While the majority of cocktails I’ve made so far are based on rye or gin, in the early “archaic” age of cocktails the default spirit was rum, as in the Knickerbocker á la Monsieur:
- 2.0 ounces Virgin Islands rum
- 0.5 ounces orange curaçao
- 0.5 ounce raspberry syrup
- 1.0 ounce lemon juice
- 1 slice orange
- 1 slice pineapple
Add all to crushed ice in a goblet, collins glass or tumbler, stir and serve. Garnish with more fruits in season.
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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.
Continue readingFor a recent party I bought some spicy Jamaican-style ginger ale, so I thought it was time to try The Moscow Mule:
- 2 ounces vodka
- Juice of 1/2 lime
- Ginger beer or ginger ale
Squeeze lime juice into a Moscow Mule mug. Drop the spent lime shell into the mug. Add ice cubes and the vodka, then fill with ginger beer.
Almost every time we go to the Oak Leaf for lunch, my friend Ben gets a Moscow Mule. I thought it was because he really likes them, but at the party he told me it was because they are usually on special. (grin)
Continue readingDr. Cocktail lists only a single vintage recipe that uses sour mix, and since I had some on hand I decided to try The Fogcutter:
- 1.0 ounce white rum
- 0.5 ounce gin
- 0.5 ounce brandy
- 0.5 ounce Sour Mix
- Two dashes simple syrup
Combine with ice and blend. Pour into goblet. Add a float of cherry-flavored brandy on top.
This drink had a lot of firsts for me. It was my first cocktail to feature rum. It was the first cocktail to be blended. It as also my first cocktail in the “tiki” tradition made famous by Trader Vic’s.
Continue readingIn our house we almost always have a grapefruit. It’s odd, because while we eat grapefruit we don’t do so very often, and since we always have one sometimes it hangs around past its prime. Thus we refer to it as the “sacrificial” grapefruit.
Due to this new hobby, I tend to have a lot of fresh citrus on hand and I recently bought a new grapefruit to sacrifice. However this time it was to the cocktail gods. Of the four recipes on the list that use grapefruit juice, the one I was most in the mood for was the Palm Beach Special:
Continue readingI counted four cocktails in the list that call for raspberry syrup as an ingredient. In the Resource Guide section of the book, Dr. Cocktail recommends using [Smucker’s Red Raspberry Syrup][1]. Mine finally arrived so I present The Rose:
- 2 ounces dry French vermouth
- 1 ounce kirschwasser
- 1 teaspoon raspberry syrup
Shake in an iced cocktail shaker and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
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Vintage cocktails can call for some odd ingredients. Several in the book reference a liquor called Swedish Punsch. My friend David was kind enough to swing by Binny’s last time he was in Chicago, so I had some on hand and was eager to try it. The first drink I made with it was the Have a Heart Cocktail:
- 1.50 ounces gin
- 0.75 ounce Swedish Punsch
- 0.75 ounce fresh lime juice
- 0.25 ounce real pomegranate grenadine
Shake well in an iced cocktail shaker, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wedge
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