Sebago Cocktail

The Sebago is a delicious cocktail I created over the weekend. Initially I tried making it with gin, but ended up switching to Lee, NH's Flag Hill Josiah Bartlett Apple Brandy because the overall flavor of the cocktail was superior this way. The highlight of this drink is the combination of the orange juice with the ginger syrup, which marries very well with the complex foundation of apple brandy. The lemon juice adds some balance to the drink as far as tartness is concerned, and the Peychauds bitters add additional depth as well as helping provide its distinct salmon color. This drink should go over equally well with cocktail drinkers of all kinds.

2 oz. quality apple brandy such as Josiah Bartlett
1 1/2 oz. orange juice
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1/2 oz. ginger syrup*
dash Peychauds bitters.

Shake with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.

*Make your own ginger syrup: Combine 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce heat and add 1/3 cup sliced ginger. Return to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for a half hour. Remove from heat and let cool, then add to a bottle and store in the refrigerator.

L'Aquitaine

I created this drink using deliciously fresh strawberries I picked from Applecrest Orchards in Hampton Falls. It's similar to the Satan's Whiskers cocktail in its use of both sweet and dry vermouth, as well as using gin as the base spirit, but replaces the orange juice with strawberry juice. I settled on all French spirits for this drink, and if I lived in France I'd use fresh-picked Gariguette strawberries to bring this Francophile concoction full-circle (the majority of cultivation occurring in the Aquitaine region--hence the name I'm giving this creation).

1 oz. Citadelle gin
1/2 oz. Noilly Prat dry vermouth
1/2 oz. Noilly Prat rouge vermouth
1/2 oz. Grand Marnier
1 oz. fresh strawberry juice
dash of orange bitters

Shake ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Gin & Tonic?

I spent this past independence day weekend up at my family's camp in Maine. To me the 4th is the thing that most says "summer is surely here", and what better way to celebrate than with that quintessential summer drink the gin & tonic? Not content, however, to simply top some gin on the rocks with tonic water, I came up with what I suppose I'll call...

Gin & Tonic Royale (..ha ha ha....)

2 oz. gin
4 oz. tonic water
dash orange bitters
lime wedge
clementine or orange wedge

Cut the lime and clementine wedges in half and muddle in a double old fashioned glass. You can either leave the spent fruit wedges in or remove them at this point. Fill glass with cracked ice and add gin and orange bitters. Stir a bit and add tonic water. Stir once more and serve with two sip straws. I guarantee this will taste a bit more special than your typical G&T.