Esprit d'Escalier

3⁄4 oz Bourbon, Eagle Rare 10
3⁄4 oz Aperol
3⁄4 oz Grapefruit juice (Pink)
3⁄4 oz Amaro Nonino
Instructions

Shake with ice. Strain into coupe.

History

A Paper Plane variation, substituting grapefruit for lemon juice.

Yields Drink
Year
2010
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Kevin Martin, Eastern Standard, Boston MA, based on the Paper Plane by Sam Ross, Milk and Honey, New York, NY
Source reference

http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2010/12/esprit-descalier.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(23 ratings)
From other users
  • I agree with the others. Overly sweet and bordering on insipid.
  • I like this because I love grapefruit. But I think this drink is too soft, needs more edge or grip...
  • Very smooth and easy drinking. Made with Vecchio Amaro. Maybe a tad sweet.
  • Made with Ramazzotti. Refreshing and easy-drinking. — ★★★★★
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Dan commented on 11/07/2011:

Curated to show the origin of this riff.

sevyryelsdorn commented on 1/12/2020:

Disappointing. I tried this with three different amari to see whether that could improve it, but I found it pretty insipid.

Aperol '86

3⁄4 oz Aperol
3⁄4 oz Triple sec, Cointreau
3⁄4 oz Dry vermouth
1 sli Strawberry
Instructions

Shake and strain into coupe. Garnish with strawberry.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Unknown
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3 stars
(4 ratings)
From other users
  • Added tequila. Used strawberry syrup. Perfectly fine! — ★★★
  • very sweet
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Dan commented on 11/07/2011:

I googled and this drink is all over the web, on every craptail website just about everywhere. Pages and pages. I can't find any reference to where it came from. Has anyone actually had it? With the doubled-up orange flavors and that much sweet for the vermouth to lean out, it doesn't sound promising to me. I also don't understand the logic behind the garnish.

bza commented on 11/07/2011:

I made this last night, but subbed out the aperol, cointreau, and dry vermouth for about 2oz of Willett Rye, and instead of a strawberry garnish, I used nothing.

It was awesome.

boboTjones commented on 4/13/2012:

1.5 ounces strawberry juce, 1/2oz Cinzano Bianco, 1/2oz Aperol, 1/2oz lime juice, 1/2oz Cointreau. Still foul. In a girly vacation sort of way. Needs an umbrella, a whiff of Coppertone and a topless beach.

#47

1 oz Bourbon, Buffalo Trace
1 oz Aperol
1 oz Apple brandy, Lairds
Instructions

Build in rocks glass with 1-2 large cubes nearly filling glass. Stir.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Hungry Mother, Cambridge MA
Source reference

http://drinkboston.com/2009/05/01/hungry-mother-47/

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(20 ratings)
From other users
  • Made it in a shaker, stirred, to control dilution in advance of serving up in a cocktail (coupe) glass.
  • Boozy but good! — ★★★★★
  • Didn't have Buffalo Trace, so used Jim Beam. Wil try in the future with BT.
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Dan commented on 11/06/2011:

Curated to reflect source link's instructions: built rather than stirred and strained. Minor point, no doubt.

bza commented on 11/07/2011:

Hey man, water is life! :)

Wild Ting

1 1⁄2 oz Bourbon, Buffalo Trace
1⁄2 oz Grapefruit juice
2 ds Hot sauce, Tabasco
1 spl Grapefruit soda, Ting
1 twst Lemon peel
1 spg Mint
Instructions

Stir with ice. Strain into rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with Ting. Garnish with lemon twist and fresh mint.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3 stars
(1 rating)
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English Garden

2 sli English cucumber (8 quarter slices)
1⁄4 oz Lime juice
1⁄4 oz Rich simple syrup 2:1
8 dr Rose water
1⁄4 oz Elderflower liqueur, St. Germain
2 oz Gin, Hendrick's
Instructions

Muddle cucumber, lime, simple syrup and rose water in mixing glass. Add gin and St. Germain. Shake with ice. Strain into chimney glass over fresh ice. Top with tonic. Garnish with very thin slices of cucumber.

