Summer is rapidly winding down – I blinked and the days are already getting shorter.  In the Bay Area, its fully into the gloom and chill of Fog-ust.  Meanwhile, back East where I’m vacationing, muggy heat is doing battle with torrential downpours.   In either case, getting away to a tropical island under sunny, blue skies sounds just about right.  Or the liquid equivalent -  a tiki cocktail.

I’ve been wanting for a while to try this contemporary twist on the classic mai tai.   Its intense color just grabs your attention – its such a bright deep…pink.  Thankfully, the “Come to Your Senses!” theme for this month’s Mixology Monday provided the inspiration.  As host David Solmonson at 12 Bottle Bar describes it:

 We all know that cocktails are supposed to taste good, and for this event, we’re going to take that as a given.  What we’re looking for, instead, are drinks that truly excite one or more of the other senses: touch, smell, sight, or even hearing.  Of course, it you want to get scientific about it – and why wouldn’t you – there are even more sensations which can be played with (echolocation, anyone?)

In addition to the intense hue, it has a nice spicy citrus aroma and the large handful of mint garnish is always welcome.  The flavor is definitely different – you can pick up the mai tai, but the bitter Campari is definitely playing equal billing.   It adds a really nice lean complexity to a tropical drink.

Bitter Mai Tai

1 ½ oz. Campari
¾ oz. Jamaican rum (Smith & Cross)
1 oz. lime juice
¾ oz. orgeat
½ oz. curacao

Shake & strain into double Old Fashioned over crushed ice.  Garnish with mint sprig.

Recipe courtesy of Jeremy Ortel, Dram via Imbibe.

As soon as I saw the theme for this month’s Mixology Monday, I knew exactly which drink I was going to choose.  I had spied this cocktail as Imbibe Magazine’s Cover Cocktail Contest.  Besides looking as downright pretty as a Mardi Gras Indian, it combined two of my favorite beverage-ables – hoppy beer and odd homemade ingredients.  Plus, the recipe comes courtesy of a bartender from Worcester – Woostah! – so with the Masshole connection, how can you go wrong?

Host Frederic at Cocktail Virgin Slut chose Beer Cocktails, asking participants to -

“Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses beer as an ingredient. Discussing a glass of beer alone is best done elsewhere, but drop a shot of whiskey or gin in there for a Boilermaker or Dog’s Nose, well, now we’re talking. Feel free to use beer in a syrup, as the carbonation in a Fizz, or as the base “spirit” of the drink itself. Old like the Posset and Shandy or new does not matter. Modifying a soda or Champagne cocktail to a beer one?  Go for it.”

In addition to a hoppy IPA, this tall one calls for two homemade ingredients.  The first involves infusing Pineau des Charentes with Earl Grey Tea.  I had never heard of pineau before.  Its a fortified wine that comes from Western France, and is a combination of unfermented grape must combined with cognac, which is then aged in oak barrels.  I found it light and pleasant when chilled – not very complex, sweet, and easily drinkable, especially on a warm day.  I can see why old ladies in France drink it – for some, that might be considered a drawback.  But these days, in the era of mass produced lowest common denominator tastes, I’d say old French ladies probably know where its at.  Especially when you consider the kids are drinking Four Loko.

The second ingredient is a shrub.  Shrubs are generally a combination of fruit juice, sugar and either an acid (usually vinegar) or alcohol.  Erik at the Savoy Project has a nice run-down of some basics of the two different types.  Shrubs go back several centuries.  I’ve seen references to shrubs as a pre-refrigeration era means of preserving fruit for extended periods, being used as a summer beverage in the American Colonial period when mixed with water.  Regardless, they are a relatively easy way to add an usual twist to a cocktail while giving a shout-out to the historical antecedents of modern day cocktails.

It can take a while to get all of the ingredients together for this one, but its worth it.  It has a great combination of layers, while going down far too easy on a hot day.  You could knock these back like a six-pack of tall boys.  Which I guess is appropriate for a beer-inspired cocktail.

1 ½ oz. rye whiskey
¾ oz. Earl Grey-infused Pineau des Charentes
½ oz. rosemary-pineapple shrub
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters
2 oz. IPA

Combine all ingredients except the IPA.  Shake & strain into an ice-filled Collins glass.  Top with IPA.  Garnish with pineapple wedge and rosemary sprig.

