Irish Coffee

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

2 tsp brown sugar syrup
1 1/2 oz Irish whiskey
3 oz coffee
1 1/2 oz heavy cream, lightly whipped (technique below)
Serve in a traditional Irish coffee glass

Directions

Fill glass with hot water until it heats up, then dump out the hot water. Heat up brown sugar syrup, whiskey, and coffee, then add to glass. For the whipped cream, pour heavy cream into a mason jar and shake for 15 seconds, then gently spoon it on top of the drink.

Notes

This is just perfect, and the easiest Irish coffee I’ve made. Apparently sweetening the cream is a faux pas, and it turns out you don’t need to! The whipped cream technique is from Mr. Morgenthaler’s The Bar Book.

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Amaretto Sour (Reconstructed)

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Educated Barfly

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Lazzaroni Amaretto
3/4 oz bourbon
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz 2:1 demerara syrup
1 egg white

Directions

Dry shake all ingredients, then add a large ice cube and shake again until it’s chilled. Strain and pour into a coupe glass. You can also serve it in a rocks glass over a large cube of ice.

Notes

This is delightful! And dangerously easy to drink. Confession: I made one for me and my husband, so doubled the recipe, which might have reduced the foam. Also, I didn’t have quite enough lemon juice, so had to sub in a bit of lime juice! Even so, it all worked. Lazzaroni is infused with those same cookies in the red tin. An adult echo of a childhood memory. :-)

Update

This drink works just fine over a large ice cube—better in fact, as it stays cold longer!

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Lorikeet

Credit: Shannon Mustipher, Tiki

Ingredients

2 oz Bulleit Rye Whiskey
1/2 Giffard Banana Liqueur
1 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/4 oz cinnamon syrup
4 dashes Angostura Bitters
6 Dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
orange twist, pineapple leaf garnish

Directions

Shake and strain over crushed ice.

Notes

An interesting take on tiki with the rye! Not as sweet, but the banana comes through.

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The Main Course

Credit: Napa Rose Lounge, Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, Disneyland Resort Area

Ingredients

Bulleit Rye Whiskey
Campari
Fernet Branca
John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
orange peel garnish

Directions

Shake and strain over ice. Garnish with orange peel after expressing the oils.

Notes

I made this at the request of a guest at our New Year’s Eve party. I thought it would be bitter and strong as heck with the Campari and Fernet, but it was magical!

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Cranberry Ginger Highball

Ingredients

3/4 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon
2 oz Ocean Spray cranberry juice
2 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer
lemon wedge and mint garnish

Directions

Build in a collins glass and add ice. Garnish with lemon wedge and mint.

Notes

Festive, refreshing, and pretty. I’ve become a big fan of Elijah Craig. Since I prefer lighter drinks, I cut the bourbon down to 3/4. My husband suggested the mint, which is fabulous. Credit to Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s Drinking Distilled for recommending the bourbon and cranberry juice pairing.

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Hot Toddy

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz Elijah Craig Small Batch Bourbon
1 oz ginger syrup
3/4 oz lemon juice
1 tsp allspice or pimento dram
3 oz boiling water
orange peel garnish

Directions

Heat a mug with hot water, then empty it. Add all ingredients in the mug, stir, and give it a final zap in the microwave if needed. Garnish with the orange peel.

Notes

Despite forgetting the garnish, this was great. Quite spiced—an upgrade from bourbon, honey, lemon, and water. I made this after trying 3 different cocktail recipes that I didn’t care for (Batida de Milho Verde, Arbitrary Nature of Time, and Leilani Volcano 2.0), getting tired, and just wanting to collapse on the couch with something warm. This was comforting and easy to drink. I’m curious to try this with spiced rum, or short-cut this with American Honey.

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Cereal Milk Punch

★ Original Cocktail ★

Ingredients

3/4 oz Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur
1/4 oz Mellow Corn Whiskey
3 oz cereal milk
grated nutmeg for garnish

Directions

Stir ingredients and pour over a large ice cube. Grate nutmeg over the top.

Notes

This is fantastic, but took some trial and error. I first tried a recipe with bourbon, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract, which made the drink too boozy and interfered with the sweet, toasted flavor of the milk. Then I found another recipe with bourbon, corn whiskey, and Bärenjäger honey liqueur. Using what I had on hand—and adhering to my preference for less boozy drinks—I first tried mixing just the milk with American Honey liqueur. I could taste the cereal milk, but almost no booze. Just 1/4 oz of that Mellow Corn 100-proof Bottled in Bond corn whiskey does the trick!

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Smoked Maple Manhattan

Credit: Modernist Pantry, Foodlyn

Ingredients

2 oz Maker’s Mark Bourbon
1 oz Dolin Vermouth Rouge
1/2 oz maple syrup
2-3 dashes Angostura bitters
1/16 tsp monosodium glutamate (MSG)
2 sprays Alice & the Magician Autumn Bonfire cocktail aromatic mist
Luxardo cherry garnish

Directions

Stir bourbon, sweet vermouth, maple syrup, bitters, and MSG with ice. Strain and pour into a chilled coupe glass. Add cherry and spray with the aromatic mist.

Notes

This was rather smooth considering the alcohol content! The aromatic spray is spot on. I like sweeter drinks so I went heavier on the maple syrup; some recipes call for 1/4 oz. I’d be curious to try it with and without the MSG to compare.

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Boulevardier

Ingredients

1 oz bourbon
1 oz Campari
1 oz Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth
2-3 drops saline solution
orange peel garnish

Directions

Build/stir over ice. Garnish with thick orange peel strip.

Notes

So smooth and drinkable for being 100% alcoholic ingredients. I think the particular gin and vermouth brands are key.

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