Being the creative powerhouse I am, I offered up a theme. Yes, the same theme that dominates this blog and the first four words that come out of my mouth at any bar: brown, bitter and stirred. Basically, I’m asking you to participate in the Internet’s longest cocktail party by making me a drink.

Happy to oblige, I rounded up a handful of brown bottles, a bunch of bitters and some amaros.  “Brown, bitter and stirred” can take you on several routes, from tried-and-true classics like the Manhattan and Old Fashioned to innovative drinks using bitter liqueurs like Cynar and Averna.  My first attempt utilized an Islay Scotch rinse with some Canadian whiskey, while the second attempt was a modified Sazerac that paired rye whiskey with Bols Genever, an unaged spirit distilled partially from rye.  Both cocktails were pretty tasty, but not quite what I was looking for.

By happy accident, some Four Roses bourbon was sitting next to a bottle of Campari.  Bourbon is brown, and Campari is most certainly bitter.  Fast forward two minutes and one more ingredient, and a cocktail was born. Not by me, of course; I just recreated an existing drink – The Boulevardier.  This cocktail is like a bourbon Negroni, substituting bourbon for gin, and mixing equal measures bourbon, Campari and sweet vermouth.  It’s rich, warming and packs a hell of a boozy wallop.

The Boulevardier

1 ounce bourbon
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce sweet vermouth

Stir all ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a twist of orange or lemon peel.

The 1:1:1 ratio works just fine, but I preferred the drink with a bit more bourbon bite, so I upped the whiskey to 1.5 ounces.  Four Roses bourbon worked nicely, as did Bulleit (and even rye), so feel free to experiment as your tastes dictate.

The topic for February is Absinthe. That much maligned, misunderstood, mistreated spirit, suddenly plentiful again in the US and other parts of the world. Absinthe played a role, whether large or small, in a variety of great cocktails from the 1800s and early 1900s – the Sazerac, Absinthe Suissesse, Corpse Reviver No. 2… I’m getting thirsty. So let’s celebrate absinthe’s history, and it’s future, with all manner of cocktails using absinthe.

I drink my fair share of Sazeracs and Corpse Revivers, and for good reason – they’re delicious.  But I wanted a drink that showcases absinthe as more than just a rinse or dash; and rather than going the route of an Absinthe Frappe, I decided to meet absinthe halfway.  So for this round of Mixology Monday, I’ve pulled out a cocktail that uses just enough absinthe to lightly slap you in the face, without knocking your teeth out – the Chrysanthemum Cocktail.

This little fellow is one of the few cocktails that uses vermouth as its main ingredient.  In fact, it uses a hearty two ounces of vermouth. Joined by one ounce of Benedictine and a teaspoon of absinthe, the Chrysanthemum comes together beautifully.  The floral vermouth tempers the strong flavors of the Benedictine and absinthe without being lost in the shuffle.

The Chrysanthemum Cocktail

2 ounces dry vermouth
1 ounce Benedictine
1 teaspoon absinthe

Stir with ice until cold, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a wide strip of orange peel.

Tea has played a historical role in cocktails for centuries. Perhaps the best documented early example was its inclusion in punches as part of the spice role to round out the spirit, sugar, water, and citrus line up…Find or concoct a drink recipe that uses tea or tisane (an herbal “tea” which lacks tea leaves) as an ingredient. This can be hot tea, cold tea, tea syrups, or infusions, and use it in a cocktail, punch, or other drink type.

After first attempting to pair a smoky añejo tequila with allspice-infused black tea, some bitters and an orange garnish, I moved onto green tea, and went the route of tea syrup.  To make my green tea simple syrup, I used a 1:1 ratio of Chinese green tea to sugar, boiling and stirring my way to a syrupy mixture that, quite honestly, tasted pretty decent on its own.  I then set about to pair my new green tea simple syrup with some booze.

I first associated green tea with lemon, which made me think of a whiskey sour, which in turn brought me to a Maple Leaf, a drink composed of bourbon, lemon juice and maple syrup.  Of late, I’ve been enjoying Urban Moonshine’s maple bitters in my Old Fashioneds and Manhattans, so I thought I’d give it a try in the whiskey cocktail laying itself out before me.

I wound up with the following drink, which I dubbed the Bourbon Tease.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces bourbon (I used Wild Turkey 101)
1/2 ounce fresh lemon juice
2 dashes maple bitters
1 bar spoon green tea syrup

Shake all ingredients with ice, and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.

The inclusion of maple bitters added a depth of flavor to this whiskey sour variant, and the sweet, herbal quality of the green tea syrup kept the tart lemon juice in check.  All in all, it made for a pretty tasty cocktail.

I feel a “Money” drink is something you can put in front of anyone, regardless of tastes or distastes about the spirits involved. Come up with a drink or a list based on spirits about drinks that would appeal to anyone,  Example: turning someone onto a Corpse Reviver #2 when they like lemon drops.

Depending on your spirit or drink of choice, one might have several money drinks, like a properly made Martini, Manhattan or Old Fashioned, to stick to the classics, that would convert even the most finicky drinker to well-crafted cocktails.  Personally, I feel a gnawing sense of frustration whenever someone bemoans a distaste for gin, and I’ve been known to order a friend a gin-based cocktail without her knowledge.  I stress “her” because it seems the women in my life have a natural aversion to gin.  Perhaps I need to surround myself with tougher women, but regardless, one such drink that seems to convert well is the French 75.

Composed of gin, fresh lemon juice, simple syrup and Champagne, the French 75 is a light, refreshing cocktail that subdues the wary gin-drinker while still packing a sizeable boozy wallop.  This tart, tasty concoction has made even the most dubious skeptic rethink their distaste for gin, without alienating fans of the spirit.

Ingredients:

2 ounces gin
1 ounce lemon juice
1 teaspoon simple syrup
Champagne

Shake gin, lemon juice and simple syrup with ice, and strain into a champagne flute. Top with champagne, and garnish with a long, thin lemon spiral.

Any drink using a dairy product is fair game: milk, cream, eggs, butter, cheese, yogurt, curds, you name it. Given the importance of dairy products in drinks dating back centuries, there are lots of opportunities for digging through vintage receipts for a taste of the past, and as always innovation is highly encouraged.

I’ve long enjoyed adding egg whites to cocktails as a means of justifying my drinking.  After all, who can’t benefit from some extra protein?

The Apple Blow Fizz is a cocktail that combines an egg white, fresh lemon juice and apple brandy.  It’s a veritable cornucopia of health foods, all rolled into one.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 ounces apple brandy
1 ounce fresh lemon juice
1 egg white
1 teaspoon sugar
Club soda

Directions:

Shake all ingredients except club soda with ice, and strain into a highball glass over ice.  Top with club soda.