CerebralDebris

I like making drinks … not just like “Jack and Coke” or “Seven and Seven” or “gin and more gin” (my martini recipe) … but trying my hand at more complex cocktails. Charlotte (my fiancée) and I are fans of the Flatiron Lounge, which is one of Manhattan’s more notable “let’s bring back old-time cocktails like the ‘corpse reviver’ and such” bars. They are extremely exact with their ingredients: they measure each part of the cocktail, no eyeballing, and their bartenders put a lot of care into their work. As a result, they’ve always got great stuff, and I’ve been inspired to play around with ingredients.

Sometimes I fail. Badly. Other times I’m mildly successful – it’s pretty hard to screw up “gin + lime juice + simple syrup.” A few creations I’ve been happy enough with to pay real attention to what I did, so I can repeat it. Here are two of them:

Chris’s Manhattan

3oz Rye Whiskey (I like Tuthilltown’s Hudson Manhattan Rye)
1oz Sweet Vermouth
¼oz Lemon Juice
3 Heavy Dashes of Angostura Bitters (critical!)

Pour ingredients into a rocks glass with three cubes of ice, stir liberally, drop in a maraschino cherry if you have a fiancée who loves when you let her steal the cherry from your drink … and you’re good to go!

The Ginja Assassin

3oz Pineapple Juice
2oz Gin
1oz Cointreau or Grand Marnier
¾oz Simple Syrup
½oz Lemon Juice
½oz Ginger Juice (or muddle some fresh ginger!)
1 dash Angostura bitters

Note: I dig ginger and lemon a lot so I tend to pour heavy half-ounces!

Pour all ingredients into a glass that will hold them (it’s about 8 ounces), along with some ice. Stir vigorously. Serve with a tiny umbrella, if you can get one, since it’s a rather tropical drink. Warning: this drink goes down very smoothly but actually packs a decent amount of booze!

I hope these recipes serve you well!