy hour Sunday; I came up with the beauty on a challenge from a roller derby girl, to create a drink that would make her "wanna lose her clothes." Her first round was our ever popular Rosemary Gin Fizz, containing New Amsterdam gin, lemon juice, rosemary syrup, and topped with soda water; served over ice. It was a hit, as the table ordered three of them, but the challenge ensued.
     I poured a shot of rum, a half shot of pineapple syrup, a dash of Aperol and topped it with pineapple juice and soda water. How could this go wrong?

Pineapple Peril
1.5 oz. light rum (Trader Vic's)
0.75 oz. pineapple syrup
dash Aperol
1.5 oz. pineapple juice
- shake and strain over ice
top with soda water; lime garnish

Madagascar Sour

     The Madagascar Sour is a drink I have always wanted to play with since I got the book, Cocktails, by Douglas Ankrah. His book inspired me a lot especially for the craft cocktails containing aged rum. I especially like his favor for Bacardi 8.
     The drink seemed simple enough, the hardest part would be to make the vanilla simple syrup. Easy enough after infusing some raw sugar with vanilla essence and cooking down with boiling water, we have our syrup. As his recipe is in tablespoons and for multiple cocktails I have interpreted as follows;

Madagascar Sour
1.75 oz. aged rum (Pyrat XO)
0.75 - 1 oz. lime juice
0.5 - 0.75 oz. vanilla syrup
- shake and strain


A great Daiquiri variation with a definitive vanilla note on the finish and a nice sharp lime bite up front. Pyrat rum helps to round the cocktail out with its citrus notes as well as the aged rum blend.

Vanilla Rose

     Working on the new drink menu for Dante, "W" came up with another whiskey cocktail, This one was to use Four Roses Small Batch, a product that doesn't sell that well in the bar. He mixed up trial after trail over the weeks and we finally came down to it, a splash of lemon juice really opened up the drink. He deemed it:

Vanilla Rose

2 oz. Four Roses Small Batch 

0.75 oz. Tuaca

0.5 oz. Vanilla simple syrup

0.5 oz.  lemon juice

3 cracked espresso beans

shake and double strain into cocktail glass

- espresso bean garnish

A great whiskey cocktail with a sweet tone, a slight tang and great depth from the espresso. 

Dusted Mums

     Playing around with a few ideas for beer cocktails for the impending summer patio season we tried a plethora of combinations.  Wanting to show the amazing German doppelbock style I chose to use Wasatch Devastator Double Bock. A couple different combinations and the final yeh, Mt. Falernus.

Mt. Falernus
0.75 oz. Captain Morgan Black Spiced Rum
0.75 oz. Velvet Falernum
top 4 oz. Wasatch Devastator



For the second round of Dante approved beer cocktails we revert to the first delicious libation, Dusted Mums. I wanted to exemplify the delicate nuances of the Mid-American IPA. It is definitely a great IPA for beginners as it is not nearly as aggressive as your everyday IPA, a great product to play with. The first thing that came to mind was to mix it with our recently finished barrel-aged Chrysanthemum cocktail, a great cocktail I'm sure will yield. And was I right;

Dusted Mums
1.5 oz. Barrel-aged Chrysanthemum cocktail
     (2oz. Dolin Blanc Vermouth, 1 oz. Benedictine, 3 dashes Absinthe)
               -  age 2-3 months in a charred oak barrel
top with 3 oz. Cropduster Mid-American IPA

Marsala Sour

     Sifting through our endless bottles of unused liquor at the bar yesterday, the owner/chef challenged me to create a drink using marsala wine. Definitely not my drink of choice by any means, but challenege accepted. The nose  was of sweet wine and old grapes. The first drink that came to mind was a play on the classic Sidecar.
     I grabbed a bottle of Courvoisier the Sweet Marsala, and some fresh squeezed lemon juice. Trial number one yielded a drink too sour for most drinkers palates. A splash of simple syrup really opened the drink up alot. The initial taste was of Courvoisier, a good sour and sweet middle that we all love in the hot days of summer. (We are getting closer and closer.) The finish was pure marsala wine which in this cocktail tasted very much like honeyed fig. We have a winner!

Marsala Sour
1.5 oz. Courvoisier VS Cognac
0.75 oz. Marsala Wine
0.75 oz. Lemon Juice
splash simple syrup
- shake and strain

Breakfast Cocktail

     I've been wanting to concoct this drink ever since I made my bacon-infused whiskey so long ago. A Screwdriver variation only seemed natural. Substituting ginger syrup for maple as I had originally proposed, the drink came out spicy with a sweet and savory bacon-y finish. The nose was of pure bacon. I like this one much more that the Breakfast Martini of so long ago.

Breakfast Cocktail
1.75 oz. bacon-infused Whiskey
0.5 oz. ginger syrup
3 oz. orange juice

Orgeat Punch

Oh, the Orgeat Punch. What better way to make use of a thick, viscous, sweetly amazing ingredient. What ever did we do before this lovely syrup? Now I know there are not very many cocktail recipes calling for orgeat out there, which makes this one a duly needed trial. And who doesn't like port, or brandy?

Orgeat Punch
1 1/2 oz. brandy ( i like Hennessy Black)
3/4 oz. orgeat (homemade)
1/4 oz. lemon juice
fill with soda
-float 1/2 oz. port





The drink came out sweet, but not cloying. I did like the transition from port on the initial sip to the brandy-laced orgeat drink lying underneath. This is a great lower alcohol content drink that I would greatly enjoy in the summer. Do try.

Rough & Tumble

     Looking through the pages of eGullet forums I came across the very interesting header of " Bad Ass Cocktails." I first made the Rough & Tumble for a friend and he found the drink to be aggressive and mentholated. I can see that, seeing as how the Smith & Cross Navy Rum is so intense. So intrigued by the drink as I am enamored by Fernet-Branca and anything rum, I crafted to cocktail at home with a lovely bottle of Brugal 1888.

Rough & Tumble
2 oz. Brugal 1888
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
1/2 oz. Fernet- Branca
-stir and strain

The Bradley

     Challenge accepted. A co-worker of the I.O. asked to try something different, something outside his comfort zone perhaps. Knowing how much he likes our black cardamom syrup I was reminded of a drink that The Manifesto did some time back where they were playing around with a smoked Campari-Grand Marnier mix. Playing upon that idea I mixed in some rye and the cardamom syrup to mimic the smoke, I came up with a drink that everyone found to be pleasing. The right amount of bitter, and sweet with a good backbone and plenty of smoke. Stumped upon what to name the concoction we named it after the drinker, thus I give you;

The Bradley
3/4 oz. Rittenhouse Rye
3/4 oz. Grand Marnier
3/4 oz. Campari
3/4 oz. black cardamom syrup
-stir and strain