Let’s face it, mid-winter is almost upon us and there is not a ground hog is sight. It is getting downright tundra cold out there and Mother Nature is sure to unleash a deep freeze. Some say one should think of a warm place like a tropical island when winter’s freeze is cutting through your bones. Others hope a St. Bernard will come dashing around the bend with a neck barrel full of warming brandy. Well I like to imagine a warm place that combines the heat and brandy; I mentally revisit my annual mid-summer pilgrimage to sizzling hot New Orleans for Tales of the Cocktail where I order a Vieux Carré cocktail upon arrival at the Carousel Bar.

Le Vieux Carré (pronounced view-kar-ray) is the French term for “Old Square” and is another name for the Crescent City’s iconic French Quarter. Walter Bergeron, the head bartender at the Hotel Monteleone’s bar, created the drink in 1938 as homage to New Orleans’ most celebrated district. The Monteleone’s hotel bar would later become the Carousel Bar with its famous rotating bar. The Monteleone, one of the French Quarter’s grand hotels, is also fittingly Tales of the Cocktail central and the Vieux Carré is still served as the house cocktail.

The Vieux Carré cocktail is a perfect example of a well-balanced mix of diverse spirits and bitters. French cognac, American rye whisky, and Italian sweet vermouth share the stage as base spirits. The monastically produced Bénédictine liqueur brings sweetness to the drink to offset the boozy trifecta. The bitters round out the mixture by cutting the sweetness and bonding the spirits.

Classic Vieux Carré
¾ oz cognac
¾ oz rye whisky
¾ oz sweet vermouth
¼ oz Bénédictine
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Dash of Angostura bitters
Lemon peel

Tools: Mixing glass, bar spoon, Hawthorne strainer, jigger, Swiss peeler

Method: Combine bitters and liquors in a mixing glass, add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain into a double rocks glass over ice and garnish with a lemon peel.

Still not warm enough for you? Take the recipe above and head south of the Tropic of Cancer to Guyana, the land of many waters and home of Demerara rum. In a recent night on the town, I was lucky enough to encounter a marvelous rum version of the Vieux Carré while dining at New York’s legendary Monkey Bar. The origins of the rum variation are hazy like that night but one of my fellow diners did order one at Julie Reiner’s Flatiron Lounge and was so thrilled with the libation that he began to spread the gospel. I was sold after one sip. The Rum Vieux Carré I ordered at Monkey Bar was made with El Dorado 12 Year Old Demerara rum in lieu of cognac. All of the other ingredients: spirits, bitters, and proportions remained true to Bergeron’s original, however it was served up and not on the rocks which makes for an elegant presentation.

El Dorado translates to City of Gold in Spanish and this liquid gold is an underrated treasure. El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum is produced by Demerara Distillers and is composed of rum from nine different stills ranging from copper still, wooden Coffey, and double wooden pots. Once thoroughly blended, the rum is aged in old bourbon oak casks. The end product is the lovely amber colored aged rum with the flavor of honey, toffee, fruit, and spice taking center stage with dry and smooth finish.

I used Sazarac 6 Year-old Straight Rye Whisky (90 proof) and a subdued sweet vermouth like Dolin Rouge to keep the focus on the El Dorado. A bold vermouth such as Carpano Antica or Cocchi Vermouth di Torino may overwhelm the other base spirits. Sazarac’s peppery taste compliment El Dorado’s complex flavors and add extra punch to the drink. The lemon twist at the end adds the right amount of citrus oils and brings out some of the El Dorado’s fruit.

Rum Vieux Carré
¾ oz El Dorado 12 Year Old Rum
¾ oz Sazarac 6 Year Old Straight Rye whisky
¾ oz Dolin Rouge sweet vermouth
¼ oz Bénédictine liqueur
Dash of Peychaud’s bitters
Dash of Angostura bitters
Lemon peel

Tools: Mixing glass, bar spoon, julep strainer, jigger, Swiss peeler, Manhattan glass

Method: Combine bitters and liquors in a mixing glass, add ice and stir until well chilled. Strain the mixture into a frosted Manhattan glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

So when you are stuck out in the freezing cold this winter try to imagine that St. Bernard bringing you a barrel-aged Rum Vieux Carré and then get to a reputable cocktail bar and order one! Keep warm mes amis.

*Photo by Vanessa Bahmani. 

**Got a cocktail question? Reach Fredo on twitter @loungerati, email me at fredo(at)loungerati(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

***Fredo Ceraso is the editor-at-large of the lounge lifestyle blog Loungerati.com. He is head cocktailian and a co-producer of The Salon parties. Fredo is a member of the USBG New York chapter and rolls drinks at many Lounge, Swing, Jazz Age, & Burlesque events in New York City.

