Nelson's Blood

Thinking about what to drink during the Christmas holidays? Here's a suggestion for a light and enjoyable before or after dinner drink that is in keeping with the season. It's also a tribute to Vice Admiral Horatio Nelson who was mortally wounded during the Battle of Trafalger, 1805. A moment of solemnity is fitting in all seasons.

12 cl champagne brut or dry sparkling wine

3 cl portwine

Pour the champagne or sparkling wine into a flute and add the port.

Tawny port is often preferred in this drink but other styles of port also work well.

Contessa

Combine beautiful colour, lovely fragrance and a potpourri of botanicals and you have the Countess of Cocktails. English gin, French vermouth and Italian amaro guarantee that the aristocratic elegance of Contessa is the real thing. A marvellous aperitif and a brighter alternative to your standard Negroni.

3 cl gin

3 cl dry vermouth

3cl Aperol

Stir the ingredients with ice. Strain into a glass of your choice. You may add a lemon twist, if you are so inclined.

Created by John Gertsen, former bartender at Drink, Boston.

Paper Plane

A cocktail that has the potential of becoming a true classic. A happy blend of tart, sweet and bitter tones enhances the pleasingly aromatic and characteristic taste of bourbon. Herbal notes from the two Italian bitter liqueurs (in Italy called amari) tickle your taste buds and help make this an ideal before-dinner drink.

2 cl bourbon

2 cl Aperol

2 cl Amaro Averna

2 cl lemon juice

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a coupe glass.

Aperol is a fixture in the various versions of the drink whereas the other amaro is a matter of choice. Some bartenders use Nonino, others Montenegro or another of the many amari which bella Italia produces. So take your pick to make your own signature version of Paper Plane.

Paper Plane was created by Sam Ross for the Violet Hour, Chicago.

Daiquiri

A most delicious cocktail and a classic sour - a simple combination of spirit, sugar and citrus juice. It is a perfect, easy to make before-dinner drink with its blend of light rum and lime. 

When he was in Havana, Hemingway frequented the renowned bar El Floridita where he relied heavily on various versions of Daiquiris to bring him in the mood. The drink itself harks back to 1896 when an American engineer working in Cuba was short of gin and instead used the local rum. To mask the low quality he added lime and sugar. Where he lived? In the village of Daiquiri.

4 cl light rum

2 cl lime juice

1.5 cl simple syrup 

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a coupe glass and garnish with a lemon wheel.

If you want it tarter or sweeter, balance the lime juice and syrup accordingly. 

The original Daiquiri was closer to 4 cl light rum, 1.5 cl lime juice and 1.5 cl simple syrup.

Falling Leaves

The transition season of autumn has its own charm and mood. The rich colours of the leaves are beautiful and the onsetting dusk has its own melancholic atmosphere. Enjoy this smooth and graceful drink as a seasonal celebration and find some music to accompany it. The French song “Les feuilles mortes” (Fallen Leaves) based on a poem by Jacques Prévert and preferably sung by Yves Montand would be most appropriate.

 

6 cl dry Riesling white wine

3 cl pear brandy

1.5 cl Cointreau

1 cl honey syrup

2 dashes Peychard’s Bitters

Stir ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a wine glass. If you must have a garnish, float a pod of star anis.

If you can’t get hold of Peychard’s Bitters, one dash of Angostura would be an okay substitute.

 

Source: Audrey Sanders, Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel, New York City.

Bourbon Cocktail

Scotch whisky is not among the most used ingredients in cocktails, far from it. Bourbon whiskey, however, has a nice track record in this respect. Think classics like Old Fashioned, Whiskey Sour and Boulevardier. This afternoon drink, the Bourbon Cocktail, is an opulent version of a Whiskey Sour with Cointreau and especially Bénédictine adding a cornucopia of spicy, herbal notes and aromas. A truly smooth and lush cocktail.

4 cl Bourbon whiskey

2 cl lemon juice

1 cl Bénédictine

1 cl Cointreau

1 dash Angostura

Shake the ingredients with ice. Strain into a coupe glass.

