Maple Avenue Cocktail

I've had the love for pecan praline ice cream since I was a kid as well as maple flavor that went on my pancakes.  As a cocktail enthusiast I came up with drink that combines the flavors of both maple and pecan that will please even the most particular of drinkers. I used real Vermont maple syrup along with a good grade of bourbon, pecan liqueur, fresh orange juice and some bitters and a wonderful drink was born. Remember to use top grade of maple syrup not imitation flavored otherwise it will alter the taste. Give it a try and let me know  how you like it.

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com


Maple Avenue Cocktail


3 oz of bourbon
1 oz of fresh squeezed orange juice
1 oz of Vermont maple syrup cut in half with water
1/2 oz of pecan liqueur
4 dashes of Angostura bitters

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Charles Dickens was right when it comes to punch

Punches have made a big come back in the last few years within the craft cocktail movement.  These punches are not like the ones you may have saw your father and mother put together pouring various liquors in a punch bowl with some fruit and having guests flinch at every sip until they had so much of it didn't matter after a while.   

A lot of recipes can be found in the Book Punch by David Wondrich which I mentioned in an earlier article. I recently went on a punch crawl in Hollywood last Monday and visited four bars that had some great tasting concoctions made up by skilled bartenders. If your not sure about where to get some great tasting punches I suggest starting with the book Punch by David Wondrich and try the Charles Dickens punch which is a warm punch and is actually lit on fire at one point in order to caramelize the lemons.   

Dickens is a noted writer as well as connoisseur of punches and even mentions them in his books, especially in The Pickwick Papers. One of his recipes was later named after him in a letter he wrote to a Mrs. F ( Ameilia F. Austin Fillonau) in 1847.  I tried this when I had a cold and it really helped me to feel better.  

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

Charles Dickens Punch 

Recipe for 8 cups of punch:

Rinds of 3 lemons cut very thin (as little of the white pith on them as possible)

Juice of 3 lemons (the ones you took the rinds off of)

6 oz sugar (demerara preferable, but any will do)

16 oz medium bodied rum

10 oz cognac

40 oz boiling water

Add the lemon rinds, sugar, rum and cognac to a medium size pot.  Place pot on the stove and heat the mixture over low heat until warm, then turn off the burner.  Take a tablespoon full of the alcohol from the pot and light it.  If the alcohol is warm enough this should be easy, if too cool then it will take a few tries.  Once the spoon is lit, transfer it to the pot setting the mixture on fire.  This may take a few tries (it did for me).  Don't worry, the mixture won't explode - it should burn with a low blueish flame.  Leave the mixture lit for at least 4 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it heats evenly.  Extinguish the flame by putting the lid on the pot.  Pour in the lemon juice and boiling water and stir well.  Cover and let sit for 5 minutes.  Stir again before serving.  If the punch is still not sweet enough to your liking, add more sugar slowly so as not to over sweeten.  Keep the mixture warm throughout the evening over a low flame.  If planning on letting it simmer for a few hours, as during a dinner party, then remove half the lemon rinds before letting it simmer.  The rinds will start to make the punch bitter over time.  The remaining punch (if there is any) may be stored in the refrigerator and served over ice.   

French 75

The cocktail was named after the French 75 millimeter field gun of 1897 which became the main heavy artillery of world war I.  This recipe is  the more memorable of two different drinks using the same name and will be a hit at your New years eve party.

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

 French 75

2 oz of Gin 

1 oz of fresh lemon juice

2 tsp of powdered sugar

Shake all ingredients except the champagne in a cocktail shaker with ice and pour into a flute glass top with champagne and and stir gently. Garnish with a thin spiral of lemon peel.

Lingonberry Sour

When I think of Lingonberry, it makes me think of Ikea's checkout area where the smell of warm cinnamon buns are cooking, packages of Swedish meatballs and other tempting treats are located.

Several months ago, my friend Mark and I thought about creating a cocktail using Lingonberry which is a  Scandinavian berry used in jams, syrups, desserts and other cooking. The results is a very smooth and refreshing flavor on the palate, a light cocktail for any holiday season, give it a try.

