Self-Starter Cocktail

1 oz Gin
3⁄4 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano (original calls for Kina Lillet)
1⁄4 oz Apricot liqueur
2 ds Absinthe
Instructions

Stir, strain, up.

Notes

The Trader Vic's ratios are slightly different: http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2010/05/self-starter.html . Erik Ellestad recommends apricot eau de vie in place of the liqueur.

Yields Drink
Year
1930
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Savoy Cocktail Book
Source reference

http://savoystomp.com/2010/03/13/self-starter-cocktail/

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(4 ratings)
From other users
  • Might be worth retrying with a spritz of Herbsaint rather than the dashes. — ★★★★
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Dan commented on 1/04/2014:

I merged the existing "Self-Starter" into this. I posted this first version, but it does have as good attribution, and incorrectly had twice the gin (2 oz).

Tiki Diki

1 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1⁄2 oz Licor 43
1⁄2 oz Ginger liqueur, Domaine de Canton
1 oz Lime juice
3 ds Grapefruit bitters, Fee Brothers
3 dr Bitters, Bittermens Burlesque
1 ? Strawberry (sliced)
Instructions

Shake rum, canton, licor 43, bitters and half a strawberry w/ ice, strain and pour into an ice ball filled 12oz chalice. Garnish w/ half a sliced strawberry

History

This started as a fernet branca experiment and ended up going in a completely different, tiki-esque direction. Very tasty and only mildly heady

Picture of Tiki Diki
Yields Drink
Year
2013
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Jason Westplate
Curator rating
3 stars
Average rating
4 stars
(15 ratings)
From other users
  • Use 0.75 oz lime per prior comments, which seemed well-balanced. Subbed Ms. Betters Pineapple & Star Anise bitters for the Burlesque (which I didn't have) and it worked well.
  • Muddled the strawberry & used Aged rum; substituted dram citrus bitters & crude tiki bitters. — ★★★★★
  • A bit too tart.
  • Rum- bitter, sour
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Shawn C commented on 4/27/2023:

Good, but I noted others concerns about the amount of sour, shared the sentiment, and used 5/8 to 3/4 oz of lime juice to balance it, which worked much better than I anticipated. I am leaning toward rating 3.5/5 but will round up. The only other sub was Bitter Truth Grapefruit bitters. I shook this one *hard* to muddle the ripe sliced strawberry, and was rewarded with a peachy pink drink--unlike the photo which is disturbingly absent of color. The funky rich molasses of the rum was the dominant flavor, but the ginger, vanilla, lime sour, grapefruit bitter, spices, and strawberry all came through. I chose to forego the big ice sphere, and that helps since the flavor becomes more intense as the drink warms. Overly chilled sour cocktails bury the flavors of the ingredients, while the acidity comes through without being moderated by the sugar as much as one would expect.

Nuclear Bartlett

2 oz Reposado Tequila
1 oz Pear juice (Pear Nectar *See Notes)
1⁄2 oz Pear liqueur, Merlet
1 rinse Allspice Dram, St Elizabeth (Mist)
1 Chili pepper (Chiltepin)
3 ds Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole
Instructions

Break chiltepin pepper in shaker with muddler, add ingredients except allspice dram and shake well. Double strain ingredients into chilled, Allspice Dram
misted cocktail glass.

*Pear Nectar: 6 cups of chopped Bartlett pears, 1 cup brown sugar, tsp salt. Add all ingredients in pressure cooker until ready. Strain juice from solids.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Johnny Appleseed

2 oz Calvados
1⁄2 oz Allspice Dram, St Elizabeth
1⁄2 oz Bénédictine
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
1 ds Bitters, Fee Brothers Black Walnut
1 1⁄2 oz Apple cider
Instructions

Shake all ingredients except Hard Apple Cider, strain over ice in collins glass. Fill remainder with the cider. Garnish with apple wheel.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(5 ratings)
From other users
  • Sweet with a touch of boozy. Nice combination.
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  • Cayman Cider — Gold rum, Sorel liqueur, Falernum, Bitters, Cider, Lime juice, Nutmeg
  • Atlantic Autumn — Apple brandy, Pear liqueur, Allspice Dram, Lemon juice
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Midnight Shift

1 1⁄2 oz Cachaça, Novo Fogo Gold
3⁄4 oz Cynar
3⁄4 oz Sweet vermouth
1⁄4 oz Galliano
2 ds Bitters, Bittermens Xocolatl Mole
1 ds Absinthe
1 twst Orange peel
Instructions

Stir, strain, one rock, twist.

Yields Drink
Year
2012
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Jacob Grier, Portland, OR.
Source reference

http://web.archive.org/web/20171019014007/http://www.jacobgrier.com/coc…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(14 ratings)
From other users
  • A tad too sweet. Cut the Cynar and the vermouth a little and it feels more balanced.
  • Nice. A little sweet - I might reduce SV to .5oz. on future version. Or use chipotle infused SV to add a bit of spice to counter the sweetness. — ★★★★
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Shawn C commented on 10/19/2024:

Curated to replace dead link with Wayback Machine archive link.

Kina Miele

1 oz Dry vermouth, Dolin
3⁄4 oz Aromatized wine, Cocchi Americano
1⁄2 oz Grappa, Nonino Gioiello
1⁄4 oz Pear eau de vie, Clear Creek
1 ds Lemon bitters, Bitter Truth
1 twst Grapefruit peel
Instructions

Stir, strain over one cube in a rocks glass, grapefruit twist.