The recipe for this cocktail is taken from Swiss bartender Harry Schraemli's book, Das Grosse Lehrbuch der Bar, 1931. In the 1930s Schraemli began his bar courses at the Business and Hotel Management School in Luzern, Switzerland, where he for the following 20 years taught mixology to bartenders from all over Europe. 

Scottish Orchard

Autumn is the time for dark, smokey beverages like whisky and earthy, dry cider. Combine the two in this homage to the orchards of our mothers, to quote W.H. Auden. The cider gives the drink a light acidity that plays well with the heft of the whisky so your autumn days don't turn too melancholic.

4 cl Scotch whisky

0.5 cl honey syrup 

1 dash Angostura

4 cl hard French or English cider

Mix the first three ingredients in a mixer with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass. Top with cider, and garnish with a lemon twist and, if you wish, a cherry.

You may want to try it as a long drink which gives more prominence to the cider.

Sloe Royale

Sloe gin is not what you get most of in cocktails, and that's a pity. Sloe gin, which by the way isn't gin but a liqueur, has a characteristic bittersweet taste of berries that is fresh, tantalizing and a little peppery. Just the thing for an autumn aperitif. And quite British, old chap!

2 cl sloe gin

12 cl champagne or dry sparkling wine

Pour the sloe gin into a flute, and top with champagne or sparkling wine.

Mercy, Mercy

Autumn calls for five o'clock short drinks that can whet the appetite and lighten up the settling dusk. Lillet with its fragrant blend of Bordeaux wines and citrus liqueur plays along with the orangey and bittersweet taste of Aperol to counterbalance the botanicals in dry gin. The bitters turn the drink into a true cocktail.

4 cl gin

1 cl Lillet Blanc

1 cl Aperol

1 dash Angostura

1 dash orange bitters

In a mixing glass with ice stir the ingredients until cold. Strain into a cocktail or coupe glass.

Instead of Lillet you may want to try Cocchi Americano, an Italian aperitif wine that is more bitter.

Source: Joseph Schwartz, Little Branch, NYC

Shaddock's Fizz

Pretend it's still summer and enjoy this combination of floral and fruity flavours held together by sweet, tart and bitter notes.

6 cl Aperol

2 cl grapefruit juice

1.5 cl St-Germain

6 cl dry sparkling wine

Shake the first three ingredients with ice. Strain into a highball glass with ice. Top with sparkling wine and garnish with a grapefruit twist.

Judgment Day

It's officially autumn and you may want a drink that's not for quenching thirst but for fondly remembering a summer gone. This smooth cocktail gives you the fruits of summer with its aromas and notes of rotting grapes, elderflowers in bloom and lemon and lime galore.

4.5 cl pisco

1.5 cl St-Germain elderflower liquour

1.5 cl lime juice

1.5 cl lemon juice

1.5 cl simple syrup

3 cl pasteurized egg white

Shake the ingredients without ice. Add ice and shake again. Strain into a coupe glass.

Source: Jim Meehan

Pisco Sour

This cocktail is the most well-known drink with pisco. It's actually a cocktail that goes back to the early1920s. Some say it was created in Lima, Peru, by a bartender from California. It's a delightful experience that shows pisco at its very best, delicately strong and full of subtle notes. The egg white gives the drink a full, smooth body with lime and bitters warding off cloying effects.

4 cl pisco

2 cl lime juice

1 cl ordinary syrup

1 cl pasteurized egg white

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Dry shake the ingredients except Angostura, then add ice and shake again. Strain into a cocktail glass and dash the bitters on top.

Cuzco

I want to introduce you to another Latin American brandy that is a godsend to happy cocktailers, namely pisco. It's based on grape juice and produced in Peru and Chile. Compared with Brazilian cachaça, which is based on sugarcane juice, pisco is more refined and sophisticated with notes of fermenting grapes and apples. The best brands can be enjoyed neat as digestifs.

In this pearl of a cocktail the taste is composed like a melody with the citrus fruit and  Aperol creating a harmony that lets the lead singer show what he or she is worth.

