Death and Taxes

1 1⁄2 oz Bourbon, Maker's Mark
1⁄4 oz Dry Raspberry Brandy (raspberry eau de vie)
1⁄4 oz Herbal liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
3⁄4 oz Raspberry syrup (1:1)
1 ds Absinthe
1 oz Egg white (one medium)
1 twst Lemon
Instructions

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled coupe. Express a lemon twist over the drink and garnish.

Notes

Reformulated in early 2024 to be structured more like a classic Whiskey Sour. The original version was created early on in my journey into mixed drinks and was unbalanced, too small, and made use of sub-par ingredients (Chambord).

I recommend a barely-legal rye and cold-process raspberry syrup. Without the sharpness in the latter this can risk being too sweet.

History

Inspired by the appearance of the quote in a letter from Benjamin Franklin to Jean-Baptiste Le Roy, I wanted to bring together American and French ingredients.

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(13 ratings)
From other users
  • Working through the absinthe float is a good experience.
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The Black Spot

1 oz Rum, Cruzan Blackstrap
1 oz Jamaican rum
3⁄4 oz Coffee liqueur (Mr. Black)
1⁄4 oz Islay Scotch, Laphroaig
1⁄4 oz Rich demerara syrup 2:1
3 ds Orange bitters, Regans' orange bitters
Instructions

Use Laphroaig to rinse a chilled old-fashioned glass. Do not discard. Stir other ingredients over ice and strain into glass.

YieldsDrink
Year
2016
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(8 ratings)
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Avion de Papel

3⁄4 oz Blanco tequila
3⁄4 oz Amaro Meletti
3⁄4 oz Aperol
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
Instructions

Shake/strain/coupe

Notes

This is a delicious variant which puts a new twist on a modern classic.

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Lily Dean, Old Kentucky Bourbon Bar, Covington, KY
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(35 ratings)
From other users
  • Excellent. Worked with Mezcal 1 oz, rest to spec. Could go up to 1.5 mezcal.
  • Paper Plans variant
  • "This is a five... for sure" — ★★★★★
  • made this as stirred without the lemon and with pastiche bitters.
  • Very pleasing. Sweet grapefruit.
  • I doubled this and served it over one big rock - very nice to sip overlooking a beach.
  • This "Paper Plane" variation was first made by Lily Dean at OKBB on Sunday, August 13, 2017. She made one for me on Wednesday, August 16. I thought it was delicious and deserves to be more widely known.
Similar cocktails
  • Sugarcane Plane — Rum, Averna, Aperol, Lime juice, Grapefruit peel
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  • Aid and Abet — Bigallet China-China, Gin, Lemon juice, Egg white, Simple syrup, Orange flower water
  • Hard Wednesday — Amer Picon, Corn Whiskey, Campari, Bitters, Lime juice, Orgeat, Simple syrup

Had three more of these yesterday - decided to make one today. Used El Tesoro Platinum and Ramazotti since there was no Meletti on hand. It was still nice and improved as it went along.

An almost identical recipe can be found here, http://www.onthebar.com/drinks/el-avion-de-papel, the work of Daniel Riney at the Marina Cantina in Clearwater, Florida. His version also uses a blanco tequila (the picture shows Avion Silver), and the Paper Plane's original Amaro Nonino.  Lily thought the Amaro Meletti worked better with the tequila, and chose that for her version.

Rite of Spring

1 1⁄2 oz Old Tom Gin, Tanqueray Old Tom
1⁄2 oz Suze
1⁄2 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano
1⁄4 oz Bitters, Fee Brothers Rhubarb
1⁄4 oz Bitters, Brooklyn Hemispherical Bitters Rhubarb
1 twst Grapefruit peel
Instructions

Stir, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large cube/sphere. Garnish with a grapefruit peel, expressed.

Notes

For something a bit sweeter and less bitter, add 1/4 oz creme de pamplemousse liqueur.

History

Was listening to Valery Gergiev's version of Igor Stravinsky's "Le Sacre du printemps" ("The Rite of Spring") when creating this drink, and the name seemed appropriate. Entry in the Difford's Guide Suze contest: https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/4294/rite-of-spring

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Your original creation
Source reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rite_of_Spring

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
From other users
  • 3.5 to 4.
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Fleur du Mal

3⁄4 oz Pisco
3⁄4 oz Dimmi
3⁄4 oz Amaro Meletti
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
Instructions

Shake, strain, up, flower garnish.

