Pink Slipper- 1.5 oz @HouseSpirits Aquavit, .75 oz lemon juice, .5 oz orange liqueur, dash Peychaud’s bitters, lemon zest

1.5 oz. Aquavit (Krogstad)
.75 oz. lemon juice
.5 oz. orange liqueur (Patron Citronge)
Dash Peychaud’s bitters
Lemon zest

Shake over ice. Double-strain into chilled cocktail glass. Express lemon oils over cocktail and garnish.

This is a Pegu Club style cocktail, where the gin is swapped for aquavit, the lime for lemon, and the Angostura for Peychaud’s. While clearly an entirely different flavor profile, those who enjoy sour cocktails, caraway, and star anise may just find a new favorite. It has taken me awhile to open up to Aquavit, but each subsequent drink results in a greater fondness, and craving for the spirit. This Portland offering from House Spirits has provided many local bartenders with a excellent (relatively) new spirit to create their own signature cocktails, examples of which can be found here, as well as places where you can drink them in PDX if you aren’t the DIY type, though it may be safe to say that’s most likely a contradiction in terms!

H and H cocktail- 2 oz gin, 1 oz Cocchi Americano, 3 dash Curacao

2 oz. Gin (No. 209)
1 oz. Kina Lillet (Cocchi Americano)
3 Dash Curacao (Patron Citronge)
Dash homemade orange bitters (optional)

Stir with ice. Strain into chilled cocktail glass.

This martini style cocktail can be found in The Savoy Cocktail book though it’s name may remain a mystery. Erik Ellestad has his own guesses which can be found on his excellent blog where he is currently drinking through the entire Savoy Cocktail Book. The resulting cocktail is dry and only slightly sweet. Wonderful vessel for highlighting the botanicals of the gin, with a clean, strong juniper finish. This gin heavy cocktail will certainly not be for everyone but for adventerous classic martini sippers (particularly those with a penchant for Cocchi Americano) it will be a delicious, while not overly drastic departure from the norm.

Pegu Club- 2 oz gin, .75 oz orange liqueur, .5 oz lime juice, 2 dash Angostura bitters

2 oz. gin (Hendrick’s)
.75 oz. Orange Liqueur (Patron Citronge)
.5 oz lime juice
2 dash Angostura bitters
Lime slice garnish (optional)

Shake over ice. Double-strain into chilled cocktail glass.

This is an excellent classic cocktail for those who enjoy sours, but are not yet sold on gin. Hendrick’s in particular is a great entry gin for the juniper timid. Its rose and cucumber infusion render it more accessible for gin newcomers, coupled with the sweetness of the Citronage and the tart lime juice, and followed by a warm-spice finish makes for an very well balanced drink. This is a fun cocktail to experiment with different gins to find your favorite version. Robert Hess has a great video and short history on the Pegu Club on the Small Screen Network here.

Bonal and Rye-@cocktailchron #Dalva Bartender Todd Smith

2 ounces rye whiskey (Old Overholt)
1 ounce Bonal Gentiane-Quina
1/2 ounce Cointreau (Patron Citronge)
2 dashes orange bitters (homemade)
1 dash Angostura bitters
Orange twist, for garnish

This cocktail came our way from Paul Clarke’s recent article covering the availability of new aperitifs and the creative  new cocktails that have resulted. The nose is predominantly rye and warm spice notes. The sip brings a caramel sweetness as the Bonal and orange liqueur tame the angular spicy notes of the rye. It has a smooth syrupy finish similar to The Kina Cocktail, that gains it’s smoothness from the sweet vermouth,which relative to the Bonal, is quite different with the added gentian bitterness not usually present in vermouth as they most often use cinchona (a milder bittering agent). On the subject of bitters, experiment with your bitters levels as they can widely effect the outcome of the cocktail. With this drink I’ve found it doesn’t hurt to be a bit heavy handed with the orange bitters but keep the angostura at a dash as it will quickly overpower the nuances of the Bonal.

Sunset Clause- 1.5 oz @HendricksGin, 1 oz Aperol, .5 oz @_TORANI_ Amer, .25 oz Citronge

1 1/2 oz. Gin (Hendrick’s)
1 oz. Aperol
1/2 oz. Amer picon (Torani Amer)
1/4 oz. Orange liqueur (Patron Citronge)
Orange bitters (optional)

The rose and orange nose are prominent on the sip. The Torani bitter orange flavors compliment the citrus aspects of the Aperol. Aperol is very different from Campari, lighter and sweeter, however the drink was reminiscent of a lighter Negroni. Read Aperol the Versatile Italian Aperitif from Drink Dogma for more great recipes. With food, the grapefruit notes of the Aperol become more apparent. Homemade orange bitters were added on a later iteration of the recipe which drastically changed the profile of the drink. Try without bitters first, then with and please share your feedback on your version of preference.

Apple Sidecar- 1 1/2 oz. Apple Brandy, 3/4 oz. key lime juice, 1/2 oz. Citronge

I spotted some key limes at the store the other day and couldn’t resist. Found the recipe from a cocktail book I picked up on a recent trip to Seattle (more reviews of their craft cocktail scene to follow) and thought it would be a great fit for the little limes.

1 1/2 oz. Apple Brandy (Clear Creek)
3/4 key lime juice
1/2 orange liqueur (Patron Citronge)

Shake with ice. Double strain.

The drink has a tart granny-smith green apple nose despite the fact Clear Creek uses Golden Delicious for their excellent brandy. This is most likely due to the sharpness and crispness from the key limes. I have really enjoyed using the Citronge for my orange liqueur as it is very complex with bergamot and jasmine notes, though also quite sweet, which is why I cut back on its proportion for this recipe (most sidecars call for a 1-1-1 ratio of brandy [or Cognac]-lemon juice-Cointreau). Overall the drink is a nice summertime cocktail, refreshing, flavorful yet light, and sure to be repeated.

Orange Blossom Special

This cocktail takes the name of a favorite bluegrass tune, and goes down just as sweet…(if you like the sound of a banjo that is)

1.5 oz Bols Genever
3/4 oz Lillet
3/4 oz Orange Juice
1/4 oz Orange Liquer (Citronge)
1 dash homemade orange bitters
3 drop orange blossom water

Shake with ice. Strain.

Malty and orange nose. Bitter notes from orange blossom water, Lillet, and of course, bitters. Little liqueur needed, as sweetness from other ingredients balanced out in a dangerously smooth cocktail