4 cl pisco

1.5 cl Aperol

1.5 cl simple syrup

1 cl grapefruit juice

1 cl lemon juice

Shake the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Note: There is an intense rivalry between Peru and Chile as to which of the two countries is the original home of pisco. However, there are superb brands on both sides of the border. Among them are Ocucaje from Peru and El Gobernador from Chile.

And the name of this drink? Cuzco is a city in the south of Peru. It was the capital of the Inca Empire.

Vertigo

Another drink with Averna, the almost forgotten Sicilian amaro. This time the mixer is spicy ginger ale. The result? A full-bodied beverage, pleasing to the palate and low on alcohol.

6 cl Averna

1.5 cl lemon juice

12 cl ginger ale

Pour the ingredients into a highball or rocks glass over ice. Add slices of lemon and lime.

Source: Duggan McDonnell, barman and writer from San Francisco

Averna Tonic

Averna is an amaro, i.e. a bitter, from Sicily. It belongs to the mild and sweet category of Italian bitters and it's been around since 1868. With the help of herbs, roots and citrus zest it gives off a sweet and spicy taste and aroma heading towards the orangey. Mix it with a dry tonic water and you get a lovely long drink.

4 cl Averna

Tonic water

1/2 lemon slice

1/2 orange slice

Pour Averna into a highball glass filled with ice and top up with tonic water. Add the citrus slices.

You may want to try this recipe with another, slightly less orangey Italian amaro: Ramazzotti.

Guadalajara Sour

A cocktail with a surprising combo: tequila and rosé. The duet is performed surprisingly well and combines earthy and fruity notes. A real summer treat.

4,5 cl tequila

2 cl lemon juice

1.5 cl simple syrup

2 cl rosé

Shake the first three ingredients with ice in a shaker. Strain into a rocks or wine glass filled with fresh ice. Pour the rosé slowly over the back of a spoon that touches the surface of the drink.

Guadalajara is Mexico's second largest city and is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco. Tequila comes from Jalisco.

Take 3

A low-alcohol, highly refined summer drink that has a mild Italian amaro based on artichoke in the lead role. Supporting star is the French elderflower liquour St-Germain. To balance the sweetness from these two participants, the sour role is delegated to fresh lemon juice. And together they perform wonderfully, each giving delicate and complex notes of spices, herbs and flowers together with pleasing bitterness and refreshing tartness.

8 cl Cynar

3 cl St-Germain

3 cl lemon juice

Sparkling water

Stir the first three ingedients with ice in a highball glass. Top up with sparkling water.

If you want a garnish, a slice of orange would do nicely.

 

This drink was created in 2011 by Zachary Gelnaw-Rubin, a bartender from Dutch Kills Bar in Queens, NYC.

Caipirinha

This is not just another summertime drink with Brazilian cachaça - it's the most popular drink with cachaça. Combining the spirit with lime gives you a sour that is spicy and with notes of musty fruitiness and honey. Be careful, this tipple is addictive.

6 cl cachaça

1 lime cut in four pieces

1 tablespoon brown sugar

Muddle the four wedges of lime in a rocks glass. Add crushed ice and cachaça. Stir vigorously.

If you haven't got a machine of some sort to crush your ice cubes, you just roll up you ice cubes in a towel and bang it with a meat pounder or a rolling pin.

Feel free to balance the ingredients to suit your taste.

Brandy Daisy

High summer and brandy seem at odds with each other but not after you've tasted this long drink. The complexity of the brandy is set free when combined with the herbal notes of Chartreuse, and the tart taste of lemon juice adds lightness to the two heavyweight ingredients. With sparkling water it is simply   refreshing.

4 cl brandy

2 cl yellow Chartreuse 

2 cl lemon juice

Sparkling water

Stir with ice in a shaker and strain into a highball glass with fresh ice. Top up with sparkling water.

The drink has quite a track record. It dates back to the second half of the 19th century.

