¾ oz simple syrup (1:1)
½ heaping cup crushed ice (or 4–5 regular ice-cube-tray ice cubes)
Lime wheel to garnish
Combine all ingredients in a blender. Add ice and blend until the texture gets creamy and the ice is uniformly crushed. Strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.
126 KNOW YOUR AMERICAN WHISKEY
The arrival of the Scots and Irish in the 17th century marked the beginning of whiskey distilling in the United States, although it was all rye whisky until the late 1700s, when settlers reached the plains of Kentucky and Tennessee. Corn grew in abundance, and the recipe shifted to the more corn-dominant profile we know today.
BOURBON While it’s commonly thought that bourbon whiskey is named after a county, which in turn was named after members of the French Royalty that aided the early colonists, it may in fact have been named after none other than the most famous Bourbon of them all: the street in New Orleans. The story goes that Kentucky whiskey was being placed into charred barrels to give the whiskey a Cognac-like flavor (favored by the citizens of New Orleans), and then shipped down the Ohio River. It’s thought that people began to ask for it as the style sold on Bourbon Street. In order to be a bourbon whiskey, the liquor must meet the following criteria: It must be made in the continental United States; contain at least 51 percent corn; be aged for at least two years in brand-new, charred American Oak barrels; and be distilled no higher than 80 percent alcohol. Those standards allow for plenty of variation, including the ratios of corn to other grains, like rye and wheat.
TENNESSEE The keydifferences between bourbon and Tennessee whiskey come to two factors: Tennessee whiskey must be made in Tennessee, and filtered through maple charcoal—with one exception: Prichard’s Tennessee Whiskey is exempt from the latter requirement. The owner of Prichard’s objected on the basis that he didn’t want to be required to make whiskey like Jack Daniel’s.
RYE Much of the first whiskey distillation took place in Maryland and Pennsylvania with the grain that grew in abundance at the time: rye. The acclaim disappeared when Prohibition closed down production for good. Now most rye is made in many of the same distilleries and in the same way that bourbon is, with one key substitution: It must be made from at least 51 percent rye (instead of corn). Spicy and sometimes grassy or doughy, rye whiskey makes great stirred drinks like Manhattans (see item 089) and Old Pals (see item 061).
127 CLASSIC WHISKEY SOUR
This simple recipe does a great job of unpacking some of the different flavors and layers that the oak gives the whiskey. Cheap bourbon works well here, but a midrange whiskey will shine.
2 oz bourbon whiskey
1 oz lemon juice
½ oz simple syrup (1:1)
Cherry and orange slice to garnish
Combine all ingredients, except for the garnish, in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10seconds, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry and orange slice pieced together with a cocktail pick.
128 GUM THINGS UP
The classic whiskey sour is sometimes made with an egg white to give the drink some body and a foamy white crown, but we find it unnecessary. If you want to add a little more weight to the drink, use gum syrup (simple syrup thickened with gum arabic). It was a popular bar ingredient in the pre-Prohibition days and will add a little viscosity and velvety smoothness to your drink.
129 GET IN THE LIMELIGHT
I prefer to have my whiskey sours made with a bit of lime juice mixed in with the lemon, about 1 lime to every 2 lemons. It gives it a bright accent that doesn’t dominate or get in the way of the whiskey.
130 THE CLASSIC AVIATION
This cocktail, first developed by Hugo Ensslin in the early 20th century, originally contained crème de violette, a bluish-purple violet liqueur, but for the most part the drink is often made without it. Use it if you can find some—it gives it a lovely color and floral aroma.
2 oz gin
½ oz lemon juice
½ oz maraschino
¼ oz crème de violette (optional)
Cherry to garnish
Combine all ingredients except garnish in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a cherry dropped into the glass so it sits at the bottom.
131 KEEP IT CORDIAL
Like the flavor of lime cordial but want to make it yourself? All you need is some sugar, limes, and water.
Combine ½ cup each sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until it reaches a simmer and the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and add the zest from 1 lime, cover, and allow to cool.
Once cool, add 4 ounces of lime juice to the saucepan, stir to combine, then strain. Use as you would lime cordial—or mix it with seltzer (1 part cordial to 3 parts water) to make an excellent sparkling limeade.
132 MAKE IT BLUE
If you really like the taste of the crème de violette, you can make a Blue Moon, which uses the violette liqueur as the sole sweetener. Substitute the violette for the maraschino liqueur, for a total of ½ ounce of the crème.
133 GIMLET
Some bartenders say that the proper way to make a gimlet is with lime cordial (like Rose’s lime juice) and that making this drink with fresh lime juice is technically a Rickey. Lime juice advocates say that the drink with lime juice is the way the drink was intended to be made. If you want to find out for yourself, simply replace both the simple syrup and lime juice with ¾ ounces of lime cordial.
2 oz gin
½ oz lime juice
½ oz simple syrup (1:1)
Lime wheel to garnish
Combine all ingredients except garnish in a shaker. Add ice, shake, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.
