"As fair art thou, my bonie lass..." yes it is...Bobby Burns

Scotch is a liquor that many bartenders consider difficult to mix, but here is a classic gem that I only recently discovered.  An article that I was reading made mention of this cocktail and I had remembered glancing at the recipe previously, but couldn't quite recall ever mixing it for myself.  I began researching this cocktail and naturally found a bit of variation between them.  Essentially the cocktail is a mix of Scotch and Sweet Vermouth then the variations kick in...Benedictine, Drambuie, Absinthe and even orange bitters.  The name of the cocktail and the stories even vary slightly...

The Savoy Cocktail Book(1930):  Bobby Burns Cocktail
     1/2 Italian Vermouth, 1/2 Scotch Whisky, 3 dashes of Benedictine, garnished with a lemon peel.  Harry Craddock even goes on to say that this is "One of the very best Whisky Cocktails.  A very fast mover on Saint Andrew's Day."  ...naturally, St. Andrew being the patron saint of Scotland and their beloved Scotch!

Official Mixer's Manual(1934):  Bobby Burns Cocktail
     1/2 Italian Vermouth, 1/2 Scotch Whiskey, 2 dashes Benedictine, garnished with a lemon peel.

The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks(1948):  Bobbie Burns
     Embury says it is a Rob Roy with the addition of 1 dash of Drambuie.  Benedictine is sometimes used in place of the Drambuie.  However, the Drambuie is preferable because it is made with a Scotch whisky base.  Now to mix you scroll up to Rob Roy where he explains "Made exactly like the Manhattan but with Scotch in place of the rye or bourbon."  So back to mixing...you need to look up Manhattan which then tells you to mix as 1 part Italian Vermouth, 2 parts Whisky and 1 dash of Angostura.  That's a whole lot of searching if you ask me!

Barflies and Cocktails(1927):  Robber Cocktail
     1 dash of Angostura Bitters, 1/3 Italian Vermouth, 2/3 Scotch Whisky, garnished with a cherry.

The Old Waldorf-Astoria(1935):  Robert Burns
     Dash of Orange Bitters, One dash of Absinthe, one quarter Italian Vermouth, Three-quarters Scotch Whiskey.  Crockett says "It may have been named after the celebrated Scotsman.  Chances are, however, that is was christened in honor of a cigar salesman, who 'bought' in the Old Bar."

As for my interpretation...I am a gonna go with an ode to this drinks namesake...

A Red, Red Rose

O my Luve's like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June;

O my Luve's like the melodie

That's sweetly play'd in tune.

As fair are thou, my bonie lass,

So deep in luve am I;

And I will luve thee still, my Dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my Dear,

And the rocks melt wi' the sun:

I will luve thee still, my dear,

While the sands o' life shall run.

And fare thee weel, my only Luve!

And fare thee weel, a while!

And I will come again, my Luve,

Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

                                                                                    Robert Burns

Barragan's Robert Burns Cocktail:

2 oz Usquaebach Reserve Scotch Whisky

1 oz Carpano Antica Italian Sweet Vermouth

1/2 oz Benedictine

Stir the cocktail in a mixing beaker and strain into a Cocktail Glass and garnish with an Lemon Zest.

I enjoy a spirit forward cocktail, but this one definitely is very well balanced.

Slainte mhath!

"That is simply...The Bee's Knees"

A refreshing drink that took it's name from a popular phrase made famous during the Roaring 20's.  But why the bee's knees?  What does it mean?  As bees fly from flower to flower the nectar sticks to their legs.  Because the knees of the bee is where all the sweet, good stuff is collected, the term became synonymous with all things "sweet and good".

David A. Embury dedicates a half page in his "The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks" (1948), speaking about this drink and the delicious variations of it.  His recipe is listed only as...

1 part Honey
2 parts Lemon Juice
8 parts Gin

Shake vigorously with cracked ice.  The addition of a small amount of orange juice (about 1 to 2 parts) makes an interesting variation.

