Spanish Lady

As this was the inspiration for the Oaxacan Lady, I decided to make the Spanish Lady:

• 3/4 ounce aged rum (Havana Club 7 Year)
• 3/4 ounce Bénédictine
• 3/4 ounce Amaro Montenegro
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1 dash Angustora bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe.

One reason I made this cocktail is that I’m lazy.

In our old house we actually had a room with a dedicated bar. It was a bit by accident. In the southern United States it was common for houses to have a “formal living room”. This was a room, seldom used, in which you would put nice furniture for entertaining guests.

Eagle's Dream

Presenting the Eagle’s Dream:

• 1 egg white
• 2 ounces London dry gin
• 1 ounce Creme Yvette or Creme de Violette
• 1 teaspoon simple syrup
• Juice of 1/4 Lemon

Shake in an iced cocktail shaker, strain and serve in a cocktail glass with a brandied cocktail cherry

This recipe comes from the 1927 cocktail book Barflies & Cocktails and through the magic of the Internet you can read it.

Peace Train

It took me longer than expected to make this cocktail. I was introduced to the idea of the cocktail while watching the Peacemaker television series by James Gunn.

I really wasn’t expecting much from it, as the Peacemaker character in the Suicide Squad was a singularly unpleasant guy, but I like the shows Gunn makes and I figured I might enjoy this one. I really did, and I gained a new found respect for John Cena, who is much more talented that I used to give him credit.

Balalaika

I’m reading the wonderful Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami and I came across this cocktail description:

A Balalaika is made with one part each of vodka, Cointreau, and lemon juice. A simple concoction, but unless it’s as bitingly freezing as the North Pole, it doesn’t taste good. If somebody who doesn’t have the right touch mixes it, it ends up tasting diluted, watery. This Balalaika was amazingly delicious, with an almost perfect bite to it.

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Flamenco

Another classic from Death & Co., the Flamenco:

• 1.50 ounces Lustau Amontillado Sherry
• 1.00 ounce Bols Genever gin
• 0.50 ounce orange juice
• 0.50 ounce lemon juice
• 0.75 ounce orgeat
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake all the ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe. No garnish.

My biggest challenge in making drinks from the Death & Co. book is finding the ingredients. I was looking for a cocktail to make and was happy to see that I had everything to make this one.

Chaos Calmer

From the world of tech comes the Chaos Calmer:

• 1.50 ounces gin
• 0.75 ounce lime juice
• 0.25 ounce triple sec
• 1.50 ounce orange juice
• 1 tsp Grenadine syrup

Short shake with broken ice and pure unstrained into a double rocks glass. Garnish with an orange wheel or lime wedge.

In my other life I work with open source software, and I tend to use open source solutions for almost all of my technology needs. I recently needed to replace my wireless router and I decided to choose one that was supported by the OpenWRT project.

White Lady

Gin and lemon meet again in the White Lady:

• 1.50 ounces gin
• 0.75 ounce Cointreau
• 0.75 ounce fresh lemon juice

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

I was first introduced to the White Lady through my friend Justin. When he was the cocktail chef at the Oakleaf, he would host “Throwback Thursdays” which would feature vintage cocktails. Each menu would have a theme, and I loved this one: