This is a repeat drink from about three months back. I have changed up the garnish but the main contents are still Anejo rRum, Orange Curacao, Orange juice, Lemon juice, Bitters and Sugar Syrup.

Between the absynthe, gin and triple sec, this drink does not even attempt to show any complexity. This is pure alcohol designed to cool your nerves down in a hurry. Would recommend it if you are looking for something to quickly give you the buzz so that you can catch up on your forty winks sitting in the sun by the pool. Provided you like the taste of aniseed. Else, find yourself something lighter 🙂

Strawberries, Cachaca and granulated sugar.

I could not trace the history of the name after much research. There is a movie by that name but i could not find any connection.

This is Bourbon, Southern Comfort and bitters. The proper way to serve this cocktail is to ahake with ice and then strain in a cocktail glass. I intend to nurse this for a long time – so kept the ice in and served in a low ball glass.

Very smooth drink – gin, orange juice and to  give it some kick, orange bitters.

This is a complicated cocktail. Easiest to make and easiest to mess up. It has three alcohols – each competing for attention – gin, apricot brandy and apple brandy. The wrong mix will let any one of those three to overwhelm the drink. The best is to go with 2:1:1

Manajit’s comment the other day about the collins glass got me wondering how many different kind and style of glasses do I have? Missed a few but took pictures of most of them. This has just about any variety of alcohol glasses you can think of – shot glass, aperitif glass, red wine glass, white wine glass, collins glass, Moscow Mule glass, martini glass (cocktail glass), snifter glass, bourbon glass, scotch glass, coupe glass, highball glass, low ball glass, champagne flute, stemless glass, hurricane glass, margarita glass, rocks glass (old fashioned glass), grappa glass and so on.

The one thing missing – a beer glass! Which is a category unto itself. But I don’t do beer. So, no specialty beer glasses.

Gimlet is a generic name for any cocktail based on gin and lime juice. It originated in the early 20th century. The most commonly accepted source of the name is the reference to the drilling tool with the same name – perhaps due to the piercing effect of the sharply acidic lime juice and the gin. There is another story of an English naval Doctor concocting this to make the sailors drink lime juice to avoid scurvy but that story is mostly discredited today.

This has muddled cucumber, mint leaves, Hendricks (this gin has a hint of cucumber), lime juice and sugar syrup. Perfect for a warm afternoon lazing by the pool.

This summer drink has an interesting story behind its name. Legend has it that in the 1870s, there was a hoax that spread around where at bars in New York and Pennsylvania, a bar guest would incense up the next guest who was undoubtedly drunk by informing him of a Tom Collins who was speaking ill and making false accusation about the guest in a nearby place (often bar). As the agitated guest would leave (purportedly to take revenge in that drunken state), the original guest would have a laugh – and probably even finish off the drink. This is usually documented as the “Tom Collins Hoax of 1874”.

The real origin of the drink is not fully established with some claiming it came from Ireland in the late 1700s while some others pointing out the confusion with another drink called John Collins that existed before Tom Collins.

In any case, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Tom Collins did become very popular and then as quickly lost its popularity. While not very popular in US today, most of Tom Collins is still consumed in the North East.

Tom Collins comprises of gin (I used Hendricks here), lemon juice, granulated sugar and soda water. Different literature suggest different garnishes. All suggest a red cherry. Additionally some suggest an orange peel. I think a lemon slice or lemon twist (The 1986 version of Book of Cocktails agrees with me) would go better with the lemony taste in the drink. It is always served in a Collins glass.

Referred to as a Scottish Guard, this is made with Bourbon Whiskey (I used Four Roses Small Batch) with lemon juice, orange juice and grenadine. The origin of the name is commonly attributed to the fact that this was a very favorite drink in the Officers’ Mess in Scots Guard. This is supposed to be served in a martini glass but I decided to play against the rules.