Batida de Coco

It's high summer in the northern hemisphere so let's get inspired by drinks from tropical and subtropical parts of the world where they know how to mix or shake up enjoyable, simple and sunny concoctions. Where better to start than Brazil? No, it's not a Caipirinha, but another drink with cachaça: a Batida de Coco. Cachaça is the Brazilian national distillate made from sugarcane juice. One of its many nicknames is abre-coração (heart-opener). So open your hearts to this gorgeous drink, ladies and gents!

4 cl cachaça

2 cl coconut milk

1,5 cl simple syrup

Shake ingredients thoroughly and pour into a highball glass filled with ice.

Champagne Sour

There's nothing quite like champagne. It fits all occasions, seasons and time of day. A decent, dry crémant, cava or spumanti will do nicely if you're out of champagne.

1 cl lemon juice

0.5 cl plain syrup

10 cl champagne or other dry sparkling wine

Pour two first ingredients into a flute glass and stir. Add cold sparkling wine.

Pompelmo Fizz

Fancy a soda pop for adults? This is it. Dry gin, a touch of bitter-sweet Aperol, and mildly tart grapefruit soda will send you down memory lane.

4 cl gin

2 cl Aperol

12 cl grapefruit soda

Pour the first two ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice. Stir gently and top up with grapefruit soda.

Pompelmo is the Italian word for grapefruit so Sanpellegrino would be the appropriate brand to use.

Cha Cha Cha

Cachaça, the pride of Brazil, is a summer acquaintance that always brings joy to any party or get-together. The flavours you get here are sugar cane, honey, bitter orange and grapefruit. Due to a fair amount of alcohol, each tantalizing sip ends on a dry note.

3 cl cachaça

3 cl Cointreau

12 cl grapefruit soda

Pour the two first ingredients into a highball glas with ice and stir gently. Top up with cold grapefruit soda.

Grapefruit Americano

The combination of sweet vermouth and bitter Campari has shown its worth in cocktails like Negroni and Americano. The standard version of the Americano long drink uses only vermouth and amaro with sparkling water as the mixer. In this new version grapefruit juice is added and grapefruit soda is the mixer. The result: a delicious combination of the sweet, bitter, spicy and tart.

3 cl Campari

3 cl sweet vermouth

3 cl red grapefruit juice

Sanpellegrino pompelmo

Pour the first three ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice and stir. Top up with grapefruit soda.

Source: Marcis Dzelzainis, Sager + Wilde, Paradise Row, London

Nicky's Fizz

A dry long drink with no sugar added. It puts the taste of grapefruit up front with the gin's botanicals lingering in the background. Simple to make, easy to drink. An ideal brunch drink.

4 cl gin

4 cl grapefruit juice

10 cl sparkling water

Stir the two first ingredients a highball glass with ice and top up with sparkling water.

Cherry Cooler

If you're partial to cherries and you want a drink low on alcohol, this is a good choice. The combination of lemon juice and two cherry liqueurs gives you a refreshing, slightly tart drink with a tender sweetness  and cherry aroma. A cool libation on a warm summer's day.

2 cl Maraschino

2 cl Cherry Heering

2 cl lemon juice

12 cl sparkling water

Shake the first three ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice, and top up with sparkling water.

Tampico

Endnu en lækker læskende drik til langsom nydelse på en varm sommerdag. Tampico har lige, hvad der skal til: let sødme, forfriskende syrlighed, behagelig bitterhed og en dejlig smag af både citron og appelsin. Rosé-farven og den lange eftersmag fuldender billedet af en lille perle.

2 cl Campari

2 cl Cointreau

2 cl citronsaft

12 cl tonicvand

Hæld de tre første ingredienser op i et glas med isterninger, rør rundt til glasset føles koldt. Top op med kold tonicvand, og rør nænsomt et par gange til.

I stedet for Campari kan du eksperimentere dig frem med en anden tilpas bitter italiensk amaro.

Cablegram

An old-school highball that was popular in the 1920s and mentioned in the cocktail revivalist's bible from 1930, The Savoy Cocktail Book. If ginger ale or ginger beer is your thing, this is your drink. Fresh, spicy and sweet in a smoky way.

