Turf

Turf:

1.5 oz Old Tom gin (Ransom)
Dash Angostura bitters
3 Dash orange bitters (Urban Moonshine)
Lemon zest

Stir over ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass. Express oils over cocktail and garnish with lemon twist.

This recipe is from Modern American Drinks:How to Mix and Serve All Kinds of Cups and Drinks by George J. Kappeler, published in 1900. Ransom Old Tom Gin is one of the best offerings from Ransom Spirits, as it is very unique and delicious. With no addtional sweeteners, this cocktail is not for the faint of heart (though the Old Tom Gin does contribute more sweetness than a tradtional London Dry, a result of it's brief stint spent in barrels) The gin is citrus forward with grapefruit, lemon peel, ajowain, peppercorn, cardamom, cedar, pine, and juniper notes. In the same vein as the flavor profile of Ransom Distillery Small's Gin, cardamom takes the lead role. Thanks to brands like Urban Moonshine and Ransom Distillery, the ability to authentically make this classic cocktail with modern ingredients has become a reality. What's your favorite recipe with Old Tom Gin?

Waiting for You

Waiting for You:

2 oz vodka (Peabody Jones)
.75 oz Madarine Napoleon 
.5 oz lime juice
less than dash Absinthe (1912 Absinthe Verte Great Lakes Distillery) 
Dash cardamom bitters (Bob's) 
Dash orange and mandarine bitters (Bob's)

Shake all ingredients except absinthe over ice. Double strain into chilled absinthe rinsed glass)

While new vodka's generally don't get my heart pattering, I have to say I was very excited for the opportunity to work with our Northern neighbors and relative newcomer on the spirit scence, the Woodinville Whiskey Company from Woodinville, Washington and their vodka offering, Peabody Jones Vodka. Woodinville joins the camp of those who believe it's alright for vodkas to have flavor (we like this camp), and with a toasted almond and vanilla nose, creamy flavorful taste, with mild spicy clean finish, it is simply delicious. It is moderately sweet, so you may need to adjust the liqueur level for this cocktail to preference if another brand of vodka is used. The absinthe is mostly used for aroma sake, and results in a great licorice and warm spice bouquet. This was also the first time we had the opportunity to work with Bob's Bitters, which helped add complexity to the cocktail and worked to brighten and heighten the mandarin flavor in the Mandarine Napoleon orange liqueur. 

H and H cocktail- 2 oz gin, 1 oz Cocchi Americano, 3 dash Curacao

H and H Cocktail:

2 oz. Gin (No. 209)
1 oz. Kina Lillet (Cocchi Americano)
3 Dash Curacao (Patron Citronge)
Dash homemade orange bitters (optional)

Stir with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

This martini style cocktail can be found in The Savoy Cocktail book though it's name may remain a mystery. Erik Ellestad has his own guesses which can be found on his excellent blog where he is currently drinking through the entire Savoy Cocktail Book. The resulting cocktail is dry and only slightly sweet. Wonderful vessel for highlighting the botanicals of the gin, with a clean, strong juniper finish. This gin heavy cocktail will certainly not be for everyone but for adventerous classic martini sippers (particularly those with a penchant for Cocchi Americano) it will be a delicious, while not overly drastic departure from the norm.

Bonal and Rye-@cocktailchron #Dalva Bartender Todd Smith

Bonal and Rye:

2 ounces rye whiskey (Old Overholt)
1 ounce Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 ounce Cointreau (Patron Citronge)
2 dashes orange bitters (homemade)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Orange twist, for garnish

This cocktail came our way from Paul Clarke's recent article covering the availability of new aperitifs and the creative  new cocktails that have resulted. The nose is predominantly rye and warm spice notes. The sip brings a caramel sweetness as the Bonal and orange liqueur tame the angular spicy notes of the rye. It has a smooth syrupy finish similar to The Kina Cocktail, that gains it's smoothness from the sweet vermouth,which relative to the Bonal, is quite different with the added gentian bitterness not usually present in vermouth as they most often use cinchona (a milder bittering agent). On the subject of bitters, experiment with your bitters levels as they can widely effect the outcome of the cocktail. With this drink I've found it doesn't hurt to be a bit heavy handed with the orange bitters but keep the angostura at a dash as it will quickly overpower the nuances of the Bonal.