03 Aug 2023: Summer Vibes Mocktail

JM Hirsch, the travel writer, food writer, and editorial director for Milk Street, creates some of the most intriguing alcoholic cocktails! Recently I’ve discovered he also develops delicious mocktails. The video for this one, Summer Vibes, can be found on his Instagram account and meets one of my criteria for good non-alcoholic imbibing: no fake booze - something I detest.

The only thing I would change from my first go-round is to absolutely crush the ice, which probably would make adding ginger ale unnecessary. Otherwise, a tropical, refreshing summer mocktail which I plan to put on repeat.

Summer Vibes

A Mocktail by J.M. Hirsch

Ingredients

• 4 ounces unsweetened coconut water

• 2 ounces pineapple juice (since my local Market Basket didn’t have this (!), I used what I could get in small sizes. That turned out to be a pineapple-mango juice)

• 1/2 ounce grenadine (buy - or make this version from Anders Erickson - something high quality. You won’t regret it)

• Dash of orange bitters

• Dash of Angostura bitters

• 6-10 granules kosher salt (It makes a difference. Really.)

• OPTIONAL: Ginger ale (I used sugar free)

Add the first 6 ingredients to a mixing glass and mix thoroughly without ice. Pour into a highball glass (or what have you) filled 2/3 with ice (see my headnote). Top with ginger ale if using.

29 Mar 2023: The Buster Brown Cocktail

As a bourbon sour, this one appealed to me. The original recipe I followed called for - in my opinion - too much lemon juice. Next time around, I’ll even out the proportion of lemon to simple syrup.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz Bourbon (I used Buffalo Trace)

• 1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice (see headnote - this seemed like a lot)

• 1/4 oz. simple syrup

• 2 dashes Orange bitters

Put all in a shaker, add ice and shake for about 15 seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass - no garnish needed.

04 Mar 2023: The Greenpoint

My Dad used to drink an occasional Manhattan, and recently I’ve discovered I also enjoy this style of spicy, strong cocktail as well. I’ve also discovered, though, that there are as many variations on the Manhattan as one can imagine - at least as many as there are boroughs in New York.

This variation, the Greenpoint. was invented in 2006 by Michael McIlroy of the Milk and Honey Bar. It’s unusual in that along with the usuals, Yellow Chartreuse is added to the drink. I honestly wasn’t sure how that was going to fit in, but it did - and the drink is delicious!

Just a heads up that recently Chartreuse - Yellow and Green - is sometimes hard to come by. Whenever I see it on the shelves, I grab a bottle just in case.

The Greenpoint Cocktail

• 2 oz Rye or Bourbon (I used Mad River Rye, a local craft rye)

• 1/2 of Sweet Vermouth (I used Cocchi di Torino)

• 1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse

• Dash Angostura Bitters

• Dash Orange Bitters

Add all of the above to a mixing glass, add ice and stir for 15-30 seconds until well chilled. Serve in a chilled coupe or martini glass. Express lemon oil over the drink and rub the peel over the rim of the glass before discarding it.

28 Feb 2023: The Alaska Cocktail

No one seems certain as to how this cocktail got its name, but that should not stop anyone from giving it a try. Harry Craddock records the Alaska Cocktail’s proportions in his Savoy Cocktail Book 2:1 gin to Yellow Chartreuse. Most modern version of the cocktail add a dash of orange bitters, which I did as well. Shake, serve in a chilled cocktail glass and add a twist of orange. Delightful!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (I used our current London Dry favorite, Bombay Dry)

• 3/4 Yellow Chartreuse

  Dash Orange Bitters

22 Feb 2023: Creole Cocktail

We always look forward to Friday night’s YouTube posting from Anders Erickson. If you haven’t seen the videos he posts, highly recommend it. A little cocktail history and some great tips and ideas (or as Anders says: “Sips, Tips, and Recipes) for making homebar concoctions excellent can be found on the site.

This week, however, after a long (and dry) period forced upon us by our recent engagement with the Omicron variant, we decided to celebrate on Tuesday, which just happened to be Mardi Gras. The Creole cocktail from Anders was just the ticket to celebrate, not only getting out of COVID jail, but laissez le bon temps rouler.

You can find the version of the Creole Cocktail that Anders shared here. The ingredients are found below (my tweaks necessitated by what’s currently in our bar in parenthesis)

• 1.5 oz Old Overholt Rye Whiskey (I used Rittenhouse)

• 1 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino

• 1/4 oz. Bénédictine DOM

• 1/4 oz Ramazzotti Amaro (I used Amaro Averna b/c that’s what we have)

• 2 dashes Fee Bros Orange Bitters

• Expressed lemon oil

• Lemon peel for garnish

17 Oct 2022: Alaska Cocktail

The Alaska Cocktail recently crossed my radar as I was looking for a cocktail that would use Yellow Chartreuse. White Negroni’s can’t be the only drink using this delicious liqueur from France and, as it turned out, it was not.

