With full time jobs and an almost-two-year old, we’re not drinking a lot of complex mid-century drinks. We’re going to TRY and mix up one drink a week from Old Mr. B for ya (5782 new year’s resolutions, FTW!), and pop in with some pictures and recipes for the simpler tipples we tend toward these days.
We’re back with a fairly unimpressive Western Rose cocktail:
- ½ oz. Apricot brandy
- 1 oz. gin
- ½ oz. Dry Vermouth
- ¼ tsp. Lemon juice
Shake well with cracked ice and strain into 3 oz. cocktail glass.
We used what we had in our slightly understocked liquor cabinet, which was an apricot eau de vie; our friend Karen at Grade A Fancy told us that we we’ve got literally translate as “fire water,” and might be what’s giving this drink its slight gasoliney edge. Still, I’m not convinced that this combo of flavors is really meant to be. It’s like an off-martini; I want something to take the edge off and round it out.
When we finished this, what we really wanted was our spin on an Americano (inspired by our Instagram buddy, @tohaveandhaveanother), which has been the simple and pretty low ABV drink of our summer. We enjoy experimenting with red bitters, and made this afternoon’s bev with Rinomatto, which is a little darker and sweeter than Campari. We tend to make these with a simple, inexpensive red vermouth like Cinzano or Martini & Rossi– I’ve found the more complex vermouths overwhelm the drink.
- 1.5 oz. red bitter, like Campari
- 1.5 oz. sweet vermouth
- Tonic water
Build in a Collins-type class over ice, stir gently, and sip while watching the summer slowly fade into fall.
Midcentury Mixology 