The Buffalo Red started out as a Sazerac, but has come a long enough way from its roots that I don’t feel bad claiming it as my own. It still retains the wash with anise-based liquor, and the Peychaud’s bitters, but we replace rye with bourbon, and bring both maple bitters and Muscovado simple-syrup to the party. The resulting drink is warming, earthy, and not-too-sweet. Urban Moonshine makes the maple bitters, and you can easily buy them on Amazon.com if they’re not available at your local quality liquor store.

To make Muscovado simple syrup, just buy Muscovado brown sugar (easily found at local mega-marts or organic groceries) and then heat it with an equal portion of water until it dissolves. Cool the resulting liquid and store in the fridge.

Here’s the recipe:

The Buffalo Red

• 2.5 oz Buffalo Trace Bourbon (other bourbons will, of course, work too.)
• .33 oz Muscovado Simple Syrup
• 1 tsp Pernod
• 6-10 drops maple bitters
• 1 heavy dash Peychaud’s bitters

Pour Pernod into an empty rocks glass and swirl to coat. Discard excess Pernod. Fill rocks glass with a few large, solid ice cubes. Add all ingredients to the rocks glass and stir several times to combine. Flame an orange peel over the glass, and drop it in. The resulting drink should be a beautiful reddish-brown, like Autumn leaves. Sit back in a comfy chair, take a sip, and relax.

Oh, and just for the record: no one from Buffalo Trace paid me in cash or free samples to write this recipe or even asked me to promote their bourbon. I’m an honest fan of the product, and it’s my go-to bourbon for day-to-day mixing.

This one deals with straight-up cocktails, and could also have been titled “Up Drinks”, but the idea remains the same: these are drinks served as-is, without any ice (though they are shaken or stirred on it). These are the drinks that most people think of when someone says “cocktail” or … ugh … “Martini” (they’re not Martinis. If you love Martinis like I love Martinis, you will stop calling them Martinis).

I provide some history and four delicious drink recipes. Sound interesting? Take a look!

The fine folks at Primer did a killer job with the photos, as they always do. One of the great pleasures of writing for them is the knowledge that I’ll get to see my drinks (and many drinks that I love but can’t take credit for) looking fantastic. Go check it out!

I don’t know about the rest of you, but where I lived it was a long, cold winter followed by a very dreary spring. We saw a lot of the kind of weather that makes a cocktail fan long for mulled wine, spiced rum, cider drinks, and anything else that can bring a little warmth to the party. Now, at long last, we’re starting to see some nice days! It’s a welcome change, and it’s a good time to break out the list of summer drinks: refreshing cocktails that are made to be sipped while sitting on the back porch and watching fireflies dance through the air.

This article features two of my own drinks, and two classics worth investigating. As usual, the Primer folks have done a fantastic job photographing the cocktails. Check it out!

Tanqueray (pic by Jeffrey Simms Photography)

Earlier this year, I received some exciting news: a cocktail I had entered in the amateur category of Tanqueray’s “Best T&T Contest” had been chosen the overall grand-prize winner from a field of several hundred entries! The rules of the contest were pretty simple: the drink had to contain Tanqueray gin and tonic water, there were some minor limits on ingredient amounts, and you had to submit the drink via their Facebook application.

I put together what I thought was a tasty little concoction featuring orange marmalade as my secret weapon. I wrote the recipe up, called it the English Bulldog, and submitted it. I never expected to hear from them again, so receiving a big pack of papers to sign was a huge surprise.

In addition to some other items, the centerpiece of the grand prize was a round-trip, first-class flight to New York City, a stay in the Ace Hotel, and a cocktail tour guided by Tanqueray Ambassador, bartender extraordinaire and all-around cocktail guru Angus Winchester. For more than six hours, we would be toured around in a private car and invited to visit some of New York’s greatest cocktail bars.

