Category: Classic Cocktails

Originally from the Tuxedo Park Club in New York, the Tuxedo is another variation of a Martini.  This forgotten cocktail was named after the popular  fashion of the day.  A mix of gin, dry vermouth, maraschino, orange bitters, and absinthe, this drink is cleaner and elegant than you would think.  For fans looking to fancy up their Martini, read on.

Tuxedo

Tuxedo

1 ½ oz

Gin

1 ½ oz

Dry Vermouth

¼ oz

Maraschino Liqueur

2 Dashes

Orange Bitters

Rinse

Absinthe

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

The Tuxedo is crisp, clean, slightly fruity, and refreshing. The flavor of the gin comes through softly thanks to the easier going style of Old Tom, while the vermouth bolsters the herbal elements. The maraschino adds wonderful notes of cherry and almond against a touch of orange and lemon. Overall, it’s delightful and easy going.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Tuxedo has another variant, the Tuxedo No.2 (which is also a great cocktail website), which has a fairly different composition. For the original Tuxedo the biggest difference are an increase in gin (+ ½ oz) / change of type of gin (Plymouth), and the number of dashes of orange bitters (increase to 3).  Which means overall, there’s not a lot of changes here.

• Gin – The secret to this one is softer gin, and why we recommend Old Tom Gin.  We used Hayman’s here, but you can use your favorite.  For an alternative, consider Plymouth.
• Maraschino Liqueur – The subtle cherry, almond, and spice notes are best in Luxardo’s Maraschino Liqueur (in our opinion).  Feel free to use your favorite though.
• Dry Vermouth – We used our standard Dolin Dry Vermouth here, but substitute your favorite.
• Orange Bitters – While Fee Brother’s will keep the flavor profile cleaner, we also enjoy the spice of Regan’s orange bitters.  As there’s more than one dash, feel free to mix and match.
• Absinthe – We used St. George Absinthe Verte, but absinthe can be limited by location.  If you can’t find an absinthe, consider a pastis, like Pernod.

An obscure cocktail originally listed in Hyman & Gale, The How & When, the Caprice is primarily relegated to the annals of history.  As wine and fine spirits sellers, it’s not unusual that they have concoctions to find ways to embrace different ingredients.  It’s hard to say exactly why this cocktail fell out of favor, but it’s safe to say that vermouth and Benedictine probably has made this one a harder sell.  Fans of subtle gin drinks though, they may want to read on.

Caprice

Caprice

1 ½ oz

Gin

1 ½ oz

Dry Vermouth

½ oz

Benedictine

1 Dash

Orange Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.

The Caprice has a nice honeyed and herbal note with gives a clean and refreshing alternative to a Martini. The flavor profile has a light spice, that also shows off some of the vinous notes from the vermouth and the alpine herbs. The flavors are subtle, round, and have a good citrus backbone from the gin.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Caprice is straightforward, light, and easy to make. The only note is the pressure of time on this drink to pull down the vermouth. As a result, there are variations that contain ½ oz of Dry Vermouth. I feel the vermouth adds a nice dimension to this drink, but feel free to play around with the recipe to taste.

• Gin – Although not specified, it would be safe to assume in the time period that this is likely a London Dry gin.  We used Beefeater as a result, and found the results pleasant, but the template should be able to handle anything from contemporary gins like Bluecoat or Aviation or classics like Tanqueray or Bombay Sapphire.
• Dry Vermouth – We used our standard Dolin Dry Vermouth here, but your favorite dry vermouth should d0.
• Benedictine – Due to the herbal notes and honeyed sweetness that go into this brandy based liqueur, we don’t recommend swapping this for anything else.  Similar to certain other classics, this is both a specific liqueur and a brand recommendation.

The Sherry Cobbler is one of the original cocktails that can trace it’s origins back to to the 1800’s, and even received printing in Jerry Thomas’ The Bar-Tenders Guide.  The drink was popular amongst both men and women as ice was becoming more available, and sherry was more available than certain European wines (the American wine industry would take longer to develop).   The result was a relatively easy to make cocktail that could pack lots of flavor and complexity (depending on what was used).