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

Lingonberry Sour 

2 oz Bourbon or Whiskey

1/1/2 oz Lingonberry Concentrate drink

1 oz Fresh Lemon Juice

1/2 oz small egg white

Lingonberrys or Marasca Cherry for garnish

Combine the first four ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with Lingonberrys or Marasca Cherrys.  

Vintage Cocktails and Savory Appetizers Class

Daddy-O's Martinis in conjunction with Culinary Enterprises is hosting an upcoming vintage cocktails and savory appetizers workshop in Signal Hill, CA Friday November 11th.  The class runs from 7:00 - 9:00 PM and the cost is $40.00 per person. 


You will be able to sample everything that's made as well as participate in the process.  You will receive menus with all the cocktail and appetizer recipes for you to use at your upcoming Thanksgiving celebrations. 


Please sign up ahead of time in order for us to prepare the quantities of food and drinks.  You can register at www.foodiscool.com or call Monica Morgan at 562-243-3099.  Culinary Enterprises is located at 937 E. 27th street in Signal Hill, CA 90755. I look forward to seeing you there. 


God bless and cheers,


John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com  

Vintage Cocktails and Appetizers Class Friday March 25th 7:30 PM

Hello Friends and Family,

Daddy-O's Martinis in Conjunction with Culinary Enterprises Cooking school will be having another vintage cocktails and appetizers class. Only a mere $40.00 per person. You'll learn how to make 3 wonderful vintage style cocktails along with 3 delicious appetizers to use at your next gathering. Please register on line or call the school ahead of time so we can have a head count. http://foodiscool.com/# phone number is 562-243-3099


God bless and cheers,


John Apodaca
john@daddyosmartinis.com 

The Making of a classic whiskey sour

Gingerbread Manhattan

Something I'm thankful for is the discovery of the Gingerbread Manhattan. It was an idea of Matt Parkinson of Viand restaurant in Chicago because the establishment was using gingerbread syrup for some of it's coffee drinks. Matt decided try switching out the sweet vermouth for the syrup and low and behold, the drink was born. It's great to have this as one of you're holiday drinks and it's really easy to make.

God bless and Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

Gingerbread Manhattan 

3 oz of Bourbon ( Buffalo Trace)

1/2 oz of gingerbread syrup ( Torani brand )

1 dash of Angostura bitters

Marasca cherry from Italy (Luxardo)

Crystallized ginger

Combine bourbon, gingerbread syrup and angostura bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a Marasca Cherry and crystallized ginger on a toothpick. 

The Summer Rye

Summer is quickly slipping away but there's still time to indulge in some summertime cocktails and being a man who loves rye I found this gem of a drink I can enjoy while relaxing on the lounge chair soaking up some sun this Labor Day weekend. The summer rye is another drink with my new favorite liqueur St-Germain and when used in cocktails it adds so much to the flavor and gives drinks such great balance, like adding fresh herbs to a meal. Like the old commercial says, " try it, you'll like it." 

God bless & Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

The Summer Rye 

1 1/2 oz Sazerac Rye Whiskey

3/4 oz St-Germain 

1/4 oz simple syrup

3/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice

1 oz fresh pressed apple juice (cloudy)

3/4 oz champagne 

Shake all ingredients together except for the champagne in a cocktail shaker and strain into an ice filled Collins glass, top with champagne. Add cubed apples for garnish. 

The Enlightenment Cocktail

The Enlightenment Cocktail is either "the thinking man's drink or the poor mans champagne cocktail." I can't claim this drink as my own but I have drank it on several occasions and introduced it to my friends and they love it. This wonderful concoction was invented by Aidan Demarest formerly of the Edison now of First and Hope in downtown Los Angeles. Aidan uses Woodford Reserve Bourbon and light beer to top it off. This is a great drink while sitting down on the patio or balcony  enjoying a summer day.

God bless & Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

The Enlightenment Cocktail

2 oz of Bourbon ( Woodford Reserve )

1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz pomegranate syrup

Light or light flavored beer

Pour ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice except the beer and shake vigorously for 20 - 30 seconds. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and top off with beer.

