Essentially a single-serving sparkling punch, our Daisy honors the apple harvest with apple brandy, boiled cider and dry fizzy cider on top.

Back in October 2020, I wanted to create a riff on the classic with unaged apple brandy as the star. So I called on the exceptional gin from Neversink, which uses apple eau de vie as the base and features some beautiful spice notes. This married perfectly with “Jersey Lightning,” an unaged apple brandy from Laird’s. The aromatized wines weren’t hard to choose; I used an extra dry vermouth by Noilly Prat and the Bodegas Hidalgo Manzanilla “La Guita.” The combination of the two gave the drink a bright salinity, which is further bolstered by homemade Martin “brine.” I added a small measure of Salers to bring out the earthy flavors already present in the drink. I called it a fall Martini, but this would be equally appropriate for spring which is, blessedly, not too far off.

I came up with this cocktail for a peaty Scotch lover who… didn’t want Scotch that night. I settled on a Negroni build and used super piney gin (St. George Terroir). Vanilla-heavy Carpano Antica in the vermouth spot. And I switched out the Campari in favor of two great amari from the Italian alps: Braulio, a coniferous beauty (and my all-time favorite) from Bormio, near the Swiss border, and Sfumato Rabarbaro, a product from Trento’s Cappelletti distillery, a rhubarb-based bitter with a smoky edge. (That was in response to the peaty Scotch note.) Think of this as the classic, urbane Negroni hitting the slopes!

This dessert cocktail was one I developed during the winter of 2019-20. I wanted to give the classic Alexander template, which emerged in the years before Prohibition, a banana-nut profile. Dry and spicy rye was the perfect accompaniment for this combination of liqueurs.

I came up with this one when a customer at Gigantic requested something for their last drink of the night and alluded to a craving for coffee. I thought I’d combine three of my favorite after-dinner drinks, Cognac, coffee and amaro, in a Manhattan-inspired format. The basic idea comes from early versions of the Manhattan from the late nineteenth century. But it also has commonalities with the Hanky Panky or the Fanciuli, wherein a Manhattan skips the bitters in favor of amaro.

The Jack Rose, traditionally made with apple brandy, is a great cocktail at any time of the year. This version, with Scotch, is yet more appropriate for winter. It’s Jack in a tuxedo and fur coat!

In the olden days of coastal New England, a pineapple on the fence post was a sign of hospitality. It meant the captain who lived there was back from his voyage, ready to regale the townsfolk with his stories. This punch is what I imagine he would have served, on a snowy December evening, with his community gathered around his hearth, pipe smoke in the air and cheer in their hearts.

Back in February 2020, I had a wonderful trip to the region where Cognac is produced. This drink, a sort-of Negroni, is my recollection of that week in a glass.

This Negroni riff was one of three drinks featured in my Autumn Aperitivo class (2021). It combines aged apple brandy, amaro, and Madeira or sherry, with a small measure of maple syrup and a pinch of salt. Served over a big cube and garnished with an orange twist.

This drink follows a classic Collins template. But it’s a “royale” Collins, meaning it’s topped with Champagne instead of soda. And it’s got this great interplay between the yeasty flavor of the Champagne and the maltiness of the genever.

I love flips. From sailor’s drink to tavern classic, this drink morphed into one of the antebellum nineteenth century’s favorite cocktails. And on a beautiful sunny spring day that’s still quite cold, this tropical flip brings the comforting taste of brûléed custard to your golden hour or, fittingly, your dessert course.

When I was developing this drink for a potential slot on Gigantic’s 2020 spring menu (sadly reopening was postponed until 2021), I kept thinking of the nursery rhyme “Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary,” because it’s all about spring flowers and honeybees. And because I’m about 500 years old. Anyway, this song is probably about Mary Tudor, but it may also be about Mary Stuart, commonly known as the Queen of Scots, who was eventually beheaded by her cousin Elizabeth I.

This great fall highball was an impromptu response to a request from my spouse. I call it the Bitter Hi-Fall and it was one of the drinks for my Autumn Aperitivo class (2021). Just as that class combined American fall flavor with Italian aperitivo, this drink sits somewhere between a classic highball and an Americano. Equal measures of apple brandy, amaro, and Madeira or sherry join spicy ginger beer in this perfect autumn aperitif.

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.

My devotion to fortified wine and obsession with 19th-century cocktail aesthetics makes the Cobbler one of my favorite genres. This one combines my love of aperitivo and olde American drinks. Classic Torino-style vermouth, Campari, grapefruit, Sfumato, and strawberry made for a great combination, especially ideal for spring.

This is cocktail is named for the beautiful hotel that once sat atop Mount Tom. A mix of London dry gin, blanc and dry vermouths, and homemade lime cordial, it’s meant to be less of a Martini riff and more of a stirred Gimlet.

I came up with this drink while I was in Holland in October 2019. I spent a week there learning the history of genever and the current state of the industry for a story I was writing for Saveur.

In this interpretation of a cobbler, smoky Mezcal and piney gin team up with off-dry blanc vermouth, lime, cucumber, and parsley for a verdant spring cocktail.

This drink was developed as part of my Autumn Aperitivo class. It’s a fix built on apple brandy, lemon and orange juices, and maple syrup, served over crushed ice with an amaro float and a generous grating of nutmeg. It’s really good.

This one’s based on the Coronation from the Waldorf-Astoria book (1935), which calls for applejack, sweet and dry vermouths and apricot brandy. This version tastes really bourbon-forward despite its low-ABV build.