Notes

Creme Yvette float is nice, but overkill.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Your original creation
Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(1 rating)
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Venetian Spritz

4 oz Prosecco
1 spl Club soda
2 oz Aperol
1 sli Orange (as garnish)
1 Olive (as garnish)
Instructions

Pour prosecco over ice. Add splash of club soda. Top with Aperol. Garnish with fat slice of orange and a green olive (no pimento).

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Venice
Source reference

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/09/case-study-toasting-the-v…

Curator rating
5 stars
Average rating
4 stars
(6 ratings)
From other users
  • Refreshing summer drink
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Harvest Moon

1 1⁄2 oz Rye, Wild Turkey
1 oz Aromatized wine, Lillet Blanc (or Cocchi Americano)
1⁄2 oz Apple brandy, Lairds
1⁄4 oz Herbal liqueur, Green Chartreuse
3 ds Bitters, Abbott's (or Angostura)
1 twst Orange peel (as garnish)
Instructions

Stir with ice. Strain. Garnish with circular orange twist cut with pith for floatation.

History

From "The PDT Cocktail Book", which specifies 1/4oz Chartreuse, rather than the Serious Eats reference.

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Unknown
Creator
Daniel Eun
Source reference

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2011/10/harvest-moon-cocktail-apple-…

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(24 ratings)
From other users
  • Increase rye to 2oz and decrease Lillet to 3/4oz
  • My hat's off to any drink that can make 1/2 oz of green chartreuse into a complementary player. Used Kina L'Aero and Angostura bitters.
  • Made with Bulleit. Well balanced and complex.
  • Pleasant, rich. No flavor dominates. Complex finish. — ★★★★
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ScorpioCurse commented on 8/02/2013:

Very nice. I used Redemption Rye since the Wild Turkey 101 Rye is now unavailable. Have some homemade PDT house recipe bitters which are delicious in this as well.

iamhalfred commented on 2/01/2014:

Quite interesting. Well done, complex. Made with Wild Turkey Rare Breed and Apple-ation Davis Family apple brandy (Sonoma). A little hot, perhaps because of the 108 proof Rare Breed. Potent.

GrogDog commented on 12/03/2015:

Good on first try. I'll tweak to taste, but it's on my menu.

Shawn C commented on 10/26/2022:

The Green Chartreuse takes over the cocktail, making it primarily herbal/vegetal in character. That isn't outright bad and might be what a person wants, but it is limiting for broader consumption. I used Lillet as called for, but Cocchi Americano might mellow the Chartreuse somewhat. Kina L'Aero might work in similar fashion to replace Lillet and balance the Chartreuse with a more assertive kina. Other than that, I would try reducing Green Chartreuse to 3/8 or 1/4 or replace it with Green Izarra which is similar but slightly milder herbal and less vegetal.

Shawn C commented on 12/24/2023:

Turns out that the recipe published in KC was wrong because the Serious Eats source was in error. The Green Chartreuse should be 1/4 oz, not 1/2 oz--a huge difference in this drink. The PDT Cocktail book (which I now have) says 1/4 oz, which is the change I was going to make anyway based on the flavor. I retried, sticking to Lillet Blanc and the PDT recipe, and it was quite good. Others who tasted it also liked it. I used my own Abbott's Bitters based on Darcy O'Neil's recipe (I am fond of the cardamom character in these.) I am revising my rating.

Alcazer

1 oz Rye
1⁄2 oz Fernet Branca
1⁄2 oz Orange liqueur, Cointreau
Instructions

Stir well with ice. Strain. Garnish with cocktail onion (optional).

History

From the book "Pioneers of Mixing at Elite Bars: 1903-1933"

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Unknown
Source reference

http://cocktailvirgin.blogspot.com/2011/08/alcazer.html

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
4 stars
(14 ratings)
From other users
  • Fair
  • Strangely floral. Winter/heavier version of a water lily. Try with Violette instead of cointreau? — ★★★★
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bkemp1984 commented on 12/19/2022:

I rated this a 5 a while back, either using Leopold Bros Fernet or Fernet Vallet. Tried tonight with Branca....liked a little better before but still great.

