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Dowsing Rod

2 oz Cynar
1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth
3⁄8 oz Coffee liqueur
2 pn Salt (one as garnish or rim)
Instructions

One pinch of salt goes into the mixing glass; save the other for an 1/4th rim, or garnish. Stir; strain; one big rock. If garnishing with the salt, drop a pinch atop the ice cube.

History

Created for the Reddit Original Cocktail Challenge, October 2024: Lemon and coffee.
Inspired by The Search for Delicious.

Picture of Dowsing Rod
Craig Eliason
Yields Drink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Craig Eliason, Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
From other users
  • Nose: lemon oils with complexity underneath. Sip: cola, grapes, mild coffee. Swallow: black cherry, orange. Finish: burnt sugar bitterness, salted caramel, chocolate-covered cherries.
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Craig E commented on 10/01/2024:

If you have the higher ABV version of Cynar (I don't), I'd guess that might work well in this context too.


lesliec commented on 10/05/2024:

I currently lack 'normal' Cynar but I do have Cynar 70. You're right, Craig - it does work. Very deep, dark and serious; I find Mr Black coffee liqueur tends to take over somewhat. But it's a good drink.



Streets of Crocodiles

1 1⁄2 oz Apple brandy (Laird's Bonded if you have it)
1⁄2 oz Mezcal
3⁄4 oz Amaro Meletti
1⁄4 oz Fernet Branca
1⁄4 oz Grenadine
1 twst Orange peel (As garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with an orange twist.

History

While writing up the Clever Visual Metaphor (see my blog), I became inspired to craft a new drink using the spirit-amaro base supplemented by small amounts of Fernet and grenadine structure. Instead of the Bourbon in the Clever Visual Metaphor, I opted for a split of apple brandy and mezcal. And in place of the Ramazzotti, I tried a few amari before landing on Meletti. For what to call it, I went back to an old list of potential drink names (from a bar I worked at 2013-2015) and chose the Street of Crocodiles; that made the list from reading Bruno Schulz's 1934 short story when I was on a surrealist kick a while back that was amplified when I watched the Brothers Quay stop-motion animation short of the same name years later.

Yields Drink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Boston, MA
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(3 ratings)
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Flaming Dr Pepper (Alex Kveton)

1 oz Overproof rum, Plantation O.F.T.D.
1⁄2 oz Amaretto, Luxardo
1⁄2 oz Cynar
1 ds Absinthe
1 oz Soda water (to top)
1 cube Sugar (demerara, as garnish)
1 ds Everclear (as garnish fuel)
Instructions

Combine all but soda in a highball, then add soda until half full. Add ice, soak the sugarcube in Everclear, position it on the ice and light it.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Alex Kveton, The Rockwell Place, Brooklyn, New York (USA)
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • SAMCRO — Bourbon, Cinnamon Schnapps liqueur, Sweet vermouth, Aromatized wine, Peychaud's Bitters, Club soda, Maraschino cherry

Tropiques

1 1⁄2 oz Rhum Agricole, Trois Rivieres (VO)
1⁄2 oz Cognac, Martell (VS)
1⁄4 oz Coffee liqueur, Mr. Black
1⁄4 oz Passion fruit liqueur, Giffard
1 twst Orange peel (as garnish)
Instructions

Stir ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled tumbler containing one large ice cube. Express the orange twist and drop it in the dirnk.

Notes

Big roasted pineapple note.

History

Named for the Martinique literary magazine founded by Aimé and Suzanne Césaire.

Yields Drink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • Hemingway stirred nonsense — Haitian Rum, Orange vermouth, Dry apricot brandy, Maraschino Liqueur, Bitters, Orange cream citrate, Orange flower water
  • Blind Man's Bluff — Bourbon, Martinique Rum, Bitters, Coconut palm syrup, Orange peel, Clove
  • Surfer Rosa Obscura — Dark rum, Pimm's No. 1 Cup, Sweet vermouth, Fernet Branca, Peach bitters, Rose water
  • The Same Dream — Cognac VSOP, Haitian Rum, Falernum, Campari, Orange bitters, Coconut, Orange peel
  • Vieux of Christmas — Rhum Agricole, Rye, Amontillado Sherry, Bitters, Peychaud's Bitters, Lemon, Orange peel

Dead Man's Alley

1 1⁄2 oz Rye (Rittenhouse if you have it.)
1⁄2 oz Mezcal
1⁄2 oz Braulio
1⁄2 oz Amaro, Cappelletti Sfumato Rabarbaro
1⁄8 oz Maple syrup
1 twst Orange peel (As garnish.)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist.

