Year in Review III

52 weeks. 196 different drinks presented for the first time, many of them featuring obscure ingredients or requiring elaborate preparation or special tools. Tonight we continue our presentation of the drinks that were the most well-received and requested this past year. I’ve excluded those that have wound up on our cocktail or specials menus, and hot drinks that are currently available otherwise.

C.F.H. Cocktail $7
This cocktail features the obscure ingredient Swedish Punsch – a blend of Arrack (an Indonesian spirit related to rum), rum, black tea and cardamom, infused with lemon – along with dry gin, Calvados, lemon juice, and pomegranate syrup, up. From the one-of-a-kind Café Royal cocktail book, a perfect balance of tart and sweet.

Lion’s Tail $7
Maker's Mark bourbon, allspice liqueur, lime juice, Angostura bitters, up. Another Prohibition-era standby from London’s Café Royal.

Mai Tai $8
Trader Vic’s original 1944 recipe: pure cane and Jamaican rums (Barbancourt 8yr & Appleton 12yr), the juice of a whole lime, Grand Marnier, orgeat and simple syrups, and crushed ice, garnished with a lime shell and sprig of mint. The most well-known and enduring of tiki drinks, but also more often than not mixed incorrectly or with cheap or wholly inappropriate substitutes. More tart than sweet.

Missionary’s Downfall $9
(pictured) One of Don the Beachcomber's most infamous tipples, but rarely made due to difficulty and the necessity of a blender. Light rum (Matusalem Platino), peach flavored brandy, honey, lime juice, crushed ice, and a good amount of diced pineapple and mint leaves. This drink has texture!

Sloe Gin Fizz $7
Authentic sloe gin is finally being distributed in Missouri again so we can all experience this iconic drink: sloe gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, club soda, up.

Wintersmoon Cocktail $8
This one was a bit of a surprise, chosen for a Halloween menu mostly for its similarity to a song title by Immortal. Luckily for all it turned out to be crazy delicious: Benedictine, Appleton 12yr rum, and lemon juice, with dashes of Grand Marnier and Angostura, up.

Breakfast Nogg $7
1 part homemade Egg Nogg to 2 parts Founder’s Breakfast Stout. Not historical.. a bit of my own nonsense that people seem to like.
Mr. Hunt’s Bourbon Nogg $6
Bourbon, eggs, sugar, milk, cream, nutmeg, and a little cognac and rum. Potent. This is a newer batch mixed up a couple weeks ago in anticipation of the recently published story in the Post Dispatch.

next week: All About the Daisy + a few fizzes