Cocktails with Overproof Spirits

[thirtyoneknots]

So I wrote at length over here about my love affair with a Stagg Manhattan, perhaps the most profound cocktail I've ever had. At Veritas we're starting to get in some of the 2009 Antique Collection in preparation for a tasting in January and tonight I made a Thomas Handy Sazerac for the boss...another killer (I've done this before but it has been a few years). All he could say as he sat there with his glass was "so good, sooo good".

It got me thinking about the kinds of cocktails that work with overproof whiskies (or other spirits). Conventional wisdom from just a few years back would have said stick with spirit-centric recipes like the Old Fashioned and Sazerac, and these are certainly wonderful that way, but the rediscovery of the 19th Century cocktail theory has shown us that Manhattans and such can be made to work as well. Punches and juleps would seem to be obvious directions to go...Some of my William Weller is destined for a julep at some point, and I'll probably break down and make an eggnog at some point with it too.

So what else comes to mind? Any other successes with overpoof spirits?

[Shalmanese]

What's the difference between using 2.5 oz of a 80 proof spirit and 2 oz of a 100 proof spirit? It should be a little less diluted but are there any other flavor differences?

[vice]

I'm drinking a toddy with Smith & Cross right now (well, really a skin as I tossed in a lemon twist). 2 oz rum to 6 oz water. It could probably be a bit stiffer. I looked at the Lemon Hart but thought it was a bit too late for that. Maybe tomorrow morning if the cool weather here keeps up.

[mkayahara]

I think the Zombie is probably an interesting point of reference as well, what with its vast quantities of 151-proof rum. For that matter, there are lots of other successful Tiki and Tiki-esque drinks that call for high-proof rum.

[thirtyoneknots]

What's the difference between using 2.5 oz of a 80 proof spirit and 2 oz of a 100 proof spirit? It should be a little less diluted but are there any other flavor differences?

There is a difference, as the 100 proof spirit will, all things being equal, tolerate the addition of ice (and subsequent dilution) much better, giving a more flavorful drink in the end. The issue I'm looking into here is the difference between 100 proof, and in the case of something like George T. Stagg, 140 proof. There the difference is far more pronounced. Continuing to scale down the amount of spirit works to a point but in the few times I have tried this one can end up losing the distinctive character of the op liquor, which defeats a good deal of the point to the exercise.

The Skin/Toddy/Hot Punch is a good one of course...Blue Blazer with William Weller would I'm sure be a thing of beauty. Zombie does indeed use a profilgate amount of OP rum but isn't very seasonal, even here in Texas we have been in the 40s for the past couple of weeks. I did make an unusual number of Mojitos last night though...

I probably need to go get my Jerry Thomas and Harry Johnson down and have a look. Imbibe, too, of course.

[db_campbell]

A couple years ago, I used Aberlour A'bunadh as the base for a Bobby Burns that proved much more interesting than one made with either my usual vatted blend or my general step-up, Glenfarclas 12. Of course, this isn't much different from the Manhattan that you mention in the topic-starter. I do recall bostonapothecary doing some interesting things with Macallan Cask Strength over in the "Drinks!" thread, perhaps a year ago.

[bostonapothecary]

A couple years ago, I used Aberlour A'bunadh as the base for a Bobby Burns that proved much more interesting than one made with either my usual vatted blend or my general step-up, Glenfarclas 12. Of course, this isn't much different from the Manhattan that you mention in the topic-starter. I do recall bostonapothecary doing some interesting things with Macallan Cask Strength over in the "Drinks!" thread, perhaps a year ago.

i used to have a lot of fun with overproof spirits. you can do really cool things like averaging ingredients together to hit certain proofs while building synonymous flavor depth and adding minor acidity. cask strength macallan and la cigarrera's manzanilla go together really well.

i try to keep around both lemonheart and goslings 151. the goslings has a unique banana like fruit aroma that is either really cool or terrible in drinks depending on how its contrasted. i would average either of them together with non-alcoholic clayton's cola nut tonic to make fun drinks with some wild flavors. i'm really into floatings the goslings onto drinks with mezcal bases because the aromatic juxtaposition of the two is pretty crazy.

i was lucky to get a bottle of the force 53 cognac and fell in love stretching drinks like the sidecar to fit it. because its overproof you can use underproof eccentric orange liqueurs like the cape verdean to hit a reasonable alcohol level but pick up all the extra undiluted cognac extract. a relatively familiar structure (the non triple-secs have slightly more sugar) but with extra extract is a strange experience.