Tarus the Bull

When Justin Peregoy, the cocktail chef at the Oak Leaf, heard we were going there for my birthday he named that night’s special cocktail Tarus the Bull:

• 1.5 ounces Bulleit Rye
• 0.5 ounce blood orange juice
• 0.5 ounce Fernet Branca
• 0.5 ounce cinnamon simple syrup
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Pour the first four ingredients into a bar glass with ice. Stir until cold then strain into a cocktail glass. Add bitters. Garnish with a lemon twist.

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The Blinker

Continuing with my use of raspberry syrup, I present The Blinker:

• 2.0 ounces rye (Old Overholt specified by Dr. Cocktail)
• 1.0 ounce grapefruit juice
• 2 bar spoons (1 teaspoon) raspberry syrup

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

This is a very simple drink, and Dr. Cocktail only dedicates three sentences to it. The drink was first published in Patrick Gavin Duffy’s The Official Mixer’s Manual in 1934 and the name refers to a synonym for “blinders”, those little eye shade thingies which you might use to keep a horse focused on the road.

East India Cocktail

This one caught my eye because I was looking at the index and saw kind of a large area where I had not chosen a drink. The one in the middle of the empty section was the East India Cocktail:

• 3.0 ounces brandy
• 0.5 ounces raspberry syrup
• one dash Angostura bitters
• one teaspoon orange curaçao
• one teaspoon maraschino liqueur

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry.

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Soyer au Champagne

While dairy is not an ingredient I associate with cocktails, there are a number of cocktails in the book that feature it, include the Soyer au Champagne:

• 2 dashes maraschino liqueur
• 2 dashes pineapple juice
• 2 dashes orange curaçao (or Grand Marnier)
• 2 dashes brandy
• champagne
• 1 tablespoon vanilla ice cream

In a parfait glass, combine the maraschino liqueur, pineapple juice, orange curaçao and brandy. Fill with champagne. Add the vanilla ice cream on top. Serve with a spoon and a straw.

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The Seelbach Cocktail

Champagne is tightly associated with New Year’s, and it also happens to be an ingredient in classic drinks such as the Seelbach Cocktail:

• 1.0 ounce bourbon (venerable Old Forester was specified)
• 0.5 ounce Cointreau
• 7 dashes Angostura bitters
• 7 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
• 5.0 ounces champagne

Pour the bourbon, Cointreau and bitters into a champagne flute and stir. Add the champagne. Stir again, and garnish with an orange twist.

This drink was named for the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky and was created in 1917. The recipe was lost during Prohibition but rediscovered in 1995, so I am certain this qualifies as vintage.

Satan’s Whiskers

Over the holiday I managed to get my hands on some authentic curaçao, so I decided to try Satan’s Whiskers:

• 0.5 ounce gin
• 0.5 ounce dry vermouth
• 0.5 ounce sweet vermouth
• 0.5 ounce orange juice
• 2 teaspoons orange curaçao
• 1 teaspoon orange bitters

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Back when I made the Park Avenue Cocktail I discovered that there is a difference between orange liqueurs such as curaçao, triple sec and Grand Marnier. Unfortunately, it is apparently impossible to get good curaçao in North Carolina due to its antiquated spirituous liquor laws. The brand Dr. Cocktail recommends, Gabriel Boudier, is even harder to find, as it isn’t available at either Binny’s or Total Wine, but Senior Curaçao (another of his choices) can be had, just not in North Carolina. It’s also cool to note that Senior Curaçao is made on the island of Curaçao, so let’s hope it is authentic.

The Fogcutter (Early)

Here is my third and final attempt at the Fogcutter. This one is from the book and attributed to Don the Beachcomber:

• 2.0 ounces Barcardi Gold rum
• 0.5 ounce Plymouth Gin
• 1.0 ounce Pisco Brandy
• 1.0 ounce orange juice
• 2.0 ounces lemon juice
• 0.5 ounce orgeat syrup
• 0.5 ounce cream sherry

Shake all ingredients except the sherry with ice cubes. Pour into a chimney glass, and add more ice to fill. Float the sherry on top.

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