The Distraction

1 1⁄2 oz Cognac, Hennessy
1⁄2 oz Bourbon, Angel's Envy
1⁄2 oz Amaro, Cappelletti Sfumato Rabarbaro
1⁄2 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain
1⁄2 oz Meyer lemon juice
1 twst Lemon (as garnish)
Instructions

Shake briefly with ice. Serve with a lemon twist.

Notes

Not set on which cognac

Yields Drink
Year
2021
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Helena Wang + Arthur Petron
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(3 ratings)
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flickerdart commented on 12/22/2024:

Falls flat, to me - the sour and sweet is balanced but there's not much else there.

Havana 3 a.m.

1 1⁄2 oz Scotch
1⁄2 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1⁄2 oz Swedish Punsch
1⁄2 oz Apricot liqueur
1⁄2 oz Lemon juice
2 ds Absinthe (I used 20 drops)
Instructions

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe.

History

One of the recipes that I make for Scotch-citrus requests at Drink (Boston) is the Modernista recipe provided by Ted Haigh in his seminal Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails book. I took a page from the Havana Cocktail as adapted in Jeff Masson and Greg Boehm's Big Bartender's Book and added in apricot liqueur in place of the orange bitters in Haigh's recipe. For a name, I dubbed this one Havana 3 A.M. after the mid-80s rock group which took its name from a 1956 album by Pérez Prado.

Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Drink, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2022/09/havana-3-am.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4.5 stars
(4 ratings)
From other users
  • Pleasant fruity and marzipan nose. Mandarins and nice spice on sip, some mint gum on swallow. A little green apple in the background. Some welcome drying effect on swallow. Sophisticated Scotch-y finish.
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Various Positions

3⁄4 oz Rye, Rittenhouse 100
3⁄4 oz Mezcal
3⁄4 oz Sloe gin
3⁄4 oz Cynar
4 ds Peychaud's Bitters
1 rinse Absinthe (Or Herbsaint)
1 twst Lemon peel (Oils as garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into an Herbsaint (or absinthe) rinsed double old fashioned glass, and garnish with lemon oil from a twist.

History

I was inspired to tinker again with Phil Ward's Lipspin with its Cynar-sloe gin combination that previously led to my Perverted by Language. Here, I utilized a split rye-mezcal base and took things in a Sazerac direction. While crafting this number, a song from Leonard Cohen's Various Positions album was playing, and that ended up being the name.

Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Drink, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2022/10/various-positions.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
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Yunnan Old Fashioned

1 twst Lemon peel (as garnish)
2 oz Blended Scotch
1⁄2 oz Simple syrup (black tea syrup; see Notes)
1⁄4 oz Becherovka
1 ds Chocolate bitters
Instructions

Stir; strain; rock; garnish.

Notes

Black tea syrup: Stir equal parts caster sugar and strong cold-brewed black tea until dissolved.

Picture of Yunnan Old Fashioned
Craig Eliason
Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Craig Eliason, Saint Paul, Minnesota (USA)
Source reference

https://yunnansourcing.com/products/yunnan-black-gold-bi-luo-chun-black…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Cardboard Plane

1 oz Bourbon, Four Roses
3⁄4 oz Triple sec, Cointreau
1⁄2 oz Amaro Meletti
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
1⁄2 oz Grapefruit juice
Instructions

Shake, double strain, double rocks, fresh ice, grapefruit peel.

Notes

I don't usually have good quality fresh grapefruit juice on hand, so I sub with 1/4 oz Giffard Pamplemousse Rose and 1 dash Fee's Grapefruit bitters, which works just as well in this cocktail. In a pinch, dab grapefruit essential oil on the pith side of a lemon peel for garnish.

Yields Drink
Year
2019
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Jason O'Bryan of The Lion’s Share, San Diego
Source reference

https://robbreport.com/food-drink/spirits/best-cardboard-plane-recipe-r…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(7 ratings)
From other users
  • Somewhere between a 4 and a 5. — ★★★★
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Carnival

1⁄3 oz Tea syrup (Recipe below)
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
1 1⁄2 oz Rye, Rittenhouse 100
1⁄2 oz Grapefruit liqueur, Giffard
1⁄2 oz Aperol
1 ds Bitters, Fee Brothers Orange
1⁄8 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse
Instructions

Shake, double strain, fresh ice, double rocks. Spritz or float green chartreuse. Garnish with three Albanese brand gummy bears on a cocktail pick.

Notes

This drink needs a little more dilution than typical, so shake a few extra seconds.

