Cocktail Hacker

For me, certain cocktails are inexorably linked to points in time and space. The Daiquiri is linked, in my mind, to the thriving nightlife of Cuba in the 1930’s. The Martini to the 1980’s. The Cosmo will forever be tied to Sex in the City and, going forward, the Bee’s Knees will be the cocktail linked to the Flappers of the 1920’s.

The term bee’s knees originated as flapper slang. Other notables from that era that survive include “the cat’s meow” and “the big cheese”. I digress. The Bee’s Knees reminds me of a time when spirits were of poor quality (Prohibition). Think “bathtub gin” and masking their flavors was priority number one in cocktail creation. This cocktail, however, does that subtly, without over-masking the flavors of the spirits.

Bee's Knees (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz Gin

3/4 oz Honey Syrup

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

2) Shake until well chilled

3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass 

Some notes. First, honey syrup is super simple. One part water, one part honey, shake, done. Next, note the ratio of lemon to syrup. The 1:1 ratio is key on this one. That ratio balances the sweet and sour perfectly. For a sweeter or drier cocktail you can increase or decrease both ingredients, just keep them in balance.

So, what’s the long and short on this cocktail? It’s great. The gin comes through as the clear star. Go with a complex gin, you’ll be well rewarded. As for the honey, my first suggestion is to go with something local. You’ll get the flavors of your terroir, to be pompous, and you’ll be supporting local business. Though, if you’re feeling bold, try a varietal honey like orange flower or clover. Though, be prepared with an equally bold gin to stand up to the honey’s flavor.

In summary, this drink really is the Bee’s Knees. Okay, that was lame, but give this cocktail a try. It’s good, I promise.

Creating original cocktails from scratch is something that’s always been a challenge for me. Where should I start? What spirit should I use? Often, I find myself stuck. So, on the occasion that I’m struck with inspiration, it’s a great feeling. I got that feeling when sampling ALO last week. ALO Elated has a nice green tea flavor and that got me thinking what would work well with tea. My first thoughts were of the classic tea garnish, lemon, but what spirit to use. Then I had a moment that can best be described as a mix between an “aha” and “well, duh” moment. Honey. Honey vodka to be specific. I recently sampled, and loved, Spring44 Honey Vodka so that was the natural choice. Enough blather, here’s the recipe.

Honeysuckle

2 oz ALO Elated

2 oz Spring44 Honey Vodka

1/4 oz Lemon Juice

2 Dashes Bitters

1) Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice

2) Shake until well chilled

3) Strain into a chilled cocktail glass

The flavors in this cocktail are not unexpected. Subtle notes of honey and tea run throughout the flavor profile. The lemon comes through as only a bare touch of sourness and lemon flavor. The drink is not overly sweet and yet not dry, just right. The bitters add depth and complexity and a lovely layer of spice. Just what this cocktail needed.

I leave the bitters up to you. I used Robert Hess’ House Bitters which were great, the ginger and cardamom flavors play really well with the tea and honey. That said, I think you could use any other aromatic bitter that you like, or even just some orange bitters to play up the citrus.

Since this is one of my first forays into creating cocktails from scratch, I have a request. If you mix up this drink, please let me know what you think. That kind of input will help me improve my cocktail improv going forward.

Last week I was looking for a new cocktail to try out and stumbled across the Maple Leaf on Anvil’s drink menu. The thought of a whiskey sour sweetened with maple syrup was more than I could pass up. I did a bit of searching around and found the recipe on Bobby Heugel’s site. No coincidence really, Bobby is one of the owners and bartenders at Anvil. First, let’s talk about Bobby’s recipe.

Maple Leaf (Drink Dogma)

2 oz  Bourbon

3/4 oz Maple Syrup

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1) Combine in a shaker with ice

2) Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass

This drink has a fantastic combination of flavors. The maple syrup fills in the complexity gap that bitters would fill in a classic whiskey sour. The lemon adds just the right amount of sourness and the bourbon rounds things out. My only complaint about this recipe is that it’s a touch sweet for me. Onward fellow drinkers.

Maple Leaf (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz  Bourbon

1/2 oz Maple Syrup

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

1) Combine in a shaker with ice

2) Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass

Now we’re talking. This version has all the complexity of the original with a touch less sweetness. With only 3/4 oz of lemon juice (versus 1 oz in a classic whiskey sour) this drink is more about the bourbon and maple syrup interplay. I’d recommend a good bourbon for this one. I used Bulleit and, as always, enjoyed the extra spiciness from the rye. I think Maker’s Mark 46 would also work tremendously well. The added spice notes would harmonize with the maple syrup. Whatever you choose this drink is well worth mixing up. Thanks for the inspiration, Bobby. Much appreciated!

I’ve never been sailing, never been to Bermuda and, at least to my knowledge, am not the slightest bit royal. What I am is deeply enamored with this cocktail. As I’ve said before I can always tell when I really like a cocktail because I keep wanting to make it for myself. The wanting part of that sentence being the key. I’ll try recipe after recipe for cocktails I don’t much like, just in case there might be a diamond in the rough. This one, like a few of my other favorites before it, I mix willingly and with a great sense of eagerness.

