Fairly unique name. Found out that the name originates from the Russian word for crabs. The literature is rather vague on why crabs though.

This is Apricot Brandy, Vodka (with a Russian name, you have to have vodka, right? 🙂 ) and Angostura bitters.

You may remember how Josh had taught me how to make unique ice cubes for Old Fashioned cocktails. That was Hooked Beaver Creek in Colorado.

This is Whitley hotel in Buckhead. Robb and I had settled down at the bar when I asked for my usual evening opener drink. The ice was fascinating. It had air bubbles streaking out as thin rays from one vertex of the cube!! Unfortunately, the folks at the bar were too busy and too excited about Atlanta being on the verge of winning the World Series for me to find out how they did it.

It looked fantastic, nonetheless!

There are two different cocktails I found that shares this name. This is the one from Cocktail Builder. It is a simple concoction of cointreau and white sambuca stirred well. As you can imagine, both of them are very strong in the nose and length and fairly sweet in the palate.

This is a fairly old cocktail (very early 1900s). Although, in those days, Old Tom Gin was used. Today, it is your normal London dry gin. Quite close to a martini, this is made from gin, yellow chartreuse and orange bitters. A bit complex in the nose and the finish (the yellow chartreuse plays a dominant role), it is somewhat citrusy to the palate and leaves a strong impression on you.