Pantry Old Fashioned

There's a scene in So I Married an Axe-Murderer where Rose, the axe-murderer, asks Charlie, "What would you say to silver dollar pancakes, fresh squeezed orange juice, bacon, and Kona coffee?"  After Charlie accepts, the camera cuts to him eating cold cereal and Rose says "Sorry, I didn't have those other things."  That's how I felt when I went to make a old fashioned and had no oranges or cherries.  Even the grapefruit I had was moldy when I cut into it.  Turns out Cointreau and Heering aren't the worst substitutes. 

Pantry Old Fashioned
2 oz. bourbon
1 tsp. Cointreau
1 tsp. Cherry Heering
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes Orange bitters

Stir all ingredients over ice in an old fashioned glass.

Damiana Sour

Something of a shame that I only made this with most of the bottle done.  Its pretty delicious.

Damiana Sour 1.5 oz. gin
1.5 oz. Damiana
3/4 oz. lemon-lime juice
3/4 oz. water
1 tsp. simple syrup

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain.

Normandy Fizz

I gave a friend instructions for starting a home bar today and mentioned that you can make a fizz out of any spirit.  Took my opwn advice to use up some pear liqueur I got on our flight back from Paris.

Normandy Fizz
2.5 oz calvados
1 oz. lemon juice
1 oz. pear liqueur
1 egg white

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a collins glass.  Add 5 oz. club soda and fill the glass with ice.  Stir. 

Vino Poblano

Decided to use some leftover (i.e. not worth drinking) wine in cocktails.  This drink needs some heat.  I used Fee Brothers whiskey barrel bitters for spice but think habanero bitters or even sriracha would work much better.  It would also benefit from a heartier wine.  Preliminary recipe below.

Vino Poblano
1/2 oz. mezcal
1 oz. creme de cacao
2.5 oz red wine

Shake all ingredients over ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Apricot Shrub and Apricot Cooler

Saw a recipe at my dad's house for apricot shrub and spring tonic from Flavor magazine.  Had to give it a try.  Modified recipes below.

Apricot Shrub
2 cups apricots, halved, pitted, and quartered (about 1 lb)
2 cups sugar
2 cups cider vinegar
10 sprigs thyme

Combine apricots and sugar and stir well.  Cover and allow to macerate in the refrigerator 1-2 days, until the sugar has drawn water out of the fruit and created a syrup.  Add vinegar and allow to come to room temperature.  Stir until sugar is dissolved and add thyme.  Cover and return to the refirgerator for 1 day.  Strain and keep refrigerated.

Spring Cooler
1.5 oz. gin
1 oz. apricot shrub
.5 oz. dry vermouth
6 dashes rhubarb bitters
3 dashes orange bitters
3 dashes peach bitters
2-4 oz. club soda

Shake over ice all ingredients except for club soda.  Strain into an ice-filled collins glass and top with club soda.

Cocktails at Fiola

Coventry and Bitter End.  Details to follow.

Update:
Great drinks at Fiola.  Their cocktail menu is my new to do list. 

Bitter End - gin, campari, cointreau, lemon juice, chocolate bitters
Coventry- rye, averna, maraschino