Winter is coming. The leaves are long gone; stark bare branches and the increasing chill in the air are all that remain of autumn. The sun’s attempts to warm its subjects get undermined by the biting wind. Perfect time to duck into your favorite watering hole and defrost with a winter libation. Keeping with my philosophy of seasonal cocktails, a drink to get you through the frigid weather should be a hearty concoction that warms the body and spirit. Sure we could go with the yuletide staple, eggnog but it is served cold and a bit ubiquitous for my tastes. We need a warm beverage with a boozy punch. Look no further than the granddaddy of eggnog, a drink that used to be an American Christmas tradition called the Tom and Jerry.

The Tom & Jerry is a predecessor to modern eggnog. The origins of the cocktail can be traced back to the days of Walt Whitman. There are various theories of who created the Tom and Jerry, but Jerry “The Professor” Thomas made the drink a saloon staple from 1850-1880s. According cocktail authority David Wondrich’s book Imbibe! From Absinthe Cocktail to Whiskey Smash, a Salute in Stories and Drinks to “Professor” Jerry Thomas, Pioneer of the American Bar (2008), Jerry Thomas claimed to created the drink for a patron in 1847 while working at a bar in New Haven, CT. Wondrich’s deep dive into Thomas’ life does uncover that this claim may have been part of the typical sporting man lore of the time. The Tom and Jerry and its derivates were popular in New England before Thomas’ birth in 1830. The Tom and Jerry is listed as recipe number 174 in Thomas’ quintessential cocktail manual, How to Mix Drinks or The Bon Vivant’s Companion (1862).

Tom and Jerry
Original recipe by Jerry Thomas 

5 lbs of sugar
12 eggs
1/2 small glass of Jamaican rum [1 oz]
1½ teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice

Method: Beat the whites of the eggs to a stiff froth, and the yolks (separately) until they are as thin as water, then mix together an add spice and rum, thicken with sugar until the mixture attains consistence of light batter.

To serve: Add one tablespoon of this mixture to a small bar glass, then add one wineglass (2 oz) of brandy, fill rest of glass with boiling water and grate nutmeg on top.

The original version of the drink needs all that sugar to thicken the mixture against the hot water. To Wondrich’s point, by using hot milk instead of water, the same consistency achieved and amount of sugar can be dialed back to two pounds. The versatility of the drink does not stop with water or milk. In How to Mix Drinks, Thomas is already tweaking the drink and recommends that the 2 oz of brandy can be broken up in 1 oz Cognac, 1/2 oz Jamaican, and 1/2 oz Santa Cruz rum. I believe we can go a step further to make the drink easier to execute in a single serving.

In my recipe below, I use Grand Marnier instead cognac, a full ounce of Smith & Cross over-proofed Jamaican pot stilled rum, substitute pimento or allspice dram for the crushed spices, and simple syrup for the sugar. The result is a spicy and rich boozy cocktail that can be a true corpse reviver in the winter months. The Grand Marnier brings the cognac element but also adds the right amount of orange peel and citrus to the drink. It also marries well with the bold molasses flavor of the Smith & Cross. Using pimento dram adds the mild spice flavors of clove, allspice, and cinnamon while saving on preparation time.

Tom and Jerry
1/2 simple syrup
1 oz Grand Marnier
1 oz Smith & Cross Jamaican Pot Still Rum
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth allspice dram
1 egg (optional: yolk and whites beaten separately)
4 oz hot milk
Ground nutmeg

Tools: Mixing tins, Tom and Jerry cup or Irish coffee mug, jigger, egg separator, grater, Hawthorne strainer

Method: Combine ingredients in mixing tins (except milk), dry shake for 5-10 seconds to emulsify the egg. Strain into a T&J cup or Irish coffee mug, add hot milk, and garnish with ground nutmeg.

*Photo by Vanessa Bahmani with FrenchChristmasWallPapers.net

**Got a cocktail question? Reach Fredo on twitter @loungerati, email me at fredo(at)loungerati(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

***Fredo Ceraso is the editor-at-large of the lounge lifestyle blog Loungerati.com. He is head cocktailian and a co-producer of The Salon parties. Fredo is a member of the USBG New York chapter and rolls drinks at many Lounge, Swing, Jazz Age, & Burlesque events in New York City.

Last week I wrote about the Hot Buttered Rum, and how it’s a winter drink for when you’re feeling festive (and when you’ve planned far enough ahead of time and made the essential spiced rum batter). Now that we’re nearing the dead of winter, you may be interested in something more simple– a drink that doesn’t require much advanced preparation. For these moments, the Hot Toddy shines (and warms) like no other.

