Cocktail No 96 Rolls-Royce

As the name would suggest this is a first class gin cocktail.The gin is king here. so make sure you use a premium gin for best taste. The Bianco vermouth adds a hint of sweekness, but not too much, being tempered by the dry vermouth A hint of herbs and complexity ends it off from the Benedictine.

Very nice indeed.

Recipe

2-3 ice cubes
25 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Dry vermouth
15 ml Bianco vermouth
1-2 dashes Bénédictine

Put ice in a mixing glass with gin, vermouths and Bénédictine. Stir well until icy cold and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a masaschino cherry

Cocktail No 84 Mule's Hind Leg

I knew this was going to be sweet when I read the ingredient list, but for me it is too cloying. This not one of my favourites. The taste is quite good, the herbiness of the syrup, benedictine and the body of the brandy does make a complex and interesting taste profile, but the sweetness and viscosity from the apricot brandy, benedictine and syrup is something I can do without.

I didn't have calvados or maple syrup so substituted brandy and honey instead - I don't think the correct ingredients would redeem this one for me.

Recipe

2-3 Ice cubes
15 ml Birkdale gin
15 ml Calvados
15 ml Apricot Brandy
2 teaspoons maple syrup.

Add all ingredients to a mixing glass, stir well and strain into a cocktail glass.

Cocktail No 32 April Shower

This combines 3 of my favourite things a) Brandy, b) Bénédictine and c) freshly squeezed Orange Juice.Top it up with Soda water and it becomes quite a mild long drink in terms of alcohol content.

If its chilled sufficiently the initial mouthful is tasteless - there is a pricking on the tongue from the bubbles in the Soda Water - then the flavour comes through. Whilst mild, it does have a deep base flavour from the mix of the Brandy and Bénédictine and the herbs from the latter definitely add, but no individual flavour stands out. Its a blend of the flavours unlike some others which create different sensations in the mouth.

I'm not sure which recipe is canonical, as the net gives one similar to a Vodka Gibson or tini. Others which are Brandy based use the same as me, but skip to Soda Water. I need to find the definitive recipe collection, there must be one out there somewhere - of course there is and April Shower is not included as an official cocktail:

http://www.iba-world.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=88&Itemid=532

Recipe

Add 1 measure of Brandy, 1 measure of Bénédictine and 2 measures of Orange Juice to a tall goblet, Stir. Top up with Soda Water and add Ice to taste.

Cocktail No 12 Sheep's Head

Don't be put of by the macabre name, this is just a variation on the Manhattan family. Bourbon based, but adding sweetness and herbal aromatics through Rosso Vermouth and a teaspoon of Bénédictine. Finished of with a twist of lemon to infuse with those wonderful citrus oils.

Tastewise, apart from the similarity to the Manhattan's its a little difficult to characterise. Its actually very well balanced, so nothing strongly stands out as a dominant note, but that is actually a good thing. The Rosso is definitely present. If you know the ingredients you can identify each one, although the Bourbon is surprisingly masked, but I am not sure I could have identified them from a blind tasting.

Recipe

Add 1 & 1/2  measures of Bourbon Whisky to a mixing glass with 1/2 measure Rosso Vermouth (careful not to over do this) and 1 teaspoon of Bénédictine with ice. Stir and strain into a small tumbler, or in my case one of the 2 remaining wine goblets from my parents' wedding gifts.

Twist a piece of lemon peel to release the citrus oils and drop on top. Decorate with a Cocktail Cherry.

Enjoy.