Bloody Mary, Cocktail Codex

THE HIGHBALL EXTENDED FAMILY

The Highball extended family begins to play with the template—one part base to two parts mixer—in different ways. For savory Highballs like the Bloody Mary that are all about the mixer, we increase the amount of mixer used in each cocktail; in cocktails made with Champagne (like the Mimosa), we flip the equation and use a small amount of orange juice (mixer) as flavoring. Though these cocktails begin playing with the Highball formula, at heart they are all just a combination of alcohol and mixer.

Normandie Club Bloody Mary

DEVON TARBY, 2015

By now you know that we’re big proponents of using fresh juices. But for years, we were confounded by tomato juice, since fresh versions have a thin flavor and tend to separate when mixed with booze. The answer, as it turns out, is to mix fresh tomato juice with a bit of bottled juice to stabilize the texture while still delivering fresh tomato flavor, so that’s the approach we take in the Bloody Mary mix for this cocktail. Another pet peeve of ours is Bloody Marys with a grainy texture or particulates, such as spices or horseradish. So for this Bloody Mary mix, we forgo spices or horseradish and instead use a bit of fresh celery juice and bell pepper juice. With so much work dedicated to perfecting the mix, we chose savory aquavit to deepen the flavor even more. This mix is versatile, though: swap in vodka, gin, or even amontillado sherry.

Lemon wedge

Lemon Pepper Salt (this page)

1½ ounces Krogstad aquavit

5 ounces Normandie Club Bloody Mary Mix (this page)

¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

¼ ounce fresh lime juice

Garnish: 1 cherry tomato and 1 lemon wedge on a skewer

Rub the lemon wedge along the upper ½ inch of a Collins glass, halfway around the circumference, then roll the wet portion in the Lemon Pepper Salt. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir a few times. Garnish with the cherry tomato and lemon wedge.

FRIENDS AND FAMILY

TYSON BUHLER

Tyson Buhler is the bar director at Death & Co and a winner of the 2015 World Class bartending competition.

The Highball is probably the first drink every bartender learns. My introduction came from the old guys who drank whisky sodas at the golf course where I worked as a kid, always “easy on the soda.”

Until recently, I still thought of whisky and soda as an old man’s drink. But there’s an entire culture of high-end Highballs coming our way from Japan. Highball bars are all the rage in Japan these days, and they get really specific about how to build the drink there. There’s the mizuwari (“cut with water”) ritual, in which you fill a glass with ice, stir it around to chill the vessel, then pour out the water that has melted, retaining the ice in the glass. Then you add whisky and stir exactly 13½ times, always clockwise. Finally, you add sparkling water and stir 3½ times. Some bartenders use one large piece of ice for the entire process; others add ice with every step. Don’t even get me started on how fussy they are about the type of water they use. It’s all very Zen.

If my grandpa saw this, he’d think it was hilarious. But these days American bartenders are drawn to this kind of exacting attention to detail, as well as the romanticism of the process. But I have to admit, it’s sometimes hard to convey our appreciation for these nuances to our guests. They see a two-ingredient drink that’s mostly water, which can make it hard to understand the sophistication of the drink and the attention to detail in the glass. That’s okay; they don’t need to understand all of the minutiae if they enjoy the drink.

All of that said, the most beautiful thing about the Highball is its simplicity. You only need a spirit, a glass, some ice, and carbonated water. You don’t need a shaker or mixing glass, fancy syrups, or bitters. Hell, you don’t even need a proper barspoon. As a result, you can make a great Highball pretty much anywhere.

The simplicity of the template also leaves a lot of room to experiment, branching out into infinite other variations beyond the usual gin and tonics, rum and Cokes, and Palomas. So many branches, so little time…This recipe matches up soothing Calvados with the bright bitterness of tonic water, a combination that may sound surprising but is deeply refreshing and complex.

Calvados and Tonic

2 ounces Domaine de Montreuil Pays d’Auge Réserve Calvados

4 ounces cold Fever-Tree tonic water

Pour the Calvados into a Highball glass, then add 3 ice cubes. Stir for 3 seconds. Add the tonic and stir once. No garnish.

Bloody Mary

CLASSIC

As mentioned earlier, a Highball can also be savory—and the Bloody Mary is the queen of all savory cocktails. Our baseline Bloody Mary is simple and requires minimal prep. Use this recipe as a template and adjust the drink to suit your preferences. It’s also a great canvas for experimentation. You could add a splash of mezcal for smoke, or substitute manzanilla sherry for the vodka to up the savory ante and bring the ABV down (you don’t have to get drunk at brunch). Or consider making it with our Roasted Garlic– and Pepper-Infused Vodka (this page).