Technically speaking, a toddy is a category of drinks rather than a specific recipe and the Hot Toddy is simply, well, the hot version of a regular toddy. In the old days a tavern keeper would heat the drink by taking a hot metal poker from the fire and plunge it into the pot that contained the mixture. So yes, originally, in less frigid times toddies were served at room temperature except for the very rare instance when ice was handy (we’re talking about 18th century and prior).

The name of the drink comes from the term ‘toddy stick,’ which was the big wooden baton-like tool the barkeep would use to break up sugar, as well as muddle any spice and everything nice, and even crack ice, when it became a commonly used item. Sugar of course had to be broken up because during colonial times it came in hard loaves that needed to be chipped into smaller usable pieces. The luxury of nicely granulated sugar that we find in the stores today was not to be had back then.

Understanding the toddy as a category, or better yet a concept, will enable you to use its template as a base for creating something uniquely your own, simplifying (or complicating) it as you see fit. There is no universally recognized toddy recipe, yet all good toddies will have the same components: a base spirit (traditionally whiskey but any brown–i.e. oak-aged–spirit will do, with genever being the allowable exception); a sweetening agent (sugar, honey, whatever); a diluting agent (hot water, tea, cider); and lemon juice for a necessary acidic bump to bring all the flavors in balance. Beyond that you can muddle lemon or other citrus peels, add cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, black pepper, oregano– ok maybe we’re getting carried away now.

Below are two recipes that exemplify this approach. The first is a basic toddy that any tavern with the ability to boil water should be able to turn out, and the other is a Jasmine Toddy (pictured above) that’s a touch more complex but well worth it for the final product it yields.

Hot Toddy
1 oz whiskey
1 oz honey syrup (equal parts honey and water pre-diluted for easy mixing)
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
boiling water (about 3-4 oz depending on glass size)

Pour the honey syrup, lemon juice, and whiskey in a heated hot toddy glass or mug and stir to dissolve. Top with boiling water and enjoy. If you choose to use straight undiluted honey, only use half the suggested amount.

Just as it’s important to pre-chill a glass when making a cold drink, it ‘s a good idea to pre-heat your glass when making  a hot one. You can do this by simply pouring boiling water in your glass and letting it sit until you get the rest of your ingredients together, then pouring it out once you’re ready to assemble the drink. And because the water (or other diluting agent) is the only hot element of this drink, I make sure it’s boiling (as opposed to just being hot) when I add it, otherwise the rest of the ingredients will quickly bring down the temperature, which would yield a Tepid Toddy, not a Hot Toddy.

Jasmine Toddy
1/2 oz Yamazaki 12 Yr
1/2 oz Rhum Barbancourt 4 Yr (or other lightly aged rhum agricole)
1 oz honey syrup
1/2 oz variegated pink lemon juice (just use regular lemon juice; I’m being fancy-schmancy cuz that’s what was in my CSA this week)
Fresh brewed jasmine green tea (approx 3-4 oz; Ahmad Tea makes a pretty good one)
half lemon wheel studded with 3 cloves

Pour the honey syrup, lemon juice, and spirits in a heated glass and stir to dissolve. Add the clove-studded lemon. Pour in the jasmine green tea and enjoy.

The floral nose and mildly sweet palate of the Yamazaki Japanese whisky makes it a great pairing with the lightly oaked yet still grassy undertone of the Haitian rum, and together provide a nice base of complexity and body despite the relatively low amount of liquor in the drink.

I used variegated pink lemons simply because I had them on hand, and aside from the aesthetically pleasing aspect of the pink lemons, they’re also a bit more tart and have a stronger flavor than their yellow cousins. But if I didn’t have them I’d just use regular lemons because there’s no sense in venturing back into the cold to track them down. That would certainly defeat the entire purpose of this enterprise.

You’ll notice that both toddy recipes adhere to a similar formula, and both check off the necessary components, yet they vary widely in flavor profile. That’s the beauty of a good hot toddy, because it’s made of stuff almost everyone either has in stock or can easily attain. If you don’t have whiskey you can use aged rum; if you don’t have honey you can use sugar; if you don’t have… you get the point.

Winter ain’t got nothin’ on you now kid!

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

We’re a couple weeks into 2011 and many of you are still hopeful about staying true to your resolutions. Although last year I did my best to aid you in detoxing from the holiday gluttony, this year my intentions aren’t so pure. Rather than fortify your resolve, I’m here to steer your ship back to the harbor of iniquity.

