Cocktail & Sons

Complex syrups for simple drinks.

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The Clover Club cocktail can be traced back to the late 1800s and Philadelphia’s Bellevue-Stratford hotel. This popular hangout drew crowds of writers, lawyers and titans of industry, who convened to talk about issues of the day. Naturally, their meetings included drinks, and the Clover Club with gin, fresh lemon juice, raspberry syrup and egg white was a favorite among this genteel set.

The pre-Prohibition classic is one of Philadelphia’s greatest contributions to cocktail history, but like many drinks of its day, the Clover Club all but disappeared for most of the 20th century. Eventually, it found its way back into rotation, helped in part by its appearance in modern cocktail books, including Gary Regan’s “Joy of Mixology.” Its resurgence was solidified in 2008, when Julie Reiner opened a cocktail bar in Brooklyn named for the classic drink. Naturally, the bar put a Clover Club on the menu, and the cocktail has remained there since.

Clover Club

2 oz gin 3/4 oz C&S Berry Grenadine 3/4 oz lemon juice 1 egg white

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker and shake hard for five to ten seconds. Add ice and shake for an additional ten seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe glass and garnish with a pick of berries - your choice.

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The Tequila Sunrise was created in the early 1970s by Bobby Lozoff and Billy Rice at the Trident bar in Sausalito, California. The cocktail achieved notoriety after a member of the Rolling Stones—in some tellings it was Mick Jagger, while others have it as Keith Richards—tasted it at a party to kick off The Rolling Stones’ 1972 tour. The band began ordering it at stops across the country and even dubbed the tour “the cocaine and Tequila Sunrise tour,” which helped to propel the drink’s popularity.

In 1973, Jose Cuervo put the recipe on the back of its tequila bottles, and that same year, the Eagles released a song called “Tequila Sunrise” on their “Desperado” album. These infusions into popular culture resulted in the drink going mainstream, and it has been a part of the cocktail canon ever since.

Tequila Sunrise (Improved)

2 oz tequila blanco 1/2 oz C&S Berry Grenadine 1/2 oz orange juice  1/2 oz lime juice

Add tequila, lemon juice, and lime juice to a Collins or HIghball glass. Add ice to top of glass. Pour the C&S Berry Grenadine over the top of glass and the syrup will sink to the bottom of the glass. Serve with a orange slice and a cherry plus a straw to stir up the magic.

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While the Scofflaw was invented during the Noble Experiment, it didn’t rear its head in some subterranean dive in Chicago. It was reportedly a creation of a bartender named Jock at Harry’s New York Bar—in Paris.

The recipe was a result of the word “scofflaw” coming to prominence on January 15, 1924. It won a contest held by prohibitionist Delcevare King that asked people to coin a term to describe the lawless drinker, “to stab awake the conscience.” The word, I think, is pretty neat, but I’m not sure how many consciences were stabbed awake by it.

Scofflaw (Max's version)

2 oz bourbon (bonded - 100 proof) 1/2 oz C&S Berry Grenadine 1/2 oz dry vermouth (Dolin or a French style) 1/2 oz lemon juice

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, add ice and shake hard for five to ten seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe glass and garnish with an expressed lemon peel.

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The Mexican Firing Squad is one of the many cocktails documented by world traveler, cocktail writer and historian Charles H. Baker. The drink is recorded in his Gentleman’s Companion, Volume II: Jigger, Beaker and Flask, as having been discovered at the La Cucaracha Bar in Mexico City in 1937. A dry formula, the Firing Squad is almost a rickey with the addition of grenadine to sweeten only slightly.

Mexican Firing Squad

2 ounces tequila blanco

3/4 ounce lime juice

3/4 ounce C&S Berry Grenadine

5 dashes aromatic bitters (we prefer Max Bitter Aromatic) Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker. Add ice and shake until chilled. Strain into a rocks glass over ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

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The Ward Eight, a turn-of-the-20th century concoction, is one of Boston’s major contributions to craft cocktails. The cocktail was reportedly created in 1898 in Boston to celebrate the election of one Martin M. Lomasney to the state legislature. Lomasney was a politician who wielded considerable power in Boston for 40 years, serving as a state senator and representative as well as a political “boss” in the city’s eighth ward.