Kosher salt and pepper, for rimming

Lemon wedge

2 ounces Aylesbury Duck vodka

5 ounces Basic Bloody Mary Mix (this page)

¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

Garnish: 1 lemon wedge and 1 celery stalk

On a small plate, mix equal parts of salt and pepper. Rub the lemon wedge along the upper ¼ inch of a pint glass, halfway around the circumference, then roll the wet portion in the salt and pepper. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir a few times. Garnish with the lemon wedge and celery stalk.

Bloody Mary Verde

DEVON TARBY, 2013

Call us classicists, but we don’t often veer away from the tomato-based Bloody Mary mixes used in the previous cocktails. One exception is our tomatillo-based Verde Mix, which is the perfect match for a spicy infused tequila. This drink needs more sugar than you’d think, as cucumber and tomatillo are naturally less sweet than tomatoes, so we add honey to the mix, which also adds a slight earthiness that helps unify the rest of the ingredients.

Kosher salt and chile powder, for rimming

Lime wedge

5 ounces Verde Mix (this page)

1½ ounces Jalapeño-Infused Vodka (this page)

1 ounce fresh lime juice

Garnish: 1 cherry tomato and 1 lemon wedge on a skewer

On a small plate, mix equal parts of kosher salt and chile powder. Rub the lime wedge along the upper ¼ inch of a Collins glass, halfway around the circumference, then roll the wet portion in the salt mixture. Fill the glass with ice cubes. Add the remaining ingredients and stir a few times. Garnish with the cherry tomato and lemon wedge.

Nobody’s Robots

ALEX DAY, 2013

Nobody’s Robots is a nerdy evolution of the Screwdriver (this page) made especially delicious by carbonating the entire cocktail. If you’re equipped with a keg cocktail system (most people are, right?), this drink is a fantastic way to trick folks into drinking lots and lots of sherry. Overall, the flavors in this drink are more concentrated than those in a more typical Highball—a simple slug of booze topped with a mixer—which makes it feel more like a sophisticated cocktail.

1¼ ounces Absolut vodka

1 ounce Williams & Humbert Dry Sack sherry

1 ounce clarified orange juice (see this page)

1 ounce Vanilla Lactic Syrup (this page)

1 teaspoon Citric Acid Solution (this page)

1 drop Terra Spice orange extract

2½ ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 orange half wheel

Chill all the ingredients. Combine them in a carbonating bottle, charge with CO2, and gently shake to help dissolve the CO2 into the liquid (see this page for detailed carbonation instructions). Refrigerate the carbonating bottle for at least 20 minutes, and preferably for 12 hours, before opening. Pour into an ice-filled Highball glass and garnish with the orange half wheel.

Mimosa

CLASSIC

In chapter 1, we delved (all too briefly) into the world of sparkling wines (see this page). Because they can vary so widely in levels of acidity and sugar and display flavors that range from sharp to rich and yeasty notes, they often aren’t interchangeable in cocktails. As with the Screwdriver (this page), there’s no comparing a Mimosa made with freshly pressed, in-season orange juice to one made with pasteurized juice. The former is bright and refreshing, while the latter often tastes flat. That said, oranges do vary in sweetness and acidity, so we include a bit of Citric Acid Solution to ensure that the drink has a bright, zippy flavor.

1 ounce fresh orange juice

3 drops Citric Acid Solution (this page)

5 ounces cold dry sparkling wine

Combine the orange juice and Citric Acid Solution in a chilled flute. Pour in the sparkling wine, and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the wine with the cocktail. No garnish.

Apple Pop

DEVON TARBY, 2015

The Apple Pop is our take on creating a highbrow version of a straightforward Highball, inspired by the simplicity of a gin and tonic. We match an unaged French apple brandy with a touch of pear brandy and the herbal sweetness of blanc vermouth; a juicy homemade Apple Celery Soda stretches out these flavors for a refreshing Highball riff.

1 ounce Drouin Blanche de Normandie apple brandy

½ ounce Clear Creek pear brandy

1 ounce Dolin blanc vermouth

5 ounces Apple Celery Soda (this page)

Garnish: 1 mint sprig and 1 celery leaf

Combine all the ingredients (except the soda) in a Highball glass, then add 3 ice cubes. Stir for 3 seconds. Add the soda and stir once. Garnish with the mint sprig and celery leaf.

