I see our Club Pimm’s as a pre-batched cocktail, apéritif, and digestif all in one. It occurred to me that, served in the style of amaro caldo, it would make an excellent, warming beverage for a chilly evening or a rainy Sunday afternoon–both common in April where I live. Adjust the recipe below to suit the size of your serving vessel.

I’ve long dreamt of creating my own homemade Pimm’s. The original Pimm’s No.1 is great, but I wanted to come up with something with pronounced bitterness, more body and oomph. I’m really excited about what I came up with–it is both a complete standalone cocktail and an excellent ingredient in mixed drinks.

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.

The Martinez and other early “Martinis,” were a lot like the first Manhattan recipes. Many such recipes called for a 2:1 ratio of vermouth to gin–which you are welcome to try! I went with 1:1 here. The gin, of course, would have been in the sweetened Old Tom style or Holland gin, aka genever. Lemon is traditional, but I went with an orange twist, wrapped around a cherry for visual interest.

Around 1900, a new style of Martini emerged that featured a drier form of gin (specifically Plymouth) and dry vermouth. One example of this style is a variation called the Marguerite. Its ratio is 1:1 in some recipes and 2:1 (gin:vermouth) in others. Orange bitters and anisette also made their way into these specs. This version is a synthesis of extant recipes, with the pleasant addition of blanc vermouth.

As the twentieth century progressed, the Martini became increasingly dry. After Prohibition, the ratio had shifted from 2:1 to 3:1, which I think is the optimal Dry Martini spec. For this particular recipe, I encourage you to find a really beautiful gin to showcase over the standard London Dry options. I love the simplicity of a single olive on a pick here.

I knew I wanted to create a hot drink as part of this month’s programming, something incredibly cozy and comforting. I prefer hot toddies that aren’t citrus-heavy and that read like Cocktails. For some reason, I got it into my head that brown sugar and dates would be the perfect pairing with whiskey, amaro, and woodsy Kukicha tea. Happily, I was right.

This aperitivo cocktail is a hybrid of a Negroni Sbagliato (bitter liqueur, sweet vermouth, prosecco) and a spritz (bitter liqueur, prosecco, soda). Fortified with a small measure of aged gin and winterized with a dose of citrus, it’ll have you embracing January’s chill with flavors of pine, citrus, and apple.

This is the “root cocktail” for this month’s programming, i.e. the drink that determined the core of our supply list. I came up with the original Tyrolean Negroni at Gigantic a couple years ago: super piney gin, Carpano Antica and a split measure of Braulio and Sfumato. This updated version comes together beautifully and does a great job of showcasing the blanc vermouth.

Sours are a perennial favorite, but there’s something extra special about them during the winter. This version of an amaro sour gives the drinker a choice between alternating sips of the sour and a shot of amaro, or pouring the amaro on top and drinking the two elements together. I channeled Emily Dickinson for the title.

In developing a drink appropriate for ringing in the new year, I looked to the legacy of “Cups,” a genre of drink popular in the nineteenth century. Typically a mix of wine and/or spirits, fruit, sweetener in the form of sugar and/or liqueur, and carbonation, these cocktails are often presented with opulent garnish. Ours is inspired specifically by Claret Cups, which were a popular expression of this template built on French red wine (traditionally from Bordeaux).

This Yankee classic is basically hot egg nog, which is quite pleasant on a December’s night–or any winter’s eve, really. Our special version for this month’s Christmas in the Club Rooms theme features an interesting mix of elements: brandy and rum (the classic combination), plus Madeira, Batavia arrack (if you’ve got it), and Swedish punsch. I wanted to create a “leather armchair” flavor profile for this recipe and I think I’ve succeeded!

This was the eponymous cocktail from my Lords of Misrule series (December 2020). It celebrates old-fashioned flavors of the season and, by extension, references the late medieval / early modern English and Scottish Christmas traditions. This batch recipe is meant to be divided into small bottles and adorned with little tags, or to be mixed and kept on your bar so that anyone who comes into your home during the holiday season may partake in a festive cocktail.

As you may have noticed, I favor aged spirits in most things and especially in punches. But a great gin punch is a welcome addition to any gathering, so I’ve done the math on my popular Barnstable Punch from last year’s Yuletide class. You can use just London dry gin, just Old Tom gin, or a mix of both as I’ve suggested here, just be aware that you may want to adjust to taste.

I’m doing a yearlong series for Keap, a maker of fine candles based in Kingston, NY. It’s been a really fun project to work on, especially because they let me design the drinks around the Labors of the Month, a cycle common in medieval art that I’ve long been obsessed with. Here’s the recipe for January 2022, a stirred Cognac and amaro cocktail topped with Champagne.

If you were around for Scotch month back in February, you’ll know that I love smoky flavors with grapefruit. This drink takes its structure from the Corpse Reviver No. 2, but borrows the Diki-Diki’s unique combination of Calvados, punsch, and grapefruit. I named this one after Gilbert Rumbold, who illustrated The Savoy Cocktail Book.

I’m not a huge fan of the oft recycled origin stories for cocktails, but I have a soft spot for the one behind the Bentley, which inspired this cocktail. The British racing team won Le Mans in 1927 and the celebration at the Savoy included a signature cocktail built on Calvados and Dubonnet rouge. I took the original formula and added dimension with flavors of juniper, tea, citrus, and black pepper.