History

Recently, I was inspired by a local drink I spotted with rye, Braulio, maple syrup, and walnut bitters to tinker. The Amaro Daiquiri made me think of the Braulio-Sfumato combination, and I split the rye 3:1 with mezcal that has worked in a number of drinks. I named this Black Manhattan with a touch of maple after a sketchy alley in 19th century San Francisco mentioned in Herbert Asbury's The Barbary Coast book.

Yields Drink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Boston, MA
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(8 ratings)
From other users
  • Rich, smokey, and sweet. — ★★★★★
  • Just used rye and 3 dashes black walnut bitters. — ★★★★★
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  • Devil's Disciple — Rye, Mezcal, Amaro, Ancho Reyes chile liqueur, Bitters, Grapefruit peel
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  • Devils Soul — Rye, Mezcal, Averna, Aperol, Elderflower liqueur
  • Slowly Goes the Night — Rye, Mezcal, Pedro Ximénez Sherry, Amaro, Bitters, Grapefruit peel
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Celerity

2 oz Blanco tequila (Olmeca Altos)
3⁄4 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano
1⁄4 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse
1 rinse Absinthe
Instructions

Rinse a Nick & Nora glass with absinthe. Stir remaining ingredients with ice and strain into the glass. No garnish.

History

A tribute to Phil Ward, my first cocktail hero.

Yields Drink
Year
2020
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • Cloud 9 — Blanco tequila, Aromatized wine, Salers Gentiane, Lemon peel
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Hornet's Nest

1 1⁄2 oz Gin, Plymouth
3⁄4 oz Ancho Reyes chile liqueur
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Honey syrup
1 Chili pepper (flakes)
Instructions

Rim half a coupe with chilli flakes. Shake the remaining ingredients with ice and strain into the coupe.

History

Riff on a classic Bee's Knees.

Yields Drink
Year
2020
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Between the Seas

1 oz Pisco, Barsol (Acholado)
1 oz Rhum Agricole, Saint James Ambre
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Pineapple liqueur, Giffard (Caribbean)
1⁄4 oz Orgeat
1 ds Absinthe (on garnish)
1 sli Pineapple (dehydrated, as garnish)
Instructions

Mist the dehydrated pineapple with absinthe. Stir the remaining ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with the pineapple.

History

Riff on a classic Between the Sheets.

Yields Drink
Year
2021
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • Madininha — Rhum Agricole, Elderflower liqueur, Lime juice, Cucumber juice
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  • A Habsberg In Jalisco — Tequila, Herbal liqueur, Falernum, Bitters, Lime juice, Simple syrup
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Finger Guns

1 1⁄2 oz Bourbon, Buffalo Trace
1⁄2 oz Amaro Nonino
1 oz Grapefruit juice (white)
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Cinnamon syrup (1:1)
Instructions

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled coupe glass. Garnish with finger guns.

History

A riff on a High Five from Alex Day/Death & Co., via Alex Taylor/Pennyroyal's riff (Big Tens: brandy and simple instead of bourbon and cinnamon).

Yields Drink
Year
2021
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(4 ratings)
From other users
  • I find this to be strictly speaking the best of the High Five riffs. White grapefruit juice is a must; think of this as an exclusively seasonal cocktail. Cinnamon + white grapefruit juice is an amazing combination, and this shows the combination off well. Check out the Big Tens if you're a brandy fan. — ★★★★★
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  • Carnival — Rye, Grapefruit liqueur, Aperol, Herbal liqueur, Bitters, Lemon juice, Tea syrup
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Jojiro commented on 1/24/2025:

Try out the High Five, the Big Tens, the Fist Bump, and this all together. Really good selection of cocktails built around the same template.


drinkingandthinking commented on 2/28/2025:

This is really good with ruby red grapefruit which is all I can get right now, but I can see how it would be even better with white. I'll keep my eyes open for some!


Colosseum Undergound

1 oz Coffee liqueur, Mr. Black
5 oz Tonic water, London Essence
1 wdg Grapefruit
Instructions

Build the ingredients in a highball glass filed with ice. Stir gently to mix, garnish, and serve with a straw.

Yields Drink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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