PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey o ¼ ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. o ¼ ounce Lillet Blanc Garnish o lemon peel Method: 1. Combine cocktail ingredients in an Old Fashioned glass. 2. Add one large ice cube. 3. Express lemon peel over the glass and drop it in as a garnish. 4. Serve with small spoon. Remarks: Slowly stirring with the spoon is is meant to encourage dilution as you sip this rather singular cocktail. A great idea but who are we kidding? You’re not going to sip yours either. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey o ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice o ¾ ounce Honey Syrup, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o mint sprig Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. 3. Garnish with mint sprig. Remarks: This is a well-balanced, fresh tasting cocktail. It would be good at any time, but we are thinking late afternoon, when the day is behind you and the night is still ahead. . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Tullamore D.E.W. Irish whiskey o ½ ounce Grand Marnier o ½ ounce Lillet Rouge o 1 dash Hella Orange bitters or to taste Garnish o Tillen Farms Rainer Reserve cherry Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with cherry. Remarks: We didn't know what we'd find from the combination of Irish whiskey, Grand Marnier, and the winey taste of the Lillet Rouge. Happily, what we found is an interesting and tasty cocktail. . . .

PH factor: 8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Flor de Caña Extra Seco rum o ¼ ounce Bombay gin o ¼ ounce Lillet Blanc o 2 dashes Pernod Absinthe Supérieure o ¼ ounce fresh lemon juice o ¼ ounce fresh orange juice o ¼ ounce Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 egg white Garnish o lemon peel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients without ice. 2. Add ice and shake again to chill. 3. Fine strain into a martini glass. 4. Garnish with lemon peel. Remarks: A cocktail from a quarantine in the Philippines that seriously pre-dated Covid19. It is a bit complicated to make but hey, what else are you going to do while you are quarantined? . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Bombay Sapphire gin o ¾ ounce Lillet Rosé o ½ ounce Pierre Farrand Dry Curaçao o 1 ounce grapefruit juice o ¼ ounce fresh lime juice Garnish o grapefruit peel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with grapefruit peel. Remarks: The lime and grapefruit juices make this a refreshing cocktail. . . .

PH factor: 8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ounce Bombay gin o ½ ounce Campari o ½ ounce Lillet Blanc o ½ ounce Triple Sec Garnish o orange twist Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients over ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with orange twist. Remarks: Named for Lucien Gaudin the famous French fencer. Famous at least to the French. It's a pleasantly bitter Negroni-esque cocktail. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 3 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin o 1 ounce Sambuca Romano Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. Remarks: Because of its reliance on cheap coal for heating and power the once famous London fog was actually more of a London smog. The pollution is largely gone now but we are left with a smooth licorice tasting cocktail. . . .

PH factor: 9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 or 3 sage leaves o 2 ounces Bombay gin o 1 ounce Lillet Blanc o ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice o ½ ounce Lavender Syrup, see Syrups etc. o 2 ounces Fever-Tree Premium Club Soda Garnish o lavender sprig or sage leaf Method: 1. Muddle sage in a cocktail shaker. 2. Add ice and remaining cocktail ingredients except soda and shake to chill well. 3. Strain into an ice-filled collins glass. 4. Top with soda. 5. Garnish with lavender or sage. 6. Serve with a straw. Remarks: A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Keats may not have had this in mind when he wrote that but he could have. . . .

PH factor: 9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Bombay gin o 1 ½ ounces Lillet Rouge o 2 dashes Fernet~Branca Garnish o orange peel Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients with ice in a mixing glass. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with an orange peel. Remarks: By Classico, we mean close to the original recipe. By 2 dashes, we mean a scant ¼ ounce. By Jiminy, you need to try this one. . . .

PH factor: 8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Bombay Sapphire gin o ½ ounce Rose’s Sweetened Lime Juice Garnish o lime wheel Method: 1. Shake over ice. 2. Strain into a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with lime wheel. Remarks: The gimlet was named after the Royal Navy surgeon Sir Thomas Gimlette, who served from 1879 to 1913. Sir Thomas was looking to combat scurvy. He discovered Rose’s Lime Cordial and ensured it was available on all the many Royal Navy vessels. The cordial was produced and patented by Lauchlan Rose, a Scottish entrepreneur, who was eternally grateful to Sir Thomas. It was also the world’s first fruit concentrate. . . .

PH factor: 8.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Bombay Sapphire gin o ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice o 1 tablespoon Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o champagne Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Stir to combine first three ingredients in a champagne flute. 2. Top with champagne. 3. Stir once gently. 4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Remarks: There are many theories of its origins, and much debate over gin vs. brandy. We do know the recipe was first recorded in 1930. The name may have come from a remark of a World War I pilot who said drinking it felt like he was on the receiving end of a French 75mm field cannon. Of course, he might also have been referring to how his head felt the morning after drinking too many the night before. You decide. . . .

PH factor: 8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Bombay Gin o ¾ ounce Bénédictine D.O.M. o ¾ ounce yellow Chartreuse o ¾ ounce fresh lemon juice Method: 1. Shake over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. Remarks: Chartreuse and gin provide the strong wind driving this cocktail. While the Bénédictine and citrus make for its smooth sailing. So, a strong but smooth cocktail that would be good any time of day. We'll drink to that. . . .