Tony is bartender at the Mason Social, an awesome new place in Alexandria.  Try their Earl Gray-infused Roundstone Rye cocktail, called the Parker Gray.  Delicious!

Tony will be taking over the bar at Catoctin Creek on Saturday, August 22, 2015, with these featured cocktails.  Come out that day between noon and 4pm and meet Tony and try one his creations! 

Some Call It Work

2 oz. Watershed Gin
¾ oz. lemon
¾ oz. Thai basil syrup*
1 oz. egg white
basil leaf garnish

*Thai basil syrup: Mix together 1 cup of sugar and 1 of water in a 1 qt saucepan. Bring the mixture to about 170 degrees and stir until all the sugar is dissolved. Let the mixture simmer and steep the about 12 leaves of thai basil in the sugar syrup for about 30 mins. Remove the basil leaves and store the syrup in a closed container for up to two weeks in a refrigerator.

The Sanctuary

2 oz. Mosbys Spirit
½ oz smoked ginger saccharum**
5-6 mint leaves
crushed ice
torched lemon garnish

**Smoked ginger saccharum: Peel and slice 1 cup of ginger and smoke it in a smoker, oven, or by using The Smoking Gun. Put ginger in a pot, cover with 1/2 cup of sugar and let sit for 2 hours. Add 1 more cup of sugar and add 3 cups of water to the pot. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let simmer for 30 mins. Let it cool and double strain into a covered container. Keeps in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Toes in the sand

2 oz Roundstone Rye
1 oz roasted orange juice***
couple of drops of orange bitters
toasted cinnamon stick

***Roast orange slices in the oven at 375 degrees until the edges carmelize and begin to char (about 20 mins). Juice the orange slices after they cool.

Join us in welcoming Chad Robinson as our guest bartender in July!  Chad will be slinging the cocktail shakers behind the bar on Saturday, July 11, from noon til dusk.  If you don't already know, Chad is the Catoctin Creek brand ambassador, usually traveling up and down the east coast to represent Catoctin Creek.  On the side, he loves to do a bit of bartending.  An expert on cocktails, Chad has been a vital part of educating the public on old classics like punches, toddies, and fizzes.  This month, Chad will be doing various takes on the classic highball (a basic mixture of soda and spirits).  

Ryeball

2 oz Roundstone Rye 92 proof
4 oz Gerolsteiner Sparkling Mineral Water

Neighbor, Can You Spare a Buck?

2 oz Watershed Gin
1 oz Element Lemon Mint Shrub
4 oz ginger beer

El Cardenal

2 oz Mosby's Spirit
1 oz lime juice
4 oz Jarritos grapefruit soda

Frank is bartender at the Pearl Dive Oyster Palace, the hopping cool place on 14th Street in Northwest DC.

Terry's G&T

1½ oz Watershed Gin
3 oz Blueberry tonic*
Lime wheel garnish

Combine ingredients over ice in a double old-fashioned glass.  Garnish with a lime.

Mosby's Cup

1 oz Mosby's Spirit
¾ oz White Pimm's**
2 oz lemonade
2 dashes orange bitters
4 slices cucumber
1 strawberry (quartered)
2 orange peels (minimum pith)

Fill collins glass with ice, pausing to layer 2 slices cucmber, bits of strawberry and orange peels throughout glass. In a cocktail shaker, combine remaining cucumber with 1 oz Mosby's Spirit and .¾ oz “White Pimm's” and muddle lightly. Add ice, shake briefly, and strain over ice. Top with lemonade. Finish with 2 dashes orange bitters on top.

Tell Me How You Like It

2 oz Roundstone Rye
1 oz sweet vermouth
½ oz dry vermouth
½ oz peach/blackberry shrub***
1 dash Angostura bitters
1 dash orange bitters
lemon peel

In a mixing glass, combine all ingredients besides lemon peel. Fill with ice and stir vigorously for 15-20 seconds. Strain into a cocktail glass or coupe. Express lemon peel over glass, discard.

*Blueberry Tonic

1 pint blueberries
8 cups water (split)
6 cups sugar
1 cup chopped lemongrass
¼ cup powdered cinchona bark
1 orange, zest and juice
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 lime, zest and juice
1 tsp whole allspice berries
¼ cup citric acid
¼ tsp kosher salt
cheesecloth
soda siphon and CO2 charger

To make blueberry syrup: Start by simmering blueberries in 4 cups water until blueberries release all their juice (10-15 minutes). Strain out solids and return juice to pot. Add sugar and heat gently until all sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat.

To make tonic syrup: In another pot, combine all remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth.

Combine blueberry syrup with tonic syrup. Measure total volume and add enough filtered water to increase by 2.5 times (add 2oz water for every 3⁄4oz syrup). Fill siphon with mixture and carbonate.

**White Pimms

750ml biano/blanc vermouth (Carpano Bianco is preferred)
3tsp dried orange peel
cheesecloth

Combine vermouth and orange peel in glass jar and allow to infuse for 24-36 hours in fridge. Strain through cheesecloth and store cold.

