Almost 50 years ago, hippies came together to celebrate the season of Aquarius and love, gathering in Upstate New York for an unforgettable “love-in.” In honor of those hippie grandparents, a concoction of psychedelic proportions, the Elderflower Martini. A careful balance of sweet and sour, with a perfumed essence not unlike the air at Woodstock 50 years ago… potent, but without feeling so… and safer than licking blotter acid…

Ladies and gentlemen, the Elderflower Martini…

3 oz. London Dry Gin (I actually used Plymouth to enhance the floral essence)

3/4 oz. Dry Vermouth (I used Dolan, again to emphasize flowers)

3/4 oz. Elderflower Liqueur

3/4 oz. Crème de Violette

Shake with crushed ice until very cold. Strain and garnish with an orange peel, if necessary. I added a dash of orange bitters to give the cocktail an edge.

Cheers!

*Decided to refresh a take on this noted pre-Prohibition libation…

Nothing is more appropriate as a celebratory libation than the French 75! Whether for Bastille Day, our own Fourth of July, or for any excuse to raise a glass, the French 75 is perfectly equipped for the task.

The cocktail is named for a piece of French artillery invented in 1898 known as the French 75 or Soixante-Quinze. The cannon was noteworthy in that it is considered the first “modern field artillery piece,” with a quick-firing, hydro-pneumatic recoil mechanism. It also used time-fused, shrapnel-based shells that were more devastating to personnel than fixed targets, a characteristic particularly valuable in the trench warfare of WWI. The cannon was the mainstay of French artillery until the onset of WWII.

The cocktail itself was apparently born during WWI at Harry’s Bar in New York, and consists of Gin, Lemon Juice, Simple Syrup and Champagne. The combination was said to have such a kick that it felt like being shelled by the powerful French 75 field piece. Variations of the cocktail were created through the 1930’s, with the noted David A. Embury substituting Cognac for Gin in his The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, a seemingly more French version.

Given the many variants, the generally accepted recipe is thus:

1 oz. London Dry Gin, or VSOP Cognac

½ oz. Lemon Juice

½ oz. Simple Syrup

3 – 4 oz. Extra Dry or Brut Champagne

Add all the ingredients except the Champagne to a shaker. Shake well with crushed ice and strain into a Champagne flute. Top with the Champagne and garnish with a lemon twist.

Cin-Cin!

Edward Teach, or Blackbeard as he was more familiarly known, was one of the most notorious pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy, a period between 1650 and 1730. He was born sometime around 1680, likely in England, but records indicate that his family relocated to Jamaica shortly after his birth. It appears that he served aboard the HMS Windsor in 1706, under the name of Edward Thatch. It also appears that he may have served aboard a privateer vessel shortly after joining the Royal Navy. Privateers were state-sponsored pirates that were employed to harass enemy shipping during wartime. Many times, after their charter was revoked because hostilities ended, privateers would continue to plunder shipping because it was quite lucrative. This fact may explain how Teach came to join Captain Benjamin Hornigold in 1716 as a full-blown pirate. Hornigold gave Teach command of his own sloop and before long, the two were joined by Stede Bonnet, another fierce pirate.

Before the end of 1717, Hornigold retired from piracy, leaving Teach and Bonnet in charge of their growing pirate fleet. Teach captured a French merchant vessel, La Concorde, renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge and promptly added cannon and weaponry to make it his pirate flagship. Shortly afterward, Teach blockaded the town of Charles Town (Charleston), South Carolina, requesting a substantial ransom for its release. In the ensuing conflict, the Queen Anne’s Revenge was grounded on shoals near Beaufort, South Carolina. Teach escaped and was ultimately pardoned. It was at this point that he parted ways with Bonnet and resumed his life of piracy. Teach so angered then Governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, that a small force of soldiers and sailors was dispatched to capture the pirate. A terrible battle ensued and on November 22, 1718, Edward Teach and many of his men were killed, ending his reign of terror.

Teach acquired his ominous nickname Blackbeard because he wore a thick, black beard that gave him a ferocious, lion-like appearance. To further augment his terrifying looks, it is rumored that Teach tied lit fuses beneath his hat that created a smoking halo about his head.

While Teach only plundered on his own for little more than a year, his record of piracy was prodigious. Unlike most pirates of the day, Teach did not torture or mistreat his crew, nor his captives. Teach also captained his vessels with the permission of his crew, somewhat at odds with the common belief that all pirates were tyrannical in nature.

In honor of this “gentlemanly pirate,” I present a cocktail named after his flagship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge:

3 oz. Angostura 7-Year-old Rum

1 oz. Creole Shrub (Liqueur d’Orange)

1/2 oz. Cherry Herring

1 oz. Lime Juice

Shake with crushed ice and strained. Garnish with a pair of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries.

