OLD - FA SHIONED VARIATIONSUp to this point, we’ve outlined three different tactics for understanding and creating variations on the Old- Fashioned. But in actual practice, we often combine several of these tactics. The cocktails in this section were developed by playing with multiple elements of a cocktail— the core, the balance, and the seasoning.SnowbirdDEVON TARBY, 2014The split- base strategy that makes the Ned Ryerson (page 23) successful can be used to generate a wide variety of drinks. We particularly love pulling back on the base and adding another spirit, like apple brandy, to accent the primary spirit. Together, rye and apple brandy are a magical, crowd- pleasing combination, and St- Germain makes everything it touches taste better. A dash of celery bitters adds just enough savoriness to pull the drink back from excessive sweetness.11/2 ounces Rittenhouse rye1/2 ounce Clear Creek 2- year apple brandy1/2 ounce Cardamom- Infused St- Germain (page 288)1/2 teaspoon Demerara Gum Syrup (page 54)4 drops Miracle Mile celery bittersGarnish: 1 grapefruit twistStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the grapefruit twist over the drink and place it into the glass.22C OCK TAIL C ODEXCold Girl FeverDEVON TARBY, 2016When coming up with new cocktail recipes, we often riff on an existing variation from our repertoire. This drink is based on the Golden Boy (page 10), and while it doesn’t share any ingredients with that cocktail, it does take inspiration from its flavors: From the same starting point of raisins and whiskey, Devon took this cocktail to a smokier place by adding a touch of peaty Islay scotch to the core and balancing it out with raisin- infused honey syrup.13/4 ounces Famous Grouse scotch1/4 ounce Laphroaig 10- year scotch1 teaspoon Raisin Honey Syrup (page 286)2 dashes Angostura bittersGarnish: 1 orange twist and 1 lemon twistStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the orange twist over the drink, then gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.Ned RyersonDEVON TARBY, 2012In the Ned Ryerson, the core includes a small portion of young apple brandy, which adds a juicy flavor to the cock tail, and the Miracle Mile Castilian bitters in the seasoning are full of orange, licorice, and sarsaparilla notes. The result is an Old- Fashioned that’s been reimagined with just modest changes.11/2 ounces Bulleit rye1/2 ounce Clear Creek 2- year apple brandy1 teaspoon Demerara Gum Syrup (page 54)2 dashes Miracle Mile Castilian bitters1 dash House Orange Bitters (page 295)Garnish: 1 lemon twistStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.DeadpanALEX DAY AND DEVON TARBY, 2014This is as rich and decadent as an Old- Fashioned gets, but there’s not a drop of sugar syrup in it. Instead, the drink derives its sweetness from both a raisiny sherry and a vanilla liqueur, which provide a counterpunch to the nutty split base of Cognac and rum infused with sesame seeds. A dash of bitters is all that’s required to zip these big flavors together.1 ounce Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac1 ounce Sesame- Infused Rum (page 292)1/4 ounce Lustau East India solera sherry1/4 ounce Giffard Vanille de Madagascar1 dash Bitter Truth Jerry Thomas bittersGarnish: 1 orange twistStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the orange twist over the drink, then gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink.23T HE O LD - FA SHIONEDAutumn Old- FashionedDEVON TARBY, 2013The Conference, a groundbreaking Old- Fashioned variation developed by former Death & Co head bartender Brian Miller, has a core that’s divided between four different brown spirits. The Autumn Old- Fashioned is a richer, deeper expression of that drink. We usually like to use maple syrup as a sweetener when we combine this many big flavors; it has a brightness that keeps the spirits from becoming too heavy.1/2 ounce George Dickel rye1/2 ounce Laird’s 100- proof straight apple brandy1/2 ounce Tariquet VSOP Bas- Armagnac1/2 ounce Bank Note scotch1 teaspoon dark, robust maple syrup2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl mole bitters1 dash Angostura bittersGarnish: 1 orange twist and 1 lemon twistStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Express the orange twist over the drink, then gently rub it around the rim of the glass and place it into the drink. