As in Alcoholic Body Count.  Thanks to an infographic from Food & Wine, you can just see how much 007 drinks in every film (23 and counting).  Click here to read it.  You might learn some interesting things, e.g. Daniel Craig drinks more than his counterparts.  Thanks to my wife for finding this for me.

Readers of the Den know I'm a big James Bond fan.  If you want to see Sir Roger Moore's version of 007 cocktail's here, or for a cocktail tribute to my favorite Bond girl click here.

If you want to learn about what Bond drinks in the movies (as opposed to how much), I recommend 007 On the Rocks by Stephan Kurr.  The book is a quick and informative read.

So (cue the theme music), we'll have to see how much Bond drinks when SPECTRE comes to the silver screen later this year.
 

When it comes to dark liquors I'm a bourbon and rye man. My wife loves Scotch, so the Affinity is for her and all of the other Scotch lovers out there (she also loves bourbon and rye). The Affinity came out of New York City in 1907.  It was the epicenter of a financial crisis in the United States when an unsuccessful attempt to corner the copper market led to overextended banks, which then led to a run on the banks.

As you can see, my wife has an affinity for Scotch.

So what about the name?  In 1907 "My Affinity" was a common phrase in pop culture, so the word worked its way into the cocktail world.  If you have an affinity for Scotch or someone who does:

1.5 ounces blended Scotch
.75 ounces dry vermouth
.75 ounces sweet vermouth
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine in a shaker with ice, stir with your clear affinity for cocktails, and strain into a chilled glass.

Most recipes for the Affinity use equal proportions of the three liquors.  I used a less traditional version in order to emphasize the Scotch.  If you use a more assertive blended (not single malt) Scotch you may want to use the  traditional proportions. Sharp eyed readers of the Den will notice this cocktail is similar to a Perfect Manhattan except it uses Scotch instead of bourbon or rye.

To paraphrase Buzz Lightyear, to Affinity and beyond!

Neat, with a little water, on the rocks, or in a cocktail.   Today is National Bourbon Day, so it's time to celebrate with your favorite bourbon(s)!

Raise a glass!

Contrary to popular belief, this classic American spirit does not have to be made in Kentucky. A lot of great bourbon comes out of Kentucky (Willett Pot Still is my favorite), and I've had great bourbon that does not come from Kentucky, e.g. Garrison Brothers in Texas or A. Smith Bowman in Virginia.

I'll distill (pun intended) bourbon's legal and technical requirements down to this -- it has to be made in the United States, contain at least 51% corn, and age in new charred oak barrels for at least two years.  Distillers in other countries frequently take used bourbon barrels to age spirits like scotch and sherry.  So in a way, other countries are getting Americans' sloppy seconds.

Not sure which bourbon based cocktail to have?  For ideas, click the "Bourbon" category on the right.  Consider going with a cocktail that is classic, e.g. a Manhattan or a Boulevardier, related to some excellent movies, e.g. a Pussycat  or an Inside Job, or a mix of old school and modern, e.g. a Black Hat or a Whiskey Crusta.  Just have some good old American bourbon fun.

Austin Powers would say "This drink is smashing baby! Yeah!" The Hulk would ... you know.

The Whiskey Smash dates back much further than the hilarious British secret agent spoof and everyone's favorite green superhero. Smash cocktails came on the scene in the 19th century, and this article in Imbibe magazine gives good historical background.

2.25 ounces bourbon
1 ounce super simple syrup
1/4 lemon cut into a couple of pieces
4-5 mint leaves

Muddle the lemon and mint in a shaker, add the super simple syrup, bourbon, and ice, shake like you're the Hulk smashing someone or Austin Powers shagging a babe, then strain into a chilled glass.

The Whiskey Smash essentially is a cross between a Mint Julep and a Whiskey Sour.  A julep has a spirit, herb, and sweetener, and a smash is a julep with added citrus. It's easy to adjust the ratios of the ingredients in the Whiskey Smash to suit your taste for tartness, sweetness, and booziness.  When it comes to the muddling, you don't need to be like you're Dr. Banner in desperate need of an anger management program.