Sherry Cobbler

Sherry Cobbler

3 ½ oz

Sherry

¼ oz

Simple Syrup

2 Slices

Orange

Combine all ingredients in a shaker vessel. Add ice and shake hard to muddle orange while shaking. Strain into a chilled goblet. Garnish with an orange slice and fresh berries (if in season).

The Sherry Cobbler is a nutty, balanced, and refreshing drink.   The ice brings a perfect level of dilution, keeping the acidity balanced and the sweetness level.   What comes out, is a beautiful bouquet of nuts, orange, oak, browned sugars, and slight caramel.    The flavors are easy going, but with enough complexity to keep you coming back.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Sherry Cobbler is a wonderful simply cocktail.  The main component is also the most complex, so let’s delve into Sherry.

A Quick Primer – Sherry

Sherry is made in the Solera method, a method of aging multiple vintages through blending barrels.  Wine in a Solera is placed in tiers, where the youngest wine is at the top, and the oldest wine is placed at the bottom and removed in small portions for finished bottles.  By this blending method, multiple vintages of wine are combined so that the wine is consistent.

Another way to think of a tic – tac – toe grid (normally Solera are more of a pyramid, but the process is the same).  Imagine you have barrels in each box of the grid.  Each barrel has sherry in it.

• The bottom barrels are the oldest sherry.  The top are the newest.
• Each bottle of sherry pulls some sherry from each level of barrels
• At a regular interval, the sherry from the higher barrels will be used to replace the taken sherry and sherry lost to evaporation. (Typically yearly, but it is a continuous interval)
• This means that determining the exact vintage of a sherry is impossible, but that quality can be maintained and ensured.

While the Solera method may be used to ensure consistency, the types of sherry that result can be somewhat distinct in their style. The following are generally the most common types of sherry you may encounter:

• Fino & Manzanilla – The lightest flavors, these typically show more fruit and salinity.  Typically dry and light.
• Amontillado –A bolder and more nutty wine than Fino or Manzanilla.  Still dry, although slight sweetness is notable.  Moderate body.
• Oloroso – More oxidatively aged, it gets darker and nuttier with more sweetness.  Moderate to heavy body, sweeter.
• Pedro Ximenez (PX) – Fig, caramel, dates join with some of the nuttier flavors in a full on sweet experience.  Rich body, sweet.
• Sweetened Sherry – For example, Cream Sherry, which is typically is somewhere between PX and Olosoro.

Drink Notes

The garnish for this drink calls for seasonal berries.  These are meant to enhance the visual appeal more than add flavor.

• Sherry – As the descriptions above suggest, your choice of sherry makes a significant difference in how your Sherry Cobbler turns out.  Amontillado and Olosoro are the most balanced choices here, adding body without overdoing sugar.  Choosing a sweet sherry, like PX may mean that less or no sugar is required.    Fino and Manzanilla may find themselves overwhelmed here, but if you choose to use them, you’ll want to consider increasing your sweetness.
• Simple Syrup – A traditional 1:1 water to sugar simple is classic for this recipe.
• Orange Slices – These appear to be the defacto standard for this drink, but some omit the orange.  These do add a nice refreshing note for certain sherries, especially those without a lot of complexity.  If you find you’re using something particularly nice, feel free to omit them.

I grew up not far from the legendary Saratoga Race Course.  One of the oldest operating sports venues in the country, Saratoga has an annual thoroughbred horseracing meet in July.  The course itself has been in operation since 1863, and features a 40 day meet.  In addition to the horse racing, the town itself is charming, full of small businesses, and quaint streets loaded with shops and restaurants.  The overall experience is nothing short of magical, and unsurprisingly, many cocktails have grown up with the race track.  Among them is the Saratoga Cocktail.

Among Saratoga’s biggest events of the year is the Traver’s Stakes.  Held toward the end of the meet, the grade 1 race brings thousand of people to upstate New York.  The winner of the race wins a Man O’ War cup (designed by Tiffany), their colors painted on the canoe in the lake of the course, and the Traver’s Blanket draped over their horse (and elaborate floral blanket).  The weekend is usually the busiest of the meet, and an amazing experience of the culture of both Saratoga Race Course and the town.

