Doyers Street

 

Story

There are a bunch of Manhattan variants named for the boroughs of New York City.  The Brooklyn is a classic one of these that combines rye whiskey and dry vermouth with an amaro and Maraschino liqueur.  The Doyers Street is a Brooklyn variation that uses a bitter orange amaro (Bigallet China China) and elderflower liqueur to create a drink that’s simultaneously familiar and beguiling.  There are notes of bitter orange and clove, caramel, grapefruit, and spice.  It was invented by Leo Robitschek, a James Beard award-winning bartender at the NoMad and other excellent New York bars.  This immediately became one of my favorite Manhattan variations.  It’s served on a rock of ice to temper its spiciness over time, but could just as easily be enjoyed up with a garnish.  Either way, I think it’s terrific.  Cheers!

Recipe

1.5 oz rye whiskey (Rittenhouse)
0.75 oz Dolin dry vermouth
0.5 oz Bigallet China China amer liqueur
0.25 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters
-stir ingredients with ice in a mixing glass
-strain into a rocks glass over one large ice cube.  No garnish.

1903

 

Story

We’ve got some experience in the Club with split-base cocktails, so it’s no surprise to see both cognac and apple brandy here.  But a split vermouth as well?  What is happening??  The 1903 cocktail was created by Death & Co veteran Jessica Gonzalez while she was the head bartender at the famous NoMad bar in New York (the bar is sadly now closed, another victim of the pandemic).  The NoMad bar was located in the fabulous-sounding NoMad hotel, a beautiful Beaux-Arts-style building built in (surprise!) 1903.  The cocktail is of course a Manhattan variation (base spirit plus sweet vermouth, served up).  As such, it’s a boozy drink that should be served cold and consumed before it warms up.  Cocchi Americano is technically an aromatized wine rather than a vermouth because it’s flavored with bitter quinine, but it’s used interchangeably with vermouth, most notably in a version of James Bond’s Vesper Martini (replacing Kina Lilet, which is no longer available).  The 1903 has notes of apple, grapefruit, apricot, and some other flavors that make it interesting to sort out.  My notes helpfully say, “I like it a lot.”  Cheers!

Recipe

1 oz cognac
1 oz Laird’s Bottled in Bond Apple Brandy
0.75 oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
0.75 oz Cocchi Americano
2 dashes grapefruit bitters
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled coupe or Nick & Nora glass.  No garnish.

Le Bateleur

 

Story

Le Bateleur is the answer to the question, “What the heck am I going to do with this Strega?”  Liquore Strega (Italian for “witch’s liqueur”) is an Italian herbal amaro made from some 70 botanical ingredients, including the saffron that gives it a distinctive bright yellow color.  It tastes very much like a slightly lighter version of Yellow Chartreuse, and if used in moderation it adds a charming complexity to a cocktail.  Cocktail maven Alex Day created Le Bateleur during his time working at Death & Co. in New York.  Le Bateleur is the French name of The Magician tarot card, which I suppose is appropriate for a drink made with witch’s liqueur.  It’s a wonderful gin-forward drink that artfully balances many strong flavors – herbal, bitter, and sweet.  My notes say, “This is what you use Strega for.”  Cheers!

 

Recipe

2 oz Beefeater gin
0.75 oz Punt E Mes
0.5 oz Strega
0.25 oz Cynar
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir with ice, then strain into chilled coupe.  Express orange twist and garnish. 

Boulevardier

 

Story

In the 1920’s, a group of wealthy Americans living in Paris would frequent the boulevards between the social hotspots at night.  They called themselves “Boulevardiers”, which became the title of a literary magazine that several of them published in Paris from 1927 to 1932.  Harry McElhone, owner of Harry’s New York Bar in Paris, created this drink for one of the Boulevardiers.  The recipe first appeared in Harry’s 1927 book, Barflies and Cocktails.  The Boulevardier is very similar to a Negroni, but with bourbon or rye in place of the gin.  Harry’s original recipe was 1:1:1, equal parts bourbon, Campari, and sweet vermouth.  Later versions bumped up the bourbon ratio to 3:2:2, and today a lot of sources have increased the bourbon again to a 2:1:1 ratio, which is what I prefer.  At that higher ratio, the bourbon can balance out the other two strong flavors in the glass.  The gin-based Negroni is fantastic and crisp, but I think the Boulevardier stands right alongside it. Cheers from the roaring 20’s!

