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Cocktails for The Game: The Gin Harbaugh and the Bourbon Meyer

Today the Michigan Wolverines face off for the 115th time against the Ohio State Buckeyes in The Game.  This is always a high stakes event, even when it isn’t from the perspective of the rest of the college football world, but this year a lot is on the line as both teams are 10-1 and the winner goes on to play for the Big Ten championship.  I’m a lifelong Michigan fan, and this year I decided to apply my passion for cocktails to this annual event and am pleased to bring you cocktails for The Game, named in honor of the teams’ head coaches:  The Gin Harbaugh and the Bourbon Meyer.

Since I live in D.C., which is now Big Ten country thanks to Jim Delaney, the league Commissioner and the mastermind of Big Ten expansion to College Park, I wanted to add a little D.C. flavor to these drinks and began with the idea of using gin and citrus in one drink and bourbon and citrus in the other, inspired by the rickey.  

I like the tangy flavor that lemon juice brings to a drink, but for the Gin Harbaugh I also wanted a drink that packs more punch in its flavor so it leaves a bit of a mark on you after each sip.  Enter Ancho Reyes Verde, the somewhat spicy poblano liqueur, which adds some depth of flavor and provides a spicy aftertaste.  I balanced it out with a little simple syrup and topped off the drink with soda water.  Add a lemon peel garnish shaped like the Michigan helmet and you’re good to go:

Gin Harbaugh
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Halloween Cocktail Recipe: Into The Dark

Think you’re ready to host that Halloween party? Sure, you’ve got the perfect costume, killer decorations, and a carefully curated Halloween playlist. But do you have a Halloween cocktail picked out? If not, have no fear. I’ve got a cocktail that has it all – fall flavors, Halloween black color, and smoky special effects. Follow me . . . Into The Dark:

Halloween Cocktail - Into The Dark

For my Halloween cocktail, I wanted to bring together some great fall flavors, but also to give the drink a costume of its own to foster the Halloween spirit.  Let me start with the latter first because you might need some lead time on a couple of the ingredients.  

The first is activated charcoal, which gives the drink its Halloween-appropriate black color.  There are plenty of options online; I used Viva Doria Virgin Coconut Shell Activated Charcoal Powder, which I found on Amazon.  You will also need dry ice pellets; I found mine at Talbert’s Ice in Bethesda (two pounds cost me about $5).  (Note that Talbert’s is especially safety conscious and will not sell you dry ice for use in drinks unless you have a dry ice cage; I found one of these online but did not order one, so I can’t speak to how well they work in a cocktail.)  Finally, if you want some skull-themed cocktail picks, try the Fred & Friends Bar Bones cocktail picks, like the one I used in the picture above.

Continue reading “Halloween Cocktail Recipe: Into The Dark”
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Original Recipe: Soyeux

Summer is my favorite season, mainly because I do not like being cold.  But the other seasons have their own redeeming values.  One of the things I like most about fall is building a fire on evenings when the mercury starts to drop – not far enough to make you really cold (see above), but far enough that no one gives you weird looks when you start piling logs on your andirons.  And for me, fire implies whiskey (but not fire whiskey, importantly).  So when the weather turned colder for the first time this fall season in the District, I started a fire and turned to the task of putting together a new whiskey-based cocktail.  The result was the Soyeux:

Soyeux

I wanted a strong whiskey base, so I began with two ounces of E.H. Taylor, Jr., Small Batch Bourbon, one of my favorite bourbons at the moment.  Then I added half an ounce of Cocchi Vermouth di Torino, which is my go-to vermouth for Manhattans (although I also add a bit of Dolin blanc vermouth to those as well; more details in an upcoming post).  Speaking of Manhattans, this drink was moving decidedly in that direction, but I wanted to try something new.  So I added half an ounce of yellow Chartreuse – an herbal and slightly sweet liqueur that I thought would lighten the taste slightly.  To round it off, I added a dash of Fee Brothers Aztec chocolate bitters.  I stirred the ingredients with ice and then strained into a rocks glass, adding a large ice cube and an orange peel as garnish.

