We have used agave or maguey worm salt, (Sal de Gusano) in versions of mezcal and tequila Manhattans.  The Sal de Gusano gives the drink a slight salinity and a savory background note. I’ve seen a Black Cat recipe that included Old Tom Gin, Mezcal and grapefruit.  So, never being reluctant to mess with recipes, we’ve come up with a version of Old Tom Gin/Mezcal Manhattan with the grapefruit aperitif, Caperitif.

For this cocktail, we have chosen Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin.  This Old Tom style gin is distilled with juniper as the only botanical, barrel aged in new American Oak, then sweetened with raw honey.  The Mezcal we selected is Mezcalero No. 12, which was made from wild agave.  Together they create a very pleasant cocktail.  The nose is juniper with a touch of smoke and floral notes.  The taste is juniper, honey, and a bit of wood.  The finish is slightly sweet and savory.

Ingredients

• 1 oz. Barr Hill Tom Cat Gin
• 1 oz. Mezcalero Mezcal
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth – we used Dolin
• 1/4 oz. Caperitif
• 1 pinch sal de gusano

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except the sal de gusano, in a mixing glass with ice.  Add the sal de gusano and stir to chill.
3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass

Cheers!

Good sipping rum, like any good sipping spirit, can make amazing cocktails as long as you’re careful not to bury those subtle qualities.  An old fashioned, Manhattan or martini can be a vehicle to express and play with the flavors of fine spirits.  This time I’m using Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum, but another fine sipping rum can work equally well.

My friends at Jet Setter in San Antonio created for me an amazing rum old fashioned with Don Q Vermouth Cask Rum and Paranubes*. This is my version. I really enjoy Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum neat or with a big rock.  It is a blended rum finished in Mancino Vermouth Veccio casks.  On its own, the Don Q is smooth, with a nose of vanilla and honey, and flavors of  light molasses and cinnamon, with hints of dried fruit from the vermouth.  The Paranubes is an agricole made from high altitude sugar cane near Oaxaca.  It brings a touch of funky and some vegetal notes.  You could sub with another rhum agricole. Keeping with the sugar cane theme, I used cane syrup as the sweetener.  Finally, I chose Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters because it is an orange bitter that is actually bitter.

The nose is vanilla and molasses from the Don Q with an interesting, funky vegetal note.  On the palate it’s light molasses, cinnamon and dark chocolate, with a little dried and tropical fruit from the agricole.

• 2 oz. Don Q Vermouth Cask Finished Rum
• 1/2 oz. Paranubes
• 1/2 oz. cane syrup
• 4-6 drops Doc Elliott’s Actually Bitter Orange Bitters
• Orange peel for garnish

1. Chill a rocks glass with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except the garnish, in a mixing glass with ice and stir to combine.
3. Strain into the chilled rocks glass over a large ice cube
4. Express the orange peel

Cheers!

* Doc Elliott’s Mixology receives no compensation for brands mentioned.

This is a rich, bittersweet version of an Irish coffee.  I’ve used coffee syrup, which is easy to make and works much better than hot brewed coffee in cold cocktails.  The flavors are coffee first with a background of bittersweet and a creamy texture.

• 2 oz. Cold brewed coffee syrup – see below
• 1 oz Irish whiskey – I used Tullamore Dew Special Reserve 12 yr.
• 1 oz. Licor 43
• 1/2 oz Montenegro
• 1/2 oz 2:1 Simple syrup
• 1/2 oz Cream
• Coffee beans for garnish

1. Chill a large Coup with ice and water
2. Combine all ingredients, except garnish, in a cocktail shaker with ice
3. Shake to chill
4. Double strain into chilled glass
5. Allow the foam to rise to the top for 15-20 seconds then carefully drop three coffee beans on top for garnish

Cheers!

This cocktail has all of the flavors of your favorite gin Martini with the added herbals of Kina al Avion d’Or.  Plus, the botanicals in the vermouth are enhanced by creating the vermouth syrup.  Curl My Toes has become one of “Doc’s Greatest Hits” at parties and Pop Ups.

