PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ¼ ounce Pernod Absinthe Supérieure o 1 teaspoon sugar o ½ teaspoon cold water o 1 dash Angostura bitters o 1 dash Peychaud’s bitters o 1 ¼ ounces Heaven’s Door Straight Rye whiskey o 1 ¼ ounces Hennessy VS cognac Garnish o lemon peel Method: 1. Swirl absinthe to coat the inside of an Old Fashioned glass and discard the excess. 2. Combine sugar, bitters, and water in a mixing glass and stir to dissolve the sugar. 3. Add ice and spirits then stir to chill. 4. Strain into the prepared glass. 5. Add a single large ice cube. 6. Rub the lemon peel along the rim of the glass and drop it in as a garnish. Remarks: Originally made with a cognac by Sazerac-de-Forge. Over time rye whiskey became popular. Rather than choose we decided to use both. Laissez les bon temps rouler! . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Heaven’s Door Straight Rye whiskey o ¾ ounce Lillet Rouge o ½ ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. o 1 dash Angostura bitters o ¾ ounce Demerara Syrup, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with lemon twist. Remarks: Very tasty though a little sweet. Perhaps reducing the syrup by half an ounce would make this a true winner. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Heaven’s Door Straight Rye whiskey o ¾ ounce Cointreau o ¾ ounce Lillet Rouge o ½ ounce fresh lime juice Garnish o orange twist o Tillen Farms Merry Maraschino cherry Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. 3. Garnish with a cherry or an orange twist. Remarks: In 1924 an American engineer in the Philippines who having been cured of a life threatening fever gifted the recipe for this cocktail to the doctor that saved him or so the story goes. The recipe was published in the Savoy Cocktail Book. A renown book even though it contained a mere 750 recipes. . . .

PH factor: 8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Crown Royal Northern Harvest rye o 1 ounce Lillet Blanc o ½ ounce Campari Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Strain into a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with lemon twist. Remarks: Yet another in the long line of Negroni inspired cocktails. The difference is often just the liquor that's used. Campari lovers may disagree, but we think a gentle squeeze of a lemon wedge might be a nice touch. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Crown Royal o ½ ounce St. Germain o ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice o 1 dash Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 dash Hella Citrus bitters Garnish o lemon wedge Method: 1. Fill an Old Fashioned glass with crushed ice. 2. Add cocktail ingredients in order. 3. Add more ice as necessary. 4. Garnish with lemon wedge. Remarks: If you don’t think of rye cocktails when you are out in the summer sun, think again. . . .

PH factor: 8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Heaven's Door Straight Rye whiskey o ¾ ounce Lillet Blanc o ¾ ounce pineapple juice Garnish o orange peel Method: 1. Shake over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with orange peel. Remarks: A cocktail named for the famous New York City hotel which was established in 1902 as a “Dry” hotel. Oddly, with Prohibition it's slogan became: “When they go dry, we go wet!” I guess the Algonquin came full circle on that one. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 3 torn mint leaves o 2 ounces Mango Infused Rum, see: Syrups etc. o ½ ounce Mango Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 ounce fresh lime juice o 3 ounces Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda Garnish o lime wheel o mint leaves Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except soda over ice. 2. Pour all into a highball glass. 3. Top with soda. 4. Garnish with lime wheel and mint. Remarks: Out of respect for the scientific method we also tried this with plain rum. What we found were two completely different drinks. The one with the mango infused rum was delicious. If you need a reason to make an infused spirit let this cocktail be that reason. . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 5 fresh blueberries o 1 large strawberry o 5 leaves fresh mint o 2 ounces J. Wray Silver Jamaican rum o ½ ounce agave nectar o ½ ounce fresh lemon juice o 3 ounces Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda Garnish o mint sprig Method: 1. Muddle leaves and berries in a cocktail shaker. 2. Add ice and remaining cocktail ingredients and shake to chill. 3. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass and add soda. 4. Garnish with mint sprig. Remarks: This is a light and refreshing cocktail with a hint of mint. . . .

PH factor: 8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ½ ounce Flor de Caña Extra Seco rum o ½ ounce Finlandia vodka o ½ ounce Cointreau o ½ ounce green Crème de Menthe Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a martini glass. 3. Garnish with lemon twist. Remarks: The Jade Spider is a pretty shade of green in your glass. It tastes of mint in a refreshing way. . . .

PH factor: 10 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ¼ ounce Pernod Absinthe Supérieure o 1 ½ ounces Mount Gay XO rum o ½ ounce Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch o ½ ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. o ½ ounce yellow Chartreuse o 1 dash Angostura bitters or to taste Method: 1. Swirl absinthe to coat the inside of a cocktail glass and discard excess. 2. Stir remaining cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 3. Serve up in the prepared glass. Remarks: There's a lot going on here. It's an after dinner or after a rough day when you’ve settled into a favorite, preferably leather, chair with no intention of getting up anytime soon, drink. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o ½ ounce Johnnie Walker Blue Label scotch o 1 ½ ounces Mount Gay XO rum o ¾ ounce fresh lime juice o ½ ounce maple syrup Garnish o lime wheel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Strain into a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with lime wheel. Remarks: As this is Thurston Howell III’s cocktail use the most expensive scotch and rum you’ve got and be happy that you can, just as Thurston would. . . .

PH factor: 8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o salt o 1 ½ ounces Mount Gay Eclipse rum o 1 ounce Cointreau o ½ ounce fresh lime juice Garnish o lime wheel Method: 1. Moisten the rim of a cocktail glass and invert it into a shallow dish of salt to coat the rim of the glass. 2. Shake remaining cocktail ingredients over ice to chill. 3. Serve up in the prepared glass. 4. Garnish with lime wheel. Remarks: Yes, a margarita made with rum. Coating your glass with salt when using rum may not be strictly necessary but... . . .