Refreshing and tropical. Yarg!

A few of my favorite cocktails are the Boulevardier and the Negroni. Both are “shoulder cocktails,” or libations that act as a transition from one season to another. Both are kindred spirits, having the same mixers, different only because of the base liquor.

Because I love to experiment, I thought about mixing a related cocktail, but one with a definite Summer bent. To me, nothing says Summer quite as firmly as Rum, so Rum had to be the base spirit. The cocktail needed to be refreshing and bright. There is nothing as refreshing as a brace of lime juice. To balance the drink, an element of sweetness was needed, but I didn’t want to make it overt. An organic, earthy sweetness was necessary. I could accomplish this in many ways, such as the selection of a Rum that was on the sweeter side, as well as opt for mixers that were somewhat sweet. I did want to maintain an element of colonial punch-like verve, so there needed to be a certain bitterness to the cocktail. Campari and Sweet Vermouth would give me those qualities. And thus, a cocktail was born!

In honor of the pirate in all of us, I present the Walk the Plank cocktail:

2 oz. Angostura 7 year-old Rum, or similar aged Rum
1 oz. Campari
1 oz. Sweet Vermouth, preferably Antico Formula
1/2 oz. Lime juice, preferably fresh squeezed

Shake with crushed ice, strain. Garnish with a slice of orange and lemon

(*The picture clearly shows a garnish of Luxardo Maraschino Cherries. This was due to a lack of fresh citrus on the bar…)

Cin Cin!

Koningsdag, or King’s Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is celebrated on April 27^th, which is the birthday of the presiding King, Willem-Alexander. Up until 2013, when Queen Beatrix abdicated and was succeeded by her son Willem-Alexander, the holiday was known as Koninginnedag, or Queen’s Day and was celebrated on April 30^th, the Queen’s birthday… You see how this works, right?

The holiday was initially observed on August 31, 1885 as Prinsessedag, or Princess’s Day, the fifth birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, heir to the Dutch throne at the time. On her accession in November 1890 the holiday acquired the name Koninginnedag, and was first celebrated on August 31, 1891. In September 1948, Wilhelmina’s daughter Juliana ascended to the throne and the holiday was moved to Queen Juliana’s birthday, April 30^th. The holiday was celebrated on this date beginning in 1949.

Juliana’s daughter, Beatrix, retained the celebration on April 30^th after she ascended the throne in 1980, even though her birthday was January 31^st. All very confusing, really…

Queen Beatrix abdicated on Koninginnedag in 2013 probably as a result of not maintaining the holiday on her specific birthday, and her son, Willem-Alexander, ascended the throne (the first king since the observance of the national holiday). As a result, the holiday became known as Koningsdag beginning in 2014, and the celebration was moved to the King’s birthday, April 27^th.

Koningsdag is known for its nationwide vrijmarkt (“free market”), which is essentially a country-wide flea market. Quite scary, actually… The day is also an opportunity for “orange madness” or oranjegekte, a frenzied celebration of the Dutch national color. Orange is everywhere on April 27^th, and I mean everywhere…

In honor of this auspicious holiday, why not create a cocktail celebrating King’s Day?

Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you, The King’s Cocktail, or De Konings Cocktail:

2oz. Gin

1oz. Grand Marnier

1/2oz. Campari

1/2oz. Lemon Juice

Shake the ingredients with crushed ice, vigorously. Strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Enjoy!

On this day in 1876, Scottish-born Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call…”Mr. Watson – Come here – I want to see you.” were the first words spoken on his newly patented invention… and the rest, they say, is history.

In honor of this auspicious occasion, we have the Bella Donna Daiquiri, a curious libation that is sure to start bells ringing…

1-1/2 ounces Gosling Black Seal Rum

1-1/2 ounces Amaretto

½ ounce Lemon Juice

½ ounce Cold Water

¼ ounce Simple Syrup

Shake well with crushed ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Rim the glass with grated cinnamon.

*Shamelessly borrowed from the book 365 Days of Cocktails, by Difford’s Guides

I struggle with Chartreuse, the French herbal liqueur, made by Carthusian monks at their monastery in the Chartreuse mountains near Grenoble. The monks have been making Chartreuse since 1737 according to a recipe given to them in 1605 by François Annibal d’Estrées. It is composed of distilled alcohol aged with 130 herbs, plants and flowers, and has a strong, herbaceous quality, as well as a healthy percent alcohol. The challenge with Chartreuse is the 130 herbs, plants and flowers. Finding the correct mix of ingredients to blend and balance with the heady mix already present in Chartreuse is akin to the quest for the Holy Grail. I have yet to find a cocktail containing Chartreuse that I truly love. Mind you that doesn’t stop me from searching… remember, great rewards are given unto that brave knight who quests for the Grail!