While making beer syrup standing at the stove stirring, my eyes fell upon an open bottle of vermouth on the counter awaiting its use in cooking.  I had read about and tasted beer syrup, but I’d never heard of vermouth syrup.  A quick Google consultation confirmed no results.  After some experimentation, I settled on equal parts dry vermouth and sugar

To my palate, dry vermouth is more herbal than sweet vermouth.  So dry vermouth syrup tastes nothing like sweet vermouth.  In this cocktail, the dry vermouth syrup brings a touch of sweetness to offset the bitter Kina and a nice mouth feel.

I have tried this with multiple gins including London Dry’s and the new style herbal gins.  I’ve even subbed Kinsmen Rakia for the gin.  It all works.

Curl My Toes

• 2 oz. Premium gin such as Uncle Val’s Botanical
• 1/2 oz. Dry Vermouth Syrup – see below
• 1/4 oz. Kina al Avion d’Or
• Fresh herbs such as thyme and sage plus a dried lemon wheel for garnish

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Add all ingredients, except the garnish to a mixing glass with ice
3. Double strain into chilled glass
4. Spank the herbs in your palm and float on the dried lemon wheel or on the drink

Vermouth Syrup

• 1 part Dry Vermouth
• 1 part Sugar

1. The best way is to combine vermouth and sugar in a blender and blend on high several minutes until the sugar is dissolved.  You maintain the flavors of the vermouth if you don’t heat the syrup.  But, if you don’t have a blender, you can combine vermouth and sugar in a sauce pan and heat just until the sugar dissolves.  Do not allow the syrup to boil.
2. Either way, strain through fine mesh strainer into a glass bottle.  Keeps refrigerated for about a few weeks.

Cheers!

I really like bitters forward old fashioneds.  To me, bitters bring flavor and spice that you aren’t going to find elsewhere.  One way to get a lot of bitters into a cocktail without making it, well, too bitter, is to make a syrup with bitters as all or part of the liquid.  For this drink I have chosen Applejack, brown sugar and black walnut bitters to use in the syrup.  It is then combined with calvados, bourbon and rum.

This is a big drink in size, strength and flavor.  The taste of apple blends with the vanilla and spice from the rum and the combined smoky notes of the rum and bourbon.  The black walnut bitters really stand out.  I initially used Fees Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters, but I think that Angostura Bitters with the Fees Brothers Black Walnut Bitters and Orange Bitters is better.

You can easily lighten up this drink by substituting Cruzan Dark Aged Rum for the Zaya and/or Russell’s 10 year old Bourbon for the Basil Hayden’s.

Here is the recipe:

• 1 oz. Calvados
• 1 oz. Aged rum such as Zaya 12 Year Old
• 1 oz. Aged bourbon such as Basil Hayden’s
• 1 oz. Black Walnut Syrup (See below)
• 1 bar spoon honey syrup (1 part honey dissolved in 1 part water)
• 2 dashes Fees Brothers Black Walnut Bitters
• 2 dashes Fees Brothers Orange Bitters
• 2 dashes Fees Brothers Aztec Bitters or Angostura Bitters
• Thick orange peel for garnish

1. Stir all ingredients, except the garnish, in a mixing glass with ice.
2. Strain into a chilled old fashioned glass with fresh ice – preferably a single large cube or sphere
3. Express the orange oils over the drink and float the peel.

Black Walnut Syrup

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 oz. Applejack
• 1 oz. Fees Brothers Black Walnut Bitters

1. In a small sauce pan over medium heat, dissolve the sugar in the liquid, stirring frequently.  Or you can put all of the ingredients in a blender and run on high for a few minutes.
2. Allow to cool
3. It will keep longer if you filter it through a metal coffee filter to remove any undissolved sugar crystals.
4. Will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks

Cheers!

I enjoy paring cocktails with food, especially if creating a new drink.  We were serving salmon and asparagus the other day.  Since asparagus does not pare with any wine, this seemed the perfect opportunity for a cocktail!  Cue the Flavor Bible.  (If you cook, and or make cocktails, you need this book!)  I simply looked up salmon and asparagus comparing them for complementary flavors in common.  I chose thyme, lemon and carrots.  Yes, carrots.

