Tag: bluegrass cocktails

Bluegrass Cocktails: Nine-Pound Hammer

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With a commanding name like Nine-Pound Hammer, you might expect a stiff drink … so why something light and somewhat sweet? This tune is one in the tradition of hammer songs, which lament the struggles and grueling labors of railroad workers. In that case, a cooling cocktail seems even more necessary — the combination of Drambuie and pineapple lends the drink a delicate candied quality, and the yellow Chartreuse brings in a distinct herbal element, all for a libation that’s refreshing and easy-drinking. Add in those few dashes of absinthe, and this one is a real doozy — which anyone could use after a hard day's work.

INGREDIENTS
1 oz aged rum
3/4 oz Drambuie
1/2 oz yellow Chartreuse
1 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
2 dashes absinthe
Seltzer water
Orange and brandied cherry for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Add all ingredients (except seltzer) to shaker with ice and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into a collins or high-ball glass with ice and top with seltzer water. Garnish with orange slice and brandied cherry.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Orange Blossom Special

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A song dubbed the "fiddle player's national anthem" deserves a namesake cocktail similarly playful and uplifting, and what brightens the spirit better than bubbles? This sparkling beverage brings together rich cognac and botanical gin for a take on the traditional French 75 with a little more depth. Naturally, the orange blossom water lends a floral quality — just be careful to add sparingly, as this tincture tends to be quite perfumey — that highlights both the juniper of the gin and the earthiness of the cognac. It's a sophisticated tipple that doesn't take itself too seriously.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz cognac
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water)
Champagne or sparkling dry white wine
3 drops orange blossom water

DIRECTIONS
Add spirits, lemon juice, and sweetener to a cocktail tin with one ice cube, and shake briefly to incorporate. Strain into coupe or Champagne flute. Top with Champagne or sparkling white wine, and add orange blossom water. Garnish with lemon peel.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Molly and Tenbrooks

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The Kentucky Derby has one. So does the Preakness. So why shouldn’t the late-19th-century horse race between Ten Broeck and Mollie McCarty — largely exaggerated in the musical account “Molly and Tenbrooks” — have its own official cocktail? Considering the race took place at what is now Churchill Downs, we riffed on the Derby’s signature drink, the mint julep, but gave it a refreshing twist with the addition of lime juice, bitters, and honey, while using Irish whiskey instead of bourbon. Blasphemy in Kentucky? Perhaps. But, if the song can take liberties with this race’s story, we can do so as well with the base spirit.

INGREDIENTS
2 oz Irish whiskey
3/4 oz honey syrup (3:1 honey to water)
3/4 lime juice
Fresh mint
Angostura bitters

DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients to cocktail tin with ice and shake vigorously until the tin is very cold to the touch. Strain into coupe or stemmed cocktail glass (bits of mint will be in the cocktail — you can fine-strain out, but I prefer to keep them). Garnish with brandied cherry.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Old Home Place

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A cheerful melody and a speedy tempo belie the hangdog nature of this tune about leaving your homestead, only to return and find it long gone. Mourning the loss of home? Traveling the road alone? Merely looking for something different? Try this flask cocktail — similar to the Italian scaffa or a room-temperature cocktail — a boozy number meant to be enjoyed in contemplative sips rather than swigs. Here, the grapefruit oleo-saccharum (a citrus-oil syrup) plays off the nuttiness of the sherry and the brown-sugary notes from the aged rum, which altogether give the tipple a tropical feel. But don’t be mistaken: This is one heavy cocktail.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz good-quality aged rum (I prefer El Dorado 8-Year)
1 oz manzanilla sherry
1/2 oz grapefruit oleo-saccharum
1 oz water

DIRECTIONS
Add to rocks glass or flask and swirl to incorporate. Enjoy at room temperature. (If you prefer this drink cold, eliminate the ounce of water and stir over ice.)

Bluegrass Cocktails: The Wayfaring Stranger

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While countless artists have taken to recording their own renditions of this classic folk tune, only one has taken it as his namesake: Burl Ives, the prominent actor, banjoist, and, above all, folk and country singer. It was often you’d see the man with a pipe in his mouth, so we created a cocktail that evokes something similarly smokey (Scotch), rich (vermouth), and just a touch sweet (honey), with added complexity from the absinthe. A mournful spiritual calls for a more serious cocktail, and the Wayfaring Stranger is just that.

