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Been a bit obsessed lately with a certain new household member, Mr. Monty Woolley: ...and we're contemplating having some friends over for a little meet and greet with cocktails. Or, uh, Dogtails. Aside from Salty Poodle and Greyhound, what are some good dog themed cocktails? I've been working on this one, which I dig: Laika Cocktail 2 oz Vodka 1/4 oz lemon 1/4 oz honey syrup allspice dram Rinse chilled cocktail glass with allspice dram and shake out excess. Stir vodka, lemon, and honey syrup with ice to chill. Strain into prepared cocktail glass. Squeeze orange peel over glass and discard. When we opened Heaven's Dog, we got a lot of requests for "vodka citrus" cocktails. I was trying to think of a vodka cocktail I could actually enjoy and decided to riff on Krupnik. Krupnik reminded me of Sputnik, which reminded me of Laika. Thus the name.

I read about these nice double walled stainless mugs on the DrinkBoy MSN forums last year. They seem to work well and I had no problems ordering from the company. Brilliant Double-Walled Large Beer Mug (Link to product on the StainlessLux.com website.)

Palmetto Cocktail. 2 Dashes Orange Bitters. (Angostura Orange Bitters) 1/2 Italian Vermouth. (1 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet) 1/2 St. Croix Rum. (1 oz Cruzan Single Barrel) Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. Can’t believe I actually have an excuse to use Cruzan Single Barrel in a cocktail! We’ve had a few Rum and Italian Vermouth drinks before, but usually they call for Bacardi, which I take to mean a white Cuban style rum. And usually, with those white rums they aren’t very amazing, tasting more of Vermouth than Rum. Here, on the other hand, is something quite enjoyable! The rum has enough character to be complemented nicely by the Italian Vermouth and bitters. Yum.

Well, since Matt is in Canada, he doesn't have to settle for simply "cuban-style"! How about Havana Club 7?

I just like Plymouth in sours, that's why I grabbed that particular bottle. Out of Tanqueray at the moment, or I might have picked it instead. Navy Strength Plymouth might be amusing! If you like Gin and Angostura, try this Savoy cocktail with North Shore No. 11 and Dolin Blanc standing in for the Caperitif. Very Tasty. Piccad Cocktail. 3 Dashes Angostura Bitters. 1/2 Caperitif. 1/2 Dry Gin. Shake well with two or three pieces of lemon rind and strain.

Neat, eh? My wife found a set of them on her last trip to Austin.

Palmer Cocktail. 1 Dash Lemon Juice. 1 Dash Angostura Bitters. 1 Glass Canadian Club Whisky. (2 oz Canadian Mist 1885 Special Reserve) Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. Even without sugar, there really shouldn’t be anything wrong with this. So little Angostura and lemon. But man, does this construction just seem to point up the weaknesses of this whisky. Just dreadful stuff. Totally constructed and artificial tasting. Bleah. I’m going back to the non-traditional Alberta Springs, if this is the general state of Canadian Whisky.

Pall Mall Cocktail. 1 Dash Orange Bitters. (Angostura Orange Bitters) 1 Teaspoonful White Crème de Menthe. (Brizard White Creme de Menthe) 1/3 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth) 1/3 French Vermouth. (3/4 oz Noilly Prat Original Dry Vermouth) 1/3 Plymouth Gin. (3/4 oz Plymouth Gin) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Maybe I’m on crack, but I really enjoyed this cocktail. It was refreshing without being overwhelmingly sweet or over the top minty. I suppose it is a sort of Martinez variation. Not sure if the name is supposed to evoke Pall Mall cigarettes or what. But I have been known to be attracted to tobacco-ish or tobacco complementing flavors in alcoholic beverages.

Evan Zimmerman, from Portland, made a nice cocktail when he was down guest bartending at Alembic. Gin sour with rose flower water, aperol, and egg white. I forget what it was called and don't have exact proportions. I would guess: 1 1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz aperol, 3/4 oz lemon, 1/2 oz simple syrup, 1/2 oz egg white, drop or two of rose flower water.

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but there aren't a whole lot of Scotch Cocktails and I can't think of any that use Maraschino liqueur. Might have to think up a new name!

I assume eventually Cocktail Kingdom will also offer the TBT/Bittermen's Bitters. However, at the moment, the boston shaker is taking pre-orders: But Bittermens

Chuckle, that's kind of funny. While it is not all that unusual to see a dusty bottle of cherry heering in most bars, it's kind of hilarious that the formerly pretty darn obscure Maraschino has made its way to glitzy Las Vegas and is being used in a menu drink there! Was there flair involved? The Blood and Sand is traditionally an equal parts drink, though I can see how if you were using Maraschino, you'd need to decrease the proportion of liqueurs, juice, and vermouth to the booze. There's a bit of tart, cherry flavor in the Heering that you'll not get with Maraschino.

I've had good luck ordering books and bar equipment from Cocktail Kingdom. Plus, Greg's a good guy. To be honest, I have no idea how he is even making any money on this, with the prices as low as they are. At the moment the exchange rate is: 1 Euro = 1.3996 U.S. dollars To order these bitters direct from The Bitter Truth, you'd pay about $15.25 plus (very expensive!) shipping.

Haven't tried Stock. I'll have to try that next. Cinzano I don't remember being over fond of. Used to use it quite a lot at the beginning of the stomp, but then got distracted by Carpano. Could revisit, as it is cheap.