Fish in general tastes best with a light, dry beverage.  Heavy or sweet can hide some of the subtle flavors inherent to fish.  In this case, I chose a gin martini.  You could substitute vodka for the gin, but you will lose the herbal notes that work so well.  I selected Ki No Bi gin for its flavors of kumquat, orange oil, juniper, spice and a slight bitterness of wormwood.  I used Reisetbauer Carrot Eau de Vie that has an intense bright taste of carrots.  Lemon peel expressed over the drink and fresh thyme as a garnish completed the complementary flavors.

The Mad Hatter Martini

As noted above, I used Ki No Bi gin.  Your favorite gin will work quite nicely in the cocktail.  I would avoid the highly herbal gins as they might overpower the subtle carrot.  If you find this too bitter for your taste, decrease the amount of vermouth or make it a perfect with 1/2 bianco vermouth.

The nose is thyme, lemon and citrus.  First flavors are clean, herbal, with a touch of spice.  Then you note subtle carrots and juniper.  The finish is long and dry.

• 1 1/2 oz Gin
• 1/2 oz Premium dry vermouth (or 1/4 oz dry & 1/4 oz. bianco vermouth)
• 1/4 oz. Reisetbauer Carrot Eau de Vie
• 2-3 drops Bitter Truth Olive Bitters
• Lemon peel for expressing
• Fresh thyme for garnish
• Dried lemon wheel for garnish (optional)

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine the gin, vermouth, eau de vie and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Express the lemon peel over the drink and discard
5. Spank the thyme and float it on the dried lemon peel

Cheers!

When we host a party, my wife often tells me she wants a cocktail(s) that will pair with food “X” for which she can coordinate a name, even the colors she wants.  This time she wanted a cocktail with tequila and pineapple.  While there are a few delicious, classic pineapple/tequila cocktails, most of these drinks are sweet and poorly balanced.  Now I’ll digress!

You can download this spread sheet, Pineapple Simple Sour, follow the directions and skip the explanation below.  Then just jump down to the recipe here.

The problem you encounter when you substitute one juice for another in a cocktail, especially if you swap a citrus for a non-citrus juice, is loss of balance.  The drink easily becomes too sweet, (the most frequent result), too sour (acidic), too bitter, too strong or too weak.  The example for this cocktail is pineapple juice, but this discussion is equally true of orange, strawberry, apple or practically any juice.  When you substitute all or part of lime or lemon juice with pineapple juice, you are decreasing the primarily acidic and not very sweet lime/lemon juice and adding the sweet and not as acidic pineapple juice.  Lime juice is 6% acid and 1.5% sugar, while pineapple juice is 0.8% acid and 10% sugar.  Let’s say that you have a cocktail that is:

• 2 parts Spirit (45%  ABV)
• 2 parts Lime juice

The above drink will have an ABV of 22.5% and will be 3% acid and 0.75% sugar … and will not be very good.  If you were to add 2 parts pineapple juice, your drink will have an ABV of 15%, and will be 2% acid and about 4% sugar.  While adding pineapple juice to the above drink would probably be an improvement, it will still be a completely different cocktail.  Now, think about the above with 1 part simple syrup.  Figuring out how to maintain the cocktails sweet/sour balance quickly becomes mind numbing.

Dave Arnold extensively covers all of this in his book, Liquid Intelligence.   A book I highly recommend.  His suggestion for solving the above substitutions is to add acid to the juice to make it equal in acidity to lime juice.  Then you can sub away.  I heard Dave speak at this year’s San Antonio Cocktail Conference.  In addition to discussing the above, Dave covered creating fruit juice syrup with the same sugar content by weight as 1:1 simple syrup.  It is not uncommon for a cocktail to be 20% simple syrup.  That means a 20% dilution.  If you use a fruit simple syrup, you will still be diluting the ABV and acidity, but you’ll at least be enforcing the fruit flavor.  This is all a whole lot easier than it sounds.