When making a honey drink there is an added step to ensure a proper infusion.  Honey does not dissolve easily into cold liquids, so a syrup must be made first.  Typically, I will use 2 parts honey to 1 part water.  Boil the water and then stir in the honey until it all mixes together.  I love experimenting with different honeys to give slightly different variations, so go crazy!

Barragan's Bee's Knees

2 oz Boodles Gin
1 oz Honey Syrup (I used Clairmont Farms Lavender Infused Honey)
3/4 oz Meyer Lemon juice (Barragan grown!)

Add all ingredients into a shaker and strain over ice then garnish with a lemon zest.

Cheers!

"It's like drinking a flower"...The Ramos Gin Fizz

This drink will make every bartender quiver, but when made properly, it will have the same effect on the imbiber.  This storied cocktail begins in 1888 with Henry C. Ramos relocating from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and purchasing the Imperial Cabinet Saloon.  The saloon was located at the corner of Gravier and Carondelet streets.  Ramos served up a frothy gin fizz that was radically different from others of the day.  Visitors would flock to his dispensary and as one poetical imbiber eulogized it to "like drinking a flower!"  Ramos remained there until 1907, when he purchased Tom Anderson's Stag Saloon opposite the Gravier street entrance to the St. Charles Hotel.

According to the "Famous New Orleans Drinks and how to mix 'em" , Stanley Clisby Arthur 1937, The Stag became so crowded that customers were forced to wait an hour or more (or so it seemed) to be served.  The corps of busy shaker boys behind the bar was one of the sights of the town during Carnival, and in the 1915 Mardi Gras, 35 shaker boys nearly shook their arms off, but were still unable to keep up with the demand.

The Stag survived and thrived until the dark days of prohibition.  Once the Eighteenth Amendment was repealed, The Roosevelt acquired the legal rights to the Ramos Gin Fizz.  They continue the time honored tradition of shaking and building one of New Orleans most notorious cocktails...

Ramos Gin Fizz (as told by Arthur)
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
3-4 drops orange flower water
1/2 lime-juice only
1/2 lemon-juice only
1 jigger dry gin
1 white of egg
1 jigger rich milk or cream
1 squirt seltzer water
2 drops extract vanilla (optional)

Mix in a tall barglass in the order given; add crushed ice, not too fine as lumps are needed to whip up the froth of the egg white and cream.  Use a long metal shaker and remember this is one drink which needs a long, steady shaking.  Keep at it until the mixture gets body-"ropy" as some experienced barkeepers express it.  When thoroughly shaken, strain into a tall thin glass for serving.

The Ramos Gin Fizz

As with most drinks, I like to stick to the original and give it a modern twist...

Barragan's Ramos Gin Fizz

2 oz Anchor's Old Tom Gin

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Lime Juice

1 Egg White

3/4 oz Simple Syrup

1 barspoon Fee Brothers Orange Flower Water

1 barspoon Nielson-Massey Vanilla Extract

1 oz Homemade Chantilly Cream

Seltzer Water

In a Boston Shaker, add all ingredients except the Seltzer Water and give it a dry shake for 1 minute.  Add cracked ice and shake for an additional minute.  Strain into a chilled Collins Glass.  Top with seltzer water.

Raise a glass to The Ramos Gin Fizz and Huey Long, a beloved imbiber and fellow man of the people!

http://waldorfastoria3.hilton.com/en/hotels/louisiana/the-roosevelt-new-orleans-a-waldorf-astoria-hotel-MSYRHWA/amenities/restaurants-sazerac-bar.html

"...about six I went down to the bar and had a Jack Rose with George the barman."

