The Little Buddy

It has been a fantastic summer and I've been taking time off, delving into new flavor combinations, and at times taking a break from cocktails altogether. Summer is drawing to a close meaning my vacation is just about over, must also be time to return to the blog!

Here's an off the cuff rum based riff on the "Old Pal" that turned out especially well. With a rum base, why not an island reference? Here's the "Little Buddy":

The Little Buddy


1 1/2 oz (45 ml) Anejo Rum
3/4 oz (22 ml) Lillet Blanc
1/2 oz (15 ml) Campari
1/4 oz (7 ml) Aperol
1-2 dashes Falernum Bitters


Stir well with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, spray lemon twist over top and use as garnish.


If the "Old Pal"is a nice, light summer drink, then the "Little Buddy" could be a nice "dark" summer drink?

Either way, I have found it to be a wonderfully easy-to-drink apertif, and a welcome one to mix into my regular rotation of summer Negronis.

Red Hook Cocktail

Created by Enzo Errico while bartending at Milk & Honey in New York. The Red Hook, named for a South Brooklyn neighborhood, is a newer variation on the venerable Manhattan.




The Red Hook

2 ounces (60 ml) rye

1/2 ounce (15 ml) Punt y Mes sweet vermouth
1/4 ounce (7ml) maraschino liqueur

Stir well with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I love a good Manhattan, and I often find myself going for Punt y Mes for my mix anyway. With only 1/2 ounce of vermouth to stand up to the rye, there is a possibility of the drink being too dry for many tasters. The addition of a generous 1/4 ounce of maraschino provides just enough added sweetness, and prevents the drink from becoming to dry and alcohol forward.

Enzo left bitters out of this one, perhaps counting on the Punt y Mes's strong herbals and slightly Campari-like bitter profile to do all the work. While it is a very nice drink as-is, I've found that I do like the addition of bitters. Ango is fine, but wormwood bitters work especially well in this one.

Sitting Bull Fizz

Here's an interesting fizz variation from 1892. From The Flowing Bowl, by The Only William (William Schmidt).

Sitting Bull died on December 15, 1890, around the time William would have been working on his book. This is a good drink, so I'm of a mind that this recipe was meant to be a respectful tribute.

From The Flowing Bowl by William Schmidt, 1892

Juice of large lemon, in 1892, would have been about an ounce. Fine sugar would be a (non-bleached, organic) granulated sugar, but a barspoon of simple syrup will allow for better mixing of the drink.

Santa Cruz rum of the day was a generic term for light, golden rums that came from the Virgin Islands. Cruzan is certainly a geographically correct rum choice. For my drink I wanted something golden, with good character - so why not Havana 7?

William worked in the New York area, and since the recipe does not call for bourbon, or "Kentucky whiskey" by name, rye whiskey is a safe choice. My choice,  Rittenhouse Bonded!

Sitting Bull Fizz


1 ounce (30 ml) rye whiskey
1 ounce (30 ml) lemon juice
1/2 ounce (15 ml) golden rum
1 teaspoon (5ml) simple syrup


Shake well with cracked ice, strain into a collins glass and top with soda water. Stir with spoon and serve.

This is fantastically good, especially on a hot day. A dash of angostura bitters really brings the flavors of the drink together nicely.

The Rittenhouse Bonded 100 proof base lends a nice backbone, but at only an ounce it is not overwhelming. The Havana 7 lends a wonderful exotic sweetness to help the simple syrup balance the lemon juice.

All in all, a very nice fizz! Wait, I better have one more quick just to make sure....

Picador

The "Picador", from W.J. Tarling's 1937 Cafe Royal Cocktail Book (Coronation Edition). Another of Tarling's darling early Tequila recipes. 

The Picador


1.5 ounces (45 ml) Tequila
3/4 ounce (22 ml) Cointreau
3/4 ounce (22 ml) fresh Lime or Lemon Juice


Shake well and strain into a cocktail glass. 

