recipes
1 oz Irish whiskey
1 oz blended Scotch
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
½ oz fresh lemon juice
Shake all ingredients vigorously in mixing tins and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
adapted from Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930
1½ oz brandy
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
½ oz Bénédictine
½ oz heavy cream
cold seltzer water
Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice and strain into a chilled fizz glass. Beat with a bar spoon while adding seltzer to the rim of the glass. Let stand for a minute to allow foam to firm, then slowly add more seltzer to “lift” the head above the rim of the glass.
Jennifer Colliau, 2011
I created this cocktail for the Imbibe Magazine fifth anniversary party at the second Portland Cocktail Week in 2011. There is no historical cocktail family that contains cream and soda but no egg, so I named it a “Lift” as if it was an actual category. Other bartenders have taken the formula and made their own Lifts, making it a modern cocktail family.
2 oz cognac or other brandy
¾ oz Small Hand Foods Pineapple Gum Syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
¼ oz yellow Chartreuse
Shake everything over ice and strain into a large rocks glass over crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple slice.
1½ oz bourbon
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
½ oz House Spirits coffee liqueur
½ oz heavy cream
cold seltzer water
Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice and strain into a chilled fizz glass. Beat with a bar spoon while adding seltzer to the rim of the glass. Let stand for a minute to allow foam to firm, then slowly add more seltzer to “lift” the head above the rim of the glass.
Brooke Arthur, Wo Hing General Store, 2013
2 oz Armagnac
¼ oz Small Hand Foods Gum Syrup
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Add all ingredients to a rocks glass and stir to dissolve syrup. Add a large chunk of ice and stir to chill. Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.
adapted from Charles H. Baker, Jr., The Gentleman’s Companion, 1939
2 oz light rum
¾ oz Small Hand Foods Raspberry Gum Syrup
¾ oz lime juice
5 fresh basil leaves
Shake everything vigorously over ice and strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a basil sprig.
2 oz gin
1 oz dry vermouth
1 barspoon Small Hand Foods Grenadine
Stir everything over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with an orange twist.
Harry Craddock, The Savoy Cocktail Book, 1930
2 oz gin
¾ oz fresh lemon juice
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
½ oz Cointreau
½ oz egg white
Add all ingredients to mixing tins and shake vigorously without adding ice. Then add ice and shake again. Strain into a chilled coupe.
Trader Vic’s, Oakland, 1944
2 oz gin
½ oz Small Hand Foods Orgeat
¾ lemon juice
2 dashes Angostura bitters
Shake all ingredients vigorously over ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.
David Embury, The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks, 1948
1¼ oz 151-proof Demerara rum
½ oz Small Hand Foods Passion Fruit Syrup
½ oz falernum
¾ oz orange juice
½ oz lime juice
1 dash aromatic bitters
6 drops absinthe
1 cup crushed ice
Add everything to a blender jar and process for 5 seconds. Pour into a tall glass or tiki mug and garnish with a cinnamon stick and orange peel cobra.
Don the Beachcomber, 1937