Manhattan Old Fashioned
I’m excited to share the first of a couple drinks featuring an amazing Colorado-based distillery, @lawswhiskey. I had the chance to meet some of their team recently and they kindly sent some of their amazing whiskey. There are also some cool personal ties to their story that I’ll share during my next post. To start things off, I wanted to keep it simple, but of course with a twist.
Old Roots
This eclectic recipe is the brainchild of my buddy @rogzor during one of our typical “hangout & mix up something interesting” nights. The premise came about when we were discussing potential uses for jalapeño shochu. Michael proposed treating it like a vermouth, and adding syrup to make it more like a sweet vermouth for a very… unusual Manhattan riff.
Herbazerac
Though I admit the anise flavor profile has not always been my favorite, I’m coming around to it. If you feel the same way, the Sazerac is a great classic cocktail to give you just a hint of the flavor, especially if you like the boozy/Old Fashioned style of drink. I’ve learned that I much prefer anise if it’s in an herbal context— so this riff tries to take the classic Sazerac and make it more herbal.
Malt & Brick
This delicious Old Fashioned riff was created to feature a 100% rye whiskey that was kindly sent to me by @dentedbrickdistillery. I love playing with unusual split bases and I’ve used whiskey/genever before, but not specifically rye whiskey. This works super well— the maltiness of the genever is an awesome complement to the spice of the rye. Apricot and ginger fit the profile just right, and a bit of lemon oils make it pop.
Biscotti Italiani
This food-inspired cocktail is the brainchild of my dear friend @rogzor and came about during our fernet-inspired cocktails R&D session for the @homebarawards (so honored to be in the top 3!). While this wasn’t one of my official entries, it’s a darn good drink and conceptually really fun. Lazzaroni makes a lovely fernet, minty but not quite as intense as branca. The Lazzaroni family is also known for making an almond biscotti. While I couldn’t locate the original, I did acquire a chocolate-dipped almond biscotti.
Diamond in the Rough
Seriously though, I love that scene in Aladdin where the Giant Sand Tiger rumbles on after he gets rudely woken up for nefarious reasons—almost as much as I love these gorgeous glasses from @thewinesavant that I got for Christmas. I wanted to stir up something dark and handsome to show these bad boys off, so here we are. And it’s February so love and diamonds and stuff❤️
Cabbagetown
This drink is a riff on the Toronto (rye/fernet/syrup), so I called on my friend @sidds.pix for some Toronto neighborhoods. Cabbagetown (sweet name right?) isn’t too far from Toronto proper, and this riff is not far from the original. It’s a revitalized area that still retains a lot of its older, Victorian architecture. And from what Google tells me, it’s kinda… fancy, with farmer’s markets, trendy coffee shops, and higher-than-average priced homes.
Peanut Boo-Ter Plop
It’s about time for a Halloween-themed drink. This one is more “treat” than “trick”, a peanut butter and chocolate themed Manhattan. The inspiration for the drink comes from @brooklynmixologist, and a few of us have decided to make a “plop-o-ween” drink (the photograph contains a “plop” of an ingredient). The last photo is more of a classic “ploppy”; the first two are… pre/post Big Ploppy?