Recipes By Rosie Schaap
137 recipes found
Captain’s Blood
The Captain’s Blood is similar to a daiquiri, except that it’s made with dark rum instead of white and a small but essential measure of falernum (a syrup flavored with spices, often nuts, sometimes lime, sometimes alcoholic and sometimes not, often used in Caribbean rum drinks). I prefer my Captain’s Blood on the tart side, but you can adjust the amount of sugar to make it as sweet or as sharp as you like.
Death in the Afternoon
The earliest known recipe for this bracing little number appears in the magnificently named 1935 cocktail book, "So Red the Nose, or — Breath in the Afternoon," to which many famous authors of the day contributed recipes. This one came from Ernest Hemingway, who explained: “This was arrived at by the author and three officers of H.M.S. Danae after having spent seven hours overboard trying to get Capt. Bra Saunders’ fishing boat off a bank where she had gone with us in a N.W. gale.” Even under less dramatic circumstances, it’s a drink that packs a punch. Pastis is often substituted for the absinthe, but if you want to be as Hemingwayesque as possible, stick to the original specs.
Tequila-Watermelon Punch
To make watermelon puree, put seedless chunks of watermelon in a blender and pulse, then push the puree through a mesh sieve to make it smoother. (Cutting a whole watermelon might make your kitchen look like a Gallagher set, so it’s O.K. to use precut watermelon from a supermarket.)
Stalk and Trade
Some green things — like mint and basil — get plenty of play in cocktails, but one doesn’t see arugula very often. It’s a bright, peppery surprise in this refreshing cocktail by Brian Means of the San Francisco bar and restaurant Dirty Habit. Means advises using Krogstad aquavit here, for its assertive anise note.
Outcast of the Islands
Does a cocktail have to include rum in order to be considered a tiki drink? No — gin will do just fine, too. Jeff Berry created this for Beachbum Berry’s Latitude 29 in New Orleans, and it has become one of its most popular menu items. Ginger liqueur and cinnamon syrup give this gently effervescent number a spicy kick.
Corpse Reviver No. 2
It’s not surprising that this 19th-century cocktail has, forgive me, been brought back from the dead to an enthusiastic response. It’s easy to love and easy to drink: lemony, dry (but not too dry) and ever so subtly deepened by absinthe. But be careful, for, as "The Savoy Cocktail Book" famously warns: “Four of these taken in swift succession will unrevive the corpse again.”
Allspice Alexander
The vintage-cocktail expert Ted Haigh considers allspice dram an ideal “secret ingredient”: A small amount can add tremendous depth and flavor to many classic drinks. Here, I use it to perk up the otherwise staid — if indisputably delicious — Brandy Alexander.
Mona Lisa
Gates Otsuji of the bar Le Bain at the Standard Hotel in New York created this refined, but lively spritzer. It riffs on the popular Aperol spritz, but, Otsuji notes, “the addition of vodka raises the A.B.V. of the cocktail just enough to take it from aperitif to anytime, and the orange juice adds some body to the texture."
Guillotine
Franky Marshall of the Brooklyn cocktail bar Le Boudoir boldly created a cocktail using three tricky spirits that might not seem to mix well: mezcal, Scotch whisky and banana liqueur. Softened and slightly sweetened by honey syrup, they harmonize into a strong, smoky, seductive drink that might make you lose your head (in the best possible way).
Mr. Micawber’s Favorite Gin Punch
According to his great-grandson, Cedric, Charles Dickens ‘‘loved the ritual of mixing the evening glass of Gin Punch, which he performed with all the energy and discrimination of Mr. Micawber.’’ You may recall that, in ‘‘David Copperfield,’’ Wilkins Micawber is uplifted by a humble gin punch: ‘‘I never saw a man so thoroughly enjoy himself amid the fragrance of lemon-peel and sugar, the odour of burning spirit, and the steam of boiling water, as Mr. Micawber did that afternoon.” Although this is called a punch, note that it’s a serving for one — but don't let that stop you from making it for company. Its combination of spirit, warmth and spice will bring to mind a hot toddy, and it's fragrant and flavorful enough to supplant the more familiar whiskey-based version — at least for a season.
The New Career
The Metropolitan cocktail is, essentially, a manhattan in which the whiskey is swapped out for brandy. Gin Fizz — a Harlem club evocative of the Jazz Age — offers this alluring riff on it, laced with Chartreuse and, if you like, a touch of absinthe, too. Serving it in a snifter is an elegant touch — it cleverly telegraphs the presence of brandy — and the orange-raspberry-rosemary garnish adds both flavor and glamour.
