National Treasure

 

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I heard Sother Teague say on a podcast that the only misuse of bitters is to miss using bitters, and I got to wondering about some of the great Club drinks that don’t include them.  Then I learned some definitions that I didn’t know.  An extract is made by soaking a single flavoring agent in alcohol (e.g., vanilla extract).  Tinctured bitters (aka non-potable bitters) are an extract with the addition of multiple flavors and a bittering agent.  These are the little bottles like Angostura bitters that are used to season a drink.  If you add sugar to the mix, you get potable bitters, which are intended to be sipped alone or mixed into a drink.  The different types of amari (Campari, Averna, Montenegro) are examples of potable bitters.  “Amaro”, it turns out, is Italian for “bitter”.  So if we’re using an amaro, the bitters component is already there.

This week’s cocktail is a variant on the Boulevardier (1.5 bourbon / 0.75 sweet vermouth/ 0.75 Campari).  Here the base is split between rye and apple brandy, the Cynar adds some earthy bittersweetness, and the ratios are shuffled a bit to create balance.  This is another drink where each sip is a journey through different flavors.  

The recipe way created by bartender Brian Kane during his time at the now-shuttered Abe Fisher in Philadelphia.  I learned of it in the excellent book Batched Cocktails by Maggie Hoffman.  Maggie is formerly of Serious Eats and now has her own site, The Dinner Plan.

Recipe

0.75 oz bourbon (Rittenhouse)
0.5 oz apple brandy (Laird’s)
0.5 oz Carpano Antica sweet vermouth
0.5 oz Campari
0.25 oz Cynar
-measure ingredients into mixing glass with ice.  Stir to chill. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice.
-express lemon twist and use as a garnish.

McKittrick

 

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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

 

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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

 

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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.

African Flower

 

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I found this recipe in the book Unvarnished by Eric Alperin, a bartender who worked at Little Branch in New York and then opened the famous bar The Varnish in L.A.  (Both of those were also Sasha Petraske joints, btw.)  The African Flower was one of the 100+ recipes a bartender had to memorize before flying solo behind the bar at The Varnish.  It was created around 2008 by Becky McFalls-Schwartz, another Little Branch bartender who has since moved on to open Bar Moga, yet another place I really need to visit in New York.  The African Flower is a bourbon-forward sipper with interesting complexity.  When I tasted it, I wrote that it seemed like the subtle cola and chocolate flavors “reinforced the edges” of the bourbon in this Manhattan variant.  It’s an odd mental picture, but there you have it.  Re-reading this paragraph, I see that I haven’t communicated how much I love this drink.  That’s on me.

Recipe

2 oz bourbon
3/8 oz Ramazotti Amaro (or CioCiaro Amaro)
3/8 oz dark crème de cacao
1 dash orange 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.

Si-Güey

 

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This is another drink from the book Regarding Cocktails, assembled by those who worked with Sasha Petraske.  According to the book, “si-güey” is both Mexican slang that means something akin to “hey bro” and a pun on the word segue. Sasha and the other bartenders at Milk & Honey would say this to each other periodically throughout a shift.  This cocktail is a great sipper that’s built around the excellent flavor of reposado tequila, which is aged in oak barrels to give it a smooth flavor with hints of vanilla and caramel. Islay Scotch is named for the island of Islay off the west coast of Scotland and is known for its smoky flavor.  The recipe calls for floating the scotch, which means to carefully pour it over a bar spoon so it layers on top of the rest of the drink.  To be honest, though, scotch doesn’t float very well, so you can get away with just pouring it in.

Recipe

3 dashes orange bitters
0.25 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao (or Cointreau)
2 oz reposado tequila
0.25 oz Islay scotch whisky
-build the drink in a rocks glass, starting with the bitters and ending with the tequila.
-add one large cube of ice and stir.
-finish by floating the scotch on top of the drink

Home on the Range

 

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This drink is based on a recipe found by veteran Australian bartender Michael Madrusan in the 1941 book Crosby Gaige’s Cocktail Guide and Ladies’ Companion.  Madrusan worked under the legendary Sasha Petraske at New York’s famous Milk & Honey.  Madrusan modernized the cocktail by swapping out the original Dubonnet rouge in favor of sweet vermouth.  Sasha liked this cocktail so much that it appeared on the menus of all of his many bars.   Home on the Range is a strong cocktail that to me is like an Old Fashioned with a cool citrus note.  It’s great over a single large cube of ice, to be sipped as it evolves in the glass.  I honestly like it better after it sits for a few minutes so the flavors open up.

Recipe

3 dashes Angostura bitters
0.25 oz sweet vermouth (preferably Cocchi Vermouth di Torino)
0.25 oz Cointreau
2 oz bourbon
Lemon twist
Orange twist
-build the drink in a rocks glass, starting with the bitters and ending with the bourbon.
-add one large cube of ice and stir a few times.  Garnish with lemon and orange twists.

Fourth Regiment

 

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This drink is just a 50:50 Manhattan plus orange and celery bitters, but that small change makes all the difference.  In contrast with drinks like the Norwegian Wood, which present a fully combined flavor at the first sip, the Fourth Regiment unfolds gradually.  The initial citrus perfume gives way to the familiar bite of the Manhattan, but at the tail end the celery bitters clearly emerge.  The contrast is a delight.  The Fourth Regiment first appeared in an 1889 book called 282 Mixed Drinks from the Private Records of a Bartender of the Olden Days.  It subsequently appeared in other, better-known sources in 1914 and 1939.  Nobody knows where it got its name, but the recipe hasn’t changed much in over 130 years.

