Cocktail Parties | Saveur

Paper Plane

Courtesy Tenmile Distillery — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 00:45:00 +0000

Photography by Daniel Seung Lee; Art Direction by Kate Berry

Based on a cocktail popular in Prohibition-era gin joints, the Paper Plane belongs to the family of corpse revivers, created in the 19th century as hangover cures. This whisky-based version was first developed by bartender Sasha Petraske for The Violet Hour, a new-wave speakeasy in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood.

Featured in “Our New Favorite Single Malt Whisky Comes From … New York?” by Shane Mitchell.

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

¾ oz. Amaro Nonino Quintessentia
¾ oz. Faccia Brutto aperitivo
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
¾ oz. Little Rest whisky

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker, add the Amaro, aperitivo, lemon juice, whisky, and enough ice to fill it about halfway. Shake well, strain into a coupe glass, and serve immediately.

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Clover Club Cocktail

Courtesy Tenmile Distillery — Sat, 12 Aug 2023 00:45:00 +0000

Photography by Daniel Seung Lee; Art Direction by Kate Berry

Named for a turn-of-the-century men’s club in Philadelphia, this frothy gin sipper belongs to the pre-Prohibition era of classic cocktails, but has lately been revived on craft bar menus. An earlier recipe appeared in Jack’s Manual (1908), by a bartender famed for his “fancy mixed drinks.” A cousin of the Pink Lady, it needs to be dry shaken to emulsify the egg white, and the addition of raspberry syrup—Monin is a reliable ready-made brand—creates a delicate blush for a summery refreshment.

Featured in “Our New Favorite Single Malt Whisky Comes From … New York?” by Shane Mitchell.

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

2 oz. Listening Rock gin
½ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. raspberry simple syrup
1 large egg white
Raspberries, for garnish

Instructions

To an empty cocktail shaker, add the gin, lemon juice, raspberry simple syrup, and egg white; shake well. Add enough ice cubes to fill the shaker about halfway, and shake well again. Strain into a coupe or Nick & Nora glass, garnish with a few raspberries, and serve immediately.

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Bermuda Hundred

Beth Dixon — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:34:23 +0000

Photography by Linda Xiao; Food Styling by Jessie YuChen

The lovechild of a mai tai and a Negroni, this fruity orgeat and Campari cocktail is a sweet and summery thirst-quencher.

Featured in: “21 Cocktails for our 21st Birthday“

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

1½ oz. gin
1½ oz. pineapple juice
3⁄4 oz. Campari
1⁄2 oz. fresh lime juice
1⁄2 oz. orgeat
1 brandied cherry

Instructions

Fill a rocks glass with ice. To a cocktail shaker, add the gin, pineapple juice, Campari, lime juice, orgeat, and enough ice cubes to fill the shaker about halfway. Shake well, strain into the glass, garnish with the cherry, and serve immediately.

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The Last Word

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:53:38 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio; Food Styling By Jessie YuChen; Prop Styling By Kim Gray; Coupe by Glasvin

Equal parts gin, chartreuse, Maraschino liqueur, and fresh lime juice, The Last Word cocktail is a foolproof classic that goes down as easily as it is to make. This recipe takes well to scaling: Quadruple it for four, or for a party, make a pitcher for guests to pour over ice. It can also be adapted to individual tastes; for a less sweet result, up the gin to 1¼ ounces.

Yield: One Cocktail

¾ oz. fresh lime juice
¾ oz. London Dry gin, such as Beefeater
¾ oz. green Chartreuse
¾ oz. Maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo
Lime twist or strip of lime peel, for garnish

Instructions

To a shaker filled halfway with ice, add the lime juice, gin, Chartreuse, and Maraschino and shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe and garnish with the lime twist.

WATCH: How to Shake a Cocktail

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Spicy Passion Fruit Mezcalita

Fabiana Pinillos — Thu, 06 Apr 2023 21:43:50 +0000

Photography by Ellen Fort

Charleston bartender Fabiana Pinillos created a spicy, passion fruit-flavored version of the mezcalita, the margarita’s smokey mezcal-laced cousin, a bold cocktail made for sipping alongside lively conversation. In fact, it was created for SAVEUR’s inaugural SAVEUR Salon celebrating women founders in food. Tropical passion fruit syrup gets a zing of flavor with Red Clay’s Habanero Hot sauce, and Spicy Peach Hot Honey. Pinillos used Doce Mezcal.