4 cl rye whiskey 

1.5 cl lemon juice

0.5 cl simple syrup

12 cl ginger ale or beer

Stirred:

Pour the first three ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice and top with ginger ale. Stir gently and add a slice of lemon.

Or shaken:

Shake the first three ingredients with ice and strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger ale and add a slice of lemon.

Brandy Highball

De mørke typer spiritus hører normalt vinteren til, men både whisky og cognac giver forår og smag for alle pengene, når de optræder i long drinks med ginger ale. I denne klassiske long drink presses cognacens runde, karaneliseret smag tydelig frem af ingefærens heftige, men søde bid.

4 cl cognac

14 cl ginger ale

Hæld ingredienserne op i et highball-glas fyldt med isterninger, og du er på vej til ren nydelse.

Drikken nød stor popularitet i 1880ernes USA, hvor den blot blev kaldt Brandy & Ginger Ale.

Black Beauty

En long drink med en fantastisk smag, der kombinerer det røgede og det bitre med en svag sødme. Det samlede smagsindtryk har en let eksotisk karakter.

3 cl Scotch whisky
1,5 cl Cointreau
1 stænk grenadine sirup
9 cl mineralvand

Hæld de tre første ingredienser op i et highball-glas fyldt med isterninger, og top op med mineralvand. Rør et par omgange med let hånd.

Florodora

The month of May beckons for cooling drinks to sip in the afternoon shade and this old timer won't let you down. It's fresh, fruity and slightly spicy.

4 cl gin

2 cl lime juice

1 cl raspberry syrup

Ginger ale or beer

Shake the first three ingredients with ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice, and top up with ginger ale. Add a slice of lime as garnish.

You can increase the alcohol level by using a raspberry liqueur, e.g. Chambord.

The drink was created in 1901 by a barman in New York to celebrate the opening of a Broadway musical called Florodora. The musical was immensely popular not least for its chorus girls, one of whom was the first to taste the drink. This is how the girls were described: "A sextette of tall, gorgeous damsels, clad in pink walking costumes, black picture hats and carrying frilly parasols swished onto the stage and captivated New York for no other reason than they were utterly stunning."

Cynar Gin Fizz

Et glas mousserende vin med en frisk, syrlig smag tilsat en let bitterhed og sødme er, hvad du får med denne fizz. Det sødmefyldte bitre kommer fra den italienske amaro Cynar, der bl.a. er lavet på noget så excentrisk i en urtelikør som artiskokker. En drik, der er velegnet som afternoon cocktail i solen eller som en apéritif inden maden. Men pas på, den er ret alkoholrig. Et glas er rigeligt.

3 cl gin

1,5 cl Cynar

1,5 cl citronsaft

0,5 cl alm. sirup

Mousserende vin, fx cava eller Prosecco

Ryst de fire første ingredienser i en shaker med is. Hæld over i et champagneglas og top op med kold mousserende vin.

En fizz består egentlig af citrussaft og danskvand plus alkohol. I denne drik er boblerne og citrussaften bibeholdt!

Dark and Stormy

A long drink that has become a modern classic. Dark spirits are not usually de rigueur in spring, but nothing less than a full-bodied, dark rum will do if you want to thrill your tastebuds with accents of spices, nuts and burnt caramel in a cool, sweet and fiery combo.

4 cl dark rum

6 or 8 cl ginger beer

Pour the ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice, and add a slice of lime.

If you want the strong version, make sure that you use a fiery ginger beer.

Purists say that only Gosling's Black Seal must be used, but purists are such a drag so don't let them interfere with what you put into your drinks.

Calvados and Tonic

Another little miracle of a long drink that follows the Minimalist precept "less is more". Two ingredients and ice cubes, that's all it takes to make a wonderful drink. Give yourself a treat and notice how the earthy apple brandy delicately opens up its full complexity when mixed with tonic water.

3 cl Calvados

8 cl tonic water

Pour ingredients into a highball glass filled with ice, and stir gently. No garnish.

