The Derby

In honor of American Pharoah winning the Triple Crown, I decided to make The Derby:

• 1.00 ounce bourbon
• 0.50 ounce sweet vermouth
• 0.50 ounce orange curaçao
• 0.75 ounce fresh lime juice

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a cocktail glass. Add a mint leaf.

Growing up I didn’t think winning the Triple Crown of horse racing was a big deal. In the span of six years, from 1973 to 1978, three horses did it.

The Lion’s Tail

In order to try Allspice Dram, I decided to make The Lion’s Tail:

• 2.00 ounces bourbon
• 0.75 ounce Allspice Dram (or less, to taste)
• 0.50 ounce fresh lime juice
• 0.50 tablespoon simple syrup (or less, to taste)
• 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake in a cocktail shaker with ice and strain into a 5-ounce cocktail glass.

Let me state for the record that I am not a cocktail expert. I am simply on a journey of exploration and discovery led by people like Dr. Cocktail (Ted Haigh), David Wondrich and Jason Wilson. I love being exposed to new flavors and combinations found in classic cocktails, and this was the first time I had ever heard of Allspice Dram.

The Jupiter Cocktail

Ever feel like a martini but want something different? Try the Jupiter Cocktail:

• 1.50 ounces gin
• 0.75 ounce dry vermouth
• 1 teaspoon Parfait Amour
• 1 teaspoon orange juice

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

Okay, to be honest, I made this cocktail because I wanted to say “neener, neener – I have Parfait Amour and you don’t”.

(grin)

A couple of the drinks in the book call for it, and on a recent trip to DC I was able to buy some. In the US it is available from Marie Brizard, and it is a curaçao-based liqueur with other floral flavors.

The Brooklyn Cocktail

After a rather long day, it was nice to come home to The Brooklyn Cocktail:

• 2.00 ounces rye or bourbon
• 0.75 ounce dry vermouth
• 2 teaspoons Amer Picon
• 2 teaspoons maraschino liqueur

Stir in a mixing glass with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cocktail cherry

There are times when I want a particular type of cocktail. I don’t know if there is a word for it, but these are drinks made up just of spirits (with perhaps a dash or two of bitters) and might be considered “manly” drinks: your Manhattans and your martinis.

The Aviation

One of the first vintage cocktails I ever made was The Aviation:

• 2.50 ounces gin
• 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice
• 2 or 3 dashes maraschino liqueur

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

I first heard about the Aviation last year while watching The Blacklist, an NBC television show. In one episode, Raymond Reddington takes agent Elizabeth Keen to Montreal where he orders an Aviation cocktail for her. The drink they present was a dark blue color, and he remarked “It’s from the ’20s, tastes like spring, doesn’t it?”

Vowel Cocktail

Presenting one of the odder drinks in the book, the Vowel Cocktail:

• 1.0 ounce Scotch
• 1.0 ounce sweet vermouth
• 0.5 ounce orange juice (preferably fresh squeezed)
• 0.5 ounce kümmel (Gilka)
• 1 or 2 dashes Angostura Bitters

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

Okay, this is an odd one. Scotch cocktails are unusual (although the Blood and Sand is one of my favorites) and I’d never heard of kümmel before, but as I am determined to make all of the cocktails in the book, I put it on the shopping list.

Picon Punch

After three long months, I was finally able to make an authentic Picon Punch:

• 1.0 teaspoon real pomegranate grenadine
• 2.5 ounces Amer Picon
• Soda Water
• 1.0 ounce brandy

Fill a collins glass with crushed ice. Add the real pomegranate grenadine and Amer Picon. Fill with soda water. Float brandy on top.

I had a lot of issues with this drink.

The first was getting Amer Picon. The French word “Amer” is similar to the Italian “Amaro” and it is used to describe a strong, herbal flavored liqueur. Amer Picon is supposed to have a stronger orange flavor than most Amaro, and while it is called for in a number of vintage cocktails, it is very hard to get “authentic” Amer Picon. Always hard to obtain in the States, The House of Picon radically changed the recipe in the 1970s, halving the proof, and thus modern Amer Picon can’t be used for that authentic experience.