2¼ cups Scotch (such as Dewar’s White Label)
2½ tablespoons Angostura bitters
2 cups chilled extra-strong oolong (recipe follows)
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons chilled cranberry syrup (recipe follows)
½ cup water
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
TO SERVE
½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
8 lemon wheels
At least 2 hours and up to 2 days before serving, make the batch. Pour Scotch, bitters, chilled extra-strong oolong, chilled cranberry 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, then garnish pitcher with cranberries and lemon wheels. Pour into ice-filled teacups.
EXTRA-STRONG OOLONG • MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS
2 cups water
6 oolong tea bags
In a small lidded saucepan, bring water to a bare simmer over medium-high heat. As soon as you spot the first bubble, add tea bags, cover pan, remove from heat, and let steep for 8 to 10 hours. Strain, seal, and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 2 days.
CRANBERRY SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
½ cup fresh or frozen cranberries
1 tablespoon Scotch (optional)
Combine water, sugar, and cranberries in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. When cranberries begin to pop, use a wooden spoon to crush them against side of pan and remove pan from heat. Let cool to room temperature, then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container, pressing on solids to extract all remaining liquid. (Don’t discard the cooked fruit! It’s great over yogurt or ice cream.) If storing syrup more than a few days, stir in Scotch. Refrigerate until chilled or for up to 2 weeks.
Agony and Ecstasy
MAKES ABOUT 16 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
When savory and cooling meet fruity and floral, you get a drink that’s just right for a really hot day. Adapted from Sam Treadway of Backbar in Somerville, Massachusetts, this pitcher marries smoky chipotle and mezcal with fragrant elderflower and grapefruit. It’s refreshing and a little spicy, ready to go toe-to-toe with some chicken wings hot off the smoker. Batch up a pitcher and keep it cool, then offer a “build your own” setup with rocks glasses, a few buckets of ice, chilled ginger beer, and a bottle of smoky chipotle Tabasco for guests to add to their taste.
2 cups chilled mezcal
1¼ cups St-Germain elderflower liqueur
½ cup water
2¾ cups fresh grapefruit juice
TO SERVE
3 bottles chilled ginger beer (such as Fever-Tree)
Tabasco Chipotle pepper sauce
16 grapefruit wedges (optional)
Flaky salt (optional)
Up to 2 days before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled mezcal, St-Germain, 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 grapefruit juice and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, set out rocks glasses, a large bucket of ice, chilled ginger beer, Tabasco, and grapefruit wedges (if using). Stir pitcher well. Fill each glass with ice and pour in ½ cup pitcher mix and a splash (about 2 tablespoons) of ginger beer. Stir gently to mix. Top with a few drops of chipotle Tabasco to taste and garnish with a grapefruit wedge and flaky salt, if desired.
USE IT UP
A tablespoon of St-Germain can be nice in a gin and tonic, but L.A. bartender Gabriella Mlynarczyk has an even more refreshing idea: Shake ½ ounce St-Germain, ½ ounce fresh lime juice, 1 ounce Aperol, and 1½ ounces fresh grapefruit juice with ice and a pinch of salt (smoked, if you’ve got it). Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and top with 2 ounces IPA.
Chipotle Collins
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
This tall cooler from Mike Treffehn, formerly of Rum Club in Portland, Oregon, is a sunny barbecue in drink form, thanks to an easy syrup that’s simmered with a couple of dried chipotle chiles. The peppers’ bacony flavor is subtle, though—just enough to add a little mystery to a light and simple combination of gin and fresh lemon and clementine juices. I like to stash my gin in the freezer at least a few hours in advance; it helps to keep the drink mix cool. Clementines add the most vibrant juicy-sweet flavor, but you can use regular oranges in a pinch.
1 (750 ml) bottle chilled gin (such as Beefeater)
4 dashes orange bitters (optional)
1½ cups chilled chipotle syrup (recipe follows)
1½ cups fresh lemon juice
½ cup fresh clementine juice
TO SERVE
4 (1 L) bottles chilled club soda
12 orange or clementine slices
Up to 12 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled gin, bitters, and chilled chipotle syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 30 minutes before serving, prepare lemon and clementine juices and stir into pitcher mixture. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well. Fill pint glasses with ice, then carefully fill glasses about two-thirds of the way with chilled club soda. Top with pitcher mix, stir gently until outside of glass is cool, and garnish each drink with an orange or clementine slice.
CHIPOTLE SYRUP • MAKES ABOUT 1½ CUPS
1¼ cups sugar
1¼ cups water
2 large dried chipotle chiles
Combine sugar, water, and chiles in a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Lower heat to maintain the barest simmer and cook for 10 minutes, then remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a resealable container and refrigerate until chilled or for up to 1 week.
