Sours & Daisies

Sours seem as basic as a drink can get: just liquor, lemon and sugar. But they can be served in a rocks glass or a wine glass, be mixed European-style, with a bit of egg white, or sweetened with something other than sugar, grenadine, Cointreau, raspberry syrup, etc. and splashed with a little texture-lightening soda water, in which case you have to call them “Daisies.” And if you make them with lime juice instead of lemon, some say you have to call‘em something else entirely. 

THE ITALIAN JOB – $12

Old Tom gin, Cocchi Americano, lemon juice, Benedictine, apricot brandy rinse

BARRYMORE ROOM – $12

Bourbon, muddled strawberries, sweet vermouth, lemon juice, egg white

SANCHO’S SOUR – $12

Anejo tequila, lime, pineapple, jalapeno syrup, egg white, sage

DAISY SKYE – $13

Scotch, Old Tom gin, green Chartreuse, pineapple juice, lemon juice, orange bitters

Punches

Our friendly neighborhood cocktail historian, David Wondrich, defined punch perfectly as, “…a large bore mixture of spirits, citrus, sugar, water and spice.” Punch is the grandaddy of all mixed drinks. There are recipes that go as far back as the 1600′s. They’re a symbol of the communal spirit and meant to be drunk among friends and colleagues. Remember to share.

SERVES 4-6

BOATHOUSE PUNCH– $46

Gin, Aperol, elderflower liqueur, lemon, grapefruit, orange, rose Champagne

TENNESSEE RUBY PUNCH – $46

Rye whiskey, amaro Nonino, lemon juice, ginger syrup, raspberry syrup, blood orange tea

21st Century Tiki

With more and more Tiki bars putting the tropical drinks of yore in the spotlight, we though it would be fun to turn some of those old recipes on their head and visit a destination on the road less traveled. We took the time-honored tiki model – a little fruity, a little sour and a dash of spice – and added things like scotch, tequila and even Italian amaro. Most importantly, these are guaranteed to get you into your beach mindset.

SPY PLANE – $13

Scotch, amaro Abano, pineapple juice, lemon juice, orgeat, black strap rum, East India sherry, Angostura bitters

THE TREE HOUSE – $12

Bourbon, rum, Macadamia nut syrup, mole bitters

REVENGE OF THE NIGHT MARCHER – $12

Reposado tequila, lime juice, pinapple juice, raspberry syrup, amaro, black strap rum

Collins and Fizzes

Collins and fizzes are both, in essence, sours topped with soda. For example, the Tom Collins and the Gin Fizz are made virtually the same way, except the Collins has ice and is made in the glass that it is served in while the fizz is shaken, strained, and served with no ice. Oh, and to keep things interesting, sometimes if you simply add soda water to a drink, that makes it a fizz too. No one said this was easy. Cheers.

WILLOW’S FIZZ – $12

Gin, lavender syrup, grapefruit juice, lime juice, soda

LA SONAMBULA – $12

Jalapeno-infused tequila, lemon juice, chamomile tea syrup, Peychaud’s bitters, soda

PECOS COUNTY FIZZ – $12

Gin, raspberry syrup, grapefruit juice, cantaloupe juice, soda

SPICY PETE – $13

Scotch, Velvet Falernum, ginger beer, lemon juice, orange juice, agave syrup

Rites of Spring

Between the dark rich flavors of winter and the bright fruity ones of summer, spring’s offerings yield some of our most unique (and green) cocktails. Because the ingredients are so young, they are uncompromisingly fresh, but yet not terribly sweet, making the drinks somewhat like Stravinsky’s famous work. A little off the beaten path, but once you get used to it, music (or cocktails) will never be the same.

GREEN GIANT – $12

Old Tom gin, lemon, sugar snap peas, tarragon, dry vermouth

THE MACHINIST – $12

Tequila, fino sherry, celery juice, lemon juice, celery shrub, Suze, pinch of salt and pepper

KIWI’S BIG ADVENTURE – $12

Kiwi-infused rum, lime juice, tiki bitters

Brooklyn Tea Party

While tea time might make you think of finger sandwiches and fancy china cups, tea is actually an amazing ingredient in cocktails, The tannins naturally found in tea balance the acidity, giving the cocktail structure and depth. And with all the great artisan tea blenders, the possibilities are endless. Who knew “teatotaling” could be so much fun…

THE RABBIT IN THE MOON – $12

Toasted rice green tea-infused gin, bianco vermouth, lemon juice, egg white, soda

’86 ICED TEA – $13

Gin, tequila, dry curacao, rum, lemon juice, cane syrup, rosehip tea

THOSE MIDSUMMER NIGHTS – $12

Gooseberry and safflower-infused Pisco, muddled lemon and orange, Angostura bitters

Cocktails

Two hundred years ago, cocktails were a mixture of liquor, bitters, sugar and water–and that’s all. More than two hundred years later, the meaning of the word “cocktail” has swollen to envelop any concoction we can think of that has booze in it. Conveniently, and history be damned, this gives us a category where we can park drinks that might fit into several of the other families of drinks, or maybe none at all.

CLOVER CLUB – $12

Gin, dry vermouth, lemon, raspberry syrup and egg white

GIN BLOSSOM – $12

Gin, apricot eau de vie, bianco vermouth, orange bitters

THE SLOPE – $12

Rye, sweet vermouth, apricot brandy and bitters

IMPROVED WHISKEY COCKTAIL – $12

Rye whiskey, maraschino, absinthe and bitters

SALVADOR SOUR – $12

Aquavit, bianco vermouth, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, orange liqueur, ginger, vanilla, red wine float

GEEK SQUAD – $13

Mezcal, green Chartreuse, Cynar, lime juice, demerara

PINEAPPLE JULEP – $12

Bourbon, pineapple syrup, celery shrub, mint

Royales

Drinks made with Champagne or sparkling wine. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, “I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate. I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself.” Bubbles make everything better, right?

DAYS OF HEAVEN – $12

Lillet Rose, Aperol, grapefruit juice, cucumber

BLISSFUL CLIFF – $12

Licor 43, Gran Classico bitter, lemon juice, rose Champagne

MARQUIS ESPECIAL – $12

Pisco, lemon juice, strawberry, Champagne

Dave’s Forgotten Classics

We asked Dave Wondrich, world renowned cocktail historian and writer, neighborhood regular and dear friend, to comb through his archives for our featured section. To describe the drinks and their importance, we thought it best to let the expert do the talking (or writing as it were.) Take it away Dave….

JIM GRAY’S OLD FASHIONED TODDY – $12

Bourbon, nutmeg, sugar

No matter how old-school you kick it, there’s always someone who kicks it harder. Take “Colonel” Jim Gray, head bartender at Manhattan’s legendary Fifth-Avenue Hotel from 1881 to 1907. He was so crusty, he didn’t even put bitters in his Old-Fashioneds (this technically making his cocktails Toddys or Slings, although he’d argue that.) When the bourbon’s good enough, he’s not wrong.

SAMPSON PUNCH – $12

Armagnac, dry curacao, lemon juice, Champagne

In 1898 a pert young Wilmington bartender by the name of Joseph L. Haywood put out a little book titled Mixology: The Art of Preparing All Kinds of Drinks. “An All Right Book,” the cover proclaimed. As proof of that assertion, we offer this.