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A much abused modern classic cocktail, when made right, is a very pleasant if a little girly cocktail - it is pink! Also the flamed part is a winner as customers love the anticipation of fire. This is essentially a modern martini style drink that has come about in the late eighties or early nineties. I have read Toby Cecchinis excellent book ‘Cosmopolitan’ and he lays claim to the oigin in that. I know of another bartender by the name of ‘Cointreau’ using the ‘Cape Cod’ of vodka, lime and cranberry recipe as a base and marketing their brand.

Where ever it came from it certianly helped the re-generation of cocktail consumtion and awareness throughout. New York, ‘Sex in the City’, Boom..It was suddenly cool to be seen drinking one. This truly has been the quintessential cocktail that almost every proffessional bar tender will know of and how to make. Its a very modern recipe, using vodka and fruit juice. It certianly atrracts the female customers, probably because its sweet, has little alcolhol taste, is pink, Carrie Bradshaw drinks them and she has a thousand pairs of Manolo Blahniks so, hey, it must be cool. Miss Bradshaw and friends has certainly aided in the popularisation of female cocktail drinkers - a fact I know many of us bartender appreciate immensly. Having said that, I personally know of quite a few guys who also enjoy this cocktail very much - incl the boys from our video podcasting team.

Here is what I use in the episode
5 cl Stoliichnaya Citrus Vodka
2.5 cl Cointreau
2.5 cl Cranberry Juice
2 cl Fresh Lime Juice

Pre - Chill a cocktail glass, add all the ingredients into a glass half of a shaker, fill with ice and give it a good shake. Fince strain into the pre-chilled coctail glass and to garnish flame an orange zest over the surface. A good tip when doing this, is to hold the flame on the zest until it starts visibly spitting, this is the moment to squeeze. This will carmelise the oils from the zest on top of the cocktail.

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This classic is said to have originated from the turn of the 20th century in the state of Kentucky - home of the bourbon. Many places and names are linked to the invention, but it cannot be nailed down to one place for sure. The original recipe calls for angostura bitters, rye or bourbon whiskey, one sugar cube and a little curcao and is now referred to as the ‘Whiskey Coctail’. My interpretation is more influenced from later versions. I have also used other base spirits, a dark rum or brandy can be used effectively too.

The process of the craft of the Old Fashioned is a very fulfilling job for the bar tender and hopefully for the drinker. Its takes patience, the drink cannot be rushed or it simply won’t taste right.
It is a stirred cocktail and built in the serving glass, in the episode I first stir some sugar syrup, orange zest, orange bitters, and Knob Creek.

The sugar syrup/cube debate is one I try to avoid, but its my preference to use syrup. Cubes are time consuming but work too, so its down to ones own choice. I prefer orange bitters to angostura as it is not so dominating, to compliment this I add some orange zest. Knob Creek is a fantastic top of the line bourbon, spicy, and long lasting on the finish. Its strong at 50% alcohol, and this is why it is good for the old fashioned recipe as the dilution and combination óf the flavours work extremely well.

The next step is crucial in the drink, the dissolving of the sugar before you add the ice will determine whether it will be a fantastic, amazing cocktail or a just a good one. I add the next batch of bourbon, give it a good stir and taste, then start to add the ice, stir through and add more ice and continue this process until, the drink is balanced and cold enough. Finish with a garnish of a maraschino soaked cherry and a lemon twist.

The content is:
In a rocks glass add 2-3 sugar cubes or the equivalant in brown sugar syrup
2-3 dashes of Orange Bitters
One Orange Zest
5cl Knob Creek Bourboun Whiskey
Garnish was a Maraschino Soaked Cherry and a Lemon Twist

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This is the signature cocktail from restuarant Umami in Copenhagen,
courtesy of Nikolaj Brønsted - Bar Chef.

It is a refreshing cocktail that is both sweet and sour fresh, the ginger gives a pleasant fragrant spice to the palate.

Shochu is  a distilled spirit from Japan, which is also found in China
and Korea.  It is referred to many times as the ‘japanese vodka’, but
is much more aromatic.  It is mainly made from rice and barley.  In
Japan they drink it just with ice or with a mixer.  It is an excellent
cocktail ingredient too.

The content is:
4 cl Shochu
2 cl Lychee Liqueur
4 cl Passion Fruit Juice
2 cl Ginger Syrup
1 cl Lime Juice

We make the ginger syrup just like a simple syrup (one part sugar/one part water, bring to boil then let it cool) We just add fresh ginger slightly chopped, bring to boil with sugar and water, then let it cool. Put the mixture in a blender and seive it so no bits are left. You are left with a brown syrup. The measurements vary for how much you need. Don’t be shy with the ginger - you want to taste it, plus the sweetness of sugar, the balance is essential - it took us a while to get the right amounts but its brilliant now!

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This is a personal favourite of mine to make and to drink, A complex drink, that is challenging to make but very worthwhile when done right. Gary Regan writes in his book The Joy of Mixology “when properly constructed, it is the finest cocktail on the face of the earth.” Strong words indeed, but I am in total agreement.

The standard content is:

3 parts rye or bourbon whisky
1 part sweet vermouth
2 dashes of bitters

It can be served straight up (cocktail glass) or on the rocks. It can be Sweet (sweet vermouth, maybe extra maraschino liquor. My favourite.), Dry (dry vermouth instead of sweet.) or Perfect (Use of both sweet and dry vermouth.)
Variations of this recipe have been conjured up such as the Rob Roy, use of blended scotch instead of rye or bourbon. If one uses brandy as the spirit it becomes a Harvard. The much acclaimed Martinez is the gin variation – this cocktail requires maraschino liquor plus usage of a very dry gin.

In the episode of the video podcast I use Buffalo Trace Bourbon, Carpano Antica Formula Vermouth, Orange and Angostura Bitters plus a maraschino liquor soaked cherry.
I used the this whisky for is spicyness and slight smoky overtones and works great with the orange bitters, the carpano ‘ancient formula’ vermouth is the king of all vermouths and is a robust modifier to the whisky, it can be happily drunk on its own on the rocks. The maraschino saturated cherry works fantastically well and I love the garnish. Rimming the glass with the orange zest is optional but common and is a nice touch.