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[jollybartender]

South Pacific

There's no liqueur that represents the Pacific Ocean in the way that Caribbean rum or Scotch represent the Atlantic. That opens the door to vodka (mainly) or brandy, which comes in handy as the brown spirit in exotic drinks. I really like this cocktail. That may be because I like brandy and Martell cognac is the clean tasting spirit that a punch-like drink needs. But I also appreciate the need for vodka to control for color and also to keep the drink strong. It wouldn't do to just add more brown spirit in this instance when vodka can thin out the richness and keep the drink bright.

See the recipe on my website.

[lwhite32-blog1]

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[jollybartender]

Grasshopper

A standard Grasshopper (of which there are many variations that I have yet to do for the blog) is an all liqueur dessert drink. That doesn't mean it is weak. All that sugar, though, is pretty dangerous for your brain and your waist size. I forget how good these things are and manage to go years between making them for myself or guests. They are addictive, however. Proceed with caution.

2 oz. green creme de menthe

2 oz. white creme de cacao

2 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  

[jollybartender]

Panama Cocktail

I really am not sure how this drink fits the Panama theme of its namesake. It is a dessert drink with lots of sugar and cream and rich brandy flavors. The color might be similar to a Panama hat, but I think that's a stretch. The Panama Cocktail is a tasty, if a little boring, drink with slightly more than one note of milk chocolate covering the rich brandy.

This is my last cocktail needed to finish the New York Bartender's Guide circa 1997. I still have several punches to go before I can claim to have done them all.

2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)

1 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao

1 1/2 oz. half-and-half

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

[jollybartender]

Three Tea Old Fashioned

I'm still having fun with this MurLarkey three tea whiskey; this time it is in an old standard--The Old Fashioned. Three tea whiskey is especially intense. It tastes just like real tea: floral, earthy, and dry. I like to add it to Heritage, the good stuff, to scent this cocktail with the notes of real tea. One crafty ingredient I made that really accentuates this cocktail is tea bitters. These bitters are easy to make. Simply wash some tea (Earl Grey or floral scented tea recommended) with vodka or neutral spirit so that the scented oils of the teas end up in the liquor. I recommend doing this with a drip pour coffee filter and room temperature spirits. Don't worry about straining out solids if any make it through. They will continue to add to the bitterness and darken the bitters over time.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Brandy Vermouth Cocktail

I skipped this cocktail for some time because, with ordinary vermouth, it would turn out no different from a Brandy Manhattan. I decided to hit the Brandy Vermouth cocktail again just to try out this new Virginia vermouth by Mt. Defiance. This vermouth--like all sweet vermouths--is made with white whine. It is golden in color, though, and its herbal sweetness is backed up by bitterness in the botanicals and in the whine itself, which is a little wild tasting. Mt. Defiance really stands out in larger proportions in this cocktail--try it to experience a sweeter Brandy Manhattan.

2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)

1 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  

[jollybartender]

White Lilly

This is a floral cocktail that is designed to be strong and erbal. The herbal notes are very subdued and are replaced by an extremely potent combination of liquors. I took the White Lilly as another invitation to combine a number of Vitae Spirits, as I've done before. The recipe calls for gin, rum and triple sec, all of which Vitae makes at their distillery in Charlottesville, VA. The gin and orange liqueur are dry and use the Virginia hardy orange as one of the flavors. It is bitter and a little funky, a unique taste in the gin world. Their rum is rich for a white rum, with a little toasted or warmed sugar scent. Together these spirits and a dash of Pernod make an unusually deep drink that will take a moment to appreciate but about an hour to finish.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Stirrup Cup

The idea of the Stirrup Cup goes back to drinking at the village in the days of horse travel. A drinker, probably a big spender, finishes up a session of drinking and requires help getting on his horse. Once his feet are in the stirrups, he is given a combination of liquors that he had been drinking already in a cup of booze that will ensure he is done with drinking for the night. He passes out in the saddle and the horse takes him home. A main ingredient in Stirrup Cup cocktails is brandy, and I just got a bottle of Asbach--not cognac--to try with it. Cherry Heering is a rich black cherry liqueur, and it is sweet enough to balance an equal portion of lemon juice.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Jockey Club Cocktail

