What I’m Drinking: Baciami Subito

You know those Fridays when you aren’t sure what to make, cocktail-wise, and you go to the shelves, and pick up the biggest library of cocktails you can get, or, to be specific (both language-wise and title-wise), Il Grande Libro dei Cocktails? Those ones? No? Yes? Well, either answer, this happened to me recently – luckily, I’d picked up said grand library, oh, now a few years back in a swell used bookstore in Sansepolcro (I sure hope that bookstore is still there and open through it all), so on this Friday I could open it, swing over to the “Cocktails del Amore” chapter (cause I’m a romantic, and cause I really like this picture of these cuddly glasses kissing – aren’t they cute!

), and decide to make a drink I’ve never made, called Baciami Subito, which was so intriguing, and which really shouldn’t have, to me at first glance at least, made sense: I mean, dark, rich, intriguing Cognac with light, springy, dry vermouth, and then bitter Angostura with it, too? On the flip side, it does sound good, now that I type it out, and, you know what, it is! Those lighter notes from the vermouth really start to accent the Cognac once mixed. But is it right for the romance chapter, which here (and otherwheres) tends to lean to sweeter liquid fare? However! If you realize or remember that Baciami Subito means “kiss me right now,” well, then, it’s a twist (no twist here though, but a cherry), because this drink does have a tasty kick that not only could induce rapid kissing, but also can me you feel fun-oozy like a good quick kiss. So, there we are, smooches all around!

Baciami Subito

Cracked ice

2-1/4 ounces Cognac

1-1/2 ounces dry vermouth

2 dashes Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters (the book suggests Angostura, which is dandy I’m sure, but I had the also-dandy Scrappy’s Aromatic neat. The book also suggests three dashes, but I found two enough)

Cherry, for garnish

1. Fill a mixing glass or cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add the Cognac, vermouth, and bitters. Stir well, or “vigorosamente!”

2. Add a cherry (or two if feeling flirty) to a cocktail glass. Strain the mix from Step 1 into the glass and over the cherry. Sip, and kiss at will.

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What I’m Drinking: The Manhattan, with Early Times Bottled in Bond Bourbon

There are days when you want to unbury a drink from an old book or pamphlet, a drink that hasn’t been sipped for many years, and other days when you want to make up a whole new drink, one that you’ve created for your very self for the very first time, and then other days when you want to try and recreate a drink you had out (or as take-out, in currant circumstances) at a local watering hole, made by a talented drink-slinger, and then other days when you just want to have a classic Manhattan, one made with Early Times Bottled in Bond bourbon. Today is that day! For me, at least, as I recently received a bottle of said Early Times bourbon – lucky me! – making it all possible. Early Times Bottled in Bond bourbon has a long and interesting history, including being lost to all from I believe the 1980s until a slow re-release that started in 2017. Aged 4 years, and at 100 proof, this tipple treads an approachable path, with some umph beneath, swirling a sweetness on the nose that lingers through a citrus, caramel, vanilla flavor with spice hints popping up, and then popping up more and more through the finishing moments. Overall, just a delicious, friendly bourbon that everyone I know enjoys sipping slow as the sun goes down. But that approachability also means it’s a dandy cocktail base, too, and the Manhattan is a swell cocktail to base on it. As it has that little sweetness, I went with Punt e’ Mes as the vermouth, because it’s a little drier with beauteous bittery herbal notes – a good choice, I have to admit! And for the bitters themselves, I picked Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters, which is an ideally-balanced spice and herb bitters in a classic style, superb here.

The Manhattan

Cracked ice

2-1/2 ounces Early Times Bottled in Bond bourbon

1/2 ounce Punt e’ Mes sweet vermouth

1 dash Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters

Cherry (I used a Rainer cherry I’d had mulling with mates in some bourbon, but a good Maraschino would work a treat, too)

1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the bourbon, vermouth, and bitters. Stir well.