Recipe
1.5 oz rye (Rittenhouse)
1.5 oz sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica)
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes orange bitters
2 dashes celery bitters
-stir in a mixing glass with ice to chill
-strain into a chilled coup or Nick & Nora glass.  Garnish with lemon twist.

Norwegian Wood

 

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Those of you who have been to the Nordic countries may be familiar with aquavit (also spelled akavit).  It’s a traditional spirit made from grain or potatoes and flavored with herbs and spices, notably caraway and dill seed.  As a result, it’s a little more savory than many spirits. 

This cocktail was created by bartending legend JeffreyMorgenthaler when a liquor rep dared him to try and make a cocktail featuring aquavit, since it’s not known for its mixability.  After three or four tries, Morgenthaler cameup with the Norwegian Wood.  It’s both complex and balanced.  Interestingly, it’s tough to pick out the individual ingredients even though each has a distinct flavor.  It’s a bit spicy and has a lot of flavor.  Drink up, and say “Skål” (pronounced “skoal”) which is the Scandinavian equivalent of “Cheers!”.

Recipe

1 oz aquavit
1 oz applejack (Laird’s)
0.75 oz sweet vermouth
0.25 ox yellow chartreuse
1 dash Angostura bitters
-stir with ice to chill; strain into a chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass
- Garnish with lemon twist.

Busted Pipe

 

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Sometimes a weekly cocktail has a long list of ingredients (looking at you, Snow Leopard’s Tail).  Other times simplicity is the order of the day, as with the MonteCarlo.  The Busted Pipe is in the latter category.  With just two ingredients plus a citrus twist, it couldn’t be much simpler to make.  But despite the easy preparation, the busted pipe has more going on taste-wise than you’d expect. The Busted Pipe features Amaro Nonino Quintessentia which is an Italian herbal liqueur crafted by the Nonino family in 1933 and refined into its modern formulation in 1992.  It incorporates aged grappa (brandy made from grape parts left over from winemaking), which is unusual for an amaro, and is finished in oak barrels.  It’s famous as a key ingredient of the Paper Plane. This cocktail is great over a single large cube of ice, to be sipped as it evolves in the glass.

Recipe

1.5 oz bourbon
1.5 oz Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
Lemon twist
-build the drink in a rocks glass and stir to combine.
-add a large cube of ice and stir a few times.  Garnish with lemon twist.

El Camino

 

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Lately I've taken an interest in mezcal, which is the blanket term for any agave distillate.  Tequila, for example, is a type of mezcal.  Mezcals are a broad category that’s often compared to wine because the type of agave, local soil content, plant ripeness, distillation method, and fermentation all play a part in the final product.  There are also ethical issues to consider, including sustainability and instances of exploitation of farmers by big companies.  Fortunately, there are lots of well-run producers to choose from.
This cocktail was created at the Chestnut Club in Santa Monica, CA, and published in Imbibe magazine.  Mezcal can be kind of a bully in cocktails, but the assertive rye goes toe-to-toe with it and the Benedictine helps dial the smokiness down from “a dragon’s breath in the morning” to “standing around a ski lodge fire”.  Enjoy this sipper.
 
Recipe
4 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1 oz mezcal (I used Del Maguey Vida, a popular choice for cocktails)
1 oz rye (I used Rittenhouse)
0.5 oz Benedictine
Orange twist
-Stir ingredients with ice until chilled.  Strain into glass over fresh ice.  Garnish with orange twist.

Oh My Word! Revisited

 

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When we first tried the Oh My Word! back in August 2024, I substituted Dolin Gènèpy le Chamois because Green Chartreuse was in short supply.  Recently I came into possession of another bottle of Green Chartreuse, so I decided to revisit this cocktail since it was one of my favorites.  But when I made one, I discovered that I now find the original version a little too sweet.  To compensate, I decreased the Maraschino liqueur, replaced the Old Tom gin with London Dry, and increased the gin to a full ounce.  The Revisited version is a little more assertive and (I think) better balanced.  Once again, credit to Sother Teague for the original.

Oh My Word! Revisited
0.5 oz Maraschino liqueur
0.75 oz green Chartreuse
0.75 oz Amaro Montenegro
1.0 oz London dry gin
2 dashes (4 shakes of the bottle) lime bitters
-add all ingredients to mixing glass with ice and stir until well-chilled
-strain into a chilled glass

The Sherpa

 

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Sasha Petraske is someone we should all know about.  He’s credited with inventing modern cocktail culture in the early 2000’s and is mentioned frequently by other bartenders who refer to him simply by his first name.  He opened the famous Milk & Honey bar in 1999 and was a creative partner in nearly a dozen other bars around the world.  Sasha had a famous and fantastic set of house rules at Milk & Honey that were on bronze plaques mounted outside the restrooms.  He trained many of the world’s best bartenders and was known for a meticulous attention to detail that bordered on obsessiveness.  He died young (age 42) in 2017 but his influence lives on.

This recipe is a strong but terrific sipper that evolves over time in the glass as the ice melts.  Neither the allspice dram nor the curacao stand out independently but instead they round out the bourbon and create a lovely overall effect, like a citrus old-fashioned.

Recipe
2 dashes orange bitters
0.25 oz Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao (or Cointreau)
0.25 oz allspice dram
2 oz bourbon
Lemon twist
-build the drink in order in a rocks glass starting with the bitters.
-add a large cube of ice and stir a few times.  Garnish with lemon twist.