Spyglass

1 3⁄4 oz Gin, Plymouth
1⁄4 oz Aquavit, Krogstad
1⁄2 oz Dry vermouth, Dolin
1⁄2 oz fennel liqueur
1 t White Crème de Cacao, Marie Brizard
1 twst Lemon peel (express and discard)
Instructions

Stir; strain; Nick & Nora; express peel and discard.

YieldsDrink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Death & Co., New York, New York (USA)
Source reference

https://www.deathandcompanymarket.com/blogs/recipes/spyglass

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(1 rating)
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Opera Comique

1 oz Aquavit
1 oz Sweet vermouth
3⁄4 oz Cynar
1⁄4 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse
1 ds Orange bitters
1 twst Orange peel (As garnish)
Instructions

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

History

Negroni Week had me in the mood to tinker despite the end result being nothing like a Negroni. I became inspired by the Cynar-Chartreuse combination of the Drink of Laughter & Forgetting and by the structure of the Tailspin. I was considering gin as the spirit, but that put the mix too close in the direction of my Continuum circa 2018. The Cynar made me think of the Trident and its aquavit, so I made that switch. I dubbed this the Opera Comique (a/k/a Murderer's Corner) after one of the most bawdy concert saloons in old San Francisco run by Happy Jack Harrington in the 1870s as discovered in Herbert Asbury's book The Barbary Coast.

YieldsDrink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2024/10/opera-comique.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(2 ratings)
From other users
  • Glassy amber color. Sip is sweet as expected, but fruitier than expected. Some grape bubble gum. Bitterness and spiciness have well balanced layers. A little saline probably wouldn't be out of place.
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Dowsing Rod

2 oz Cynar
1⁄2 oz Sweet vermouth
3⁄8 oz Coffee liqueur
1 t Lemon juice
5 ds Bitters, Fee Brothers Black Walnut
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
YieldsDrink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Craig Eliason, Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)
Source reference

https://www.reddit.com/r/cocktails/comments/1ftpj9x/dowsing_rod/

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

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.

YieldsDrink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2024/09/street-of-crocodiles.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(1 rating)
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  • Devil's Staircase — Apple brandy, Averna, Mezcal, Curaçao, Bitters, Peychaud's Bitters
  • Hedy Lamarr — Apple brandy, Amaro Meletti, Sweet vermouth, Bitters, Lavender Honey Syrup
  • A Moment of Silence — Rye, Apricot liqueur, Averna, Bitters, Apple brandy, Campari, Orange peel
  • Lost in the Supermarket — Scotch, Apple brandy, Drambuie, Sweet vermouth, Campari, Bitters, Peychaud's Bitters, Orange bitters, Orange peel
  • Mela d'Alba — Apple brandy, Campari, Sweet vermouth, Lemon peel

Flaming Dr Pepper (Alex Kveton)

1 oz Overproof rum, Plantation O.F.T.D.
3⁄4 oz Sweet vermouth, Cocchi Vermouth di Torino
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.

YieldsDrink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Alex Kveton, The Rockwell Place, Brooklyn, New York (USA)
Source reference

https://punchdrink.com/recipes/flaming-dr-pepper/

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • Re-Animator — Martinique Rum, Demerara Rum, Herbal liqueur, Bitters, Ginger beer, Demerara syrup, Lime juice, Nutmeg, Hot sauce
  • Hey Harald — Aquavit, Amaro Nonino, Rum, Tonic water, Ginger syrup, Orange
  • Improved Whiskey Coke — Rye, Bitters, Cynar, Cola, Lime juice
  • Anfauglith — Bourbon, Amaretto, Black Sambuca, Absinthe, Bitters, Club soda, Smoked Tea Vanilla syrup
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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 ds Orange bitters, Angostura Orange
1 ds Orange bitters, Regans' orange bitters
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.

YieldsDrink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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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.

YieldsDrink
Year
2024
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2024/09/dead-mans-alley.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(6 ratings)
From other users
  • Rich, smokey, and sweet. — ★★★★★
  • Just used rye and 3 dashes black walnut bitters.
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  • Tears of the Sun — Scotch, Bitters, Herbal liqueur, Strega, Suze, Saffron bitters, Orange peel
  • Devils Soul — Rye, Mezcal, Averna, Aperol, Elderflower liqueur
  • Slowly Goes the Night — Rye, Mezcal, Pedro Ximénez Sherry, Amaro, Bitters, Grapefruit peel
  • Terminus — Islands Scotch, Amaro, Herbal liqueur, Orange bitters, Chocolate bitters
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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 ds Celery bitters, Bitter Truth Celery
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.

YieldsDrink
Year
2020
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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  • Putin's Demise — Vodka, Aromatized wine, Averna, Cassis, Bitters
  • Operation Fork — Brennivin, Aromatized wine, Herbal liqueur, Absinthe, Wormwood bitters, Cherry, Cherry syrup
  • Cloud 9 — Blanco tequila, Aromatized wine, Salers Gentiane, Lemon peel
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  • Secret Religion — Tequila, Aromatized wine, Bitters, Crema de mezcal, Bénédictine, Chocolate bitters

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.

YieldsDrink
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.

YieldsDrink
Year
2021
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Benjamin Talbot
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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