The Queen's Gin & Dubonnet

The 21st of April is Queen Elizabeth's actual birthday. So let's raise a toast to the longest reigning monarch of the United Kingdom! And I can't imagine a more appropriate way to do it than by mixing her own favourite lunchtime tipple, a gin and Dubonnet. It's sweet but packs a punch.

4 cl gin

8 cl Dubonnet

Stir the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a glass of your choice, and add a lemon twist or slice of lemon. You can also build the drink in a rocks glass with ice; if so, place the slice of lemon under the ice cubes.

Dubonnet is a fortified wine spiced with, among other things, orange rind, untoasted coffee beans and quinquina. It was created by Joseph Dubonnet in 1846 as a drink that made the bitter taste of quinquina potable. Quinquina has the ability to ward off malaria mosquitoes, and potions with the ingredient were in vogue.

By the way, Queen Elizabeth II was most likely introduced to the drink by her mother,  the Duchess of York, known as the Queen Mother, who daily indulged in the drink. A truly royal drink!

Rum and Tonic

Here is another easy take on the traditional G&T, this time with rum. You can use any type of rum: light, golden or dark. A dark rum gives you a more complex drink tastewise.

4 cl rum

8 cl tonic water

Lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice. Squeeze the line wedge over the ice, and drop it in. Add the tonic water, and stir gently.

Tequila and Tonic

April is the time when a Gin and Tonic begins to be chosen more or less by default. Be a bit more adventurous with your favourite tonic water and try out other easy combinations when you need a long drink. Start off with tequila and notice how the bitterness of quinine blends smoothly with the spicy, peppery, earthy taste of the agave spirit. A little lime adds extra freshness to the drink.

4 cl tequila

8 cl tonic water

Lime wedge

Fill a highball glass with ice. Squeeze the line wedge over the ice, and drop it in. Add the tonic water, and stir gently.

Cuzco Fizz

Druer, lime og hyldeblomst kombineres i denne elegante, aromatiske fizz, som holder en perfekt balance mellem det søde, syrlige og skarpe. Den peruvianske druebrændevin, pisco, har en udsøgt smag, der minder om andre frugtbrændevine som calvados og kirsch. Pisco sat sammen med hyldeblomstlikøren og drue- og limesaften er en nydelse, ikke mindre.

3 cl pisco

1,5 cl St-Germain

1 cl limesaft

6 grønne vindruer

Danskvand

Kvas druerne med limesaften i en cocktail shaker. Tilsæt is, pisco og hyldeblomstlikør og ryst godt. Si over i et highball glas, top op med danskvand, og garner med en skive lime.

Greyhound Cocktail

Let me serve you another drink with grapefruit juice: the Greyhound. Not as a long drink, but as a cocktail. The mildly bitter Italian amaro, Aperol, glves the drink its spring feel and does not drown the tender bitterness and taste of fresh grapefruit juice. The botanicals in gin are allowed to peep through and linger on your taste buds. 

4 cl gin

1 cl Aperol

4 cl freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1 dash of Angostura

The Greyhound is mostly known as a pleasingly refreshing long drink that is quite easy to make: 4 cl vodka and 10 cl grapefruit juice in a highball glass filled with ice. But, for God's sake, try the cocktail first.

Muddy Waters

"April is the cruelest month" says T. S. Eliot in The Wasteland. Chaucer on the other hand welcomes April with its sweet showers. Whatever you feel about the month of April, try this long drink with grapefruit, lime and dark rum. The visual result is certainly muddied but the taste is a promise of sunny times ahead. A refreshingly dry highball that supports the slight sweetness and strong taste of a dark rum.

2 or 3 wedges of lime

6 cl dark rum

9 cl freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Squeeze the lime wedges into a highball glass and leave them in the bottom of the glass, fill with ice, and add the other ingredients in the order mentioned.