Tequila Shots With Sangrita Chasers
There’s only one way to improve on tequila shots: chase them with a short glass of spicy, citrusy sangrita. This recipe makes an entire pitcher of sangrita, enough for several shots, though you could also pair it with very cold Mexican beer.
Vermouth Spritz
This is as easy at it sounds — almost effortless, really. Just be sure to use a vermouth you really love (I’m a fan of dark, robust, earthy Spanish ones) and keep the bottle in the fridge.
Punch Romaine
Originally a slushie of sorts devised by the legendary chef Escoffier, Punch Romaine is perhaps best remembered, according to Talia Baiocchi and Leslie Pariseau in their book, "Spritz," as “the sixth course of the Titanic’s final first-class dinner.” If you can get past the drink's tragic history, this updated version (adapted from Spritz) is beautiful — and beautifully refreshing.
Cyn-Cyn
I’ll admit it: I have a mild case of Negroni fatigue. It’s a good drink, for sure — and when it’s beautifully made, I readily succumb to its charms — but its ubiquity in recent years has become a tiny bit tiresome. So I welcome its rarer, lighter cocktail cousin, the Cyn Cyn, in which Cynar — the wonderful, mysterious, arguably underappreciated amaro made with artichoke — replaces Campari. It’s a favorite aperitivo of the author Elizabeth Minchilli, whose elegant, straightforward recipe this is.
Rum With Iced Hibiscus Tea
Hibiscus tea creates an almost-instant punch. If you prefer it sweeter, add simple syrup to taste. And be sure to plan ahead; the tea steeps for eight hours.
Lion’s Tail
All recipes for the Lion’s Tail depend on allspice dram (also known as pimento dram) to give the cocktail its distinctively spicy zest. Not all contain gomme syrup, but I include it here for the extra body and smoothness it imparts.
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This dramatically dark drink's elegantly equal proportions are offset by the addition of a small amount of activated charcoal powder — an unusual (and, yes, edible) ingredient that has been making appearances on inventive cocktail menus in recent years. Here, it joins navy-strength gin, maraschino, Chartreuse, lemon juice and Brennivín — a bracing Icelandic schnapps — in beautiful balance.
Gin Mule
Whiskey and ginger is a beloved pair. Gin and ginger is also delicious — and a finer fit for summer drinking.
Rosé Sangria
What’s pink, pretty and packs a punch? This rosy riff on sangria, which is loaded with red and pink fruit for a festive, crowd-friendly treat. Be sure to plan ahead: The fruit needs to macerate for at least 4 hours to soak up the flavors and to soften. For the wine, choose a rosé that is neither too sweet nor too dry. It should taste good to you on its own, but since it will be mingling with juice, liquor and a whole lot of fruit, go with something inexpensive.
Lavender Hill Cob
Though it may seem demure, lavender should be handled with a delicate touch in drinks lest it overpower other ingredients. Here, gently deployed, it lends its gorgeous floral flavor and aroma to a tall, icy and refreshing cobbler. A small measure of crème de violette deepens the floral nature of this drink and adds a faint purplish haze. (The name honors the brilliant Ealing Studios comedy, "The Lavender Hill Mob," starring Alec Guinness).
Rum Sour
Presumably with tongue in cheek, Field writes that “the inevitability of a 16th-century Rum Sour — sweetened with sugar and garnished with a pineapple stick — is well-nigh undeniable.” I do not share his sense of inevitability, but I do love the cocktail.
The Gibson
As with many classic cocktails, numerous origin stories have attached themselves to The Gibson like barnacles, and the truth is uncertain. One thing is clear, however: the pickled onion hasn’t always been part of the Gibson legend. The recipe in my 1933 edition of The Savoy Cocktail Book is essentially a formula for what many would call a 50/50 martini — half gin, half dry vermouth, with a faint spritz of lemon essence. Nonetheless, we now tend to regard The Gibson as a martini in which a cocktail onion is swapped in for the usual olive — and that’s the version of the story I’m sticking with in this recipe. Play with the proportions to your taste, but, as usual, I recommend that you don’t stint on the vermouth.
Tequila Sour
Sours aren’t just for whiskey; tequila lightens things up. For extra froth, use egg white when you shake the drink.