Saratoga Cocktail

Saratoga Cocktail

1 oz

Cognac

1 oz

Rye or Bourbon

1 oz

Sweet Vermouth

2 Dashes

Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Saratoga Cocktail is complex, brooding, and exciting. The nose is loaded with spice and bleeds out heavy notes of caramel, oak, preserved fruit, and fermenting grape. The bright citrus oils expressed give it a lively nature, and it feels right at home with the heavy hardwoods of the club like atmosphere of Saratoga.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

This cocktail is a variation of a Manhattan and the possible inspiration for the Vieux Carre Cocktail.  Similar to a Manhattan, the base spirits you choose are going to make a large difference.  There’s some variation in recipe here between the use of rye or bourbon.  We’ve included both, but recommend rye first, or high rye bourbon.

• Rye – We used Wild Turkey 101 Rye here for it’s strong herbal and spice notes, as well as the body.  Most variations of this recipe will call for 100 proof bourbon or rye to add body.   Other good choices to compliment the cognac would be Rittenhouse Rye or Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon.
• Cognac – As there are few ingredients in this cocktail, you’ll want to aim at quality to work of the spicy rye foil.  We used H by Hine here, but Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac would great as well.  If you’re looking for to drop down in cost, consider Lustau Brandy de Jerez Solera Reserva.
• Sweet Vermouth – With the strength of some of the ingredients, the Saratoga Cocktail is able to take a stronger vermouth, like Carpano Antica.  Feel free to use your favorite though.
• Angostura Bitters – These are the classic bitters for most cocktails, and we recommend you keep a bottle on hand

That’s about the best advice I can offer. I’d love to say there’s some reason to make this, but some classics are forgotten for a reason.  Got a reason you love this drink or a tweak you think makes it perfect?  Let us know in the comments!

An Old Fashioned relative, the Fancy Free eschews bourbon for rye, plain syrup for maraschino liqueur, and adds another dash of bitters.  The result is a drier, earthier Old Fashioned that really drives home where rye can shine.  The fruitiness and ease of construction means this drink can easily work as a regular staple in your home bar.

Fancy Free

Fancy Free

2 oz

Rye

½ oz

Maraschino Liqueur

1 Dash

Angostura Bitters

1 Dash

Orange Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into rocks glass over a large cube. Garnish with an orange twist expressed over the top. Run the twist around the edge of the glass, and then place in the drink.

The Fancy Free manages to delivery the spicy cherry punch of maraschino with an amplified kick of rye spice and bitters.  The result is a sweet and balanced drink that explodes with notes of spice, herbs, cherries, oranges, touches of oak.  The finish is equally balanced, leaning heavily into orange and spice, with in this case, a little bit of vanilla from the Dickel Rye.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

This one was a stunner of a good time.  While I typically go for old fashioned riffs, this one works particularly well with some of the minerality of something like Dickel against the sweet fruitiness of the maraschino.

• Rye – We Dickel Rye here, and it was eye opening to what it can be in the right cocktail.  The minerally just works in a beautiful way that balances the drink, especially the citrus elements.  We recommend using a rye here that is a little more fruit, spice, or minerality forward, like Wild Turkey 101 Rye or Sazerac.  For something more familiar, try Rittenhouse.
• Maraschino Liqueur – Not to be confused with the liquid that maraschino cherries are packed in.  This syrup would result in a rich and strand drink.  Instead we recommend using the class Luxardo Maraschino liqueur (which comes in the straw packaging).
• Angostura Bitters – These are the classic bitters and add a nice spice.
• Orange Bitters – We used Regan’s for the extra cardamom spice that bounce off the rye spices and cherry sweetness.
• Orange Twist – The fresh orange oils are absolutely critical here.  Express the orange to bring out the full spice and orange notes.

Another cocktail that originated in the Savoy Cocktail, the White Lady is a mixture of gin, orange liqueur, and lemon.  If these ingredients sound a lot like a Sidecar to you, then you won’t be surprised to hear that this drink can be quite intense (depending on the proportions used).   In the original guise that mirrored the Sidecar’s equal parts, it was perhaps too much, something we realized quickly during our testing.  As a result, we recommend you follow the subsequent recipes that include an egg white.  This addition makes a floral, restrained drink that’s refreshing and nuanced.