No disrespect to the Hulk, but Captain America is my favorite Avenger.  He exudes honor, stands up to bullies of any stripe, acts like a gentleman, and kicks Nazi ass. Now go get smashed!

The Scofflaw is unusual in that both the word and the cocktail originated during Prohibition.  In 1923 a Boston newspaper sponsored a national competition to create a term defining a lawless drinker, and the word "scofflaw" was the winning entry.  It immediately entered the popular vernacular and has been with us ever since. One year later Harry's Bar in Paris created the Scofflaw.

Want to drink like a bad boy or girl? Follow their  lead (left to right, John Dillinger, Bugsy Siegel, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Machine Gun Kelly)

2 ounces rye
1 ounce dry vermouth
.25 ounces lemon juice
.75 ounces glorious grenadine syrup
2 dashes orange bitters

Combine in a shaker with ice, shake like you're running from The Untouchables (your choice about whether Robert Stack or Kevin Costner is Eliot Ness), and strain into a chilled glass.

Combining rye and vermouth in the Scofflaw works well because the vermouth tempers (historical pun intended;  the temperance movement was a driving force behind Prohibition) the strong, spicy flavors of the rye. The lemon juice and orange bitters give the Scofflaw a little acidity. The grenadine brings some sweetness to the equation, and in turn keeps the Scofflaw from burning your insides like a gangster would burn their rival’s stash.

Just remember: cocktail history is part of American history.  So appreciate history and have a Scofflaw!

Martini, Vodka Martini.  This is 007's cocktail.  Of course, martinis predated the literary and cinematic franchise that Ian Fleming spawned.  However, those martinis used gin.  Due to my obsession with James Bond, I've read a lot about his drinks and drinking habits (I even attended a seminar) and contributed to the discourse, e.g. click here to read about a cocktail I associate with the movie Goldfinger.

Drink like the world's most famous British spy.

This recipe comes from a man who knows a lot about James Bond -- Sir Roger Moore.  With apologies to Sir Roger, I changed the recipe  ever so slightly:

3 ounces vodka (I recommend Zyr)
.5 ounces dry vermouth (I used Noilly Prat)

Pour the vermouth in a martini glass, swirl it around, then pour the excess into a shaker.  Swirl the vermouth around the shaker, and discard the remainder.  Put two ice cubes and the vodka into the shaker, shake as if you're maneuvering an Aston Martin DB 5 around Blofeld's trap, then put the shaker and the glass in the freezer.  Wait 30 minutes (if you can) and strain the shaker's contents into the glass.  Garnish with lemon.

Click here for an article in the Guardian in which Moore discusses how he makes a vodka martini.  Even though I really like Zyr, use whichever vodka you prefer.   

You'll notice that a shaken vodka martini clashes with the Hamlet Cocktail Conundrum.  Why shake a cocktail that has no citrus or egg white?  Shouldn't you stir it?  Technically you should stir, not shake.  But in the spirit (pun intended) of James Bond, dare to be different.  There will be no spectre of a weak drink.

Even though Boston is a great city with a rich history, it is not known as a cocktail town.  That being said, you never should accuse Bostonians of being teetotalers, unless you are ignorant and/or have a death wish.  Although the precise birthplace and inventor of the Ward 8 are unclear (the name refers to a political district), the consensus is that someone in Boston (my parents are from there) invented this cocktail around the turn of the 20th century. 

Make your liver Boston Strong

2.25 ounces rye (go with Bulleit or Willett if you can)
Juice from 1/4 a lemon
Juice from 1/8 an orange
.5 ounces glorious grenadine syrup

Combine in a shaker with ice, stir as if you're walking with excitement to Boston's secular cathedral (otherwise known as Fenway Park), and strain into a chilled glass.