How you ask? Three words my friends. Hot. Buttered. Rum.

It is a classic wintertime potion that soothes the soul and warms the physical faculties, while adding a layer or two of insulation to your frame. Sure you can have a Hot Toddy to fight the frost, and I love those as well. But sometimes you simply want some butter in your drink. In those times, a Hot Buttered Rum is where it’s at.

Truth be told I wrote about this drink last year but somehow that piece got lost in cyberspace, never to be found again. I was dumbfounded, but interpreted it as a sign and decided to hold off for another year. So here’s take two of the Hot Buttered Rum, and the timing is especially fortuitous if you live in one of the snowed in cities on the Eastern seaboard like I do.

Hot Buttered Rum
2 oz aged rum (or a good spiced rum, ie not Captain Morgan)
3/4 oz demerara syrup (raw sugar dissolved in equal part water)
1 tbsp (or more) spiced compound butter (will get to that in a minute)
Hot apple cider to top
Cinnamon stick as garnish (optional)

Glass: any mug or glass appropriate for hot drinks

Pour the syrup in the glass along with the compound butter and a little hot cider. Stir to dissolve the syrup and melt the butter. Add the rum and more cider to fill, then give it a light stir. Add the cinnamon stick (or not) and enjoy.

It’s not a Hot Buttered Rum without the butter, and although you can use plain butter in a pinch, the compound butter adds nice depth if you have the time to make it. This recipe comes from Dale Degroff, and I liked it enough to use as is, but you’re certainly encouraged to get creative and spice it up as you wish.

Spiced Compound Butter
1 lb softened butter (I recommended unsalted sweet cream butter)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg (fresh is best)
1 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Place the compound on wax paper and roll it into logs. Set in refrigerator or freezer to set. Though you can use it immediately, it’s best to give the flavors some time in the fridge to marry. Once set you can use as needed by cutting pieces as you would a stick of butter.

It makes much more sense to make more than single portions since the effort is the same, and the recipe above should give you enough for a sizable group of folks. I usually make a supply that’ll last me the winter, freeze half and keep half in the fridge. Then a few minutes before I want to use it, I set it out to get it to room temperature. Just as you wouldn’t want to add any hot components to a cold drink, you don’t want to add a cold component to a hot one.

Cheers, and good luck on those resolutions. You’ll need it even more now.

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

Halloween’s only a few days away and many of you still haven’t bought or made your costume, or worst yet, haven’t even figured out what you’ll be dressing up as.  Unfortunately I can’t help you in that department. However where I can be of assistance is in figuring out what to serve at your party–or what to pre-party with if you’re not throwing a bash of your own.  If you’re still in search of your Halloween cocktail, then keep reading.

Admittedly, I’ve never been really good at–nor really fond of–making Halloween-themed cocktails. I’ve always had difficulty getting past the high kitsch factor. Now I know kitsch isn’t always a bad thing, especially when done smartly and with a moderate hand, but perhaps it’s been my lack of creativity that’s often made it a difficult hurdle.  This has been especially true when the creative impulse favors appearance over flavor and quality; when ingredients are chosen not so much for what they contribute to the flavor or aroma of a drink, but for their particular color or other attribute that helps the drink’s appearance fit within the event’s theme.  In the case of Halloween, it becomes critical for the drink’s name and/or appearance to reference something ghoulish, frightening, or what have you. So you often wind up with drinks made with crap ingredients like Midori because they’ll make the drink green to reference a monster or a witch or Frankenstein or whatever.

That said, it’s not always a choice of extremes, and there are always instances when one comes across a cocktail that hits the trifecta of flavor, appearance, and name dead on while staying in character and true to theme at hand.  This year, that drink is the Blood and Tears. It’s not a creation of mine, but rather a friend of mine and bartender Brian Matthys, a man who wins cocktail competitions left and right without the use of performance enhancing drugs.  One look at the ingredient list of this cocktail and you can see why. Below is the recipe, and the ingredients in italics are simply my own additions which I feel add a touch more depth and texture to the drink. Try them both ways to see which better suits your palate.

Blood and Tears
2 oz DonQ Gran Anejo rum
2 oz horchata (recipe below)
1/2 oz honey syrup (mix equal parts honey and hot water)
1/4 oz fresh lime juice
1 egg white (small egg is sufficient)
2  1/2 tbsp diced red bell pepper
2 small diced pieces habanero pepper
Peychaud’s bitters
pinch of cinnamon

Tools: shaker, strainer, muddler
Glass: chilled cocktail glass

In a cocktail shaker, add the peppers and honey syrup and muddle. Then add the rum, horchata, and optionally, the lime juice and egg white along with ice. Shake vigorously until your fingers are bloody and you’re in tears.  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass, then add a few drops of Peychaud’s bitters on top to give it that bloody effect, as well as a small pinch of ground cinnamon.  When using egg white, some like to do a dry shake (shaking ingredients without ice) to help it emulsify before adding the ice and shaking again to chill the drink. Also, because of the little pepper pieces in this drink, I like to double strain the drink using a fine strainer like a tea strainer to catch all those little bits.