Pisco Sour ( Peruvian Style )

This is John Apodaca with Daddy-O's Martinis. A refreshing drink you and your guests will enjoy for a tropical drink weekend is a Pisco Sour. Pisco is made from a grape and the drink is popular in Peru and Chile but two different bents on the cocktail.  Since the king of Spain had band wine in Peru in the 17th century forcing locals to concoct spirit from the grape they came up with an alcohol that locals could enjoy. 

An account is that the Pisco Sour cocktail is a variation of the Whiskey sour, invented in the early 1920s by American expatriate Victor V. "Gringo" Morris at the Morris' Bar in Lima. The cocktail quickly became a favorite of locals. Soon many of the grand Lima hotels at that time such as the Maury and the Hotel Bolivar began serving pisco sours to their international guests, helping the drink become an international hit. An old advertisement of Pisco Sour was published in 1924 by the Morris' Bar of Lima.

In Peru Pisco Sour day is celebrated on the first Saturday of February. Years ending with zero (0) are of special significance. The theme is red and white (Peruvian flag colours). When the Peruvian National Anthem is played all Pisco Sour's must be finished as a mark of respect.

Pisco Sour

2 oz Pisco

1 oz Fresh  juice lime juice

3/4 oz simple syrup (to taste)

1 fresh egg white (or 2 tbsp pasteurized egg whites)

1 dash Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and strain into a short glass, garnish top with a dash of Angostura bitters.

The Surfrider Cocktail

As a member of Surfrider Foundation, we believe in being good stewards of the ocean and beaches as opposed to big oil corporations like British Petroleum! Being a surfer and a vintage-style mixologist I came up with a tiki-based drink, fashioned in the old style that Don the Beachcomber or Trader Vic would be proud of.  It is named in honor of Surfrider Foundation because we also love to surf, care about our environment and enjoy a good cocktail after ridding waves for a few hours.

It contains rum like most tropical drinks along with whiskey, brandy, and fresh fruit juices--guaranteed to quench your thirst on a hot summer day dude!

Try it and let me know how you like it.

God bless & cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

Surfrider Cocktail

1 oz white rum

1/ oz rye whiskey

1/2 oz brandy

1/2 oz fresh orange juice

1/2 oz fresh pineapple juice

1/2 oz Falernum

1/2 oz lime

The French Gimlet

I just attended a Speakeasy night last Saturday night in Hollywood. Several distillers of various spirits where there with samples which is always enlightening to learn about new products. I met the representatives of St-Germain and can't talk about it enough. I actually found out about this liqueur some time ago but one of my favorite drinks that is mixed with it and puts a whole new twist on the cocktails is the French Gimlet. It's similar to a standard Gimlet but rather than adding Roses lime juice use St-Germain along with real lime juice for a bit of tartness which adds to the flavor. Once you try one of these, you'll never want to go back to a standard Gimlet. Try it and let me know how you like it.

God bless & Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

The French Gimlet 

 2 oz of gin

1 1/2 oz St-Germain

1/2 oz of fresh lime juice

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously and serve in a chilled cocktail glass and add a lime wedge for garnish.

The St- Germain Cocktail

Whenever you're having your next dinner or cocktail party and am not sure what to serve, rather then opening up wine or beer, consider serving St-Germain cocktails. The drinks are light, refreshing, easy to make and tasty. If you're not sure what is St-Germain is, it's a liqueur made from elderflowers in the foothills of the Alps and when mixed with you're favorite gin, Champagne or other spirits, makes for a delicious concoction that you and you're guests will be talking about long after the party. I recommend the St-Germain Cocktail and I'll be posting more of these wonderful libations.

God bless & cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

The St. Germain Cocktail

2 oz of Brute Champagne

1 1/2 oz of St-Germain

top off with club soda

Fill a Collins glass with ice, add the Champagne, then St-Germain the top off with club soda, still and garnish with a lime wedge.