Chilcano

En long drink med citrus kvikker altid op og giver en sen eftermiddag lidt mere farve. Den klassiske, peruvianske drik Chilcano baserer sig på pisco, som er en ægte brændevin lavet på ung vin. Pisco er Perus stolthed, og der afholdes hvert år en "semana del pisco", hvor der i ugens løb afprøves gamle og nye opskrifter med destillatet. Smagen af pisco er domineret af druer og en snert af sure æbler, og sat sammen med ingefær og lime krydret med Angostura, kan en long drink næsten ikke blive bedre.

4 cl pisco
1 cl limesaft
6 cl ginger ale 
2 stænk Angostura

Hæld pisco og linesaft i et collinsglas. Tilsæt is og top op med ginger ale. Rør forsigtigt og afslut med et par stænk Angostura.

Pisco laves i Peru og Chile. Chile producerer i meget store mængder med fokus på et bredt marked, mens Peru satser på kvalitet. Chilcano nævnes første gang i en spansk tekst fra år 1900.

El Presidente

Rom og cognac? Nej vel? Og dog. I denne klassiske cocktail indgår rom og Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge, der er en orangelikør baseret på cognac. Med en tør vermouth som en let bitter mediator udløser de to stærke ingredienser deres smagsfylde og aromatiske egenskaber i en glidende bevægelse fra blid appelsin til skarp sukkerrør.

4 cl lys rom
2 cl tør vermouth (den originale opskrift siger Champéry, altså Dolin)
2 cl Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge
0,5 cl  grenadine
Rør ingredienserne med is. Si over i et cocktailglas. Garner med en appelsintwist og/eller et maraschino kirsebær.

Kilde: Bar La Florida Cocktails, Havana, Cuba, 1935

 

Amerikanerne fik øjnene op for denne cocktail under forbudstiden (1920-1933), hvor Cuba var et yndet turistmål for de forbudsramte. Drikken var længe  en af den cubanske overklasses foretrukne drikke, og den er opkaldt efter præsident Gerardo Machado. El Presidente, altså cocktailen, er blandt de mange cocktails fra forbudstiden, der gik i glemmebogen, men takket været cocktail-aficionados i det 21. århundrede er den vendt tilbage. Og det velfortjent, da den er en fin alternativ til en mere traditionel Daquiri. Hvis du mener, at appelsinlikøren fylder for meget, kan du skære ned på den og bruge 1 cl og forhøje andelen af vermouth til 4 cl.

Baren La Florida er mest kendt under navnet La Floridita og er stedet, som Ernest "Papa" Hemingway hyppigt besøgte, når han skulle have sin særlige variant af en Daiquiri, Papa Doplo.

Grand Marnier and Campari cocktails

Breaking news within the alcohol business is that Gruppo Campari has bought a fair share of the company producing the orange-flavoured French liqueur Grand Marnier. The Italian alcohol giant hopes to cash in on the revival of classic cocktails, a field in which both brands are prominent players.

Here a few recipes containing both brands.

Night & Day

9 cl cold champagne brut

1.5 cl Campari

1.5 cl Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

Pour ingredients in the given order into a flute. Stir gently with bar spoon.

A champagne cocktail that is perfect for any occasion, any season and any time of the day.

Campari Collins

4.5 cl Campari

1.5 cl Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

1.5 cl lemon juice

1.5 cl simple syrup

Sparkling mineral water

Shake the first four ingredients with ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top up with mineral water. Add a slice of orange and serve with a straw.

A very aromatic and bittersweet long drink.

Copper Illusion

4 cl gin

2 cl Grand Marnier Cordon Rouge

2 cl Campari

Stir the ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a martini glass, or into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist in both cases.

This cocktail is basically a Negroni without the vermouth, but tastewise it takes you through a different, intriguing and more classy landscape.

Finally, a word about Grand Marnier. It comes in two versions: the Cordon Rouge (red ribbon) is based on cognac and is far superior to the other version which is Cordon Jaune (yellow ribbon). The latter is based on neutral grain spirit and is more in line with Cointreau.

