As I was developing this month’s recipes (originating with the Isle of Skye and Cameron’s Kick), I saw the potential for a Rusty Nail-Godfather “mash-up” that would please any fan of stirred, spirit-forward drinks. The resulting cocktail is the best of both worlds–heather and honey from the Drambuie and nutty almond flavor and texture from the orgeat. Though both are associated with the postwar “bachelor drinks” boom, the Rusty Nail dates to the 1930s, far before the birth of the disco-era Godfather.

I wanted to do a fizz for this month (I do so love a fizz!), but all the combos I tried fell flat! Instead, I decided to eliminate the soda element and incorporate a whole egg instead of just egg white, making it a classic nineteenth-century flip. The resulting cocktail, with smoky, spiced, and tropical flavors is an excellent dessert drink befitting any cold-weather gathering.

I developed this drink for Gigantic’s Fall 2023 menu; the original recipe called for genever but, as I’ve often likened the Dutch spirit’s gentle maltiness to that of Irish whiskey, this month’s supply list set the stage for an easy substitution. This sour’s blend of citrus, banana, spices, and honey bolstering the malty and peaty spirits makes for a delightful ode to the birthplace of Drambuie.

The Cameron’s Kick is a 1920s London classic invented by Harry MacElhone at Ciro’s. He brought it to Paris a couple years later, when he bought the bar at “sank-roo-doe-noo” (5 Rue Daunou) aka Harry’s New-York Bar. The spec published here is how we make it at Gigantic, with a split base of blended Scotch and Irish whiskey with the drink’s classic one-two punch of lemon and orgeat plus Angostura bitters and a float of peaty single malt.

The Brainstorm Cocktail was one of several Irish whiskey classics to come out of the early twentieth century. The original recipe combines the Hibernian spirit with dry vermouth and Bénédictine in a template resembling an Improved Cocktail. Our version ditches the boozy herbal liqueur for in favor of crème de banane, and borrows the absinthe spritz and frozen glass presentation from the Sazerac.

Many nineteenth-century recipes for Irish whiskey punch skip the lemon juice and get its citrus notes solely from an oleo saccharum made from the fruit’s peel. In our recipe, lime oils are bolstered by citric acid, and sloe gin contributes additional tartness. Crème de banane, green tea, and the classic garnish of nutmeg complete this semi-tropical take on a Celtic punch.

Nothing could ever top the Fort Defiance Irish Coffee; built like a boozy Americano and sweetened with a basic simple syrup, it’s the pinnacle of the form. However, I was intrigued by the idea of adding some tropical flair to this classic, and I like what the lime and banana achieve here. I named this version after the county where the Shannon Airport is located, an important place in the history of Irish Coffee.

There are several pre-Prohibition era drinks that bear the name “Blackthorn,” “Black Thorn” or “Blackthorne,” hence the numeral after the title. This version takes some of the ingredients from the English (gin and/or sloe gin) and Irish (Irish whiskey) versions and applies an equal parts structure. An optional barspoon of peaty Scotch makes this Manhattan cousin slightly smoky, if that’s your thing.

This is third in my Lords of Misrule series: the Abbot of Unreason, which the Scottish title for the Lord of Misrule. I’m very interested in a couple of aspects of this drink as broader themes in cocktail history and drink development. 1. Fizzy drinks that have a stirred, rather than shaken, base; a subgenre for which it’s far less easy to find examples in the Olde Books 2. How we can take frequently-used flavor combinations (orange and chocolate, banana-nut, apple and cinnamon, etc.) and use them as subtle underpinnings for complex cocktails.

This is an update of a drink from earlier in my cocktail studies. It requires a ton of different ingredients, but it’s worth it. Big pine flavors go into this Cocktail that features a split base of rye and Irish whiskey.