Winter Cocktails: French 75 in New Orleans

It is with great appreciation and honour that I present a whopping total of four Christmas cocktails from the historic New Orleans bar, the French 75. The bar itself was built in the late 1800's, but was renovated in the 1970's, and reinvented in 2003 with an emphasis on premium spirits and cigars, and of course the new renaissance in cocktails. This award-winning bar is the first in New Orleans to grace this site, and they have graciously contributed a handful of recipes.

"The Winter Waltz," a rye, amaro, and Christmas spice mix, is named after head bartender Chris Hannah's favourite Frank Sinatra Christmas Carol. "The Contessa" is a nod to the character in Tennesse Williams' novel, "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone." Contessa was the swindler in the book who introduced the Negroni to the characters in tho novel.

Winter Waltz
2 oz Rye Whiskey
1/2 oz Averna Amaro
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
2 dashes Angostura bitters
 
Shake with ice, strain into cocktail glass, garnish with star anise.

Dicken's Toddy
2 oz Wild Turkey bourbon
1/2 oz Maple Syrup
3 dashes Angostura Bitters
 
Build like and Old-Fashioned in a rocks glass with ice, garnish with an orange peel and a cherry.

Contessa
3/4 oz London Dry Gin or Plymouth Gin
3/4 oz Aperol
3/4 oz Ruby Red Grapefruit juice
1/2 oz Cranberry Cordial
2 dashes Orange Bitters

Shake with ice, strain into chilled cocktail glass, garnish with an orange peel.

(We make the Cranberry cordial similar to making Cranberry Sauce)

A fairly simple alternative to making a cordial is making an infused simple syrup. By adding equal parts water to sugar (usually 1 cup) and adding fresh cranberries to the mix once the sugar dissolves over low heat, you can make a cranberry syrup to use in this and other similar Christmas cocktails).  

Charante Hessian
1 1/2 oz Cognac
1 1/2 oz Pumpkin Butter
1/4 oz St. Elizabeth's Allspice dram
4 oz boiling hot water
 
Build in a tempered glass or mug, stir and garnish with grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

Pumpkin butter is a compound butter with added pumpkin puree.

Cheers to the French 75 team and their amazing bar in such a historically exciting city.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Amaro April: "Debbie Don't" from Dutch Kills

One bar I really wanted to include this time is an iconic name in the cocktail-scene - Milk & Honey in New York. Getting in touch with owner Sasha Petraske sadly revealed the news that M&H can't participate in any kind of press or promotion "that might increase walk-in foot traffic on Eldridge Street, due to the arrangement with the landlord," which is all fine and good and keeps them enigmatic, but on the bright side it gave me a new place to research a little bit. Sasha, who's behind several New York establishments, gave me his favourite Averna cocktail, courtesy of former bartender (and co-owner of the craft ice company, Hundredweight Ice) Zack Gelinaw-Rubin, at another of Sasha's bars, Dutch Kills in Long Island City.

Sasha, along with former M&H bartender Richard Boccato, opened Dutch Kills, named after the inlet that extends into the heart of Long Island City, in 2009 with a more accessible and older feel (and slightly cheaper prices) than the speakeasy-style, find-the-right-phone-number-to-get-the-right-password-to-enter-through-the-side-door-type establishments in NYC. Checking out the history page on their website reveals that this area of Dutch settlement in the mid 1600's also served as a British Army garrison during the Revolutionary war, unified into Long Island City in 1870, and was finally incorporated into the City of Greater New York in 1898, and this latter time period is really where the bar seems to take its inspiration in terms of history. Upon arriving at said website (dutchkillsbar.com), the music takes you right back to the late 19th century, and I'm ecstatic to find out that there are actual live bands playing ragtime and early jazz at the bar on select evenings. The drink menu is laid out like a turn of the century newspaper, complete with full recipes and instructions, and all of the drinks either fit in with the Jerry Thomas era, are simple classics from the 1930's, or new originals in the aforementioned styles. I love a simple, classic drink, and seeing something like a 2011 original, the "Bloody Knuckle," with just American rye, Aperol, sloe gin, and orange bitters, really gets me excited to have a drink (nothing against modern, creative mixology, I just find myself more interested in the simple and well-crafted). The outside is lit simply by a sign reading "bar," and the amount of brick, concrete, and wood inside and outside really transport you to saloon times - before Prohibition and its speakeasies.

As for today's cocktail, Sasha touts this as "the best Averna cocktail he's ever had," and it takes us back to Tequila, but this time in very different proportions with the Averna at a full ounce, and like the last couple we've seen, simple in concept as its just a Tequila sour. Maple syrup is something you'd see occasionally in post-Prohibition drinks, for example Quebec's Larry Denis cocktails in the 1940's, and the key with using it today is that you use actual maple syrup. Don't buy Aunt Jemima and mix it with your nice spirits.
You may notice that the brand of Tequila is not specified. This is because Sasha believes "picking the base spirit is really up to the individual bartender - it is not for the recipe author to dictate."

Debbie Don't

1oz Tequila Reposado
1oz Averna Amaro
0.75oz lemon juice
0.5oz maple syrup

Combine all ingredients with ice and shake. Strain straight up into a cocktail glass.

Please do check out the website, they have a list of some amazing drinks, with pictures, recipes, instructions, and sources listed both on the menu and gallery pages. I'm going to have to make some of these tonight! They also have an explanation of each type of ice they'll be using to concoct your tipple.
Next time I'm in New York, I'm going to make sure I have time to get to Long Island City, if just to see Dutch Kills, because immersing yourself into an era is the most exciting thing about exploring cocktails, and nothing will do that like ragtime and honky-tonk on an old piano, a polished wood bar, and a couple of well-crafted classic drinks. If you're there, do the same.
Thanks to Sasha and Zack for the contribution!

[[ See my post on amaro digestivos here ]]
[[ See my post on amaro aperivos here ]]
[[ See a buying guide for amaro here ]]

[[ See "The One Hit Wonder" from L'abattoir in Vancouver here ]]
[[ See "The Penny Farthing" from Pourhouse here ]]
[[ See an introduction to amaro  here ]]
[[ See "The Imperial Eagle" from Bourbon & Branch here ]]
[[ See "Sevilla" from Beretta here ]]
[[ See "Fallow Grave" from the Toronto Temperance Society here ]]
[[ See "The Black Prince" from Phil Ward here ]]
[[ See "Bad Apple" and "Jackson Ward" from Amor y Amargo here ]]
[[ See "The Four Horsemen" from Jay Jones at Shangri-La here ]]
[[ See Colin MacDougall from Blue Water Cafe here ]]
[[ See "Welcome to the Dark Side" from Cin Cin here ]]
[[ See "Foolish Games" from Russell Davis here ]]
[[ See "Intro To Aperol" from Audrey Saunders at Pegu Club here ]]