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Elderflower Rosé

Rosé wines are becoming more and more popular in our part of the world. And no wonder. The bone-dry French ones made with red wine grapes give off a pleasing aroma of flowers and fruit, and the taste is fresh and crisp in a fruity way. Add to this a whiff and smack of elderflower and you have a slightly sweet and engaging counterpoint to the dryness of the wine.

The Elderflower Rosé is a refreshing alternative to the traditional apéritif Kir.

12 cl dry French rosé wine

1 or 1.5 cl St-Germain elderflower liqueur

Simply pour the cold liqueur into a small wine glass, add the cold rosé and stir lightly.

Pompier Highball

Spring is not here yet, but this long drink will give you a feel of Paris in springtime. The drink is also an ideal and refreshing apéritif for you or your guests in any season. It doesn't get more French (apart from the Pellegrino).

6 cl dry French vermouth

1.5 cl crème de cassis

Sparkling mineral water

Mix vermouth and cassis with ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Top up with mineral water. Garnish with a slice of lemon or lime.

The aromatic plant extracts in a dry vermouth are set free in this long drink, and the suggested amount of cassis gives a pleasing sweetness without overdoing it. Older recipes augment the amount of cassis going for a sweeter drink.

The Hunt

A great drink with the taste of bourbon one side and the taste of cider on the other, held together by a hint of the intriguing, herbaceous bitterness of Chartreuse. 

6 cl bourbon whiskey

0.5 cl green Chartreuse

0,5 cl simple syrup

7 cl sparkling apple cider

Stir the three first ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. Strain into a rocks glass with ice. Top up with cider. Add a lemon twist, and you're set to go.

Source: Molly Cohen, SixtyFive cocktail lounge at Rockefeller Center, New York City

Calvados Cocktail

Rich in aromas and flavours from fermenting, ripe apples, the brandy from Normandy is the right base spirit for a cocktail in a cold season. The strong taste of apples is lighthened slightly by the fresh, mildly tart taste of fresh orange juice. Dashes of orange bitters unify the flavours in a pleasing way.

4,5 cl Calvados

4,5 cl orange juice

2 cl Cointreau

2 dashes of orange bitters

 

Shake the ingredients with ice, and strain into a cocktail glass.

The Calvados Cocktail dates back to the 1920s and the recipe here is taken from Harry Craddock's The Savoy Cocktail Book from 1930.

San Antonio Margarita

This take on a classic Margarita works well as a before-dinner drink or a late-afternoon reviver.

3 cl tequila


3 cl Cointreau


3 cl lime juice

Shake the ingredients with ice, and strain into a glass of your preference.

A classic Margarita uses a 2:1:1 formula with tequila playing the leading role. In the San Antonio version the equal parts give the drink a sweet edge by adding more Cointreau and a tarter punch with the increase in lime juice. You can serve it straight up, as here, or on the rocks. For the ladies, the first option is probably preferable. But you never know.

Source: Adapted from a recipe by Josie Davidson, San Antonio, Texas. Seen in the New York Times, 2015.

Louis XIV Cocktail

If you're looking for sophistication in your choice of cocktails for Saint Valentine's Day, try this one. Chambord is a delicious black raspberry liqueur from France, and adding a good gin and orange bitters gives you a sweet and slightly spicy cocktail that is a superb after-dinner drink, especially if you want to skip the dessert.

6 cl Chambord

3 cl gin

1 or 2 dashes orange bitters

Stir ingredients with ice in a mxing glass and strain into a small wine glass.

Chambord is believed to originate from a liqueur served to the Sun King, Louis XIV, during his visits to Château de Chambord. Until 1685 the King used the château as a hunting lodge.

Fernet-Ginger

Turning an intensely bitter digestif into an engagingly cool highball is fairly unconventional. In this drink the bitter is the Italian Fernet-Branca, and by diluting it with soda water the whole register of herbal and spicy notes unfolds. Sweet ginger syrup and tart lemon juice gives this long drink a neat balance.

4 cl Fernet-Branca

2 cl ginger syrup

1 cl lemon juice

Sparkling water

Shake the ingredients in a shaker with ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top up with sparkling water. Add a lemon twist if you like.