Paddy Cocktail. 1/2 Paddy Irish Whisky. (1 oz Bushmill’s 10 Year Single Malt Irish Whiskey) 1/2 Italian Vermouth. (1 oz Dolin Vermouth Rouge) 1 Dash Angostura Bitters. Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. I thought the milder Irish Whiskey and milder Dolin Rouge would combine well in this cocktial. I was wrong. To be honest, I just don’t like the Dolin Rouge as a mixer with any whiskey I have tried so far. In this case, it seems to highlight the flabby, malty flavors of the whiskey. The drink also ends up tasting a bit watery. Maybe I should have been a bit more generous with the bitters? Or maybe my Dolin Rouge has expired. After this failure, whenever whiskey is called for, I’m back to Martini and Rossi Sweet Vermouth. Or Carpano Antica, if I’m feeling flush.

Oriental Cocktail. 1/2 Rye Whisky. (1 1/2 oz Sazerac Straight Rye Whiskey) 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (3/4 oz Martini & Rossi Sweet Vermouth) 1/4 White Curacao. (3/4 oz Bols Dry Orange Curacao) The Juice of 1/2 Lime. Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass. To me, the Oriental Cocktail is a very modern tasting cocktail. Compared to many vintage cocktails, it has a fairly large portion of both sweet and sour, making it quite rich in flavor. If it didn’t have pesky Sweet Vermouth, it could go on just about any modern cocktail menu and be quite the crowd pleaser. Personally, I find it a bit rich, but am never quite sure where to go with that. More Vermouth and less curacao and lime? 2 oz booze, 1/2 oz of everthing else? Certainly can think of worse ways to spend an evening than tweaking the proportions of the Oriental. In any case, as enjoyable as the Oriental Cocktail is, I’m pretty sure Dr. B– got the better end of this deal!

Orange Martini Cocktail. (6 People) 2 1/2 glasses of Gin. (1 1/4 oz Orange Gin) 2 glasses of French Vermouth. (1 oz Noilly Prat Original Dry) 1 Glass of Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Martini and Rossi Rosso) Steep in this mixture the finely-grated rind of 1 orange (carefully removing all the white pith.) Let it soak for one or two hours. Then add ice and shake (I stirred). Rinse out the glasses with Orange bitters (Angostura Orange Bitters). I still had some orange peel infused No. 209 Gin sitting around the house from the last cocktail that called for "Orange Gin", so instead of taking the long way around, I just used it in this drink. This was actually rather nice, as prepared above. Orangey and ginny with just a touch of sweetness from the sweet vermouth.

Well, I have to admit a slight preference for slightly less gin, slightly more lime juice, and slightly, slightly more, uh, cointreau. Ooops. I also really like the gimlet-i-fied version, especially with Genever. No pasa nada. Divert your eyes.

Orange Blossom Cocktail. 1/2 Orange juice. (1 oz fresh squeezed Orange Juice) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Beefeater 24) Shake well and strain into cocktail glass. Robert Vermeire tells us this recipe was, “by Malloy of Pittsburg.” Nothing complicated here. Orange Juice and gin, that’s it. More interesting than a screwdriver and less interesting than most other drinks. There are a few other Orange Blossom recipes ’round and about that are a bit more complicated than the Savoy. Some including sugar, grenadine, or honey syrup. In regards the Beefeater 24, this was my third drink of the evening using it and the least successful. I was hoping the slightly complex flavor profile of the new gin would complement fruit juice and bring some extra character to the drink. Unfortunately, the opposite proved to be true, with the added complexity distracting from the simple pleasure and clean flavor of the freshly squeezed orange juice.

Chuckle. OK, let's avoid any bi-coastal beef. I tried the Jimmy's Pegu last night and it didn't do much for me. 4-1-1, right? 2 oz Plymouth Gin, 1/2 oz Lime Juice, 1/2 oz Curacao, dash of angostura orange and angostura aromatic. Though I do have to say, I do not particularly care for Angostura Orange Bitters in this cocktail. So that might have had something to do with it. I have concluded I much prefer Regan's, Fee's, or a combination of Regan's and Fee's Orange bitters in the Pegu Club. Maybe if you just used a drop or two of the Angostura Orange.

Yep, I'm aware of that.

The type of Pegu Club they make at Slanted Door. If I remember correctly, their recipe is based on Paul Harrington's from "Cocktail: The Drinks Bible for the 21st Century". Or at least based on the ratios he uses for sours in that book. Maybe I should call it a "Bay Area Sour".

Experimenting with various styles of Pegu Clubs last night. Actually, my favorite two were the California Sour style, a la Slanted Door, and a Gimlet style with Genever and Rose's Lime Juice. Basically the McElhone recipe, rocks and Bols Genever. Tasty.

Orange Bloom Cocktail. 1/4 Italian Vermouth. (1/2 oz Dolin Rosso) 1/4 Cointreau. (1/2 oz Cointreau) 1/2 Dry Gin. (1 oz Beefeater 24) Shake (I stirred) well and strain into cocktail glass and add a cherry. I am not sure if it was the combination of the somewhat hot character of the Cointreau and the Beefeater 24, but even after a nice long stir to a quite cold temperature this was a very strongly alcohol smelling and flavored drink. I don’t know about you, but whenever I smell alcohol based hand sanitizer at work or on public transit, I always think someone is hitting the vodka. To me, this had a similar character. Maybe a stronger flavored and sweeter vermouth would have been better at mitigating the hot character of these two strong spirits.

I asked the PR firm representing Beefeater 24, and they said 6 months to a year for expansion outside of San Francisco and New York. Though they said they have gotten very good response to the product, so it is pretty much a given at this point that it will happen. About your only choice at the moment would be ordering from a firm inside of one of those metropolitan areas. Or somehow convincing a friend who lives in either one to send you some.