The Cocktail Artist

We recently attended an event, held by the Virginia Distillers Association,  where  we were able to try all kinds of spirits produced in the Old Dominion. Virginia has a number of distillers making very good bourbon and rye (which we have previously  featured  in our Peach Cobbler Bourbon Slush  and  Chesapeake Bay   cocktail recipes ).  It’s also home to founding father George Washington’s Distillery - located on his Mount Vernon estate. The  Mount Vernon Distillery  produces a small amount of rye and brandy using very traditional methods. They offer a great tour tour (from April to October) where we learned that, following the revolutionary war, George Washington was one of the largest producers of whiskey in America.  So, how does it happen that the main ingredient in this Virginia-inspired cocktail is a product of New Jersery ( Laird’s Applejack ) ?  Well, as it turns out Laird’s Applejack not only has a conn...

If you asked us what our "house cocktail" is, the answer would be our version of the Manhattan. The Manhattan is a cocktail that's been around for a long time - for good reason. One of the legends of it's origin states that it was invented at New York's Manhattan Club around 1880. According to a 1916 history of the club:  “The Celebrated Manhattan Cocktail was inaugurated at the Club. This consists of equal portions of vermouth and whiskey, with a dash of orange bitters.” There are others who lay claim to the Manhattan's birth, but the only thing that is clear is that it originated in New York City. Most people make a Manhattan with whiskey, sweet vermouth, and bitters. We are happy with the classic version, but over the years we tinkered with the recipe and came up with one that is similar to the "Perfect Manhattan". Our version uses bourbon, sweet vermouth, and blanc vermouth (not dry vermouth). We also use more vermouth (in total) than what...

Here is a cocktail that would be suitable to sip on a Caribbean Island or an island bounded by the Hudson and East Rivers. It's sort of a Manhattan with dark Jamaican rum in the place of whiskey (plus a couple of other modifications). Liquor.com's Drinkwire challenged us to create a cocktail that uses rum in the place of whiskey and we were happy to take on the task. We named the Jamaica Bay cocktail after a body of water that is near Manhattan, but far enough away that you don't feel the city. Jamaica Bay is on the south side of Long Island and straddles two of Manhattan's boroughs -  Brooklyn and Queens. Much of the bay is a wildlife refuge and part of the National Park System. It can be reach via the New York City subway system, yet it's a place for birding, nature walks, kayaking, and even camping in a tiny house. The Cocktail Artists like their Manhattans perfect - meaning with both sweet and dry vermouth. Well, actually, we use blanc vermouth and sweet ...

The Italiano Cocktail with Afternoon in the Piazza - original watercolor by the Cocktail Artist This started out with the classic Italian cocktail - the Negroni, but just like with Italian cooking we began substituting a bit of this and a bit of that until it became something quite distinct. The Negroni cocktail has been around for about a century. The standard story of it's creation is that Count Camillo Negroni instructed the bartender at Caffe Giacosa in Florence to make a stronger version of the Americano (by replacing the soda water with gin). A classic Negroni consists of gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari. As with so many things which involve cocktails, there is some controversy surrounding the history of the Negroni, so if you want to read more, you can find a good piece at  Drinking Cup . For this cocktail we did use gin and sweet vermouth, but the dark amber color of our Italiano is the result of the addition of balsamic vinegar. With the popularity of shrubs right n...