Horchata (yields 3 quarts)
2 cups white rice
1 cup orgeat (I used Trader Tiki brand, but you can learn to make your own here)
1/3 cup almonds
1/3 cup cinnamon syrup (used Trader Tiki)
1 tsp rosewater

Place the rice in a container along with 4 cups water and cover and allow it to soak for at least 12 hours. In a separate container, place the almonds with 1 cup water and allow that to soak, covered, for same amount of time. Drain the rice and grind it as fine as possible. Drain and peel the almonds, then grind them the same way. Mix the rice with 2 quarts water and pass it through a fine sieve or cheesecloth into a 1 gallon container. Mix the almonds with 1 quart of water and fine strain it like the rice, into the same container. Add the orgeat, cinnamon syrup, and rosewater and mix well. Cover and chill in the refrigerator. Always stir before using as materials will separate and settle.

The Blood and Tears is a rare example of a Halloween-themed cocktail that successfully balances kitsch and quality. And if you go the extra mile of making horchata from scratch, not only will you be rewarded with an extra flavorful cocktail with a bright floral aroma, but you’ll have plenty left over for the Dia de los Muertos party.

Cheers!

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below.

As far as Summers go, this was one of the best in recent memory. My first trip to Tales of the Cocktail, a new puppy, and all around nice, scorching hot weather made this season a tough act for Fall to follow. But alas, we have arrived at Summer’s twilight here in New York: the dried leaves on the ground have become more prevalent and noticeable; the afternoon highs struggle to hit the low 80s; the sun ends its shift before you’re ready to pack up the rooftop party; the evening winds foreshadow the change that’s afoot; and of course, signs for back to school sales abound.

But before we part ways, one last parting shot to remind you why Summer drinking is the shiznit–so of course it has to be an awesome, blended, ice-cold, brain-freeze yo’ mothafuckin’ ass (you gotta say it like Samuel Jackson) and scorch yo’ mothafuckin’ tongue concoction!  Behold the Torch’n Scorch.

Torch’n Scorch
2 oz. light rum
1 oz. cream of coconut
1/2 oz. fresh lime juice
1/2 oz. honey
1/2 tsp chipotle pepper sauce (see below for description)
10 basil leaves
2 sprigs cilantro (leaves removed from stem)
1 cup crushed ice
cherry pepper for garnish

Tools: blender
Glass: margarita glass aka coupette

Place everything in a blender and process on high until smooth.  Pour into a margarita glass and garnish with a cherry pepper.  For the chipotle sauce, simply blend the entire contents of a can of Chipotles in Adobo Sauce until well pureed and smooth.

This is a drink that can easily be altered to suit various individual tastes. If you like more tartness, simply increase the lime juice. Sweeter? Increase the cream of coconut and/or honey.  Have a higher heat tolerance? Go ahead and add another dollop of smoky chipotle sauce.  Hell, if you like flavored rums you can even sub that in for the standard rum if you like.

Here’s to going out with a bang. Cheers!

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below.

Every few years or so it seems the brains of the folks down in Arizona (aka God’s underwear chafe) burst with a brilliant idea that seems to justify the rest of the world’s perception of them as backwards ass, gun-toting, cactus-chewing clodhoppers.

In the early 90s they decided they’d rather not recognize the Martin Luther King, Jr holiday, and as a consequence the state received an economic kick in the balls from numerous boycotts (including the loss of Super Bowl XXVII) that wound up costing it over $300 million in lost revenue.  Remember the song “By the Time I Get to Arizona” by Public Enemy? It was about that whole issue.

Well it looks like Public Enemy’s old song is relevant again, as the fine folks of Arizona have come up with another humdinger that once again proves that too much heat can really fry ALL of your brain cells.  In a move that can only be cast as a throwback to the chilling phrase “Papers, please,” made famous during the Third Reich, the state recently passed a law that gives police discretion to stop anyone they wish and demand proof of their legal status.  In other words if you look like a Mexican, you better have your papers handy or else you can be detained until you do produce them, even if you are in fact a citizen.  And if you don’t produce your papers, well, remember what happened to Rudy in Born in East LA? Yeah.

