At least 2 hours and up to 12 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled vodka, chilled chamomile tea, chilled spicy strawberry syrup, and water into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lemon juice and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well. Add orange wheels and sliced strawberries to pitcher (or use to decorate each glass). Add chilled sparkling wine to pitcher, stir gently, and pour into ice-filled rocks glasses or wineglasses.
SPICY STRAWBERRY SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
1 pound strawberries, hulled
2 to 5 thin slices serrano chile, including seeds and membranes
1 cup sugar
14 fresh basil leaves
Combine strawberries and serrano chile slices in a blender and blend until uniformly pureed, stopping to scrape down sides as needed, about 45 seconds. Measure out 1 cup puree and pour into a saucepan along with sugar and basil leaves. Discard remaining puree. Warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool for 20 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container. Refrigerate until chilled or for up to 2 days.
Basil Expedition
MAKES ABOUT 10 SERVINGS IN A 2- TO 2½-QUART PITCHER
Everyone likes a ginger drink, but this is no run-of-the-mill, sugary ginger beer situation. San Francisco bartender Wes Leslie cranks up the heat with fresh ginger and a red Thai chile and adds a pop of freshness by muddling in Thai basil leaves, which have a slightly floral, anise-like flavor. With a squeeze of lime, this cocktail is spicy and cooling at the same time. Be sure to truly fill each glass with ice for proper dilution and chill.
30 fresh Thai basil leaves
2¾ cups bourbon
1 cup spicy ginger syrup (recipe follows)
1 cup water
1 cup fresh lime juice
TO SERVE
10 Thai basil sprigs
Up to 4 hours before serving, make the batch. Place Thai basil leaves in bottom of a 2- to 2½- quart pitcher and add ½ cup bourbon. Muddle gently, tapping the leaves about 15 times but not pulverizing them. Add remaining 2¼ cups bourbon, stir to mix, and let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature. Stir in spicy ginger syrup and water. If not serving immediately, seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lime juice and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, fill pitcher with ice and stir until outside of pitcher is cool. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each drink with a Thai basil sprig.
SPICY GINGER SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP
1 (4½-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 (1- to 1¼-inch) section fresh red Thai chile pepper
¾ cup honey
¼ cup warm water
Combine ginger, chile, honey, and water in a blender and blend until you can barely recognize chile pieces, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container, pressing on solids to extract fully. Refrigerate syrup until chilled or for up to 1 week.
Fya Ball
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
This fiery tropical dream is richly flavored without being heavy. If you’re a fan of coconut water, it’s time to grab a bottle and find yourself a beach, a sweet ripe pineapple, and some funky Jamaican rum. The recipe, adapted from Ben Potts of Beaker and Gray in Miami, employs a dried Thai chile to crank up the heat. If you don’t have a juicer, puree about 2½ cups cubed fresh pineapple in a blender, then pour it through a fine-mesh strainer to get the juice.
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Jamaican rum (such as Smith and Cross)
3 cups chilled coconut water
¾ cup chilled Thai chile syrup (recipe follows)
¾ cup fresh pineapple juice
¾ cup fresh lime juice
TO SERVE
Flaky or kosher salt
8 small pineapple wedges or lime wheels
At least 2 hours and up to 12 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour rum, chilled coconut water, and Thai chile syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare pineapple and lime juices and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, pour cocktail into ice-filled rocks glasses. Add a pinch of salt and a pineapple wedge or lime wheel to each glass.
THAI CHILE SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP PLUS 1 TABLESPOON
¾ cup water
¾ cup sugar
1 dried Thai chile, cut in half
In a 1-quart saucepan, combine water and sugar and warm over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves. Pour out ½ cup syrup and set aside to cool in a resealable container such as a mason jar. Turn heat to low, add Thai chile to remaining syrup, and let infuse for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat, let cool for 10 minutes, then pour into a blender. Blend until chile is chopped very fine, about 2 minutes, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into container holding unflavored syrup. Seal and shake to blend. Refrigerate until chilled or for up to 1 week.
SAVORY & SMOKY
ISLAY AND OLIVE
JÄGERMEISTER BLOODY MARY
REINA PUNCH
WONDERLAND
BONE MACHINE
THE BIRDS AND THE BEES PUNCH
SNEAKY PEAT
AGONY AND ECSTASY
CHIPOTLE COLLINS
INFINITY POOL
Islay and Olive
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
I see you, dirty-martini drinkers. And I raise you this potent prize from Arkansas bartender Shaun Traxler. It’s a vodka martini—properly called the Kangaroo—gone savory with peaty Scotch and olives four ways. You’ll drop a few pitted green olives into your batch and let them linger, then garnish with some additional frozen ones to keep the mixture cool. Add a little brine and olive oil and you have a luxuriously silky drink, best served damn cold. Note that the olive oil will solidify if you let it hang out in the freezer, so it’s best to add it just before serving.
