Black Jack David

Several cocktails had denuded an orange of all its peel and it was time to squeeze before it went bad. I could’ve made a Bronx or a Ward Eight but kept thinking about the allspice dram from the previous post. Here it is with rye and rum, a beautiful combination.



Black Jack David

• 1 1/2 rye (Rittenhouse)
• 1/2 oz Lemon Hart 151
• 3/4 oz orange juice
• 3/4 oz lemon juice
• 1/4 oz cherry brandy (Heering)
• 1/4 oz allspice dram

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Rich, spicy and fruity without being heavy or very sweet. Nice with last night’s summer fog.

More Rooting Around

I’ve been experimenting with Root, the highbrow root beer spirit from Art in the Age. This round focuses on rum and its natural accompaniments: lime, brown sugar, absinthe—all of which go so well with Root too. I busted out the Lemon Hart 151 for this. You definitely could use the regular strength but like Mae West said, too much of a good thing can be wonderful.



Back to the Swamp

• 1 oz Lemon Hart 151-proof Demerara rum
• 1 oz Root
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1 dash absinthe
• 1 dash Jerry Thomas’ Decanter Bitters
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Stir brown sugar in lime juice until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and ice; shake well. Strain into an old fashioned and add fresh ice cubes. Mint sprig.
ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Rich and earthy with flavors of molasses and herbs. Remember to spank that mint.

Two at a Time

Till the break of day we’re gonna set ’em up
Two at a time
Just be’s better that way when you set ’em up
Two at a time
Set up till the morning
Don’t say boys we don’t give you no warning
Till the break of day were gonna set ’em up
Two at a time

—Andy Bean, Two at a Time

We had some people over from work for a classic cocktail session, tasting lots of things in miniature portions—a fun evening. As someone who makes drinks primarily for guests at home, I often find myself mixing rounds of the same drink in quantity. Maybe I ought to get me some of that fancy vintage home bar gear that was designed for this purpose—big mixing vessels with fun decorations and ingenious pouring spouts, matching cocktail glasses, serving trays that look like carousels—but I never seem to get around to it. Maybe next time.

Anyway, I’d like to have the folks from work over again. They were a game crowd. The runaway hit that party was the Jack Rose, a favorite here at the Lounge. Seems funny that folks order these faddish pomegranate syrup things lots of times without realizing that it’s just good old grenadine. Here’s something similar.

Demerara Rose

• 4 oz Demerara rum (El Dorado 8)
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz grenadine (Small Hand Foods)

Shake with ice and strain into chilled cocktail glasses. Makes two.
SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

My own current favorite variation of the rum and grenadine sour. My guests who liked the Jack Rose might try this one. Where the Jack Rose is snappy, this one’s rich and velvety.

Tangelo Terrarium

We’re enjoying the last evening of Tiki Month here at the Lounge with another original tropical climate in a glass. This one’s tangy and a little spicy, sort of a snifter-sized tangerine in crushed ice.



Tangelo Terrarium

• 2 oz gold Barbados rum
• 1/2 oz Swedish punsch
• 1/4 oz allspice dram
• 1/2 oz Lemon Hart 151 (float)
• 2 1/2 pink grapefruit juice, fresh
• 1 oz tangelo juice
• 1/2 oz lime juice

Shake all except Lemon Hart with ice cubes and strain into a large snifter. Add crushed ice. Float the Lemon Hart. Tangelo twist, mint sprig.
ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Sort of an aquatic terrarium—or a rum one. I like overproof floats on Tiki drinks for so many reasons, not least because they’re something to look forward to in all that crushed ice at the end.

Golden Gate No. 2

I found this while rummaging around for San Francisco cocktails in John Poister’s New American Bartender’s Guide and thought it looked interesting. The version he gives is sort of a Twentieth Century with rum accents—more gin-forward than the one below from the CocktailDB. Wanting more of a rum cocktail, I gotta wonder what was meant by “light rum,” since the standard options give this thing no focus at all. But made with Wray & Nephew White Overproof, it’s a completely different story.



Golden Gate No. 2

• 3/4 oz gin
• 3/4 oz light rum (Wray & Nephew)
• 1/4 oz 151 proof Demerara rum
• 1/2 oz white creme de cacao
• 1/2 oz Falernum
• 1/2 oz lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
SOURCE: COCKTAILDB

This is a miniature ocean of Tiki magic served straight up. There’s supposed to be a curled orange slice garnish but it sounded too fussy for my nice little gold-rimmed glass—like it would just hit you in the nose or something.

Forbidden City

There was a half grapefruit in my fridge left over from the previous post, and I wanted to do something Tiki with it. This drink was inspired by descriptions of the old Forbidden Fruit pomelo liqueur, which seems to have been a fine thing indeed.



Forbidden City

• 2 oz gold Barbados rum
• 1 oz Demerara rum
• 3 oz fresh white grapefruit juice
• 1 tsp allspice dram
• 1/4 oz honey syrup (1:1)

Shake with ice cubes and strain into a large, ice-filled glass. Long grapefruit twist.
SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

The twist really makes this, contributing bright, delicate grapefruit top notes over the dark molasses and spice. I took the twist with a sharp vegetable peeler, removing a little pith with my bar knife.