Fancy Free

I think most people would agree that the Old Fashioned is just a really good cocktail. It's simple, classic, and delicious. And because it's so simple and so good, there are a lot of variations out there. Some stay pretty close to the source material, like I did with my Autumn Cranberry Old Fashioned. Others go a bit farther afield with additional ingredients, like my Blood and Smoke or the Ward Eight, or new base spirits as in the Oaxaca Old Fashioned (tequila and mezcal) and the Gin-Campari Old Fashioned (gin and... you guessed it). Spirits, bitters, and sugar... it's a fun and easy combination to play around with.

In my favorite Old Fashioned recipe, I like to add a little liqueur from the jar of Luxardo cherries. So the Fancy Free seemed like a brilliant idea - it replaces simple syrup and/or cherry juice with Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Orange and Angostura bitters round it out. The recipe calls for bourbon, but I think it might be better suited for rye. It depends how you prefer your Old Fashioneds.

This cocktail is sweet and rich, with a lingering spice and bitterness. It doesn't stray too far from its inspiration - a wonderful, complex riff on a classic cocktail.

History: When I posted this, I incorrectly stated that this cocktail was a recent invention, but it turns out it's quite old! Which isn't too surprising, given its ingredients and simplicity. The recipe appears in Crosby Gaige's Cocktail Guide and Ladies' Companion from 1941. I found one blog that claims this is its first time in print.

I'd never heard of Crosby Gaige before, so I looked him up. Turns out he was a pretty interesting guy. Born in 1883, he was the son of a postmaster from Nelson, NY. He worked his way up to become a wealthy Broadway producer and publisher. His small publishing company attracted the likes of Virginia Woolf and James Joyce. He lost all his money and then earned it all back again. He he was quite the foodie and a huge fan of cocktails. "In the world of potables the cocktail represents adventure and experiment," he wrote. I entirely agree.

But where did Gaige get the recipe for the Fancy Free? Apparently he had a huge collection of recipe books, so it might have come from somewhere else. If any of you cocktail history buffs have additional information, I'd love to hear it.

Most of my info on Crosby Gaige came from this article and a Wall Street Journal article by Eric Felten called "Easier Does It: Starter Cocktails."

Fancy Free

2 oz. bourbon
1/2 oz. maraschino liqueur
2 dashes orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in an Old Fashioned glass with a large ice cube. Stir to combine. Garnish with a large orange twist and a brandied cherry.

Recipe from Serious Eats.

Dillionaire

I came across the Dillionaire while looking for recipes that used Bittermen's Boston Bittahs. When I saw the ingredients, I knew I had to try it. Any recipe that mixes Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur with fresh dill has got to be interesting. Plus, an adorable name? Sold.

Dill is not something you see in cocktails very often. Or in anything else, for that matter. I've only used it once in my entire life, when I made pickles. But a small packet of dill seeds came with a set of herb seeds I bought, and I figured why not plant them? I'd find a use for a dill, or else just make a bunch more pickles. I didn't expect it to end up in a cocktail, but I'm glad to put my little shrub of dill to good use.

I had to make some substitutions in order to pull this one together. I don't have any tonic syrup and wasn't really ready to spring for a bottle, so I replaced the 1/2 oz. tonic syrup and 3 oz. club soda with 3 1/2 oz. tonic water (Fever Tree). I also don't have Hendricks Gin, so I used Wire Works. Finally, I don't have Cocchi Americano, so I substituted Lillet. I don't think any of these changes affected the final cocktail too grievously.

The Dillionaire has a decidedly savory flavor and aroma. The tonic and dill flavors comes in strong at first, but then give way to sweetness in the middle of your sip. That's when you taste the maraschino liqueur and the chamomile. Then it's all bitterness. A really complex, interesting cocktail. And very refreshing! It's a really unique twist on your average Gin & Tonic.

History: The Dillionaire was invented by Nick Caruana, who writes the awesome cocktail blog The Straight Up - be sure to check it out. I want him to teach me how he takes those awesome cocktail photos.

