The Tippling Bros. a Lime and a Shaker Read online

  A grapefruit wedge

  One of our first “tap” cocktail creations, designed to be made by the gallon rather than the glass. While the black pepper and barbecue bitters do give it a snappy kick, it’s refreshing and surprisingly smooth. Mix up a few and be a tourist on your own patio.

  Muddle the brandied cherries in a cocktail shaker.

  Add the remaining ingredients and ice and shake.

  Strain over pebble ice in an old-fashioned glass.

  Garnish with the grapefruit wedge.

  2 ounces reposado tequila

  1 ounce fresh lime juice

  1 ounce Red Wine–Pear Syrup

  ½ ounce Taylor’s Velvet Falernum

  cocktail

  Wine-poached pear slices

  Again, we’ll let you handle the innuendo. Just remember that Spanish missionaries brought vineyards to Mexico and California. This is a luxurious and elegant take on sangria. We like to use a young, vibrant Rioja for this because it lends fruit, earth, and a little textural backbone to the drink. It also plays well with pears. Try this one on a cold night with someone whose company you enjoy.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

  Garnish with the pear slices.

  1½ ounces reposado tequila

  ½ ounce sloe gin

  ½ ounce Suze

  ¼ ounce dry vermouth

  ¼ ounce Simple Syrup

  1 arbol chile broken in half and added to the cocktail shaker

  mixing

  A large swatch of grapefruit peel

  Created for the Tippler, a raucous watering hole in lower Manhattan for which we designed and created the bar and beverage program (and is incidentally located on 15th Street). Boozy, bitter, aromatic, and a touch spicy, this one is for the cocktail geek, or any lover of classic-style drinks.

  Add all the ingredients to a mixing glass.

  Add ice and stir until well chilled.

  Express the oil from the grapefruit peel and drop in.

  1½ ounces Sombra mezcal

  1 ounce Morita Chile Syrup

  1 ounce fresh lime juice

  1 ounce pineapple puree

  OLD-FASHIONED

  Half rim of Chipotle Salt and a lime wedge

  Originally created for our friends at Sombra Mezcal. It’s like drinking a Little Market next to a campfire.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice into an old-fashioned glass half-rimmed with Chipotle Salt.

  Garnish with the lime wedge.

  Pera Te

  1½ ounces black tea–infused blanco tequila (see Tipps’ Tip)

  ¾ ounce mezcal

  1½ ounces pear puree

  ¾ ounce fresh lime juice

  ¾ ounce agave nectar

  HIGHBALL GLASS

  There’s something about pear drinks that make us get all cheeky-like. This one either means “pear tea” or “for you,” depending upon your phonetic interpretation. Evidently we are not as clever as we’d like to believe. Call it what you will, it is a damn fine libation. The tea backs up the earthiness and adds a bit of texture to create a drink that is slightly smoky with soft, earthy fruit from the pear.

  Add the tequila and mezcal to a cocktail shaker, followed by the remaining ingredients.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a highball glass.

  Tipp’s Tip: To make the black–tea infused tequila, simply add 8 tea bags per liter of blanco tequila, let steep for 45 minutes, and you’re all set.

  Tres Coops

  1 ounce Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal

  ½ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

  ½ ounce Domaine de Canton ginger liqueur

  ½ ounce Averna amaro

  ¾ ounce fresh lime juice

  ¼ ounce egg white

  cocktail

  A fat grapefruit peel

  When we opened Mercadito Chicago, we created a menu of cocktails that would both complement the chef’s food and be so quaffable on their own guests would order two or more. But...the Tipplers had to sneak one in there for the geeks. We wanted a full-flavored, complex, and slightly challenging mezcal-based cocktail, and we knew we wanted to use Del Maguey Chichicapa because it’s smoky, chewy, and delicious. As we were playing around with different iterations of the drink, we came up with this recipe and have loved it since. Oh, and the name: it’s a tribute to three gents: Ron Cooper, our dear friend and founder of Del Maguey mezcal; John Cooper, the man behind the delicious ginger liqueur Domaine de Canton; and Rob Cooper, who created the beloved elderflower liqueur St-Germain.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake like hell.

  Strain into a cocktail glass.

  Garnish with the grapefruit peel.