The result was a cocktail that tastes a lot like a Manhattan but has a velvety smooth edge, owing to the addition of the herbal sweetness of the yellow Chartreuse.  The orange peel adds a nice citrusy scent that cushions the strong scent that pure whiskey on ice can deliver from a rocks glass.  It is a good fireside drink that goes down quickly.  (Just remember that, while smooth, it is also strong.)

Here is the recipe:

Soyeux recipe
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Soyeux

For a fall sipping drink that is like a Manhattan with a velvety smoothness, try the Soyeux cocktail, which mixes bourbon, yellow Chartreuse, vermouth, and chocolate bitters.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Spirit-Forward
Keyword: Manhattan with Chartreuse
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. bourbon I used E.H. Taylor
  • 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
  • 1/2 oz. Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
  • 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
  • orange peel

Instructions

  • Combine the bourbon, Chartreuse, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass with ice and stir until cold.
  • Strain into a rocks glass over a large ice cube.
  • Express orange peel over drink and add as garnish.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: Ted’s Tequila Cocktail

My friend Ted hit a birthday milestone earlier this year.  I was invited to contribute to the celebration by designing a signature cocktail that the fantastic bar team at Del Mar would serve the guests at his party.  The only guideline I was given was to use tequila.  This turned out to be harder than I thought.  I haven’t worked a lot with tequila outside of making margaritas (though my Desert Orange and Smoked Pearl recipes use mezcal).  And I wanted to live up to the circumstances – an important occasion attended by a lot of people.  The recipe had to be good and have wide appeal.  Needless to say, there was a lot of trial and error before settling on a final recipe.  But I think I succeeded, and now I’m sharing it with you – Ted’s Tequila Cocktail:

Ted's Tequila Cocktail

The concept I had in mind was to make a drink that marked a transition from spring to summer, which seemed both literally and metaphorically apt.  For spring I chose the floral and herbal flavors of St.-Germain and yellow Chartreuse; for summer, pineapple and jalapeño.  I also added a little lemon juice to amp up the tanginess a little and balance against the sweetness of the spring flavors.

It worked!  In fact, this is one of my favorite concoctions to date.  It’s a perfect balance of sweet, tangy and spicy, and very easy to drink.  It went over very well at the birthday party, and it has been a crowd-pleaser in subsequent events, too.  Be prepared to serve multiple rounds if you’re making this one for guests!

A word on spice.  You can modulate how spicy the drink is by being mindful of the number of seeds in the jalapeño pepper.  As I detail in the recipe, this drink should be shaken with one slice of jalapeño pepper and garnished with another slice.  More seeds (in either place, but especially in the shaker) means more spice.  You can minimize the spice by using slices of pepper that contain no seeds.

Here is the recipe:

Ted's Tequila Cocktail recipe
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Ted's Tequila Cocktail

This cocktail celebrates spring with some herbal and floral flavors provided by yellow Chartreuse and St.-Germain, warms you up with a bit of jalapeño, and previews summer with pineapple juice and citrus.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Keyword: Pineapple tequila recipe
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 182kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. tequila I used Espolòn
  • 1/2 oz. yellow Chartreuse
  • 1/2 oz. St.-Germain
  • 1/2 oz. pineapple juice
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 pineapple chunk
  • 1 jalapeño

Instructions

  • Combine the tequila, Chartreuse, St.-Germain, juices and a slice of jalapeño pepper in a shaking tin with ice.  Note that more seeds in the jalapeño pepper means more spice.  Shake vigorously.
  • Strain into a rocks glass over ice.
  • Garnish with a chunk of pineapple and a slice of jalapeño pepper.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: Cherry Blossom Cocktail

As you have probably been able to gather from my posts of cocktail events in March and April and of my non-alcoholic Sakura Sparkler recipe, I’ve got a thing for cherry blossoms.  As I’ve noted, cherry blossoms are not only beautiful but also edible, meaning you can use them in your cocktails.  In this post I have another such recipe for you.  And this one uses cherry blossoms in three different ways.  For lack of a more imaginative description, I’m calling it the Cherry Blossom Cocktail:

Cherry Blossom Cocktail

There are other ingredients, but let’s start with our three cherry-blossom constituents.  The first is the cherry-blossom garnish, visible in the picture and plucked from a local tree (if you don’t have your own tree, ask a neighbor – most won’t deny you a lone blossom).  The second is Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup, which I used in my Sakura Sparkler recipe and is available on Amazon.  And the third is Cerasum, a new aperitivo from D.C.’s own Don Ciccio & Figli.  Don Ciccio explains that Cerasum is made from three different kinds of cherries, sakura blossoms, and “10 selected roots and herbs,” pursuant to a recipe dating back to 1906.  What it is is delicious – not sweet like many cherry-flavored liqueurs but tart, adding a distinctive flavor to the drink.