2. Add a cherry (or two!) to a cocktail glass. Strain the mix from Step 1 into said glass. Enjoy.

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What I’m Drinking: A Suitably Bittersweet Memoir of Games, Copy, Friends, and How They Might Be Found on a Friday in Mid-November

What a name for this cocktail! Credit has to go to pal mighty Matt Dupree (thanks Matt!), who I used to work with at a big game-making company. And this here drink – which honestly isn’t bad, but I don’t think it lives up to the name; then again, what drink could? – was going to be the one had one my final day at said company, but then fate (as fate does) didn’t allow it all to play out that way. But no worries! You and I can drink the below drink any day, and still enjoy it’s slightly sweet-with-a-little-bitter nature, which matches leaving a gig you’ve gigged at for some years, but also matches, say, a day you’re sad to see go, or finishing a good book, all of that. As you might expect for a drink that I originally crafted for a day as described that took place here in WA, this drink definitely leans local, though if not in WA (but really, why aren’t you? At least visiting), you could still put together wherever you may be by doing some ingredient hunting, which is a fun pastime indeed. It starts with gin – for me, I used Scratch’s Martini Style gin, a jolly medium-juniper-y gin with 17 botanicals and oodles of flavor. Then, Salish Seas lovely Allspice liqueur, delivering the spice that’s nice, and Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters, available in big bottles as well as the small one pictured! And a perfectly-pitched aromatic bitters for a host of classic bittering needs. For the sweet (well, the liqueur is a little sweet, but not overly so), a splash of Woodinville Whiskey’s Bourbon Barrel Aged maple syrup does the trick so well, I can’t even describe it. You’ll have to try it. And this drink! Which I am toasting to all the past co-workers right now.

A Suitably Bittersweet Memoir of Games, Copy, Friends, and How They Might Be Found on a Friday in Mid-November

Ice cubes

1-1/2 ounce Scratch Martini Style gin

3/4 ounce Salish Seas Allspice liqueur

3 dashes Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters

1/2 ounce Woodinville Whiskey Bourbon Barrel Aged maple syrup

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add it all, with the memories, too. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Sip, muse about stuffs, sip more.

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What I’m Drinking: The Hero of the Fall

While not all of you live in wondrous WA, I don’t want you to feel I’m taunting you (you could come here and explore our distilleries, should even) by having a drink that features an ingredient you have to be here to pick up. C’mon over! And pick up a bottle of Woodinville Whiskey Co.’s 2018 Autumn Release, a Toasted Applewood Finished Rye. See, every year, the fine folks at Woodinville have an autumn release, and it’s quite an event – folks start lining up the day before to get a signed and number bottle in a commemorative wooden case. And, of course, to get the limited-edition whiskey within. This year’s takes the distillery’s 100% Rye Whiskey and adds toasted Applewood staves. Which brings out lovely apple notes mingling with the rye’s caramel and spices: cinnamon, clove, and more, all at 100 proof. It’s a great fall whiskey, and one that you might like to sit and sip solo – or with a few drops of water, or an ice cube, as the case may be – as the temperature chills.

But, it’s also a whiskey that can add beautiful background and flavor to a winter or fall cocktail, and recently I came up with a memorable one using it. For the first partner in this drink (again, don’t be upset those not living here – as you’re coming out for the rye, you can load up on a bunch of local lovelies), I went with another fall and winter favorite, Raft’s Cranberry Five Spice syrup. Raft products are made all-naturally in Portland, OR by the same folks who make the Bitter Housewife bitters and such. While “syrup” often equates with “sweet,” this one is only subtly sweet (and has no preservatives, high-fructose corn syrup, or any of that nastiness), and leans more into tart, thanks to the addition of Starvation Alley (a farm in Long Beach, WA) cranberries. Beyond the cranberry, this delivers more holiday spices: ginger, star anise, cinnamon, cloves. It seemed the ideal match for the rye. And it was!

But we needed to invite some more friends to this fall party-in-a-glass, and I wanted to keep it local, and bring even more of those spice notes, and so added Italian-by-way-of-Seattle Letterpress Distillery’s Amaro Amarino. Carrying a little of that traditional amaro bitter, but also more baking spices and a hint of orange, it fit right in. Our final player is Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters, which underlines everything with a final herbal and spice touch. Altogether now! This is an ideal drink for before Thanksgiving or any fall or winter holiday, but perhaps an even better one for after the meal. When sipping it, it introduces itself with the whiskey festival of grain, oak, and the beginnings of the spice, transitioning into apple and fruit and more spice, and then finishing on a little tang from the cranberries and a kiss of sweetness from the syrup – with spices throughout. One to savor like a good meal, and one to savor with good friends.

The Hero of the Fall

Ice cubes
2 ounces Woodinville Whiskey Co. Toasted Applewood Finished Rye
3/4 ounce Raft Cranberry 5 Spice Syrup
1/2 ounce Letterpress Amaro Amarino
2 dashes Scrappy’s Aromatic bitters

1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add all our northwest heroes. Shake well.

2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Enjoy the bounty.

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