Brass Artillery and Boozy Gift Ideas

Last Thursday was Thursday Drink Night: Bourbon in the Mixoloseum Bar. I frequent the place from time to time, and I try to attend TDN whenever possible. The jist of TDN is that a bunch of cocktail fans gather 'round in a chatroom each Thursday and present to each other their own cocktail recipes based around a central theme. Last week's theme was bourbon, and so I thought that I might finally present a drink that I had been working on for a long time.

I began creating the drink after being inspired by the combination of lime and cinnamon syrup often used in tiki drinks. Then, I discovered that the unusual combination of whiskey and lime juice was also very successful, as in one of my favorite cocktails, the Oriental. I finally combined the two ideas and worked for months to perfect the proportions, and I ended up with the Brass Artillery.

I submitted the Brass Artillery for TDN Bourbon and received mostly good responses. A person in the chatroom named "chipotle" deemed its flavor as "tiki-ish", which is no surprise. Forrest called it "classic and focused", and suggested replacing the lime juice with a 50/50 mix of lemon and lime juice. Dr. Bamboo proclaimed that "the wife and myself give it a hearty 4 thumbs up!" Having more to say, he noted that the Brass Artillery tasted like a tiki drink shaken and strained into a cocktail glass, and eventually... "*expletive* lime and cinnamon are a good combo". I'll agree on both counts. Finally, with perhaps a bit too much liquor in him (I kid), he concluded "I'm thinking that the [Brass Artillery] should be served as one of those slushy, faux-daiquiris they sell in those Bourbon street places. and I mean that as a compliment." As hard as I try to imagine that as a compliment, I [again] very much empathize with the evocations of tropical drinks when sipping on the Brass Artillery. Overall, a very successful TDN for me and most everyone else. The recipe is waiting below.

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ORIGINAL REMIX

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Brass Artillery

2 oz bourbon
.75 oz lime juice
.5 oz cinnamon syrup
3 dashes aromatic bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass or a small rocks glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

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I want to post two more cocktails from TDN Bourbon which I thought were superb. The first is from the aforementioned chap named chipotle, and the second is from Kaiser Penguin, one of the big wigs of the CSOWG and often the moderator of TDN. Rick from Kaiser Penguin is known for his photography, so I've posted a picture of his cocktail as well.

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Controlled Burn

2 oz bourbon
2 tsp maple syrup
1tsp (smokey) scotch
2 dashes Fee's Whiskey Barrel bitters

Build on ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

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Archestratus' Cockscomb

2 oz bourbon
1 oz Fernet Branca
1 tps simple syrup
1 dash orange bitters
2 oz ginger beer*












Build on ice in a rocks glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
* KP said to "fill" with ginger beer, but I found that 2oz was perfect.

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For the second half of this post, I will document the fabulous gift that I gave to one of my good friends recently for his birthday: premixed cocktail in a bottle! Well, bottles. Three of them to be exact... and one was a handle sized bottle.

You see, he's a fan of Long Island Iced Tea (snobs are allowed to snicker), but he never has all the ingredients to make it. So (with his prior permission, actually), I bought up a bunch of bottom-shelf bottles of liquor (not my proudest moment... my friend actually wanted the cheap stuff) and combined them accordingly along with some simple syrup into some bottles. The result is pictured below. All my buddy has to do now is mix a certain amount of the booze mix with some lemon juice and cola, and he's got his cocktail.

(I put mixing directions on the back of the bottle. Hey, shut up, those duct tape labels are of no lesser quality than the ingredients in the bottles...)

So the next time you have a loved-one's birthday coming up, think about mixing (the non-perishable) part of one of their favorite cocktails in a bottle for them! Cheers!