Recipe

1.5 oz bourbon
0.75 Campari
0.75 oz carpano antica sweet vermouth
Orange twist
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled rocks glass over ice. Express and garnish.

Bywater

 

Story

I honestly don’t know what to make of this drink’s history. The internet tells me that it was invented in 2007 by bartender Chris Hannah while working at Arnaud’s French 75, a bar in New Orleans. The internet also presents recipes for two very different drinks.  Both versions have rum, green chartreuse, and falernum, but one goes with Amer Picon and a cherry, while the one I chose uses rye and a lemon twist.  I favor this version because it crosses the classic New Orleans flavors of rye, Peychaud’s bitters, and lemon with the distinctly tiki vibe of Jamaican rum and Velvet Falernum.  This cocktail is definitely a rum drink, but it has complexity and a lot of interesting depth to the flavor.  There are clear Vieux Carre and Sazerac notes in there, which should delight the Club, but it’s definitely its own thing.  Strong but balanced, subtly sweet, with shouts out to a number of distinct influences, this drink is a delight. Cheers!

 

Recipe

1.0 oz Rittenhouse rye
0.75 oz Jamaican rum (Smith & Cross)
0.5 oz green chartreuse
0.25 oz Velvet Falernum
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
lemon twist
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled coupe or Nick & Nora. Express twist and garnish.

C.I.A.

 

Story

This drink was first designed as a shot created by bartender Tonia Guffey while working at a bar in New York called Dram.  It featured Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy and Cynar along with a dash of Angostura bitters.  Apparently cocktail genius Sother Teague wanted this flavor combination to last longer, so he turned it into a full cocktail by upping the portions, splitting the Cynar with dark vermouth Punt e Mes, and switching the bitters.  What he got was another scaffa, which you’ll recall is a drink mixed and served at room temperature.  The name C.I.A. stands for “Cynar in Applejack”.  This one is dark and rich with a subtle but inviting aroma.  I’d describe the sip as broad and smooth.  The apple flavors of the brandy and bitters come first, followed closely by the bitter notes from the Cynar.  The Punt e Mes brings it home with a sweet, spiced finish that lingers at the end. It’s balanced and not too boozy, which is a bit of a surprise given the lack of ice.  A great drink for a cold wintery evening. Cheers!

 

Recipe

1.5 oz Laird’s Bonded Apple Brandy (100 proof)
0.75 oz Punt e Mes
0.75 oz Cynar
0.25 oz water
2 dashes apple bitters
-Stir ingredients in an old-fashioned glass.  Express orange twist over the drink and garnish.

Crop Top

 

Story

The Crop Top is an invention of Devon Tarby, a rockstar bartender and co-owner of Death & Co.  She created this light, citrusy drink as a variation on the much heavier Last Word cocktail.  Both are members of the Sidecar family of cocktails, which are defined by the combination of base spirit, a nontrivial amount of flavored liqueur, and citrus (almost always lemon). The classic sidecar is cognac + Cointreau + lemon. Here the base is gin, the Cointreau is replaced by a mix of Amaro Montenegro and grapefruit liqueur.  Together they bring bit of cinnamon and a prominent note of fresh grapefruit, which almost puts one in mind of a tiki cocktail.  I don't double-strain this drink because I like the texture of the tiny ice crystals that get through a single strainer.  Cheers!

Recipe

0.75 oz Beefeater gin
0.75 oz Amaro Montenegro
0.75 oz Giffard Creme de Pamplemousse
0.75 oz fresh lemon juice
Shake with ice, then strain into chilled Nick & Nora or coupe.  No garnish. 