The drink, by all accounts, was created at the Locke-Ober Café in Boston’s eighth ward. Already nearly 20 years old when the drink was created there, the venerable French restaurant and bar survived until 2012, when it finally closed. As with any drink that old that wasn’t written down at the time, there are different approaches to crafting it, but the most popular is a mix of rye whiskey, lemon and orange juices and grenadine, which is what author and cocktail historian David Wondrich specifies in his rendition here.

Ward Eight

2 oz rye whiskey 1/2 oz C&S Berry Grenadine 1/2 oz orange juice  1/2 oz lemon juice

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, add ice and shake hard for five to ten seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe glass and garnish with an expressed orange peel.

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The Jack Rose cocktail was created around the turn of the 20th century. Its origin is ambiguous, but reports peg its creation to either New York or New Jersey, which tracks considering the drink’s base spirit was likely Laird’s Applejack, an apple brandy made in New Jersey at the oldest licensed distillery in the U.S. The drink quickly found fans and enjoyed a popular run through Prohibition and even among prominent authors—it was a known favorite of John Steinbeck and made an appearance in Hemingway’s 1926 book “The Sun Also Rises.” It was also included as one of six basic drinks to know in David Embury’s 1948 book “The Fine Art of Mixing Drinks.”

Jack Rose

2 oz applejack (bonded - 100 proof) 3/4 oz C&S Berry Grenadine 3/4 oz lemon juice

Add all ingredients to cocktail shaker, add ice and shake hard for five to ten seconds. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe glass and garnish with an expressed lemon peel.

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Sometimes, you just need a tonic for what ails you. While traveling in much warmer climates, I couldn’t help but notice that most of our drinks contained a healthy amount of salt to replenish electrolytes lost to the sweltering heat. That was the basis of this cocktail, made with our soothing Ginger Honey syrup, a whole quarter lime (the oils from the skin work so well here), and a generous handful of sage or thyme leaves to introduce a much needed herbal element. 

Salted Ginger-Ade

1 oz C&S Ginger Honey

1/4th of a lime

1/4 tsp salt

Fresh sage or thyme leaves

Add ingredients to the bottom of a shaker and muddle. Add a splash of club soda, swirl, and strain into a Collins glass. Top with club soda.

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With this drink comes the reminder that spring is right around the corner. The earthy matcha combines with the florals of mint and creamy coconut to make this a definite crowd pleaser. The best part is that you can have this two different ways! Make it with fresh lime and our Mint & Lemon Verbena syrup, or skip a step and go straight for our Mojito Mixer (made with fresh lime, natch).

Spring Affair

1 oz coconut milk

.5 tsp matcha 

.5 oz lime +.75 oz C&S Mint & Lemon Verbena -or-

1 oz C&S Mojito Mixer

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake until tin is frosted. Strain into a Collins glass over fresh ice. 

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Coffee and Coke has always been popular in Japan. It is, in fact, a year round flavor there, much like Cherry Coke is here. Inspired by a cross between a Japanese Coffee Cola and a Vietnamese coffee, our adaptation is cold, smooth, and refreshing, with just the right amount of zing to keep the party interesting.

Mojo Pin

2 oz coffee concentrate or espresso

.5 oz Dem

1 Tbsp Sweetened Condensed Milk

Coca cola

Add first three ingredients to a rocks glass. Swirl to combine. Add ice, and top with Coke. 

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Oh the Rickey! Originally hailing from Shoomaker's bar in Washington, D.C., the legend goes that bartender George A. Williamson created this cocktail for Democratic lobbyist Colonel Joe Rickey in the 1880s, since good old Joe wasn’t much for sugar. The cocktail has been much maligned since then; you can usually find them made with Rose’s Lime Juice today. This version is amazing for a nonalcoholic tippler (and great with some gin or vodka if you’re in the mood). And don’t shy away from experimenting with other fruits! We used frozen cherries here, but anything seasonal would do the trick.