I didn’t stray far from the proverbial cocktail nest with this drink. The recipe I found in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails but it originally dates back to the Bartenders Guide by Trader Vic. Whom, you’ll likely note, is the very same who’s known for a host of delightful Tiki drinks. Dr. Cocktail notes that this is an “early example of Trader Vic’s burgeoning tropics-oriented (but yet to be Tiki) repertoire.” I would agree whole-heartedly. This drink includes falernum, a classic Tiki syrup, but keeps it simple and elegant. There are a couple other recipes that I found, but they really only vary slightly. For example, the Difford’s recipe ups the rum to 2 1/2 oz but leaves everything else the same.

Royal Bermuda Yacht Club Cocktail (Cocktail Hacker)

2 oz Barbados Rum

3/4 oz Lime Juice

1 tsp Cointreau

2 tsp Falernum



1) Combine in a shaker with ice

2) Shake and strain into chilled cocktail glass

Despite the other slight variations I found, this recipe really doesn’t need modification at all. I only changed the original a tiny bit, altering 2 dashes to 1 tsp for the Cointreau simply to make it easier to mix. For the rum, I find it a bit odd that a cocktail for the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club uses Barbados rum but, hey whatever. I personally opted for Montanya Platino. It’s a white rum made here in Colorado that I really like. The resulting cocktail is lightly sweet with awesome spiciness from the Falernum. Here’s a quote from my tasting notes that really sums it up nicely. “I just want to keep drinking.”

To see how a Barbados rum would change the cocktail I used the only one I have on hand. Namely, Mount Gay Extra Old. This rum is fantastic, but the cocktail it produces is more focused on the flavors of the rum . I didn’t like this version as much as the white rum version, but I certainly wouldn’t refuse to drink it either.

Finally, falernum. I used my homemade stuff, but you could easily use commercial offerings as well. The only caveat to keep in mind is that each Falernum will have a slightly different flavor profile so you may need to tweak the ratio a bit to get it to your liking.

Sweet, sour, spice, water and alcohol. Those are the five, seemingly simple, components of every good punch. But, I’ll ask you this. Have you ever tried to come up with your own punch? Was it good? What about great? I’m willing to bet, coming from past experience, that it wasn’t amazing. If you’re lucky it was really good, but more than likely it was somewhere in the range of pretty okay to just good. The good (and bad) news is that we no longer live in a time when the quality of the punch can make or break you.

In times past, a punch was your way of showing not only your culinary skills but your social status as well. You see, in past centuries the ingredients that go into punch (fresh juice, spices, spirits, etc) were expensive and, in some cases, very hard to come by. So, when you threw a big party you pulled out all the stops and got the best you could. You mixed it all up and served it out of your very best punch bowl. While the times of showing your status with punch may be gone, the times of enjoying a really good punch certainly are not.

That brings us back to my original problem, where do you find the guidance to make some really epic punch? A great place to start is the recipes of times past. Or, even better, start in the pages of Dan Searing’s The Punch Bowl. In this book Dan starts things off with a history of punch and the punch bowl, amazing pictures of which are sprinkled throughout the book.

After the history section he gives a great intro on punch making pointing out some of the key lessons that apply as much to punch as to good cocktails. My favorites that he calls out are the use of good spirits and a great conversion chart for old recipes. Dan points out a key factor when choosing spirits for punch, go with good stuff, but don’t go crazy. For example, a top dollar cognac is going to be wasted on a punch. Instead opt for a high quality, but far less expensive, brandy. Following that, I love the chart for converting old measures to something more familiar. I mean, really, do you know what the hell a gill is? How about a puncheon? Yeah, me neither.

Prep aside, Dan gets to the meat of this topic, the recipes. He includes 75 recipes spanning all categories and base spirits. Included are classics such as Rum Punch, Tiki staples like the Scorpion Bowl and modern creations from top notch bartenders. Each recipe states where it originated (and the its circa date), a brief description, how many servings (4-6 oz punch cups) it will produce and, most importantly, concise measures and directions. The finish and production quality of this book that really bear mentioning. The book is hardbound, with heavy, glossy pages. The pictures are bright and vivid and the punch bowls alone are enough to keep you turning the pages. I think this would make a great host(ess) gift.

This book arrived just at the right time. I had a burning need to make some drinks for a party I was throwing and punch fit the bill perfectly. I leafed through the pages and found a quick punch that sounded super tasty. The resulting libation was easy to mix up, balanced and fruity and packed enough punch (pun intended) to keep the party going strong.

Dry Gin Punch (The Punch Bowl)

1 Quart Orange Juice

3/4 cup Lemon Juice

1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp Grenadine

3 cups London Dry Gin

1 quart Seltzer Water

2 Lemons, Sliced

1 Orange, Sliced

1) Pour the orange juice, lemon juice and grenadine into a large bowl,

and stir well.  Slowly add the gin, and stir well.

2) Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator, and chill for 2 hours.

3) To serve, pour the punch over a block of ice that has been set in

a large punch bowl.  Add the seltzer water, and stir gently.  Garnish

the punch with the fruit slices.

I learned a few things from this punch experience. First, punch is freaking delicious. Second, I need a legit punch bowl. My ceramic bowl and old fashioned glasses worked, but it didn’t properly show my social status. ;) Third, make more punch than you think you’ll need. Trust me on this one.

† The product reviewed here was provided to me as a free sample. If you’re wondering what that means check out my sample policy.