The Netherland

1 oz. brandy
1 oz. triple sec
dash of bitters

Stir in old fashioned glass with ice cubes.

Well, I hate this drink already. From Chris's subdued reaction, I gather he's not much of a fan. "I don't think it's great," he says, "but I don't think it's terrible."

Trust me, dear readers, it is terrible. Somehow, this tastes somewhat of sambuca as well.

Jack Rose Cocktail

1.5 oz apple brandy
1 tsp grenadine
juice of .5 lime

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Shannon thinks this drink is ok, but "too limey." I think it is rather good, but I'm not sure I would order it in a bar.

Soother Cocktail

.5 oz brandy
.5 oz apple brandy
.5 oz triple sec
juice of .5 lemon
1 tsp powdered sugar

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. This drink further proves my first law of triple sec: i.e. everything with a significant amount of triple sec in it tastes good. Shannon was skeptical, but agrees that this drink really is rather soothing.

Sidecar

1 oz. brandy
1 oz triple sec
juice of .25 lemon

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I think this drink is pretty good, but I also think triple sec is a magical beverage that makes everything better. Shannon was pleasantly surprised in that it does not totally suck.

Olympic Cocktail

.75 oz brandy
.75 oz triple sec
.75 oz orange juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I think this drink is pretty good. Very orangey. Shannon does not like it, but she's not a huge orange juice fan anyway.

The Moonlight

2 oz. apple brandy
the juice of one lemon
1 tsp. powdered sugar

Shake with ice and pour over more ice into an old fashioned glass.

Crooney says this tastes like lemonade, which isn't bad.

This drink is really tart, which does make it taste a bit like lemonade. Overall, this one is ok.

The Rum Swizzle

2 oz. light or dark rum (light, for our purposes)
2 dashes bitters
juice of one lime
1 tsp. powdered sugar
club soda

Put lime juice, sugar and 2 oz. club soda into collins glass. Fill with ice and stir. Add bitters and rum. Fill with club soda and serve with a swizzle stick.

Crooney's immediate response is that it is quite good. We have a bit of a gathering tonight, and so guest judge Kim is back, along with our friends Mike and former (sad!) roommate Kerry.

Kerry looked confused after tasting this drink and then pronounced that it tasted like Alka Seltzer. Not that Alka Seltzer tastes bad, she said.

Mike was not into the smell. He thought it was decent, but could have benefited from removing the bitters.

Kim said it tasted like a drink that could have been good - before it was watered down after sitting on ice all day.

I'm a fan of this drink. Which either means we've been at this project too long, or I have a preternatural affection for Alka Seltzer.

Third Rail Cocktail

.75 oz light rum
.75 oz apple brandy
.75 oz brandy
.25 tsp anisette

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Kim and Shannon took one look at this drink and want nothing to do with it. I took the first sip and I don't think it is that bad, but the taste of anisette overpowers everything else. I am consistently surprised by how small amounts of anisette always overpower the other ingredients in any drink.

Shannon will not even speak after one sip of this drink and Kim gagged and coughed. They are both now convinced that I hate them.

Sir Walter Cocktail

.75 oz light rum
.75 oz brandy
1 tsp triple sec
1 tsp grenadine
1 tsp lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Both Kim and Shannon think I just tried to poison them. That's how bad this drink is. They also think that it is also quite unfair because the unsuspecting drinker would have no idea how bad it is from looking at it. I don't think it is good, but I do not think it is quite as bad as the ladies claim.

Pineapple Fizz

2 oz. light rum
1 oz. pineapple juice
.5 tsp powdered sugar
club soda

Shake the rum, pineapple juice, and powdered sugar with ice and strain into a highball glass over two ice cubes. Add club soda.

Both Shannon and Kim think that this is an excellent drink, if perhaps a little low on the pineapple. I also think that this is quite a good beverage.

Pineapple Cocktail

1.5 oz light rum
.75 oz pineapple juice
.5 tsp lemon juice

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Both Shannon and Kim think that this drink is a waste. It sounds good, it looks good, it tastes bad. I agree.

Mariposa

1 oz light rum
.5 oz brandy
1 tbsp orange juice
1 tbsp lemon juice
l dash grenadine

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Shannon and Kim both think that this drink has quite a pleasing appearance. This is probably due to the grenadine. Shannon would drink it if it was free, but not otherwise. Kim thinks it is not bad. Both agree that it does not meet expectations after looking and smelling it. Shannon just said that it is too acidic and I agree.

Little Devil Cocktail

.75 oz light rum
.75 oz gin
1.5 tsp triple sec
juice of .25 lemon

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Kim and Shannon are both unhappy with the appearance of this drink. Shannon thinks it looks like urine and Kim thinks that it looks like stale alka-seltzer. Both might drink it if it were free, however, Shannon thinks she will soon need a tracheotomy because this drink just burned a hole in her esophagus. I think that it's not that bad.

Havana Cocktail

.75 oz light rum
1.5 oz pineapple juice
.5 tsp lemon juice

Both Kim and Shannon think this drink is quite good. Both would order this drink at a bar. I also think it is rather good. I think the dominant flavor is of the pineapple juice and that may be the source of the universal praise.