Cherry Lime Rickey

Handful of thawed cherries

.5 oz C&S Oleo Sacchrum

Juice of a whole lime

Sparking water

Muddle cherries with lime juice and Oleo in the bottom of a shaker. Add a pinch of soda water, swirl, and strain into a rocks glass. Add ice, and top with soda water.

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This is it - the Dark Academia of cocktails. We love this as a pick me up during Lent, especially if you’ve given up booze like we do. You can sub out egg whites for the aquafaba, or even try vegan cocktail foamer drops. But whatever you do, don’t skip the foam. It’s essential for that perfect, creamy mouthfeel.

Winter Sour

2 oz Spiritless Kentucky 74 Nonalcoholic Bourbon

.5 oz Ginger Honey

.5 oz Lemon

.75 oz aquafaba

Add ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until tin is frosted. Strain into a coupe; garnish with cinnamon dust.

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If you’re craving a little something after a meal, nothing hits the spot quite like an affogato. Traditionally a scoop of plain ice cream “drowned” in hot espresso, we made ours into a cocktail sure to impress.

Affogato

1 oz hot, strong coffee or espresso

1 oz Lyre’s Amaretti

.5 oz Dem

1 scoop Ice Cream

Add Amaretti to a coupe glass, add ice cream. Stir Dem into espresso and pour over ice cream mix. Enjoy.

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There’s nothing alcoholic about this Faux 75. The key is nonalcoholic sparkling wines. This one from Thompson & Scott is made from denatured Chardonnay grapes, but tastes like more than just grape juice. 

Faux 75

1.5 oz Lyre’s Dry London Spirit

.5 oz C&S Oleo Saccharum

.5 oz lemon

Top with N/A champagne

Add gin substitute, C&S Oleo, and lemon to a shaker with ice. Shake until the tin is frosted. Strain into a flute or coupe, and top with N/A Champagne. Garnish with a lemon peel, expressed.

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Inspired by the Spicy Margarita, this tipple is so good, you won’t even miss the alcohol.

Spicy Margarita

2 oz Free Spirit Spirit of Tequila

1 oz Bonbuzz Slowburn

1 oz C&S Margarita Mixer

Salted chili rim

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice. Shake until tin is frosted. Using lime juice or water, make a rim with chili salt mix. Pour cocktail into rimmed glass over fresh ice. Garnish with a lime wheel.

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Once again, we decided to play with the flavor profile of the classic Paloma. Originally a long drink, we wanted something with a bit more heft to support the King Cake syrup and fresh grapefruit. What resulted was a paloma all grown up. We love what we came up with, and we think you will too.

1.5 oz anejo tequila

.25 oz lime

1 oz fresh grapefruit juice

.5 oz C&S King Cake syrup

Add ingredients to a shaker with ice; shake until tin is frosted. Strain into a salt rimmed coupe. Garnish with a grapefruit peel, expressed.

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Iced Irish Coffee

Sometimes, Mardi Gras gets hot. As veterans, we’re prepared for this. Our costumes come in layers that can be put on and stripped off as the weather changes. Same with our Irish Coffees.

6 oz brewed French Market Coffee, chilled

1.5 oz bourbon or Irish whisky

.5 oz C&S King Cake

Add to a glass with ice, stir. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

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You don’t have to be a New Orleanian to love the taste of King Cake. Our Pomegranate Fizz combines the best of winter flavors for a truly stunning cocktail.

1.5 oz vodka

.5 oz lemon

1 oz pomegranate juice

.5 oz C&S King Cake syrup

1 egg white

Add ingredients to a shaker without ice. Dry shake for 30 seconds. Add ice, shake until tin is frosted. Strain into glass, top with club soda.