Captain Trips

The Firewater Lounge threw their annual summer shindig in July; this year’s theme was Stephen King characters. To complement the eerie proceedings, we created an interesting menu that was a decent hit with the crowd. Many of the drinks are spin-offs of classic cocktails, which were a lot of fun to make. We’ll post six of the best from the sixteen-drink menu and point out their original classic as well.

The first is a drink we called Captain Trips. Captain Trips is the name of the superflu from King’s The Stand. Why? Well, at the party we glugged the red wine floater on this drink to make it scary-nasty. But in real life, it’s a good drink. The classic riff here is the practically unknown New York sour which itself is a riff of the whiskey sour. The difference between our Captain Trips and the New York Sour is the peach syrup, which is made in the same way as we described in our summery syrups post (We save the strained peach leftovers, sprinkle them with cinnamon, and then pour them over ice cream! Waste not, want not!). Once you have the homemade peach syrup, here’s the pour -

Captain Trips

Holly's Originals Series

2 ounces bourbon (I used Russell's Reserve)

1/2 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1 1/4 ounce peach syrup

1/2 ounce dry red wine (I used Red Splash)

Add a large lemon wedge into a rocks glass or large coupe and cover with a quarter ounce of the peach syrup. Muddle. Fruit peel is different from mint. You can muddle with a bit more aggressiveness to get the oil from the peel and a bit of bitter from the pith. Add ice to the glass. In an iced shaker, add the bourbon, lemon juice and remaining ounce of peach syrup. Shake well and strain contents into your lemon-wedged, iced rocks glass. Carefully pour the red wine over the back of a bar spoon so it forms a layer on top.

New York Sour

Classic Pour Series

2 ounces rye

3/4 ounce fresh-squeezed lemon juice

1/2 ounce simple syrup

1/2 ounce dry red wine

Same process. Different whiskey, different syrup.

Our second drink is named for the terrifyingly rabid St. Bernard, Cujo, in King’s book of the same name. Again this drink uses homemade peach syrup as a change up from a classic, this time the Peruvian Pisco sour. Both the Cujo and the Pisco sour use egg white, so don’t freak, get guts and try it.

Cujo

Holly's Originals Series

2 ounces brandy (I used Korbel)

3/4 ounce peach syrup

Juice of 1/2 lime

1 egg white

4 drops of Angostura bitters

Place all ingredients except the Angostura bitters in a shaker without ice. Shake until frothy like a rabid dog (Remember this is called a ‘dry shake’). Add ice to the shaker and shake again until cold. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Carefully dot the surface of the drink with 4-5 drops of Angostura bitters. Drag a cocktail pick through the dots for aesthetic pleasure.

Pisco Sour
Classic Pour Series

3 ounces pisco

1 ounce simple syrup

1 ounce key lime juice

1 egg white

4 drops of Anogstura bitters