The Gimlet

If ever there was a drink that is so standard that even the most novice bartender could not mess up would be the Gimlet. Author Raymond Chandler mentions it in his book, the Last Goodbye as charterer Detective Philip Marlowe has one in the bar but wants it with bitters.

This concoction is made up of gin and and Roses lime juice. Yes you heard me say Roses rather than fresh squeezed lime juice. It's makes for a sweeter drink than tartness that could bring this brand of martini and could be palatable for non real martini drinkers. My personal tastes are to add a few dashes of real lime juice so it's not too sweet or another bent on the drink is adding Saint Germain but then it becomes a French Gimlet.

The drink was has several accounts of it's origin, one is that a British surgeon named Sir Thomas D. Gimlette came up with the ideas after joining the royal navy in 1879. He suggested that the men on board should take this drink for medicinal purposes, thus the name Gimlet.  Another origin of the drink is that it's named after a corkscrew- like tool that that was sent with lime juice containers to British colonies during the late eighteenth century. Like the Martini, we may not know where, when, and who really invented it but it's great conversation over a drink. Ask you're bartender to make one for you or try it at home.

The Gimlet

1 1/2 oz top shelf gin or vodka

1/2 oz Roses lime juice

Shake vigorously and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Red Snapper or Bloody Mary

A cocktail for breakfast know as the Bloody Mary is not an invention of the 1950s but actually was created in 1925 during prohibition at Harry's American bar in Paris by barman ( Ferdinand "Pete" Petiot). It was called by it's name and using vodka because it readily available in Europe. Fear of offending people in America the name was changed to the Red Snapper and Americans didn't care for the drink because the lack of American vodka but gin was always plentiful to use for it, so what's not to hate? Give it a try at your next Mad men party.

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

Bloody Mary / Red Snapper

2 oz of vodka ( Kettle one or Grey Goose)

6 oz of fresh tomato juice

2 dashes of Worcestershire sauce

1 dash of Tabasco Pepper sauce

Stir all ingredients together and in an iced highball glass

and sprinkle celery salt on top. Garnish with a celery stalk.

Whiskey Cobbler

As a kid during on a hot day summer, I craved a snow cone to help cool me off and my ears would delight in hearing the musical sounds from the nearby ice cream man on his way to my block knowing that I would soon be satisfied. As an adult, I love shaved ice drinks one such is Whiskey Cobbler that contains fresh fruit that I can sit on my patio and sip and enjoy as I watch the sun set. It's an easy drink and I recommend it for your fourth of July celebrations. 

Whiskey Cobbler

2 fresh pineapple wedges, one with skin and one without

2 orange slices

2 lemon wedges 

3/4 oz orange curacao

2 oz top shelf whiskey

In the bottom of a bar glass, muddle the skinless pineapple wedge, 1 piece of orange, and 1 piece of lemon with the orange curacao and o1 once of water.  Add the whiskey and ice and shake well. Strain into an double old-fashioned glass filled with crushed or shaved ice. Garnish with the remaining pineapple wedge an orange wedge and a lemon wedge. 

Mint Julep

This is John Apodaca with Daddy-O's Martinis. This Saturday is start of the Kentucky Derby which has been a tradition in Louisville Kentucky since 1875 at Churchill Downs. Many spectators will be flocking to the races to pick a hopeful thoroughbred winner for themselves.

Some of the traditions that surround the races are women dressed in fine outfits  lavishly accessorized with large elaborate hats. As horsed are being paraded around the before the grandstands, the University of Kentucky plays the song My Old Kentucky Home also Burgoo at thick stew consisting of beef, chicken, pork and vegetables is served all day at the derby.  The favorite of traditions is the Mint Julep the official drink of the derby which is made up of Bourbon, Sugar, water and fresh mint. The earliest mention of the this Southern drink refresher dates back to 1803

The Mint Julep

2 oz Powdered sugar

1 oz water

4 Sprigs of fresh mint

4 oz Makers Mark bourbon

Mississippi Punch

When it comes to Mississippi Punch, master Barman Jerry Thomas said in the nineteenth century, " Wherever it's from, it testifies to the capacity and taste of our forbears." In other words we can't be sure where in South this punch originates but punches where very popular in the 1850's and served in parties and drinking establishments and this one happen to be a winner.