I feel like this drink has the making of a classic and I can see why it was a club favorite back in the heyday of social clubs and cocktails. But this recipe seems unbalanced and a little blown out. If the goal was to make this drink unique among social club cocktails, it succeeds. But as written, the cocktail is too tart and bitter for it to have mass appeal. At issue is its out-sized amount of lemon juice with only a hint of creme de cacao to balance it. It is unfortunate and disappointing when you don't get any richness from what would be a great tropical drink with just a bit more liqueur. The Angostura bitters almost seal the deal by themselves, but using more than a dash--which normally would bring the flavors together--just blows everything out and all you can taste is bitter lemon.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Apple Rum Rickey

A Rickey is a Rickey--unless it is this apple rum thing. First of all, what is apple rum. It's not a thing, actually. Or maybe it is no different from apple whiskey, which is also known as apple brandy. So that still doesn't make it a thing. What you can do to make this drink is use a rum with some real sugar flavors as sweetener (Rickeys have no added sugar) to the apple brandy like mine that is made with winesap apples. This Rickey is strange in that you are supposed to taste the brandy and rum and not lime juice. The twist is there as only a suggestion of lime. The drink is dry and doesn't mess around despite it's lower alcohol content. Very good on a hot day.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Silver King

There are many "Silver" cocktails, most of them having something to do with egg white and gin. The title of King goes to the one that uses excellent gin and fresh ingredients for a hands-down winner of a cocktail that is elegant and simple. Monkey 47 is beautifully aromatic with 47 uncommon botanicals. It is very dry and light, so that an egg white cocktail can be both bracing and not weighed down by the notes of the spirit. A king, after all, is graceful.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Creamsicle

There's lots of ways to get the vanilla flavor into a Creamsicle cocktail. You can add vanilla extract or use a vanilla liqueur. I infused Divine Clarity vodka with a vanilla bean and added sugar to it to make a vanilla vodka. The cocktail is designed to taste like an orange ice cream pop, and it does. More or less of any ingredient throws off the balance and you notice that it is actually alcoholic or that it is too sweet.Follow this recipe to get the exact flavor that was intended. For making the vanilla vodka: infuse one vanilla bean in a cup of vodka for two weeks. Remove the bean and add 1 oz. of sugar syrup and store it in an airtight container. Now here's the recipe.

[jollybartender]

White Way

The White Way is an outmoded term describing the main business strip, the street of a city that is electrified at night. The term could only be used seriously in the early Twentieth Century as cities were switching to electric power. The cocktail is still true to it's name--brilliantly white and fresh. It also makes use of white creme de menthe, a liqueur that was very fashionable in the metropolises of the19th and 20th century.

2 oz. gin (MurLarkey ImaGination used)

1 oz. white creme de menthe (Leroux used)

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously to stir up air bubbles and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  

[jollybartender]

Bee’s Kiss

If you're turned off by the sound of the sweetness or milkiness of this cocktail, don't be. It's quite harmless. The name Bee's Kiss is apt, because it is only a kiss of honey and cream that makes this drink work. A rum with a bit of character helps as well. That is why Vitae Platinum rum is used here. You get that soft sugar notes of molasses from Vitae that you won't find in heavily blended white rum. I went for organic honey because you don't know what you're getting these days in the plastic bottles that look like bears. The rest is surprisingly easy.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Tom and Jerry

It's not the overtly violent kids cartoon of analogue television days. The Tom and Jerry is a hot Eggnog drink that dates back to the 1820s. The idea is intriguing. Eggnog is quintessentially Christmas, when it comes to drinking. But in the winter, at least in most places, a hot drink is desired. Tom and Jerry meets both needs. The trick, which this recipe addresses, is making a hot milk/ egg cocktail without turning it into a hard boiled mess. Some of that involves separating the egg and heating the milk with sugar. I can't explain why beating a yolk separate from the white helps, but someone came up with it and who am I to second guess them. The drink came out pretty good, too.

See the recipe on my website.

[jollybartender]

Peaches and Cream

This is a simple dessert drink that you can make with only two ingredients. Peach liqueur, whether it's peach schnapps (which I don't recommend, or some other kind of peach brandy or whiskey will work. Then all you need is equal parts half-and-half. I added the peach slice because I have it.

See the recipe on my website.