The El Torado cocktail is popular throughout Mexico. No wonder, since it contains a large amount of Tequila. The cocktail is rounded off with apple juice and Italian Vermouth. A great taste experience.
INGREDIENTS
60 ml/ 2 oz. Tequila Reposado
45 ml/ 1 ½ oz. apple juice
15 ml/ ½ oz. Martini Extra Dy Vermouth
METHOD
Add all ingredients into shaker with ice and shake.
The Suffering Bastard cocktail was created in the year 1942 by Joe Scialom at the Shepheard’s Hotel, Cairo, Egypt. It’s an unusual combination of Gin and Cognac, lengthened and flavored with ginger beer, as this vintage classic was originally conceived as a hangover cure.
INGREDIENTS
30 ml/ 1 oz. Rémy Martin Cognac
30 ml/ 1 oz. Dry Gin
20 ml/ ¾ oz. Lime Juice Cordial (sweetened lime juice)
10 ml/ ⅓ oz. freshly squeezed lime juice
3 dashes of Angostura bitters
100 ml/ 3 ⅓ oz. ginger beer
METHOD
Pour all ingredients, except the ginger beer, into shaker with ice cubes.
Shake well.
Strain into tiki mug filled half with ice cubes.
Top with ginger beer.
Garnish with Pineapple cubes, Maraschino cherry, lime wedge & mint sprig bouquet.
This time I was at 2 Brothers Bar Santorini / Greece. Bartender Xristos prepared the wonderful Cucumber Sling cocktail there. The 2 Brothers Bar Santorini is located in the beautiful Greek Island of Santorini, Two Brothers Bar first opened its doors in March 1983 as you guess it, by two brothers – Dimitris and Giannis. The tradition continues with the original owners sons Jack and Leuteris now running the show. From its humble beginings back then, the bar has grown to become an island favourite for visiting tourists and locals alike.
INGREDIENTS
Masticha Skinos
fresh cucumber juice
lime juice
ice
METHOD
Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice.
Shake well!
Strain into old fashioned glass.
Add ice cubes and crushed ice.
Cheers from Santorini!
NOTES
The special taste of the Cucumber Sling comes from the fresh cucumber juice and the Mastiha. Mastiha is a sweet liqueur produced with the mastikha resin from the Greek island of Chios. It has a distinctive flavor, reminiscent of pine and herbs. It is claimed to have medicinal properties and to aid digestion.
On paper, the Gold Rush is a very simple drink. Composed of Bourbon Whiskey, honey syrup and fresh lemon juice, it’s essentially a with honey in place of sugar (or a bourbon-spiked take on the Bee’s Knees, if you prefer). But that whiskey-honey combination transforms the cocktail’s flavor and mouthfeel, making the Gold Rush a drink all its own.
INGREDIENTS
60 ml / 2 oz. Bourbon Whiskey
22,5 ml/ ¾ oz. honey syrup
22,5 ml/ ¾ oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
METHOD
Add all ingredients into shaker with ice and shake.
Strain into a chilled rocks glass over one large ice cube.
The Cucumber Sake-Tini cocktail tastes subtle and dry. It seems that cucumber and Sake are made for each other. The cocktail was created in 2004 by Lisa Ball in London, England.
The 2 Black Eyes cocktail is my first cocktail recipe with Moonshine. Moonshine nowadays is another name for an unaged Whiskey, sometimes also called silver Whiskey or white lightnin’. So here’s my simple Moonshine recipe for the fighter in all of us. Make sure you make 2 of these. Otherwise, you’ll just have one black eye, and what’s the point of that?
INGREDIENTS
90 ml/ 3 oz. Moonshine
45 ml/ 1 ½ oz. Chambord blackberry liqueur
4 dashes of Fee Bros. Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters
METHOD
Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes.
The Influence is a simple Old Fashioned that leans towards the bitter side as opposed to the more traditional sweet. This recipe specifies the bitters in drops, so unless you store your bitters in droppers, try 1-2 shakes for each type of bitters. You can always add more if needed.
INGREDIENTS
1 bottle Underberg Bitters
30 ml/ 1 oz. Wild Turkey Bourbon Whiskey
1 barspoon sugar syrup
9 drops Angostura bitters
9 drops Orange bitters
METHOD
Pour all ingredients into mixing glass with ice cubes and stir well.
Strain and serve in a rocks glass with a large cube.
The Affinity cocktail was was fashionable in the 1920s. Thhe Affinity cocktail first appears in “The New York Sun“ on Monday 28th October 1907.
INGREDIENTS
30 ml/ 1 oz. dry Vermouth
30 ml/ 1 oz. red (sweet) Vermouth
60 ml/ 2 oz. Scotch Whisky
2 dashes of Angostura bitters
METHOD
Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes.
Stil well until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled coupe glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel.
NOTES
I’ve noticed that many of the early 1900s cocktails are comprised of liquor mixed with with varying ratios of Vermouths, each one of them with a different flavour profile. Here’s a 2:1:1 ratio drink that follows that classic formula. It’s beautifully classy and it tastes awesome, too.
The Alaska cocktail is first mentioned in Jacques Straub’s 1914 book “Drinks”. At the time, this described a drink made from Old Tom Gin, Yellow Chartreuse and Orange Bitters. An Alaska cocktail is a twist on a classic martini cocktail. That’s why it’s often colloquially referred to as the “Alaska Martini”. Like many cocktails of its time, the Alaska Martini is now almost a “forgotten” classic, but it is slowly creeping back into people’s consciousness.
INGREDIENTS
45 ml/ 1 ½ oz. Gin (Old Tom)
15 ml/ ½ oz. Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash of Orange bitters
METHOD
Pour all ingredients into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes.
Stil well until well-chilled.
Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
Garnish with a lemon peel.
NOTES
Green Chartreuse (55% alcohol) is the original 1737 green liqueur, made from the 1605 recipe by Chartreuse Monks even today. The colour chartreuse is named after this liqueur.
Yellow Chartreuse (40% alcohol) was introduced in the 1800’s and is a milder, sweeter flavour and aroma than it’s older brother.
