Recipes
Slip out the Back, Jack
Makes 1 Slip Out the Back, Jack
2 oz Laird’s Applejack
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz Allspice Dram
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 egg white
Add ingredients to a shaker without ice. Dry shake for 10-15 seconds. Fill with ice and shake for 20 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
The Manhattan
Makes 1 Manhattan
1 oz Woodford Reserve bourbon
1 oz Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz Noilly Prat sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Stir with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
The Half-Dirty Martini
Two half-dirty martinis on a white background.
Makes 2 Half-Dirty Martinis
Ingredients
4 1/2 oz London Dry gin, such as Bombay Sapphire or Beefeater
3/4 oz olive brine, such as from a jar of Mezzetta Martini Olves
3/4 oz dry vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
Directions
Combine ingredients in a shaker full of ice. Shake or stir until the outside gets frosty, around 30-60 seconds depending on your method.
Strain into two chilled cocktail glasses. Garnish with an olive.
Smoky Barista
I made a fantastic cocktail from a nonalcoholic cocktail book called ZERO—from the talented folks over at the Aviary cocktail book—and had some extra ginger syrup left over. I wondered what ginger would taste like with mezcal and tested it out in this riff on a margarita. It. Is. Amazing.
Ingredients
2 oz Fidencio mezcal
3/4 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz ginger syrup
6 Starbucks Caffe Verona coffee beans
Directions
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake until well chilled. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
The Martini
Calling cocktails “martinis” is like calling all comedians Lenny Bruce. Sure, we’d all like to be him, but there can be only one.
A Martini contains only gin and dry vermouth (orange bitters is optional) and is garnished with olives or a lemon twist. Never vodka (that’s called a Kangaroo). Never onions (Gibson). And if you like it “bone dry, like Winston Churchill liked it,” you’re really just drinking chilled gin (and I judge you).
That said, if you’re looking for a dirty martini recipe, I’ve got you covered.
Making a Martini can be intimidating. A drink with so few ingredients leaves no room for error. Over-pour, under dilute, stare too long at your guests with your mouth gaping and you’re asking for trouble (and a lot of uncomfortable guests).
Some people will (ridiculously) claim that shaking bruises the gin. They are wrong. Shaking accelerates dilution. Shaking drinks that contain sugary ingredients can lead to cloudy cocktails. They’ll look disgusting, but they won’t taste any different.
Makes 1 martini
Ingredients
2 ounces (70 mL) good gin, such as The Walter Collective (my personal favorite)
3⁄4 ounce (20 mL) dry vermouth, such as Noilly Prat
1 dash of orange bitters (optional), such as Angostura
Directions
Put all ingredients in a glass with ice. Any glass will do. Stir for 60 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. I use a julep strainer and think you should too. You could use two forks, as I’ve suggested before. The goal, once again, is to separate ice from the liquid. Garnish with an olive or two. Your other alternative is a lemon twist. Not a slice, a wheel, or wedge. A twist. (See page 10 if you want to know more about why I’m adamant this should be a twist and nothing else.)
The Donna Rosa
This is a riff on the Jasmine cocktail, and by "riff" I mean "I added an egg white and called it something completely different.
This is a riff on the Jasmine cocktail, and by "riff" I mean "I added an egg white and called it something completely different." I named it after the Pink Lady cocktail [just to be confusing, I guess?]. Except in Italian, because...Campari. Does Donna Rosa translate to Pink Lady? Google says "yes", but Google's shifty, so who knows. Whatever you call it, it's wonderful. Give it a try and let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
Ingredients
1 oz gin
3/4 oz Campari
3/4 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz Cointreau or triple sec
1 egg white
Recipe
Add all ingredients to a shaker filled with ice. Shake for at least 30 seconds. 60 seconds is better. You want that egg white completely emulsified and frothy. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Enjoy!
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The Dirty Mela
This is the Dirty Mela. An Anthony LeDonne original. I'm probably not the first to mix these three ingredients in these ratios, but I AM the first to post it on my website. And, since my website is my world, I'm the first to make it. Ever. [No arguments.]
Applejack is a watered down version of apple brandy, and by "watered down" I mean "cut with 80 proof grain neutral spirits." You'd think that would make an inferior product. And you'd probably be right. But in this drink Applejack is better. And cheaper. Don't waste a delicate apple brandy in here... Your wallet will notice the difference more than your tongue.
The name Dirty Mela points to the drink's roots: mela, Italian for apple, and dirty... well I don't know why dirty was in there. But it felt right [translation: Wiff named it so it's not changing].
Ingredients
1oz Laird's Apple Applejack
1oz Noilly Prat Sweet Vermouth
1oz Campari
Directions
Add everything to a mixing tin/glass/jar/container full of ice. Stir for 60 seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail* glass.
*Don't call it a martini glass. This isn’t Applebee's. Also, don't call cocktails martinis unless they are Martinis, made only with gin and dry vermouth (although a dash of orange bitters is acceptable per the original recipe). A "vodka martini" is called a Kangeroo. And yeah, you should feel weird saying that; that's the price you pay for drinking a "vodka martini". [Can you feel my judgement?]