What does this all have to do with cocktails, you ask? Well, not much, really, other than the fact that this issue has weighed heavily on my mind all week, and perhaps as a result it influenced me on a subconscious level when trying to come up with a name for this week’s cocktail.  But more than anything else it’s just something I felt needed to be said, and this blog is the biggest loudspeaker I have for saying it.

The Stranger
3 oz cantaloupe juice (if you puree, don’t forget to strain it)
2 oz thyme-infused cachaca (see below)
½ oz fresh lemon juice
Healthy pinch ground dried green peppercorns
Pinch celery salt
4 dashes Mole Rojo Bitters by A.B. Smeby (optional)
¼ oz agave nectar (optional, depending on taste and sweetness of cantaloupe)
Top with ginger beer

Tools: shaker, strainer
Glass: Collins

Place everything except ginger beer in a shaker with ice and shake hard for at least 10 seconds or so; strain into an ice-filled Collins or other similarly tall glass.  Top with ginger beer, and give it a light stir.

To make the thyme-infused cachaca, simply take a handful of fresh or dried thyme (fresh thyme infuses a bit slower) and steep it in a jar filled with cachaca.  Give it about a day for dried thyme and a little longer for fresh. Once or twice a day give the jar a little shake, and you can taste it along the way and give more time if needed depending on how strong of a thyme flavor you want to impart.

A few notes on green peppercorns and those bitters you’ve probably never heard of. Green peppercorns are what black peppercorns look like before they’ve ripened. They’re harvested prior to maturity and have a very mild, slightly vegetal flavor.  They have much less of a peppery pungence than black peppercorns, so you can apply them a little more liberally here.

As for the A.B. Smeby Bitters, it’s a small-batch brand made by Brooklyn bitter artisan Louis Smeby.  In addition to the amazing Mole Rojo flavor, there are a bunch of other seasonal flavors of bitters he’s created , like Lemon Verbena, Black & White (Chocolate and Vanilla), and a slew of others. Unfortunately because of the government approval process (bitters do contain alcohol after all), they’re not yet available for purchase.  And that’s why I made them optional in this recipe, though they really do take the drink to a different plane.  I got my hands on some because I’m lucky enough to be working with him to produce cocktail recipes that highlight the bitters, and from time to time I’ll post more original recipes featuring this unique line.

As an aside (here comes the shameless plug), I’ll be featuring Smeby’s bitters in an original punch creation for an upcoming event called The Dizzy Fizz Tastemaker’s Punch (May 17), which is part of the larger Manhattan Cocktail Classic (May 14-18).  If you happen to be in NYC in mid May or can make it out here, I strongly suggest it. It’ll really be an awesome five days of cocktail related shenanigans, with a range of seminars, tastings, and parties to suit both professional and amateur enthusiasts alike.

And don’t worry about bringing your papers. The only papers you’ll need in this state are the ones you roll with.  So don’t be a stranger.

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below.

I have yet to come across a cocktail that epitomizes the adjective rustic like the Caipirinha does.  Derived from the Brazilian Portuguese word caipira (meaning “country people”), even the drink’s name references its rustic nature.  Some refer to the Caipirinha as the cousin of the Mojito.  My liquor-warped brain sees it slightly differently. To me the Caipirinha is like a Mojito that went on a camping trip, lost the minty breath and bubbly attitude, answered the call of the wild and never returned to the city. 

Junior Almeida's "Caipira Chopping Tobacco"

A gander at the ingredient list and required tools—lime, sugar, ice, firewater, a stick for muddling and stirring, and a drinking receptacle—is revelatory: limes that can’t be bothered with a hand squeezer so they’re just smashed with a stick; sugar that can’t be bothered to be turned into syrup so it’s thrown in and smashed along with the limes; ice thrown in that had been hammered with the same tool used to beat the sugar and limes into submission; and a pour of Brazil’s national spirit, cachaca, all built and stirred in the same glass because the person making it can’t be bothered with a shaker or any other such implement that city folk trouble themselves with. And as for the garnish, well, I think you know the answer to that. 

The very nature of the drink indicates its recipe was a local secret long before it ever graced the pages of a cocktail book.  The drink’s geographical origin, however, is not a secret at all.  The Caipirinha is often referred as Brazil’s national drink, and Brazil was surely its birthplace, for its main ingredient cachaca (a sugarcane spirit which is essentially Brazil’s version of rum) was not widely exported until relatively recently. 

The Caipirinha’s origins make pinpointing its precise date of creation a near-impossible task, though we can safely assume it was some time after ice became commonly available.  To dig deeper than that however would display a sense of diligence that controverts everything the Caipirinha represents. 