1 Tbsp. Red Clay Margarita Salt
1½ oz. Doce mezcal
¾ oz. fresh lime juice
½ oz. passion fruit syrup
½ tsp. Red Clay Spicy Peach Hot Honey
¼ tsp. Red Clay Habanero Hot Sauce

Instructions

Rub the rim of a rocks glass with a lime. On a small plate, spread the salt, and dip the rim of the glass into it to coat.
To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the mezcal, lime juice, passionfruit syrup, hot honey, and habanero hot sauce. Shake well, then strain into the rimmed rocks glass over ice Serve immediately.

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Kir Royale

SAVEUR Editors — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:43:35 +0000

Photography By Belle Morizio

Canon Félix Kir, a French Résistance hero and later mayor of Dijon, lent his name to this simple wine cocktail traditionally made with the rustic Burgundian variety called aligoté. When Champagne is used instead of white wine, the drink becomes a kir royale. Don’t be tempted to stint on the amount of crème de cassis—Burgundy’s famed blackcurrant liqueur—to yield a faint pink drink; both common and royal iterations should properly have a dark rosy hue.

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

6 oz. brut Champagne or other dry sparkling wine
½ oz. crème de cassis
Fresh blackberries, for garnish

Instructions

To a chilled Champagne flute, add the crème de cassis. Top with Champagne and garnish with blackberries. Serve immediately.

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Sidecar Cocktail

Shannon Mustipher — Mon, 18 Mar 2019 22:50:24 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio; Food Styling by Kat Craddock

Various conflicting origin stories surround the classic sidecar recipe, which only adds to the throwback cocktail’s mystery and charm. It’s fairly certain that the bright and citrusy drink is a descendent of the brandy crusta, a groundbreaking 19th century classic that was one of the first to leverage techniques now considered commonplace. It incorporated a liqueur as a sweetener; it juxtaposed that sweetness with bitters; it wielded citrus peel as a means for opening up the olfactories; and it featured a sugared rim. Do these elements sound familiar? The crusta is also a precursor to the daisy cocktail, from which the hugely popular margarita was derived.

These days, Cognac- and other brandy-based drinks are comparatively rare, but in a way, the sidecar is positioned squarely in its own sort of zeitgeist: The drink was created in the 1920s, when the popularity of rich, brandy-based cocktails was on the wane in favor of trendier gin drinks. With its crisp and refreshing flavor profile, the sidecar bucked expectations set by its sweeter and heavier ancestors, proving the grape-based spirit’s versatility once and for all.
For best results, be sure to start with fresh citrus. And make your own simple syrup; stored in the fridge, it keeps well for up to a month.

Yield: 1

Time: 5 minutes

Sugar, for the rim
2 oz. Cognac
¾ oz. fresh lemon juice
½ oz. Curaçao
½ oz. simple syrup

Instructions

On a small plate, spread the sugar, and dip the rim of a chilled coupe into it to coat.
To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the Cognac, lemon juice, curaçao, and simple syrup. Shake well to chill, then strain into the prepared coupe. Serve immediately.

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Wise Guy Cocktail

Shannon Mustipher — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:39:37 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio

I developed the Wise Guy last holiday season and since then it has become one of my go-to winter drinks. Spicy, bold, and aromatic, the spiced coffee old fashioned is smooth enough to sip at a slow pace, so go with a “bottled in bond” rye or a premium, high-proof rum. Flavored with allspice, cinnamon, and clove, Piemento liqueur (sometimes also labeled Allspice Dram) was a popular ingredient in 18th century punches. The best examples are those based on pot-still Jamaica rum, such as Hamilton Pimento Liqueur.

Featured in: “How to Add Coffee to Your Cocktails.”

Ingredients

For the spiced coffee syrup:

3–4 medium cinnamon sticks
1 tsp. cloves
1 cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold brew coffee
¾ cup sugar

For the cocktail:

2 oz. aged rum or rye whiskey
½ oz. piemento liqueur or allspice dram
½ oz. Jageimester
1 barspoon spiced coffee syrup
Orange or lemon peel strip, for garnish

Instructions

Make the spiced coffee syrup: In a small dry pot set over medium-high heat, toast the cinnamon and cloves, stirring frequently to prevent scorching, until very fragrant and just beginning to smoke, 2–3 minutes. Add the cold-brew coffee, bring to a boil, then whisk in the sugar to dissolve. Turn the heat down to maintain a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to steep at room temperature until the syrup is deeply flavorful, about 3 hours. (If not using immediately, transfer to a clean, airtight jar, cool to room temperature and refrigerate for up to 1 week.) Remove and discard the spices. Will keep refrigerated for 2 weeks.
To a rocks glass, add the rum, pimento liqueur, Jageimeister, and a barspoon of coffee syrup. Add a large ice cube, and stir well to chill, about 20 seconds. Garnish with an orange twist, then serve.