Tea-infused Pineau des Charentes

Soak 1 Earl Grey teabag in half a 750 ml. bottle of Pineau for 1 ½ hours.

Rosemary-Pineapple Shrub

Slice a small pineapple and place in a jar and cover with cider vinegar.   Infuse for 4 days, shaking once a day. Filter through cheesecloth and bring 6 ounces of pineapple vinegar to a boil with 5 ounces of sugar.  Skim off top layer and add 1 sprig of fresh rosemary.  Boil for 10 minutes, remove from heat, filter and cool before bottling.

Recipe courtesy of David Delaney, The Citizen Wine Bar (via Imbibe.)

Been pretty sick the last month or so, which really has limited the tippling and the tipple blogging.  I am finally over the last dregs of a spring flu, just in time for a Bay Area heat wave – that week or so in late June or early July when we get the kinds of sun, shorts and swimming weather that the rest of the country gets to enjoy all summer long.  Which has me in the mood for crisp, icy shaken drinks as well as highballs.

Mixology Monday has rolled around and this month’s host Filip at Adventures in Cocktails has chosen Niche Spirits as his theme.  He describes the theme as:

“…any cocktail where the base ingredient is not bourbon, gin, rum, rye, tequila, vodka etc would qualify.  So whether you choose Mezcal or Armagnac get creative and showcase your favorite niche spirit.”

In rummaging around my liquor cabinet, I spied a bottle of applejack that I hadn’t touched in a while.  Applejack is an American original – an apple brandy that dates to Colonial times that is a rougher, more rustic version of Calvados.  It was made by concentrating hard cider through freeze distillation, also known as “jacking”.  Today, applejack is made by one company – Laird’s, a company founded by William Laird, a Scotsman who settled in New Jersey in the late 1600s.  His descendant’s would serve under George Washington (the only person outside the family to ever be given the recipe for Laird’s applejack) and found the country’s first licensed distillery.   To this day, a goodly percentage of their “Jersey Lighting” is consumed in-state.

The modern product is made with a base of neutral grain spirit (aka vodka) combined with apple brandy and diluted to 80 proof.  I much prefer Laird’s bottled-in-bond which is straight apple brandy at 100 proof and retains a much more intense apple flavor.  Its a perfect base for a retro classic that combines the tartness of citrus and pomegranate with just enough sweetness to fully bring out all the best parts of an apple.  And when shaken to an icy chill, a great thirst quencher to kick off the summer.

1 1/2 oz  applejack or Laird’s Bottle-in-Bond apple brandy
1/2 oz lemon or lime juice
1/2 oz grenadine*

Shake with ice and strain.  Garnish with lemon or lime wedge.

* For my grenadine I use a recipe that combines Tiare’s hibiscus grenadine with Morgenthaler’s pomegranate molasses version.  Take 2 cups of pomegranate juice (fresh squeezed or bottled) and combine with 2 cups of sugar, 2 oz. pomegranate molasses, 1 tsp orange blossom water and a handful of dried hibiscus flowers.  Warm ever slightly in microwave, just enough for sugar to dissolve.  Let steep for an hour or two.  Strain out hibiscus, bottle and store in fridge.

This is one of the obscure classics on their regular rotation.  David Wondrich has an early print appearance of the recipe coming from The Ideal Bartender (1917) by Tom Bullock of the St. Louis Country Club.  The 1917 version is fairly simple, containing only apricot eau-de-vie and lime juice.  Wondrich prefers that recipe, but its far too dry and one-dimensional for me.  Comstock features a variation that includes rum – in this case, the high proof, full hogo Smith & Cross.  In addition, it uses the sweet liqueur style “apricot brandy” instead of an eau-de-vie.  Finally, some bitters help round it out.  It’s still a drink on the drier side, but a more approachable modern one.

1 1/2 oz. Smith & Cross Jamaican rum
3/4 oz. lime juice
3/4 oz. Rothman & Winter apricot brandy
2 dash Angostura bitters

Shake & strain into cocktail glass.

Recipe courtesy of Comstock Saloon (via SFist).

Kennedy gets us rolling with a twist on a traditional crusta and a fantastic “flower” garnish.

Bourbon Bloom

1 1/4 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz.  simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

Shake & strain into cocktail glass prepared with sugared rim and lemon peel flower.

Recipe courtesy of Kennedy at That’s The Spirit!

Next, Adam takes an ingredient that I am growing increasingly fond of in cocktails – tequila – for a South of the Border spin through the garden.