Caipirinha
2 oz Cachaca
1 ½ -2 barspoons sugar (or ¾ -1 oz simple syrup if you’re the fancy pants type)
Half a lime, quartered
Crushed or cracked ice 

Tools: muddler (we are always adapting to modern times here)
Glass: Old Fashioned glass, but really any receptacle that holds liquid will do 

Muddle the limes with the sugar (or simple syrup) in a glass. Add the cachaca and stir to dissolve remaining sugar granules.  Add the ice, give it another healthy stir, and enjoy. 

An alternative and more modern way of making the Caipirinha is to build the drink as above in a shaker, then shake and pour everything into a glass without straining.  Some prefer this method because it produces a more uniformly flavored drink. I go either way depending on how lazy I feel. 

Besides simplicity, the Caipirinha is also an excellent study in form following function.  Using undissolved sugar instead of syrup—as Caipirinha purists are wont—may be more than just a matter of laziness.  When muddling, the sugar granules add friction, thereby acting as an abrasive agent against the skin of the limes, helping release more of their essential oil.  This leads to a more full-flavored Caipirinha than if you were just squeezing in lime juice, since we’re getting more than just the juice. 

The Caipirinha is as refreshing as it is simple, and its wow factor belies its simplicity.  Not only is it on my short list of crowd pleasing summer drinks, but it’s also very deserving of its place on the exclusive list of “Essential Cocktails.” 

Saude! 

*Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below.

So you say it was a tough year, huh? Well, look at it this way: you’ve almost made it out of this Millenium’s first decade. And what a decade it’s been. I mean, this was the decade that the internet hit puberty and really came into its own; the decade that gave birth to Google—do you remember life before you could “Google it?” In short, the decade in which the future seemed to finally merge with the present. A disputed presidential election, the worst attack on our soil since Pearl Harbor, the election of an African-American president, and the near-collapse of our economy (forgive me if I left out a momentous occasion or few)—only the real estate market had more highs and lows. You name it, this decade had it. And regardless of your politics, there’s an untangled thread of certainty we can all hopefully agree on: it’s great to be alive at this very moment in time.

There’s no better occasion to celebrate that existential proposition than the celebration of the New Year. And there’s no better way to celebrate than with bubbly—be it Champagne (France), Prosecco (Italy), Cava (Spain), or good old American sparkling wine (try Gruet from New Mexico if you haven’t already). I mean, is there a better metaphor for hope rising above despair than thousands of tiny bubbles rushing up with such singular focus that you’d think there was a Black Friday sale awaiting at the surface?

Yet before you raise your glasses this year, I’d like to propose something you may not have tried before. This time around, in addition to the traditional pouring of Champagne rounds for the friends and family, why not dazzle them with a bit of mixological magic? You know, show them that you didn’t just mill around doing nothing during those months of unemployment—that you actually learned something useful.

The recipes below are all for classic cocktails that incorporate Champagne, and by classic I mean drinks that were created prior to Prohibition and enjoyed the limelight well into the Mad Men era—you know, when folks knew how to drink with style and purpose.

Serve up the ever-regal Champagne Cocktail for the light drinkers in your crew. For the folks who think summer’s a twelve month season, make them an Air Mail made of rum, lime juice, honey, and Champagne, which is basically a variation of the classic French 75. And for those who belong to the Fraternal Order of the Iron Liver, give them the Sea Captain’s Special, which is a cross between a Champagne Cocktail and an Old Fashioned.

Although the recipes below classically call for Champagne, this is really no time to nitpick, and any bubbly of your choice will suit just fine.

Champagne Cocktail (pictured at top)
Champagne
Sugar cube
2-3 dashes Angostura or Peychaud’s bitters
Lemon twist

Glass: Champagne flute

Drop a few dashes of bitters on a sugar cube and place the cube in a chilled flute. Fill with Champagne and twist a piece of lemon peel over the drink—the point is to spritz it with the citrus oil from the peel—and place in the drink. When cutting a lemon peel try to cut as little of the bitter white pith as possible.

Unlike the Sea Captain’s Special, the sugar’s purpose in the Champagne Cocktail isn’t so much to sweeten the deal but to provide a steady, pronounced stream of bubbles.

Air Mail (above)
2 oz gold rum
½ oz fresh lime juice
2 tsp honey
Champagne (approx 4-5 oz)

Glass: Highball, Collins, or other tall glass

Dissolve the honey with the rum and lime juice in a cocktail shaker. Fill shaker with ice and shake until chilled. Pour everything into the glass—ice and all—without straining, and fill to the top with Champagne.

