black metal sleigh

1 1/2 oz Vodka (Goral)
3/4 oz Jägermeister
3/4 oz Cinnamon Syrup
3/4 oz Lime Juice
2 dash Grapefruit Bitters (Bittermens)

Whip shake with crushed ice, pour into a Julep or Swizzle tin (Tiki mug), fill with crushed ice, and garnish with a mint sprig. Two Fridays ago, I delved into a collection of Sippin' Santa recipes that was recently shared on Reddit. The one I selected as a starting point was the Black Metal Sleigh from the 2015 event that had the same vodka lengthening and fortifying a bitter liqueur technique that I first observed in the Sputnik. Moreover, it had a similar structure to the Jägermeister tropical recipe, the Escape Hatch, so I was sold. With the penultimate use of this season's mint as garnish, the Black Metal Sleigh greeted the nose with a mint bouquet. Next, lime and caramel on the sip slid into star anise, herbal, cinnamon, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

overtime

3/4 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
3/4 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
3/4 oz Lime Juice
3/4 oz Ginger Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail coupe, and garnish with a lime wedge (omit). Two Thursdays ago, I reached for my copy of the The Madrusan Cocktail Companion and honed in on the Overtime by Anthony Jayasekera at Bar Tobalá in Melborne circa 2023. It reminded me of the Mosquito and Dragonfly but with another bitter liqueur and lime instead of lemon. With Ramazzotti, I realized that it had the Maserati (mezcal-Ramazzotti duo) as its base, and that pairing has worked great in other recipes such as The Great Satan, There is no Spoon, and El Nacional. In the glass, the Overtime racked up a root beer, vegetal, and smoke aroma. Next, lime and caramel on the sip opened up into smoky vegetal, root beer, and ginger flavors on the swallow.

ghost rider

3/4 oz Fernet Branca
3/4 oz Campari
1/2 oz Maraschino (Luxardo)
1/2 oz Ginger Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with candied ginger. Two Wednesdays ago, I became inspired by the Maraschino, ginger, and lime trio in the Hitman from Dutch Kills and I mashed it up with the Ferrari (Fernet-Campari duo). Previously, I did a similar Ferrari mashup in the Blank Hand Society using the Gilda as the other inspiration point. For a name, I dubbed this one the Ghost Rider after a 1977 song from the synth-punk band Suicide that was a nod to a Marvel Comics character. In the glass, the Ghost Rider screamed the truth with a menthol, ginger, and nutty cherry aroma. Next, lime and caramel notes on the sip rode off towards caramel, minty, menthol, and bitter nutty cherry-orange flavors on the swallow.

voorhees

1 oz Bonded Apple Brandy (Laird's)
1 oz Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Cinnamon Syrup
1/4 oz Simple Syrup

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with cayenne pepper powder. Two Tuesdays prior, I reached for The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and honed in on the Voorhees by D. Skinner. Overall, it appeared like a variation on the Holland Razor Blade with the Genever split with apple brandy and the simple syrup split with cinnamon. In the glass, the Voorhees donated an apple, cinnamon, and malty aroma. Next, a lemon-driven sip blossomed into apple, malty, cinnamon, and herbal flavors on the swallow that gained an increasing amount of hot pepper spice over time.

gnarly proposition

1 1/2 oz Mezcal (Peloton de la Muerte)
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Passion Fruit Syrup
1/2 oz Lime Juice

This is a doubled recipe. Shake with ice and strain into a single old fashioned glass or perhaps a coupe, or to be closer to the original, strain into two shot glasses. Two Mondays ago, I uncovered a set of online recipe flashcards for Navy Strength in Seattle and landed on the Gnarly Proposition. The drink is normally served as a shot, so I doubled the amounts to make it cocktail sized. A problem with the recipe was that it called for a batched mezcal-Cynar pour that I assessed to be 3:1 instead of 1:1 through the hue in a Yelp drink photo from 2022. Moreover, I ended up making the 1:1 version as well that was more opaquely brown than the photo as well as more quirky as opposed to more pleasing like a shot should be. Since the trio of mezcal, Cynar, and passion fruit worked well in the Bairdley Legal an Yvonne's, I was definitely excited about trying this one. In the glass, the Gnarly Proposition opened up with caramel, vegetal, tropical, and smoke aromas. Next, lime and passion fruit notes on the sip revealed smoky mezcal, tropical, and bitter herbal flavors on the swallow.