INGREDIENTS
2 oz Scotch (preferably something peaty like Laphroiag)
1 bar spoon honey
2 bar spoons sweet vermouth
2 dashes absinthe

DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients to rocks glass with ice and stir to combine. Garnish with lemon twist.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Tom Dooley

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Yes, this cocktail is based on murder. In the mid-19th century, Confederate soldier Tom Dula (pronounced "Dooley") allegedly killed girlfriend Laura Foster, a crime for which he was later hanged — and then immortalized in song. But don't think of those sordid details while enjoying this blood-red beverage. The nuttiness of the amontillado shines through here, but the real kicker is the Old Tom gin, which is slightly sweeter than your typical London dry and complements the earthy beets. If you can't find crushed ice, serve this number over cracked ice instead. You'll want that extra dilution.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz Old Tom gin (I like Tanqueray's)
1/2 oz amontillado sherry
1 oz beet syrup
3/4 lemon juice
Lemon twist

Beet Syrup
1 cup beet juice
1/2 cup sugar

DIRECTIONS
Reduce the beet juice — available at juice shops or health food stores — by half over medium-high heat. Once reduced, add sugar and heat until dissolved. Refrigerate before using. Add all ingredients to a shaker with ice and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into collins or high-ball glass and top with crushed ice. Garnish with lemon twist.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Blue Moon of Kentucky

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Bourbon is a no-brainer for any cocktail with “Kentucky” in its name, but this cocktail ups the whiskey ante with the addition of Scotch. Inspired by the blue moon (in part, the second full moon in a calendar month), the Blue Moon of Kentucky features two whiskeys in its recipe. The drink is soft and light from the frothy egg white (which you can skip, if it makes you squeamish), and the lavender brings out both whiskeys’ floral qualities. What’s more, the frothy egg white serves as a canvas for a little bitters “art” — perfect for wowing guests.

INGREDIENTS
1 oz bourbon
1 oz blended Scotch
3/4 oz lemon juice
3/4 oz lavender simple syrup
Egg white
Angostura bitters for garnish

Lavender Syrup
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 water
1 tbsp food-grade lavender flowers

DIRECTIONS
Heat water with lavender in a saucepan. Once the water reaches a near-boil, strain out lavender and add sugar. Stir the mixture until sugar is dissolved, and refrigerate. Add ingredients (except bitters) to shaker without ice. Shake vigorously for three seconds to emulsify egg white. Add ice and shake until cold, then strain into coupe glass. Garnish with bitters.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Fox on the Run

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The lyrics for “Fox on the Run” practically write the recipe for its cocktail counterpart: Applejack, an apple brandy, comes in with the song’s Adam-and-Eve references (“When woman tempted me down in paradise’s hall”) and, if we’re nodding to the tune’s mention of wine-inspired soul fortification, amontillado sherry fits the bill nicely. Throw in some bitters, and you’ve got yourself a spirit-forward, early-Fall tipple that’s comforting — especially if the “hounds are at your door.”

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz applejack
1 1/2 oz amontillado sherry
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes lemon bitters
Lemon twist for garnish.

DIRECTIONS
Add ingredients to pint or mixing glass with ice. Stir until cold — about 20 seconds. Strain into coupe and garnish with lemon twist. Can also be enjoyed on the rocks.

Bluegrass Cocktails: Ole Slew Foot

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Johnny Horton’s rollicking “Ole Slew Foot” calls for a cocktail that’s similarly fun and light-hearted. It’s safe to assume the titular slew foot — a bear — would enjoy this floral, honey-centric cocktail, but drinkers of all stripes can, too. Swap out the white rum — here, Owney’s is preferred for its grassy flavor, but for a mass-market island white rum, try Clément — for your spirit of choice (though clear liquors work better with the delicate St. Germain and honeydew syrup, which was itself inspired by a cocktail at San Francisco’s Trick Dog).

Entertaining? This cocktail always works just as well as a large-scale punch.

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz island-style white rum (I prefer Owney’s)
1/4 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
1 1/2 oz honeydew syrup
1/2 oz lime juice
Seltzer water

Honeydew Syrup
1 lb honeydew
6 oz honey
6 oz sugar

DIRECTIONS
Cut melon into 1-inch pieces and combine with honey and sugar in a large bowl. Let sit, refrigerated, for two days, during which the honeydew will release juices. After two days, stir the mixture to reincorporate sugar and strain out melon pieces. Store syrup in refrigerator.

Add all ingredients (except seltzer) to shaker — with ice — and shake vigorously until cold. Strain into collins or high-ball glass filled with ice. Top with seltzer water.