13 Sep 2023: Savoy Cocktail #1

I’m pretty much a fan of any cocktail that uses a form of gin as the base, the juniper-y the better. So after spotting this beauty of a riff on a Martini on Liber & Co’s website, I knew I would be trying it.

Liber & Co. makes some really wonderful syrups for mixing up cocktails or mocktails, or just plain making beverages more interesting. Their version of grenadine is authentic and tasty - and for those of us not inclined to make our own grenadine syrup - the answer to our prayers.

In place of adding a barspoon of absinthe to the mix, I prefer to spritz the glassware, which is what I did for this drink. Spritzing the rim imparts the absinthe without it become overwhelming.

Ingredients

• 2 oz gin (my current dry gin of choice is Bombay)

• 1 oz dry vermouth (Dolin)

• 1/4 oz grenadine

• Barspoon of absinthe (see head note)

Put all the ingredients into a mixing glass, add ice, and stir for 20-30 seconds until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled martini glass.

04 Apr 2023: The ATTY

On this somewhat historic day, I thought a cocktail with a connection might be in order. So tonight’s sip was the aptly named ATTY cocktail. I consider this a sort of punched up riff on a gin martini. Because I was looking to highlight the purple color of the drink, I used Empress 1908 Gin, but I missed the more juniper-forwardness of our usual Bombay Dry, so I played around with adding a barspoonful of the Bombay to the 1908. Not too shabby.

Traditional ATTY cocktails call for a 1/4 oz of Absinthe. I’m not a huge fan of Absinthe, but didn’t want to miss out on the flavor, so I spritzed the chilled glass instead.

Ingredients

(per the traditional recipe - see my headnote for tweaks)

• 2 oz dry Gin

• 3/4 oz dry Vermouth (used Dolin)

• 1/4 oz Créme di Violette Liqueur

• 1/4 tsp absinthe (see headnote)

Place all ingredients in a shaker, add ice and shake until super chilled (I did 40 seconds - maybe not necessary to do that much). Pour into chilled coupe glass and optionally garnish with lemon peel.

22 Jan 2023: The Income Tax

Since Tax Season, or Tax Records Season, has started, this seemed like a good idea for our Cocktail Saturday. Orange-y and somewhat sweet, I made this with Cape Cod Gin (Dry Line) and used Cocchi Torino, my current favorite go-to for sweet vermouth.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz. gin

• 1/4 oz dry vermouth

• 1/4 oz. sweet vermouth

• 1 oz. orange juice

• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all of the above in a shaker filled with ice. Shake for about 20 seconds or until well chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with twist of orange.

24 Sep 2022: The Diplomat

The Diplomat cocktail came up on the app I’ve been using to match up our home bar ingredients to cocktail suggestions. Billed as a cocktail that is not too heavy on the alcohol, this was a smooth and light and enjoyable pre-dinner drink. Not sure about conducting diplomatic negotiations after imbibing though.

There are several version of this cocktail floating around the Internet and at least one from the Savoy Cocktail book by Harry Craddock. However, this is the one that popped up on the app, and since I had all the ingredients, well, that’s what I mixed.

Ingredients

• 3/4 oz. dry vermouth (I used Dolin green label)

• 3/4 oz. sweet vermouth (I used Dolin again - might try this with Cocchi next time around)

• dash of Marachino Liquor (Luxardo)

• dash of Angostura bitters

Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass. Add ice, stir for about 40 seconds and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a marachino cherry if desired.

17 Sep 2022: Vendome Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 oz. gin (I used a London dry)

• 1 oz. dry vermouth

• 1 oz. Dubonnet Rouge

Add the ingredients together in a mixing glass. Add ice. Stir for 30 seconds. Serve in a cocktail glass with a twist of lemon.

09 Apr 2022: The Rolls Royce

Our weekly cocktail night - usually a Saturday - caps off the week with a little creativity in the adult beverage department. We like to try new ideas for cocktails and for once, this one did not require that I make a run to the packie for any ingredients - we had them right in our bar.

This idea, along with a drink called a Ford came courtesy of Anders Erickson. Check out his youtube channel for some great cocktail ideas.

Maybe it was the sweet (Red) vermouth, but this cocktail reminded me of a Manhattan, but made with Gin. Definitely keeping this in the rotation.

