Here’s another simple scotch cocktail, which reminds me a bit of the cocktail that Mark Twain loved. It’s matches the 100-year-old cocktail definition perfectly: spirit, bitters, sugar, and water. Enjoy!
Loch Lomond
The Iguana is a nice twist if you’re a fan of Kahlua but you’re tired of White Russians. It uses a simple 1:1:1 ratio, and you can mix it right in the glass – notice the swirling Kahlua in the photo above.
Iguana
In March 1974, John Lennon was out with friends and had a few too many of his favorite cocktail, the Brandy Alexander. Lennon ended up heckling the Smothers Brothers and was thrown out with his friends for fighting, The following day, Lennon sent several bunches of flowers out to those involved with apology notes. The note he sent to actress Pam Grier said:
Dear Pam,
I apologize for being so rude and thank you for not hitting me.
John Lennon
An Alexander is a cocktail that can be easily adapted to your favorite booze, though the Brandy Alexander is the most popular variety. Simply add 1 oz of dark creme de cacao (chocolate liqueur) and 1 oz of cream, finish with an ounce of your favorite booze, shake, and enjoy!
Alexander
The Old Pal is a twist on the Negroni cocktail, and it appears that it was first published in a cocktail book in 1922. It has a bright red color (from the Campari), and is definitely classic in it’s flavor. Try it and enjoy!
Old Pal
Let me just begin by saying it was almost irresistible to NOT make an Eagles reference here. A lyric, a joke, anything. Be strong, Greg, be strong……
A Sunrise is a classic tequila drink, and a good one to practice layering with. The Tequila Sunrise takes progressively heavier liquids and serves them together, unstirred, for a cool “sunrise” effect in your glass. Add the ingredients in the order I show below:
Tequila Sunrise
When you serve a Sunrise, give the drinker a stir stick or sipper straw so that they can stir their cocktail before drinking.
This is a pretty classic drink that prescribes pretty well to the definition of cocktail from over a hundred years ago. It uses Peychauds bitters, which are a New Orleans staple and the essential cocktail bitter in a Sazerac. Combined with the orange juice and whiskey, Peychauds makes this a cool-looking golden drink that’s pretty old school in it’s flavor profile.
Bittersweet Cocktail
Here’s the video clip from Christmas special of The Morning Brew with Larry Ahrens in Albuquerque. I give the hosts gift baskets and my New Year’s cocktail is given Santa Claus’ stamp of approval! You can find the recipes that I made on the show (Silent Night and Orange You Glad it’s New Years?) here.
Recently I stumbled onto a cocktail which I associated with a hair metal band that I loved in middle school (the White Lion), and I was pretty surprised to find another variant on the lion theme in a totally different cocktail book: What, When, Where, and How to Drink.
Compared to the White Lion (which is sort of red), the Red Lion is a pale yellow color (confusing, I know), but I suppose drinks can be named whatever people wanna name them. Regardless of color confusion, you should definitely try this refreshing lion out:
Red Lion Cocktail
Remember, you can download our free Simple Cocktails recipe booklet now and make better cocktails at home!
Merry Christmas! If you caught my segment on the Christmas special episode of The Morning Brew, welcome to Simple Cocktails! Here are the recipes I shared – the second one was a favorite of The Big Man himself.
Silent Night (by Greg Mays)
Orange You Glad It’s New Years? (by Greg Mays)
I’ve covered Art in the Age’s ROOT Liqueur before, and while I haven’t quite found a cold cocktail that I love with it yet, it makes a hot tea to die for, and probably the best cough remedy I can think of, particularly when you use a ton of citrus with it. The recipe is simple (of course):
Papa’s Cough Medicine (by Greg Mays)
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