Bellini

CLASSIC

Although Bellinis are served year-round in bars around the world, they’re at their best when made with peaches at the peak of their ripeness—a privilege that few get to experience. Even the highest-quality commercial peach puree will taste dull in comparison to one made with peaches in their prime. Take note of when peaches are available at your local farmers’ market, then seize the opportunity to make this classic cocktail. That said, the beauty of the Bellini is that it can be made with almost any fresh, ripe fruit, opening the door to numerous new creations.

1 ounce fresh peach puree (see sidebar)

5 ounces cold prosecco

Put the peach puree in a flute. Pour in the prosecco, and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the prosecco with the cocktail. No garnish.

MAKING FRUIT PUREES

To make fruit purees, you’ll need a blender and a fine-mesh sieve. First, wash the fruit thoroughly. If the skins of the fruit have bitter or off-putting flavors, peel the fruit first. Also remove any pits or seeds. Fruits like peaches, pears, and apples tend to turn brown from contact with oxygen; for these, add ascorbic acid powder to the blender along with the fruit (½ teaspoon per 2 cups of fruit). Blend until smooth, then pass the puree through a fine-mesh sieve. Transfer to a storage container, cover, and store in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to 1 week, or in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 month.

Kir Royale

CLASSIC

Another avenue for exploring Highball variations based on sparkling wines is to use fruit liqueur as a flavoring; just be careful not to add too much and oversweeten the drink. The classic Kir Royale strikes the right balance by using a restrained amount of crème de cassis, a black currant liqueur that retains the bright acidity of the fruit. That acidity makes it versatile for mixing, since it contributes both sweetness and sourness alongside its juicy fruit flavor. Although Champagne is traditional in this drink, Crémant de Bourgogne would also work well, and don’t hesitate to venture farther afield, exploring the countless possibilities for pairing liqueurs with sparkling wines.

½ ounce Gabriel Boudier Crème de Cassis de Dijon

5½ ounces cold, dry Champagne

Pour the crème de cassis into a chilled flute, then pour in the Champagne and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the Champagne with the cocktail. No garnish.

St-Germain Cocktail

CLASSIC

The underlying principle in the St-Germain Cocktail is the same as that in the Aperol Spritz (see this page). To ensure that the sparkling wine doesn’t overpower the delicacy of the St-Germain, a fairly modest amount of sparkling wine is supplemented with seltzer, allowing for maximum effervescence and a balanced flavor profile that allows the St-Germain to shine through.

1½ ounces St-Germain

2 ounces cold dry sparkling wine

2 ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 lemon twist

Pour the St-Germain into a Highball glass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, then pour in the sparkling wine and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the wine with the cocktail. Express the lemon twist over the drink, then place it into the drink.

Aperol Spritz

CLASSIC

The classic Aperol Spritz sits alongside the Americano as an indispensable aperitif cocktail—a drink consumed before a meal to stimulate the appetite. While we stand by our belief that sparkling wine makes everything better, too much can overpower delicate flavors. This drink, made with Aperol, the lightest of aperitifs, is a case in point. If it were to call for more sparkling wine, that would push it into boozy territory, so it also includes seltzer to ensure that it’s refreshing and fizzy enough, without overly interfering with the flavor profile.

2 ounces Aperol

3 ounces cold prosecco or dry Champagne-style sparkling wine

2 ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 grapefruit wedge

Pour the Aperol into a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, then pour in the sparkling wine and seltzer and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the wine with the cocktail. Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.

Normandie Club Spritz #1

DEVON TARBY & ALEX DAY, THE NORMANDIE CLUB 2015

With fully clarified juices, it’s easy to think this cocktail is just a simple spritz, but it’s packed with bright, tart flavors and fantastically complex piney notes—thanks to the Clear Creek Douglas Fir eau de vie.