Pumpernickel

 

Story

A Sother Teague cocktail is never boring, and that’s certainly the case with the Pumpernickel.  This cocktail answers the question, “Is it possible to lean all the way into a specific flavor and still have a drink that’s both balanced and complex?”  The answer is yes, and the flavor in this case is that of baking spice.  That term is used to refer to a collection of aromatic ingredients like nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves.  They tend to evoke the fall and winter holidays, when gingerbread and mulled cider are just the thing for chilly evenings.  This recipe features a big hit of Angostura bitters.  Common wisdom is to reduce the amount of bitters used in a batch cocktail, since the aromatic and bitter compounds can intensify somewhat as the cocktail ages. But given the flavor profile of this particular cocktail, and the fact that the Angostura is balancing the bitter elements in both the amaro and the vermouth (Punt e Mes), I didn’t back off very much.  The lemon does a nice job of tying everything together, so don’t skip it.  Finally, the recipe as written is served “down” (in a rocks glass with no ice), and I think I prefer it that way, but I also tried it with ice and that’s good too.  Cheers!

 
Recipe

1.5 oz rye (Rittenhouse 100)
0.75 oz Amaro Ramazzotti (or Amaro Abano)
0.25 oz Punt e Mes
7 dashes Angostura bitters
-Stir the ingredients with ice.  Strain into rocks glass (ice optional). Express lemon twist, discard.

Husband Material

 

Story
As you probably know, spirits are typically described in terms of both % alcohol by volume (ABV) and proof (which is just double the ABV).  The story is that sailors and tax officers would test a spirit’s alcohol content by mixing it with a little gunpowder and seeing if it would ignite.  If it did, it was “proof spirit” – strong enough to be taxed at a higher rate or stored on naval vessels for long voyages.  “Overproof” is a term that refers to spirits with an alcohol content significantly over this threshold.  While it varies by spirit type, “overproof” generally means that the spirit is over 110 proof (55% ABV).  High-proof spirits can unbalance a drink, as happened when I tried to use overproof bourbon in the Appeal To Tradition.  Because overproof alcohol is louder in a drink, you need to crank up the other elements a bit to match.  In the case of the Husband Material, which I found on the website of bar consultant Jordan Hughes, the bitters (6 dashes!) and the grapefruit twist step up to match the intensity of the bourbon, with the Aperol doing its part as well.  Rather than make a drink that knocks your socks off, some magic happens and the spirit backs down a bit.  I tried the recommended Ramazzotti Rosato, which is a light, floral liqueur, but the Aperol did the job better.  The result is boozy and citrusy with a super-long bittersweet finish.  Cheers!

Recipe
1.5 oz overproof bourbon (Old Forester 1920)
0.75 oz Aperol (or Ramazzotti Rosato)
0.25 oz Giffard Vanille de Madagascar
6 dashes Bittermens Elemakule Tiki bitters
-Stir the ingredients with ice.  Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with grapefruit twist.

Appeal to Tradition

 

Story

I’ve sung the praises of Giffard’s liqueurs before, back when the Lost Horizon was the cocktail of the week. I thought of them again, specifically Giffard Banane Du Bresil, when I came across something called the Caramelized Banana Old Fashioned in a new cocktail book from America’s Test Kitchen.  I experimented with caramelizing a banana slice and quickly decided that the process was not a great fit for a Cocktail Club garnish.  I don’t like store-bought banana chips, so I sliced up a couple of fresh bananas, dunked them in diluted lemon juice, and put them in the dehydrator overnight.  Much better.  For the bourbon, I’d heard that Old Forester is well known for its banana notes, especially the 1920 expression.  At 115 proof, though, it was much too hot until the ice melted a bit, by which time the balance was all out of whack.  Then I remembered that our old friend Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon also has a touch of banana in its profile.  That did the trick.  Walnut bitters to bring in a bit of banana bread feel, plus aromatic bitters for the baking spices, and things fell into place. The liqueur really rounds out the bourbon and gives the cocktail character, while not tasting artificial.  Just enough complexity to make it worth the Club’s time.  Cheers!  

Recipe

2 oz Woodford Reserve Straight Bourbon
0.75 oz Giffard Banane Du Brasil liqueur
1 dash Fee Brothers old fashioned aromatic bitters
1 dash Fee Brothers walnut bitters
Dried banana slice (optional)
-Stir the ingredients with ice.  Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with banana slice.