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway 

So few cocktails call for an apple brandy and this is one not to be missed!  The history of the cocktail and how it got it's name is much debated.  The three strongest contenders range from simple to notorious...1) The drink is made with Applejack and it rose colored...simplicity at it's finest. 2) The Jack Rose is a double entendre on the name Jacque Rose (General Jacqueminot or General Jack or Jack Rose is the name of a hybrid perpetual rose) which according to Albert Stevens Crockett professes in the 1931 The Old Waldorf-Astoria Bar Book, "so called because of its pink color, the exact shade of a Jacqueminot rose, when properly concocted."  3) The drink is named after a bald, lying, hitman, Jack Rose.  The gangster found himself embroiled in "trial of the century" which sent one man to the chair, one to the Governor's office and one to the executive editorship of the New York World.  Whatever tale you choose to believe one thing is certain, if it's worthy enough for Hemingway to mention it, then it is definitely worth drinking.   

Every classic cocktail book that mentions this cocktail calls for one apple brandy, Applejack*.  Laird's Applejack has a long and distinguished past.  Records show that George Washington wrote to the Laird family (1760) requesting their recipe for producing Applejack.  Then in 1780, the first known commercial record of Applejack establishes the Laird legacy.  For eighteen generations the recipe has been carefully crafted in New Jersey.

That's a legacy!

*Barflies and Cocktail does mention Calvados as a substitute 

I discovered this cocktail many years ago and was first introduced to it with lemon and not lime juice.  I loved the cocktail and wanted to know more about it.  While sifting through my classic cocktail books I noticed that earlier versions say lime.  While I had been using lemon I switched and reformulated to the original ingredients.  Calvados is a totally acceptable apple brandy, but again, as a purist, I am gonna stick to the classic formula.  When mixed right, this cocktail is delicious, slightly tart and deceptively smooth.  Cheers and Happy New Year!

Barragan's Jack Rose Cocktail
2 oz Laird's Applejack Brandy
1/2 oz Homemade Grenadine Syrup
1/2 oz Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice
Shake all ingredients well and strain into a cocktail glass.  Zest a lime for garnish (the earliest texts don't mention a garnish)

"opprobrious term of "scoff-law" to indicate the chap who indicts the bootlegger..."

Chicago Tribune - January 27th, 1924

The Scofflaw cocktail is a direct result of Prohibition.  The name itself was entered into Webster's Dictionary in 1924 as someone of a contemptuous law violator.  The law in question here was the Volstead Act.  This National Prohibition Act was enacted to carry out the intent of the Eighteenth Amendment, which established prohibition in the United States.

The Scoff-law Cocktail emerged less than two weeks after the initial coining of the word in 1924.  It was created at Harry's New York Bar in Paris by barman Jock.  The term originally referred to a person who imbibed and was a  frequenter of speakeasies.  The recipe and short story makes it into the pages of Harry's Barflies and Cocktails.

Scoff-law Cocktail.

One dash of Orange Bitters, 1/3 Rye, 1/3 French Vermouth, 1/6 Lemon Juice, 1/6 Grenadine.

Chicago Tribune, January 27th, 1924: "Hardly has Boston added to the Gaiety of Nations by adding to Webster's Dictionary the opprobrious term of "scoff-law" to indicate the chap who indicts the bootlegger, when Paris comes back with a "wet answer" - Jock, the genial bartender of Harry's New York Bar, yesterday invented the Scoff-law Cocktail, and it has already become exceedingly popular among American prohibition dodgers."

The who, what, where and when of Prohibition:

The Anti-Saloon League's Wayne Wheeler conceived and drafted the bill, which was named for Andrew Volstead, Chariman of the House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation.  The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibited the production, sale and transport of "intoxicating liquors", it did not define "intoxicating liquors" or provide penalties.  It granted both the federal government and the states the power to enforce the ban by "appropriate legislation."  A bill to do so was introduced in Congress in 1919.  The bill was vetoed by President Woodrow Wilson, but his veto was overridden by the House and Senate.  The National Prohibition Act became effective October 28, 1919 and January 16, 1920.  The act was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment and prohibition died on December 5, 1933.  

