Oaxacan Lady

Yet another drop down into the equal proportions cocktail rabbit hole. I present the Oaxacan Lady:

• 3/4 ounce mezcal
• 3/4 ounce Bénédictine
• 3/4 ounce Amaro Montenegro
• 3/4 ounce lime juice
• 2 dashes Bitterman’s Xoxolatl Mole bitters

Shake all ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe.

Back when Twitter had a non-zero signal-to-noise ratio, I used to love chatting and following other cocktail nerds like Ted Haigh, David Wondrich, Brother Cleve (who, unfortunately, is no longer with us but once sent me to a dive bar in Pittsburgh where I got wanded with a metal detector and stinky drunk on amazing cocktails), and others. They were so free with advice to a newbie like me and I learned a lot from them.

Eve's Apple

The first cocktail I’ve made out of the Prohibition Centennial Edition is Eve’s Apple.

• 1.5 ounces Applejack
• 1.5 ounces Swedish Punsch
• 1.5 ounce fresh grapefruit juice

Combine equal parts of the ingredients in an iced cocktail shaker, strain, and serve in a cocktail glass.

In the new edition of the book there are a number of additional cocktail recipes, but many don’t have much back story, including this one. When I did a search on “Eve’s Apple Cocktail” I found a lot of references to a drink called the Eve’s Apple Daiquiri and even one from my friends over at Fair Game Beverage Co. but this one was from a 1929 book by Judge Jr.

The Ward 8 Cocktail

I recently took a new job which requires travel, so I’ve been out and about a lot more than in the past few years. One stop took me to Austin, Texas, where I was introduced to the Ward 8 cocktail.

According to Wikipedia, the Ward 8 was invented in 1898 to honor a section of Boston that was key to electing a particular government official. Politics aside, it is a tasty drink.

Rosemary Blue

From Bombay Sapphire comes the Rosemary Blue:

• 1.75 ounces (50ml) Bombay Sapphire Gin
• 0.50 ounce (15ml) blue curaçao
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 1 lemon wedge
• Fever-Tree Light Tonic Water

Add the Bombay Sapphire, blue curaçao, rosemary sprig and gently squeezed lemon wedge to a balloon glass. Swirl well to combine. Fill with cubed ice and top with the Fever-Tree Light Tonic Water. Gently fold with a bar spoon to mix.

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Daisy de Santiago

From Cuba comes the Daisy de Santiago:

• 1.0 ounce lime juice
• 1.5 teaspoons SC Demerara Syrup
• 1.0 ounce seltzer
• 0.5 ounce Yellow Chartreuse
• 1.5 ounces blended lightly aged rum

Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add cracked or cubed ice. Shake and strain into a double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.

This recipe is from the Smuggler’s Cove book but it is adapted from The Gentleman’s Companion: Around the World with Jigger, Beaker and Flask by Charles H. Baker, Jr. Baker was a food and drink writer who traveled the world and told stories. It sounds like my dream job. The Daisy de Santiago he discovered in Cuba, and referred to it as a “lovely thing, indeed”.

Three Dots and A Dash

Morse code for Victory, it’s Three Dots and a Dash:

• 0.50 ounce lime juice
• 0.50 ounce orange juice
• 0.50 ounce SC Honey Syrup
• 0.25 ounce John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
• 0.25 ounce St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram
• 1.50 ounces cane AOC Martinique rhum agricole vieux
• 0.50 ounce blended aged rum
• 1 dash Angostura bitters

Add all ingredients to a drink mix tin. Fill with 12 ounces of crushed ice and 4 to 6 small agitator cubes. Flash blend and open pour with gated finish into a footed pilsner glass. Garnish with three cherries and a pineapple chunk on a cocktail pick.

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Brown Derby

From the Golden Age of Hollywood comes the Brown Derby:

• 2.0 ounces Elijah Craig 12-year Bourbon
• 1.0 ounce grapefruit juice
• 1.0 teaspoon lemon juice
• 0.50 ounce Acacia Honey Syrup

Shake all the ingredients with ice, then strain into a coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit twist.

The Brown Derby restaurant chain in Los Angeles consisted of a number of restaurants, with the first and most iconic being in the shape of a hat. In researching this cocktail I’ve uncovered a rather interesting story. In the 1930s, the drink was the signature drink at a competing restaurant called the Vendome Club. Originally called the “De Rigueur” in cocktail books, it somehow morphed into the Brown Derby over time.