As simple and tasty as this is, you may want to make two. A Picador is one of a pair after-all, (a "Picador" is one of the two horsemen that spear the bull in a Spanish bullfight with a lance.).

Can't decide between lemon or lime? Try one of each!

Monahan Special

Appearing in the Old Waldorf Bar Days book (1931) and attributed to Mike Monahan, this is basically a Manhattan with Amer Picon substituted for Angostura bitters.

An Old Waldorf Bar Days Recipe

MONAHAN SPECIAL


2 ounces (60 ml) Rye Whiskey
1 ounce (30 ml) Italian Vermouth
1 tsp Amer Picon Bitters


Stir with ice and strain over a fresh cube in a whiskey glass.

Just as with the Manhattan, rye is the whiskey to use here, as rye whiskey was the most prevalent and readily available in the New York Region at the time these drinks were brought about.

The Amer Picon of the day was much stronger, so upping from a few dashes to a tsp to allow the flavor to come through is not a stretch.

Wild Turkey and Punt e Mes always work well together in my opinion, and the addition the Amer Picon, gives an extra herbal hint along with the obvious orange flavor the Picon imparts. (If you cannot get Amer Picon in your market, try Amaro Cio Ciaro as a reasonable substitute - maybe add an orange twist as well). A very nice drink Mr. Monahan.

Sour Kisses

From Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916-1917)

SOUR KISSES


2 ounces London Dry Gin (strong like Beefeaters or Gordon's 47.3%)
1 ounce French Vermouth (I like Lillet Blanc for this one)
1/2-3/4 ounce egg white
1 dash Orange Flower Water


Shake well in a mixing glass with cracked ice, strain into a small stem glass and serve.


A refreshing summer way to enjoy your vermouth and gin. Great name for this drink, and apt too.

The fluffy egg and thick, wet Lillet combine for a texture that is velvety and soft like a kiss. It is slightly sour and very vermouth forward, even with the soft Lillet.

Be careful not to use too much orange flower water. It should be the salt in your soup. A little goes a long way to bring out the flavors already there. Just as with bitters, if you can taste it, you have used too much.

Fluffy Ruffles - Updated

(Still) A nice gem from Hugo Ensslin's Recipes for Mixed Drinks (1916-1917)

I had originally thought it a fairly safe assumption that "Rin of I lime" was a mistake in the printing, and that the intent was "juice of 1 lime" - Thanks to Frederic over at Cocktail virgin slut, I did some extra digging and found that Ensslin does indeed instruct in the use of the rind of a lime, specifically in his recipe for the Jack Rose:

I have revised this entry accordingly.

Fluffy Ruffles


1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Havana Anejo Reserva
1 1/2 ounces (45 ml) Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
Rind of 1 lime (2 pre-juiced lime halves)


Shake well with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass. 

You'll want a good aged rum with lots of character, but nothing as thick and dark as say an El Dorado 15 or as full hogo as a Smith & Cross. What you will want is a "Planter's Best"( for those of you familiar with Wondrich's rum descriptions in his book "Punch".)

In the absence of a good aged Havana Club rum, go with one of the aged Flor de Cana rums like the Grand Reserva 7 or the Centenario 12.

I'm really enjoying my new bottle of Cocchi Vermouth di Torino which is why I'm using it here. Carpano Antica should do nicely here too.

So...revised drink, revised tasting notes. Shaking this drink nice and hard to really infuse the mix with the lime, and double straining, I ended up with (not surprisingly) a very different drink. Much more of a "limey Palmetto".

Lime then rum taking front seat on the nose, followed by very subtle hints of the vermouth. The drink is light and fresh on the palate. Now the rum and vermouth play better together providing a very enjoyable "Manhattan" like experience.

The essence of lime provided by shaking with the rind gives a very nice, fresh citrus profile, and without the full sour of my earlier drink (where I used the juice of 1 lime). It is spot on actually, and now I have something to do with some of those used lime rinds! I'll be playing with this technique for sure.

Thanks again Frederic for the comments!