Original CocktailsUsingLocal,SeasonalIngredients that You Have on Hand

Welcome to Hand Crafted Cocktails. This site is a collection of original cocktail recipes created by me for specific events or establishments. Each cocktail was crafted from ingredients that were on hand, often seasonal, and/or locally produced. Please feel free to make these drinks yourself. Living in NYC, there are many local ingredients with possibilities for just about anything to be on hand. Should you have trouble finding an ingredient where you are, improvise and/or contact me for suggestions. Any feedback you have is also appreciated. You are encouraged to email me privately or simply comment right here on the blog. Enjoy and Cheers!

Whistle Pig Au Currant

Rye whiskey is on a comeback right now, and there are many great ryes available.  In the United States rye whiskey must be made from a mash of at least 51% rye, which is different than bourbon which primarily uses corn (and is therefore sweeter).  Having tried many of the ryes that are flooding the market, I can confidently say that Whistle Pig made in Vermont with 100% rye is one of the best.  Master distiller Dave Pickerell formerly of Maker's Mark has created a superb product that won't disappoint no matter how you choose to enjoy it.

Aged for 10 years, I preferred to drink the bottle they sent me neat, that is, at room temperature with maybe a teaspoon of water to open it up a bit (similar to scotch).  Like an aged steak, it is best enjoyed as is.  However, since I was given the bottle to play with I happily used it in a Manhattan (amazing in it's depth when paired with Antiqua Formula sweet vermouth), and a Sazerac, America's first cocktail (again, delicious in its complexity).

When I began thinking about what I might create, I started with what's in season.  Currants were at my local farmer's market and are underutilized as a cocktail ingredient so I bought some black currant juice to save me the time of juicing my own.  Not finding it sweet enough I added some agave syrup because it mixes so well without having to be boiled with water first (like when making a simple syrup with sugar).  Next came bitters, the taste that the drinker tastes last, and I thought Peychauds bitters complimented the currant juice nicely, though celery bitters added an interesting "green" note that I enjoyed as well. Finally, muddled ginger brought some spice to the middle of the taste, accompanying the sweetness of the agave.

Whistle Pig Au Currant

2 oz of Whistle Pig Rye
1oz of unsweetened Black Current juice
1tsp of agave syrup
1 inch piece of peeled raw ginger sliced into pieces that are about as think as a quarter
Several generous dashes of Peychauds bitters though Angostura bitters would work also

Muddle the ginger in the bottom of a cocktail shaker with just enough black current juice to cover the slices. Add the remaining black current juice, the agave, the rye, the bitters, and enough ice cubes to be seen over the top of the liquid.  Shake vigorously about 15 times before straining the drink into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with fresh currants or an unmuddled piece of ginger (or both!).

Thank you Whistle Pig and Dave Pickerell for expanding the field of rye whiskey by making such an exemplary product.

Now I look towards autumn and wonder how apples and/or cranberries would work instead of currants...  my work is never done. Cheers!

Strawberry Midnight Moon Punch

For the second time, I went to the Independent Spirits Expo here in NYC, only this time I was smart enough to share my blog with the exhibitors. Several generously offered to supply me with some of their product so that I could create cocktails to blog about. Piedmont Distillers, Inc. was one of the first. Among the case of samples they kindly sent me was a jar of Junior Johnson's Midnight Moon aged with strawberries. It ended up being the base to a punch I made for St. John's Church as they celebrated the church's 185th birthday.

The word Punch comes from a hindu word meaning, "five" and traditionally has 5 ingredients. Using the five taste buds for inspiration, I used the following ratios.

2 parts Midnight Moonshine Strawberry

(sweet, but not artificially so)

2 parts Q Tonic (champagne could work well also, it's the bubbles I was after more than anything)

1/2 part Cynar (a bitter Amaro partly flavored by artichokes)

1/4 part Juice of fresh lemons (the sour plays well against the natural sweetness that the strawberries impart on the moonshine)

A generous amount of muddled Basil (an earthy component to balance the berry, tart, and bitter notes).

I also threw in blueberries mostly because I had them and I wanted to float some in each person's cup.

The result was delicious by all accounts. I had one guest tell me that it was the best punch he ever had. I even encouraged people to eat the strawberries that had been soaked in the moonshine, akin to eating the worm from a bottle of Mezcal. They did not disappoint. Some even wanted me to just serve them another strawberry!

