I know some of my friends are wisely on the more-sober, more-healthy path with their cocktailing, so tonight we go into the low-alcohol/low-calorie cocktail zone. The readily accessible ingredients of this one put its net alcohol by volume at about 16 percent—in the neighborhood of a vermouth, port, or sherry. What is Cynar? You can … Continue reading Less alcohol and fewer calories, but I’m not “Bitter, Giuseppe”
Recipes
With no apologies to Lewis Carroll, do not beware this Jabberwock
'Twas brillig, and the sippy toves ... No? That's wrong? Okay, how about ... "Beware the Jabberwock, my son!The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!” Could Lewis Carroll—a clergyman, noted poet, and author of children’s classics including Alice in Wonderland—have been sermonizing about gin in his classic poem? He is too long gone to … Continue reading With no apologies to Lewis Carroll, do not beware this Jabberwock
The New York Minute Cocktail
When you're hunkering down against a major rain or snow storm but you wish you were somewhere warm and sunny, try this little vacation in a glass. Sip slowly so those coffee beans steep some of their flavor into the drink, put your feet up, close your eyes, and imagine you're in Jalisco, Mexico—the home … Continue reading The New York Minute Cocktail
The Bloody Blood and Sand
I love freshly squeezed blood orange juice in cocktails, but it can be hard to find blood oranges at local supermarkets sometimes. So keep this between us, okay? We wouldn’t want everyone else to go buy them out, would we? The Blood & Sand is a classic Scotch whisky recipe that first appeared in Harry … Continue reading The Bloody Blood and Sand
The Suburban
This is a blend that starts off sounding a little like "garbage pail punch”—who’d think of mixing bourbon, rum, and tawny port?—but it's a tasty, refined cocktail with a lot happening around that clear ice. In the classic booze-bitter-sweet model of Old Fashioned cocktails, this one is half sweet, as the rum and tawny port … Continue reading The Suburban
The Blood Sage Cocktail
This cocktail depends on availability of two ingredients that may not always be in your local grocery store—blood oranges and fresh sage leaves. But when the stars align and they’re both available, grab them and give this a try. Before discovering this recipe on the Difford’s Guide site, I never thought of combining sage and … Continue reading The Blood Sage Cocktail
The Grande Champagne Cosmopolitan
This is not your Desperate Housewives Cosmo. It’s a frothy, creamy, elegant, Cognac-based Cosmopolitan that takes its name from the sub-region of Cognac, France, considered to produce the highest quality grapes for the iconic brandy we know as Cognac: Grande Champagne. Of note, this part of the Cognac region has nothing at all to do … Continue reading The Grande Champagne Cosmopolitan
The Martinez
I’m back after knocking off for a while to polish up a presentation for the vermouth seminar I did at Pinnacle Wine & Liquor on October 26. Some of that material will appear here on the Libation Lounge in upcoming weeks. Meanwhile, back to mixing cocktails! Today’s feature is a minor but (I believe) historically … Continue reading The Martinez
The Reverse Manhattan (or is it “inverse?”)
Here’s a fun way to get out of a cocktail rut: Take a classic and reverse it. This won’t work for every cocktail, but even where it arguably doesn’t, the experiment will add to your visceral understanding of what various ingredients bring to a mix. Let’s start with the venerable Manhattan—conventionally two parts bourbon or … Continue reading The Reverse Manhattan (or is it “inverse?”)
Dear old Aunt Emily
With a name like "Aunt Emily," you might expect this to be a riff on the Old Fashioned or a Dubonnet Cocktail—or a glass of wine. But nope. However old she is, Aunt Emily is a happenin' chick and somewhat of a boozer. Between the liqueur and the grenadine, this cocktail is on the sweet … Continue reading Dear old Aunt Emily
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