Twentieth Century Cocktail

Here is another older cocktail, although this time it has a very interesting flavour unlike anything else. You might be able to tell from the ingredients:

1.5 oz gin (Tanqueray)
0.75 oz Lillet Blanc
0.5 oz light creme de cacao
0.75 oz fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish: lemon twist

In case you don't know, Lillet Blanc is a hard to find French aromatized quinquina - a wine with quinine added. Like Dubonnet, it's produced in white and red versions, and the white is called for here.
The flavour here is a bizarre combination that just seems to work in some weird way. As predictable, you get a large hit of zingy lemon, which combines quite well with the fruity Lillet. However, at the end, you taste chocolate - it seems an odd pairing, but give it a try. Apparently the creme de cacao can overpower the drink. My brand, Continental, blended very well at that ratio, but some might require less to be added.
Try this, it's weird and wonderful.

Blood and Sand

"Aha!" thought I when I had this drink fifteen minutes ago: a surprisingly excellent drink, using some more uncommon cocktail ingredients while producing a memorable and pleasant flavour.

1 oz blended scotch (Johnny Walker Red)
1 oz orange juice (fresh)
0.75 oz cherry brandy liqueur (Continental)
0.75 oz sweet vermouth (Cinzano Rosso)

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish: maraschino cherry.

Well, what can I say? I'm not much of a scotch drinker (hence my having only one relatively cheap bottle of blended scotch), mainly because I don't find the flavour that agreeable. Well, this drink changed that for me. Scotch is a rare ingredient because it's often fine by itself, but I think it's perfect in this drink. Also, cherry brandy is often hard to balance - it is very sweet and tastes strongly of medicine (I like it though) and it's hard to find a place for it outside of the Singapore Sling. The Blood and Sand tastes mainly of cherry brandy and the scotch, but it highlights both of their better sides. The cherry brandy is not too sweet, but still has enough of a presence to cut the burn of the scotch. This, on the other hand, rears its head in a modest fashion. I will admit that there is a nice side to scotch, although it is often covered by the burn and bitterness. This drink exposes the pleasant and mild scotch essence - I'd try different scotches to find the perfect match. However, I'm satisfied just using up my Johnnie Red and cheap Cherry Brandy - these brands still taste great in this drink.
My one criticism? Putting the maraschino cherry on the side of the glass results in a puddle of ant-attracting sweet syrup at the base of the glass. Just chuck it straight in!

Monkey Gland

Well, it's certainly been a while. I recently acquired a number of cocktail books from the US which have revived my faith in the magic powers of cocktails. 'Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails" by Ted Haigh is fantastic; I have not tasted a bad drink out of it yet.
Here's a very nice one - it reaches that perfect level of sweetness between dry and sickly.

1.5 oz dry gin (Tanqueray)
1.5 oz orange juice (fresh)
1 tsp grenadine (real stuff)
1 tsp absinthe/pastis (Pernod)

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass.

There is no burn, and the flavours of the grenadine, Pernod and orange juice balance beautifully. I used fresh orange juice, which I'm sure makes a noticeable difference.
One other thing about this drink is the perfect amount of Pernod, an ingredient that can easily overpower a drink. It is expressed very pleasantly, with just slight hints of anise. I'd recommend this even to people who dislike licorice.
Overall, an excellent drink. The balance is mesmerising and and flavour very nice. I've tried another recipe for this drink, and it tasted pretty bad - more like what you'd expect to taste given the ingredients list!

Ramos Gin Fizz

Make this drink to trick gin-haters into drinking it. A sort of gourmet gin fizz (gin, lemon juice, sugar and soda), if you feel queasy about drinking raw egg, which tastes fine, then you can leave it out. This wonderful beverage is smooth and creamy but with a bit of a zing (from the fruit not the gin). A true classic.

• 1.5 oz gin
• 0.5 oz lemon juice
• 0.5 oz lime juice
• 1.25 oz simple syrup
• 2 oz milk
• 1 small egg white (optional)
• 2 drops orange flower water
• 3 oz soda water

Shake all ingredients except the soda with ice and strain into a highball. Topping it up with the soda produces a nice creamy foam on top.

Photo: Phil

The orange flower water again I had to get from the US. It can be replaced by orange bitters, which are still hard to find, or if you're desperate a twist of orange peel. This drink should appeal to all taste buds, and it's pretty healthy too.

Vodka, Tonic and Bitters

Well, for some reason people don't consider a Gin and Tonic a cocktail, yet a rum and coke is a cocktail only because it has a name - Cuba Libre. Either way, a vodka, tonic and bitters is a mixed drink, and since cocktails have come a long way from being a spirit, sugar and bitters, I don't see why it can't be included on this blog.
I got the idea for this drink from Fleming's Thunderball, where James Bond orders one in Nassau. I actually prefer it to a gin and tonic, and not simply because you 'can't taste' the vodka. It just seems to be more pleasant.

• 1 or 2 shots vodka
• squeeze of lime juice
• several dashes of Angostura or Fee Brothers' Old Fashioned Bitters to taste
• top up with tonic water

Garnish with some lime wheels.

