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 The Anodyne Cocktail—for whatever ails you. The name means something that alleviates or eliminates pain, so I guess it could apply to any drink, but in this case it was chosen for a medicinal combination of ingredients first tried by Wesley Moore in 2009 when it appeared on Chuck Taggart’s Looka! Gumbo Pages weblog. According to Chuck, the cocktail was inspired by the Perfect Martini which is a Martini made using equal portions of both sweet and dry vermouth.
The first thing you might notice is that this drink doesn’t use a typical sweet vermouth, nor a typical dry one. It wouldn’t be very innovative if it did. Instead, the substitutions are far more interesting and the proportions are such that they setup a wonderful balance between them. As simple as it sounds, it’s much more than a basic substitution riff. What we have with the Anodyne is another
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 You just don’t find many cocktails made with Scotch whisky. Perhaps it’s hard to produce combinations that work well together considering the prominent flavors that are typical of any good Scotch. Nevertheless, a few creations have succeeded, and the Blood and Sand is one of them. I’m not saying the world needs more Scotch cocktails. Those of us who enjoy Scotch will say it’s just fine on its own, but not everyone likes to sip spirits neat. Here’s a chance to try something that is pretty rare in the world of mixology.
As uncommon as Scotch cocktails are, you might expect a working recipe to look better on paper, so when you see what’s in this, you wouldn’t think the combination can work. I have to say that if I set out to create a Scotch cocktail myself, it might take me a while before I would try mixing
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  Yesterday, I attended the “Mixology 3: Make Your Own Bitters” event organized by Studio Bricolage and hosted by the Bradstreet Crafthouse at the Graves 601 Hotel. I was one of about 40 individuals in attendance at what was the third event in a mixology educational series. Although I missed the first two installments, I was happy to finally attend. I found this event to be hands-on and informative and I thought I would post a quick review.
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 arrangement of potable bitters were awaiting each participant on a placemat describing each sample. The rest of us were seated at the curved marble bartop in the back typically used for dinner guests. We were greeted by the director of food and beverage who thanked everyone and introduced Burke, our teacher/bartender for the session. Burke proceeded to explain some details and examples of cocktail bitters, such as Angostura, Regan’s Orange, Peychaud’s and the like, and started passing around bowls of various spices and botanicals.
The bowls contained items both common and obscure. Caraway seeds, cardamom pods and coriander seeds were followed by quassia chips, gentian root, chamomile flowers orange peel, cloves and cinnamon. Over the course of the next 45 minutes,
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  You don’t have to be a fan of AMC’s Mad Men to be interested in the Old Fashioned cocktail. Even though it’s Don Draper’s favorite, you too can make this one like a Madison Avenue executive. The fact is, the Old Fashioned comes from an era long before Don started drinking. It’s always regarded as a classic, and indeed, along with the Sazerac, it is probably one of the earliest cocktails to be created. The original definition of the cocktail was first printed in 1806 when it was described as “spirits of any kind, sugar, water and bitters.” The Old Fashioned perfectly fits these requirements, although today the word cocktail is used to describe virtually every variety of mixed beverage.
So, what is the Old Fashioned? Well, it’s a drink that has earned it’s own glass, for one. While there are many variations, and some that take additional ingredients way past the realm of the classic recipe, it’s nice to see this one made the way it was originally intended. Basically, it’s a delicious whiskey cocktail typically made with rye or bourbon, sweetened with sugar, enhanced with a dash or two of bitters, and garnished with an orange peel. An easy way to build this drink is to use simple syrup for the sugar and water so you don’t have to worry about dissolving it. I also like to trim up a nice big piece of orange peel so that it looks nice and provides a lot of essential oil. My regular recipe looks like this:
 Old Fashioned Cocktail
2 oz bourbon whiskey
1/2 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
orange peel
Drop a long, wide slice of orange peel (avoiding the white pith) into an old fashioned or rocks glass. Donate simple syrup and Angostura bitters. Carefully press the peel in the bottom of the glass with a muddler to press out the essential oils, not to break the peel apart. Move up and down the peel to extract the oil, then add the bourbon. Add several large ice cubes and stir. As the ice melts, add more cubes and keep stirring until chilled. This will also take the edge off the spirit and bring out the combined flavors and armoas.
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