Mississippi Punch

2 oz of Brandy

1 oz of Jamaican Rum

1 oz of Whiskey Bourbon

1 Tbsp of powdered sugar

Juice of half a large lemon

Squeeze the lemon juice into a mixing glass, add the sugar, and stir to dissolve it. Add the spirits and the iced and shake well and serve.

Prescription Julep

We've often heard it said this will cure whatever ails you. There happen to be some medical humor from "A Winter in the South," a series that ran in Harper's Monthly in 1857.  The Doctor wrote out a prescription  for a patient that goes like this. White sugar, with spring water as as necessary, strong cognac, spirits of Rye, mint leaves, as desired, thus we get the Prescription Julep. 

I tried this julep at the Varnish bar in downtown Los Angeles and it was one of the best drinks I've ever had and is great to sip on during a hot summer day just like in the old South. 

Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

Prescription Julep

2 oz White sugar

1 oz Spring water

1 1/2 oz strong cognac

1/2 oz Rye Whiskey

Mint leaves as desired

Dissolve the sugar in the water, lightly press the mint leaves in the resulting syrup, add the spirits and ice, and stir. Add another sprig of mint leaves for garnish on top of the ice. Serve in a julep cup with a straw. 

Singapore Sing

There are many types of slings that date far back into the 19th century and too many to count. Both world wars brought these recipes back to the states but the most famous of these is the Singapore Sling. It was created in 1915 by Ngiam Tong Boon a bartender at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore. According to Charles Baker the Raffles Sling was" immortal, never forgotten a delicious, slow-acting insidious thing". I believe he was right and you will too. Give it a try and let me know how you like it.

Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com

Singapore Sling

2 oz gin

3/4 oz Cherry Heering or other cherry flavored brandy.

2 tsp Benedictine

2 tsp Cointreau

2 oz pineapple juice

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

2 dashes of real pomegranate grenadine

1 dash of Angostura Bitters

Soda water

Combine all except soda water in an iced cocktail shaker. Shake and pour into a highball or collins glass, add ice and top off with soda water. Garnish with a cherry , pineapple slice and orange wheel.

Queen's Park Swizzle

My theme this week has been on vintage tiki based drinks and another one you'll love is called Queen's Park Swizzle. This was invented back in 1946 in Trinidad with plenty of Guyanese Rum that makes it cool and refreshing drink for summer. You don't have to go to a tiki bar to have one, I've provided the recipe for you and it could also be found at some vintage style cocktail bars in Los Angeles, Orange County or from my acquaintance Matt Robold who runs the website Rumdood.com. Try it and let me know how you like it.

Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

Queen's Park Swizzle

3oz Demerara Rum

.75 oz lime juice

.5 oz simple syrup

3 dashes of Angostura Bitters

Fresh mint for garnish

Add ingredients into a collins glass along with crushed ice and swizzle with a bar spoon until the glass is frosted over. Garnish with fresh mint.   

The Navy Grog AKA The Ancient Mariner

Last week I wrote on Don of Don the Beachcombers restaurant and bar and I mentioned had created several cocktails including the Navy Grog also known as the Ancient Mariner. It's a rum based drink and I've had the pleasure of tasting it at 320 Main in Seal Beach, CA and at  Caña  Rum bar in Downtown Los Angeles. 

This is is a wonderful drink that can be served at you're next Patio Daddy-O function this summer and also can be found in Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails.

Navy Grog (Ancient Mariner)

1 oz Demerara rum not the 151 proof

1 oz Dark Jamaican rum 

3/4 oz fresh lime juice

1/2 oz grapefruit juice

1/2 oz simply syrup

1/4 oz Allspice Dram

Build in an old-fashioned glass filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and a mint sprig.

The Mamie Taylor

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis. Now that it's getting warmer and a lot of us are beginning think about planning backyard barbeque's  and picnicking, what else could go with those occasions  then some refreshing cocktails that are light for all to enjoy. One I recommend is called the Mamie Taylor from the turn of the century and was widely popular from 1899 - 1902 and was mention in news papers, jokes and  named after a Broadway singer / actress.