Notes

Nonio Gioiello is a chestnut honey distillate (mead brandy) available from Astor Wines and a few other online distributors. Pricy.

Yields Drink
Year
2010
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Sean Hoard, PDT, NYC.
Source reference

The PDT Cocktail Book

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(2 ratings)
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Green Deacon

1 1⁄2 oz Gin, Plymouth
1 oz Grapefruit juice
3⁄4 oz Sloe gin, Plymouth
1 rinse Absinthe, St. George
Instructions

Shake, strain into an absinthe-rinsed coupe.

Notes

Based on the Rosy Deacon from Jones' Complete Bar Guide.

Yields Drink
Year
2008
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Jim Meehan, PDT, NYC.
Source reference

The PDT Cocktail Book

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(6 ratings)
From other users
  • Something special about this one. It's a great introduction to sloe gin, especially a good one like Plymouth. Wonderful flavor. Also, this is fairly low-sugar. It's a great *I'll have two in a row* drink.
  • Unexceptional (with the caveat that I had to sub cheap sloe gin). — ★★★
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TheFriendlyGerm commented on 8/09/2017:

GREAT introduction to sloe gin, which is was new to me. Using a good-quality sloe gin makes the drink, so I don't think you can replace the Plymouth Sloe Gin. It's easygoing but still very delicious, without being overly sweet or citrus-heavy. Doesn't taste like a lot of other drinks. Oh, and I used a Herbsaint rinse instead of authentic absinthe, but it worked great.

Left Coast

3⁄4 oz Plum eau-de-vie, Clear Creek
3⁄4 oz Genever, Anchor (Genevieve)
1⁄2 oz Maraschino Liqueur, Luxardo
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1⁄2 oz Pineapple juice
1 bsp Crème de Violette, Rothman & Winter
Instructions

Shake, strain, coupe.

Notes

Aviation variant calling for two west coast spirits. Very similar to PDT's Flying Dutchman with a different brand of "genever" and the Maraschino and Yvette/violette ratios reversed.

Yields Drink
Year
2009
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Jim Meehan, PDT, NYC.
Source reference

The PDT Cocktail Book

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
From other users
  • Solid showing. More dry than I expected. When considering my rating, consider that I don't really love Crème to Violette or Maraschino.
  • Sub: NVD - Cherry Brandy instead of Plum Brandy
  • Brandy, genever- sweet, sour
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Sol y Sombra

2 oz Mezcal
3⁄4 oz Lime juice
3⁄4 oz Serrano syrup
2 oz Champagne
2 spg Mint
Instructions

Place the leaves of one sprig of mint at the bottom of the serving glass as garnish, and top with ice and Champagne. Combine other ingredients including second mint sprig, shake, and double strain into the serving glass. Serve with straw.

Notes

Despite the name, I made this with Fidencio Clásico, and I thought its fruit and moderate smoke were a very good match for the other ingredients.

History

Mezcal Mojitos are delicious.

Yields Drink
Year
2013
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Rafa García Febles, NYC.
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
5 stars
(2 ratings)
From other users
  • Counting versions with soda instead of bubbly, probably my most made cocktail of late. — ★★★★★
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Last Caress

2 oz Rye, Old Overholt
3⁄4 oz Bénédictine
1⁄4 oz Mezcal, Del Maguey Minero
1⁄4 oz Maraschino Liqueur, Luxardo
2 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 twst Lemon peel (flamed)
Instructions

Stir, strain, coupe, flamed lemon twist.

History

Featured in Gary Regan's 101 Best New Cocktails 2012

Yields Drink
Year
2012
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Dan Carlson, Saul, Brooklyn, NY.
Source reference

http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2012/07/last-caress.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(52 ratings)
From other users
  • Wonderfully boozy and cohesive. Almost pleasantly accentuating the rye.
  • Maybe a 4.5er but very good either way.
  • Maybe 1.75 rye. Nice background with both cherry and mezcal
  • Very intense. Less maraschino next time. I used bourbon. Also, volume is high. Maybe 1.75 oz rye?
  • Made exactly to recipe
  • Well done! This is a quality recipe.
  • Well balanced and wow finish.
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xiaobao12 commented on 3/29/2020:

The flavor is very nice. The drink is very intense. Is there a way to lighten it up, volume wise and intensity?

Zachary Pearson commented on 3/29/2020:

My guess would be to stir it for a longer time. Or if that's not enough, add 1/4 ounce of cold water. Thanks,  Zachary

applejack commented on 3/29/2020:

This is a pretty standard sized drink in most craft cocktail bars (3.25 oz pre-dilluted, I'd say most are 3 - 3.5 oz pre-dilluted, excepting some like an old fashioned build).  You could sub Overholt Bonded or Rittenhouse for the 80 proof Overholt rye, and shave off a quarter ounce.  As far as the intensity goes, simply dilute it more.  Not sure what stir count you're using, but add another 5-10 revolutions, taste it, if it's still too intense repeat until you find your sweet spot.

bkemp1984 commented on 11/10/2022:

Five stars all the way. I rate a ton of things four stars, but hardly ever five. I also, in spite of loving tequila, am not super into mezcal. In spite of THAT, this one has the perfect amount of it. Used Old Forester rye and Leopold Bros marashino

hrdrck4evr commented on 12/08/2022:

Used Rittenhouse so dropped it to 1.5oz. Pretty mild so will plan to bump up to 1.75 next time.

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