Since the basis for the Greenpoint is the Red Hook, and by extension, the Manhattan, it should come as no surprise that that this is going to be a rye whiskey cocktail with vermouth.

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Last year during the month of October I shared a series of Halloween-themed cocktails that are all great classics. The Corpse Reviver No. 2, Satan’s Whiskers, Trader Vic’s El Diablo and Don the Beachcomber’s Zombie. I couldn’t let the month go by without adding another ghoulish recipe to the list. This year I am sharing my interpretation of something I had at the Bradstreet Crafthouse back in January.

Although it’s no longer on the menu at Bradstreet, every time I look at the ingredients I am bitten. This is not for the faint of heart. First of all, it’s an all-spirits drink, and while that has the benefit of avoiding fresh juices making it easier in some respects, it also packs a wallop. This isn’t something all springtime-refreshing and peppy. It’s an autumn drink that is dark, herbal, complex and bitter—like a Negroni that fell under the spell

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I am referring to the Apple Smash, a basic rum cocktail that makes great use of fresh apples both in the drink and for the garnish. With so many different apples available this time of year, why not give this easy recipe a try? After all, fresh apples are underused in cocktails and it’s nice to have a recipe that works without requiring a bunch of odd ingredients. In other words, you probably have everything you need to make this drink right now—just grab some apples and you are ready to go. Heugel suggests Honeycrisp, but it’s fun

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But, the cocktail that seems to evoke the most curiosity may also be the simplest. The Rural Juror isn’t exactly a tongue-twister, but it’s impossible to order one with a straight face. A cocktail’s name can mean

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The “stuff” includes lots of rhubarb, some grapefruit peel, orange peel, and cinnamon all macerated in a jar of high-proof neutral spirits, then diluted some with water and sweetened with agave. It’s not exactly bitter, but it has a great concentrated flavor that can be used to add complexity to cocktails or to season them to bring other ingredients together.

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Even though most people have never even heard of a Brandy Crusta,

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Not long ago, we explored genever in the Bols Alaska cocktail, so here’s another fun way to use it. If you’ve been thinking about adding genever to your cabinet, let me tell you, it’s time. The truth is, genever is a very interesting product that can

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This cocktail actually has two stories—mine, and that of the cocktail’s creator. I’ll start with mine since it’s shorter and not as intersting. A few weeks ago, my wife and I found ourselves at Beaker & Flask, a fantastic cocktail bar

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Another reason vodka doesn’t appear quite as often considering the momentum surrounding classic mixology these days is that by definition, it’s a flavorless spirit. Now, I realize, some of you will

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I don’t see the Riviera

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Leaving a five-year gig at Palomino to work with Tim Niver and Aaron Johnson, both of whom he considers some of the best restauranteurs in the area, Nick helped open

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I hope to feature other bitter cocktails as the year goes on, but I figure this one makes a nice conclusion to the previous post about potable bitters. The fact that this drink is also sweet and sour makes it a bit more accessible for someone starting to explore bitter flavors. If you aren’t already a fan of Campari, this is a great way to discover what all the fuss is about.

Campari Sour 1.5 oz Campari .5 oz simple syrup (1:1) 1 oz lemon juice

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It’s probably long overdue, but I finally decided to write a few words about the bitter side of the cocktail spectrum—this time to outline some specific ingredients that impose this unusual nuance of flavor. The subject has surfaced before in drinks like the Negroni, and in homemade ingredients such as Tonic Water. Yet, Americans are are only just starting to understand the appeal of bitter beverages, so if this all sounds unusual or makes you feel uneasy, you’re not alone.

Expanding Palate For a cocktail enthusiast, the process of experimentation, and in many cases, the discovery of favorite drink recipes, can be likened to a chef, working through the pantry toward delicious dinner combinations. Each ingredient opens doors to new flavors that bring challenges and opportunities. Early favorites are often sweet concoctions that find refuge with the sours, where the quest for balance and variety can sustain plenty

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Shaker Tins The most important item for making cocktails besides the ingredients is the shaker. I normally recommend a Boston shaker which is a glass and tin combo, but I upgraded to an all-metal shaker a while ago.

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I can think of a few good bars in town that could make our drink of the week with what they

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For our Drink Of The Week, we set our sights on the classics again, turning our clocks all the way back to the 1880s. Imagine yourself in the days of Jerry Thomas, Saratoga Springs, New York, enjoying the spas—or more likely—the horses, the gambling, the cocktails. By then, the cocktail had established a firm grasp on social culture and the Saratoga

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Imagine my delight to find out that my brother-in-law enjoys the exact same vodka martini that I do: Ketel One with a twist. It’s so simple that when I thought about posting something about it today for his birthday, I decided to take a more inspired approach—one with a few more “steps”.

Eleven months ago my wife and I visited the man of honor in San Francisco where there’s no shortage of great cocktails. During our visit, the better part of one evening was spent hanging out in the loft we rented, dancing and drinking Whiskey Sours. We also laughed about what our names might be if we were rap musicians.

