I made this drink on November 7th, 2020 when it became clear that Joe Biden had the electoral votes to become the 46th President of the United States. My homemade peach cognac serves as a reflection of my native state’s contribution to this outcome.
American 46
Joey TrotzAtlanta GA2020s
SpiritBrandy
Cocktail familyHighball
FlavorsBubbly · Tart
Makes
Ingredients
1ozPeach-Infused Cognac
1/2ozFresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2ozSimple Syrup
Champagne to Top
Method
Champagne or sparkling wine to top Lemon twist as garnish Add all ingredients except Champagne to shaker with ice and shake.
This is a play on the 150+ year old Sazerac, and while first made with brandy, rye stepped in after a late 1800s phylloxera disease killed a French grape crop. This variant splits the base, and uses crème de banane for a surprising twist.
Bananarac
SpiritBrandy · Liqueur · Whiskey
Cocktail familyOld-Fashioned
FlavorsBoozy · Fruity · Herbal
Makes
Ingredients
1ozPierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
1ozRittenhouse 100-Proof Rye
1/2ozTempus Fugit Creme de Banane
3/4tspDemerara Syrup
1dash Peychauds or Angostura Bitters
Rinse of St. George Spirits Absinthe Verte
Method
Prepare chilled double old-fashioned glass by rinsing with a touch of absinthe or a spray from an atomizer.
Add ingredients to mixing glass, add ice and stir for 30-40 seconds.
Strain into an old-fashioned glass, up or over a 2” ice cube, express twist and discard.
Growing up in historic Savannah, Georgia, our house served double duty as the home to my mom’s rare book and print business. Called The Printed Page, all those books instilled a love of books of all sorts. Getting into mixology during quarantine, I picked up several cocktail histories – I recommend anything written by David Wondrich – and spent a fair amount of time hunting down historic recipes online. This is one of those recipes from a 1934 booklet by Lairds Distillery of New Jersey, the oldest in America and the recipient of Distillery License No. 1 from the U.S. Treasury in 1780. This drink is named after a defunct New York City restaurant and its namesake cocktail. I’d still love to find some vintage cocktail books…they have to be out there somewhere!
This classic takes the Sidecar and turns it on its head, replacing dry curaçao’s citrus notes with the herbaceous flavor bomb of green Chartreuse. However, the drink remains balanced between the Chartreuse partnering and not competing with the other ingredients when compared with the Last Word I first discovered this during a socially distanced get-together with Joel & Rachel Silverman, dear family friends who helped keep our family sane (and vice versa) during the depths of the lockdown. Joel has a comprehensive collection of cocktail books and spirits. Tasked with picking a predinner cocktail, I turned to his books and found the late Sasha Petraske’s book Regarding Cocktails. That recipe for this delightful drink was the perfect cocktail for an al fresco dinner on the Silverman’s porch.
Champs-Élysées
SpiritBrandy
Cocktail familySidecar
Flavors
Makes
Ingredients
2ozPierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac
1/2ozGreen Chartreuse
3/4ozFresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
1/2ozSimple Syrup 2:1
1dash Angostura Bitters
Method
Shake all ingredients with ice for 10-15 seconds and double strain into a coupe.