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Rafa García Febles, NYC.
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(4 ratings)
From other users
  • Paper plane variant with Pisco. For Rodrigo.
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A great cocktail to showcase the complexities of both Dimmi and Meletti, two unlike flavors that are alike in their bittersweetness. I like to use an edible hibiscus for the garnish.

Very good and different. I used 0.5+ oz of lemon juice to keep it from being too dry and sour for my palate, others might prefer it drier in the original proportions. Interesting combination because both the Meletti and Dimmi have strong floral notes and that comes through here. There is some apricot and some noticeable bitterness.

The Dandy Brandy Smash

3⁄4 oz Simple syrup
4 wdg Lemon
1 oz Applejack, Lairds
1 oz Cognac VSOP
8 lf Mint
1 T Egg white
Instructions

Take half a lemon and quarter it - put in tin. Add half-dozen or so mint leaves and simple syrup to tin and muddle.
Add Cognac and Applejack and egg whites (or aquafaba) and do a good dry shake.. Add ice and shake.
Strain into rocks glass with large cube of ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint.

Notes

Used Hennessy VSOP.

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Me.
Source reference

Riff on a Bourbon Smash.

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(1 rating)
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First Sleepover

1 oz Bourbon, Buffalo Trace
1 oz Zwack Unicum
3⁄4 oz Sweet vermouth, Carpano Antica Formula
1⁄2 oz Lime juice (Fat)
2 ds Orange bitters, Angostura
1 twst Grapefruit peel (expressed, discarded)
Instructions

Shake, strain, express peel and discard

YieldsDrink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(5 ratings)
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Glasswared recommendation? Seems like the kind of drink that could languish on a big cube for a while.

Dan commented on 8/28/2017:

I used Dolin because no CAF on hand. Surprisingly tart. I almost wondered if Zwack Liqueur was intended, but knowing the poster, I'm sure it's not. The tartness balances the bitterness. Interesting and worth making, especially if you like out-of-the-box cocktails. The lime is particularly surprising. Also, the grapefruit aroma was lovely.

bza commented on 3/03/2020:

CAF is so bold that I would expect less lime would work better with Dolin here. I ran out of Unicum long ago but I'm glad you liked this one!

Gran Aperitivo

2 oz Gran Classico
3⁄4 oz Gin, Tanqueray
2 oz Orange juice
1 1⁄2 oz Soda water
1 sli Orange
Instructions

Bulid all ingredients over ice. Add orange slice if you wish.

Notes

You can vary the amount of Soda you use. You can easily substitute Gran Classico with Campari - just as nice (cheaper too!), slightly different bitter taste.

YieldsDrink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
2 stars
(1 rating)
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Tight Rope

1 1⁄2 oz Mezcal, Del Maguey Vida
1⁄2 oz Rye, Rittenhouse 100
1⁄4 oz Amaro Nonino
1⁄4 oz Cinnamon syrup (Homemade)
12 dr Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole
12 dr Bitters, Angostura
1 twst Grapefruit peel (Discard)
Instructions

Stir. Strain over big rock in OF glass. Garnish with grapefruit oil from the twist. Discard.

Notes

A Monte Carlo riff, or a Mezcal Old Fashioned with benefits. You decide. The small amount of Rye brings all the spice notes to the front and really amps up the cinnamon. The Nonino offsets the overall sweetness with it's light bitterness and adds a delightful herbal backbone.

YieldsDrink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Fransos
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(2 ratings)
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Dan commented on 8/13/2017:

I subbed 1/2 oz Becherovka for the cinnamon syrup. Maybe was supposed to be sweeter, but as I made it, it was more in the vein of a Martini. An interesting, spirit-forward cocktail. I would like to try it with the right syrup if I ever get a chance.

Hi, Dan. The use of Becherovka sounds like an interesting variation, skewing the libation in a drier direction. I need to try that :-) The original recipe was more in the vein of a Monte Carlo, splitting up the 1/2 oz liqueur measure with cinnamon bark syrup. If you decide to try it as written, I would be happy to hear your thoughts. For the cinnamon bark syrup I used the recipe from the Death&Co book. Cheers!

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