Infinity Pool
MAKES ABOUT 10 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
Cucumber is often praised for its cooling properties, but what about celery? Throw some chopped stalks in a juicer (or, if you’re patient, puree about a dozen in a blender and strain) and you’ve got one of the most refreshing cocktail bases I can imagine. Los Angeles bartender Gabriella Mlynarczyk knows how to use it well, mellowing out the vegetal character of the stalks with citrusy Lillet blanc and lemon juice. The drink’s savory side is supported with mezcal, celery bitters, and a pinch of smoked salt. You’ll want to pour it into a big thermos and bring it to the beach. Starting with chilled mezcal and Lillet means less time waiting for the fridge to do its job.
1⅓ cups chilled mezcal
1⅓ cups chilled Lillet blanc
⅔ cup chilled 1:1 simple syrup (this page)
2¼ teaspoons celery bitters
¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons water
1⅓ cups fresh celery juice (from about 12 celery stalks)
1 cup fresh lemon juice
TO SERVE
Smoked sea salt
Thinly sliced lemon wheels (optional)
Up to 1 day before serving, make the batch. Pour chilled mezcal, chilled Lillet blanc, chilled simple syrup, celery bitters, 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 celery and lemon juices and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir mixture well. Place a large ice cube in each rocks glass, then pour in cocktail and garnish with a small pinch of smoked salt and a lemon wheel, if desired.
USE IT UP
/> On Chicago bartender Chris Muscardin’s advice, skip the vermouth in your next martini and try Lillet blanc instead. Half and half is a lovely ratio to start with; up the gin if you like things drier. Lemon twist and orange bitters, if you please.
BITTER
PERFECT CIRCLE
ALL SHE WROTE
CLOSING ARGUMENT
RATTERWICK PUNCH
TWO WORDS
THE FRANKIE PANKY
RIO HOUSEWIVES
SUNRISE AT KOKO HEAD
PRINCIPESSA DI SOLE
THYME OUT
NATIONAL TREASURE
BITTER EX
Perfect Circle
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 2½- TO 3-QUART PITCHER
As the sun dips lazily down toward the horizon, I want a drink that’s bitter and lively—not too sweet or too alcoholic. Sure, the Aperol spritz is popular for a reason, but I usually crave something drier, like this aperitivo from Paul McGee and Shelby Allison of Lost Lake in Chicago. The simple combination of sharp Campari and salty fino sherry makes for a spritz that quenches your thirst and works wonderfully with potato chips, olives, or aged cheeses. You can fit this one in a two-quart pitcher, but a slightly larger vessel will help you avoid pour- and fizz-related messes.
1½ cups chilled fino or manzanilla sherry
1½ cups Campari
TO SERVE
18 orange wheels
1 (750 ml) bottle chilled dry sparkling wine
Up to 24 hours before serving, make the batch. Pour fino sherry and Campari into a 2½- to 3-quart pitcher and stir to mix. Seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate if not serving immediately.
To serve, stir 1 cup ice and 6 orange wheels into pitcher mix, then carefully add chilled sparkling wine and stir gently again to mix. Pour into ice-filled wineglasses or rocks glasses and garnish each glass with a remaining orange wheel.
All She Wrote
MAKES ABOUT 12 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
The Italian bittersweet vermouth called Punt e Mes is my Kryptonite, the one cocktail ingredient I just can’t resist. And it gets even better in this bold (but low-alcohol) concoction, which Jeremy Simpson created when he was working at Bestia in Los Angeles. Simpson rounds off the bitter edge of the vermouth with luscious maraschino liqueur, a little grapefruit liqueur, and a pinch of salt. I know not everyone has those ingredients on hand already, but I promise this drink is worth the purchase of a bottle or two. The batch also ages wonderfully in the back of your refrigerator; try it after a few months and you may decide to devote more of your fridge space to a cocktail stash. If you’re aging it more than a few weeks, leave out the bitters and just add 2 dashes to each glass.
2¼ cups chilled Punt e Mes
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dry vermouth (such as Dolin)
6 tablespoons maraschino liqueur
3 tablespoons pamplemousse (grapefruit) liqueur (such as Combier or Giffard)
4 teaspoons Peychaud’s bitters
TO SERVE
Flaky sea salt
At least 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Use a small funnel to pour chilled Punt e Mes, dry vermouth, maraschino liqueur, pamplemousse liqueur, and bitters into a 1-liter swing-top bottle. Seal well, gently turn 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. Give each drink one gentle stir before serving. Garnish with a small pinch of salt.
Closing Argument
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
My desert-island drink is the Last Word, a snappy gin cocktail that dates back to pre-Prohibition Detroit. Fantastic variations abound, but this one, from Justin Siemer of Portland, Oregon, is a favorite of mine. With spicy rye whiskey as the base, it has the spine to support lush yellow Chartreuse. Fresh lemon and Gran Classico—a citrus-, wormwood-, and rhubarb-laced aperitif in the same family as Campari—slice through the drink’s layers with a bitter edge. Since this cocktail is served without ice, I like to chill it way down in the freezer.