  Gato Amargo

  1 strawberry, quartered

  1 ounce blanco tequila

  1 ounce Meletti or Montenegro amaro

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  3 ounces orange Fanta, preferably Mexican

  tall

  Orange Mullet (see note)

  Literally translated as the “bitter cat,” this is one in a line of drinks we did based on bitters and orange soda. It’s a playful and quaffable long drink that’s got some chutzpah.

  Muddle the strawberry in a cocktail shaker.

  Add the tequila, amaro, and lemon juice.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over crushed ice in a tall glass.

  Fill with the Fanta and stir.

  Garnish with the Orange Mullet.

  Orange Mullet: This is our name for a half-wheel of orange that has been slit between the flesh and the rind. The purpose is to sit it on the rim of the glass so that it has a tail. A nod to hockey greats and eighties Jersey kids.

  La Gritona

  2 ounces blanco tequila

  ½ ounce absinthe

  1½ ounces Simple Syrup

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  8 average-size leaves fresh basil (less if very large)

  1 cup ice

  tall

  A lemon wheel

  A big, bold, intensely flavored frozen cocktail that “screams” with flavor—a grown-up slushie or “Lushy” as we called them at the Tippler, the bar we opened at the bottom of New York’s Chelsea Market; at our bar Tippling Hall, in Chicago, they go by “Sloshies.”

  Add all the ingredients to a blender.

  Blend and pour in a tall glass.

  Garnish with the lemon wheel.

  1½ ounces Del Maguey Vida mezcal

  ½ ounce Combier orange liqueur

  ½ ounce Honey-Ginger Syrup

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  ½ ounce fresh beet juice

  1½ ounces fresh pineapple juice

  tall

  Terra Chips

  This is a collaboration with our Boston friend Misty Kalkofen, for which we are truly honored. If sunrise in the mountains of Oaxaca had a taste, it would probably be pretty damn close to this.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass.

  Garnish with the Terra Chips.
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  1¾ ounces reposado tequila

  1 ounce maple syrup

  ¾ ounce fresh Meyer lemon or lemon juice

  1 teaspoon apple butter, preferably Bauman Family Spice and Sassafras

  DOUBLE OLD-FASHIONED

  Scotch Foam and an apple slice

  This one takes a bit of commitment but is well worth it, as there are many layers of hearty flavors and textures going on. This is a good one to pull out for a cold weather dinner or cocktail party for foodie friends.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a double old-fashioned glass.

  Top with the Scotch Foam and apple slice.

  Juan San

  1½ ounces joven mezcal

  2 ounces white grape juice

  ¾ ounce yuzu juice

  ½ ounce agave nectar

  5 fresh mint leaves

  3 ounces lager beer

  pilsner

  White grape slices

  For our dear friend, Johnny Flowers, aka Divino. The drink is complex, intriguing, and beguiling, just like the man. Yuzu juice is available from Asian specialty markets or online. Beware: Do not use the salted version.

  Add the mezcal, then the grape juice, yuzu juice, agave nectar, and mint to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a pilsner glass.

  Top with the beer and stir.

  Garnish with white grape slices.

  1½ ounces smoky mezcal

  ¾ ounce Averna amaro

  ½ ounce fresh grapefruit juice

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  ¼ ounce Simple Syrup

  1 pinch ground cayenne

  3 ounces ginger beer

  tall

  Chile-Dusted Grapefruit Mullet

  The Dizzy Oaxacan has seen a few evolutions over the course of a few years. Originally, it was a spin-off of a rather simple but delicious drink called the Vertigo, created by our dear friend, Duggan McDonnell, with Averna, lemon juice, and ginger ale. Try one. You will be happier for it. In 2007, the Tippling Bros. started doing work with Averna, the Sicilian amaro of which we were both huge fans. Through our research (read: drinking) and experimentation (read: drinking), we quickly realized that Averna is an exceptionally versatile cocktail ingredient and complements a number of spirits and products. We’re pretty sure you know by now how we feel about mezcal. We originally used it for industry events and then put it on some of our restaurant and bar menus. We even turned it into a punch, which you can re-create for a handful of amigos. The Dizzy Oaxacan is smoky, tangy, spicy, and earthy with a slightly bittersweet finish. It’s bold and beautiful.

  Add all the ingredients except for the ginger beer to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass.

  Fill with the ginger beer.

  Garnish with the Chile-Dusted Grapefruit Mullet.

