There are about as many variations on the Singapore Sling as there are cocktail books, so I tried a few out and came up with this one… Some of them call for pineapple juice, cointreau, and most are served on the rocks, topped with soda (cooler style). I find that whole business to be a sticky mess, and have opted for something a bit less shitty.
Singapore Sling
2 oz. Gin
.75 oz. Cherry Brandy
.75 oz. Lemon Juice
Dash Benedictine
Shake, serve up.
The rose & hibiscus bitters are done, and they’re boss. Real boss. They’ve got a deep berry flavor, slightly citrusy with a hint of rose. They rounded out very nicely, and go extremely well with gin.
The Evening Redness in the West
Blood Meridian
2 oz. London Dry Gin
.75 oz. Aperol
.75 oz. Lemon Juice
1 tsp. Agave Nectar
Hibiscus Rose Bitts
Shake, serve up, add bitters on top.
Hibiscus Rose Bitters
2 oz. Dried Hibiscus Flowers
2 oz. Dried Rose Flower
750 ml Everclear
1 tsp. Gentian
Combine all ingredients in a large jar, and let macerate for about three weeks, shaking regularly. Strain out solids, add to a saucepan with about 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar, and simmer until about half the water is gone. Strain out the solids, and add the syrup back to the primary jar. Should be ready to bottle.
I’ve known about this one for a bit, but I’ve never really given it a fair shake, so to speak. I was encouraged to give it a shot, and consider it for the classic menu at the bar… I did a few variations and am pretty happy with the results.
The Bronx Cocktail
2 oz. Gin
.75 oz. Sweet Vermouth
.75 oz. Dry Vermouth
.75 oz. Orange Juice
1/2 tsp. Agave
Dash Ango Orange
Combine, shake, double strain, serve up or down.
The sugar really helps blend the flavors of gin and vermouth, which seem a little aggressive if left on their own. I used fresh squeezed OJ, which is a must in a drink like this. The dash of Ango Orange just helps brighten the whole drink up a bit. I’ve been doing a double strain on most of these OJ drinks, since I don’t really like long strands of pulp in my cocktails. I’ve got a neat little 3″ diameter strainer that goes over the top of my glass, to catch the big shit the hawthorne strainer leaves behind.
Screw Flanders. Bon Appetit.
Tamarind Syrup. Fuck yes. I peeled the tamarind, de-veined them and threw them into a bit of boiling water to soften them up a bit. When the water had pretty much evaporated, I added two cups of cane sugar, along with two cups of water. Brought this mess to a boil, strained it, and bottled it. I’ve had some tasty shit in my day, but not like this… not like this.
Mumbai is for Lovers
2 oz. Bombay Gin
.75 oz. Lemon Juice
.75 oz. Tamarind Syrup
Dash Spiced Bitters (Fee Bros. Old Fashioned would work, or even Ango)
Egg White
Dry shake, shake over cracked ice, serve up. And rep the fucking zent.
The origin of the Gimlet Cocktail is a bit of a mystery, but most of the recipes call for Gin (the use of Vodka makes it a Vodka Gimlet) and Rose’s Lime Juice. I generally think a recipe calls for Rose’s out of laziness – it’s always better to make your own sour mix (lime juice and sugar). However, in this case we may have to make an exception. See, Rose’s was created in 1867, and was rationed to the sailors in the Royal British Navy to make sure they didn’t get scurvy… Another popular beverage on those ships was Plymouth Gin. Thus, I think it’s reasonable to assume that this drink was created by some sailor on some ship on some sea, some time ago. Therefore, we pretty much have to use Rose’s to stay true to the original recipe.
The Gimlet
1.5 oz. London Dry Gin
1 oz. Rose’s Lime Juice
Shake, serve up.
Depending on your taste, you may want to increase the amount of Rose’s, or even add a “scant teaspoon of powdered sugar,” as Trader Vic recommends. It’s a fine drink, but I still prefer it made with a lime juice and sugar combination. And if you add mint, well then you’re dealing with a Southside, and let me tell you something, there’s nothing wrong with that.
Oh jeez man. Yesterday I made a “Pete’s Word,” which is a riff on a cocktail called the “Last Word,” which was invented at the Detroit Athletic Club during the 40′s. And I really liked it… I mean bigtime. I’m talking big time stuff!!! But, thence it occurred to me, I’ve never had the Last Word. So I was like, wait a minute, bro-dogs, let’s take it down a notch… let’s take it down a friggin’ nizotch.
I was drinking when I wrote this, forgive me if it goes astray.
The Last Word
.75 oz. Gin
.75 oz. Maraschino
.75 oz. Green Chartreuse
.75 oz. Lime Juice
Shake, serve down, be changed for the better.
Here’s the dangle… I ascertain a distinct lack of hard sugary candies in my life. Excluding these apple flavored jolly ranchers, there is almost no rock candy in my mouth right now. Not to mention rock candy that gets me drunk! So I decided to do something about it. Actually, that’s not true. The Deej told me about some Aperol rock candy he came across, so I was like, “I’ll play ball… I’ll play fucking ball, broheim.” And then I blew everybody’s mind with this slight variation on a recipe someone told me about.
My Dixie Wrecked.
Hearst Cocktail Variation
3 0z. London Dry Gin
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
Ango Orange Bitts
Campari Rock Candy
I made the rock candy using about 4 parts sugar to 1 part corn syrup and 1 part Campari, however I’m not going to post the recipe here yet because it needs some tweaking. The first time I did it, it came out brown because the sugar had caramelized. The second time, it didn’t harden up because the Campari still had too much liquor. The third time it came out okay, but still didn’t taste Camparish. That’s a word. And then I ran out of Campari. So, hang in there, and I’ll give her another whack and see what crappens.
I’ve been kicking around the idea of trying out a pousse-café style drink – basically a layered cocktail that consists of syrups, liqueurs and liquors, all floated on top of one another. The pousse-café went out of fashion after prohibition, and really never came back in it’s proper form. I suspect that’s because most of these drinks are created by the way they look, rather than how they taste, but that’s just drunken speculation at this point. Anyhangles, I haven’t figured out which one I want to try yet, but I did stumble across this little gem. It was originally a pousse-café: red cherry on the bottom, sweet vermouth poured over that, followed by gin, and finally green chartreuse. This is a cocktail version of that drink, and damnit, it feels right.
Bijou Cocktail
1.5 oz. Dry Gin
.75 oz. Sweet Vermouth
.75 oz. Green Chartreuse
Dash Orange Bitters
Stir over ice, serve up, garnish with a cherry.
If you like a nice martini, or a martinez, for that matter, and you can “get down” with some Chartreuse, give this little bastard a run. It’s easy, and yes, it likes to party.
Oh brojangles, you’re gonna like this one. For one, it’s called a Southside, because it originated on the south side of Chicago, so that’s pretty cool. For second, it’s all about the gin. And for three, it’s easy as heck to make. And we all know, 1 + 2 + 3 = FUCK YES!
The Southside
3 oz. Gin (Beefeater, Tanqueray, you know, something respectable)
1 oz. Simple Syrup
.75 oz. Lime Juice
2 Sprigs mint
Okay, throw the mint in the bottom of a shaker, and just give it a light bruising with a muddler. Add the other ingredients, a few large cubes, and shake with the strength of ten men. Strain, serve down, or in a chilled coupe if you’re bad like that. I am not, as it turns out.
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