Ok, so none of us is about to make it big in the music industry, but there’s no reason we can’t enjoy another cocktail dreaming about it, right? I decided to dedicate

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That’s right, this is a two-for-one recipe because history has recorded two slightly different ways to concoct this drink. According to Harry Craddock’s eponymous tome The Savoy Cocktail Book, the hair on Satan’s beard is either straight or curled. Thankfully, your preference will depend

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A few weeks ago I had an opportunity to zip over to the Wine Thief where Bittercube, the award-winnng mixology duo Ira Koplowitz and Nick Kosevich, were presenting their new line of cocktail bitters. It was nice to see Nick in action, as it had been a long time since I had seen him while he was still at the Town Talk Diner. I didn’t figure he would remember me, but I sure remember those cocktails! Of course, this wasn’t a social visit—I was there to try some new Bittercube Bitters.

When it comes to cocktail bitters, most people recognize Angostura even if they aren’t sure what to do with it. Better bars might also have Peychaud’s which could mean they know how to make a Sazerac. Next on the list is probably some version of orange bitters, although this product

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I love the name of this drink partly because it’s actually a nickname. Most cocktail gurus agree that this drink was once referred to as “My Suffering Bar Steward” which seems to recall a time before ice machines and soda dispensers. Imagine a poor, suffering assistant scurrying to and fro to keep the ice bin full and to retrieve ingredients for the barman. Plenty of drinks are named for the men behind the stick, but it’s not unreasonable to believe that in a loud, crowded bar, someone might fancy a misheard

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Umami, or savoriness, is considered by eastern cultures as an important component of taste in their cuisine. It is the flavor produced by amino acids such as glutamate that we normally associate with beef, mushrooms or that “rich”

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Next week marks the beginning of Tales of the Cocktail, an annual event held in New Orleans to celebrate our truly American invention. But it’s more than that. Tales has become something of a Mecca to cocktail enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world. With so many sponsored events and educational sessions throughout the week, attendees have the opportunity to learn from the experts and discover new products and techniques. In addition to hosting Tales of the Cocktail, New Orleans enjoys a deep tradition of mixology and has been host to the creation of many classic cocktail favorites. Perhaps the one most identified with the city is our Drink of the Week, the Sazerac.

A cocktail was at one time a narrow class of beverages following a very specific formula: spirits, sugar, water and bitters. Today, the word is associated with any mixed alcoholic

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As important and recognizable as the Martini is in the pantheon of cocktails, few people have ever heard of the Martinez. Instead, we recognize the V-shaped glass dripping with sweat, the ice cold gin and vermouth glistening like a clear, perfect gem, the olive or lemon twist garnish—the Martini is iconic. And yet, we are really talking about the Dry Martini, a more accurate name because of the fact that it is made with dry, French vermouth. Of course, that would imply there was a sweet version, right?

It’s true. The first Martini was concocted of gin and

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The first thing you are going to notice, besides the fact that we are using fresh mint, is that this is another gin drink. By now, you should realize that a good share of classic cocktails, or at least a significant portion that come from the Prohibition era, are made with gin. That’s because gin was about the easiest spirit bootleggers could make—it is a basic maceration of botanicals and it requires no barrel aging. Some cocktails were created in

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The history of this cocktail provides a two-for-one opportunity since one cannot describe the Negroni without first referencing the Americano, and to describe the Americano requires mentioning the essential ingredient, Campari. So, this brings us to late nineteenth century Italy where production of a unique apéritif and digestif was just getting started. Campari is basically an alcoholic infusion of fruit, bitter herbs and aromatic plants. The exact formula remains a secret. By the early 1900s, Italians were enjoying Campari with soda water, and it is this simple combination that inspired a drink that became quite popular.

Americano 1 ounce Campari 1 ounce sweet vermouth

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The selection this week is the appropriately timed Income Tax Cocktail. It’s a forgotten classic, so this serves as a reminder for you to file your return and to remember this old drink. It’s based on another cocktail that was once popular, only this version has the minor difference of adding bitters.

Income Tax Cocktail 1.5 oz gin .75 oz sweet vermouth .75 oz dry vermouth a fresh squeeze of orange juice 2 dashes Angostura bitters

Add the gin and vermouths to a cocktail shaker. Cut an orange into quarters and squeeze one quarter right into the shaker. Add the bitters, seal and

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A few weeks ago I posted a teaser about our upcoming tour of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail®. Well, it’s time to kickoff the bourbon trail series starting with a special Drink Of The Week and a perfect start to our exploration of Kentucky bourbon country. Click here to see all of the Kentucky bourbon posts on one page. New posts will be added over the next few days so you can see how the trip progressed. The first destination of our tour was the Seelbach Hotel in Louisville, KY.

The History Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Seelbach Hotel is a perfect example of gilded-era luxury and beauty which recently underwent a $12 million restoration. Its turn-of-the-century Beaux Arts Baroque style served as the backdrop for Tom and Daisy Buchanan’s wedding in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Once a fellow resident of St. Paul,

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Everyone was pre-registered, so we were greeted at the entrance with printed name tags and a chilled cocktail—a fantastic way to start. Rocky Mountain Punch which is a heavenly mixture of rum, maraschino liqueur, lemon juice, champagne or pineapple juice with Angostura bitters made a pleasant and refreshing introduction to the topic of the afternoon: Bitters.

The group was divided into two sections. Some were led into the back room where an

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I am going to say it right off the bat: It’s a gin cocktail. Now that we have it out in the open and before you run for the hills, think about this: How can a drink survive

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