Sawyer

It has been just shy of two years since the first cocktail appeared here and today I have for you the 50^th!  I will be the first to admit it has taken entirely too long to get here, but we made it.  As you can see by the diagram to the right, I have a propensity towards drinks that call for bitters; today’s delightful little treat not only follows that path, but takes it to an extreme!

The Sawyer is another recent creation and a variation on the Gimlet, but takes the use of bitters over the top by using three varieties and nearly thirty dashes.  The drink was created by bartender Don Lee and named after the daughter of gin-loving chef Wylie Dufrense.  I’m going to use my artistic license again and assume that little Sawyer Dufrense was named after one of the greatest characters in American literature.

This one is simple to make but complex across the tongue, don’t be alarmed by the bounty of bitters, just try it.  In a shaker, start with two ounces of beefeater gin, add one half an ounce of lime juice, one half an ounce of simple syrup, fourteen (yes one-four) dashes of Angostura bitters, seven dashes of Peychaud’s bitters, and seven dashes of orange bitters.  Fill with ice, shake this baby up and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, no garnish necessary.  After your first sip, you’ll be making them for Becky and Huck too.

Sawyer

2 oz gin

½ oz fresh squeezed lime juice

½ oz simple syrup

14 dashes angostura bitters

7 dashes peychaud’s bitters

7 dashes orange bitters

Combine all ingredients in a shaker, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

The Harvard Cocktail

After a December to remember, I am sure you have all been missing your bi-daily dive into the library of liquor.  Fear not, I have something to tide you over for the next few days.  The Harvard cocktail just invokes images of 1960’s frat boys sitting around in sport coats, smoking cigarettes, and playing poker.  They no doubt needed a cocktail and this one fits the bill just fine.

Dating back to 1895, this drink definitely makes up for what it lacks in popularity with longevity.  It’s true origin, other than the year it first came to print, has been lost to history so we are left to our own imagination.  Having similarities to the Manhattan, it is quite possible that this made its debut on the Harvard campus during a party when a partially inebriated bartender got a little creative with a drink order.  

In a shaker combine one and a half ounces of cognac, three-quarters of an ounce sweet vermouth, one-quarter ounce lemon juice, a teaspoon of grenadine, and three dashes angostura bitters.  Fill with ice and shake.  Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon twist.  A variation on this drink omits the grenadine and adds an ounce of soda water to the top after straining into the glass.  I prefer the grenadine version, but if there is one time in your life to experiment, it’s college.

Harvard Cocktail

1 ½ oz cognac

¾ oz sweet vermouth

¼ oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp grenadine

3 dashes bitters

Mix all ingredients in an ice filled shaker.  Strain into a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon twist.

Seelbach Cocktail

To start the year off right I have a pre-prohibition cocktail to add to your recreational rolodex.  The intriguing combination of champagne, bourbon and bitters brought me to this drink, but the smart flavor is what will keep you coming back.

The legendary Seelbach Hotel of the same name, host to presidents, gangsters, writers, and ne’er-do-wells, is the birthplace of this fine pick-me-up.   According to legend the drink was accidently discovered in 1917 when a bartender topped a manhattan from an overflowing champagne bottle.  The drink gained instant popularity but was lost during prohibition when the hotel stopped serving booze.  Fortunatley for us, the recipe was rediscovered in1995 and put back into circulation.

To make the Seelbach cocktail, start one ounce of bourbon in a mixing glass.  To hold to tradition make sure it is a strong Kentucky bourbon, Woodford Reserve is a good choice.  Add one half ounce Cointreau, seven dashes angostura bitters, and seven dashes peychaud bitters.  Stir with ice until chilled and pour into a chilled champagne flute, top with a dry champagne of your choice, and garnish with an orange twist.  Imagine yourself sitting at the bar with F. Scott Fitzgerald, Woodrow Wilson, and Al Capone sharing a cigar, a fine drink, and a healthy amount of bullshit.

Seelbach Cocktail

1 oz bourbon

½ oz cointreau

7 dashes angostura bitters

7 dashes peychaud’s bitters

champagne

Combine the bourbon, cointreau, and bitters in a mixing glass, fill with ice and stir.  Strain into a chilled champagne flute, fill with champagne and garnish with an orange twist.

Christmas Bonus

Here is a little bonus on top of the 12 Drinks of Christmas.  These two festive cocktails are a perfect way to tempt your taste buds and bridge the food and beverage binge between Christmas and New Year’s.  These two drinks provide something for everyone, a refreshing vodka treat in the Poire Victoire and a bourbon based beauty in the Jeff One.

Both drinks are recent creations from a couple of Paris' better Bar Anglais.  The Poire Victoire from the Hemingway Bar in 2008 and the Jeff One from the Cambon Bar in 2002.  As with the other delightful creations from Colin Field, these both posses the depth of character and flavor of drinks from centuries past.

First the Poire Victoire, this is an elegantly simple drink with such amazing flavor, it quickly became the favorite at a recent Christmas Eve party.  Start with two and a half ounces Grey Goose Poire in a cocktail shaker, add two ounces of apple juice and half an ounce of fresh squeezed lime juice.  Fill with ice, shake and serve in a cocktail glass.  When your guest asks what it is, summon your inner Frenchman and let Poire Victoire roll off you tongue like it’s your first language.

Second the Jeff One.  Construct this one in an old fashioned glass, start by cutting the ends off of a mandarin orange, slice down one side of the peel and carefully remove the peel in one piece, place it in the glass, place the orange inside it and muddle.  Fill the glass with ice, add one teaspoon of superfine sugar, two ounces of bourbon (Maker’s Mark is always a good choice), and fill the glass with ginger ale (about three ounces).  Stir well to dissolve the sugar and serve to your Old-Fashioned appreciating friends.  This is a nice refreshing alternative to mix into your repertoire, that will help you survive even the preachiest of christian Santas.

Poire Victoire

2 ½ oz grey goose poire

2 oz apple juice

½ oz lime juice.

Add all ingredients to ice filled shaker, shake and serve in a cocktail glass.

Jeff One

2 oz bourbon

3 oz ginger ale

1 tsp superfine sugar

1 mandarin orange

Cut ends off the orange and discard.  Remove peel from orange and place in an old fashioned glass, place orange in the center of the peel and muddle.  Fill glass with ice, add sugar, bourbon, ginger ale, and stir until the sugar is dissolved.