Recipes: Drinks All Around

Hogwash Whiskey Den's Simon Moorby elevates everyday cocktails to an art form with housemade syrups and infusions, and an emphasis on taste and presentation. Many of his signature drinks can be made zero proof, or nonalcoholic, so everyone gets to be in on the fun. Balanced beverages require some math and some measurement to ensure flavors (and the alcohol) don't overpower each other, so while a typical 1.5 ounce shot glass can be used, a jigger allows for more precise measurements.

— recipes courtesy of Simon Moorby, Hogwash Whiskey Den

You Autumn Know (non-alcoholic)

You might be able to purchase a pear shrub, which is a kind of old-fashioned soda drink made with vinegar. If not, it's easy to make. Acid-adjusted orange juice needs to be made fresh, however. It increases acidity so that you get the sweetness of the orange but more of a lemon- or lime-like acid element that stands up better to the spirits, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic.

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces Seedlip Garden 108 nonalcoholic spirits
• 1 ounce The Pathfinder Hemp & Root nonalcoholic spirits
• 1 ounce pear shrub
• .5 ounces acid-adjusted orange juice
• .25 ounces fresh lemon juice
• soda water
• ice

Directions

1. Pour nonalcoholic spirits into rocks glass.
2. Combine shrub and juices in shaker tin. Add ice and shake vigorously.
3. Pour shaken juices over contents of rocks glass.
4. Add splash of soda water.
5. Garnish with rosemary sprig.

Seasonal Old Fashioned

Burnt sugar syrup is easy to make and adds a new dimension to this classic cocktail.

Ingredients

• .75 ounce (or more) bourbon
• .75 ounce (or more) apple brandy (Moorby uses Bottled in Bond)
• .25 ounce Tuaca liqueur
• .25 ounce burnt sugar syrup (see recipe on facing page)
• dash Angostura bitters
• dash clove bitters
• ice

Directions

1. Put fresh ice in a rocks glass.
2. Measure and pour all ingredients in a pint glass or a tall, wide-mouthed glass. Add ice and stir 30 seconds.
3. Put strainer over top of glass and pour liquid through strainer into rocks glass. Discard old ice.
4. Garnish with apple wheel and cinnamon stick and serve.

Ube-B Baby

Ube is a vividly purple yam from the Philippines finding its way into all manner of food and drink. Here, its nutty, vanilla notes are enhanced by the inclusion of allspice dram, a spiced liqueur. Egg white adds opacity and body to the drink, which is surprisingly simple to make and a festive addition to your cocktail menu.

Ingredients

• 2 ounces dry gin
• 1 ounce lemon juice
• ½ ounce ube syrup
• ¼ ounce allspice dram
• 1 egg white*
• ice
• ginger beer

*Aquafaba (the liquid from canned garbanzo beans) can be used in place of egg white though Moorby says the flavor will be slightly different.

Directions

1. Combine ingredients in shaker and shake vigorously for 30 seconds to ensure egg white is incorporated.
2. Add ice and shake again for 30 seconds.
3. Strain into Collins glass and top with a splash of ginger beer.
4. Acid-Adjusted
5. Orange Juice

Ingredients

• ½ quart orange juice
• 8 grams citric acid
• 5 grams malic acid

Directions

1. Combine ingredients and stir until acid powders are dissolved.
2. Burnt Sugar Syrup

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cup water

Directions

1. Heat 1 cup white sugar in a high-sided pot over high heat, stirring constantly. The sugar will melt and might even smoke a bit. Keep stirring and do not leave unattended. This process will likely take 15 minutes.
2. Once sugar is melted, lower heat to medium, still stirring. When all the clumps are gone, add ¾ cup of water a few spoonfuls at a time and be prepared that the mixture will "spit" a bit.
3. Continue adding water and stirring until the liquid turns amber.
4. Let reduce until it's syrupy, roughly three minutes, then let cool enough to pour into a glass container.
5. Syrup keeps indefinitely without refrigeration.

Quick Pear Shrub

Ingredients

• 6 ripe pears, washed, cored and coarsely chopped
• 2 cups white sugar
• ½ quart apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Muddle pears with small amounts of sugar until mixture is liquefied.
2. Add vinegar, seal (canning jars work well for this) and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours to ferment a bit.
3. The next day strain the mixture through cheesecloth or fine mesh, discarding solids. The shrub will be bubbly and have a mild but distinct sharpness.
4. Store unused shrub in refrigerator.