White Lady

White Lady

1 ½ oz

Gin

¾ oz

Cointreau

¾ oz

Lemon

1

Egg White (Optional)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

In it’s original format, the White Lady comes out a bit too bracing in this format.  You’d do best to reduce this by about 1/4 oz of lemon to balance the acidity.   Add in egg white though, and the cocktail opens up in a floral and perfumed essence of lemon and gin.  The entire drink becomes a study in restraint, as orange and lemon come forward and the gin shows itself through the lens.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The White Lady is a bracing and powerfully acidic drink.  In all likelihood you will find that you want to adjust the lemon down here.  That said, the template has some pretty subtly in it’s character, so don’t write it off as this template has some potential.

• Gin:  We used London Dry in our experiments (both Beefeater and Bombay).  We recommend you choose a gin here you like and experiment with bolder modern gins like Aviation.
• Cointreau:  While you could use another orange liqueur, Cointreau is the gold standard here.  However, it should be noted that some sources call for Dry Curacao, similar to Pierre Ferrand’s.  This is likely recommended if you choose to make the drink egg white free.
• Lemon:  Use fresh squeezed for best results.
• Optional Ingredient:  One large egg white can be added requiring a different shake technique.   The reason you’d want to add an egg is to give it fuller, silkier texture.  It’ll reduce the acid as well.
  • Combine all ingredients including the egg white in a shaker.  Add 1 – 2 medium ice cubes or the spring from a shaker.  Shake hard for 15-30 seconds.  Separate the shaker and add ice.  Shake hard to chill.  Double strain into a coupe.
• Garnish: No Garnish
• Glassware:  A coupe will add simple elegance here..

Hemingway was a prolific writer and drink, but not much for the sweeter things.  Spending time living in Cuba, he frequented the El Floridita where the Hemingway Daiquiri was reportedly created.  This variation of a daiquiri eschews simple syrup for maraschino liquor and adds grapefruit juice.  The result is a refreshing if drier drink that just might have you looking for a pen.

Hemingway Daiquiri

Hemingway Daiquiri

2 oz

Lightly Aged Rum

¾ oz

Lime Juice

½ oz

Maraschino Liqueur

½ oz

Grapefruit Juice

Combine all ingredients in a shaker. Add ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lime wedge.

The Hemingway Daiquiri lets the rum shine, but ensembles the rest of the supporting cast in way that no one gets left out.  The cherry and almond notes from the Luxardo bounce off the bittersweet grapefruit and the lime pops.  The drink is complex and rich, but also leans into the drier side of the spectrum.  The result is refreshing but boozy.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Hemingway Daiquiri is a simple and straightforward construction, so the tips are primarily related to the sweetness.  Where a daiquiri is typically a proposition of balance between sweetness and acidity, the Hemingway is drier.  The only sweetener here is the maraschino liqueur, so if you find the drink too dry, you might have to adjust with additional simple.  As always, we recommend you start with the basic recipe and adjust accordingly from there.

• Rum –  For lightly aged rums we recommend El Dorado 3, Plantation 3 Star, or Appleton Signature for a little extra funk.  As the rum contributes a significant amount of character here, you’ll notice significant changes from rum to rum.  For example, El Dorado 3 will emphasize more of the vanilla and cotton candy notes, where as Plantation 3 Star will contribute more tropical fruit notes.  For a more complex experience, try splitting the 2 oz base between multiple rums.
• Maraschino Liqueur – Having recently shared a drink that features maraschino liqueur, I want to start by clarifying that this is the liqueur – not the syrup that the cherries are packed in.  We use Luxardo for our which comes in a straw bottle.   An example of a bottle for purchase is here at Astor Wine.
• Lime Juice – For best result – use fresh squeezed lime juice.
• Grapefruit Juice – Similar to limes, use fresh squeezed grapefruit juice for best results.  Packaged grapefruit juices can have a bit of metallic taste, which may impact your cocktail.  Be aware that due to variations in sweetness and variety (pink versus white, etc) – you may find the need to add additional simple to help address seasonal changes in grapefruits.

Despite the modern appearance, the Clover Club actually predates prohibition.  The cocktail originated in Philadelphia as early as the late 1800’s.  While it was popular, it was nearly lost to history during prohibition and the following period.  One of the many cocktails that owes it’s re-emergence to Reagan’s Joy of Mixology, the Clover Club is a beautiful, rich, and elegant cocktail that deserves your attention and time to make.