To make a French 75, simply substitute gin for the rum, lemon juice for lime, and sugar or simple syrup instead of honey, all while keeping the proportions the same.

Sea Captain’s Special (above)
2 oz Rye whiskey (substitute Bourbon if you can’t get Rye)
Sugar cube (or about ½ tsp granulated sugar)
2-3 dashes Angostura or Peychaud’s bitters
1-2 dashes absinthe
Champagne
Orange twist

Glass: Old Fashioned

Place a sugar cube in the glass and drop a few dashes of bitters and a small splash of Champagne on it. With a muddler, spoon, small tree branch, or whatever you have available, crush the sugar cube and swirl the glass around to coat the sides with the sugar grains and bitters. Drop in a couple of large ice cubes (the bigger the pieces the better, as you want the slowest diluting ice as possible), pour in the whiskey, top with Champagne, and add a dash or two of absinthe on top. Cut a swath of orange peel in the same manner as the lemon above, squeeze it over the drink, and drop it in.

Not too difficult, right? With these drinks in your arsenal you should have no problem entertaining your guests and earning their praise.

Happy New Year folks, and bring on the next decade!

Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

Paystyle was born in Tehran and grew up in Los Angeles (aka Tehrangeles) before moving to Brooklyn with his wife and co-pilot Vanessa Bahmani who provides the stunning photography of Pay’s concoctions. Return every Wednesday for his weekly Happy Hour column.

Christmas is nearly upon us, and while most folks are building jolly snowmen and merrily singing carols, every year there are those who wake on Christmas morning to the sad realization that they had been placed on the naughty list, with only a few lumps of coal in their stockings as their best hope of a gift.

And who’s in charge of making the big decisions as to who’s been naughty or nice? Well old St. Nick of course, but what I don’t understand is who put this guy in charge in the first place?

Seriously though, what’s this Santa fella’s problem anyway? I mean, who does he think he is with this naughty or nice business? He sounds like a pretty judgmental guy if you ask me. The funny thing is he ought to be the last guy to judge others, since it’s highly doubtful that he’s ever passed up on putting cheese on his double reindeer burger, you know what I mean? And the guy can build every toy imaginable, and always up to date with technology, but can’t build himself a treadmill?

Of course if you’ve been a goodie-two-shoes all year you’re not worried. Shoot, you’re probably enthralled with the guy, and if he were on twitter you’d probably be the first to follow him. But for the rest of us, if you’re tired of finding lumps of coal in your stockings (how cruel is that?), and if you suspect this year will only be more of the same, then listen up because I got your lump of revenge right here. It’s called Hot Milk Punch, and it’s the perfect way to lure in the fat boy–via his favorite midnight snack.

We all know the fat bastard has a weakness for milk and cookies, so that’s exactly what we’re going to use to lure him in. But instead of the traditional energizing and focus-inducing glass of cold milk and cookies, we’ll offer him up some cookies along with Hot Milk Punch, aka liquid sleeping pills. Nothing like warm milk and booze to keep him alert and wide awake for the remainder of his trip.*

Hot Milk Punch
3/4 oz dark rum
3/4 oz brandy
1 tsp caster sugar (superfine sugar)
hot milk to fill
nutmeg to top

Glass: any tea/coffee mug

Heat milk in a pot. Meanwhile mix rum, brandy, and sugar in your mug until it dissolves. Pour in the hot milk and sprinkle with nutmeg on top. You can adjust the alcohol down (or up) to your liking (or level of sinisterness).

I think this year Santa should get the message loud and clear that naughty or nice, we all need a little love this time of year.

Let’s see how Rudolf saves the day with a plastered Santa at the helm, mwaaawhahahahahaa!

*This post is written with tongue firmly planted in cheek. Neither Happy Hour nor Umamimart endorse driving drunk, be it a car or a sleigh, unless you really have to get home pretty bad. We also do not endorse violence against Santa, be it the real Santa or the near-homeless alcoholic guy they hire at the local department store every year. If you’ve been offended in any way by this post then you need to get a massage, smoke a spliff, or do something that relaxes you, as you’re obviously wound too tight–perhaps try some Hot Milk Punch!

Got a cocktail question? Hit me on twitter @paystyle, email me at payman(at)lifesacocktail(dot)com, or simply drop me a comment below!

Paystyle was born in Tehran and grew up in Los Angeles (aka Tehrangeles) before moving to Brooklyn with his wife and co-pilot Vanessa Bahmani who provides the stunning photography of Pay’s concoctions. Return every Wednesday for his weekly Happy Hour column.