Acidifying Fruit Juice

Lime juice has both citric and malic acids.  So, to acidify a juice, you need only know the percent acid in that juice and subtract that from 6% (the acid content of lime juice).  Since pineapple juice is 0.8% acid, 6%-0.8% = 5.2%.  To acidify a liter of pineapple juice, you will add 32 gm of citric acid and 20 gm of malic acid.  Pineapple juice has a highly variable quantity of pulp, even if you filter it.  This means that 1 liter of pineapple juice will actually weigh more than 1 Kg.  However, it usually makes little difference, so you can just measure out 1 liter of juice and add 32 gm of citric acid and 20 gm of malic acid.  The spread sheet above, actually asks you to weigh 1 cup of juice because it also calculates your pineapple simple syrup.

Making Pineapple Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is made by dissolving 1 part sugar in 1 part water.  This should be by weight, though it’s frequently made by volume.  The issue with making a syrup from fruit juice is that the juice already contains sugar.  Adding the full quantity of sugar by weight or by volume will result in a syrup that is too sweet, thus easily unbalancing your cocktail.  To avoid this, you need to know the weight of sugar in the juice and the weight of the liquid – which will equal the weight of the sugar to make 1:1.  If you’re using bottled juice, just look at the label to see the weight of sugar in a “serving” of the juice.   The weight of sugar per volume will vary by brand.  The nutritional chart shown here indicates that 240 ml of juice contains 30 grams of sugar.  If you’re using fresh juice, consult the Google!  So to use this juice:

1. Weigh 240 ml of juice in grams
2. Subtract 30 grams (the weight of sugar in that juice) to calculate the weight of liquid.
3. The weight of the liquid will equal the weight of sugar needed.  But you already have 30 grams of sugar.  So subtract 30 from the calculated weight of liquid to equal the weight of additional sugar needed.

So by example:

1. Lets say the 240 ml of juice weighed 250 grams
2. The liquid weight will equal: 250-30 = 220 grams
3. You need 220 grams of sugar.  But, you already have 30 grams.
4. Therefore, the weight of additional sugar needed will equal 220-30 = 190 grams.

Or you can use the spread sheet: Pineapple Simple Sour

The Ghost of Birthdays Past

The only extra tool you will need for this is a digital kitchen or postal scale that will measure in grams.  You can purchase one from Amazon here.  You will also need to purchase citric and malic acid, also available from Amazon.

The name of this cocktail is derived from Ghost Tequila and the fact that I made the drink for my birthday!  The flavors are pineapple and the tequila with the Ghost Tequila bringing just a touch of heat.  You can alter the amount of Ghost Tequila to adjust the spiciness to fit your taste.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 oz. Ghost Tequila
• 1 1/2 oz. Silver tequila such as Milagro
• 2 1/2 oz. Acid adjusted pineapple juice
• 1 1/2 oz Pineapple Simple Syrup
• 1/4 oz. Cointreau or triple sec

1.  To make the Acidified Pineapple juice and the pineapple simple syrup, refer to the spread sheet: Pineapple Simple Sour
2. Chill a large, stemmed glass with ice and water
3. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice
4. Shake to chill
5. Double strain into chilled glass

Cheers!

I fell in love with Suze at first taste.  The full-bodied citrus and herbs and the long spicy, bitter finish had me!  I frequently use it as a modifier to add richness and a little herbal bitterness to various cocktails.  Almost a secret ingredient.

I created this cocktail to highlight the flavors of Suze.  After trying multiple styles of gin, I settled on Navy Strength Plymouth Gin.  Various London dries and Botanist were also very good.  I further experimented with vermouth.  Sweet vermouth alone does not work well.  A premium dry or a “perfect” with dry and bianco are best.

I’ve been making variations of this cocktail for a few years.  Only recently have I added Bigallet’s Thym.  While totally optional, the Thym enhances the woody notes of the Suze and prolongs the herbal flavors into the finish.  Just remember that the Thym is the modifier here.  More than 3 or 4 drops will result in a powerful taste of thyme.  The nose is lemon and faint herbs.  The first flavors are herbal and a touch woody.  Juniper follows with continued herbs and just a hint of thyme.  The finish is herbal, spicy and clean

• 2 oz. Navy Strength Gin (Plymouth)
• 1 oz. Premium Dry Vermouth such as Carpano
• 1/2 oz. Suze
• 3-4 drops Bigallet’s Thym (or half a bar spoon) – optional
• Lemon peel for garnish
• Dried lemon wheel and/or sprig of fresh thyme for garnish – optional

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all of the ingredients, except the garnishes, in a mixing glass with ice and stir to chill
3. Double strain into chilled cocktail glass
4. Express lemon peel over drink and discard
5. If using, dress up your cocktail with the dried lemon wheel, spank the thyme and float it on the lemon wheel.