¾ cup rye (such as James E. Pepper)
¾ cup Gran Classico
¾ cup yellow Chartreuse
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup water
About 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Use a small funnel to pour rye, Gran Classico, yellow Chartreuse, lemon juice, and water into a 1-liter swing-top bottle. Seal, turn gently end over end to mix, and chill in freezer. (If you’d prefer to batch further in advance, refrigerate filled bottle without lemon juice for up to 1 week, then prepare and add lemon juice and place in freezer an hour or two before serving.)
To serve, shake bottle to give it a bit of froth. Pour into chilled coupe glasses.
USE IT UP
Try Gran Classico in a rye-based Boulevardier instead of Campari. Or drink it “Sbagliato,” with equal parts bubbles and sweet vermouth.
Ratterwick Punch
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 2-QUART PITCHER
It’s easy to welcome warm weather—and warm-weather entertaining season—when you have this simple, refreshing punch in hand. While Aperol is generally considered pretty mellow as bitter ingredients go, here it gets a fresh kick from a squeeze of grapefruit juice. Shannon Tebay Sidle of New York City’s Death and Co. brightens up the combination with a little lemon juice, sparkling wine, and piney gin. It’s a crowd-pleaser—and a host-pleaser too. Taste the punch before serving; if your sparkling wine has any sweetness, you may want to add an extra tablespoon or two of lemon juice.
2 cups gin (such as Beefeater)
½ cup Aperol
¾ cup 1:1 simple syrup (this page)
¾ cup fresh lemon juice
¾ cup fresh pink grapefruit juice
TO SERVE
1½ cups chilled dry sparkling wine
8 lemon or lime wedges
8 grapefruit wedges
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (optional)
Up to 2 days before serving, make the batch. Pour gin, Aperol, and simple syrup into a 2-quart pitcher and stir to mix. If not serving immediately, seal well, covering with plastic wrap if needed, and refrigerate.
Up to 2 hours before serving, prepare lemon and grapefruit juices and stir into pitcher mix. Reseal and return to refrigerator if not serving immediately.
To serve, fill pitcher with ice and stir gently until outside of pitcher is cool. Carefully add chilled sparkling wine to pitcher, along with citrus wedges, and stir gently once more. Taste for balance, and add up to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, if desired. Pour immediately into ice-filled rocks glasses.
Two Words
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
There are few mixed drinks as pleasing to the lazy—ahem, efficient—host as the fifty-fifty option, an easy combination of two types of booze in equal parts. Gin and dry vermouth are a go-to, but when I’m craving a moodier nightcap, I love this one from Adam James Sarkis of the Phoenix Cocktail Club in Milwaukee. High-proof apple brandy gets a darkly herbal, almost charred note from Zucca Rabarbaro, which weaves together hints of orange peel and roasty coffee. This is a nice one to keep in the fridge long term; it seems to grow more brooding with time.
1½ cups 100-proof apple brandy (such as Laird’s)
1½ cups Zucca Rabarbaro
½ cup water
TO SERVE
8 lemon twists
At least 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Use a small funnel to pour apple brandy, Zucca Rabarbaro, and water into a 1-liter swing-top bottle. 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 and give drink one quick stir. Express oils from a lemon twist over each cocktail and use twist as garnish.
USE IT UP
Make a sultry Boulevardier using sweet vermouth and Zucca instead of Campari. Try it with a heavy pour of peaty Scotch instead of rye or bourbon.
The Frankie Panky
MAKES ABOUT 8 SERVINGS IN A 1-LITER SWING-TOP BOTTLE
Do you like bitter drinks? Really, really bitter drinks? Then this riff on the classic Fernet-spiked sweet martini known as the Hanky Panky is for you. Los Angeles bartender Liam Odien makes this bold and bracing concoction by swapping out the Hanky Panky’s botanical gin for tequila, and making his own sorta-sweet vermouth by mixing the dry type with rich, bittersweet Cynar. The result is herbal, vegetal, and nearly smoky, softening with each sip as the ice in your glass begins to melt.
2 cups blanco tequila (such as Altos)
¾ cup Cynar
½ cup dry vermouth (such as Dolin)
¼ cup Fernet Branca
½ cup water
TO SERVE
8 orange twists
At least 2 hours before serving, make the batch. Use a small funnel to pour tequila, Cynar, vermouth, Fernet Branca, and water into a 1-liter swing-top bottle. 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 an orange twist over each drink and use twist as garnish.
USE IT UP
I love a tablespoon of Fernet in a daiquiri (frozen or not). When the weather’s cooler, though, add a bit to your cocoa or coffee, and use a little more to flavor the whipped cream on top.
Batch Cocktails Page 6
