PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon o ½ ounce red wine of your choice o 1 ounce Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 ounce fresh lemon juice Garnish o lemon twist Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except wine over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. 3. Gently pour wine over the back of a bar spoon to float on top of the drink. 4. Garnish with a lemon twist. Remarks: This is essentially a bourbon sour only prettier and better balanced. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Woodford Reserve bourbon o 1 ounce grapefruit juice o ½ ounce Honey Syrup, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o grapefruit peel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Express grapefruit peel over the drink and drop it in as a garnish. Remarks: This is a refreshing bourbon cocktail. Words not often heard together. Named for the iconic Californian hot spot that was established in 1926 and sadly is no more. Fortunately for us, the cocktail lingers on. . . .

PH factor:  9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2-3 dark roast coffee beans o ½ ounce Heaven’s Door Straight Rye whiskey o ½ ounce Demerara Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 dash Angostura bitters o champagne Garnish o lemon peel o coffee bean Method: 1. Crush 2 coffee beans in a cocktail shaker. 2. Add ice and remaining cocktail ingredients except champagne and shake to chill. 3. Fine strain into a flute and top with champagne. 4. Garnish with a bean and lemon peel. Remarks: This is not your traditional Champagne Cocktail. Try it and see. . . .

PH factor:  10 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 6-8 ounces Coquito Callejas, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o ground cinnamon o 1 cinnamon stick long enough to be used as a stirrer Method: 1. Serve up in the glassware of your preference. 2. Garnish with ground cinnamon and cinnamon stick. Remarks: This is a versatile cocktail. It’s tasty. It’s festive. It’s traditional and it’s fun. Enjoy it as it is or for a more intense experience add an ounce of Rum Chata or your favorite rum. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 2 ounces Mount Gay Eclipse rum o ¼ ounce Fernet~Branca liqueur o ½ ounce Cinnamon Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o ¼ ounce fresh lime juice o 1 ounce grapefruit juice Garnish o lime wheel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Serve up in a cocktail glass. 3. Garnish with lime wheel. Remarks: Rum and citrus again, you say. Not exactly. Fernet~Branca and cinnamon syrup make it a very different rum drink. Our thanks to Brad Farran of Brooklyn’s Clover Club. . . .

PH factor:  9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Bombay Sapphire gin o ½ ounce Plymouth Sloe Gin o ½ ounce Lillet Blanc o ½ ounce Sambuca Romano o ¼ ounce Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o splash of fresh lemon juice 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 a lemon twist. Remarks: This cocktail is sweet and exotic. If it only spoke French, Gomez would love that. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ¼ ounces Ilegal mezcal o ¾ ounce 1800 Silver tequila o 1 ounce fresh lime juice o ¾ ounce Chai Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o pinch of sea salt Garnish o 2 star anise pods Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice until very cold. 2. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. 3. Garnish with star anise. Remarks: The Chai Mezcalita is a very flavorful cocktail and it is not just for mezcal lovers. The syrup and the garnish are the stars and with the lime juice balance the mezcal’s smokiness nicely. . . .

PH factor:  8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ounce J. Wray Silver Jamaican rum o ¾ ounce Tia Maria o 1 espresso chilled o 1 teaspoon Demerara Syrup, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o 1 ounce whole milk Method: 1. Stir cocktail ingredients in an Old Fashioned glass with 1 or 2 ice cubes. 2. Gently top with milk. Remarks: This differs from the original recipe. We increased the rum. Surprise, surprise. We chilled the espresso eliminating the dilution from shaking over ice. And we substituted syrup for sugar for the same reason. . . .

PH factor:  8.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ½ ounces Finlandia vodka o ½ ounce Crème de Cassis o 1 ounce fresh lemon juice o ½ ounce Simple Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o champagne Garnish o lemon peel Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except champagne over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled wine glass and top with champagne. 3. Garnish with a lemon peel. Remarks: As Einstein famously posited, “A springtime in Russia is a relative thing”. This is an easy going cocktail slightly more complicated than the Kir Royale which it resembles. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail       o 2 ounces 1800 Silver tequila o ½ ounce Campari o ½ ounce fresh lime juice o ½ ounce fresh lemon juice o ½ ounce Honey Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o 1 dash Hella Smoked Chili bitters or to taste o 1 bar spoon champagne vinegar Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients over ice. 2. Pour unstrained into an Old Fashioned glass. Remarks: This is not your basic tequila and lime cocktail. Though it's a bit complicated to make, it is easy to enjoy. . . .

PH factor:  9.5 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail       o 2 ounces 1800 Silver tequila o 2 ounces pineapple juice o ¾ ounce fresh lime juice o ¾ ounce Sage Syrup, see: Syrups etc. Garnish o sage leaf Method: 1. Shake over ice. 2. Strain into an ice-filled Old Fashioned glass. 3. Garnish with a sage leaf. Remarks: Mr. Prado is onto something here. A cocktail that is fruity, sweet, and a little herbal.The ingredients combine to make a cocktail you can enjoy day or night. . . .

PH factor:  9.0 Recipe Ingredients: Cocktail o 1 ounce Grey Goose vodka o ½ ounce St. Germain liqueur o ½ ounce Honey Syrup, see: Syrups etc. o champagne Garnish o 2-3 drops Moroccan Orange Blossom Water o 3 sparrow tears (if available) Method: 1. Shake cocktail ingredients except champagne over ice. 2. Strain into a chilled flute. 3. Top with champagne. 4. Garnish with sparrow tears to taste. 5. Using an eye dropper add two or three drops of orange blossom water. Remarks: Dry and bitter as tears shed for a love long lost. More than two drops, three at the outside, of orange blossom water and you risk of becoming inconsolable. . . .