Brown Derby

From the Golden Age of Hollywood comes the Brown Derby:

• 2.0 ounces Elijah Craig 12-year Bourbon
• 1.0 ounce grapefruit juice
• 1.0 teaspoon lemon juice
• 0.50 ounce Acacia Honey Syrup

Shake all the ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

The Brown Derby restaurant chain in Los Angeles consisted of a number of restaurants, with the first and most iconic being in the shape of a hat. In researching this cocktail I’ve uncovered a rather interesting story. In the 1930s, the drink was the signature drink at a competing restaurant called the Vendome Club. Originally called the “De Rigueur” in cocktail books, it somehow morphed into the Brown Derby over time.

Whoa Nellie!

A new classic, it’s the Whoa Nellie!:

• 1.25 ounces rye
• 0.75 ounce dark rum
• 0.75 ounce Cointreau
• 4 dashes Angostura bitters
• 0.50 ounce lemon juice
• 0.50 ounce grapefruit juice
• 0.50 ounce simple syrup

Combine all of the ingredients into a shaker and shake vigorously. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

My friend Ben and I share a fondness for whiskey, and together we have a decent collection. Unfortunately, we live more than an hour apart, so it made sharing them difficult until we decided we could just bring them to work. Thus “Whiskey Monday” (#whiskeymonday) was born.

Hurricane

In honor of Mardi Gras, I made a Hurricane:

• 2 ounces lemon juice
• 2 ounces SC Passion Fruit Syrup
• 4 ounces black blended rum

Combine all of the ingredients in a drink mixer tin. Fill with 12 ounces of crushed ice and 4 to 6 small “agitator” cubes. Flash blend and open pour with a gated finish into a 15 oz. hurricane glass. Garnish with a wind-ravaged cocktail umbrella speared into a lemon wedge.

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SC Passion Fruit Syrup

Another ingredient found in Smuggler’s Cove drinks:

• 1.5 cups Funkin passion fruit puree
• 1.5 cups 2:1 Simple Syrup, cooled

In a bowl, whisk together the fruit puree and the syrup. Pour into a lidded bottle or other sealable container and store in the refrigerator. Will keep for 10 days.

The simple syrup is, well, simple. Mix two parts sugar to one part water, heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Golden Gun

Courtesy of the Cocktail Wonk, it’s the Golden Gun:

• 0.75 ounce lime juice
• 0.50 ounce grapefruit juice
• 0.50 ounce SC Demerara Syrup
• 0.50 ounce natural apricot liqueur (such as Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur or Gifford Abricot du Roussillon)
• 1.00 ounce blended aged rum
• 1.00 ounce blended lightly aged rum
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Fill a Collins or highball glass with cracked or cubed ice. Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker filled with cracked or cubed ice. Shake and strain into the glass. Your choice of garnish.

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Planter’s Punch

From Smuggler’s Cove comes Planter’s Punch:

• 1.00 ounce lime juice
• 0.75 ounce SC Demerara Syrup
• 0.25 ounce St. Elizabeth’s Allspice Dram
• 3.00 ounces blended aged rum (Jamaica)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a drink mixer tin with 12 ounces of crushed ice and 4 to 6 “agitator” cubes. Flash blend and then open pour with a gated finish into a Collins or highball glass. Garnish with a mint sprig.

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SC Demerara Syrup

A staple in many of the Smuggler’s Cove drinks:

• 2 cups water
• 1 cup demerara sugar
• 3 cups granulated sugar

Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Add the demerara sugar and stir vigorously with a whisk (or use an immersion blender) until the sugar is dissolved, about 1 minute (the water should become clear). Add the granulated sugar and stir vigorously until dissolved, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and let cool.

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