Bolero

1.5 oz light rum
.75 oz apple brandy
.25 tsp sweet vermouth

Shake with cracked ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

Both Shannon and guest judge Kim think this drink is absolutely horrible. They both had very witty things to say about how bad it is that I can no longer remember. I think this drink is not good, but not quite as bad as they think.

Boston Sidecar

.75 oz brandy
.75 oz light rum
.75 oz triple sec
juice of .5 lime

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

I don't think that this drink is all that bad. However, that may be because I actually chilled the glass first this time and the taste may be masked by the coldness. Shannon thinks it tastes like spiked lemonade. Shannon cannot decide whether this is good or bad, she has settled on familiar.

The Beachcomber

Guest judge Kim has made the excellent point that this drink should contain hidden treasures along the lines of Goldschlagger. Crooney pointed out that alcohol is the hidden treasure.

1.5 oz. rum
.5 oz. triple sec
.5 oz. grenadine
1 oz. sour mix

Shake with ice and strain into cocktail glass (surprise!).

This drink is a very appealing color. Crooney took the first sip and said it's not bad, but somehow not as good as he was expecting. He wondered if perhaps he just doesn't like light rum that much.

The color suggests fruit punch, and I am happy to report that it tastes a lot like fruit punch. Kim and I both think Crooney's less-than-glowing assessment is off. This one is a winner.

Apple Pie #1

Welcome to rumtown. We have decided to take a foray into rum in honor of the warmer months. And, Crooney is quick to add, in order to finish off rum before the big move.

.75 oz. light rum
.75 oz. sweet vermouth (sweet, sweet vermouth)
1 tsp apple brandy
.50 tsp grenadine
1 tsp lemon juice

Shake with ice, strain into a cocktail glass.

Crooney is "meh" on this beverage. I am also "meh." I've had better (my favorite rickey) but I've had much, much worse.

Guest judge Kim says she was expecting worse, based on our facial expressions. She said it wasn't bad, but when Crooney asked whether she'd finish it, she was not so enthusiastic. She also made the very prescient point that this drink would be much, much improved as a shot.

Harvard Cooler

2 oz. apple brandy
.5 tsp powdered sugar
club soda

Dissolve the powdered sugar in a collins glass with two ounces of club soda. Add ice and apple brandy. Top off with more club soda.

Shannon says, why don't you just put some lime juice in this and then I'll drink it... maybe.... probably not. She then backtracked and said it is not that bad, it just has an alcoholly aftertaste.

I think it's pretty good. I am waiting for this drink to reject me, however, just like its namesake.

Harvard Cocktail

1.5 oz brandy
.75 oz sweet vermouth
1 tsp grenadine
2 tsp lemon juice

I must have made this drink correctly, because it has a distinct crimson color to it. It also tastes much better than I was expecting. Maybe that's just my Harvard bitterness coming through.

Shannon disagrees with my original assessment. She thinks it looks more Princeton orange. She agrees, however, with my second assessment and thinks this drink exceeds expectations.

The Jack in the Box

Here we are at the Jack in the Box cocktail, and it is the eve of MJ's memorial. Serendipity!

1 oz. apple brandy
1 oz. pineapple juice
dash bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a collins glass.

Crooney pronounces the drink "pretty good," mostly because of the pineapple juice. Surprisingly, I agree. This drink tastes a little like the fall (despite the tropical juice), but I like it a lot. The pineapple taste really does give it a pleasant taste.

Jack! In the box!

Too soon?

The Dream Cocktail (yeah, right)

1.5 oz. brandy
0.75 oz. triple sec
.25 teaspoon anisette

Shake and strain into cocktail glass.

I just realized why it's better when Crooney writes the intros -- knowing the ingredients in advance doesn't do much to whet my appetite for Mr. B.

Not shockingly, this drink looks like every other one this chapter. Crooney reports that you can really taste the anisette, despite its meager proportion. This isn't a problem, as he's ambivalent about licorice. Triple sec, he adds, is always a favorable ingredient.

I hate licorice flavoring, so I'm sure this drink will be phenomenal.

I held my nose before taking a sip, but it wasn't nearly helpful enough. This drink reminds me of ear infections as a child. Actually, it reminds me of liquid penicillin and trying not to vomit.

Incidentally, I would most stridently beg readers not to try this drink after visiting an all-you-can-eat, rodizio-style steakhouse.

Depth Bomb

Take 1 oz. brandy, 1 oz. apple brandy, 1 dash grenadine, and 1 dash lemon juice, shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass. It's not the best, but it's not the worst. Shannon took one sip and nearly gagged. She then begged me to take the drink away from her.

Apricot Brandy Rickey Redux

Shannon and I were at a wedding last weekend and she asked me to get her a drink from the bar. I noticed a bottle of apricot flavored brandy and asked for an apricot brandy rickey. The bartender had no idea what this Mr. Boston favorite was so I graciously informed him. Shannon drank this beverage the rest of the evening. Mr. Boston to the rescue once again.

Thanksgiving Special

I realize it is the wrong holiday, but we're trying to get to the bottom of the bottle of apricot flavored brandy. To make the Thanksgiving Special shake 3/4 oz. apricot flavored brandy, 3/4 oz. gin, 3/4 oz. dry vermouth, and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Like most other drinks with apricot flavored brandy, this drink is a delight. Shannon likes it as well, even though she is a little put off by the gin aftertaste.