New Bourbon, Genever, and Rye Cocktail Recipes for You to Ponder (and Make), Plus a Recipe for Bacon-Wrapped Apricots with Sage

by Paul Zablocki and Steve Schul, Cocktail Buzz

The Biscotti Manhattan offers a hint of the famous Italian cookie, with notes of cocoa and cherries. Perfect with Bacon-wrapped Apricots.

We are the proud yet ashamed owners of cocktail recipes scribbled across stacks of mismatched scratch papers, napkins, business cards, index cards, menus, and the ubiquitous Post-Its. We call them strays. As winter approaches, we decided to shed ourselves of things that do not or no longer give us joy. Scraps of paper are those things. So before tossing them into the wastebasket of thwarted dreams, we decided to publish a few recipes that actually sounded good. Invite one of these strays over for dinner. Feel free to substitute whatever you see fit, or better fits with what you have on your shelf. Don't have Dubonnet rouge, then substitute a sweet vermouth or another quinquina. Try them all up or on the rocks with a splash of soda. We hope you enjoy experimenting behind the bar (and in the kitchen) as much as we do. Here's to you and all the fun you bring to flavor.

Fall Pear Manhattan

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 oz. bourbon
  • 1/2 oz. pear liqueur
  • 1/2 oz. Dubonnet rouge
  • dash whiskey bitters
  • 1/4 tsp. Velvet Falernum
  • pear slice, as garnish

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Add garnish.

Biscotti Manhattan

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 1/2 ounces bourbon
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth
  • 1/2 ounce Faretti Biscotti Famosi liqueur
  • 1 dash mole bitters
  • 1 dash cherry bitters

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Add garnish. [ADD bacon photo] The Biscotti Manhattan pairs perfectly with Bacon-wrapped apricots with fresh sage. So easy to make, yet the rewards are infinite. Bacon-wrapped Apricots with Sage (created by Cocktail Buzz)

  • package quality bacon
  • package unsulfured dried apricots
  • bunch fresh sage

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cover baking tray completely with parchment paper, so that it hangs a little over the sides. If apricots do not seem bite-size, cut in half. Cut bacon slices into thirds. Wrap bacon slice around apricot piece and place on parchment, seam-side down. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until bacon has reached desired doneness.

Pair them with any of the cocktails on this page, or with a William Tell All cocktail or a '69 cocktail for a "Perfect Pairing."

Maple-Rye Highball

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 1/4 ounces rye
  • 1/2 ounce Sortilege maple liqueur
  • 2 dashes Regan's Orange Bitters No. 6
  • maple water, carbonated

Shake for 15 seconds in ice. Strain into chilled glasses and top with maple water.

Dutch Negroni

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 ounce genever gin (we used Bols)
  • 1 ounce Aperol
  • 1 ounce sweet vermouth (we used Martini & Rossi)
  • dash camomile tincture
  • orange peel, expressed and rubbed around rim

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Add garnish.

Gin and Aperol

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 1/2 ounces G'Vine Floraison gin
  • 1 ounce Aperol
  • 1/2 ounce lemon juice
  • 1/4 ounce Galliano l'Autentico
  • 1 dash Boker's bitters

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Add garnish.

Golden Bees

(created by Cocktail Buzz)
  • 1 ounce bourbon
  • 1/ ounce Berentzen Bushel & Barrel
  • 1/2 ounce goldwasser
  • dash Boker's bitters

Stir in ice for 30 seconds. Strain into chilled coupe or cocktail glass. Add garnish.

Even if you never make any of these tantalizing concoctions or nibbles, we hope they inspired some of your own ideas. Share them with us.

For more cocktail and party food ideas, visit us at CocktailBuzz.com.

Photo (c) Cocktail Buzz