Chimayó

At the bar, we came across the Chimayó in the Eric Felten's book, How's Your Drink?, a nice collection of recipes and cocktail anecdotes from the former Wall Street Journal columnist.

As Felten tells it, the story of the Chimayó goes something like this: In New Mexico, somewhere between Santa Fe and Taos, is the town of Chimayó. A local restaurant owner created the cocktail in 1965, when he was looking for a new way to use the apples that grew in abundance around the Chimayó Valley. Essentially a Diablo with apple cider in the place of ginger beer, the Chimayó cocktail eventually became the restaurant's signature drink.

I love this refreshing cocktail, which is full of fall flavors. We use Seedling Apple Cider from Michigan, which is a nice tart cider. To pull a bit more acid out of the cider we add a little bit of lemon juice, which also offsets the sweetness of the crème de cassis. The combination of apple and citrus flavors really compliments the spicy, peppery tequila. A quarter ounce of ginger liqueur to adds a touch more heat to the finish.

Chimayó
1.5 oz reposado tequila (I like Herradura Reposado)
.75 oz Briottet Creme de Cassis
.25 oz ginger liqueur (such as Koval)
1.5 oz Seedling Apple Cider
.5 fresh lemon juice

Shake all ingredients together and serve tall, over ice.

Photo by Robert Brenner.

Orchard Old Fashioned

I have seen several vintage cocktail recipes call for "orchard syrup," and I've read about a similar syrup on Jennifer Colliau's blog, but like Jennifer, I've never been able to find an exact recipe. Assuming that the type of orchard being referenced is an apple orchard, it seems like the syrup should have a very concentrated apple flavor.

Then I found out Nick and Ira of Bittercube had come up with an amazing apple cider reduction syrup using a rare Japanese sugar and were using it in a riff on the Old Fashioned. Conveniently, I already had Seedling Apple Cider on hand at the Whistler (we do hot mulled apple cider nightly, once the temperature starts to drop). I substituted demerara sugar for the Japanese variety, and it worked well, yielding a nicely concentrated apple flavor.

Once the reduction syrup is made, this becomes the perfect drink to make in large quantities. Especially ideal for holiday parties when you'd rather be enjoying cocktails with your guests, rather than spending the entire evening making them for your guests.

Orchard Old Fashioned
2 1/2 oz 100 proof bourbon (I use Old Heaven Hill Bonded)
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1/2 oz Seedling Apple Cider reduction syrup

Stir slowly with ice, strain into old fashioned glass over large rock of ice. Garnish with expressed lemon peel. I then top this cocktail with tobacco bitters, which is made by a special friend of the Whistler's.

Photo by my talented pal Alan Del Rio Ortiz.