Mamie sang light opera and is said to help invent the drink but like the drink has since been all but forgotten until I tried it and in my book is a winner with a few ingredients that can easily be made for your next party. 

Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

Mamie Taylor

1 1/2 oz Scotch Whiskey

Juice of half a lime

4 - 5 oz of Ginger ale or Ginger Beer.

Build with ice in a highball glass

Pour the Scotch and lime juice into an ice-filled 8 ounce highball glass and fill with ginger ale. Stir and garnish with a lime wedge.

The Angels Flight Cocktail

This is John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis and in honor of the grand re-opening of the Angels flight in Downtown Los Angeles on 4th and Hill directly across from Grand Central Market, there is now an Angles Flight Cocktail. To celebrate it's 109th anniversary I crafted a cocktail that would have been enjoyed by those living in 1901 as well as 2010 name after the Los Angeles incline railway. It's made up of ingredients that would have been fancied in drinks at the turn of the century and can be made at home or in some of the new cocktail lounges in Downtown Los Angeles if you give them this recipe.

Angles Flight Cocktail

1 1/2 oz Rye Whiskey (Rittenhouse Rye)
1/2 teaspoon Absinthe
1 oz of fresh squeezed orange juice
1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 oz Cointreau
1 teaspoon powdered sugar
1 egg white

The Manhattan

The Manhattan complements the name it shares with the island. This cocktail was invented at New Yorks's Manhattan Club at the end of the nineteenth century and is a drink mad with whiskey rather than clear spirits. Two stories of it's origin are as follows:

Jenny Jerome Churchill threw a party at th club to celebrate Samuel Tilden's successful run for governor in 1874 another is that years later it was made for a Supreme Court Justice name Traux. Two problems with the stories is that Jenny was in England giving birth to her son Sir Winston Churchill and there has never been a Supreme Court Justice named Traux.

No matter which story is true, one thing is it's a tasty cocktail when using top shelf spirits such as Michters bourbon with Carpano Antica vermouth and a couple dashes of Angostura bitters and garnish with a Marasche Cherry from Italy. You can buy most of these ingredients in Hi-Times Cellar in Costa Mesa if you're in Southern CA or check on line where you purchase these. Try it and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

John Apodaca

john@daddyosmartinis.com 

The Manhattan

1 1/2 oz of Bourbon such as Michters or Rittenhouse Rye

3/4 oz sweet vermouth Carpano Antica

Shake ingredients very hard and strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a Marasche cherry.

Ward Eight Cocktail

If ever there was cocktail with interesting history it has to be Ward Eight. The drink was named after Martin Lomasney a teetotaler who ran for the Massachusetts Senate in 1898 and a group of  his friends would gather at the Locke-Ober Cafe near the State Senate house asked the bartender to create a new drink in his honor. Bartender Tom Hussion is said to have put together whiskey lemon juice, orange juice and grenadine, naming it a Ward Eight after the old West End Boston neighborhood where Lomansney was the representative.

It turns out there is some controversy if Lomansney ran for a seat in 1898 or 1896 and when the drink first appeared. Not only didn't Lomasney drink but he didn't frequent the Locke-Ober Cafe and it turns out he was part of the temperance movement that led to prohibition. I've had this drink at the Copa D' Oro in Santa Monica and at 320 Main in Seal Beach and am very pleased with it's refreshing and smooth taste. If you're in either of those places be sure to try it or make it at home and let me know what you think.

Cheers,

John Apodaca

Ward Eight

2 oz of Rye Whiskey

1/2 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/2 oz fresh squeezed orange juice

1/2 oz grenadine

Shake all ingredients very hard for 20 - 30 seconds then strain into a chilled 4 oz cocktail glass.

The Brown Derby Cocktail

This John Apodaca from Daddy-O's Martinis. There's never since stood an iconic restaurant in Los Angeles and Hollywood during it's golden era called the Brown Derby. Once owned by  Herbert Somborn and Bob Cobb and one location being shaped like a man's derby hat with three locations and famous patrons such as William Holden, Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Betty Davis etc. Several scenes in movies and Television shows were filmed at the Derby and of course the famous I love Lucy episode with Lucy and Bill Holden on where she ends up causing a pie to be thrown in his face.

