December Drink of the Month - The Ninth Ward Cocktail

The past two winters I've taken to making Tiki and tropical cocktails in order to fight off the chill of the Polar Vortex. When shopping at my local booze emporium this week (yay for City-Wide Liquors) I stumbled across a bottle of Falernum, one of the oft-forgotten Tiki ingredients. Falernum is liqueur with quite a low ABV - as low as 11%, though it usually hovers somewhere around 18%. It is made from a rum base, but also includes lime juice, sugar syrup, clove, ginger, and almond. There was an old rhyme that was used to help remember how to prepare Falernum: "One of sour, two of sweet, three of strong, four of weak." Were you to try to make this syrup at home, you've now got a pretty easy recipe: combine one part lime juice, two parts sugar syrup, three parts white rum, and four parts water. You would certainly still need to know the correct blend of clove, ginger, and bitter almond, but you're well on your way (Want to make your own? Here is a great recipe to try)!

How does one use Falernum? Turns out that Falernum is a great substitute for orgeat syrup in almost almost sip and enjoy (though Ann liked the drink much better when I accidentally doubled the Falernum the first time I tried the recipe - gah, was that sweet!). The elderflower liqueur lends sweetness and compliments the spice flavors in the Falernum, while the bourbon base adds warmth and a hint of spice as well. Try one this winter - not only will it warm up your insides, but its also delicious!
any case. I made a fantastic Mai Tai last week using Falernum and Cachaça. I will post that recipe and a few other Falernum recipes next week, but you can also let your imagination run wild! There are also quite a few classic cocktails that feature Falernum, including the Zombie and Captain's Blood. For this month's cocktail, however, I chose something that features a great blend of Tiki and belly warmth. For my money, you can't do a better "liquid jacket" than whiskey. Rum never warmed my insides the same way that a stiff shot of bourbon. With that in mind, I turned to this recipe from roving bartender Brother Cleve: the Ninth Ward Cocktail. This is a drink that even whiskey haters can

The Ninth Ward Cocktail
In a cocktail shaker, combine the following ingredients:

1.5 oz bourbon
0.5 oz elderflower liqueur (St. Germain or otherwise - St. Elder is a great substitute)
0.75 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
0.75 oz falernum
2 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Shake over ice, strain into a coupe glass and garnish with an orange rind zest (Coupe glasses are the best! Want to buy me a wedding present - coupe glasses would be great!).

Enjoy your Ninth Ward Cocktail!