Clover Club

Clover Club

1 ½ oz

Gin

½ oz

Dry Vermouth

½ oz

Lemon Juice

½ oz

Raspberry Syrup

½ oz

Egg White

Combine all ingredients in a shaker vessel. Dry shake for 30 seconds. Unseal the container and add ice. Shake until chilled. Double strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with fresh raspberries (and dried powdered raspberries if desired).

The Clover Club is smooth, gentle, fruity, and balanced.  The herbal notes of the gin combine with the alpine notes of the dry vermouth to give a subtle herbal complexity to the background.  The fruitiness lays over the top as various bright wine notes mingle with fresh raspberry and pops of citrus. The creaminess of the egg whites binds everything together, and makes the drink feel rich.  The formula works and makes the Clover Club a must try classic.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The hardest part of our Clover Club is preparing the raspberry syrup.  Our raspberry syrup is a significantly gentler, less aggressive syrup, and is lighter in color. Most of the other ingredients will be fairly standard.

• Gin – This recipe can use London Dry or Plymouth Gin.  Given the egg white’s nature to gentle the gin, we’d even suggest that contemporary gins like Aviator will work well here.  In ours, we used Plymouth, which featured a nice smoothness.
• Dry Vermouth – We used our standard Dolin Dry Vermouth here, and it works very well.  As the dry vermouth is working as an accent, feel free to switch it up and see how it adjusts the drink.
• Lemon Juice – For best results, use fresh squeezed.
• Egg White –  The recipe here calls for ½ oz of Egg White. For a large egg, this works out to about half an egg white.  If you’re opposed to eggs, consider using Aquafaba (chickpea water from the can) at approximately 20g.   You can also use cocktail foamer or pasteurized egg white.
• Raspberry Syrup – See below for instructions.

In terms of technique, you’re going to need to dry shake.  One recommendation for making dry shaking more effective is to add a cocktail spring or ice cube to add a point to disrupt the proteins.   Shake for 30 seconds, remove the spring (the ice cube will have fully melted by this point) and then add ice.  Shake until chilled (8-12 seconds), and then double strain to eliminate any stray egg proteins.

Raspberry Syrup

• 120 g sugar
• 120 g water
• 40 g raspberries

Combine water, sugar, and raspberries in a small mason jar or sous vide bag.  If using a mason jar, you may gently muddle the raspberries with the sugar for added color and flavor.  Seal, and heat for 2 hours @ 135.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.  Strain through a fine mesh strainer and coffee filter.  If desired, add a neutral grain spirit at 5-10% of the finished weight as a preservative.   Refrigerate.  Dispose of if any clouding or mold develops.

The Kentucky Derby is almost upon us once again.  The ‘most exciting two minutes in sports’ is the first leg of the triple crown and home to some amazing hats and more than a little bourbon.  One of the most associated classic drinks with the race is the Mint Julep.  So grab some pellet ice, a bottle of bourbon, some fresh minute, and we’ll explain how to make this classic for your Kentucky Derby celebration!

Mint Julep

Algonquin

2 ½ oz

Bourbon

½ oz

Simple Syrup

Mint

Leaves

In a chilled julep cup, combine a couple mint leaves and the simple syrup. Gently muddle. Add bourbon and top with people ice. Gently stir or swizzle to melt the pebble ice until the ice dilutes and the outside of the cup becomes frosty. Add people ice on top, and garnish with a mint bouquet. For added mint fragrance, slap the outside of the julep tin with the mint as well.

It’s important to head into the Mint Julep with an understanding that it tastes like mint.  If you’re not a fan of mint, then, in all likelihood, you won’t find the Mint Julep to be enjoyable as it is mint forward.  The nice thing is that as the drink continues to dilute with the pebble ice, you will see various expressions of both the mint and bourbon.  While bourbon will add fruitiness and spice, the cool mint will add refreshing herbal notes.  For these reasons it’s a delightfully refreshing and spring like drink.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

Mint Juleps are easy to make and in a similar vein to an Old Fashioned but with a key focus on dilution.  Using proper ice consistency is critical here, more than any other part of this drink, so we’re doing to start with that.

