The Wainscot

Here we go...

1 ounce Jamaican Rum
1 ounce Japanese Whiskey
3/4 ounce Lemon Juice
3/8 ounce Orange Curacao (Pierre Ferrand or another high quality Curacao is preferred)
3/8 ounce Macadamia Nut Liqueur (A hazelnut liqueur like Frangelico would be acceptable replacement or maybe even amaretto in a real pinch)

Shake and strain into pre-chilled cocktail coupe.  CHEERS!

The Best Year

Apparently The Best Year was 1975, because that's when this drink was created.  I got this one out of my favorite Tiki drink book "Bechbum Berry Remixed," by the master himself Beachbum Berry.  You should definitely check out any and all of his books if you enjoy a tropical libation or three.  POW!  See what I did there?  Here we go...

3 Ounces unsweetened pineapple juice (fresh juiced from a real live pineapple is always the best fyi)

3/4 ounce Licor 43

3/4 ounce blue Curacao (normally I'm against things like super sweet artificially colored liqueurs, but hey....it was the 70's you know?  Though I am known to use a high quality orange curaçao and vegetable based blue food dye as a blue curaçao substitute)

3/4 ounce Rose's lime juice cordial (making your own lime cordial is fun too.  I'll do a write up on that at some point.  The short answer though is it's Lime syrup but you want to simmer the lime zest with the juice and sugar, etc)

2 1/4 ounce vodka (now here is where I personally change the drink.  I hate vodka.  It disappears in cocktails, and I like my spirit to have a little more of a "hey, howya doin ;-)" attitude.  So instead I use a good white rum like Cruzan.)

8 ounces (1 cup) crushed ice

Now put everything in the blender.   Blend for a good 30 seconds, and poor unstrained into a glass of your choice.  I liked this ridiculous Hurricane glass I had laying around.  Now put on some Doobie Brothers and you're good to go.

Crustas

Since we're on the subject of crustas...  A wonderful and simple drink.  Make it with any spirit.  Brandy crustas and Rum crustas are my other goto's.  I prefer Jamaican rum the best when making the latter.  Like appleton 12 year.  Always make sure to use a high quality spirit, whatever you choose, as this is a drink where your spirit is playing the feature role.

2 ounces Any Spirit (Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Mezcal, Tequila, Eau-De-Vie, etc)
1 tsp simple syrup
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp orange curaçao (lately I like pierre ferrand dry curaçao, though there are lots of good orange liqueurs on the market that could sub)
2 dashes bitters (I like to play around with this, but angostura is always a good bet)

shake and strain into a sugar rimmed wine glass.  Take the peel of the entire circumference of a lemon for garnish.   Cheers!

This is a great one btw for experimentation and improvisation.  As you see below, It's easy to take many cocktails and render them in a crusta format!  Let's take the last word.  Equal parts gin, lime juice, maraschino liqueur, green chartreuse.  Watch this...

2 ounces Gin
1 tsp green chartreuse
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp maraschino liqueur
2 dashes bitters

Blammo, done!  A good way to think about the Crusta is that it's an evolution of an Old-Fashioned.  Instead of just bitters and a sweetener, we're augmenting that with also a bit of liqueur, and just a bit of citrus.  Not enough to make it a sour, just enough to brighten the drink up.  If you're an Old-Fashioned fan, then I suggest you try a Crusta, stat!  Though watch out for those bars that pour in the maraschino, make sure they're making it correctly first!

Pegu Club Cocktail

A classic that was once great, then horrible and now great again.  sometime during the 20th century, I imagine as a result of prohibition, curacao lost it's way.  Once more bitter and made with actual bitter orange peels from the Curacao island, it became a sugary artificial orange flavored mess.  The fine folks at Pierre Ferrand made that all better, and now we can enjoy great cocktails like the Pegu Club again!

1 1/2 ounces Gin (I like navy strength)
3/4 ounces Pierre Ferrand Dry Curacao Anciene Method
1 tsp lime juice
1 dash orange bitters
1 dash angosura bitters