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Our Be-All, End-All Espresso Martini

Shannon Mustipher — Thu, 29 Dec 2022 15:37:51 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio

During the 1980s and ‘90s craft cocktail revival, Dick Bradsell was a bar consultant working in the U.K., where he contributed a few of the era’s most influential cocktails to the modern bartender’s repertoire. Most notable among them: the classic espresso martini. Bradsell originally served the drink, which he called the “vodka espresso,” on the rocks. I suggest trying the drink both up and on ice to see which you prefer.

Featured in: “How to Add Coffee to Your Cocktails.”

1½ oz. vodka
¾ oz. coffee liqueur (such as Galliano Espresso or Mr. Black)
1 oz. freshly brewed hot espresso
3 coffee beans, for garnish

Instructions

To a cocktail shaker filled with ice, add the vodka, coffee liqueur, and espresso. Shake well, then strain into a chilled coupe glass. Arrange 3 coffee beans on the top in a floral pattern for garnish and serve immediately.

Optional Variations:

Sweetness: if you prefer a sweeter build, add ¼– ½ ounce simple syrup.
Spirit: Try swapping out the vodka for tequila, rum, Cognac, or even gin.
Balance: If you like, add a few drops of a fourth ingredient for bitterness or brightness, such as an amaro or fruit liqueur.

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Magbunga Cocktail

Shannon Mustipher — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 20:25:52 +0000

Photography by Belle Morizio

Magbunga is Tagalog for “fruit” or “blossom” and indicates the culmination of a harvest or yield. In the case of this drink, the name is a nod to classic Tiki cocktail culture. Filipino ingredients and recipes inspired the recipe, which is an homage to the midcentury Filipino bartenders who contributed their know-how and creativity to the genre—notably Mariano Licudine, Bob Esmino, and Ray Barrientos.

I’ve used a number of ingredients that are common in tropical cocktails and also in Filipino cuisine: rum, pineapple, coconut, banana, and calamansi. The formula is also partly inspired by the piña colada, but I’ve swapped in nondairy banana milk for the coconut cream to render a slightly drier, more aromatic drink. The coconut flavor is deployed as an infusion to bring in those creamy, floral notes, without the added sweetness. As the name implies, flavors unfold and blossom as you move from noticing the nut and flora notes on the nose, take in the drinks dry, slightly creamy palate, and experience a dry, slightly spicy finish courtesy the rum and banana.

This recipe also lends itself well to batching up for a crowd: simply combine all the ingredients in a nonreactive container and chill for three to four hours before serving over ice. Oleo saccharum can be ordered online, but it’s also easy to make your own. For the infused rum, I suggest seeking out the Filipino brand Kasama.

Featured in: “Shake Off the Winter Blues with Leah Cohen’s Tropical Seafood Feast.”

Time: 14 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

For the coconut-infused rum:

16 oz. aged rum (preferably Kasama brand)
¼ cup unrefined coconut oil (liquified at room temperature)

For the cocktail:

2 oz. coconut-infused rum
½ oz. banana milk
½ oz. pineapple juice
¼ oz. calamansi concentrate
¼ oz. oleo saccharum
Fresh or dried pineapple slice, for garnish

Instructions

Make the coconut-infused rum: In a quart container or jar, whisk together the rum and coconut oil. Cover tightly and set aside at room temperature for 6–8 hours.
Transfer the rum-coconut oil mixture to the freezer for 8 – 10 hours. Remove from the freezer and uncover. The coconut oil will have solidified and risen to the top; remove and discard the oil, then strain the rum through a fine mesh strainer to remove any remaining solids. Transfer to a bottle or clean jar and cover tightly. Stored at room temperature, coconut-infused rum will keep well for up to 6 months.
To a chilled rocks glass, add the coconut-infused rum, banana milk, pineapple juice, calamansi concentrate, and oleo saccharum. Stir to combine, then top with crushed ice to chill. Garnish with a pineapple slice and serve immediately.

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