South of Tuitan

1 3/4 oz. blanco tequila
1/2 oz. elderflower liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters
3/4 oz.  red grapefruit juice

Recipe courtesy of Adam at Inspired Imbibing.

Dominik went the route of a floral infusion – in this case gin and a flower called osmanthus that was new to me.

Osmanthus White Lady

4 cl Osmanthus infused Beefeater 24
2 cl orange liqueur
2 cl lemon juice
splash egg white
dash orange bitters

Shake & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with orange spiral.

Recipe courtesy of Dominik at Opinionated Alchemist.

Jon riffs off a selection from Left Coast Libations with a cocktail that looks really quite elegant.

Elderflower Descant

1 oz. Bluecoat gin
3/4 oz. St Germain elderflower liqueur
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. Dolin dry vermouth
dash Clear Creek pear brandy

Shake & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with a long twist of orange and a lilac flower.

Recipe courtesy of Jessamyn at Food on the Brain.

Fellow Bay Area boozehound Rowen throws down with tequila and violets – I really need to try this one.

Arrow of Time

1 1/2 oz. blanco tequila
1 oz. Punt e Mes
1/4. oz crème de violette
1 dash Regans’ Orange Bitters

Shake & strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

Recipe courtesy of Rowen at Fogged In Lounge.

Going old school, Kim spins up the drink that was first responsible for the ever-expanding exotic ingredients section of my bar.

Aviation

1 1/2 oz. gin
1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
3/4 oz. lemon juice
a dash of crème de violette

Shake & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with cherry.

Recipe courtesy of Understanding Cocktails.

With the weather turning warmer, Mackenzie comes up with a refreshing patio drink.

Greenhouse Collins

1 inch of fresh cucumber
1 3/4 oz. Sagatiba Pura Cachaca
1/2 oz. St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
1/2 oz. lime juice
1/4 oz Orange Tea Syrup*

Muddle cucumber.  Add remaining ingredients, shake & double strain into Collins glass filled with ice.  Top with soda water.  Garnish with cucumber wheel.

* To make orange tea syrup brew one cup of a strongly flavored orange tea (with at lease two tea bags).  Add tea to a pot with equal parts sugar over low heat until all the sugar has dissolved.  Let cool and bottle in your fridge.

Recipe courtesy of The Spirit of Imbibing.

The ever prolific Frederic busts open a can of Creme Yvette and a vintage recipe to provide one pretty looking drink.  (And by pretty, I mean that in the Treme sense.)

Lilac Domino

1 oz. calvados
1 oz. gin
1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
1/2 oz. Crème Yvette
1/2 oz. lemon juice

Shake & strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a cherry.

Recipe courtesy of cocktail virgin slut.

In a move sure to rile up half the state of Kentucky, Doug deconstructs a Southern classic and turns the volume to 11.

Mint Julep

Place mint leaves in bottom of a double old-fashioned glass, and cover with simple. Muddle gently but thoroughly (don’t tear the leaves). Add other ingredients and stir. Top with crushed ice and swizzle until a good frost develops on the outside of the glass. Garnish with a generous sprig of fresh mint.

Recipe courtesy of The Pegu Blog.

Lindsay offers up not one but two cocktails involving Fernet arm wrestling with roses.

The Gatsby

1 1/4 oz. Four Roses bourbon
3/4 tsp. Fernet Branca
1/3 oz. rosewater simple syrup*

Shake & strain into Collins glass filled with ice.  Top with ginger ale.  Garnish with lemon twist.

The Daisy

1 oz. Hendricks gin
1/2 tsp. Fernet Branca
1/3 oz. rosewater simple syrup*

Shake & strain into champagne flute.  Top with prosecco.  Garnish with lemon twist.

* Rosewater simple syrup – one drop of rosewater per ounce of 2:1 simple syrup.

Recipe courtesy of Mix It Up Cincinnati.

David strolls through his garden and comes up with something so downright pretty, it might make a Mardi Gras Indian cry. (Sorry, can’t help the Treme references – curse you David Simon!)

The Rosemond

2 oz. Leopold’s gin
1 oz hibiscus-infused dry vermouth
0.5 oz rose syrup
2-3 drops of lemon juice

Shake & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with rose petal.

