funky pirate

3/4 oz Wray & Nephew Overproof White Rum
3/4 oz Green Chartreuse
3/4 oz Lime Juice
1/2 oz Honey Syrup (3/4 oz 1:1)
2-3 dash Celery Bitters (3 dash Bitter Truth)

Shake with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lime peel spiral and a spritz of absinthe (rinse Copper & Kings).Two Mondays prior, I uncovered a set of online recipe flashcards from the Seventy7 Lounge in Culver City outside of Los Angeles, and the Funky Pirate from their 2017 menu called out to me. The combination of Wray & Nephew Rum, Green Chartreuse, and lime reminded me of the Nuclear Daiquiri but here with honey, absinthe, and celery bitters instead of falernum. Once shaken and strained, the Funky Pirate boarded the nose with a lime, rum funk, licorice, and floral aroma. Next, a lime and honey sip sailed into a funky rum and herbaceous swallow with a celery finish.

honest abe

1 oz Rittenhouse Rye Whiskey
1 oz Applejack (Laird's Bonded)
3/4 oz Cynar
2 dash Orange Bitters (Angostura Orange)

Stir with ice, strain into a single old fashioned glass, and garnish with orange oil from a twist.Two Sundays ago, I returned to an online recipe flashcard set from Providence's Cook & Brown Public House and decided on the Honest Abe from their Fall 2012 menu. This Black Manhattan of sorts made me think of Tonia Guffey's C.I.A. mashed up with my F.L.A.N.. Once mixed, the Honest Abe announced an orange, apple, and caramel-herbal bouquet. Next, the caramel continued on into the sip where it relinquished into rye, apple, and herbal flavors on the swallow with an orange finish.

nazgul negroni

1 1/2 oz Russell Reserve Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1 oz Averna
1/2 oz Cynar
1/2 oz Nux Alpina Walnut Liqueur (Russo Nocino)
1 dash Fee's Black Walnut Bitters (2 dash Strongwater Mountain Elixirs Walnut)

Stir with ice and strain into a coupe glass.Two Saturdays ago, I was going through the screen captures on my phone, and I spotted the recipe for the Nazgûl Negroni from Backbar in Somerville that they posted on Instagram in December 2023 to support their Lord Of The Rings menu. While I have had American whiskey and walnut liqueur with Averna such as in the recent Left Hand of Darkness and with Cynar such as in the Bitter Branch, I have never tried the two amari with nocino in the same glass. Here, the Nazgûl Negroni opened up with Bourbon, caramel, herbal, and earthy aromas. Next, the Averna and Cynar's caramel filled the sip, and the swallow rounded things off with Bourbon, vegetal, herbal, and walnut flavors on the swallow.

bae of biscay

1 oz Arette Reposado Tequila (Cimarron)
1 oz Fino Sherry (Tio Pepe)
1/2 oz Salers Gentian Liqueur (Suze)
1/4 oz Amaro Ramazzotti
1/8 oz Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/8 oz Sirop (Sirop JM)
2 dash Tonka Bitters (my Abbott's Bitters that include Tonka)

Stir with ice, strain into a coupe, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Thursdays ago, I uncovered a small set of online recipe flashcards for Billy Sunday in Chicago, and I opted for the Bae of Biscay that I found posted on their Instagram in July 2021. This tequila drink was named after popular culture and the bay between northern Spain and France and contains a pair of sherries and a gentian liqueur to perhaps mirror that. In the glass, the Bae of Biscay began with a lemon and vegetal aroma. Next, a slightly crisp sip showcased raisin and caramel notes and was chased by tequila, gentian, herbal, and root beer flavors on the swallow.