Conference

 

Story

Since the 1930’s, creators of tiki cocktails have been blending different rums together to create novel flavor profiles.  Cocktail Club recipes often feature a “split base” in which multiple spirits make up the core of a drink.  But prior to 2008, split-base cocktails were quite rare in the modern cocktail scene.  To be fair, cocktails with multiple spirits existed back in the 1800s: the Saratoga (brandy + whiskey), our old friend the Vieux Carré (rye + cognac), and others.  But when the modern cocktail renaissance started in the early 2000’s, most places were following classic single-base templates.  Veteran bartender Brian Miller was working in NYC at Death & Co in 2008.  He drew on his extensive tiki cocktail experience to begin applying the tiki blending approach to non-tropical drinks.  Other bartenders were doing similar things, but many point to the Conference as a breakthrough in popularizing the approach.  It’s a strong but balanced Old Fashioned with an extra bit of complexity to keep it interesting.  The “bunny ears” garnish (both lemon and orange twists) is classic for this drink.  It’s an extra bit of flair to remind you that you’ve got a little bit of tiki history in your stirred, boozy cocktail.  Cheers!

Recipe

0.5 oz bourbon
0.5 oz calvados (apple brandy)
0.5 oz Rittenhouse 100 rye
0.5 oz cognac
1 tsp demerara syrup
2 dashes angostura bitters
1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl Mole bitters
Orange twist; lemon twist
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into chilled rocks glass over ice. Express and garnish.

Prime Inspector

 

Story

I always have trouble remembering where the Negroni fits into the “6 basic cocktail” classification constructed by Gary Regan in The Joy of Mixology.  The martini/Manhattan category is its home, since it’s (spirit + fortified wine + bitters), but it’s hard for me to remember because it’s very much its own thing.  The Prime Inspector is a Negroni variant, even though every component has been subbed out for another that plays its role. The core spirit is apple brandy, a barrel-aged spirit that retains a fruity quality under the oak. Averna Amaro bring in the bitterness that Campari would provide, while Punt e Mes is a type of vermouth that’s darker and has more fruit notes than a standard sweet vermouth. Peychaud’s is not my go-to bitters, but anise is subdued here while the spice and fruit notes come to the fore.  Mitchell Taylor created this drink while at the Nashville branch of New York’s Attaboy.  The Prime Inspector is dark, fruity, and bitter with none of the vermouth aftertaste that sometimes puts me off.  I prefer calvados apple brandy rather than Applejack because it’s extra smooth.  Cheers!

Recipe

1 oz apple brandy (calvados or Laird’s Applejack 86)
1 oz Punt e Mes
1 oz Averna Amaro
Orange twist (or brandied cherry if you prefer)
-Stir ingredients with ice.  Strain into rocks glass with fresh ice. Express orange twist and garnish.

Corn 'n' Oil

 

Story

The Corn ‘n’ Oil is a famous cocktail that originated in the Caribbean (possibly in Barbados) which is notable in that it contains neither corn nor oil.  So why do they call it that?  As is so often the case, nobody knows.  The best guess is that it’s a reference to a verse in Deuteronomy where God promises “that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil”.  Why that verse?  Again, no idea.  What we do know is that this drink is made with blackstrap rum or dark rum, both of which are intensely flavored.  I went with dark rum because it’s a little more smooth and refined than blackstrap. The other key ingredient is falernum, a spiced syrup with flavors of clove, ginger, and almond. There is a nonalcoholic variety (why?) and a traditional liqueur, which is what I used. The drink is surprisingly mellow and smooth, with clove and cinnamon notes.  Modern bartenders have added more lime juice, added in aged rum, and made other adjustments, but I think the traditional version is the way to go.  Be sure to used cracked or crushed ice so the drink rounds out over time.

Recipe

2 oz dark or blackstrap rum  (Gosling’s Black Seal)
0.5 oz John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum
2 dashes angostura bitters
Lime wedge
-Build the drink in a rocks glass.  Fill with cracked or crushed ice.  Lightly express a lime wedge into the drink and use a garnish.