The ingredients of this cocktail may seem incongruous.  In that respect the cocktail honors the city.  For example, there's a wonderful line about Boston being a place where a lot of truly brilliant people coexist with a few violent psychopaths (I'm giving you the less profane version of how I heard it).  I'm not saying that rye is brilliant and grenadine syrup is psychopathic, or vice versa.  I'm merely saying that certain things go together better than you might think.  So make yourself a Ward 8, put on a good movie that takes place in Boston (such as The Departed, Good Will Hunting, or the original Thomas Crown Affair), and enjoy.

Voluntary detox is the type of VD that is good for you.  Thanks to Derek Brown, who has been a driving force in the enhancement of Washington, D.C.'s cocktail scene, for this insightful article about why he stops drinking during the month of January (click here to read it).

All cocktail lovers should have their own periods of voluntary detox.  When and for how long is up to you.  For me this article illustrated the dichotomy between wanting something and needing something.  If you want a cocktail, get one.  If you need a cocktail, get help. To paraphrase one of the many great lines from the wonderful baseball movie Bull Durham -- cocktails are fun, okay?  Fun goddamnit!

Just remember -- candlesticks always make a nice gift (if you've seen the movie, you probably can't watch a mound conference without thinking about that hilarious scene).

Even though the anniversary of Prohibition's end was last month, it's never too late to celebrate it.

There's some great history behind the 12 Mile Limit.  At the outset of Prohibition the territorial waters of the United States ended four miles offshore.  Rumrunners would set up shop just outside the line.  In an attempt to thwart them, in 1924 Congress extended the limit to ..... you guessed it, 12 miles.  We all know it didn't work.  To celebrate slightly more than 71 years since the repeal of Prohibition, make this:

As Dirty Harry Callahan once said: "A man's got to know his limitations."

1 ounce light rum
.5 ounces rye
.5 ounces brandy
.5 ounces Cherry Heering
Juice from 1/4 lemon

Combine in shaker with ice, shake like you're on the run from the law or a rival rumrunner, and strain into a chilled glass.

This is my kind of a Prohibition era cocktail because it's almost all booze.   If it is too tart for you, I suggest minimizing the rum and rye and/or adding a dash of super simple syrup.  The original recipe uses grenadine syrup (the real thing, not the sweet stuff you can buy in almost any grocery or liquor store) instead of Cherry Heering.  I opted for convenience over authenticity, as I already had a bottle of Cherry Heering in my bar.

If you want to read a magnificent book about Prohibition, I highly recommend Last Call by Daniel Okrent.  It is an entertaining read and you will learn all sorts of fascinating things.  Even if you go past your own 12 mile limit.

A new year calls for a new cocktail creation!

A cocktail that combines the brains, style, honor, and ruthlessness of the Corleone family (except Fredo)

Lupara is Italian slang for a sawed off shotgun, particularly in connection with La Cosa Nostra (more popularly known as the Mafia).  You might recognize the word if, like me, you read The Godfather and are obsessed with the novel and the film trilogy.  Although I don't think anyone says the word in the films, in the first film (Best.  Movie. Ever.) Michael Corleone's bodyguards carry them when he is in Sicily.

So why did I name this cocktail the Lupara?  Three reasons -- (1) the key ingredient is Averna, a wonderful amaro from Sicily, where La Cosa Nostra was and perhaps still is powerful, (2) the word lupara is derived from lupo, the Italian word for wolf, so there's a tenuous connection to the Wulf Cocktail Den, (3) Vito Corleone (born Vito Andolini) hailed from Corleone, Sicily.

2 ounces rye
1 ounce Averna
2 dashes orange and juniper bitters from Bittered Sling

Combine in a shaker with ice, stir as if you're methodically stalking the target of your vendetta, and strain into a chilled glass.

Last month I discovered Averna.  It has a great combination of citrus and herbal flavors.  Unlike other amari such as Campari, which has a very strong and almost medicinal taste, Averna is smooth enough that you can drink it neat.

I highly recommend using Bittered Sling's product for this cocktail.  The orange and juniper really complement the flavors in the Averna.  If you can't get your hands on these bitters from our friends north of the border, use orange bitters.  Regardless of what you use the result will be more elegant, but just as brutally effective, as its namesake.