Enter the Bijou cocktail, a mix of Gin, Vermouth, and Chartreuse. In French, the term “bijou” means “jewel.” The cocktail is said to have been invented by Harry Johnson, one of the forefathers of the classic cocktail and one of the earliest documenters of the craft in his 1900 tome: New and Improved Bartender Manual. Actually, the Bijou stands out as one of the oldest recipes in his book, itself dating to 1890.

The cocktail is presumably called Bijou because it combines the colors of three jewels: Gin for diamond, Vermouth for ruby, and Chartreuse for emerald. An original-style Bijou is made stirred with ice as noted by Harry, but I really prefer my cocktails shaken with crushed ice, so that is my preferred method.

On the palate the three components come together nicely to make for a refreshing and balanced cocktail. The herbaceous quality of the Chartreuse actually finds a nice foil in the sweet, figgy Vermouth, while the Gin lends a clean, refreshing bite on the aftertaste. Quite pleasant indeed.

Ladies and gentlemen, I present the Bijou cocktail…

2 oz.  Gin

1 oz. Green Chartreuse

1 oz. Sweet Vermouth

1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with an lemon twist (preferred).

Cheers!

I was feeling experimental a while back and decided to create something exotic. As I scanned the bar, an interesting, as yet unused ingredient jumped out at me – Cardamaro – and I started to postulate a theme. My friends all know of my Masonic affiliation, so I thought about a cocktail to honor my Brethren… In scrolling through the endless list of notable Brothers for whom my libation could be named, I came across the perfect dedicatee – Brother Rudyard Kipling!

Bro Rudyard Kipling was born December 30, 1865 in Bombay, India. He is generally considered one of England’s greatest writers and has left the world with an impressive library of notable works. During his life he achieved literary greatness and was richly rewarded for his contributions to the English language. Revisionist history or course has created some polarizing opinions about Bro Kipling, most notably that his writing glorified the imperialism that defined English history in the 19^th Century and should therefore not be celebrated, but instead denigrated. Not being a fan of revisionist history, I will move on…

Bro Kipling is believed to have become a Freemason in 1885, which would have been before he turned 21, then the minimum age for membership. Bro Kipling was initiated into Hope and Perseverance Lodge No. 782 in Lahore, India. He was extremely fond of Freemasonry, so much so that he commemorated its ideals in his famous poem, “The Mother Lodge”, and used the fraternity and its symbols as important plot devices in his novella, “The Man Who Would Be King.” The latter was made into a movie starring Sean Connery and Michael Caine, which has regular screenings in Lodges around the world.

In thinking about a theme for my cocktail I began to think about spirits. I knew that I wanted to use Cardamaro, an Italian wine-based amaro featuring cardoon and thistle as a component. Now, because Bro Kipling is intrinsically linked to India and because his Majesty’s forces supporting the Raj were fueled by Gin (unlike His Majesty’s navy, which was fueled by rum), a clean, London dry Gin would be my base spirit. Keeping with the idea of exotic and wanting to create an alluring aroma to the cocktail, I decided that Luxardo Maraschino liqueur would add a nutty, floral note to both the nose and palate of my potation. Last element required to balance this potion – lime juice. I tried lemon juice, but I liked the malic greenness of the lime over the astringency of the lemon.

Bench testing is hard work, and after several tries, we found the proper balance. My impressions? Refreshing with an exotic collection of flavors, building like a well-made curry, but without the heat. Although for a moment I almost tossed in a dash or two of Ancho Reyes, the pepper-infused liqueur from Chile, but thought better of it…

So, in honor of our Brother, Rudyard Kipling, I present a cocktail in his name…

2 oz. London Dry Gin

3/4 oz. Cardamaro

1/2 oz. Maraschino Liqueur

1/2 oz. Lime Juice

2 dashes Cardamom Bitters

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with an orange twist (preferred), or a Maraschino cherry.

Cheers!

An old friend recently posted a picture of what looked to be a delicious cocktail on Facebook while celebrating in Las Vegas. Upon further inquiry, she divulged that this lovely potation was none other than The Jasmine Cocktail and she proclaimed it wonderful. Not immediately coming to mind, I did some research and found a reference to it in my favorite magazine, Imbibe. Their take is thus: This early 1990’s cocktail from bartender Paul Harrington helped usher in the similarly bright, bitter Negroni riffs that have flowed in recent years.

The recipe that follows is quite alluring…

1 1/2 oz. gin

3/4 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/4 oz. Campari

1/4 oz. Cointreau

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake to chill. Strain into a chilled glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

(Paul Harrington, Spokane, Washington)

Picture is swiped from my friend’s Facebook post…

Cheers!