Skeleton Key

1 1⁄4 oz Bourbon, Bulleit
3⁄4 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
2 oz Ginger beer, Fever Tree
8 ds Bitters, Angostura
Instructions

Build the first four ingredients in an iced Collins glass. Top with the Angostura so it floats on top and slowly cascades toward the bottom.

Notes

This drink works with pretty much any ginger beer but the ginger spiciness of the Fever Tree really makes the drink come alive.

History

I created this drink while working at Michael Symon's Roast in Detroit, MI. I served it for a couple of days before I came up with the name. The rusty color of the drink made me think of the skeleton keys that opened the old locks in my grandparents house.

Yields Drink
Year
2010
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Brian Vollmer, Roast, Detroit, MI
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(21 ratings)
From other users
  • The bitters as a float were beautiful and made the drink.
  • Basil Hayden's KSBW, Schweppes Signature ginger beer. Tried it again with 1½ bourbon and 1 elderflower. Noice. — ★★★★
  • Great use of bitter sang ginger beer — ★★★★
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majorsmoof commented on 2/23/2018:

I had my doubts about the 8 dashes of bitters, but the drink works!

Pomme en Croute

1 1⁄2 oz Calvados
1⁄2 oz Campari (or Gran Classico)
1⁄2 oz Orange Curaçao
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1 pn Sugar
1 wdg Orange
1 twst Orange peel
Instructions

Rim old fashioned glass with orange wedge & sugar. Shake liquids with ice and strain (no ice). Garnish with orange twist.

Notes

Good, but very tart & a little flat. 1 tsp to 1/4 oz. of syrup in place of the sugar rim worked much better for me.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Chris Hannah, Arnaud's French 75, New Orleans, LA
Source reference

https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/pomme-en-croute

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(4 ratings)
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noksagt commented on 8/31/2021:

The recipe no longer appears on the Serious Eats website, though is archived on the Wayback Machine. This differs from the printed version. I greatly prefer the latter:

  • 1 1/2 oz calvados (makes more sense, given name of cocktail!)
  • 1/2 oz curacao
  • 1/2 oz Gran Classico
  • 1/2 oz lemon juice
  • 1 wedge orange, just to moisten the glass
  • Sugar, to rim glass
  • 1 strip orange zest, as garnish

Shake, strain into sugar-rimmed rocks glass with garnish.

This also appers on the Food & Wine website, so may justify "reclaiming" the recipe.

Craig E commented on 8/31/2021:

I've curated the drink to match the Food & Wine site since the authentic recipe was intended. (For the record the previous version had orange juice instead of curacao and Applejack instead of Calvados.)

Zachary Pearson commented on 9/01/2021:

This nice thing is that Laird's Applejack is no longer GNS + apple brandy - it's just 86 proof brandy. Thanks, Zachary

the Fitty Cocktail

1 1⁄4 oz Gin, St. George Terroir
1⁄2 oz Ginger liqueur, Domaine de Canton
1⁄2 oz Bianco Vermouth, Dolin
1⁄2 oz Cynar
Instructions

Stir & Strain, Coupe, Fresh Ginger.

Yields Drink
Year
2011
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Kaleb Cribb, Farm 255, Georgia
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(48 ratings)
From other users
  • A great complex stirred gin-based drink that uses a relatively common set of ingredients. More than the sum of its parts.
  • Incredible martini variant. strongly recommend the terroir; the pine-y flavors are fantastics with the ginger and savory cynar notes
  • Delicious. Takes the place of a Negroni. Made with Dolin Dry Vermouth. Rich, complex. Spicy kick. Robust and delicate at the same time. Gorgeous copper color.
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cynannp commented on 2/15/2013:

I was reluctant to try this because 1/2 oz of ginger liqueur scared me a bit, but I decided to go for it as I love the other 3 ingredients. I really enjoyed this very herbaceous, bitter and somewhat spicy cocktail, however it needs a better name. Unless you have an extreme sentimental attachment to the name (and listening to music while making it doesn't count), I propose the name Gasparro, named after the designer of the Kennedy half dollar.

The Minton

1 1⁄2 oz Old Tom Gin, Hayman's
1 oz Sweet vermouth, Dolin
1⁄2 oz Cynar
1⁄2 oz Aperol
3 ds Orange bitters
Instructions

Stir & Strain, Coupe, flamed orange peel

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Altered recipe
Creator
Kaleb Cribb, Farm 255, Georgia
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(20 ratings)
From other users
  • Split the Aperol with Campari to become 1/4 oz of each. Used 1 dash of Angostura and 2 dashes of orange bitters. Pleasantly herbal to start with a savory bitter finish. — ★★★★★
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MOJO1229 commented on 10/31/2016:

A very, very pleasant drink with, as expected, fruity overtones. On this, my first try with "The Minton," I made some small changes. Of course, I don't know if the changes made the drink betterr or worse--or no difference at all. However, the changes resulted in my rating the cocktail at 5. The changes were small: (1) To tone down the anticipated sweetness, I used 1/4 oz Aperol and 1/4 oz Campari. Thus the sweetness of the Aperol was there, but just a tad of bitterness floated to the top due to the Campari. (2) with the three dashes of orange bitters, I used four drops for each dash, not the traditional three drops. Each dash had two drops of Regans' orange bitters and two drops of Angustora orange bitters. I have seen a number of cocktail recipes that combined these two brands into what was called "house bitters." The change in taste is subtle.