1½ ounces Dolin Blanc Vermouth

½ ounce Clear Creek Douglas Fir Eau de Vie

3 ounces clarified cucumber water (see this page)

½ ounce clarified lime juice (see this page)

½ ounce simple syrup (this page)

1 drop Salt Solution (this page)

½ ounce still water

Garnish: 1 mint sprig

Daisy Chain

DEVON TARBY, 2015

The Daisy Chain takes an approach similar to the Normandie Club Spritz #3 (this page) to produce a cocktail that mimics the flavors of a glass of sparkling wine. The combination of bone-dry, salty manzanilla sherry, sweet and floral St-Germain, and juicy verjus could almost trick you into thinking you’re drinking a dry Muscat. Bitter Suze is added to curb the candy notes of the St-Germain and add an aperitif quality, while the sparkling cider brings body and funk—qualities not found in seltzer or sparkling wine.

1½ ounces manzanilla sherry

½ ounce St-Germain

¼ ounce Suze

½ ounce Fusion Napa Valley verjus blanc

¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

2 drops Salt Solution (this page)

3 ounces Normandy sparkling apple cider

Garnish: 5 thin apple slices on a skewer

Combine all the ingredients (except the cider) in a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice cubes and stir until chilled. Top with the cider and stir gently to combine. Garnish with the apple slices.

Normandie Club Spritz #3

DEVON TARBY, 2015

We took our Improved Wine Spritz (this page) and expanded on the idea to come up with the Normandie Club Spritz #3, which has a split base of dry vermouth and St-Germain, accompanied by clarified juices to provide balance without altering the Champagne-like texture of the cocktail. We also chose to fully carbonate the cocktail, rather than simply pouring in seltzer. This infuses the drink with a uniform effervescence that makes it incredibly quaffable.

1 ounce Boissiere dry vermouth

1 ounce St-Germain

¼ ounce Pueblo Viejo blanco tequila

¼ ounce Campo de Encanto Grand and Noble pisco

¼ ounce Giffard Crème de Pamplemousse

1 ounce clarified grapefruit juice (see this page)

½ ounce clarified lemon juice (see this page)

2½ ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 grapefruit half wheel

Chill all the ingredients. Combine in a carbonating bottle, charge with CO2, and gently shake to help dissolve the CO2 into the liquid (see this page for detailed carbonation instructions). Refrigerate the carbonating bottle for at least 20 minutes, and preferably for 12 hours, before opening. Pour into an ice-filled Highball glass and garnish with the grapefruit half wheel.

Improved Wine Spritz

DEVON TARBY, 2016

Our Improved Wine Spritz demonstrates how we can integrate some of the principles from chapter 3, on Daiquiris and sours, to yield a superior Wine Spritz (see this page) without veering too far from a Highball template. All we’ve done is add small amounts of lemon juice and simple syrup, but this brings an appealing sweet-sour balance to the drink, lifts the flavors of the wine, and gives the cocktail more body.

4 ounces cold, crisp white or rosé wine

¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

¼ ounce simple syrup (this page)

2 ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 lemon wheel

Combine the wine, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, pour in the seltzer, and stir gently to combine. Garnish with the lemon wheel.

Wine Spritz

CLASSIC

You can also use still wine as the core of a drink. Because its proof is so much lower and the flavor more mild than a spirit, the amount of wine should be increased, with the amount of seltzer being decreased accordingly. Voilà! The classic Wine Spritz, which is indeed a type of Highball. Though wines vary widely in their sweetness and acidity, sticking with a small measure of seltzer as the mixer generally works well, as it will stretch and carry the distinctive flavors of the wine. We love a Wine Spritz with no trace of shame. What’s not to like about a glass of chilled wine topped with seltzer? It’s a drink fit for moms and cocktail nerds alike.

4 ounces cold, crisp white or rosé wine

2 ounces cold seltzer

Garnish: 1 lemon wheel

Pour the wine into a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, then pour in the seltzer and stir once. Garnish with the lemon wheel.

King’s Landing

ALEX DAY, 2013

In terms of its ingredients, the King’s Landing may seem like a fairly typical sour-style cocktail, if a little lean in the sour department. But if you take a close look at the amounts called for, you’ll see that cava and our birch-infused vermouth make up most of the volume of the cocktail, with relatively small amounts of lemon juice and pear liqueur being added for balance, keeping this cocktail firmly in Highball territory.

1½ ounces Birch-Infused Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (this page)

½ ounce Clear Creek pear liqueur

¼ ounce fresh lemon juice

3½ ounces cold cava

Garnish: 1 lemon wheel

Combine the infused vermouth, pear liqueur, and lemon juice in a wineglass. Fill the glass with ice cubes, then pour in the cava and quickly dip the barspoon into the glass to gently mix the wine with the cocktail. Garnish with the lemon wheel.