VIOLET BEAUREGARDE

Katherine Pangaro, No. 7

Blueberries macerated in sugar and a hint of anise-forward liqueur Pernod lend distinct character to this otherwise straightforward cocktail.

2 oz/60 mL gin

½ oz/15 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL simple syrup

2 Tbsp macerated blueberries (see below)

Club soda

In the bottom of a cocktail shaker, muddle the macerated blueberries and lemon juice. Add the gin and simple syrup, then add a few ice cubes and shake until well chilled. Pour the entire cocktail, including ice, into a rocks glass. Top with club soda.

MACERATED BLUEBERRIES: In a quart-size container, toss together ½ pint/475 mL of blueberries, ¼ cup/240 mL of sugar, and 1 oz/30 mL of Pernod. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

ARNAUD PALMER

Arnaud Dissais, Loosie Rouge

This punny twist on the iced tea-lemonade “Arnold Palmer” is named for its creator, Arnaud Dissais. Gin, hibiscus tea, bitter Cynar, and sweet sherry and cassis come together for a tall drink with a pleasant, slightly bitter tea backbone with tart and floral elements alongside.

1 oz/30 mL Citadelle gin

½ oz/15 mL Cynar

½ oz/15 mL Lillet Rouge

½ oz/15 mL Pedro Ximénez

½ oz/15 mL Lejay crème de cassis

½ oz/15 mL lemon juice

2 oz/60 mL hibiscus tea

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a Collins glass with fresh ice.

The Arnaud Palmer, Loosie Rouge

SUN KISS’D

The Richardson

Whereas the classic Negroni (gin, Campari, sweet vermouth) is powerfully bitter, The Richardson’s version lightens things up with gently herbal aperitif wines Cappelletti and Cocchi Americano and the light, aromatic Del Professore vermouth.

1½ oz/45 mL Plymouth gin

½ oz/15 mL Cappelletti

½ oz/15 mL Cocchi Americano

½ oz/15 mL del Professore vermouth

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe.

 

NEW YORK DISTILLING CO.

When Allen Katz and his two partners first had the idea for New York Distilling Co., they knew from the beginning that their distillery would be in Brooklyn. “We wanted a city-centric distillery,” Katz says, “so we could invite people in to observe distillation, both consumers and industry. So they can learn about an activity that they might think only happens in Kentucky, or in Europe.”

Occupying an industrial building in a corner of Williamsburg bordering Greenpoint, New York Distilling Co. now produces gins and rye whiskeys sold nationally and internationally.

From the beginning, the aim was to create spirits for mixing in cocktails—“You shouldn’t have to think hard about how to use them,” according to Katz—and each release is wholly original. “Why make a spirit that tastes like something already out there?”

First to market was Perry’s Tot Navy Strength gin, at 57% alcohol—a proof given the title “navy strength” by gin-swilling British sailors, the story goes, since it’s sufficiently alcoholic that, if spilled on gunpowder, the gunpowder could still ignite. While the style of gin dated back hundreds of years, and played an important role in cocktail culture, “there hadn’t been a navy-strength gin commercially available in the U.S. for nearly a century,” according to Katz.

Dorothy Parker American gin followed, a contemporary gin with the unusual botanicals of elderberry and dried hibiscus. Next in line, Chief Gowanus New-Netherland gin, a recreation of the style that the Dutch would have distilled in Brooklyn when it was still a colony of the Netherlands: an unaged rye, redistilled with juniper and hops and barrel-aged for several months.

Ever historically minded, New York Distilling Co. then revived a whiskey style, once an American favorite but now little-known, known as Rock and Rye—rye whiskey with rock candy sugar and, in their recipe, Bing cherries, dried orange peel, and cinnamon bark. The result tastes something like a bottled Old Fashioned. “It’s directly linked to the 19th-century saloon era; the spirit had significant popularity in its day.” And most recently, the brand’s Ragtime Rye: “We’ve been putting down barrels of rye whiskey since day one.”

Housing a bar, The Shanty, within its distillery, New York Distilling has a home to showcase its spirits in cocktails as well as on their own. “We don’t charge for tours,” says Katz. “If you’re already here and paying for a cocktail, it’s the least we can do to invite you into our space, share that experience, and give you a tasting as well.”

The following three cocktails showcase New York Distilling’s products.

New York Distilling Co.

DOUBLE STANDARD SOUR

NATE DUMAS

¾ oz/20 mL Dorothy Parker American gin

¾ oz/20 mL Maker’s Mark bourbon

1 oz/30 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL grenadine (recipe here)

¼ oz/10 mL simple syrup

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with an orange twist.

MARTINI ROBBINS

NATE DUMAS

1¼ oz/40 mL Mister Katz’s Rock and Rye

1 oz/30 mL Dorothy Parker American gin

1 oz/30 mL Martini & Rossi sweet vermouth

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with an orange twist.

UNSPEAKABLE-RESPECTABLE PUNCH

(SERVES 10–12)

CREATED BY COCKTAIL HISTORIAN DAVID WONDRICH

1 750 mL bottle Chief Gowanus

New-Netherland Gin

Peels of 4 lemons

½ cup sugar

1 cup lemon juice

4 oz/120 mL Luxardo maraschino

24 oz/675 mL chilled club soda

In a punch bowl, muddle the lemon peels with the sugar and let stand for 30 minutes. Add the fresh lemon juice and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the gin and maraschino and stir. Add 2 to 3 large blocks of ice and then add the club soda. Serve in punch glasses.

THE IMPROVED PENDENNIS CLUB COCKTAIL

Toby Cecchini, Long Island Bar

Gin, lime, and apricot: What’s not to love? Toby Cecchini’s version of this oft-overlooked classic uses both apricot liqueur and apricot eau-de-vie, with Peychaud’s bitters contributing an elusive anise note.

2 oz/60 mL Plymouth gin

1 oz/30 mL fresh lime juice, strained

¾ oz/20 mL Giffard Abricot du Roussillon

½ oz/15 mL Purkhart Blume Marillen apricot eau-de-vie

¼ oz/10 mL rich simple syrup (2:1)

3 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe.

The Improved Pendennis Club Cocktail, Long Island Bar

700 SONGS GIMLET

Nate Dumas, The Shanty

“This will never go off the menu,” says Allen Katz of this riff on the classic gimlet. “As a bar owner, you want people to keep drinking… within reason, of course. Here’s a cocktail you can suck down with pleasure and order another right away.”

1½ oz/45 mL Perry’s Tot Navy Strength gin

¾ oz/20 mL lime juice

½ oz/15 mL simple syrup

¼ oz/10 mL cinnamon syrup (recipe here)

4 dashes Bittermens Hellfire Shrub

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and double-strain into a chilled coupe.

NINETY-NINE ROSES

Jonathan Kobritz, Hotel Delmano

One of Delmano’s best-loved drinks, this drink is a perfect example of their sophisticated, straightforward style—a base of gin, ginger, and lemon with apricot and fragrant rose water playing on a higher register.

1½ oz/45 mL London dry gin

¾ oz/20 mL lemon juice

½ oz/15 mL apricot liqueur (Rothman & Winter Orchard recommended))

½ oz/15 mL ginger syrup (recipe here)

Rose water

Combine all the ingredients except the rose water in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until well chilled and strain into a chilled coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist and 5 drops of rose water on the surface of the cocktail.