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.Bad SantaDEVON TARBY, 2015This crystal clear drink tastes like minty dark chocolate, earning its place among what we like to call “mindfuck drinks.” Vodka is a nontraditional base spirit for an Old- Fashioned- style drink for sure, but infusing it with cocoa butter and adding a splash of chocolate liqueur gives it the richness and complexity of an aged spirit. With a drink this rich and sweet, a bit of savory seasoning, in this case Salt Solution, is needed to brighten the flavors.2 ounces Cocoa Butter– Infused Absolut Elyx Vodka (page 289)1/4 ounce Giffard white crème de cacao1/4 ounce Giffard Vanille de Madagascar1 teaspoon Giffard Menthe- Pastille1 drop Salt Solution (page 298)Garnish: 1 small candy caneStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Garnish with the candy cane.Beach BonfireALEX DAY, 2015Developed for the inaugural Pacific Coast Highway– themed menu at the Walker Inn, the Beach Bonfire is designed to evoke the experience of sitting around a fire and taking alternating sips from a flask of whiskey and a cold beer. We start with our benchmark bourbon and add some cachaça for its chocolate and cinnamon notes, then sweeten the drink with pineapple syrup, which adds a nod to summer without making the drink taste tropical. At the bar, we’d hit the finished drink with a blast of hickory smoke before serving it next to a small glass of pilsner; at home you can skip the smoke and the beer if you like.11/2 ounces Elijah Craig Small Batch bourbon1/2 ounce Avuá Amburana cachaça1 teaspoon Pineapple Gum Syrup (page 56)1 dash Angostura bitters1 dash Bittermens Xocolatl mole bittersGarnish: 1 dehydrated pineapple slice and a glass of pilsnerStir all the ingredients over ice, then strain into an Old- Fashioned glass over 1 large ice cube. Using a PolyScience Smoking Gun or something similar, shoot some hickory smoke over the drink to create just a whisper of smoke aroma (see page 274 for instructions). Garnish with the dehydrated pineapple and serve with the glass of beer alongside.24C OCK TAIL C ODEXBeach BonfireTHE OLD - FA SHIONED EXTENDED FAMILYBy manipulating the Old- Fashioned template, you can create whole new categories of drinks. What connects the root recipe and the recipes in the extended family is that they all focus on a core flavor and contain only small amounts of sweetener and seasoning. In the recipes that follow, we’ve highlighted our versions of some classic recipes, each followed by some of our own original cocktails inspired by these classics.Champagne CocktailCLASSICA Champagne Cocktail is essentially an Old- Fashioned in which Champagne stands in for the whiskey. Because of the lower alcohol content of the Champagne, partially diluting the drink as you would an Old- Fashioned doesn’t make sense, and, of course, the bubbles in the Champagne wouldn’t be well served by stirring. Therefore, this drink is built in a flute. Given that it isn’t stirred over ice, like an Old- Fashioned, be sure to start with cold Champagne.1 sugar cubeAngostura bittersDry ChampagneGarnish: 1 lemon twistPlace the sugar cube on a paper towel. Dash the bitters over the sugar cube until it’s completely saturated. Drop the sugar cube into a chilled flute and slowly top with Champagne; don’t stir. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.26C OCK TAIL C ODEXVERMOUTHCOCKTAILpage 11EXIT STRATEGYpage 11GOLDEN BOYpage 10TI’ PUNCHpage 11FANCY- FREEpage 13MONTECARLOpage 13CRYSANTHEMUMpage 13STINGERpage 13IMPROVEDWHISKEYCOCKTAILpage 17NORMANDIECLUB OLD-FASHIONEDpage 16POPQUIZpage 17NIGHTOWLpage 17Pretty Wingspage 29Celebratepage 29Last OneStandingpage 32HeritageJuleppage 32CamelliaJuleppage 32Tractionpage 37PeepingTomboypage 37Cut andPastepage 35SaveTonightpage 35Bananaracpage 35In Hot Waterpage 38Gun Club Toddypage 40Heat Miserpage 41BITTERS BOURBON SWEETENEROLD - FA SHIONED2 ounces bourbon1 teaspoon Demerara Gum Syrup (page 54)1 dash Angostura bitters1 dash Bitter Truth aromatic bittersEXPERIMENTINGWITH THE COREEXPERIMENTINGWITH THE SEASONINGEXPERIMENTINGWITH THE BALANCEField Marshallpage 