The Cocktail Spirit with Robert Hess

Video way too under lit...hard to see. Also, where is the recipe/instructions; those would be nice.

Sorry for the low lighting. We shot this on the fly when we could grab H from behind the bar. He was so busy!
We will put up recipes soon.

In lieu of this I’ve got something special going on that I call the Swagerac.

Rinse a chilled old fashioned glass with pimento dram (I use the wonderful St. Elizabeth allspice dram)

In a mixing glass coat a lump of brown sugar with Fee Brothers Barrel Aged bitters and a little bit of water, mix this into a syrup then add ice and demerara rum (I’m using the Murray McDavid 13 year old Guyana but have had great results with the Scarlet Ibis as well)

Strain into the chilled old fashioned glass and express the oils of a key lime peel into the drink

oh yeah....swag it out as well…

I made this Shirazerac as soon as I saw the recipe in Imbibe magazine. It’s quite delicious, though I still prefer the classic. The syrup is also a pretty good substitute in an Old Fashioned, especially if you’re a lemon peel instead of fruit salad type of person ( though there is nothing wrong with that if that’s what you’re in the mood for ). The one thing I love about a rinsed glass is the “leavins “ at the end of the night. We have a drink with a rinse of Laphroig 10 that gives me a full shot by the end of the night. Life could be worse.

would you really want to drink that laphroaig afterwards? dont think so… meanwhile congrats on what i personally think is the most venerable cocktail of them all… want some cognac in the mix though.

I prefer my sazerac with a good quality pastis and and a nice vsop cognac and pechauds bitters. very dry, and aromatic.

I’m as to what this shiraz syrup is, could someone tell me how to make it or where to buy it?

The Shiraz syrup is simply equal parts brown sugar and Shiraz reduced over low heat. One cup of each usually fills a squeeze bottle once it is reduced. Enjoy!

Thank you I will be trying this tonight! I don’t have sazerac rye but I have a bottle of rittenhouse rye in my drinks cupboard.

Rittenhouse is a great rye. It’s actually pretty scarce in NYC. I’m a little jealous : ) You mentioned you like yours made with cognac. Try equal parts cognac and rye. I had one at Death and Company the other night ( they call it a New York Sazerac ) and it was pretty tasty.

Love the feedback! Kimberly, you’re right, as with most syrups, infusions, tinctures, etc that I make for one recipe, I wind up using it in other concoctions. Once I’ve found a place for it in several uses it becomes a mainstay in my arsenal even when I’m not making the drink it was created for. One of my favorite uses for the shiraz brown syrup is on ice cream! And DC, Rittenhouse 100 is my favorite rye to mix with and makes any whiskey cocktail excellent. Try it with some of this syrup in a blender with some vanilla ice cream!

That sounds amazing. Too bad I can’t find any Rittenhouse. I swear it’s like fishing for a ceolecanth.

Kimberly Patton-Bragg