  1¼ ounces Averna

  ¾ ounce reposado tequila

  ½ ounce fresh lemon juice

  ½ ounce fresh grapefruit juice

  ¼ ounce Simple Syrup

  2 dashes green Tabasco

  3 ounces ginger beer

  tall

  A grapefruit spear

  A Jaliscan version of the Dizzy Oaxacan. Tequila versus mezcal. Baked versus grilled.

  Add all the ingredients besides the ginger beer to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass.

  Top with the ginger beer and stir.

  Garnish with the grapefruit spear.

  Division Bell

  1½ ounces Del Maguey Vida mezcal

  ¾ ounce Aperol

  ¾ ounce fresh lime juice

  ½ ounce Luxardo maraschino liqueur

  coupe

  A grapefruit peel

  Our friend Phil Ward runs New York’s top tequila and mezcal lair, Mayahuel, in the East Village. Here is his recipe for the Division Bell.

  “As a bartender I want two things predominantly out of a base spirit: flavor and structure. Joven mezcal is the epitome of both. It has robust aromatics that never get lost in a cocktail, no matter what flavors one is utilizing. The body of a great one creates a foundation for anything I may want to do with it, be it something outlandish, simple, spicy, savory, or anything else a bartender could ever imagine doing in what is the great big world of possibility of mixing with joven mezcal.”—Phil Ward

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain and pour into a coupe glass.

  Express the grapefruit twist over the drink and discard.

  The Del Rio

  1½ ounces Ocho Blanco tequila

  ¾ ounce St-Germain elderflower liqueur

  ¾ ounces fino sherry

  2 dashes orange bitters

  coupe

  A grapefruit peel

  Bartenders and consultants Scott Baird, Josh Harris, and Alex Straus comprise the dynamic San Francisco trio the Bon Vivants. Like its namesake inspiration, their delicious Del Rio cocktail is aromatic and sultry.

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and stir until well chilled and diluted.

  Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe.

  Express the oil from the grapefruit peel atop the cocktail.

  Rub the peel around the rim of the glass and discard.

  ¾ ounce Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal

  ¾ ounce Yellow Chartreuse

  ¾ ounce Aperol

  ¾ ounce fresh lime juice

  COCKTAIL

  Our friend Joaquín Simó, partner at both Pouring Ribbons in New York and Alchemy Consulting, shares his mezcal cocktail paired with Yellow Chartreuse and Aperol.

  “This cocktail is the bastard love child borne out of an illicit Oaxacan love affair between a classic Last Word and New York bartender Sam Ross’s (Milk & Honey, Attaboy) Paper Planes cocktail. Choosing a big, aggressively smoky and funky mezcal was key here, as there is relatively little of it in the drink and it needs to stand up against two liqueurs, neither of which lacks for complexity. The name comes from a Tricky song I loved as a teenager.”—Joaquín Simó

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake it like you mean it.

  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and resist the urge to down it yourself.

  1½ ounces blanco tequila

  1 ounce Lillet blonde

  ½ ounce Cacao Prieto Don Esteban

  cocktail

  Pinch of ground cayenne

  Perhaps no person knows more about the history of cocktails than the curious scribe, and our good friend, David Wondrich. Here’s the recipe for a drink he created for one of his favorite local hangouts.

  “I came up with this for the restaurant Berlyn, across from BAM in Brooklyn, a lovely German joint with a bangin’ little bar and excellent drinks where my wife, Karen, and I like to eat. The owners have become friends of ours, and eventually I offered them this, which they’ve added to their list. Simple, a bit unusual, but tasty. If you can’t find the Don Esteban, you can use a brown crème de cacao, preferably one that’s not too sweet and close to 80 proof.”—David Wondrich

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

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  Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

  Garnish with the pinch of cayenne sprinkled on top.

  212

  2 ounces Partida reposado tequila

  1 ounce Aperol

  2 ounces pink grapefruit juice

  Highball

  A grapefruit peel

  From our friend Willy Shine, his recipe for the refreshingly long 212.

  “This cocktail was inspired by a love for agave-based spirits and NYC’s area code, 212. It was also inspired by being able to order in a busy, loud bar with just hand signals. ”—Willy Shine

  Add all the ingredients to a cocktail shaker.

  Add ice and shake.

  Strain in a highball glass over fresh ice.