Dillionaire

2 oz. gin (Hendricks recommended)
1/2 oz. Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
1/2 oz. Cocchi Americano (I used Lillet)
1/2 oz. lime juice
2 droppers Bittermen's Boston Bittahs
3 slices cucumber, 1 reserved for garnish
3 sprigs dill, 1 reserved for garnish
3 1/2 oz. tonic water

Place two cucumber slices and two sprigs of dill in the bottom of a shaker. Add Luxardo and muddle. Add Cocci Americano, gin, one dropper of Bittermen's, lime juice, and ice. Shake until well chilled. Double-strain into a rocks glass filled with ice. Add tonic water and the second dropper of Boston Bittahs. Garnish with the remaining cucumber slice and sprig of dill.

Recipe adapted from The Straight Up.

Bottle Buy: Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

St. Germain was the first splurge I ever made for my bar; Luxardo was the second. It took me a while to buy it because it was pricey for me at the time, and I didn't think it was very versatile. While St. Germain popped up in bunches of cocktails and tasted amazing mixed with just about anything, I really only wanted the bottle of Luxardo to make one of my new favorite cocktails, the Aviation. I didn't think I'd be using it in much else. But boy, was I wrong. Luxardo appears in tons of classic cocktails. So many that it's one of the bottles Roger Kamholz picked for The Kitchn's 9-Bottle Bar.

Luxardo hails from the town of Zara on the Dalmatian Coast, once part of the Venetian Empire (now called Zadar and located in Croatia). Girolamo Luxardo and his wife Maria Canevari moved there from Genova in 1817 when Girolamo was appointed consular representative for the Kingdom of Sardinia (the predecessor of Italy today). Maria occupied herself by making liqueurs, and set out to perfect a recipe for a traditional Dalmatian rosolio maraschino. The result was so impressive and well-liked that Girolamo founded a distillery in 1821 to produce Luxardo.

When Zara was ceded to Yugoslavia at the end of World War II, most of its Italian population was forced to leave. Many were killed. Only a single member of the fourth generation of Luxardos survived, Giorgio Luxardo. He rebuilt the distillery in Torreglia, Italy, where it remains today. The company is still family run, and owns the largest cherry orchard in Europe.

Luxardo is a liqueur made from sour marasca cherries. Ripe cherries are combined with pits, leaves, and stems as well as honey and other secret ingredients to infuse in larchwood containers. The liqueur is then distilled in copper stills and aged for two years in Finnish ash wood vats before being diluted and sweetened. On the Luxardo label, you can see the seals of the many awards it has earned, as well as the signature of Girolamo Luxardo. The bottles are easily recognized by their straw sleeves, which protect them during shipping.

Luxardo is sweet, almost sickeningly so on its own, but it's also complex. It's not the in-your-face cherry flavor your might expect; piney and herbal notes give it a lot of depth. Its distinct flavor makes it difficult to miss in a drink, and it can easily overpower other ingredients, but in the right amounts it makes an amazing cocktail.

Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur

Price: $32

Alcohol content: 32%

Popular cocktails: Martinez, Turf Cocktail, Aviation, Red Hook, Last Word, Hemingway Daiquiri

To introduce this delicious an unusual spirit, I chose the Turf Cocktail. The addition of absinthe, two kinds of bitters, and the Luxardo gives it a strong herbal quality. It's a drink with many layers. For this reason, it may have not been the best choice to really showcase Luxardo's flavor, but it does show how nicely it can blend with other ingredients when used right.

History: A "turf club" was where well-to-do gentlemen would go to bet on horse racing around the turn of the century. As such, a number of different Turf Cocktails popped up from the various clubs, and three recipes have persisted. This is the best-known, first published in Harry Johnson's 1882 Bartender's Manual.

Turf Cocktail

2 oz. gin
3/4 oz. dry vermouth
1/4 oz. maraschino liqueur
1 dash absinthe (I used Herbsaint)*
1 dash orange bitters

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass and fill with ice. Stir until chilled. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a lemon twist.

*Note: Be careful with your "dash" of absinthe. While bitters are made to be dispensed in dashes, it can be a trickier business with big bottles, and too much anise flavor will ruin this cocktail. As discussed in this article, also from The Kitchn, a dash is about 1/5 of a teaspoon.

Recipe from Imbibe.