famous american novelist

2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Amaro Averna
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/4 oz Campari
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a rocks glass with ice, and garnish with a cherry-orange slice on a pick (cherry only). Two Sundays ago, I was perusing online recipe flashcards when I came across the Famous American Novelist from the cocktail bar at Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club in Manhattan from Spring 2024. I found a discussion of the drinks for the performance mentioning this one on Reddit's Broadway forum circa June 2024. The name is most like a reference to the play's Herr Clifford Bradshaw and perhaps a nod to the Boulevardier – a drink of Bourbon, vermouth, and Campari named after an American-founded literary magazine in Paris. Overall, the recipe was rather similar to the Finishing School by Carlo Caroscio at Backbar as his riff on his Smoking Section, and somewhat similar to the NoMad's Brunswick. In the glass, the Famous American Novelist penned a Bourbon, cherry, and caramel bouquet for the nose. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip concluded with Bourbon, herbal, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow with clove on the finish.

dead man's hand

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth (Giacomo Speroni)
1/2 oz Campari
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
2 drop Bittermens Mole Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with ice, and garnish with an orange twist. Two Saturdays ago, I opened up The Madrusan Cocktail Companion book and spotted the Dead Man's Hand by Greg Keese at the Nashville branch of Attaboy circa 2022. This is the second drink here to reference this card game lore of the bad luck associated with a pair of black aces plus a pair of black eights that were in Wild Bill Hickok's hand when he was shot down; that other recipe is the Aces & Eights from Death & Co. On paper, the Dead Man's Hand reads like a Green Point meets a Left Hand, so perhaps the latter drink gave the inspiration for the name. Moreover, on the blog, there are only three other recipes with both Campari and Yellow Chartreuse with the only stirred one being the Trans-Europe Express from Beta Cocktails. Once prepared, the Dead Man's Hand dealt both bright orange oil and dark orange aromas along with piny notes from the Yellow Chartreuse. Next, a grape-driven sip folded into Bourbon, chocolate, herbal, and bitter orange flavors on the swallow.

honey badger

1 1/2 oz Barr Hill Gin
3/4 oz Lemon Juice
1/2 oz Domaine de Canton (Barrow's Intense)
1/2 oz Honey Syrup 1:1
2 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with a dehydrated citrus wheel (lemon twist). Two Fridays ago, I decided to make a drink called the Honey Badger that Bardtenders posted on their Instagram account earlier that day. I felt it was a good tribute for the folks from that site hosted me on their podcast two nights before for a recording to be broadcasted in late February. The combination reminded me of Michael Madrusan's Son of a Beesting at Milk & Honey that calls for ginger syrup instead of liqueur akin to a Bee's Knees crossed with a Penicillin. In the glass, the Honey Badger gave forth a lemon, ginger, and honey bouquet. Next, lemon and honey notes on the sip gave way to pine, ginger, honey, and orange flavors on the swallow.

save the robots

1 1/4 oz London Dry Gin (Tanqueray)
1/2 oz Calvados (Morin Selection)
3/4 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Yellow Chartreuse
1 dash Orange Bitters (Regan's)

Stir with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass. Two Wednesday prior, I became inspired by the Nautical Mile with London Dry Gin and Calvados that I had the night before. I soon mashed up those spirits with the modifiers of Ce Soir, and I dubbed it Save the Robots after an after-hours club in New York City's East Village that I rediscovered in the book St. Marks is Dead and recalled from my time living in Manhattan in the early 90s. Here, pine and herbal aromas purchased entrance to the senses at the door. Next, caramel and honey notes on the sip danced their way into juniper, apple, vegetal, and herbal flavors on the swallow. I wondered if equal parts Calvados and gin would have worked better such that its richness would be closer the Cognac in the Ce Soir to balance the brighter herbaceous notes in the Yellow Chartreuse; however, I enjoyed the result enough not to retry it.