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