A lovely (and damn good looking) drink for fall, the Golden Dawn has been added to the regular rotation. It was created in 1930 and won the International Cocktail Competition (does that still exist?) that same year. Simple, elegant, and tasty. 

3/4 oz Gin (I like Bluecoat in this one)

3/4 oz Apricot or Pear Brandy

3/4 oz Calvados or Applejack

3/4 oz fresh orange juice

Shake and strain. Slow pour 1/2 oz of grenadine down the side of the glass and let settle.

It was originally made with apricot brandy—I went with Maraska Pear liqueur. Try it with peach or other stone-fruit brandies.

Well… fall is upon us. The leaves are beginning to change, and a cold rain has come over the Steel City. What to do on such a dreary Saturday? Two words: Tiki. Cocktail.

1 1/2 oz White Virgin Islands Rum (Cruzan 1yr Aged is a fine choice)

3/4 oz Fresh lemon juice

3/4 oz Orange Curacao

1/2 oz Raspberry Syrup (home-made, please)

Garnish with an apple, lemon, cherry… really whatever you have sitting around. I went with the classic lemon-shell.

This is truly a special cocktail. Easy drinking, yet sophisticated enough for all of you Snobs out there. Rum selection is key— a gold or dark rum could work here, but I’ve achieved best results with white. Either way, choose something that is less sweet and barrel-aged. (Rhum Barbancourt maybe? Hmm…)

A Mouthful of Tiki: Test Pilot

mouthfuloftiki:

Finding a recipe to test out my new batch of homemade Falernum turned out to be a difficult choice. The Jet Pilot tempted me, but I didn’t want the cinnamon syrup that I had made to compete with the Falernum. Wanting to find a drink that gives Falernum a chance to star on its own, I opted for…

cocktailskindof: Cure’s A Great Deal of Sincerity… kind of 1 oz gin (we used Tanquerey rangpur) 3/4 oz raspberry syrup (we used the raspberry nectar shown from Williams-Sonoma) 1 & 1/4 oz Cointreau 3/4 oz lemon juice 1/2 oz simple syrup Swish the glass with Pernod (or Herbsaint/absinthe) before filling This was my favorite drink I’ve ever tasted when I had it at Cure. I loved the hint of absinthe with the raspberry.  It was delicious and perfect. When I saw the raspberry syrup at WS, I knew I should pick it up to give this drink a go.  Our version is good, but it’s not Cure. Gotta get back to NOLA and get that recipe!!

Wow… haven’t posted in a while. It’s been a busy summer. I’m a lazy ass.

Here’s an ingredient I love- the wonderful assortment of bitters made by the gents over at Fee Brothers. Add some of the grapefruit to your tiki drinks, or substitute the orange anywhere you’d usually use Angostura for a citrus kick.

Some liquor stores are beginning to carry these, I ordered mine from Amazon.

My sister-in-law requested a cocktail that would unwind you after a rough day. Something comforting that wouldn’t put you on your ass for the night. Here it is.

1 oz Cherry Heering

1/2 oz Maraschino Liquer

2 oz whole milk or half and half

Shake and Strain

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