McKittrick

 

Story

I continue to be amazed at how a couple of little nudges can move a simple cocktail into a completely new zone.  The McKittrick is obviously a type of old-fashioned because it’s just booze, sugar, and bitters over ice.  In this case, though, the sweetness comes not from a sugar cube or simple syrup but in the form of Pedro Ximénez sherry.  This is not a brand – it’s the name of the white Spanish wine grape used to produce a rich, dark sherry.  It brings flavors of dried fruit, dark chocolate, and roasted coffee, rounding out the bourbon.  The mole bitters lean into those flavors and add a hint of cinnamon.  The combination yields a drink that I would sip in a private library full of leather-bound books on towering mahogany shelves.  The McKittrick was invented by Theo Lieberman, former head bartender at Milk and Honey.  It’s named after the “McKittrick Hotel”, a performing arts venue in New York that’s themed as a hotel and is in turn named after the hotel in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo.

Recipe

2 oz bourbon
0.5 oz Pedro Ximénez (PX) sherry
2 dashes (0.25 tsp) Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
-measure ingredients into a rocks glass, add a rock of ice, and stir seven times
-garnish with cocktail cherry

Remember The Maine

 

Story

This cocktail in the Manhattan family but also shares aspects of the Red Hook (due to the cherry liqueur) and the Sazerac (due to the absinthe).  The recipe was first recorded in Charles H. Baker, Jr’s 1939 book The Gentleman’s Companion.  The name refers to the sinking of the US Navy battleship in Havana Harbor, which contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898.  The cocktail itself is strong, but there is a sweet counterpoint going on underneath.  Both the cherry liqueur and the absinthe blend into the overall flavor rather than standing out.  Some versions use the absinthe as a rinse in the glass, but I like leaving it in there for the extra bit of complexity. 

Recipe

2 oz rye (Rittenhouse)
0.75 oz sweet vermouth (Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)
0.25 oz cherry liqueur (Heering or Luxardo Cherry)
1 dash absinthe (1/8 tsp)
-measure ingredients in a mixing glass with ice; stir to chill
-strain into chilled coupe
-garnish with cocktail cherry

Chet Baker

 

Story

This cocktail is named after the jazz trumpeter and vocalist who was nicknamed the “Prince of Cool”.  The Chet Baker cocktail was created by Sam Ross, the of Milk & Honey in New York, in 2005.  It looks like a bourbon drink, but it’s actually aged (gold) rum, which has smooth flavors of vanilla, cinnamon, and caramel.  Honey syrup lends a subtle sweetness while a touch of vermouth adds texture and complexity.  I’m not a huge fan of honey (my grandma used to mix it with lemon in hot water for me to drink when I had a sore throat as a kid), but the flavor is very subtle here.  Plain honey thickens and won’t dissolve when it hits ice, but a 3:1 honey to water syrup, made in advance with hot water, solves that nicely.  The Chet Baker is essentially a rum old-fashioned, and it’s perfect for the warming weather.

Recipe

2 oz aged (gold) rum
2 teaspooons sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
1 teaspoon honey syrup (3 parts honey, 1 part hot water; cool before using)
2 dashes angostura bitters
-build the drink in a rocks glass.
-add one large cube of ice and stir seven times.
-express orange twist over the drink and use as a garnish.