Cheers!

Bourbon goes with many things, but apples, cinnamon and chocolate top my pairings list.   For the bourbon in this cocktail, I used Ranger Creek’s .36 Texas Straight Bourbon Whiskey which gently nips but doesn’t bite.  It brings the flavors of vanilla, cinnamon and a touch of oak.  If you choose a different bourbon, I suggest something that isn’t overly smooth.  I used Bigallet China-China Amer as a modifier.  Alone, this liqueur tastes of bitter orange, citrus, and cherries with an earthy, root touch similar to cola, (think bourbon and coke).  I added the bitters for complexity and to introduce chocolate, additional cinnamon and a bit of dried fruit from the fig bitters.

John Dandy

The nose of this Manhattan-esque cocktail is bright orange, fruit, vanilla and cinnamon.  The initial flavors are apple, vanilla with a touch of oak, followed by chocolate, dried fruit and a bit of spice.  The earthy tone comes late and the finish is fruit, spice, cinnamon and vanilla.  As noted below, don’t get this cocktail too sweet.

• 1 oz. Bourbon
• 1 oz. Laird’s Applejack
• 1/4 oz. Bigallet China-China Amer
• 1-2 dashes 2:1 Demerara simple syrup – depending on the sweetness of your maraschino cherries
• 1 dash Fees Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
• 1 dash Brooklyn Hemispherical Black Mission Fig Bitters
• Orange peel for garnish
• Maraschino cherry for garnish

1. Chill a coup or other stemmed cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all of the ingredients except the garnishes in a mixing glass with ice
3. Stir to chill and strain into chilled glass
4. Express orange peel and discard
5. Add cherry

Cheers!

When I think of a dessert drink, my mind usually lands first on coffee. When I think of dessert, chocolate usually wins, (like everyone else, right?). So, my dessert cocktails frequently incorporate coffee and chocolate.  My list of after dinner drinks includes several sweet cocktails.  I prefer my dessert cocktail to be not overly sweet.  That’s probably because, while I might start out thinking the cocktail is my dessert, I usually end up eating something sweet as well.  So, I like dessert cocktails that do double duty as a stand alone dessert or as an accompaniment to a dessert, (read chocolate cake).

The Nectar de Café uses apricot brandy, amaretto, Ancho Reyes, crème de cacao, molé bitters and coffee syrup.  I used Kinsman Rakia for the apricot brandy.  Depending on the brand you use, you may want to adjust the sweetness.  The coffee syrup is house made, (go here for the simple recipe),  but you can use whatever brand you like for your cold coffee.

Nectar de Café

This cocktail is a touch on the sweeter side.  It alone can be dessert, but not so much that you couldn’t enjoy it with your favorite sugary delight, (chocolate cake).  The nose is sweet apricot, tropical fruit and coffee.  The taste is fruit, coffee with background of nuts, chocolate and chilies.  It doesn’t taste as sweet as your nose told you it would.  The finish is chocolate and coffee.  Shaking the drink creates the coffee foam and gives the cocktail a pleasant mouth feel.  After shaking and double straining into the glass, let it sit for about 30 seconds to allow the foam to form and the drink to clear.

• 1 oz. Apricot brandy
• 1 oz. Cold coffee syrup
• 3/4 oz. White crème de cacao
• 1/2 oz. Ancho Reyes Liqueur
• 1/2 oz. Amaretto
• 4-5 drops molé bitters

1. Chill a cocktail glass with ice and water
2. Combine all of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake to chill and create a foam – about 30 seconds.
3. Double strain into the chilled cocktail glass
4. Let the drink sit for about 30 seconds to allow the foam to form and the to drink clear.

Cheers!