The first 5: My Cocktails, Concoctions, and Creations

The cocktail has had a bit of a resurgence in the past 10 years, when after a long period of simplified, corn syrupified versions of old classics falling out of favor, these drinks have come back strong. I’ve complied a little cross section of the drinks I have been making in our house and for various friends, so take a look, and try for yourself! As with any libation, though, keep it classy, and don’t over do things, mkay?

The Gutwarmer

This cocktail was born out of the recent blizzard that blanketed the entire east coast with almost 30 inches of snow. It was the middle of the day on Saturday and it was still snowing, so I needed something to warm me from the inside. These are pretty common ingredients, which is what makes this drink so surprising. As I overheard a well respected local bartender say, “When you mix different liquors, you always stir. When you mix liquor and other things, that’s when you shake.” So stir away, but watch out, it’s quite potent!

2 oz Bulleit Bourbon

1 oz Pimm’s #1 Gin Sling

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Add whiskey, Pimm’s and bitters in a double rocks glass and stir. Finish with chilled whiskey stones.

 

The Harvest Moon (Blood Moon)

This drink was created around the same time as the recent Supermoon – Bloodmoon – Harvest moon mega-lunar eclipse when the moon was the biggest it had been in many years during an eclipse. This is a decidedly Fall drink that also includes a venerated ingredient that has a long-storied history in the cocktail world: Egg white! That’s right, you put an egg white in this drink. And then you drink it. Just trust me, it’s worth it.

1.5 oz Tito’s Vodka

1.75 oz Pimm’s #1 Gin Sling

2 pumps Peychaud’s bitters

4 oz fresh pressed apple cider

1 egg white

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake vigorously! Strain into a tumbler and enjoy the silky smoothness.

 

The East Village

Named for a neighborhood in Manhattan, and a variation on the classic drink of the same name. The rosemary garnish style is taken from another drink.

2 oz Bourbon

1 oz Sweet Vermouth (Cocchi is great here)

1 pump Angostura bitters

1 sprig of rosemary

Combine bourbon, vermouth, and bitters in a double Manhattan glass. Singe the rosemary sprig lightly and dip it in the mixture. Stir gently with a bar spoon and garnish with the aforementioned rosemary. Serve!

 

 

The Cuba Fresca

This is just a variation on the well-loved Cuba Libre, so I can’t claim credit for this one -but who doesn’t like ginger beer? And here in the U.S. it’s a little more difficult to get the real cane sugar Coke needed for a good Cuba Libre.

2 oz Cuban white rum

1/2 lime, juiced (my mouth is watering so bad)

12 0z good ginger beer

Fill a 12 oz mason jar with cubed ice. Add the rum and lime juice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with a lime wheel. Cycle the ice with a bar spoon.

 

Blackberry Highball

Super refreshing and more complex than you’d think. A classic highball with a little pre-work to get that great tart and sweet blackberry taste. Straining the mixture helps to keep the blackberry seeds and flesh out of the final product.

2 oz Tanqueray gin

3 to 5 blackberries

1 pump Peychaud’s bitters

Ginger ale

Muddle the black raspberries in a shaker. Add the gin and bitters; shake with ice in a cocktail shaker and strain into a coupe style glass. Top with ginger ale.

 

The Snow Globe

This one is named for the way the nutmeg and cinnamon sediment move after shaking, in a nice little precipitation pattern similar to a snow globe. Another wonderful flip-style drink, with that darned egg white.

1.75 oz bourbon whiskey

1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 oz fresh grapefruit juice

3/4 oz nutmeg peach cinnamon simple syrup (recipe to follow)

1 egg white

Combine all ingredients into an ice-filled shaker. Shake vigorously and serve in a chilled martini glass.

 

 

I am sure there will be more to come later, but enough with what I like. What do you like to make when the time calls for a little adult refreshment? Would you make any of these drinks? Are you brave enough to try one of the flips?