8 pitted green olives
1½ cups vodka
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons Islay Scotch (such as Laphroaig 10)
¾ cup dry vermouth (such as Dolin)
½ cup water
2 tablespoons olive brine
10 dashes orange bitters
Pinch fine sea salt
TO SERVE
1½ teaspoons olive oil
12 lemon twists
12 to 24 green olives (optionally frozen)
At least 2 hours and up to 4 hours before serving, make the batch. Place olives in a 1-liter swing-top bottle. Use a small funnel to pour in vodka, Scotch, vermouth, water, and olive brine. Add bitters and salt, then seal, turning gently end over end to mix, and chill in freezer. (If you’d prefer to batch further in advance, refrigerate filled bottle, then place in freezer 2 hours or so before serving.) Meanwhile, freeze additional olives for garnish, if desired. I like to place one in each divot of an empty ice cube tray to keep them separated.
To serve, add olive oil to cocktail mixture. Reseal and turn bottle gently to mix. Pour cocktail into chilled martini or Nick and Nora glasses. Express oils from a lemon twist over each cocktail and use twist as a garnish, along with a frozen olive or two.
Jägermeister Bloody Mary
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
Set aside any bad college memories of Jäger shots right now, because this well-spiced Bloody from Patrick Gaggiano and Willy Shine deserves an open mind. Allspice and chipotle team up with G
uinness and tomato juice for a bold, earthy drink that’s fantastic alongside a hearty brunch. You can pour little glasses of extra beer for everyone if they’re having a particularly rough morning. If you like an extra-tangy kick, rim the glasses with Tajín, a Mexican chile-lime-salt blend.
1½ cups chilled Jägermeister
1¾ teaspoons green Tabasco or green Cholula
4 teaspoons sriracha
Scant ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Scant ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups chilled tomato juice
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
½ cup fresh pineapple juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
TO SERVE
Tajín for rimming (optional)
8 to 9 lemon wedges for rimming
1 (14.9 oz) can chilled Guinness
8 celery stalks
Grated fresh horseradish root
Up to 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled Jägermeister, green Tabasco, sriracha, allspice, chipotle powder, and salt into a 2-quart pitcher and stir vigorously to mix. Add chilled tomato juice, along with lemon, pineapple, and orange juices and stir well. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
To serve, if you’d like to rim your pint glasses or tall tumblers, pour some Tajín onto a small plate and rub each glass’s rim with a lemon wedge. Gently dip and roll each glass rim in Tajín to coat.
Stir pitcher mixture well. Fill prepared glasses with ice and add 1 to 2 tablespoons Guinness to each glass. Top with Bloody Mary mixture, stir gently, and garnish each glass with a celery stalk, lemon wedge, and grated fresh horseradish.
USE IT UP
A nightcap of equal parts citrusy, licorice-y Jäger and peppery high-proof rye is shockingly good. I like it in a glass with a big ice cube, and some nights, I swap out the rye for mezcal, a combination that Veronica Correa of Pouring Ribbons in New York City calls the Oaxacan Huntress.
Reina Punch
MAKES ABOUT 13 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
Juicy red bell peppers are just as refreshing as any other fruit, and this drink from Atlanta bartender Emily Earp Mitchell shows the intriguing flavor they can add to cocktails too. Slicing the peppers thin and letting them macerate with sugar draws out the juices, which are paired with tart hibiscus tea and lime. Tequila adds its desert sage note, and Pinot Noir backs up the band with its own earthy qualities. Think of this as sangria gone savory and all the way fresh.
2½ cups chilled blanco tequila
1¼ cups Pinot Noir
1¼ cups chilled hibiscus–bell pepper syrup (recipe follows)
⅔ cup water
1¼ cups fresh lime juice
TO SERVE
8 lime wheels
13 rosemary sprigs (optional)
At least 2 hours and up to 12 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled tequila, Pinot Noir, chilled hibiscus–bell pepper syrup, and water into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lime juice and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well and add lime wheels to pitcher. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each glass with a rosemary sprig.
HIBISCUS–BELL PEPPER SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
1 red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded
1 cup sugar
1 hibiscus tea bag (such as Traditional Medicinals)
1 cup boiling water
Using a very sharp knife, slice red parts of bell pepper into the thinnest strips you can manage. Place in a heat-safe bowl along with sugar and use a muddler to bruise slightly. Let macerate for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When time is almost up, steep tea bag in boiling water for 3 minutes, then discard tea bag and pour hot tea over bell pepper mixture. Stir to incorporate sugar. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container and let cool. Refrigerate until chilled or for up to 2 days.