Photo: Phil

One of the reasons I like this drink so much is that it is like a quality canvas to display the bitters. While Angostura is perfectly reasonable, I just love the Fee Brothers' bitters - from America I might add. However, I spied them on Nick's wines, an Australian online bottleshop recently. This drink also works with Peychaud's bitters, but they're even harder to find.

Apple Pie Martini

Well, admittedly, this is a "girly" one. My quote after drinking: "I'd drink it if nobody was watching". This is one of those longer martinis that cuts the bite of the vodka significantly. It's very sweet, but the flavours balance quite well (from memory).

• 1.75 oz vodka
• 0.75 oz Monin cinnamon syrup, or Goldschlager
• 1.5 oz apple juice
• 1.5 oz red cranberry juice

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an apple slice.

Photo: Phil

A very agreeable drink. As the title suggests, this combines apple and cinnamon flavours very pleasantly. The original recipe called for Goldschlager, a ridiculously expensive cinnamon schnapps with gold flakes. I had no such money, so I used a non-alcoholic syrup: Monin 'cannelle' flavoured. Guys: drink this when no one else is around.

Espresso Martini

This is obviously a great one for late nights. If you don't want to dilute the drink too much, chill the espresso first. It obviously won't be as fresh as possible, but I don't mind.

• 1.5 shots Russian Standard vodka
• 1 shot fresh espresso
• 0.5 shot Tia Maria (or Kahlua)
• 0.25 shot simple syrup

Garnish with three coffee beans.

Photo: Phil

I've had this one many times now - a true classic. Using fresh espresso makes this drink have that true coffee flavour, and I can't get enough of it. I find the drink ever so slightly bitter, and I normally have coffee without sugar, so perhaps more simple syrup would benefit this drink for the standard palate. What more can I say about the taste than cold but fresh coffee? The strength of the espresso completely masks the vodka, but if you find vodka too strong then you'll probably experience the same with the coffee strength. Still, I can easily imagine this being appealing to everyone.

Peartini

After trying pointlessly to find an appletini recipe that tastes nice, I came across this Peartini which I really enjoy. Despite being a martini it is much sweeter and longer than most and so will suit many tastes. The key is obviously pear-flavoured vodka. The recipe called for Grey Goose, but I'm too poor so I use Absolut, which works perfectly.

• 2 shots Absolut Pears vodka
• 0.25 shot Disaronno Originale amaretto
• o.75 shot simple syrup
• 0.75 lemon juice

Photo: Phil

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled martini glass. Garnish with a pear slice.

For the simple syrup, many bartenders call for 2:1 sugar to water, though this requires heating on the stove and results in caramel for me. Thus I use a 1:1 ratio which hasn't let me down yet and can be achieved without heating - just shake the bottle a few times and leave it for half an hour.

This martini is delightful and is a tasty way to get down two shots of vodka! The amaretto is more for appearance as it and the lemon juice combine to make the drink resemble pear juice, although it doesn't detract from the flavour at all. It really is like drinking cold, gourmet pear juice. With extras.

Flaming an orange peel

This is a great way to garnish a drink while giving it a hint of burnt orange flavour as well, in a similar way that bitters can add that extra touch to a drink.
I learnt this technique by reading Dale DeGroff's book.

1. Using a small sharp knife, cut a strip of peel off the orange. It should be around 2 cm wide, and however long you can manage. Breaking all the rules, cut towards you - this ensures that you get as much sweet orange skin and as little bitter white pith as possible. Its better to cut from pole to pole than around the equator.
2. Delicately hold the peel lengthwise between your thumb and forefinger (so you're holding across the thin bit). Don't squeeze it yet.
3. Hold the peel in your good hand, the outside facing the drink at an angle, and hold a lit match with your bad hand between the peel and the drink
4. Snap the peel, spraying its oils through the flame and onto the drink - the flame with burn the oils and it gets a bit warm but you won't burn yourself at all

Photo: Phil

And there you are. Some may say it's too much work for too little gain, but it can certainly make the Manhattan much better.

Manhattan

Well I though I'd start with my favourite version of this classic drink. Sebastian Reaburn, a Melbourne-based bartender, adds some maraschino cherry syrup to this which subtly makes this a remarkable drink.
His recipe, with the brands I used, goes like this:

• 1.5 shots Jim Beam Rye whiskey
• 0.5 shot Cinzano sweet red vermouth
• dash Angostura bitters
• dash Regan's Orange bitters
• 1 tsp maraschino cherry syrup

Photo: Phil

Stir with ice in a mixing glass until cold and strain into a chilled martini glass or champagne saucer.

Garnish with a maraschino cherry and flame an orange peel over it (discard the peel).

Despite being a whiskey lover myself, I think that the teaspoon of sweet syrup just cuts the dryness a bit to smoothen out this cocktail. It's hard to explain the taste of this one - essentially a spiced, sweetened whiskey flavour with underlying burnt orange notes. Certainly strong tasting - best to try it if you like whiskey!
I realise that Jim Beam isn't the best rye whiskey, but there doesn't seem to be much else available around here. I even had to get the orange bitters delivered from America, although the drink does not deteriorate without them too much.