Belmont Jewel

This year’s Belmont was a huge letdown again, what with California Crome tanking the Triple Crown and his owner going ballistic, comparing Chrome’s loss to thumping a kid in a wheelchair in a game of hoops. All of that nonsense necessitates a drink. Since we have given you the official drink of each of the other Triple Crown races, let’s finish off with the Belmont’s current recipe. It’s only a couple years old, since their last recipe, the Belmont Breeze, had six ingredients, two garnishes, and a shake with mint- talk about a pain when you have to pour thousands of them.

Earth Tones

One of the greatest mixers in the world is coffee. It literally pairs with just about everything: spirits of all kinds, bitters, spices, herbals, beers, liqueurs, and even citrus juices that you’d be surprised about. The typical trick with coffee cocktails is to either concentrate the coffee or add a coffee liqueur like Kamora or Kahlua to the mix (see the classic Spanish Coffee). Since it’s spring, we went in another direction. We decided to use a bold tasting blend to balance a drink without the coffee actually bulling itself to the forefront. A solid choice is the local Brewhaha Roaster’s Buxom Blend whose earthiness we thought would match well with hazelnut, honey, and mint. See if you agree!

Earth Tones
Holly's Original
2 ounces cold Buxom Blend Brewhaha coffee
3/4 ounce Frangelico
1/4 ounce Drambuie

Muddle 4-5 mint leaves in a half ounce of Buxom Blend at the bottom of a mixing glass. Remove mint and add ice to the coffee. Add remaining ingredients and shake lightly. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Garnish with a spanked mint sprig.

Black-Eyed Susan

Unfortunately, the Preakness is somewhat the ugly step-sister of the Triple Crown races- its in the middle, doesn’t have the tradition of the Kentucky Derby, and doesn’t have the million eyes on it if there is a possible Triple Crown winner like New York’s Belmont Stakes does. However, Maryland does have one thing going for it- they know how to drink. The only state whose college students routinely top Wisconsin college students in binge drinking, Maryland has the liver for the Preakness to live up to. Hence, the Preakness offers the Black-Eyed Susan.