Berlioni

1 1⁄2 oz Gin, Tanqueray
3⁄4 oz Cynar
1⁄2 oz Dry vermouth, Noilly Prat Original Dry
1 twst Orange peel (as garnish)
Instructions

Stir, strain, chilled rocks glass w/ one large cube, garnish

Yields Drink
Year
2004
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Gonçalo de Sousa Monteiro
Source reference

The PDT Cocktail Book

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(40 ratings)
From other users
  • MM says sweet vermouth would make this better. As in a Cynar Negroni. — ★★★
  • Didn't believe it, but this does taste more Martini than Cin Cyn. Not my favorite. Could be worth trying with newer Dry Vermouth. It was borderline.
  • try it
  • Used well gin (Tanq+Junipero+Botanist+Barr Hill blend), 3 small dashes (~1 dash) of Hella Citrus bitters, and grapefruit peel swath.
  • This tastes better than a plain old Negroni with dry vermouth.
  • More interesting than a martini, but there are better negroni variants. The Cynar does work well here though; I probably prefer this to the similar ABCDEF.
  • Flavor-wise, more of a Martini variation than a Negroni/Cin-Cyn twin. Gin-forward, dry vermouth (I used Dolin) very prominent, with the Cynar adding viscosity, dark flavor notes, mild sweetness, and bitterness. A dash of oran
  • Very nice perfect Negroni variation. I was out of nice oranges, so I added a dash of Regans' and used a long swatch of grapefruit.The grapefruit complimented the Cynar nicely. — ★★★★
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Dan commented on 11/04/2011:

The cocktail was updated to reflect the authoritative recipe in the PDT cocktail book. The previous (very similar) recipe was for a smaller less boozy drink: 1:2/3:1/2

bza commented on 12/09/2011:

I love this drink. It's unexpectedly floral, but in a very appetizing way. A great drink for the advanced negroni connoisseur.

OldFashionedWhiskey commented on 3/24/2013:

I made this today (accidentally), In trying to make a Negroni variation, I mixed equal parts Plymouth Gin, Cynar and Noilly Prat Dry Vermouth. After tasting, I decided it needed some Regan's Orange bitters. I shook it with ice (I know) and served it up in a cocktail glass. Tasty.

bza commented on 4/28/2015:

I just made this with añejo tequila in place of the gin as a hunch. I might like it even better than the original - good stuff!

MOJO1229 commented on 11/03/2016:

<br />
I made and rated this drink before, but with no comment. At that time, I made the drink as written, and rated it at 3.5 (I'm not a big fan of dry vermouth). This time, being out of Tanqueray, I turned to Citadelle, which is more floral-forward, and definitely less juniper. Also, I used 1/4 oz each of Dolin dry vermouth and Vya blanco vermouth.

The change in both gin and vermouth made, for me, a more satisfying cocktail--one that I rated at 4.0. For those who are adventerous, you may want to give these changes a try. Magellan gin should do just fine as a sub for Citadelle. Bon Voyage!

21st Century

2 oz Blanco tequila, Siete Leguas Blanco
3⁄4 oz Crème de Cacao, Marie Brizard (white)
3⁄4 oz Lemon juice
1 rinse Pastis, Pernod
Instructions

Shake, strain, Pernod-rinsed coupe

Yields Drink
Authenticity
Authentic recipe
Creator
Jim Meehan
Source reference

The PDT Cocktail Book

Curator rating
Not yet rated
Average rating
3.5 stars
(12 ratings)
From other users
  • Cacao and lemon of a 20th Century is already weird; adding agave still weirder but interesting. Worth trying the modified ratios mentioned in comments--lemon was a little strong at spec.
  • Add chocolate bitters. — ★★★★
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famico commented on 12/19/2011:

I liked to up the cacao a bit. Mine was more 3:2:1 (teq, cac, lem) or maybe 4:2:1. I also added a splash of cointreau.

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