***Peach/Blackberry Shrub

1 lb white peaches (pitted and chopped) 1 cup blackberries ¼ cup grated ginger 2 cups sugar in the raw 2½ oz apple cider vinegar 9½ oz white balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients besides vinegars in a large glass bowl and place, covered, in fridge for 2-4 days (until all sugar has dissolved and fruit is surrounded by liquid). Strain solids from liquid, pressing lightly to retain as much juice as possible. Combine with vinegar mixture and separate into glass bottles. Allow to rest for at least one week in fridge, flavor will mellow the longer it sits. Holds for up to one year if sealed and kept cold.

Brian is bartender at the Occidental, the storied DC restaurant that's one block from the White House and served every president from Calvin Coolidge to Barack Obama.

Have You Met Ted?

2 oz Mosby's Spirit
¾ oz simple syrup
¾ oz lemon juice
5 leaves of basil
1 bar spoon fig preserves

Apple Cinnamon Sazerac

2 oz Roundstone Rye
½ oz apple cinnamon syrup
2 dashes Barkeep Baked Apple bitters
Absinthe rinse
Star anise garnish

*Apple Cinnamon Syrup

5 cups water
5 cups sugar
6 Granny smith apples
12 Cinnamon sticks

Boil the water, sugar, apples, and cinnamon together, strain and keep in the refrigerator for up to one month.

Regina's Relaxation

1½ oz Watershed Gin
½ oz Aperol
Fever Tree Bitter Lemon soda to top

Mike tends bar at Hank's Oyster Bar and Hank's on the Hill. Mike's cocktails reflect his own unique sense of humor.

I'm Hot, Sticky Sweet

1½ oz Mosby's Spirit
1½ oz pineapple/mango shrub
½ oz lemon juice
Mint garnish

Swift Roundstone to the Face

1½ oz Roundstone Rye
2 oz cider
½ oz red wine syrup*
3 dashes orange bitters

*Red Wine Syrup

Cook to reduce two bottles of red wine to one cup. Then mix with one cup of sugar to produce a syrup.

Gargamel's Revenge

1½ oz Watershed Gin
½ oz lemon juice
1¼ oz blueberry tonic
Soda to top
Lemon wheel and blueberry garnish

Josh holds down the fort at the Hamilton most nights.  If you haven't been to the Hamilton in DC, that's something to put on your list.  In this month's cocktails, Josh makes nice use of that fresh summer fruit.

Summer Berry Negroni

1 oz Watershed Gin
½ oz Aperol
¾ oz berry syrup*
2 dashed rhubarb bitters

*Berry syrup

6 oz blackberries
6 oz raspberries
1 c sugar
1 c water

Mix all ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer for 10 mins. Purée the mixture and strain.

White Cherry Old Fashioned

1½ oz Mosby's Spirit
1 oz cherry syrup**
2 dashes orange bitters

**Cherry syrup

20 cherries, pitted
1 c sugar
½ c orange juice

Bring mixture to a simmer for 10 mins, purée and strain.

Rye Peach Shrub

2 oz Roundstone Rye
1 oz white peach shrub***
2 dashes Angostura bitters

***White Peach Shrub

4 white peaches, diced
½ c champagne vinegar
1 c sugar
½ c water

Simmer, purée, strain

Donato's cocktails each pay individual attention to the flavors of the three main spirits:  The Mosby's cocktail is refreshingly fruity, the Watershed Gin cocktail makes use of the delicious herbal notes in the gin, and the Roundstone cocktail is a take on an old-school rye cocktail.

Blue Moon

¾ oz Wild blueberry preserves
½ oz Lemon juice
1½ oz Mosby's Spirit
Basil garnish
Club soda

Combine everything in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir. Strain into glass of ice, garnish with basil and top with club soda.

Garden Elixir

1½ oz Watershed Gin
¾ Dill syrup
½ Lime juice
Bitters float
Dill garnish

Combine all ingredients in to shaker. Shake and strain in to glass of ice. Float the bitters, and garnish with dill.

Rye Me A River

1½ oz Roundstone Rye
¾ oz Velvet Falernum
¾ Lime juice
1 oz Cocchi Rosa
Cucumber garnish

Combine all ingredients in to shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a rocks glass. Cucumber slice to garnish.

Trevor Frye's cocktails make use of some unique techniques, like using a red wine float as a garnish, and using a smoker to give a new dimension to a traditional old cocktail.  Be sure to check her out at Wildwood Kitchen in Bethesda, Maryland.

New Fashioned

2 oz Roundstone Rye
¼ oz simple syrup
3 dashes Jerry Thomas Own Decanter Bitters
Velvet Falernum rinse

Rinse rocks glass with Velvet Falernum.

Combine rye, simple syrup, and bitters in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir.

Discard velvet Falernum. Pour in to glass and garnish with lemon peel.

Beez Sneeze

1½ oz Watershed Gin
¾ Honey
¾ peppercorn infused lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in to shaker. Shake and double strain in to chilled couple. Orange peel to garnish.

Berry Nice to Meet You

2 oz Mosby's Spirit
1 oz strawberry syrup
½ oz orange juice
Blackberries to garnish

Combine all ingredients in to shaker with ice. Shake and double strain in to chilled martini glass. Blackberry to garnish.