134 COSMOPOLITAN
The origins of the ubiquitous cosmo are, like many things that occur in bars, hazy. Some claim the drink was invented in the 1970s in Cleveland—or South Beach or Minneapolis—as a variation of a kamikaze (a cosmopolitan without the cranberry juice). It’s also entirely possible the origins of the drink come from the 1934 book Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars which includes a recipe utilizing gin instead of vodka and raspberry syrup in place of the cranberry juice.
2 oz vodka
¾ oz lime juice
¼ oz cranberry juice
½ oz orange liqueur or triple sec
Lime wheel to garnish
Combine all ingredients except garnish in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.
135 SWAP THE CRANBERRY
Try pomegranate, cherry, or even apple juice in place of the cranberry to give the drink a twist.
136 VARY THE VODKA
Citrus-flavored or homemade infused vodka works great in this recipe, but keep a bottle of plain vodka handy—flavored vodkas can be too intense and throw the cocktail off balance. If this happens, just substitute 1 ounce each of plain for flavored to mellow things out.
137 LEMON DROP
Created sometime in the 1970s by Norman Jay Hobday at his bar Henry Africa’s in San Francisco, this citrus-focused drink also works well with Meyer lemons.
Lemon wedge and superfine sugar
2 oz vodka (citrus or plain)
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz orange liqueur (or triple sec) or simple syrup (1:1)
Lemon peel or lemon wheel to garnish (optional)
Place enough superfine (or baker’s) sugar to create a thin layer on a small plate. Moisten the rim of the glass by running a lemon wedge around the lip, then dipping and twirling the glass to coat the edge. Set the glass aside.
Combine vodka, lemon juice, and liqueur in a shaker. Add ice, shake hard, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon.
138 EXTRACT FLAVOR FROM A PRO
USBG | CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER
KALEENA GOLDSWORTHY
&nbs
p; Manager | Flying Squirrel Bar
Making tinctures (see item 035) gives you another tool to enhance drinks with layers of flavors you may not get any other way. Kaleena Goldsworthy of Flying Squirrel Bar loves getting creative with her tinctures, and here she offers a couple of great ways to get started making and using these concentrated bursts of flavor.
139 CONTROL THE SPICE, CONTROL THE COCKTAIL
USBG | CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER
KALEENA GOLDSWORTHY
Manager | Flying Squirrel Bar
Chile pepper tinctures are a great way to add a spicy kick to a drink with a nice measure of control. Using an eye dropper is also important to give you some precision. This recipe for a Hot Pepper Tincture works great for Bloody Marys (see item 183) and even in cooking. Just make sure to wear gloves while working, and don’t touch your eyes—or anything else you don't want to singe!
2 whole fresh chiles, such as Fresnos, sliced
½ fresh habanero chile (with the seeds)
½ dried chipotle
4 oz 151-proof vodka (or 2 oz each Everclear and standard 80-proof vodka)
In a small jar, combine chiles with vodka, making sure the peppers are fully submerged (add more vodka if needed). Place in a cool, dark location, giving the jar a daily shake for a week. Then strain the solids and reserve the liquid. Taste to determine the heat (try a drop in 1 ozwater if you’re feeling timid). Now, go scorch some cocktails.
140 THE SPICE INVADER
USBG | CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER
KALEENA GOLDSWORTHY
Manager | Flying Squirrel Bar
In this spicy drink, the lemon peel is key. It offers a nice, fresh citrus nose (which also helps keep the heat from the tincture at bay), while the ginger liqueur’s sweetness and flavor melds nicely with the tequila and citrus tartness. The hot pepper tincture creeps in at the end, rounding out this refreshing cocktail with a solid hit of heat.
6 drops Hot Pepper Tincture (see item 139)
1½ oz blanco Tequila
½ oz ginger liqueur
¼ oz lemon juice
Lemon peel
Take a coupe or cocktail glass and place 6 drops of the Hot Pepper Tincture along the sides of the glass. You can put 7 in if you're feeling bold. Set the glass aside.
Combine the tequila, liqueur, and lemon juice in a shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into the glass. Pinch lemon peel to perfume it with citrus oils, then drop it in the drink.
141 ORANGE YOU GLAD YOU MADE A TINCTURE?
USBG | CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER
KALEENA GOLDSWORTHY
Manager | Flying Squirrel Bar
One lucky fruit gets transformed four different ways to showcase the nuanced degrees of citrus flavors in Kaleena’s Four Orange Tincture.
3 oranges, organic and unwaxed if available
5 oz 151-proof vodka (or 2½ oz each Everclear and standard 80-proof vodka)
Peel one of the oranges with a vegetable peeler to remove as much zest as you can with as little pith as possible. Place the peels on a parchment-lined baking sheet and dry at the lowest temperature in your oven until stiff, about an hour or two.
Break the dried peels apart into a small mason jar, and add the fresh peels from half an orange (only peel half of it). Cut and chop the unpeeled half orange (peel, flesh, and all) and add to the mason jar.
Peel the zest off half of the last orange and bake on a sheet pan in the oven until dried out, then broil until the edges are burned. Keep a close eye on the peels, as they will burn very fast. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Tear or chop the burned peels into the mason jar. Add the vodka to cover. Place in a cool, dark location, giving the jar a daily shake for three weeks. Then strain the solids and reserve the liquid.