Thanks again to Piedmont Distillers, Inc for graciously supplying the very mixable Strawberry Midnight Moonshine. I was honored to use such a tasty product for this summertime punch.

The Well Hammered Clavier

Above is the table tent for an original cocktail (or Bachtail) I created for an event at Le Poisson Rouge. Simone Dinnerstein and Järvi's Absolute Ensemble were performing Bach music with a unique approach, so at first I thought I would reinvent a classic cocktail. Instead some historical details from Bach's life inspired me.

Here's what I came up with:

2oz gin - an alcohol derived from Jenever, a juniper flavored malted grain spirit popular all throughout Europe during his lifetime.

1oz St. Germain - a liqueur formulated from elderflowers grown in the Alps near his homeland.

1/2oz Green Chartreuse - an herbal liqueur made in a monastery, a nod to his sacred works.

1oz freeshly squeezed Grapefruit Juice - the grapefruit was discovered in the West Indies in 1750, the year he died.

1/2oz Simple Syrup - much like his music, the industry would not be the same without it.

Shake all of the ingredients 15 times over ice (while listening to Bach) and strain into a chilled cocktail glass with a twist from the peel of the grapefruit.

The sweetness of the elderflower and simple syrup give way to the tart and herbal qualities of the grapefruit juice and Green Chartreuse. The gin is a sublime way to hold it altogether while rounding it out.

A special thanks to Jonathan, Beth, and Susan for their advice and discernable pallets, and to Simone for giving me the assignment.

Molasses Cocktail

I really wanted to use molasses in a cocktail, to make a winter cocktail with Rum (preferably from Haiti), and to use bacon as a garnish in a drink. At first I couldn't get the Molasses to mix right and then realized I needed to first heat it with some water to make a molasses syrup and not just try to use it straight. The ratio of water to molasses is about 1:1 and I only heated it enough for it to mix thoroughly. Then...

2oz of Barbancourt Rhum

1oz of Canton ginger liqueur

Generous dash of molasses syrup

dash of

Fee Brothers Bitters

1/3 of a piece of Applewood Smoked Bacon cooked crisp

Shake the liquid ingredients 15 times with ice then strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the bacon.

The ginger and rum are a good match for the molasses and the Fee Brothers Bitters should be called cinnamon bitters as that is what it predominantly tastes like. The flavors make for a good winter drink and the bacon stays crisp and is an excellent treat once you've had the last sip.

Holiday Cheer(s)

While visiting my inlaws in Lawrence, Kansas, I was questioned about what I had been up to since we last visited. When they heard about the blog, they were interested to know how I came up with ideas for cocktails. Since I am often inspired by ingredients on hand, they asked if I could make a cocktail with leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner. And the Old Fashioned Cranberry Manhattan was born:

2 1/2 oz of Rye (I used Old Overholt)

Generous spoonful of Cranberry sauce preferably with some orange rind in it

Dash of Angostura Bitters

Dash of Lemon Juice

Shake 15 times with 3 ice cubes and pour into a low ball glass (or in this case a wine glass) ice and all.

Later I added the toasted marshmellows from the sweet potato casserole and a left over apple slice as a garnish. The Rye gives it a seasonal (harvest) taste but the cranberry and lemon juice are the overwhelming flavors. Just for kicks I added a dash of Frangelico to see if I could get a nutty flavor in there too, but it ended up rounding out the tartness of the cranberry too much and taking away some of the drink's depth.

Original Wedding Cocktail

My friend Marc and I enjoying the cocktails.

Wanting to give a unique gift to some friends who recently got married, I offered to create an original cocktail to be offered at the rehearsal dinner which all of the guests were invited to. The restaurant was happy to accommodate me since I would be picking up the tab for all of the guests who ordered the drink which meant more business for them. The groom loves gin, the bride likes fruity but not too sweet, and the wedding was the weekend before Thanksgiving. Here's what I came up with.

2oz of Gin (the bar had Bombay Saphire)

1oz of Apple Cider

1/2oz Nocello Walnut Liqueur

dash of lemon juice

Thin apple slice for garnish

Shake all ingredients 20 times over ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add apple slice.

The sweetness of the apple cider is tempered by the gin and accented by the walnut liqueur. Judging by my bar tab I'd say it was a hit.