Hosting an Old Man Party

Recently, my wife and I hosted  an "old man party" for a group of friends, some of whom brought booze to share.  Few things are more awkward to me then trying to offer drinks to people and having to orally go through a laundry list of drinks until one sounds good.  Instead, (being off work the Friday of the party) I crafted drink menu.  I focused on seasonal drinks (hold the Mai Thais).  Here is the menu that I made and notes I made the next day.  My wife even printed them out on fancy paper for some class.

Cocktail Menu

The base liquors for tonight are gin, brandy, and whiskey.  Feel free to request a half-sized cocktail.

Strong Classics

Manhattan:  bourbon, sweet vermouth, and angostura bitters garnished with orange peel or cherry

Not surprisingly, guests gravitated to the more exotic drinks but at the end of the day a good Manhattan can compete with anything.

Martinez:  gin, sweet vermouth, maraschino liqueur, orange bitters

I liked this drink but am very careful the with maraschino liqueur.  The first time I made it, I think I used too much (1/4 an oz) and it overpowered the drink and gave it a funny aftertaste.

Negroni:  campari, sweet vermouth, and gin, garnished with an orange peel

The Negroni earned decidedly mixed reviews.  While a favorite of mine, one of my guests thought it was “utterly undrinkable.”  Bitter stuff isn’t for everyone evidently.

Old Pal:  rhy, dry vermouth, Campari, and lemon twist

Rolls Royce:  gin, sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, and Benedictine

One guest tried this one, which I'm pretty partial to.  He liked it, though thought it was a tad boring.  There is some truth to that, insofar as it doesn't have any especially potent flavors (only a teaspoon of Benedictine), but I would disagree to an extent.  The Rolls Royce has every bit as much going on as a martini and them some, so I think the comment primarily reflected disappointment in not trying something more exotic.

Monte Carlo:  rye, Benedictine, and Peychaud’s bitters, garnished with a cherry

This drink was pretty well received. I tried a variant of this with a squirt of lime juice and no cherry that I liked better, but that might be my bias against maraschino cherries.

Kinda Sweet

Cloudy Sky:  sloe gin, lime juice, and ginger ale

The Cloudy Sky proved the favorite of the ladies, including my wife.  It takes a while to make but is well worth it.  We used pretty good ginger ale with a strong ginger taste – much stronger than Canada Dry.  The ginger ale pulls in both the tart of the lime with the sweet of the sloe gin.

Jack Rose: applejack, lime juice, and grenadine with simple syrup optional 

Probably the sweetest drink on the menu.  My wife finds the real version too strong so I cut it with about a teaspoon of simple syrup and add a bit of extra lime juice.

Livorno:  bourbon, Tuaca, and Peychaud’s bitters, garnished with a cherry

One of my favorite of the sweet drinks, as I like the combo of bourbon (Buffalo Trace) and Tuaca.  I garnished it with an orange peal instead.

Philly Sling:  applejack, sloe gin, lemon juice, simple syrup, and angostura bitters

This got good reviews and is a bit like the Cloudy Sky.

Sidecar:  Cointreau, cognac (brandy), lemon juice on sugar rimmed glass with an orange peel.  A dash of orange bitters optional

One of my favorite classic cocktails, though I don’t have any Cognac at the moment and substitute Brandy.  It’s good for sipping for a while and less good if you have ambitions of numerous drinks because of the amount of sugar.

So So Cocktail:  gin, sweet vermouth, applejack, and grenadine

Not well received by the two who tried it.  I think this goes to a lot of people not liking sweet vermouth.  Next time, I’ll have to reduce the vermouth quotient in the menu.

A Little Different

Mamie Tailor:  scotch, lime juice, and ginger ale

One of the most like drinks, I ended up making a few.  There were guests who weren’t real big Scotch fans but liked this drink because it kept some of the flavor but cut the harshness.  I used a bit more Scotch than the recipe called for, as the Scotch (Remy Martin 12-year-old) was kind of invisible.

Under the Tartan Sun:  Tuaca, scotch, and tonic water, with a lime wedge

Not sure what to make of this one.  One of my guests liked it.  I tried one and found it muddled with a bit too much going on.  I’m not sure if I like Tuaca and scotch.

White Bear:  gin, sweat vermouth, dry vermouth, Grand Marnier, lemon juice, and angostura bitters