The Brown derby is famous for it's Cobb salad along with the Brown Derby Cocktail. Unfortunately like so many places in Los Angeles, it's been knocked down and replaced with other things but the salad and the cocktail live on. Easy to make and you're friends and family will enjoy it.


The Brown Derby Cocktail


2 oz of Bourbon ( Rittenhouse Rye
1 oz fresh grapefruit juice
1/2 oz honey syrup ( 1 part honey dissolved in one part warm water ).
Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass

The Old Fashioned

The Old Fashioned was invented at the Pendennis Club in Louisville Kentucky by bourbon distiller Colonel James E. Peepper and the bartender around 1900. Made of  Rye Whiskey, Angostura bitters, sugar cube, soda water and orange peel.

The Old Fashioned

1 1/2 oz Bourbon or Rye Whiskey ( Rittenhouse Rye or Buffalo Trace )

2 - 4 Dashes of Angostura bitters

1 Sugar cube

1 Splash of soda water

Flamed orange peel

Place the sugar cube at the bottom of an old fashioned or double rocks glass. Soak the sugar with 2 - 4 dashes of Angostura bitters and add a splash of soda water and muddle (crush) the ingredients until dissolved with a muddling stick or with the back of a bar spoon. Add the whiskey, slice an orange  peel very thinly ( about 2 inches), light a match hold it underneath the peel with a back and fourth motion for a few seconds, turn it over and do the same for a few seconds while holding it over the glass. Pinch the peel while still holding the lighted match it to release oils, you should see a spark from the release of the oils. Put out the flame and wipe the rim of the glass along with the peel and place it in the glass and enjoy the drink.

The perfect cocktail for Mother's day

This is John Apodaca with Daddy-O's Martinis. Mothers day will be here this Sunday and it has been with us starting with the first official service at Andrew's Methodist Episcopal Church in West Virgina in 1908 then it was campaigned to establish a holiday. The Holiday was declared by the state of West Virginia in 1910 and on May 9,1914 President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation declaring the first national Mother's Day. A day for American citizens to show the flag in honor of those mothers whose sons had died in war. It was Franklin D. Roosevelt who declared a stamp commemorating the holiday in 1934 and the rest is history.

Most of you with mothers will be taking them out for a special breakfast or brunch and the cocktail that would be perfect for the occasion is the Breakfast Martini. Created by Salvatore Calabrese at the Lanesbrough Hotel in London England. The flavors of gin, Cointreau, fresh squeezed lemon juice and orange marmalade blend together so well and is so tasty that even the most resistant vodka drinker would can be converted to gin. Rather than having a glass of Champaign or a Mimosa, or even a Bloody Mary, take this recipe with you and have the bartender make this one for you instead. I guarantee this is a winner and one of my favorites. 

Breakfast Martini 


1 1/2 oz Bombay Sapphire Gin
3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
3/4 oz Cointreau
1 teaspoon light marmalade
1 slice of mini toast for garnish

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass, garnish with mini toast.

Tyler's Infused Tequila Old Fashioned

This recipe comes from my friend Tyler Dow of Four at Checkers Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles, CA.


Infuse Herradura anejo tequila with dried and smoked chipotles and ancho chiles. I also add some Abuelita Mexican chocolate.

1 deseeded and deveined dried ancho chile
1 deseeded and deveined smoked and dried chipotle chile
about 3/4 of a block of Abuelita chocolate.
1 bottle of Herradura Anejo

Combine everything in a carafe and refrigerate for 48 hours.  Check flavor; it will be spicier now than it will be when it ages a little, so it's OK if it's a little hot.  If the flavor is appropriate, fine-strain the tequila into glass pour bottles.

Refrigerate for two or three days, it allows the flavors to mellow a little and get some very nice depth.

Prepare in an Old Fashioned glass. For further information see video.