Cocktail Labs

The Réveillon Cocktail is a complex, spicy autumn drink that combines two of my favorites: Applejack and Pimento Dram (an allspice liqueur).  I found it via Cocktail Chronicles, who named it & Gumbo Pages who invented it around Christmas 2005.

Here's the recipe:

2 ounces Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy (substitute Laird’s Applejack or your favorite Calvados).

1/2 ounce pear brandy (make sure it’s a clear eau-de-vie, not a liqueur).

1/2 ounce pimento dram.

1/4 ounce top-shelf sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula or Punt-E-Mes).

1 dash aromatic cocktail bitters (Angostura is good, Fee Brothers’ Old Fashion Bitters are better, Abbott’s Bitters — if you can get any — are spectacular).

My friend Toby posted this to Google+ and asked "Airport club liquor selection. What can I make?"  Here's my answer:

Let's start with the bar-setter's intent. Why are each of these here? The Bailey's, Hennessy cognac, and Famous Grouse Scotch are meant to be enjoyed alone (or the Bailey's with the hot chocolate that I bet is available off to the side). The vermouth is there to be combined with the Sminoff vodka or the Beefeater gin and one of the olives in on the right. The Bacardi is meant to be added to coke (also available offscreen). The vodka's other role would be with the tabasco and Worcheshire sauce in a Bloody Mary, or to be combined with tonic or soda and some of the lemon or lime wedges (the gin could do the last of these, as well). Assuming, those aren't to your liking, what else can we create? There are no bitters and no sweet liqueurs other than the Bailey's, which is going to make this tough. Let's do our best, though, and try to respect the context as well. Here's what I'd suggest: The Airport Aviation

1 3/4 oz Beefeater Gin

3/4 oz lemon juice (you're going to have to squeeze every one of those lemon wedges)

1/2 oz maraschino juice (behind the olives, to the left of the limes)

Scotch Crusta, one of Lee's favorites.

1/2 oz. Lemon juice 1/2 oz. Maraschino liqueur 2 oz. Scotch

Shake with ice, serve with a sugared rim & a lemon twist.

Sunday cocktails at home are a good time for tall drinks. Usually done with soda water, but a Pimm’s Cup gets tall with ginger ale. You can go fancy with grated ginger & homemade lemonade, or you can go downscale with 7UP and Pimm’s, but this is a middle road:

1.5 oz. Pimm’s

0.5 oz. lemon juice (~1/2 a lemon)

2-4oz. ginger ale

Big beer, tiny glass: still a huge winner.

Camping cocktails! We went camping last weekend & I was in charge of drinks. We brought up the ingredients for Manhattans (the vermouth, rye, bourbon, cherries [and bitters {not pictured}]), two bottles of champagne, and a Nalgene full of a Scotch Crusta. The Manhattans and champagne were classy & only possible because we were car camping, but the Crusta can easily make it into the back country.

A Scotch Crusta is 4 parts Scotch, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part maraschino liqueur. It keeps well, even at room (trail) temperature, but can be cooled down with a little bit of ice. When backpacking, I like to fill it ~3/4 full (600mL) of cocktail and bring about 500mL of ice tightly wrapped in a ziplock with several layers of paper towel inside. The paper towels insulate the ice & also absorb the melt-off, which helps the remaining ice stay cool longer. After a few hours of hiking in direct sun, I always have about half the ice left -- enough to fill the Nalgene with a little space for shaking. The paper towels can be burned, so all we need to pack out is a ziplock. A chilled cocktail is a rarity on the trail & is heartily appreciated, especially at altitude. No need to strain the ice - the Crusta can be passed around or served in camping mugs, and the dilution softens the scotch to something more appropriate after a long hike.