Ingredients

• 2 oz. (60 ml) Gin (used a local - Dry Line)

• 1/2 oz. (15 ml) dry Vermouth (used Dolin de Chambéry Dry

• 1/2 oz. (15 ml) sweet Vermouth (used Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Rouge)

• Bar spoon (5 ml) Bénédictine DOM

• Expressed lemon oil

Place first 4 ingredients in a mixing glass, add ice, and stir to chill. Strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

03 Mar 2022: TGV

For those of us who have traveled to France, TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse,) means high-speed train service. Having ridden on the TGV from Paris to Lyon, it is a pretty sweet mode of transportation. Compare the 2 hour train trip from Paris to Lyon (288 miles) to the 4-hour trek from Boston to Manhattan (216 miles). Yeah, we in the US should invest more in Amtrak. But, I digress.

This cocktail is not at all about high-speeds, or even about transportation, although it is pretty awesome all on its own. The TGV cocktail is found in David Lebovitz’s Drinking Fench,. While an internet search will yield an endless number of variations, this one was smoky (thanks Tequila) and refreshing.

And the meaning of TGV? Well it’s right there in the ingredients.

TGV Cocktail

2 1/2 ounces blanco or reposado tequila

1 1/2 ounces dry vermouth (used Dolin)

1/2 tsp grenadine syrup (Drinking French has a recipe for homemade grenadine on p 214)

Lime wheel for garnish

Stir the tequila, vermouth, and grenadine in a short tumbler or rocks glass. Fill the glass three-quarters full with ice (bigger cubes, less dilution). Garnish with a lime wheel.

23 December 2021: City of Light

I recently heard about David Lebovitz’s newest book, Drinking French, and immediately broke our no-purchases before Christmas rule in order to get my hands on a copy asap.

The cafe culture in Paris is one that I have admired and wish I knew more about. How insanely stylish and elegant to imagine sipping an aperitif ahead of dinner.

This aperitif, The City of Light, was developed by LA bartender Christiaan Röllich of Lucques. Cointreau, dry Vermouth, and Lillet blanc along with a topping of prosecco, makes it a very sippable pre-dinner drink as sparkly and beautiful as the City of Paris, La Ville-Lumière, is even in the dark of Winter.

City of Light

Ingredients:

• half a lemon wheel, half and orange wheel, and 2 thin slices of cucumber for garnish

• 1 1/2 oz. dry vermouth

• 1 oz Lillet blanc (or Vin d’Orange - see Drinking French for how to make this)

• 1 oz. Cointreau

• 1 oz dry prosecco (or crémant)

Place the garnishes in the bottom of a footed goblet or large wine glass. Add the vermouth, Lillet, and Cointreau. Fill the glass 2/3 full with ice, stir briefly and top off with the prosecco.

15 August The Marguerite

We have a bottle of the decidedly less juniper-y Plymouth Gin in our liquor cabinet and, while it is a pleasant, well-rounded smooth spirit, it doesn’t always work with cocktails that rely on juniper forward gins such as Tanquery. The Plymouth Gin website has several interesting sounded cocktails and this gem from 1904’s Stuart’s Fancy Drinks and How to Mix Them, The Maguerite was one that fascintated me. Basically, in this iteration, it is a martini with orange bitters. There are other concoctions out there with these same basic ingredients adding orange liquor to the mix. Tonight, I stuck with the basics.

Ingredients:

The Margurite

Ingredients

• 2 parts Plymouth gin

• 1 part dry vermouth

• 2 shakes orange bitters

Method

1. The gin and vermouth should be chilled ahead of time. Also doesn’t hurt to mix in a glass and STIR (not shaken)

2. Strain if you used ice and then serve with a twist of orange peel.

July 15: It's Tax Day - Let's Have an Income Tax Cocktail

Today, July 15, 2020, is the Covid-19 adjusted Income Tax day. We noted our contribution to the IRS occurred shortly after midnight, and to mark this momentus occasion for all of us who owed a little something to the Federal - and State - government, I present the Income Tax Cocktail.

Tonight’s cocktail is a mix of gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, orange juice and a dash of bitters. Accoring to cocktail expert Ted Haigh, this one is based upon a Bronx cocktail, also an unknown to me.

So if you, like us, feel a little lighter in the wallet today, console yourself with The Income Tax Cocktail.

The Income Tax Cocktail

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 ounces dry gin

• 3/4 ounce dry vermouth

• 3/4 ounce sweet vermouth

• juice of 1/4 of a fresh orange (note - fresh is important)

• 2 dash Angostura bitters

Method:

• Squeeze the orange directly into the shaker filled with ice.

• Add the gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth and dashes of bitters.

• Shake and pour into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange circle.