Odd name for a refreshing unique drink with bright, citrusy, herbal and anise flavors. But if you need to purchase all of the liquor that comprises this cocktail, it may put you in a tail spin and a need to be revived!
Luckily, we had all of it except the absinthe, and that alone is quite pricey. Since the libation uses a minuscule amount, you may want to consider using Herbsaint (prices vary), or dry anisette (much more reasonable), in place of the absinthe.
We both gave it two thumbs up. A refreshing tipple that would revive any corpse!
Add gin, Lillet Blanc, liqueur, lemon juice, simple syrup, and absinthe to cocktail shaker, then fill with ice. Shake mixture until fully combined and well chilled, about 15 seconds.
Double-strain cocktail into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with orange twist and serve.
It’s not Autumn, and I’m not in New England, but this cocktail still works on a number of levels. While this may sound like a book or movie title, it’s actually an adult libation we found in our copy of America’s Test Kitchen’s book “How to Cocktail.” They point out that apple and sage are a pairing that taste as if they were always meant to be together, and that’s why this drink works. The piney, slightly astringent notes of the sage are mellowed by the bright sweetness of apples.
A couple of sage leaves are muddled in maple syrup to infuse with herbal flavor. Apple cider’s sweet, slightly fermented flavor adds even more depth, as does the smoky, caramelized bourbon. Keeping with the apple theme, a bit of cider vinegar with its bracing acidity adds another touch of savoriness to balance things out.
Need a new riff on a martini? Well, maybe the word “need” is a bit too strong, but why not imbibe in one of these sophisticated libations? This is a tasty twist on a Dry Martini but it has no vermouth, it uses sherry instead, so it isn’t really a Dry Martini after all… do you really care?
A classic 19th century tipple that originated at the Waldorf-Astoria Bar in upstate New York, it is bone dry and aromatic with green grape, citrus and mineral notes, and garnished with orange peel. Alternatively, you may consider dressing this cocktail with an olive, as one suits it.
We were a little late to the party with this libation because it really is more of a summer drink and it had just turned Autumn when we made it for the first time. BUT, didn’t bother us one iota, the Chartreuse Swizzle was just the ticket for our pre-dinner Sunday evening cocktail.
Story behind the drink? According to author James O’Bryan, “If there were a Nobel Prize for cocktails, Marcovaldo Dionysis would win one for the Chartreuse Swizzle. As a drink, it is novel to the point of being avant-garde, yet brilliant in its simplicity. Some delicious drinks are obvious—anyone can add strawberries to a Daiquiri or sub mezcal into a Negroni or something—but to take a 110 proof liqueur, made by a silent order of French monks from 132 different ingredients, and not only use it as the base spirit of a drink (already a crazy choice) and to spin that drink in a tropical direction (again, crazy), but to take something that unusual and turn it one of the most viscerally delicious cocktails in the pantheon of modern classics is worth a trip to Stockholm, to say the least. It’s way better than discovering an element.”
Prior to this adult beverage, we had never heard of Velvet Falernum. Upon a little research we found out some cocktail ingredients sound stranger than they are, and Velvet Falernum falls right into this camp. But this Caribbean cocktail ingredient is easy to love, and that we did! A staple of many tiki drinks, Falernum comes either as a sugarcane syrup or as a liqueur, spiced with clove, lime, and generally ginger and almond.
The version we used, the most widely available in liquor stores, is John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum—a low-proof liqueur (11% alc/vol, while the Chartreuse is 55% alc/vol!) with all of those classic Caribbean flavors. Due to its provenance (hailing from Barbados), Falernum is most often paired with rum, and it’s a smart combination. But this intriguingly spiced, sweet-tart liqueur is quite versatile.
Although fresh out of mint leaves, we garnished ours with a lime slice. And so it was, on an early Autumn evening we fell in love… again…
Accounting for Taste 