The Lobby of the Ace Hotel (pic by Phil Bartle)

Needless to say, I was floored. I know enough about cocktails to know two things: one, that I can sling a pretty decent drink. Two, that I am nowhere near the level of the pros out there when it comes to mixology. So having Tanqueray’s panel of judges decide that my creation was the best of the bunch was both amazing and very gratifying!

I owe some thanks to the fine folks over at Imbibe Magazine. If they hadn’t published the link to this contest on their Twitter feed, I never would have known about it. Cheers, guys!

The tour commenced at 5:30 PM on Thursday, when we met Angus outside of our hotel and hopped into the car. We exchanged pleasantries and talked a bit about ourselves as we headed for our first stop, Death and Co. Unfortunately, the folks there apparently misunderstood themselves when they said “we’ll open at six” and so, after standing around out front with several other thirsty customers until 6:30, we gave up and headed for spot number two. An inauspicious start, and I was sad to have to leave the bar on my “places I want to go but haven’t gotten to” list, but oh well!

At the Pegu Club (pic by me)

Our next stop was the Pegu Club, and this proved much more successful. On the way, we talked with Angus about Old Tom gin, and the various theories out there on what it was officially supposed to taste like. The man is a walking cocktail encyclopedia, especially when it comes to gin and genever! At Pegu Club, we met a photographer and a young woman both employed by Tanqueray’s PR firm, as well as a journalist for the Huffington Post, Tony Sachs. We sat down with Angus and ordered some drinks. I chose a Gin-Gin Mule first, while Charlotte went with the bar’s namesake drink, and Angus opted for an off-menu “Fitty-Fitty” — fifty percent gin, fifty percent dry vermouth. We talked about how cocktails in general, and martinis in particular, became excessively dry and vodka-based over the 20th century, and how vermouth and gin were slowly returning to favor. James Bond, as it turns out, had no taste in drinks.

Audrey Saunders, Pegu Club’s owner and one of the earliest advocates of the artisanal cocktail movement in New York, has taste in drinks. We decided early on that alcohol makes a fine antiseptic, and thus we all tried each other’s drinks frequently. I can honestly say I didn’t taste a single cocktail during the entire evening that I didn’t like! We ordered a few more beverages — a champagne cocktail for Charlotte, a gin and rosemary concoction for myself, and an earl-gray tea-infused gin drink for Angus (sorry, don’t recall the names).

A rendering from The Dutch's website

After tasting all of our drinks (which we didn’t finish — gotta pace yourselves!), we bid adieu to the Tanqueray folks and hopped back into the car with Angus and Tony. We were all pretty hungry, and eager to get something into our stomachs to aid in the fight against too much alcohol, so we headed for our dinner destination: The Dutch. Newly opened in SoHo, The Dutch is Andrew Carmellini’s American restaurant, and features a solid cocktail menu in addition to its culinary delights. It was very crowded, but we’re seated quickly and treated to attentive service. We start out the evening with oysters and cocktails: a gibson martini with pickled ramps for Charlotte and Tony (Chris: “it tastes like ranch dressing, only not horrible!”  Tony: “… it really does!”), another rosemary drink for yours truly, and I have no idea what Angus got. Should’ve taken notes!

After the oysters and cocktails, we moved on to white wine and appetizers. There was less sharing here, so I’m only sure of what Charlotte and I got: tripe in a tomato sauce for her, and vinegary asparagus for me. I’ve never had tripe before, but it wasn’t bad at all, and my asparagus was delicious. We finished up with red wine, a gigantic rabbit pot pie for Charlotte and a lamb neck mole for me, the latter of which was absolutely out of this world.