Just 3 ingredients and a quick stir, and this beauty hits the glass. While some of the resources I checked call for Old Tom Gin, I prefer the junipery flavor of a London Dry.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 oz. gin (Used Bombay London Dry)

• 1/2 oz. Yellow Chartreuse (accept no substitutes)

• Dash of Orange bitters

Put all of the ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for about 30 seconds until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled favorite cocktail glass and garnish with lemon peel.

05 Oct 2022: Abbey

I’ve been using a terrific cocktail app called Perfect Drink. It’s fun to see what pops up when I choose an ingredient of two found in our bar stash. Perfect Drink seems to have an extensive list of cocktail suggestions. Even maraschino cherry and Grenadine have yielded some results.

Tonight’s cocktail is from Harry Craddock’s Savoy Cocktail book (still available in reprints so check our your local bookstore). This version of the Abbey cocktail uses Orange Bitters in place of the Angostura found in the original. Citrusy and sour, this is a beauty.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 oz. gin (I used Bombay London Dry)

• 3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc

• 3/4 oz. orange juice

• 2 dashes orange bitters

Put all of the ingredients in a shaker and fill with ice. Shake for 15 seconds til well-chilled and serve in a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry.

02 Aug 2022: Empress Gin and Cocchi

Here’s a fun and colorful cocktail which is based on about 4 other inventions I discovered yesterday:

Add to a mixing glass:

• 2 oz. Empress Gin

• About 1 oz of Cocchi Americano

• 3-4 drops of Orange Bitters

Add ice and stir. Strain into a cocktail or coupe (chilled is best) and garnish with a bit of orange peel.

21 Apr 2022: Black Manhattan

My Dad used to enjoy a Manhattan and I recently got to taste one as well. This Manhattan though is just a little different. It uses Averna amaro which has a wonderful vanilla essence and a dash or Orange bitters. Dark and just a little sweet.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rye whiskey

• 1 ounce Averna amaro

• 1 dash Angostura bitters

• 1 dash orange bitters

• Garnish: brandied cherry

Add the rye, Averna, Angostura and orange bitters to a mixing glass. Add ice, stir until well-chilled, and serve UP (chill that glass ahead of time), garnished with a brandied cherry.

25 Mar 2022: Cinnamon Toast

When I first read about this gin-based drink, I thought it sounded crazy. Still, I love cinnamon, I love toast, so why not give a Cinnamon Toast a try?

This cocktail comes from J.M. Hirsch’s 2020 book Shake, Strain and Done. There was a suggestion that it could be made with vodka, but I am the proud owner of a bottle of Dry Line gin, so that’s what we went with.

Cinnamon Toast

J.M. Hirsch. Shake Strain and Done. (2020). Boston: Voracious. p 97.

• 3 oz. gin

• 1/4 oz. agave or simple syrup

• Dash orange bitters

• Pinch, ground cinnamon

• Ice (cubes and crushed for serving)

In a cocktail shaker, combine the gin, agave, bitters, and cinnamon. Shake with ice cubes. Strain into a cocktail glass (I used a coupe), filled halfway with crushed ice.

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.

19 July: Basil Gimlet

Be Your Own Bartender by Carey Jones and John McCarthy is a lot like following a flowchart. Start with a base spirit (gin, whiskey, vodka), and from that starting point, one can build lots of variations on a theme. Tonight’s cocktail, the Basil Gimlet, is a play on fresh basil which is plentiful at this time of year; however, one could also make the same cocktail with mint or rosemary and achieve different results.

Basil Gimlet

Ingredients (1 drink)

• 2 ounces gin (suggestion was Beefeater I used Tanguery)

• 1 ounce FRESH lime juice

• 3/4 ounce simple syrup (I like things that are less sweet, so I reduced this to 1/2 ounce)

• 1 dash orange bitters

• 5 basil leaves torn in half as they are added to the shaker, plus 1 additional leaf for garnish

Method

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously, then double strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with a basil leaf, lightly clapped between your hands before being added to the drink.

09 July Lillet Rose Reverse Martini

We keep 3 bottles of the aperitif, Lillet, in our refrigerator - Blanc, Rouge, and Rose. While each has subtle individual differences that are pleasing, my favorite has always been Lillet Rouge. That is, until tonight.

The Lillet website has some great ideas for using the three aperitif either on their own or in a mixed cocktail. This one appealed to us and maybe it will to you as well. For more on how to use Lillet, visit their website.

As a French company, Lillet uses the metric system. Mathematicians and purists may wish to convert metrics to US standard; I however just used the ratio of 4 Lillet Rose to 1 Gin and added a dash of Orange bitters.

Lillet Rose Reverse Martini

In a shaker filled with ice, pour

• 8cl of Lillet Rosé

• 2cl of Gin

• 2 dashes of Orange Bitters

Place all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker full of ice. Shake vigorously for 8 to 10 seconds. Pour into the glass (suggested: Coupe) using a cocktail strainer. Squeeze the orange peel to release the flavour and place in the glass.