142 THE FINAL FOUR
USBG | CHATTANOOGA CHAPTER
KALEENA GOLDSWORTHY
Manager | Flying Squirrel Bar
The Final Four is a nice, light, and barely sweetened drink built with layers of flavor from the four different aspects of orange extracted in the tincture. The burned orange gives the combination richness and depth.
1¼ oz vodka
¼ oz Four Orange Tincture (see item 141)
¼ oz Dolin Véritable Génépy des Alpes (an herbal vermouth)
Seltzer
Orange peel to garnish
In a rocks or old-fashioned glass with ice, add the vodka, Four Orange tincture, and Génépy, then top with seltzer. Pinch orange peel (with the skin side facing the drink), then drop it in the drink to garnish.
143 WILLA BROWN
USBG | AUSTIN CHAPTER
PATRICK LUSSIER
Bartender
This bourbon twist on a classic Aviation is named after the Kentucky-born aviator, lobbyist, teacher, and civil rights activist Willa Beatrice Brown.
1½ oz bourbon
¾ oz lemon juice
½ oz maraschino liqueur
¼ oz crème de violette
Lime wheel
Combine all ingredients except lime wheel in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.
144 THE BAUDIN
USBG | NEW ORLEANS CHAPTER
T. COLE NEWTON
Owner/Head Bartender Twelve Mile Limit
Named after the New Orleans street (and not the sausage—that’s a boudin) and pronounced bow-din, this kicky variation of a whiskey sour is spicy enough to add a hum to your tongue without scorching it. Try it if you’re in the mood for a twist without going too far outside your usual whiskey wheelhouse.
1½ oz bourbon
½ oz lemon juice
¾ oz rich honey syrup (2:1)
1 dash Tabasco sauce
Lemon peel
Combine all ingredients except lemon peel in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a rocks or old-fashioned glass with fresh ice. Pinch the lemon peel over the drink (to express the citrus oils) and then drop it in the glass.
145 RIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS
USBG | PHILADELPHIA CHAPTER
RYAN SHIPMAN
Bar Manager
Designed for a customer looking for a custom drink that’s fruity and refreshing, this cocktail demonstrates how mixing vodka with gin can introduce subtle botanical flavors.
1 oz gin
1 oz vodka
¾ oz mixed lemon and lime juice
¼ oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura or aromatic bitters
3 dashes grapefruit bitters
Lemon peel
Combine all ingredients except lemon peel in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a coupe or cocktail glass. Pinch the lemon peel over the drink (to express the citrus oils) and then drop it in the glass.
146 SHARK GOD OF MOLOKAI
USBG | ST. LOUIS CHAPTER
ANDREW DOLINKY
Bartender | Cleveland Heath
A professor of Polynesian studies named this cocktail after the legend of the Shark God, who helped priest Kamalo avenge the deaths of his sons by the chief Kupa. The Shark God created a tempest that swept the chief into the sea, where he was devoured by the god. This whisky-based tiki cocktail swirls with a storm of flavors ranging from fruity to herbaceous, with the float of bitters representing the sea red with blood.
1½ oz bourbon
¾ oz Swedish punch
¼ oz absinthe
¾ oz lemon juice
1 oz pineapple juice
2 dashes Peychaud’s (or creole) bitters
Mint
Combine all ingredients except bitters and mint in a shaker. Add ice, shake hard 8–10 seconds, and strain into a cold coupe or cocktail glass. Make a line with the bitters on the surface of the drink, and garnish with a mint leaf “shark fin.”
147 QUARANTINE ORDER
USBG | SAN FRANCISCO CHAPTER
WILLIAM PRESTWOOD
Bartender | Pagan Idol
; While playing around with grapefruit and cinnamon flavors (made famous by tiki barman Don the Beachcomber), Prestwood noticed the strong cinnamon flavors in bitters and decided to combine them with some of his favorite rum for a bitters-heavy tropical drink.
½ oz passion fruit syrup
2¼ teaspoons demerara cinnamon syrup
1½ oz Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum (a blend of rums from Jamaica and Martinique)
½ oz Hamilton Demerara 86 rum
1 oz grapefruit juice
½ oz lime juice
7 dashes Angostura bitters
Lime wheel and cherry flag to garnish (see item 253)
Sprig of mint to garnish
Make the passion fruit syrup by combining 9 ounces passion fruit purée, 1 ounce water, and 15 ounces sugar in a saucepan; heat until dissolved. Make the cinnamon syrup by combining 1 cup water, 1 cinnamon stick, and 1½ cups demerara sugar in a saucepan, then heat.
Combine all ingredients except garnishes in a cocktail shaker. Shake (without ice) or stir to combine, and pour into a glass with crushed ice. Garnish with lime-cherry flag and slap the mint before putting in the glass.
148 GO TIKI
Polynesian drinking establishments tend to boast a certain ambiance. Bamboo floors and wooden masks abound. It’s all part of the bar culture first established by Don the Beachcomber in the 1930s, and it will only add to your cocktail experience.
The Complete Cocktail Manual Page 9