Playing with the Classics: Aperol 75

One key thing those of us who create cocktails like to tell new bartenders who are just starting to learn how to mix is to start with the classics and modify.  Classics are classic for a reason, of course, and it's a great way to get a feel for ratios and balance.  One of my personal favorite classics is the French 75.  In preparation for Mother's Day brunch at work, I thought I'd work out some potential cocktails to feature, and anything with sparkling wine is a natural choice.

Since I work at an Italian restaurant I've been using that as an excuse to familiarize myself with Italian liqueurs/amaros/etc. that I've never had much reason to learn before.  Aperol, though an amaro, is pretty tame and I thought it might have great potential to introduce to people who might otherwise be frightened of something new.  The best way to introduce people to something new?  Blend it with something old and familiar...in my case, the lovely French 75.

  

 Pretty, no?  The cocktail glass was actually a lovely gift from 

one of my sisters-in-law and her husband for Christmas :-)

Aperol 75

Glassware:  Large cocktail glass or large champagne flute

Garnish:  Lemon twist

Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

1 oz Plymouth gin

.5 oz Aperol

1.5 oz Fresh lemon juice

.75 oz Rich simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into glass.  Top with prosecco (about three ounces) and garnish.

Stagger Lee

This cocktail came from a restaurant guest who had heard from her daughter about a black cherry cocktail with bourbon.  I was lost for a second, as we'd never had anything like that before, but then I realized that she was probably talking about Jim Beam's Red Stag, which is a black cherry bourbon.  She asked how people usually enjoyed it, and I asked her a few questions, and bounced off to create a cocktail for her.  I enjoyed the outcome so much that I tweaked it just a touch and eventually added it as a staple to the menu.

Stagger Lee

Glass:  Large cocktail

Garnish:   Long lemon twist

Method:   Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

2 oz Jim Beam Red Stag bourbon

.5 oz Cointreau

.5 oz Rich simple syrup (this can honestly range anywhere from .25oz-.75oz depending on your personal taste and how sweet you like things)

1 oz Fresh lemon juice

2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a large cocktail glass.  Garnish with a long twist of lemon.

Note on the Name:  I struggled hard to name this one, as I wanted something very appropriate to a restaurant that focused on southern cuisine and assorted styles of barbecue.  Ultimately, think I had listened to Nick Cave's "Henry Lee" recently before naming the cocktail, and that put me in mind of his version of "Stagger Lee" (my brain works in bizarre ways).  For those who are unfamiliar with the song (or the story behind any of the variations of the song), here is the Wikipedia entry for the song.  At its core, it is a folk song written about the murder of a specific person by a man from St. Louis.  Red Stag, St. Louis...I realized I'd found my name.  While St. Louis isn't really known for a style of barbecue, they do have a cut style of ribs named after them (pork spare ribs cut into a more uniform rack-style), and they were named "America's Top Grilling City" in an annual list by Kingston charcoal last year.

Lavender Honeybee

I don't really have any entertaining stories behind this cocktail--just the thought that I wanted to do a lavender and honey cocktail, and I thought rosemary would be a nice accent to the mix.  This is honestly probably in my top five favorite recipes of my own...the balance of flavors is really beautiful.

Also, while I have your attention:  I know some of you follow my personal Facebook, but I've started a page to move much of my bar rambling away from that.  If you're interested in keeping up with my blog updates, contests and events I'm involved with (or you might like to be involved with), and just interesting news in the bar world in general, you should head over and "Like" the Alcohol Alchemy Facebook page.

Lavender Honeybee

Glassware:  Large cocktail glass

Garnish:  Burned rosemary sprig

Method:  Shake and Strain

Ingredients:

2 oz Plymouth gin

.25 oz Simple syrup

.5 oz Lavender syrup

2 oz Fresh lemon juice

2 sprigs Fresh rosemary

.5 oz Smoked honey */**

Add ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.  Shake well and strain into glass.  Garnish with a burned rosemary sprig.

* I smoked the honey for around an hour using hickory wood.  If you're using a smoking gun you'll probably want to have the honey spread out as thinly as possible on a baking sheet or something to make sure all the honey gets the chance to catch the smoke since it's so viscous.

** I generally add the honey as the final ingredient, and give it a little stir before I add the ice so that it doesn't end up A) stuck to the bottom of the glass or B) as a cold clump attached to the ice in the tin after shaking.

Herbal Summer Lemonade

This lemonade recipe is actually not one of my own.  Someone I know tried it last spring at a food show up in Cleveland, and I had a lot of fun adding an alcoholic twist to it.  I haven't attempted to figure out the ratios of liquor to make a large batch, but it's delicious with or without, and leaving it non-alcoholic makes it appropriate for gatherings with kids, too.

To make the lemonade

Yield:  About 2.5 gallons

Build:

24 oz Fresh squeezed lemon juice

24 oz POM Wonderful pomegranate juice

4 cups sugar*

144 oz Cold water

Add:

4 oz Fresh Dill

4 oz Fresh Mint

4 oz Fresh Basil

2 oz Fresh Rosemary 

Let steep to desired strength**.

* I've discovered that dissolving the sugar in the lemon and pomegranate juices before adding the water seems to work best to dissolve it as entirely as possible.  After that, I add the water, stir to blend, and add the herbs.

** Personally, I think about 24 hours is perfect, though you can generally start serving it after just a few hours of steeping, and you're not going to want the herbs in there much past a day and a half or so.

Alcoholic Version:

Method: Build

Glassware: 10oz Collins

Garnish: Edible orchid bloom

Ingredients:

1 oz Hendricks gin

.5 oz St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Add ice, fill with steeped herbal lemonade, and garnish.