Cocktail Labs

The Réveillon Cocktail is a complex, spicy autumn drink that combines two of my favorites: Applejack and Pimento Dram (an allspice liqueur).  I found it via Cocktail Chronicles, who named it & Gumbo Pages who invented it around Christmas 2005.

Here’s the recipe:

• 2 ounces Laird’s Straight Apple Brandy (substitute Laird’s Applejack or your favorite Calvados).
• 1/2 ounce pear brandy (make sure it’s a clear eau-de-vie, not a liqueur).
• 1/2 ounce pimento dram.
• 1/4 ounce top-shelf sweet vermouth (Carpano Antica Formula or Punt-E-Mes).
• 1 dash aromatic cocktail bitters (Angostura is good, Fee Brothers’ Old Fashion Bitters are better, Abbott’s Bitters — if you can get any — are spectacular).

Combine ingredients with cracked ice in a cocktail shaker. Stir like hell for no less than 30 seconds, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Sunday afternoon cocktail: Scotch Crusta & a Gin, verjus, tarragon, lime concoction called a Spring Fling. The verjus is an unfermented white wine grape that tastes tart and acidic. Apparently, it’s a good ingredient to add when you want to add acidity without adding additional citrus. For instance, you could substitute limes for lemons, and add a little verjus to cut the sweetness. At Range in San Francisco.