The main bar at PDT, from their website

Fully sated, we headed for our next destination: PDT (Please Don’t Tell). I’ve been to PDT before, so I knew what to expect: it’s a speakeasy-themed bar, the entrance to which is found within a phone booth in the hotdog joint (Crif Dogs) next door. It’s a fantastic place, and I was glad to be going back, but I did not expect that we’d get to hang out with the owner, Jim, and have a chance to look over the new book he’s putting out in November! We talked about how bar owners don’t really get to define their signature cocktail; their customers do. PDT’s is an old-fashioned made with bacon-infused bourbon and maple syrup. We tried that, and it was quite tasty, but I think I believe Jim when he says that there are better cocktails on the menu.

As an example of what he was talking about, let me describe my drink: the Venus & Cupid, a tequila-based cocktail that, unlike most tequila-based cocktails I’ve ever had, has absolutely no relation to a margarita whatsoever. There is no citrus and no salt. There is tequila, and mezcal, and punt y mes (I think), and … something that tasted like cinnamon. And egg white. Honestly, the drink was a revelation; I don’t know if it was the best cocktail I’ve ever had, but it might well have been the most daring and most brilliantly executed. Tequila is, in my opinion, the hardest base spirit to work with, and the Venus & Cupid is absolutely inspired craftsmanship. If you are in New York, go to PDT and get it. Sip it slowly and with great relish. Trust me: you will not regret it.

Little Branch's Front Door (pic by ldandersen)

After PDT, we hopped back into the car and headed west toward 7th Avenue, where we stopped in front of an unassuming door on the edge of an unremarkable building. This, I was informed, was the entrance to Little Branch, another speakeasy-style club in which some of the best bartenders in the world performed their craft. We walked down the stairs into the bar, the size of which can politely be called “intimate”, and were greeted by a live jazz trio and a throng of people. We made our way to the bar, where Angus introduced us to one of the bartenders, Sammy. He explained to us that Sammy is from Austrlia, and has an encyclopedic knowledge of cocktails that is amazing even by Angus’s standards.

One of the items on the menu was “Bartender’s Choice” where you provide them with the base spirit, and they do the rest. I couldn’t resist that chance, and the first bottle my eye happened upon was a 750 ml of Laird’s Applejack. Armed with only that to go on, Sammy produced the second-most original drink I had that evening (other than the aforementioned Venus & Cupid). I have no idea what was in it other than the Applejack, but it looked almost like chocolate milk and tasted smooth and sweet. The apple notes from the liquor were not lost, but instead complemented by a variety of flavors. When you have bartenders of this caliber, going with the bartender’s choice is not a bad idea!

Cocktails at Milk & Honey (pic by ldandersen)

It was nearing midnight, so Tony took his leave as we headed out of Little Branch toward our final destination. Back in the car with Angus, we weaved our way through Chinatown, crossing to its western edge and locating our destination, the blank storefront that houses another famous Manhattan cocktail bar: Milk & Honey. A sister club to the London bar of the same name, Milk & Honey is one of the tougher bars to get into if you’re not a paying member. Angus is either a member or just knows the right people, so we had no problems there. Smaller even than Little Branch, but far quieter and less crowded, it’s an unassuming bar except in regard to its drinks. It might’ve been my favorite stop of the night, although Pegu Club’s upscale Asian theme was very nice as well, and I’ve always liked PDT’s decor.

The way it works at Milk & Honey New york is: there’s no menu. Sure, you can order any number of classic cocktails like a Manhattan or a Martini, but generally what happens is you tell your server or the bartender what you’re feeling like in general terms and they make you a drink. I asked for something which used Rye whiskey and was a stirred drink, ie: no fruit juice. Charlotte specified that she wanted something with gin which was fairly dry. Both of us were highly satisfied with the results, which was actually mildly surprising, since Charlotte’s drink came with a fair amount of citrus in it, which isn’t usually her thing. The bartender had omitted almost any kind of sugar however, and the resulting elixir was an oddly sippable combination of dry and sour. My drink resembled a Manhattan, but with additional herbal notes that I’m afraid I couldn’t identify.