Hibiscus-infused dry vermouth – 3-4 hibiscus flowers in 1 cup dry vermouth.  Steep for 2-3 hours in fridge

Rose syrup – Bring 2 cups 1:1 simple syrup to boil with a handful of washed rose petals.  Cover and remove from heat.  Cool, remove petals and add 1 tsp. rosewater & 2 drops orange flower water.

Recipe courtesy of 12 Bottle Bar.

Zachary boldy dives in with a full ounce of creme de violette.  Try not to be scared – Zack promises it is all good.

Rose Window

2 slices pineapple
1 twist orange peel
2 dash orange bitters
1 1/2 oz. gin
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. creme de violette
1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 egg white

Muddle pineapple, orange peel & bitters.  Combine remaining ingredients & dry shake for 45 seconds.  Shake with ice for 30 seconds & strain into cocktail glass.

Recipe courtesy of Kindred Cocktails.

Stir & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with lemon peel.

Recipe courtesy of A Drinker’s Peace.

Over in the Motor City, home of the MC-5, the greatest Sixties band that no can believe came out the Sixties,  Dave K. takes the Negroni for a Springtime stroll.

Spring Negroni

3/4 oz. Lavender infused gin
3/4 oz. Lillet Blanc
3/4 oz. Aperol
dash of Spring bitters*

Spring bitters – equal parts lemon, orange, grapefruit and Peychaud’s, infused with mint for 24 hours.

Recipe courtesy of the Sugar House Blog.

With a dash of strawberry, Filip brings us a cocktail fit for Mother’s Day.

Ed brings us a floral spin on a classic Martini.

1.5 oz. tomato/basil-infused vodka*
1 barspoon of hibiscus grenadine
Juice from half of a fresh lime

Shake & strain into ice-filled rocks glass.  Fill with ginger beer.  Garnish with spent lime shell.

* Infuse vodka with 6 vine ripe tomatoes and 4 ounces of fresh basil for 1-2 weeks.

Recipe courtesy of Liquid Chef.

Since then, of course, the movement has exploded to the point that even mid-sized cities and towns can boast of at least one “mixology” bar – when even my Rust Belt, blue collar  hometown has a speakeasy, you know a trend has gone national.    Things have changed rapidly and the quality of the bar scene has improved dramatically.  As a result, I’ve found the recipes in the book to be a bit of a mix.  Some still taste fresh and interesting, while others have a dated feel or don’t quite hit the mark.   Partially, I think that is due to a more limited access to niche spirits that we now take for granted.  (Shudder to think about those dark days when one couldn’t get creme de violette for an Aviation! God save Eric Seed.)  It was also during a transition time from the Cosmopolitan and Key Lime Pie on one side of the divide, and the Martinez and Ginger Rogers on the other – all recipes included in the book.

The flipside is many of the recipes are a bit more straight-forward, which is a blessing on those days when I come home exhausted from work and don’t feel like dealing with muddling or tinctures or ingredient lists seven items long.  If you like a Rob Roy, I think you’ll like this even better.  The addition of a barspoon full of herbal liqueur smoothes out the rough edges quite well.  Art of the Bar called for Benedictine, per the original published recipe in Old Waldorf Bar Days (1931).  However, David Embury in The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks includes two recipes, one with Benedictine and the other with Drambuie.  I preferred the latter, but both are good.  Slainte!

2 oz. blended Scotch
1 oz. sweet vermouth
2 dashes Drambuie or Benedictine
dash of Peychaud’s or angostura bitters

Stir & strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with lemon peel.

Recipe courtesy of Art of the Bar and Looka!.

For some, it is the taste of an ancestral home, where boiled vegetables are considered a delicacy and vowels are an endangered species.  For others, it is the taste of diesel fuel infused with old wool socks aged in a damp basement.  In either case, it is not for the faint of heart.  Traditionally, it’s consumed in small shots while toasting, similar to Russians and their vodka, where the burn is likely part of the testosterone experience.  However, I have come across some craft distilleries putting out a domestic artisanal product.  The bottle I have from Clear Creek uses Pacific Northwest Italian blue plums and hews closer to the cleaner profile of the rest of their eau-de-vie lineup – with the exception of their Douglas fir experiment which has a taste only one of Santa’s elves could love.