• Ice – In most cocktails, we think about ice as a way to introduce dilution slowly.  Since this is a function of surface area, bigger ice means slower dilution and more chilling.  Mint Juleps require the opposite, fast and plentiful dilution.  For this purpose, you want small ice.  There are a few ways to do this:
  • Your Fridge’s Ice Crusher – This will work but has some drawbacks.  You’ll get inconsistent sized pieces of ice but they will complete the desired effect.
  • Using a Lewis Bag & Mallet – This will work better, and provide you with small if somewhat inconsistent and possibly snowed ice.  It’s not perfect, but it gives you more control through more elbow grease.
  • Pellet Ice – Pellet Ice is normally awful, but it’s perfect for juleps.  You could buy a pellet ice maker, but that’s expensive.  Go to Sonic or Chick-Fil-A and they will sell you a whole bag on the cheap.
• Bourbon – We used Buffalo Trace here for some of the cherry and oak notes, but use whatever you find most enjoyable.   As the bourbon plays a prominent role, you can use better quality, just look out for the influence of mint which could amplify rye or overpower subtler notes.  For more ideas, check out our Bourbon Rankings.
• Simple Syrup – We specify ½ oz here, but feel free to tweak between ¼ oz and ½ oz to find what works best for you.  You can also adjust the bourbon down to 2 oz here for this purpose.
• Mint – Obviously fresh mint is important.  Mint is introduced in 2 – 3 key ways in this drink.  First, by muddling you impart the oils and flavors into the syrup.  Second, you impart the aroma with the bouquet.  The third optional way, is to smack the outside of the mug with mint, which will impart aroma and faint oils on the outside of the cup.  This can be done for another layer of depth to the drink.

Cinco de Mayo is well known for tequila and the logical thought is that it should be celebrated with Margaritas.  You would think this might be especially true in Mexico as well.  However, outside of one particular area of Mexico, Cinco de Mayo isn’t really celebrated, and Margaritas aren’t nearly as popular as Palomas.  The Paloma is originally a mixture of grapefruit soda, lime, and tequila, although more modern interpretations bring in actual grapefruit juice.  Compared to the margarita the list of ingredients make it even easier to build, so why not try one out.

Paloma

Paloma

2 oz

Tequila

4 oz

Grapefruit Soda

½ oz

Lime Juice

Salt

Rim (Optional)

If using a salted rim, cut the lime and run it around the outside of the edge or a Collins or double rocks glass. On a flat surface, spread salt, and roll the rim of the glass through it. Build the drink in the glass with the ingredients above. Add ice and garnish with a grapefruit wedge.

The Paloma delivers a refreshing mix of sweet, sour, and agave notes with a hint of grapefruit.  The start of the drink is tinged with hints of grapefruit from the garnish that give way to a sweetened version via the soda.  The tequila then kicks up, in this case adding notes of spice and other citrus, as well as cooked agave flavor.  The tequila elements linger on the finish,  while the lime, bubbles, and grapefruit notes keep things refreshing.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Paloma is a refreshing and engaging cocktail that serves a vessel for the tequila.  Modern interpretations tilt this toward the grapefruit by adding in fresh grapefruit juice and soda in place of grapefruit soda.  The result is a much more citrus forward drink, that belies the original grapefruit soda and tequila formal, but feels more natural and bitter.

• Tequila –  Tequila can make or break this cocktail.  In our testing we worked with Siete Leguas Blanco, Pasote Blanco, and Olmeca Altos Blanco. Due to the high percentage compared with the soda and lime, the flavors of the tequila will directly drive the drink.  If you see a pattern there, it’s due to the refreshing nature of blanco tequila.  Don’t let that limit you though, reposado can work here as well.
• Grapefruit Soda –  The most commonly available grapefruit sodas are Ting, Squirt, and Jarritos.  All of which can be hit and miss to find in your region and have different flavor profiles.  We recommend using what you can find, and trying multiple sodas to determine what you like best.  In our area, we’ve only been able to find Jarritos, which we find enjoyable if not captivating.
• Lime Juice – Always use fresh squeezed for best results.