Wonderland
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
This fancy punch has a lovely malty quality and an almost salty character that’s rounded out with tart citrus and aromatic, fennel-laced absinthe. It comes from Tom Walker of Pig Bleecker in New York City, and it looks pretty in a pitcher with whole star anise pods and lemon wheels. If you have enough Scotch on hand, though, consider scaling up to a full punch bowl: this is both elegant and easy drinking, a fitting partner for your pre-turkey snacks on Thanksgiving Day. (See this page for how to make a large ice block to keep the punch bowl cool.)
3 cups Scotch
1 teaspoon absinthe
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 1:1 simple syrup (this page)
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
TO SERVE
1¾ cups chilled club soda
8 star anise pods
8 lemon wheels
At least 2 hours and up to 24 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour Scotch, absinthe, and simple syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lime and lemon juices and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well, then add chilled club soda, star anise pods, and lemon wheels. Stir gently again to distribute and pour into ice-filled punch cups.
Bone Machine
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
Sitting at the dark, sleek bar at Third Rail in San Francisco, I fell in love with this drink at first sip. Created by Jeff Lyon, it masquerades as a bourbon cocktail with a warming, citrus-pith finish. But the core is nutty oloroso sherry, which gives the mixture a savory heart and reminds you why so many whiskeys are aged in sherry casks. I know you might not have the Amaro Nonino, Benedictine, and sherry on hand yet, but if there were one recipe worth those purchases, I promise it’s this luscious, orange-scented concoction. At the bar, they light the orange twist on fire—bold hosts can try it at home, but it’s not essential.
1½ cups oloroso sherry (such as Bodegas Yuste Aurora)
1 cup bourbon (such as Bulleit)
½ cup Amaro Nonino
¼ cup Benedictine
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
16 dashes orange bitters (such as Regan’s)
8 dashes Angostura bitters
TO SERVE
8 orange twists
At least 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Use a small funnel to pour oloroso sherry, bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Benedictine, and water into a 1-liter swing-top bottle. Dash in orange bitters and Angostura bitters. Seal, turn gently end over end to mix, and refrigerate.
To serve, turn bottle gently to mix. Place a large ice cube in each rocks glass, then pour in cocktail. Express oils from orange twist over top of each cocktail, rub rim of glass with twist, and use twist as a garnish.
USE IT UP
As bittersweet liqueurs go, Amaro Nonino is tops, and if you haven’t made Sam Ross’s Paper Plane before, you’re in for a treat with this modern classic: Shake equal parts bourbon, Amaro Nonino, Aperol, and fresh lemon juice with ice and serve in a coupe. Don’t miss the Honey Crisp on this page, either!
The Birds and the Bees Punch
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
Green tea and cucumbers are hardly relatives, yet their flavors seem to naturally extend each other, making for a drink that’s seamless and cooling, just tiptoeing into savory territory. Shannon Tebay Sidle of Death and Co. in New York City punches up the mixture with lemon and mint and rounds it out with light rum and honey. You’ll need to plan ahead, brewing the tea far enough in advance that it can chill fully before you start
filling your pitcher. Be sure to peel your cucumbers before juicing; if you don’t have a juicer, process about 2 cups sliced peeled seedless cucumber in your blender, then strain the puree. I like to refrigerate or freeze the rum the night before serving.
½ cup honey (undiluted)
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups chilled white rum (such as Plantation 3 Stars)
2 cups chilled brewed unsweetened green tea
½ cup fresh cucumber juice
TO SERVE
Leaves from 8 mint sprigs, plus 8 whole sprigs
16 cucumber wheels
Up to 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Whisk together honey and lemon juice in a 2-quart pitcher until incorporated. Add chilled rum, chilled green tea, and cucumber juice and stir well to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
To serve, add mint leaves and 8 cucumber wheels to pitcher and stir mixture well. Fill pitcher with ice and stir gently until outside of pitcher is cool. Pour into ice-filled rocks glasses and garnish each glass with a mint sprig and a cucumber wheel.
Sneaky Peat
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
Whether or not you string festive garlands of cranberries to trim your Christmas tree, you’ll want to grab a bag or two to make this wintry punch from Laura Newman of Queen’s Park in Birmingham, Alabama. Pairing the tangy fruit with Scotch—plus oolong tea that’s been steeped forever—gives a whisper of smoke and a bitter, malty edge to the drink. The peat level, of course, will depend on the Scotch you choose; if you’re going with a more neutral blended whiskey, you may want to include an ounce or two of something smokier. Batch it up a few days ahead, then call your whiskey-loving friends and spend your preparty time making the ultimate Bing Crosby playlist. If you’d like to double the recipe, it makes a pretty punch bowl. (See this page for punch ice instructions.)
Batch Cocktails Page 5
