Looking for some cocktail inspiration for your late-summer back porch bash? Check out days 11-20 from our Month of Cocktails. (See Days 1-10 of the Month of Cocktails here.)
Day #11: Sazerac
1.5oz rye whiskey
1 cube sugar (or about 3/4 tsp regular sugar, if Finnick Odair isn’t around)
3 dashes of Peychaud’s bitters
Absinthe
Since this one can be a little tricky, here are some directions:
- mix the bitters and the sugar (technically, if you have cubes, pour the bitters onto the sugar cube & then crush it), then add the rye
- rinse a second glass with absinthe
- pour the contents of the first glass into the absinthe-rinsed glass
- garnish with lemon peel
The Sazerac is a New Orleans cocktail (invented by Peychaud himself — great excuse to use his bitters!). Michael loves them. The bitters add a bit of weight to the drink, but it’s smooth and soothing nonetheless.
Day #12: Bees’ Knees
2 oz. gin
3/4 oz honey simple syrup
3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
The Bees’ Knees is an old Prohibition cocktail, and it’s simple and delicious. Honey simple syrup is easy to make: mix equal parts of honey and water in a pot and bring it to a boil. This drink is refreshing and crisp and can win over your non-cocktail friends quite easily.
Day #13: Blood & Sand
1oz Scotch
3/4oz Cherry Heering Liqueur
3/4oz sweet vermouth
3/4oz fresh orange juice
garnish with cherry
This is presently one of my favorite cocktails. It’s a great answer to anyone who says, ‘you don’t mix with Scotch!’ Of course you do, if you’ve got the right recipe. There’s a meatiness to this drink, and it gives you a warm feeling in your tummy. I love my peaty Scotches, so I make mine with Laphroaig, but you can use your favorite Scotch.
Day #14: Negroni
1oz gin
1oz sweet vermouth
1oz Campari
The Negroni is kind of an acquired taste sort of cocktail. It’s the Campari that does it, although I think it’s the vermouth that makes or breaks the drink: Campari is SUUUUUUPER bitter, but if you have a good sweet vermouth, the balance feels right. The vermouth we used is not the finest (but it was the only sweet vermouth at the liquor store I happened to be at). If you can snag some Dolin’s, the balance will be much better.
Day #15: Last Word
¾ oz. gin
¾ oz. green Chartreuse
¾ oz. Luxardo maraschino liqueur
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
This one goes along with the Aviation in my ‘favorite cocktails of all time’ category. The Last Word is bright and crisp and an easy drinker. It’s a bit easier to find at the bar than the Aviation (most bars seem more likely to have Green Chartreuse than Creme de Violette), so feel free to order if out when you can. Or, you know, make it at home.
Day #16: Penicillin
2 oz single malt scotch
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz ginger-honey syrup
1/4 oz Islay scotch
Here’s a cocktail that *feels* like it should be as old-timey as the Bees’ Knees, but it’s actually quite new. The Penicillin was created by Sam Ross at Milk & Honey in NYC back in 2005. It’s another Scotch cocktail of pure perfection. And fret not, if you haven’t got the ingredients to make this at home, pretty much all of the fine drinking establishments in the ‘Burgh can serve you one of these with ease.
Day #17: Black-Eyed Susan
1.5 oz vodka
1/2 oz St. Germain
2 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz lime juice
3/4 oz orange juice
garnish with orange slice
The Black-Eyed Susan is a great cocktail with an interesting history. It’s the official drink of the Preakness, but unlike its sister drink, the Mint Julep, the Black-Eyed Susan changes recipes with some regularity. The recipe above is this year’s *official* rendition, but in years past, it has been made with whiskey or rum instead of the St. Germain. (You can enjoy one of the older recipe versions at home by making a screwdriver and dumping a whiskey sour into it. Sounds wrong, but it’ll feel *so* right.)
Day #18: French 75
1 oz gin
1/2 oz simple syrup
1/2 oz lemon juice
QS to the top with champagne
Some cocktails were just built for breakfast, and the French 75 is one of them. It’s a champagne-based cocktail that is ultra crisp and light. The traditional recipe calls for simple syrup (which is how I made it in the photo), but when I make these normally, I prefer to use Cointreau instead.
You can serve any sort of brunch you enjoy with the French 75, but I’m partial to having it alongside red flannel hash, which is one of my house specialties here at Fox Manor.
Day #19: The Riddler
2 oz Rye
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
1 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
2 dashes orange Angostura bitters
garnish with orange peel
Here’s a moderately-involved cocktail with a satisfying ending, crafted by our dear bartender friend Cory over at Verde. It’s my second-favorite cocktail that he makes (the first has a secret recipe that he shares with no one), but it’s quite tasty and good on a cool summer night.
Day #20: Martinez
1.5 oz gin
3/4 oz sweet vermouth
1/2 oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Boker’s bitters
If you’re like me and have never been fully sold on the Martini, perhaps you’ll enjoy its precursor, the Martinez. It’s boozy but approachable, with a sweetness that isn’t overpowering (so no, it’s not a good option for you ‘girl drink drunks‘). Pro-tip: you have to special order the Boker’s bitters, but if you’re in a pinch and need a Martinez right now, you can swap in orange bitters. We won’t tell 🙂