• 1 ½ oz. Gin
• ½ oz. sweet vermouth
• 2-3 drops orange bitters

1. Chill cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients to shaker
3. Shake well with ice 10 – 15 sec.
4. Strain into chilled glass
5. Garnish with maraschino cherry

Where the dirty martini meets the Cajun martini: Hendrick’s Gin, dry vermouth and pickled jalapeno juice. Guaranteed to tickle your tongue.

• 2 oz. Hendrick’s Gin
• ½ oz. dry vermouth
• ¼ oz. pickled jalapeno juice
• 1/2 – 1 dash Doc Elliott’s Olive Bitters to taste

1. Chill cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients to shaker
3. Shake well with ice 10 – 15 sec.
4. Strain into chilled glass
5. Garnish with jalapeno stuffed olive or jalapeno spear

Cheers!

For a complete discussion of homemade tonic water click here.  Tonic syrups are easy to make and create an amazing cocktail.  You can also go the Gin Tonic route and really spruce up your drinks!  Either way you go, there are few better sippers than the venerable G&T.

• 2 oz. 209 Gin
• ¾ oz. Quinine Syrup
• 2 oz. soda water

1. Chill an old fashioned glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass and stir with ice
3. Strain over fresh ice in chilled glass
4. Garnish with lime twist

It’s a family Christmas tradition…don’t ask.

This is another drink that I found and renamed for a party.  You can tell it’s from the Tiki era since it has 2 kinds of rum.  This is a sour and shows how you can use multiple juices.  The recipe could also be adapted for a punch.

• 1 oz. Appleton rum
• ½ oz. Bacardi 151 rum
• ¾ oz. crème de banana
• 1 oz. orange juice
• 1 oz. pineapple juice
• ½ oz. Lime juice

1. Shake well with ice
2. Pour unstrained into Highball glass

One of these and you won’t care.  Two and you won’t give a #?*! !

I found this recipe somewhere and renamed it for a party.  It is very strong.

• 1 ½ oz. Lemon Hart or Bacardi 151 Rum
• ½ oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• ¾ oz. lime juice
• ¼ oz. grenadine

1. Shake well with ice
2. Pour unstrained into pilsner or double old fashioned

Over muddling the mint is a big mistake.  The stems are bitter, so you end up adding more sugar to compensate.  Give the mint leaves a smack by holding them in one palm and clapping you hands once.  Then add them to the shaker.  The ice cubes will do the rest of the muddling for you.

• 2 oz. Cruzan Light Rum
• 1 oz. lime juice
• 8 – 10 mint leaves
• 1 oz. simple syrup
• 4 oz. club soda

1. Shake all ingredients, except club soda, with ice cubes
2. Pour unstrained into chilled glass
3. Fill with club soda (about 4 oz.)
4. Garnish with a mint sprig

Cheers!

This features Cruzan Spiced Rum, which of course, comes from St Croix.  Sailor Jerry’s works too.

• 1 ½ oz. Spiced Cruzan Rum
• ½ oz. lime juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• 2 drops grapefruit bitters

1. Mix all ingredients with ice in a shaker
2. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

This makes a fun Halloween drink, especially since the kids can be included with drinks sans the rum.  Note that black decorating sugar and black gummy spiders may need to be ordered in advance.

• Black sugar for the rim
• 1 black gummy spider
• 2 oz. dark rum
• 2 oz. lime juice plus 1 lime wedge
• 2 oz. ginger beer or ginger ale

1. Rub lime wedge around the rim of an old fashioned glass and coat with black sugar
2. Combine lime juice and rum in a shaker with ice and shake
3. Strain into rimed old fashioned glass over fresh ice
4. Top with ginger beer or ale
5. Garnish with the black gummy spider

My riff on a classic island favorite: aged rum, Cointreau, lemon juice and lemon bitters shaken and served straight up!

• 2 oz. good aged rum such as Zaya
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• ½ oz. lemon juice
• ¼ tsp. lemon bitters

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water.
2. While the glass chills, combine all of the ingredients in a shaker.
3. Shake with ice until shaker is fully frosted: 10 – 15 seconds
4. Strain into the chilled glass.

For the original,  jettison the bitters.

This daiquiri was inspired by my friend Marcus Zuazua.  At his instigation, (I swear it was all his fault), I purchased a bottle of premium aged rum.  Then I went looking for a way to enjoy it.  My search brought me to Hemingway’s favorite daiquiri.  With some alterations and a nod to Hemingway, here is my concoction.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. good aged rum
• ¼ oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 2 oz. fresh lime juice
• 1 oz. simple syrup

Directions

1. Chill a martini glass with ice and water.
2. While the glass chills, combine all of the ingredients in a shaker.
3. Shake with ice until shaker is fully frosted: 10 – 15 seconds
4. Strain into the chilled martini glass.
5. Enjoy (and toast my friend Dr. Z)