These cherry-blossom influences are accompanied by gin and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  They combine to produce a bright and tangy cocktail with cherry, citrus and light floral and herbal flavors.  It’s just the cocktail for enjoying the cherry blossoms on a nice spring day.

Here is the recipe:

Cherry Blossom Cocktail recipe
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Cherry Blossom Cocktail

Celebrate cherry-blossom season with this cocktail, which mixes gin with flavors of cherries and cherry blossoms.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Keyword: cherry blossom cocktail
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 226kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. gin I used Botanist
  • 1/2 oz. Cerasum
  • 1 oz. Sakura Cherry Blossom Honey Syrup
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 cherry
  • 1 cherry blossom

Instructions

  • Combine the gin, Cerasum, cherry blossom honey syrup and lemon juice with ice in a shaking tin.
  • Shake vigorously and strain into a coupe.
  • Garnish with a cherry and a cherry blossom.

Enjoy!

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Original Recipe: Blood Orange Daiquiri

In the last few posts, I’ve focused on blood orange.  First I offered the Desert Orange, a “margarita for winter” of sorts.  Next I featured the Blood Moon Cocktail, a light and somewhat spicy drink for enjoying astronomical events or really any occasion.  And in my post previewing March cocktail events in the District, I promised a recipe featuring an edible hibiscus garnish.  This is that post.  To help put you in the mood for spring I offer you a blood orange daiquiri:

Blood Orange Daiquiri

The daiquiri has a special significance for me.  It was nearly a decade ago at the Columbia Room – when it was still just a backroom in the old Passenger – that Derek Brown first taught me (and a roomful of other guests) how to make one according to the traditional recipe:  2 ounces of aged rum, and 3/4 ounces each of simple syrup and lime juice.

It was life-altering.  I had taken a bartending class in college, where we learned that daquiris were frozen drinks made with rail rum and sour syrup.  The traditional recipe was so much better, and it re-awakened my interest in mixing drinks.

So I thought it fitting to celebrate the arrival of spring with a fresh take on the classic that marked a spring of sorts in my drink-crafting hobby.  I started with aged rum (Appleton 12-year) and used freshly squeezed blood orange juice in place of the usual lime.  Blood orange juice is sweeter than lime juice of course, so I dialed back the sugar.  (In this case, the syrup was hibiscus flower syrup, about which more in a minute.)  I also added Campari and Calvit’s Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus shrub.

The garnish has two parts.  The base is a blood orange wheel, placed horizontally on top of the crushed ice that fills the glass.  On top, I placed an edible hibiscus flower from Wild Hibiscus Flower Co., which offers the flowers in syrup (which, as I noted above, I used as a substitute for simple syrup).  Although it isn’t depicted above, I also added a paper straw.  (The garnish looks great but isn’t easy to sip around.)

I had a lot of fun with this drink.  As daiquiris tend to do for me, this one went down fast.  Let me know what you think!

Here’s the recipe:

Blood Orange Daiquiri recipe
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Blood Orange Daiquiri

Urge spring forward with this blood orange daiquiri, featuring rum, Campari, blood orange and hibiscus, and garnished with a hibiscus flower that anticipates the coming season.
Prep Time6 minutes
Total Time6 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 225kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. aged rum
  • 1/2 oz. Campari
  • 1 oz. freshly squeezed blood orange juice
  • 1/4 oz. Calvit's Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus Drinking Shrub
  • 1/4 oz. Wild Hibiscus Flower Co. syrup
  • 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
  • 1 dash Bittermens Hellfire Habanero Cocktail Shrub
  • blood orange wheel
  • Wild Hibiscus Flower Co. edible hibiscus flower

Instructions

  • Combine the rum, Campari, juice, shrubs, syrup and bitters in a shaking tin and set aside.
  • Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice.
  • Add ice to the shaking tin, shake contents vigorously and strain into the rocks glass.
  • Garnish by laying a blood orange wheel horizontally atop the drink and placing an edible hibiscus flower on top of the wheel.
  • Add a paper straw, trimmed as necessary.

