Henry Hudson

It’s been busy here in Cocktail Artist HQ. Not only do we have a lot of new materials to work with in our home bar and our art studio but we’ve also added a new member to the Cocktail Artist family. Henry Hudson is our 3-month old Cavalier King Charles spaniel – and a bundle of energy. We named him after the English explorer, Henry Hudson, because right from the start this puppy showed us his curious and adventurous personality.

Once we got him to settle down we made a trip to the liquor store in search of inspiration for a new cocktail. We ended up getting a bottle of Tuthilltown Spirits Hudson Baby Bourbon – which seemed like a very obvious choice for a cocktail in honor of our new “baby”. The bourbon, which comes in a cute squat bottle, is made from 100% corn and aged in small (3 gallon) oak barrels. The distillery is up the Hudson River from New York City and uses local grains in the production of their spirits. Tuthilltown Spirits describes their Baby Bourbon as “mild and friendly” (which could also be a partial description of our puppy).

We modeled the Henry Hudson cocktail after the pre-prohibition drink the Lion’s Tail – a whiskey-based cocktail that teeters on the edge of becoming a tiki drink. The base spirit is bourbon, but much of the complexity comes from allspice dram – with its flavors of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. For another cocktail recipe that uses allspice dram, take a look at the Ginger Root Cocktail on our blog. This was a post done by one of our grown up (human) children and splits the base spirit between rye and dark rum.

In addition to the bourbon and allspice dram, our Henry Hudson includes fresh lime and orange juice, simple syrup, and orange bitters. The juice brightens the cocktail without overwhelming the bourbon. We experimented with several types of cocktails using the Hudson Baby Bourbon and found that because this is a young bourbon its flavor can become lost in a mixed drink. If you overdo it with the Allspice Dram in this recipe you definitely won't get any of the taste of the bourbon.

Continuing with our "Hudson" theme, the Artist has been studying the work of the Hudson River School, a 19th Century art movement which focused on romantic landscape paintings. So we’ve paired our Henry Hudson cocktail with a couple of his recent watercolor landscapes. We’ve also included the Cocktail Artist’s watercolor of our Henry Hudson the puppy – so scroll to the bottom of this post to see why a couple of empty-nesters couldn’t resist adopting a new “baby”.

Cheers!

Henry Hudson cocktail and Hudson River - original watercolor by The Cocktail Artist

Henry Hudson

2 ounces Bourbon (Hudson Baby Bourbon)
½ ounce Allspice Dram (St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram)
½ ounce fresh squeezed orange juice
½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
½ ounce simple syrup
2 dashes orange bitters (Regans Orange Bitters No. 6)

 Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice cubes. Shake well and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime twist.


Henry Hudson Cocktail and View of the Hudson - original watercolor by The Cocktail Artist


Henry Hudson and his Puppy Siblings - original watercolor by The Cocktail Artist


View of the Hudson - original watercolor by The Cocktail Artist


Hudson River - original watercolor by The Cocktail Artist


Henry Hudson - the puppy


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