Classic Cocktails: Extended

(This post is part of a series that I’m using to help write my next book, the new edition of 100 Classic Cocktails, and provide inspiration for home bartenders in these times of social distancing. Some of the recipes are ones I’m trying to workshop, and I’m asking my readers to test the recipes at home if able and send me their thoughts on the questions I have. Others are ones I think I’ve nailed that can be easily made with common household ingredients, and I’m sharing them to help my readers keep their spirits up while spending a lot more time at home than usual. I’ll always specify which is which. For more background on all of this, including the book, you can check out the first post in the series here. All posts will be tagged “(100) Classic Cocktails”.)

Reports of the end of this book-writing process have been greatly exaggerated! It turns out that we still have some space to fill in the page count, which means more recipes are going in.

If you’d like to follow along at home, here are a few that could stand a little feedback! As before, they are all fairly accessible for the home bartender:

Applejack Rabbit
1¾ oz. ~100º Apple Brandy (or 2 oz. ~80º Apple Brandy)
½ oz. Grade B Maple Syrup
½ oz. Lemon Juice
¼ oz. Orange Juice

Shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Question: I’m pretty confident in these proportions, but it isn’t coming out quite right for me, because all I have is Grade A maple syrup. Dialing up to ¾ oz. of maple makes it too sweet, in my book, without entirely solving the flavor issue, so I think what it needs is the richness of Grade B in these proportions. My question, then, is simple for those of you possessing Grade B maple syrup: did you enjoy this drink?

Blinker
2 oz. Rye
1 oz. Grapefruit Juice
½ oz. Grenadine OR Raspberry Syrup

Shake. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Question: Did you use raspberry syrup or grenadine, and what did you think of the result? The Blinker is traditionally a grenadine drink, but Ted Haigh recommended a raspberry version in his influential book Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails, which has become the more popular version in recent years. Bonus question: What did you think of the balance of grapefruit juice in the drink? Was it too sour? Not sour enough? Did it meld well with your rye? Etc.!

Rosita
1½ oz. Reposado Tequila
½ oz. Campari
½ oz. Sweet Vermouth
¼ oz. Dry Vermouth
1 ds. Angostura Bitters OR 2 ds. Angostura Bitters

Stir. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Express a lemon peel over the glass and discard OR express a grapefruit peel over the glass and discard.

Question: Two very subtle variations on this one: how many dashes of bitters to use (1 is fairly standard, but I think I prefer 2) and whether to use a lemon or grapefruit peel for the finishing touch. Let me know which permutation(s) you went with, how you liked the balance, the flavor, the brightness and presence or absence of the citrus, or any other flavor notes you might have.

White Lady
1½ oz. Gin
¾ oz. Lemon Juice
¾ oz. Curaçao or Triple Sec
Egg White

Shake without ice, then again with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

OR

2 oz. Gin
½ oz. Lemon Juice
½ oz. Curaçao or Triple Sec
Egg White

Shake without ice, then again with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Question: The first recipe uses the Savoy Cocktail Book’s proportions, while the second is a more contemporary version. I like one of them better than the other, but I won’t say which just yet; this drink has never been my cup of tea, and I want to make sure that the recipe I include is a good representation of this cocktail, and not simply one I enjoy more because it tastes less like how this cocktail is meant to taste.

It's Real

Ladies and gentlemen, I can confirm that the book has taken physical form: my copy of Distilled Knowledge arrived this weekend!

I spent months trying to imagine what this moment would feel like. I gave up (often), because I really had no parallel for it. I would often joke that seeing my name on the cover would make me certain that someone had made a mistake, that my name had gotten slapped onto somebody else’s book somehow. I say, “joke,” even though some part of me probably thought that might happen. I really, really had no idea what to expect.

I’m very happy to report that the feeling I actually experienced when I opened the box and saw my copy of my book was absolute, unbridled joy. Have you ever hugged a book? Literally hugged it. Squeezed it into your chest like it would dissolve into your body. I have. Books are harder than people, but it still works.

I could ramble on about this forever, but I won't. Instead I'll answer some of your possibly-burning questions, after which I'll give you the recipe for the cocktail I devised the night I found out my copy of Distilled Knowledge was in the country and on its way to me.

Does this mean I can get a copy now, too?
Not yet! Unless you're reviewing Distilled Knowledge for a publication or something like that. This is a small initial order for reviewers and people who worked on the book.

OK, so when and how do I get a copy?
October 4th is still the landfall date. If you want to pick up a copy at your local bookstore, it should be available from then on.

If you want to order a copy online, you can do that now, although it still won't arrive before 10/4. Distilled Knowledge is available for pre-order through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

What if I want a signed copy? Where can I order that?
You can't order a signed copy per se. If you order a regular copy or buy one at your local bookstore, I'll be happy to sign it whenever you, I, and it are all in the same room.

You can also come to a book signing, and either buy a book there or bring one for me to sign! Our schedule of promotional events isn't out just yet, but I can say we're planning to focus on Boston and New York, where we'll be doing a bunch of events from October until the last drop of interest has been squeezed from those cities' populations. Other events throughout the Northeast are reasonably likely but have yet to be scheduled.

If you live in other parts of the country (or in other countries), I hope we'll be able to do events near you, but it will depend to some degree on how well the book is doing, and I don't expect we'd be there before 2017.

How do I know when promotional events are happening, and where, and whether they're signings or cocktail lessons or something else entirely?
Sign up for the Herzog Cocktail School Mailing list! That is, by far, the surest way to get information about upcoming events. You can even choose to just receive information about Distilled Knowledge.

Sign up here: http://www.herzogcocktailschool.com/contact/

Is there, like, a one-stop shop where I can get any Distilled Knowledge information I could possibly need at once? That will be regularly updated as new information comes in?
You bet! It's right here: http://www.herzogcocktailschool.com/distilled-knowledge/

You said something about a cocktail?
Frequently, yes!

Here you go:

Publication Cocktail
1 1/2 oz. Rittenhouse 100º Rye
1 oz. Angostura Amaro
1/4 oz. Maple Syrup
2 Dashes Crude "Sycophant" (Orange & Fig) Bitters
Shake with ice. Strain into a chilled coupé glass.

Note: This drink is definitely inspired by Angostura's Waffle Shots, which I encountered at Tales of the Cocktail last summer (and which are the primary reason I own Angostura Amaro in the first place). Waffle Shots consist of Angostura Rum, Angostura Amaro, and maple syrup, mixed together in a wide-mouth cup, with a quarter of a waffle dusted in powdered sugar and dunked into it. I can think of no better breakfast item for a tailgate, ever.

The Waffle Shot is a richer, heavier drink than the Publication, which ends up being very whiskey-forward thanks to the Rittenhouse and gets a nice bit of brightness from the bitters. The drinks are also distinguished by the presence or absence of waffles.