Pina Vodka Colada

What should you do if you see a minibottle of pineapple flavored vodka for 99 cents? Buy it and make a Pina Vodka Colada. Though, honestly and not surprisingly, a traditional Pina Colada is better. The Pina Vodka Colada misses the flavor you probably expect it to be missing: rum. The Tiki Bitters help make the drink more complex but, as you might've expected, pineapple flavored vodka is kind of a waste of money. At least it was only 99 cents.

Pina Vodka Colada

• 2 ounces pineapple flavored vodka
• 2 ounces cream of coconut
• 2 ounces pineapple
• Enough ice to fill a 12 ounce mason jar
• 2 Bittermen's Elemakule Tiki Bitters

Combine ingredients in a blender; blender longer than you think you should.

Grass Hopper

Some people enjoy cognac or port after dinner. Others prefer a Grass Hopper, which is essentially a slightly booze chocolate mint milkshake. Delicious!

Grass Hopper

• 1 ounce creme de menthe
• 1 ounce white creme de cacao
• 1 ounce half and half

Corn and Oil

Corn and Oil is essentially a Daiquiri sweetened with Falernum rather than sugar or simple syrup. It's better than a daiquiri -- thicker, more complex, Falernum-ier. I'll happily drink a Corn and Oil again.

Corn and Oil

• 2 ounces blended aged rum (Ron Abuelo 7 Year)
• 1/2 ounce Falernum
• 3 dashes Angostura bitters

Stir rum, Falernum, and Angostura bitters; pour over fresh ice.

h/t: Smuggler's Cove

Seelbach Cocktail

I like bitters. I love the Trinidad Sour, which has an ounce of Angostura. Maybe I am just not a huge fan of Peychaud's but I think the Seelbach Cocktail overdoes it on the bitters. I'd rather have a French 75 made with gin or cognac the next time I want a sparkling cocktail.

Seelbach Cocktail

• 1 ounce bourbon (Lazy River)
• 1/2 ounce triple sec (Cointreau)
• 7 dashes Angostura bitters
• 7 dashes Peychaud's bitters
• 1/2 ounce sparkling wine

Stir bourbon, triple sec, Angostura bitters, and Peychaud's bitters over ice; pour into a champagne flute; top with sparkling wine; garnish with an orange twist.

h/t: Adam Seger, The Seelbach Hotel, Louisville, Kentucky, via Modern Classics

Final Ward

Above is a picture of Teresa, Piper, and Bacon -- just about the only things better than a good cocktail. I took a few pictures and this is the only one in which Piper was not staring at the bacon or grabbing it. Piper's got her bottom two front teeth in and it seems like some others are on the way. Her own piece of bacon is right around the corner.

I was pretty excited about the Final Ward. The drink is good. It's light bodied and sour with some bitter cherry flavor from the maraschino. I didn't think it was particularly medicinal, but Teresa thought it was too medicinal (granted, she really does not like Green Chartreuse). The rye comes through, but not very strongly and only at end, though Copper Pony is not exactly a big rye. I enjoyed my Final Ward but it's not on the top of my list of cocktails to make again in the near future.

Final Ward

• 3/4 ounce rye (Copper Pony)
• 3/4 ounce Green Chartreuse
• 3/4 ounce maraschino liqueur (Lazzaroni)
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice

Stir over ice; strain into a coupe; garnish with a lemon peal.

h/t: Phil Ward, Pegu Club, New York, New York, via Modern Classics

Happy Wife

I made this drink specifically for Teresa who loves bourbon and tends not to like sours or drinks with amari. My inspiration for this drink is the Revolver, a drink that is essentially bourbon sweetened with coffee liqueur. Here, I sweeten the drink with demerara syrup which adds a little molasses flavor and then add the flavor with the Woodford Reserve Sassafras and Sorghum Bitters. The added benefit of these bitters is that Teresa really likes rootbeer so the sassafras works really well.

Happy Wife

• 2 ounces bourbon (Lazy River)
• 3/4 ounce demerara syrup
• 2-3 dashes Woodford Reserve Sassafras and Sorghum Bitters

Stir bourbon, demerara syrup, and bitters over ice; strain into a rocks glass.

Navy and Army

Essentially a variation on a Daquiri with the substitution of orgeat for simple syrup, takes the Navy and Army a notch above the Daquiri in my opinion. The nuttiness and spice notes of the orgeat make the drink far more complex and the addition of the nutmeg garnish, a nod to orgeat's use in tiki or exotic cocktails adds a great aromatic introduction. I will happily make this cocktail again.

Navy and Army

• 2 ounces spiced rum
• 3/4 ounce orgeat
• 3/4 ounce lime

Shake rum, orgeat, and lime; double strain into a cocktail glass; garnish with a lime wheel or grated nutmeg.

h/t: The Proper Pour with Charlotte Voisey

Elderflower Collins

It's a collins but just a little better.

Elderflower Collins

• 2 ounces gin (Beefeater)
• 1/2 ounce elderflower liqueur (St. Germain)
• 1/2 ounce simple syrup
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• 2 ounces soda

Stir gin, elderflower liqueur, simple syrup, lemon juice over ice; add soda; stir to combine; garnish with a lemon.

Trinidad Sour

Where to even begin. An entire ounce of Angostura bitters?! The drink is great. It's balanced, sour and aromatic, with strong clove and cinnamon undertones. The Trinidad Sour also has a nice velvety mouth feel, provided by the orgeat syrup. Orgeat (pronounce or-jhat) is a sweet syrup, mostly used in tiki or exotic cocktails. It is made with nuts (usually almonds) so has the same nutty undertones as falernum or amaretto -- though amaretto's nut flavor is far more pronounced. Orgeat also has orange water and rose water so it adds a floral component that is distinct. Although one could make orgeat, I use The Cocktail Experiment brand, which has a reasonable ingredient list.

Trinidad Sour

• 1 ounce (not a typo) Angostura bitters
• 1 ounce orgeat (The Cocktail Experiment)
• 1/2 ounce rye (Winchester)
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice

Shake ingredients over ice; double strain into a coupe.

h/t: Giuseppe Gonzalez, Clover Club, New York, New York

Spiced Rum Daisy

I've made a Gin Daisy, now I bring you the Spiced Rum Daisy. Both drinks are delicious. Two quick notes. First, both drinks are good without soda but the effervescence brings a real lightness to the drink. I used to think the soda simply diluted a cocktail but even just an ounce changes the cocktail fundamentally. Second, I have spiced rum but I've been convinced that spiced rum is a bad idea -- one can always take regular rum and add spices or, alternatively, make a syrup with the spices one wants. I will probably never buy spiced rum again! That being said, spiced rum is great in this drink.

Spiced Rum Daisy

• 2 ounces rum
• 1/4 ounce lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce lime juice
• 1 bar spoon grenadine
• 2 bar spoons simple syrup
• 1 ounce soda

Shake rum, lemon juice, lime juice, grenadine, and simple syrup; strain into rocks glass; top with soda; garnish with fruit.

h/t: Imbibe!

Georgia Gin Sling

My Georgia Gin Sling had a light peach flavor, somewhat light peach iced tea, followed by the alcohol from the gin. The cocktail also has a, "what is that?" depth from the Benedictine. The soda makes the drink light and summery.

Georgia Gin Sling

• 1 ounce peach brandy (E&J)
• 1 ounce gin (Beefeater)
• 1/2 ounce Benedictine
• 1 dash peach bitters (Fee Brothers)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 ounces soda

Mix peach brandy, gin, Benedictine, peach and Angostura bitters with ice; pour into a glass filled with ice; top with soda.