We spent some time talking with an employee whose name, unfortunately, I didn’t get. He and Angus seemed to know each other well, possibly to have even worked together in the past, and they traded in a bit of bar gossip as we drank our cocktails. Eventually we were finished, and though another round was offered, Charlotte and I decided that our livers had taken enough of a beating for one night. Angus escorted us outside, where we thanked him profusely for the tour. We jumped into a cab and made for our hotel. The last we saw of Angus, he was walking — looking neither tired nor even tipsy — back into the bar to continue the conversation. The man is a professional!

I’d like to again extend my thanks to Tanqueray, Skybridge Marketing Group, Taylor Strategy, and most of all to Angus Winchester for arranging this tour and taking care of Charlotte and I!

—

Notes:

If you’re into cocktails and are not following them already, you should go now and add @anguswinchester and @RetroManNYC to your Twitter feed.

All photos used are Creative Commons entries from Flickr, except pictures I took myself or took from the bar’s official website (noted in caption). The photos are linked to their respective pages on Flickr.

I was not prompted in any way by Tanqueray to make this post or endorse their product. All opinions, thoughts, etc expressed in this article are mine, and do not reflect the views or opinions of the Tanqueray organization or their employees, contractors, etc.

The English Bulldog

This drink was entered into the amateur portion of Tanqueray’s “Best T&T” contest and took the grand prize. It is a play on the traditional gin and tonic that incorporates additional ingredients which bring an increased complexity to the drink. The orange marmalade, in particular, is a nod to British history, which I thought was fitting for a British drink made with British gin.

Refreshing and not too strong, the English Bulldog is a great beverage for a summer picnic or a Sunday afternoon. Here’s the recipe:

The English Bulldog

• 1.25 oz Tanqueray Gin
• .75 oz Dry Vermouth
• .5 oz Lime Juice
• 1 bar spoon Orange Marmalade
• 1 dash Regan’s Orange Bitters
• Tonic

Fill a Collins glass with ice cubes and set aside. Combine first five ingredients in a shaker with cracked or crushed ice and shake vigorously. Strain into the Collins glass, top with tonic water, stir gently and garnish with an orange peel (flaming optional) and a lime.

Standard Tanqueray London Dry will work just fine, and is the gin that this recipe was based off of. Tanqueray Rangpur will bring even more citrus notes to the party and is definitely not a bad alternative. You could also use Tanqueray Ten, but personally I think if you’re going to buy an ultra-premium like that, you shouldn’t cover it up with too many other flavors. Better to just add some vermouth and a couple of olives and call it a day.

Oh, and if you prefer short drinks to long, you could always strain the mixture into a chilled cocktail glass, omit the tonic, and quaff it straight. Cheers!

We took some pictures. Here they are.

As is typical, I ended up with the pink drink ...

Charlotte wore a lovely deep-blue dress and lots of stuff that sparkled

Note that we managed to melt part of my hat over a candle.

I'm ... not sure what's going on here.

I love filament light bulbs so much.

Why NOT play all of our party favors at once?

There were a lot of dudes in jeans and sport-coats.

Double your champagne pleasure!

More noise making. Also, I seem to be wearing a tiara.

Nearing the end of the evening. Super cute!

Some drunk girl wanted to take our picture as we were leaving. She seems to be falling over.

So, it’s happened: you’ve invited a lady friend over for an evening of intellectual, witty conversation augmented by adult beverages, and she’s agreed to your suggestion. Now you need to put together some drinks she can appreciate, but you know nothing about mixology and your current bar contains exactly one bottle of Jack Daniels, and a container of grenadine so old that the cap has fused to the glass. You know that the woman you’re interested in has moved past the likes of Michelob Ultra and bad appletinis, but you’re not sure what would impress her. What to do?

Interested? Check out the whole article over on Primer!

I’m not worrying about sipping liquors. Obviously, you could spend the entire moderate budget on a single bottle of scotch or cognac, if you wanted to. You wouldn’t want to waste those as components in a cocktail, though. Everything listed in both categories is very drinkable, and you don’t have to mix them with anything. I frequently enjoy Buffalo Trace bourbon with nothing but an ice cube or two.