29MINTJULEPpage 31SHERRYCOBBLERpage 37HOT TODDYpage 38SAZERACpage 33CHAMPAGNECOCKTAILpage 26DEADPANpage 23COLD GIRL FEVERpage 23NED RYERSONpage 23BAD SANTApage 24BEACH BONFIREpage 24AUTUMN OLD-FASHIONEDpage 24SNOWBIRDpage 22OLD-FASHIONEDVARIATIONSOLD-FASHIONEDEXTENDEDFAMILYSPARKLING WINESIn cocktails, sparkling wine does multiple things: it adds effervescence, proof (alcoholic content), flavor, acidity, and sweetness. It’s extremely helpful to become familiar with specific bottles and how each will impact recipes. But more fundamentally, it’s useful to understand the most common styles, which we outline below. We haven’t suggested specific bottles because the availability of certain brands is sporadic. Plus, any given wine changes from year to year.Champagne is the king of sparkling wines. It’s also expensive and probably best reserved for special occasions. If you do want to get fancy, we recommend using drier Champagnes (no sweeter than brut), which will have flavors of peach, cherries, citrus, almonds, and bread. Common styles are nonvintage (the house’s consistent flagship bottle, aged for a minimum of fifteen months on the lees), blanc de blancs (made only from Chardonnay grapes), blanc de noirs (made only from Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier), rosé (allowing contact with the grape skins for color), vintage (aged a minimum of three years on the lees), and special cuvée (aged for an average of six to seven years on the lees).Crémant is our go- to sparkling wine for cocktails. Made in similar style to Champagne (though slightly lower age requirements), crémants are made in eight regions of France and can be phenomenally affordable. We prefer Crémant de Bourgogne and Crémant d’Alsace for their similarity to Champagne; using similar grapes grown in a nearby region, these are sparkling wines of incredible complexity. As with Champagne, we steer toward drier styles of crémant.Cava is Spain’s answer to Champagne, made in the same traditional method as Champagne. The grapes used for cava (Macabeo, Xarello, and Parellada) produce a sparkling wine that has whispers of its French counterpart but an entirely different flavor: fresh apple and pear, lime zest, quince, and just a bit of the almond found in Champagne. There are three quality levels to be aware of: cava is the standard marker, with at least nine months of aging on the lees; reserva spends a minimum of fifteen months aging on the lees; and gran reserva has a minimum of thirty months aging on the lees and vintage dating on the label.Prosecco is made using the Charmant method, a process where the wine undergoes a secondary fermentation in a large container to create effervescence (as opposed to Champagne or Traditional method, which undergoes secondary fermentation within the bottle). Hailing from the Italian regions of Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia, prosecco has a fresh quality to it: green apple, melon, pear, and even a little dairy creaminess. It comes in three sweetness levels: (brut, extra dry, and dry). The flavor, body, and bubble size of prosecco are quite different from those of sparkling wines made using the traditional method, so we don’t recommend stocking prosecco as your only mixing bubbly; however, it can be a great mixer in traditional Italian aperitif cocktails like the Aperol Spritz (page 223), where it acts as a soft supporting player to more powerful ingredients.Lambrusco is Italy’s other famous sparkling wine, but aside from using the same production method as prosecco, it could hardly be more different. Of the thirteen grape varieties named Lambrusco, the two most planted are Lambrusco Salamino and Lambrusco Grasparossa. The grapes are first made into a sweet, fresh red wine, which is then made into a sparkling wine. Expect strong flavors of strawberry, raspberry, and rhubarb. Lambrusco comes in three sweetness levels: secco (dry), semisecco (off- dry), and dolce or amabile (sweet). We don’t use Lambrusco often in cocktails, but it can add a juicy complexity and slight fizziness to drinks.28C OCK TAIL C ODEXWe hope youenjoyed this EYB Book PreviewThe complete book is available from all major booksellers. Or use the "Buy Book" button and help support EYB.Next >