Repeal Day is celebrated by cocktail enthusiasts and imbibers annually on December 5th.

This cocktail has become one of my go-to's for someone looking to try a whiskey cocktail.  It has beautiful candied citrus and pomegranate aromas, with a delightful nutty, pomegranate and citrus mouth coating and an off-dry finish.  As with most classic cocktails, I keep the original elements but, adjust for a more spirit forward style:

Barragan's Scofflaw :

2 oz Whistle Pig Rye Whiskey

1 oz Dolin Dry Vermouth

1/2 oz Grenadine Syrup

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters

Shake all ingredients in a shaker and strain into Martini Glass and garnish with a lemon zest.

Cheers!

"The sailor to his sea, the woodsman to his woods, and the boulevardier to his beloved avenues"

 Burned Bridges - Bertrand W. Sinclair

During the dark days of Prohibition in America, many bartenders made their way across the pond to continue their passion of crafting and pouring libations.  One of these greats was Harry McElhone who opened Harry's New York Bar in Paris.  In his Barflies and Cocktails (1927), McElhone mentions not only this drink, but the man who inspired the masses to drink it. 

"Now is the time for all good Barflies to come to the aid of the party, since Erskinne Gwynne crashed in with his Boulevardier Cocktail: 1/3 Campari, 1/3 Italian Vermouth, 1/3 Bourbon whisky."

Now enter Erskine Gwynne, expatriate writer, socialite and nephew of railroad tycoon Alfred Vanderbilt.  He was an editor for The Paris Boulevardier (a sort of Parisian “New Yorker”).  Clearly this drink is a spin-off of the classic Negroni, which is a quintessential  aperitif.  But what is it about the name?...put simply, a boulevardier was the term for a hipster...someone that was a man-about-town...a person who was in the know!  Although the cocktail book makes no mention of a garnish, I tend to follow the Negroni path and zest it with an orange.

Barragan's Boulevardier

1 oz Buffalo Trace

1 oz Campari

1 oz Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth

stirred in a mixing beaker and strained into chilled coupe glass, garnished with an orange zest

Cheers!

   

"I want the M5... Margerum that is!"

Santa Barbara wine country has always been near and dear to my heart.  It was the first wine region that I had ever visited, tasted and really got to see the whole wine making process.  This was the region that hooked and reeled me in.  Over the years I have had the chance to meet many of their winemakers...of these there are a handful that really stand head and shoulders above the rest...Doug Margerum is one of those guys.

I remember tasting my first Margerum wine many moons ago.  The wine was balanced with layers of flavors and nuances, since then I have tasted through many of his wines and all have had his signature silky layering.

Doug entered the culinary world as a young traveler alongside his parents on explorations through France.  His curiosity and passion grew through his high school and college years working in restaurants.  Upon graduating from UCSB in 1981, Doug's parents purchased the Wine Cask, a wine store and bistro located in Santa Barbara.  Eventually his passions lead him to winemaking and by 2007 he decided to devote all of his energies into making wine.  Currently he is making wine under two of his own labels, Margerum and Barden, and overseeing productions for Jamie Slone Wines, Happy Canyon Vineyard and Cent' Anni Vineyards.

Two years ago I was fortunate enough to meet Doug and taste with him

Currently, I have an amazing Sauvignon blanc from Margerum on my list called Sybarite.  This wine is an amalgamation of four different Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara vineyards, Grassini, Curtis, Star Lane and McGinley.  The wine is rich with remarkable complexity, texture, persistence and length.  The Sybarites were an ancient Greek society living in Southeastern Italy and noted for their luxurious, pleausre-seeking behavior...believe me, this wine lives up to that moniker!

This is one of the finest Sauvignon Blancs produced in Happy Canyon of Santa Barbara

Cheers to you Doug for all your efforts!  This wines are truly amazing!

http://www.margerumwinecompany.com/