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Original Recipe: Blood Moon Cocktail

The end of January brought us an unusual astronomical event:  a super blue blood moon.  It was a combination of three phenomena:  a super moon, where the moon is closer to Earth and therefore brighter; a blue moon, meaning the second full moon in a month; and a blood moon, which denotes the reddish hue caused by a lunar eclipse.  But Washington, D.C. was not optimally situated to view the “blood” portion of the event.  To make up for that fact and to celebrate the occasion, I prepared a Blood Moon cocktail:

Blood Moon cocktail

Like my last recipe for the Desert Orange, this recipe features blood orange, which is in peak season from January to March.  But here it functions only as a garnish – a red citrus wheel that serves as my “blood moon” proxy.  The drink itself relies on a sibling citrus – grapefruit juice.  The spirits are Campari, which complements the citrus nicely, and Ancho Reyes Verde, which adds a little kick.

The result is a light and refreshing drink that would do well on any night, super blue blood moon or not.  And by “light” I don’t mean just easy to drink.  Although the Campari and Ancho Reyes Verde flavors are definitely detectable here, they together comprise only 1 1/2 ounces of the recipe.  Grapefruit juice is the primary ingredient, and there is no high-proof spirit.  That means the drink is lower proof and lower-calorie than your typical cocktail – call it about half strength on both scores.  So make yourself a couple rounds!

Here is the recipe:

Blood Moon recipe
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Blood Moon

Try my Blood Moon cocktail, a light and refreshing drink made in anticipation of the super blue blood moon, but fit for sipping on any occasion.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 124kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 oz. Campari
  • 1/2 oz. Ancho Reyes Verde
  • 2 oz. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
  • blood orange wheel

Instructions

  • Combine Campari, Ancho Reyes Verde, and juice in a shaking tin with ice and shake vigorously.
  • Strain into a rocks glass.  Add a large ice cube.
  • Garnish with blood orange wheel.

Enjoy!

Missing some ingredients?  You might be able to have them delivered.  Check out our comparative review of liquor delivery services.

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Original Recipe: Desert Orange

I’ve been inspired by the cocktail recipes I’ve been seeing this season making use of blood orange, which is in peak form from January through March.  (One example:  the brûléed blood orange spiced winter gin and tonic at Craft & Cocktails.)  So in addition to experimenting with “dressed can” cocktails this month, I’ve put together a couple of recipes of my own that feature blood orange.  I now present the first of these, the Desert Orange:

Desert Orange

This cocktail combines flavors of smoke, spice, and citrus.  It begins with mezcal as the base spirit, which provides the smoky flavor.  Spice and savory flavors are provided by Ancho Reyes Verde liqueur and a tomatillo, tamarind and hibiscus shrub by Calvit’s.  And the citrus of course comes from freshly squeezed blood orange juice.  To round off the drink, I added a bit of burnt sugar syrup from Tippleman’s and Aztec Chocolate Bitters by Fee Brothers.  I also salted the rim of the glass with pink Himalayan salt.

This is a great cocktail for February.  The smoke and spice keep you warm, while the citrus foreshadows sunny summer days ahead – a margarita for winter, if you will.  Here is the recipe:

Desert Orange recipe
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Desert Orange

Enjoy the Desert Orange cocktail, which combines smoke, spice and citrus that takes advantage of blood orange season.
Prep Time6 minutes
Total Time6 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 240kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 2 oz. mezcal I used Mezcal Vago Espadín
  • 1/2 oz. Ancho Reyes Verde
  • 1/2 oz. Calvit's Tomatillo-Tamarind-Hibiscus Drinking Shrub
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed blood orange juice
  • 1/4 oz. burnt sugar syrup I used Tippleman's
  • 1 dash Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
  • blood orange wheel
  • pink Himalayan salt

Instructions

  • Salt the rim of a rocks glass with the salt.  Add a large ice cube.
  • Combine the mezcal, Ancho Reyes Verde, shrub, juice, syrup and bitters in a shaking tin with ice and shake vigorously.
  • Strain into the glass and add an orange wheel as garnish.