I would like to get some feedback on changes I made--for better or worse. I would like to hear what changes others have made and what the results were. Meanwhile, drink up, but drink responsibly.

Three Dots and a Dash

1 1⁄2 oz Martinique Rum (Amber)
1⁄2 oz Demerara Rum
1⁄2 oz Orange juice
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
1⁄2 oz Honey syrup
1⁄4 oz Falernum
1⁄4 oz Allspice Dram
1 ds Bitters, Angostura
6 oz Crushed ice
1 wdg Pineapple (as garnish)
3 Cherry (as garnish)
Instructions

Blend everything on high for 5 seconds and pour, unstrained, into a tall glass. Garnish with a pineapple spear (dash) and three cocktail cherries speared together (dots)

Notes

In Morse code, three dots and a dash is "V", the symbol for the Allied victory in World War 2. Matt "Rumdood" Robold likes Clement VSOP and El Dorado 12 for the respective rums.

Yields Drink
Year
1965
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Donn Beach
Source reference

Sippin' Safari, Jeff "Beachbum" Berry, pg. 63

Curator rating
4 stars
Average rating
4 stars
(20 ratings)
From other users
  • Martin Cate at smugglers cove uses rhum agricole
  • This is really tasty. The dram and the rhum (I used LA Favorite blanc) really come through.
  • Amazing Drink, subtle honey syrup does the trick — ★★★★★
  • 2/5/19: Way too much allspice dram for me. Next time try half as much (3/4 tsp).
  • Followed the Punch recipe with curacao. Used equal parts blanc rhum (JM) and demerara (diluted Hamilton 151).
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Craig E commented on 6/12/2018:

Paul McGee must be a fan of this drink since he named his Chicago tiki bar after it. He altered the recipe by changing the OJ to curacao and shifting some proportions.

Pieces of Eight

1 1⁄2 oz Puerto Rican Rum (white)
1 1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
1 1⁄2 oz Passion fruit syrup
1⁄2 oz Lime juice
4 oz Crushed ice
Instructions

Blend everything and pour unstrained into a tall glass and top with more crushed ice.

Notes

I think subbing Flor de Cana (or Havana Club) white might be nice here. The passionfruit syrup can be made by defrosting frozen passionfruit puree and mixing it with an equal part of simple syrup.

History

From the Pieces of Eight restaurant in Marina del Rey, California

Yields Drink
Year
1962
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Pieces of Eight Restaurant
Source reference

Beachbum Berry Remixed, pg. 79

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
From other users
  • Nice and tangy!
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Brunswick

1 1⁄2 oz Cognac
3⁄4 oz Dry vermouth
1⁄4 oz Bénédictine
1⁄4 oz Amer Picon
Instructions

Stir, strain, straight up, cocktail

Notes

Original recipes calls for 2:1 + 1 dash each. User earlofego on eGullet recommends a 50:50 mix of CioCiaro and Toriani Amer to sub for this historic Amer Picon.

Yields Drink
Year
1930
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Source reference

Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933, http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/brunswick.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(19 ratings)
From other users
  • Made two versions--one with Dolin Blanc and the drier "extra bitter" CioCiaro standing in for Picon (with a couple of dashes of Regan's orange bitters), and one with Noilly Prat Original Dry and the sweeter, orangey-er original CioCiaro. I enjoyed both, and maybe prefer the second, but they were both very good. Fred Yarm specifies a lemon peel garnish that's not mentioned in the Kindred recipe--I think it's a must.
  • Liked more than Brooklyn & less than Bushwick
  • yet to be tried
  • A nice little tipple.
  • Dolin works well, Maurin better Used CiaCaro plus drop of Angostura
  • Really wonderful cocktail. Little sweetness. Used Pierre Ferrand 1840 and Amer Boudreau (my version is very bitter). The cognac and dry vermouth come through.
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Pangolindo commented on 2/09/2019:

Taste mostly Cognac. Very dry.

Only for Cognac lovers or dry stuff.

ddh commented on 12/15/2024:

Made with the exact measurements above, Ferrand 1840 for the cognac, Dolin Blanc subbed for the dry vermouth, and CioCiaro for the Picon--I give it 4-1/2 stars with those specs. Is this another recipe where "French Vermouth" might have been mistranslated?

Manhattan, Wisconsin

2 oz Brandy (American)
1 oz Sweet vermouth
4 ds Bitters, Angostura
2 ds Bitters, Fee Brothers Cherry
1 twst Lemon peel
Instructions

Build over crushed ice in an old fashioned glass & stir gently to incorporate. Twist, rim & drop lemon peel.

History

Out of cherries and low on rye, this is my take on a Midwest- or Wisconsin-style Manhattan.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Altered recipe
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3 stars
(5 ratings)
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Aged to Perfection

1 1⁄2 oz Cognac
1 oz Orange juice
1⁄2 oz Honey syrup (1:1)
1⁄2 oz Balsamic Vinegar (Aged balsamic preferred)
2 Fig (fresh)
Instructions

Muddle the figs in the base of a shaker. Add the remaining ingredients and shake with ice cubes. Double-strain over one large ice cube into a rocks glass and garnish.

Notes

Aged vinegar adds an unexpected pop of flavor to this fresh fig and Cognac cocktail.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Yusef Austin, New York City
Source reference

http://www.imbibemagazine.com/Aged-to-Perfection-Recipe

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(5 ratings)
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