#asbachuralt

Panama Cocktail

I really am not sure how this drink fits the Panama theme of its namesake. It is a dessert drink with lots of sugar and cream and rich brandy flavors. The color might be similar to a Panama hat, but I think that's a stretch. The Panama Cocktail is a tasty, if a little boring, drink with slightly more than one note of milk chocolate covering the rich brandy.

This is my last cocktail needed to finish the New York Bartender's Guide circa 1997. I still have several punches to go before I can claim to have done them all.

2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)

1 1/2 oz. white creme de cacao

1 1/2 oz. half-and-half

Brandy Vermouth Cocktail

I skipped this cocktail for some time because, with ordinary vermouth, it would turn out no different from a Brandy Manhattan. I decided to hit the Brandy Vermouth cocktail again just to try out this new Virginia vermouth by Mt. Defiance. This vermouth--like all sweet vermouths--is made with white whine. It is golden in color, though, and its herbal sweetness is backed up by bitterness in the botanicals and in the whine itself, which is a little wild tasting. Mt. Defiance really stands out in larger proportions in this cocktail--try it to experience a sweeter Brandy Manhattan.

2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)

1 oz. sweet vermouth (Mt. Defiance used)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Charles Cocktail

Bitter Brandy cocktails are fashionable in the winter. They taste like rare antiques, beautiful in the correct setting. It's not a bad idea to dust off this old recipe that has a lot of similarities to a Brandy Manhattan.

To increase bitterness, I chose Punt E Mes vermouth, one of the most bitter sweet vermouths on the market. I also go liberal with the Angostura bitters. When given a choice to use between three and five dashes, I always use five.

2 oz. brandy (Asbach Uralt used)

1/2 oz. sweet vermouth (Punt E Mes used)

3-5 dashes Angostura bitters

Stirrup Cup

The idea of the Stirrup Cup goes back to drinking at the village in the days of horse travel. A drinker, probably a big spender, finishes up a session of drinking and requires help getting on his horse. Once his feet are in the stirrups, he is given a combination of liquors that he had been drinking already in a cup of booze that will ensure he is done with drinking for the night. He passes out in the saddle and the horse takes him home. A main ingredient in Stirrup Cup cocktails is brandy, and I just got a bottle of Asbach--not cognac--to try with it. Cherry Heering is a rich black cherry liqueur, and it is sweet enough to balance an equal portion of lemon juice.