Recipe by Beth Havers, owner of Kinda Whisky Inc. in Toronto.
• 2 oz bourbon or rye whisky
• 0.5 oz Apple Spiced Syrup (recipe below)
• 2 to 3 dashes Angostura bitters
• Garnish: apple slice
Apple Spiced Old Fashioned
Toronto
The Toronto first appeared in print in 1922, replacing the Manhattan’s vermouth with the darker, more intensely herbaceous Fernet-Branca.
2 oz rye whisky (Canadian, of course)
0.25 oz Fernet-Branca
0.25 oz simple syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: orange twist
Brooklyn
The Brooklyn is a drier Manhattan: whisky, dry (French) vermouth, maraschino liqueur, Angostura bitters.
2 oz rye whisky
1 oz dry vermouth
0.25 oz maraschino liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: brandied or maraschino cherry, preferably Luxardo
Manhattan
Like its namesake city, the Manhattan is elegant but uncompromising and invulnerable to fashion’s changing whims.
2 oz rye whisky (or, if you must, bourbon)
1 oz sweet vermouth
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Garnish: brandied cherry or lemon twist
Vieux Carré
The classic, invented at the Monteleone Hotel in 1930s New Orleans.
0.75 oz rye whisky
0.75 oz Cognac
0.75 oz sweet vermouth
0.5 oz Bénédictine liqueur
2 dashes Angostura bitters
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
Garnish: lemon twist
Old Fashioned Whisky Cocktail
Part of The Alchemist‘s series of cocktails you should know.
• 1 sugar cube
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 1.5 oz bourbon or rye whisky
• Garnish: cocktail cherry, orange slice (optional)
Up to date
In this updated classic, Homer Street Café lead bartender Rob Scope uses Lot 40 rye whisky for its bold flavours of spice and oak. The light, dry notes of Manzanilla sherry complement the rye, Grand Marnier adds a touch of orange and Angostura marries all the flavours together.
Adapted from Hugo Ensslin’s Recipes for Mixed Drinks, 1916 edition. Ensslin was the head bartender at the Hotel Wallick in New York City’s Times Square, and gained fame from publishing the first version of the Aviation cocktail.
The Alchemist Fall/Winter 2019
Thirsty for cocktail and spirits news? You’re in luck—the fall/winter issue of The Alchemist is out this week.
As the days get colder and shorter, we turn to dark spirits, deep flavours and slow-sipping cocktails, the kinds of drinks best enjoyed over thoughtful conversation.
Treebeard
“The drink is intended to be a Canadian highball, that is, a drink that is spirit forward, but is also balanced and refreshing,” says Jeff Savage, Botanist’s head bartender, who created the cocktail. The large, crystal-clear ice cubes are precisely measured to fit the glassware and are cut with a band saw. They are also adorned with the Botanist logo: The custom metal stamp is placed on top of the cube and gravity does the rest.
• 1.5 oz Canadian Club Rye Whisky
• 0.5 oz gin, preferably St. George Terroir Gin
• 1.5 oz birch water
• 1 oz Smoked Tea Syrup (recipe follows)
El Mocambo
Named after the legendary live-music venue in Toronto, this tiki-style cocktail takes on a Canadian twist.
• 1.5 oz Canadian 100 percent rye whisky
• 0.75 oz falernum
• 2 oz coconut water
• 1 oz freshly squeezed pink grapefruit juice
• 0.5 oz freshly squeezed lime juice
• 3 dashes Bittered Sling Kensington bitters
Garnish:
• 5 mint leaves
• 1 mint sprig
• 2 whole almonds