*African nectar tea syrup: brew 3 Tbsp loose “Mighty Leaf Organic African Nectar” tea (fruity, floral, rooibos) in 9 oz boiling water: add 1 Tbsp at 0 minutes, 1 Tbsp at 3 minutes, and 1 Tbsp at 5 minutes. Strain at 7 minutes. (Adding the tea incrementally preserves more of the tea's floral and fruity properties.) Dissolve 1 cup white sugar. Cool. Add 1/2 oz everclear or a pinch of citric acid as preservative. Lasts several weeks in the fridge. Freeze for extended periods of time.

Yields Drink
Year
2017
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Andrews Balduino, Plat 99, Indianapolis
Source reference

Quantities have been reverse engineered from tasting the cocktail.

Curator rating
Not yet rated
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Rang Tang Tang

1 1⁄2 oz Rum
1 oz Warm spice liqueur, Sukkah Hill Besamim
3⁄4 oz Cynar 70
1⁄2 oz Pear liqueur, Mathilde
2 ds Grapefruit bitters
Instructions

Shake with ice and strain into a frozen coupe glass.

History

Inspired by the song "Rang Tang Tang" in the movie "Stormy Weather" (1943).

Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Carl N.
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Ménage à Quatre

3⁄4 oz Gin
3⁄4 oz Orange liqueur, Grand Marnier
3⁄4 oz Aromatized wine, Lillet Blanc
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
Instructions

Everything in a shaker with ice. Shake, strain, serve up in a chilled coupe glass.

Notes

Can substitute Cointreau or triple sec for Grand Marnier. Can substitute Cap Corse Blanc for Lillet Blanc. I actually prefer Cap Corse Blanc in this, but chose to post an authentic recipe rather than an altered one.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
David Lebovitz
Source reference

https://www.saveur.com/story/recipes/david-lebovitzs-menage-a-quatre-co…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(4 ratings)
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Shawn C commented on 4/20/2023:

4/5, very nice, and a pleasant surprise. I was concerned it might end up too sour/dry, so I used only 1/2 oz of lemon juice (upping the gin for volume), but more lemon would have been fine, as mine was mildly/pleasantly sweet. The base recipe has a modest/moderate ABV so use Grand Marnier which carries sufficient punch and adds color as well as cognac flavor vs. curacao or triple sec. I used Cap Corse Blanc vs. Lillet for more flavor as well as bitter for the swallow, since Cap Corse was an option in David Lebovitz's original recipe.

New Nails

1 1⁄2 oz Scotch
1⁄2 oz Jamaican rum, Smith & Cross
1⁄2 oz Drambuie
1⁄2 oz Swedish Punsch
2 ds Bitters, Angostura
2 ds Absinthe (I used 20 drops Kübler)
1 twst Orange peel (Oils used as garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into a double old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.

Notes

A Rusty Nail crossed with The Modernista and named after a Mission of Burma song.

History

At Drink on night, I had a guest in an after-work crowd that was ordering Rusty Nails, and like a week prior when I crafted the Big Spender, it got me thinking about Drambuie. Another cocktail that I had made that night was the Modernista, and I decided to take that Scotch-Jamaican rum combination and fuse it with the Rusty Nail. I dropped the citrus from the equation and ended up opting for Angostura Bitters which provided more structure than the orange bitters from the Modernista. For a name, I dubbed this one the New Nails after the 1982 song from Boston band Mission of Burma.

Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Drink, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2022/09/new-nails.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
Not yet rated
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Leaf Fall

1 oz Islay Scotch, Laphroaig
1 oz Apple brandy (Laird's Bonded)
1⁄2 oz Bénédictine
1⁄2 oz Amaro, Cappelletti Sfumato Rabarbaro (Can sub Zucca)
1 ds Bitters, Angostura
1 ds Absinthe (I used 10 drops Kübler)
1 twst Orange peel (Oils used as garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with orange oils from a twist.

History

At Drink one night, I recalled how well Benedictine toned down Fernet Branca in the Campo Viejo, and I wondered what it would do for Amaro Sfumato. With Autumn on its way, the Sfumato and Benedictine led me to the combination of smoky Scotch and apple brandy, and I dubbed it the Leaf Fall.

Yields Drink
Year
2022
Authenticity
Your original creation
Creator
Frederic Yarm, Drink, Boston, MA
Source reference

https://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2022/10/leaf-fall.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(6 ratings)
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HenryPaul commented on 10/07/2023:

Good; complex. I really liked the smokiness. Strong drink so be warned. :-)

flickerdart commented on 9/20/2024:

Good with Riga Balsam instead of the Sfumato, as well

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