Exhibit #125: Maple, Smoke & Fire

I recently picked up a dynamite bottle of bourbon-barrel aged organic Vermont maple syrup, so we’ll have a few drinks with that, along with some warming and/or smoky booze cups.

Blood and Sand (top shelf) $12
Created to promote the Valentino bullfighting movie of the same name in 1922, this drink has gained quite a bit of currency, especially here in the StL, no doubt as a result of the supper club downtown which is named after it. So why bother? Because we’re amping up the smoke and roots by compounding it with Laphroaig scotch, Carpano Antica, Grand Marnier’s cognac-based cherry liqueur, and orange juice. You’ve never had one like this.

Don the Beachcomber’s Coffee Grog $9
The tiki godfather’s signature after dinner drink, and for me one of his very best. Baroque as all get out, this 1937 recipe begins with a teaspoon of batter made of orange blossom honey, butter, allspice dram, and cinnamon and vanilla syrups. To this peels of orange and grapefruit are added, along with sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, clove, and of course coffee. A ladle of flaming rums (Smith & Cross and Cruzan 151) on top delivers the payload.

Jack Rabbit $7
Applejack, lemon and orange juices, maple syrup, up.

Knock Knock Cocktail $12
Equal parts cognac (Martell VSOP), gin (Beefeater 24), light rum (Matusalem platino), and Grand Marnier, with several dashes of Angostura, up. All booze, all the time. That’ll warm a body up, right?

Maple Leaf $7
Oh, Canada! Crown Royal Canadian whisky, lemon juice, and maple syrup, up.

Old Vermont Cocktail $7
Gin (Beefeater 24), maple syrup, lemon and orange juices, and a dash of Angostura, up. This one follows the same plan and proportions as the Jack Rabbit, but employs gin instead of applejack, and adds a dash of bitters.