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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I’ll try just about anything that has rye whiskey, especially if it also has sweet vermouth. But the Oriental also has lime and curaçao which takes the flavor in an unexpected direction. I guess that sorta makes it a Manhattan Sour.

Oriental 1.5 oz rye whiskey .75 oz orange curaçao .75 oz sweet vermouth .5 oz fresh lime juice

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice, shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino or brandied cherry.

Is it perfectly balanced? Not necessarily,

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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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The Edgewood by Greg Best 1.5 oz dry gin 1 oz grapefruit juice .5 oz Punt e Mes

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You may recall last year during a visit to the City of Roses (Bridges, Mountains, Cocktails, etc.) I had the chance to try a barrel-aged libation. This year, I set my sights on the Southeast side and made my way to Beaker & Flask. We sat at the end of the bar and ordered our first round from the menu. My wife selected the Fortunate Son, a highball

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Bijou means “jewel” in french, and looking at the images of this cocktail, you can understand why it was called by that name. The recipe appears early in printed references, and Harry Johnson’s Bartenders Manual was probably the first. Originally

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Wait, “Best what?” Ok, that’s crazy, but if the Academy asked me who should be nominated for this category, I’d steer them toward this recent article in the New York Times. Have a look at some of the Oscar-contender-inspired cocktails and you tell me who should win!

In the past, my wife and I have often hosted Oscar parties, but this year, like the last several, we have chosen to keep it simple so we can enjoy the event on our own. That doesn’t mean we aren’t shouting at the television or cheering our own selections from this year’s ballot. Still, party or not, it’s a lot more fun with a good cocktail, so imagine my delight when I spotted the Jeremy Renner cocktail in the Times this morning. I just had to try it.

Jeremy Renner by Leo Robitschek,

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It’s a tricky thing, choosing cocktails on a cruise ship. Do you go with the signature Drink of the Day or pick one from the menu—a list that is bloated with overly-sweet tropical smoothies and misguided classics. It would be easy for a cocktail enthusiast to get discouraged, but it’s a mistake to abandon all hope. After all, I spotted a bottle of Angostura Bitters on the back bar and even some Campari sitting neatly down below. Surely, a little patience, flexibility and some extra gratuity could rescue the situation.

Ingredients and Staff Perhaps the biggest challenge facing the mixologist at sea is the lack of fresh citrus juices. I found this ironic given the Caribbean climate, but for reasons unknown, Rose’s Lime Cordial reigns supreme, as does a variety of mixes and mystery milk. On the other hand, most of

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When cold weather dominates the land, it’s hard not to think about places you might rather be—instead of digging out from the latest snow storm. Why not bring home a little of the exotic, maybe from the not-so-distant Caribbean? This week and next, we will feature two Caribbean cocktails that share something in common: Cuba.

And that’s not all they share. Although US readers are legally barred from traveling to Cuba as tourists (let alone enjoying any products that originate there) you should know that Cuba has played an important role in shaping the cocktail landscape. Most notably, a bar called El Floridita in Havana has made many significant contributions—most of them attributed to the 1918 bartender/owner Constantino Ribalaaigua Vert. Constante, as his friends referred to him, featured numerous daiquiris and classic American cocktails on his menu. One daiquiri was

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If you are a fan of spirit-forward drinks, this is another one for your house menu. Upon making it, you might recognize that this is just a Saratoga sweetened with Benedictine. Ok, there’s Peychaud’s bitters too, and by this logic, any cocktail is just another version of something else. You could say it’s like a Monte Carlo, or a variation of the La Louisianne, but these are all just riffs on the Manhattan. If you have done

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Take a Negroni and substitute bourbon for the gin and you basically have a Boulevardier. But to put it like that, despite it being a wonderful and delicious libation, is to deny our cocktail its due. Long before most Americans would have even heard of Campari, this recipe appeared in 1927—some twenty years before the Negroni saw print. I might venture to argue that the Boulevardier is also the better drink. Now, I know some of you will take offense to that statement, but for those who

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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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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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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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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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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 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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Kimberly and I have a new favorite location for great food and even better cocktails, but it requires a little planning to get there from St. Paul. That’s because this destination is all the way over the Rocky Mountains in Portland, Oregon. The object of our affection is Clyde Common, a Downtown/Pearl District hot spot that is helping to define the cocktail revolution.

Before I jump right into the cocktails, it’s important to mention that first and foremost, Clyde Common is a restaurant. The decor has a basic, modern look that reminds me of a warehouse. The stenciled labels on the wall identify the “KITCHEN” or the “BAR” with a somewhat industrial look that is softened by wooden tables and candles glowing from every corner.

We were seated in front of the open kitchen at a huge table that seats perhaps 20 guests. This “common” seating arrangement was

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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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This week in history. . . I was researching this week in history and found a few things that seemed thematic to me, although not every story has a good ending. First, on this day in 1986, the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded. I know, it’s not a happy event, and it’s certainly not an image most of us will forget. So, let’s just get the sad stuff out of the way first. In the coming week on February 1, 2003, the world watched in shock and disbelief as the Space Shuttle Columbia broke apart on re-entry. Again, it’s another sad day for the space program. Meaning no disrespect to those brave spacefarers who lost their lives, there were a couple positive achievements that also occurred.

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It was a well-known fact that some people in America were simply ignoring the law. So, in 1923 a contest was held to create a word that meant, “a lawless drinker of illegally made or illegally obtained liquor.” The winning entry was submitted by two people independently, and on January 16th, 1924, the Boston Herald

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Origins We cannot be certain how exactly the Manhattan cocktail came into existence. It’s no surprise that most people believe it originated in New York, but the specific circumstances surrounding

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Probably the first thing you notice about The Violet Hour is the fact that its hard to notice—the first floor of this building is decorated in tasteful graffiti that looks more like an unfinished construction site than an exclusive den of mixology. The only indication that you have the right location is the address numbers on the side. Without that, you might actually miss the door which is camouflaged against the painted wall. This “hidden” effect is an homage to the speakeasies of the Prohibition era.

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