Meaning “little rose” in Spanish, the Rosita is a founded in the template of a Negroni made with tequila.  In fact, the original recipe in the 1970s called for equal parts tequila and Campari, giving it a distinctly Negroni like character.    Despite this, the Negroni wasn’t particularly popular, and disappeared for years.  When it finally resurfaced, the overall character remained the same, but the drink got a decidedly stronger tequila focus.  The result is a drink that channels a Negroni’s spirit, but give Tequila the space it needs to strut its stuff.

Rosita

Rosita

1 ½ oz

Reposado Tequila

½ oz

Campari

½ oz

Dry Vermouth

½ oz

Sweet Vermouth

Dash

Angostura Bitters

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Strain into a rocks glass with ice. Garnish with a lemon twist.

The Rosita combines a gentle smokiness and caramel with a bright, herbal bittersweetness.   The play of the vermouth with the Campari gives it a distinctly Negroni like flavor, and fans of the bitter will find a lot to love here.  The flavor of the reposado really gives an extra depth here, providing dimensions of roasted agave, caramel, and oakiness.    The finish continues some of smokiness with a citrusy character.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Rosita highlights the sweet, roasted, gentle aging of tequila against the bright and bitter runs of tequila.  The result is a drink that depends on the spirit as a backbone, but leaves room to explore itself through variation of the bitter and vermouth.

• Tequila  – For this recipe the lightly aged reposado is going to offer the best impact for the price.  The subtle notes of oak and spice compliment the bitterness, vinous notes, and touches of herbs.  The result is something that the oak influence adds a much need complexity that blanco wouldn’t provide.  We used Olmeca Altos Reposado and found it worked quite well here.
• Campari – While there are no direct substitutes for Campari, you can play around with another amaro – such as Aperol.
• Dry Vermouth – We used our standard Dolin Dry Vermouth here, but feel free to use what you have on hand or what you enjoy most.  The dry and sweet vermouths will play background here, which is important, but won’t be critical.
• Sweet Vermouth –  Normally we recommend the strong vanilla and spice complexity of Carpano Antica, but in this case, we suggest consider something lighter, like Cocchi di Torino or Martini & Rossi.  You can certainly use Carpano, but be prepared for the vanilla to be more prevalent.
• Angostura – These are the classic bitters and behave perfectly here adding clove and cinnamon plus a bit of bittering agent.  Adjusting this will chance some fundamental binding elements and flavor notes.  We recommend you start with Angostura, and consider adjusting if you like the start point.

The Last Word is one of the quintessential equal parts cocktails and a study in balance.  Likely created pre-prohibition, the Last Word received a resurgence in the early 2000s when Seattle’s Zig Zag Cafe added to the menu.   Many members of the pre-prohibition cocktail movement took note, and the cocktail first spread across Seattle, and then ultimately the collective drinking world.  While at the time ingredients like Green Chartreuse could be hard to find, they’ve since become plentiful, so finding the ingredients to make the drink shouldn’t be an issue.

Last Word

Last Word

¾ oz

Gin

¾ oz

Maraschino Liqueur

¾ oz

Green Chartreuse

¾ oz

Lime Juice

Combine all ingredients in a mixing vessel. Add ice and stir. Double strain into a chilled coupe. No garnish.

The Last Word is a brilliant study in balance.  Sweet is in taught balance with sour, spice and herb are in perfect harmony.  The light cherry and almond like notes resonate beautifully with the fresh lime and run perfectly with the chartreuse’s and gin’s complex herbaceous notes.  Overall, every sip is electric, and wonderfully grounded in showing off every facet of it’s components.

Drink Notes & Recommendations

The Last Word is a riffable template, with drinks like Naked & Famous being generated from it.  Start with the original and see it in action before playing with the template, it will help you understand how it works and why it works (especially as you encounter failures).

• Gin –  London Dry is the go to for an original, but you could easily substitute for contemporary styles.  We made ours with Beefeater, but could also it being delicious with Aviation.  For a bolder gin riff, consider using a Navy Strength gin.
• Maraschino Liqueur –  We used Luxardo, which is one of the most common maraschino liqueurs you can find.  It’s distinctive for it’s straw like exterior.
• Green Chartreuse –  Sadly there’s no real substitute for this herbal liqueur, so you’ll need to procure a bottle.  Be prepared to pay upwards of $50 a bottle for a 750.
• Lime – Use fresh squeezed as always for best results.