Here, the often unruly slivovitz provides the backbone while its subtle plum and almond kernel features are brought forward.  It calls for an 8-year aged plum brandy by Navip fromSerbia.  I haven’t had the 8-year brandy before, but I assume the aging in wood mellows out the eau-de-vie and sweetens it.  Not wanting to invest in a second bottle of slivovitz, I used the Clear Creek I already had.  The result was so surprising that I think I’ll pick up a bottle of the cheaper-by-the-ounce Navip before I wind up draining the Clear Creek.  Brian MacGregor of Jardiniere who came up with the “tipple” says he could drink one of these every day – and I really can’t argue with him on that.

1 1/2 oz. Navip 8-year old slivovitz*
3/4 oz. elderflower liqueur
3/4 oz. lemon juice
2 dashes absinthe

Shake with ice and double strain.

Recipe courtesy of Brain MacGregor of Jardiniere (via Cocktail Town)

When I first proposed “Floral” as the theme for Mixology Monday, I had figured I would make some type of gin punch using a chamomile or jasmine infused gin.  But that was way back in the Fall.  By the time it actually rolled around, I had attended a book opening party for Left Coast Libations at Heaven’s Dog where a number of the recipes from the book were being featured for the event.  Although all the drinks we tried that night were fantastic, this particular one really stood out from the pack.  I wasn’t the only one who thought so – the bartenders were slammed making these all night.

The recipe requires two unusual ingredients.  First, you’ll need sandalwood (and not the kind in incense!)  I recommend hunting around in Indian grocery stores.  The other involves making a sharbat.  Sharbat is a type of flavored, non-alcoholic drink from the Middle East and India, served over ice.  Sharbat comes from the Arabic word ‘Sharbah’, meaning ‘a drink’.  It’s a syrup made from fruits and extracts of flowers and herbs.  Common flavorings include rose, sandalwood, saffron, hibiscus, pineapple and citrus.  The syrup gets diluted with water or evaporated milk and served with ice. It can also be used to pour over desserts.  The sharbat here uses rose and saffron as its flavors, providing a rich floral perfume to the drink, which is built off a gin sour.  A healthy amount of bitters adds an earthy tang, with a finish of sandalwood rounding out the exotic spices.  I could drink these all night long.

1 1/2 oz. Plymouth gin
1/2 z.  lemon juice
1/2 oz.  lime juice
1/2 oz. saffron sharbat (see below)
1 barspoon Angostura bitters
1 egg white

Dry shake without ice for 20-30 seconds.  Add ice and shake until frosty.  Strain into cocktail glass and garnish with grated sandalwood.

Saffron Sharbat

1 1/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup rosewater
1/4 rounded tsp. saffron
1 Tbs. boiling water

Place 1 Tbs. boiling water into a small bowl and add crushed saffron threads.  Steep for 15 minutes.  Add rosewater.

Mix water and sugar in a saucepan over low heat and dissolve.  Add rosewater saffron mixture.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat, let cool and store in bottle.  Store in refridgerator.  You can leave in saffron threads or strain.  Makes enough for 16 cocktails.  Can also be used as a flavored syrup with soda water.

Recipe courtesy of Anu Apte of Rob Roy. (via Left Coast Libations)

1 1/2 oz. white rum
1/2 oz. Cognac
3/4 oz. fresh lime juice
3/4 oz. cinnamon syrup

Shake with ice and strain. Garnish with lime.

Recipe courtesy of The Franklin Mortgage & Investment Company via Imbibe.

 It’s an intensely local, artisanal product through and through.  However, it’s also an intensely particular product as well.  The alcohol content is 30% (60 proof), so when using it in recipes calling for coffee liqueur, the recipe may need adjustment to avoid resulting in a boozy, out of balance cocktail.  Likewise, the sugar content is about half that of Kahlua, so its use as a sweetening agent is also more limited.  I think its great on its own or with a little ice.  For mixing in a cocktail, it requires some thought in order to balance it well – but that’s the fun with ingredients like this.  Limitations in one direction open up (tiki) possibilities in another.

 I’ve previously used it in a variation on a Coffee Flip for Mixology Monday.  (Ironically, the traditional coffee flip recipe does not include any coffee.)  Here, I took the base recipe for a Brandy Alexander and steered it in the direction of a dessert cocktail inspired by Vietnamese iced coffee – which for anyone who has ever had cà phê đá previously knows, it is caffeinated crack dipped in sugar served over ice.   My idea was to add booze to the equation.  Call it Four Loko meets the Pacific Rim.  I promise it tastes better than that sounds! 

1 1/2 oz. cognac
1 oz. Firelit coffee liqueur
1 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Shake with ice and strain.  Garnish with grated coffee bean.