Enjoy!

Ingredients that are available on Amazon are linked in the post (the blog may earn a commission if a purchase is made). Missing any other ingredients?  You might be able to have them delivered.  Check out our comparative review of liquor delivery services.

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“Dressed Can” Cocktails for the Super Bowl

Ed.: Remember when I said in the February cocktail events round-up that no one in D.C. was hosting a cocktail-themed event?  Well now you can do it yourself, thanks to this idea for “dressed can” cocktails from Julia (who previously posted about how to make your own Slivovitz).

When you’re hosting guests for a game day, cocktails made in a can are a great way to upgrade the drinks offerings without a lot of legwork (or clean up). These “dressed cans” don’t have to be a can of beer either – soda, juice, or canned wine can all form the base of a delicious drink.

Whether you’re tuning in for the Puppy Bowl or the Super Bowl, game day drinking is also a marathon. I started off easy with a Stiegl Radler, a 2% ABV grapefruit shandy (game day drinking is a marathon after all).

Inspired by a Greyhound cocktail, I doctored the Stiegl up with 1.5oz Tanqueray, ‘Rizzo’ rosemary and grapefruit bitters from Crude Small Batch Bitters, lemon juice (Stiegl is on the sweeter side), and some fresh grapefruit. If you’re a Salty Dog lover, you could rim the can in grapefruit juice and salt, or swap out the gin for tequila to make a Paloma. Bon Appetit published a great list of beer cocktails – next time there’s a Budweiser in the cooler, I might just sneak in a shot of Amaro.

Enjoy, and have a great game day!

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Original Recipe: Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye

As past posts reveal, I’m a fan of shrubs.  I’ve used them in cocktails like the Autumn Breeze.  And because they are nonalcoholic they also work in mocktails like the Mexican Candy Soda.  In part because of their versatility, I’ve also recommended shrubs as great cocktail-themed gifts.  In that vein, I was recently given a gift of a rhubarb shrub from Tulip Tree Hill.  I immediately set out to find a good use for it in a cocktail.  And lo, the Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye was born:

Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye

The inspiration for this drink was the strawberry-rhubarb preserves my grandmother always had on hand when I was a kid.  I figured raspberries would do just as well as strawberries and are a bit easier to use in cocktails.

That proved true, but these ingredients needed a little support to stand up against the base spirit – rye, in this case.  I thought it would help to add some sugar and citrus.  For these I used burnt sugar syrup from Tippleman’s and lemon juice.  I also added a dash of walnut bitters.

These additions rounded out the drink nicely, giving it a smooth, tangy and slightly sweet taste.  Although I put this together in January, the spring-summery flavors of rhubarb and raspberry hinted at the warmer days ahead.  This would be a perfect pre-dinner cocktail on a night of an outdoor meal.  Here’s the recipe:

Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye recipe
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Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye

This Raspberry, Rhubarb & Rye cocktail combines raspberry and rhubarb flavors to provide a smooth, tangy and slightly slightly sweet cocktail that is perfect for your next happy hour.
Prep Time5 minutes
Total Time5 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Sour
Servings: 1 cocktail
Calories: 195kcal
Author: Geoffrey Wyatt

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 oz. rye I used Whistle Pig
  • 3/4 oz. Tulip Tree Hill rhubarb shrub
  • 3/4 oz. burnt sugar syrup I used Tippleman's
  • 1/2 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 dash walnut bitters I used Fee Brothers
  • 5 raspberries

Instructions

  • Combine the rye, shrub, syrup, lemon juice, bitters, and three of the raspberries with ice in a shaking tin and shake vigorously.
  • Strain into a rocks glass.
  • Add a large ice cube.
  • Garnish with two fresh raspberries.

Enjoy!