#treatyoself

1 1/2 oz Scotch (Famous Grouse Smoky Black)
1/2 oz Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/4 oz Lustau Pedro Ximenez Sherry (El Maestro Sierra)
1/4 oz Amaro Meletti
1/8 oz Apricot Liqueur (Rothman & Winter)
1/2 oz Water

Build and give a quick stir. I built in a rocks glass instead of funneling into a flask.Two Wednesdays ago, I reached for Sarah Baird's Flask book and spotted the #Treatyoself by Cari Hai at Big Bar in Los Angeles in the wedding-themed section of the book. This room temperature cocktail came across with a smoke, orchard fruit, caramel, and floral aroma. Next, grape and caramel notes on the sip ended with smoky Scotch, Cognac, apricot, raisin, and floral flavors on the swallow.

lock & load

1 oz Bols Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
1/2 oz Benedictine
1/2 oz Pineapple Gomme Syrup (Pineapple Syrup)
1/2 oz Lime Juice
1 dash Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into a Nick & Nora glass, and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.Two Tuesdays prior, I revisited the online recipe flashcards for Teardrop Lounge in Portland, Oregon, and I selected the Lock & Load. Yelp has a mention of this drink as early as 2013, and a menu description read "earth & soft, with a tropical bounce." I have had Benedictine paired with pineapple syrup in the rum-based Rainmaker and the Cognac-sherry Burnished Brass, and I utilized it in The Phrasemaker after studying recipes of my #SecretSanté back in 2022. Once shaken and strained, the Lock & Load showcased a lime, pineapple, and woody spice bouquet. Next, lime and pineapple notes on the sip flowed into malty, herbal, pineapple, and allspice flavors on the swallow.

this that & the other

1 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac (Monnet VSOP)
1/2 oz Bols Genever (Bols Barrel-Aged)
1/2 Paranubes Rum (Uruapan Charanda Blanco)
1 oz Pasubio Vino Amaro
1/4 oz Giffard Banane (Tempus Fugit)
1/8 oz Demerara Syrup
1 dash Regan's Orange Bitters

Stir with ice, strain into an old fashioned glass with a large ice cube, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Mondays ago, I ventured back to the online recipe flashcard set for the Patterson House in Nashville and came across the This That & the Other as a three-way split base bitter Manhattan of sorts. The name reminded me of the differently punctuated drink at the Independent back in 2011 by way of name only, and I was glad to find another use for my bottle of Pasubio. Once mixed, the This That & the Other opened up with lemon, malt, and blueberry aromas. Next, grape and dark fruit notes on the sip transfered to Cognac, malty Genever, and blueberry flavors on the swallow with a rum funk and banana finish.

return trip

3/4 oz Roger Groult Calvados (Morin Selection)
3/4 oz Lustau Oloroso Sherry
3/4 oz Amaro Braulio
1 tsp Vanilla Syrup
1 tsp Pineapple Gum Syrup (Pineapple Syrup)
1 dash Bittermens Tiki Bitters (Bitter Cube Trinity)

Stir with ice, strain into a single old fashioned glass, and garnish with a lemon twist.Two Sundays ago, I returned to the online recipe flashcards from Death & Co. and landed on the Return Trip from the Denver branch's Fall 2021 menu. A Reddit post indentified it as a bartender Mitchell Armstrong creation. In the glass, the Return Trip launched off with a lemon, pine, raisin, and vanilla aroma. Next, grape and caramel on the sip traveled to apple, nutty, pine, and vanilla flavors on the swallow with a pineapple finish.

stellina

1 1/2 oz Bourbon (Evan Williams Bonded)
1/2 oz Tempus Fugit Crème de Banane
1/2 oz Amaro Braulio
3 dash Hellfire Bitters (My Own)
Shake (stir) and strain into a double old fashioned glass with an ice sphere (large ice cube).Two Saturdays prior, I uncovered an online recipe flashcard collection for the Venetian in Las Vegas. There, I spotted the Stellina as a fruity-bitter Bourbon drink that I was able to find on the current menu at Bar Luca at the Venetian using Old Forester Bourbon. In the glass, the Stellina opened up with Bourbon, caramel, and pine aromas. Next, the caramel notes continued on into the sip followed by whiskey, banana, and bitter piny flavors on the swallow with a red pepper spice on the finish.