In both cases I’ve tried to provide as complete a bar as possible at a reasonable price (note: barware, fruit juices and garnishes not included). There are a zillion other liquors that you could buy, but I’ve tried to open up the most options possible without getting too pricey. You’ll note for example that the budget list recommends skipping scotch, light rum, and brandy. Why? Because you can substitute golden rum for light rum in 99% of cases, and because you can still make a ridiculous number of great drinks without scotch or brandy.

Obviously I’ve not tried every liquor on the market, and this list reflects my personal tastes. Please feel free to leave suggestions of other budget and moderately priced liquors that you think rock. I’d love to try them!

Prices reflect what the cost of a 750 ml or otherwise standard bottle in Indianapolis, IN, USA. Your prices may vary a bit, but if you’re in the US and paying a lot more than what I’ve listed, you’re being ripped off. Try the internet.

Without further ado, here are the lists:

A few notes: you can get a lot of mixers like curacao for less money if you go with DeKuyper. Everything I’ve tried from them has been bitter and very low-quality. Bol’s is a few bucks more but infinitely better. Also, the next few liqueurs on my list would be: Amaretto, Campari, Coffee, and Creme de Cacao or Chocolate Liqueur. Also maybe Creme de Menthe, though I’m not a huge fan of mint.

Did I miss or forget something? Drop me a line in the comments!

Photo by Lisa Salamida

The Manhattan. One of the quintessential cocktails, it was invented by a British lady, uses what was at the time the great American spirit as its base, and is named after one of the most international islands on the planet. It’s also my most favorite of cocktails, the drink that — were I forced to choose one elixir to tide me over for the rest of my days — I would pick over any other.

Yes, it’s an excellent cocktail, but even the stately Manhattan can do with some jazzing up from time to time. So I present to you these eight excellent Manhattan variations. Each has its own subtleties and all are delicious. Enjoy!

1. The Classic Perfect Manhattan

• 3 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine all ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Stir thoroughly with a bartender’s spoon until well-chilled. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with maraschino cherry.

2. Chris’s Manhattan

• 3 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 3 heavy dashes Angostura Bitters
• Orange Peel

Combine all liquid ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Stir thoroughly with a bartender’s spoon until well-chilled. Strain mixture into a chilled cocktail glass. Flame an orange peel over the liquid, rub it once around the glass’s rim, and drop it into the drink.

3. The Bourbon Manhattan

• 3 oz Bourbon Whiskey
• 1 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine and serve as if making a Perfect Manhattan.

4. The Heering Manhattan

• 3 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Cherry Heering
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine and serve as if making a Perfect Manhattan.

5. The Italian Manhattan

• 3 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Amaretto
• 1 dash Campari
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine and serve as if making a Perfect Manhattan.

6. The Tropical Manhattan

• 3 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Curacao
• 2 dashes Orange Bitters
• Orange Peel

Combine and serve as if making Chris’s Manhattan.

7. The Smokey Manhattan

• 2.5 oz Rye Whiskey
• 1/2 oz Smokey Scotch
• 1/2 oz Dry Vermouth
• 1/2 oz Sweet Vermouth
• 1 dash Angostura Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine and serve as if making a Perfect Manhattan.

8. The French Manhattan

• 2 oz Calvados (Apple Whiskey/Brandy)
• 1 oz VS or VSOP Cognac
• 1 oz Dry Vermouth
• 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters
• Maraschino Cherry

Combine and serve as if making a Perfect Manhattan.

… Okay, I admit, that last one’s a bit of a stretch! If you want it to be a little more Manhattan-y and a little less French, replace the Calvados with Rye whiskey. The important thing is: experiment with your drinks! Even a classic cocktail can yield many interesting variations.