Without the right spoon

Freelancing is a lot like eating a grapefruit without the proper spoon sometimes. It can be frustrating, barely rewarding, and energy consuming. Sometimes, it feels like you spend more energy trying to dig out just a little more fruit or juice with a blunt spoon. But once you've finally eaten the fruit and are squeezing the last drops of juice into your poorly paired spoon, you miss and spill the juice all over your shirt.

Or is that just me? Even better.

Over the past month, I've blogged my butt off for Birmingham Restaurant Week and been contacted by three different new clients. I've invoiced for more money this month than any other since I started freelancing full-time -- a welcome change after having to dip into my savings in July. Even with all of these things going right, I'm still trying to figure out how this writing thing will work going forward.

Several of the sections of my blog have gone on to become recurring paid columns. Cocktail of the Hour is now a regular part of my articles for mental_floss. I was blogging about health and fitness in exchange for personal training, but the gym has since closed. In the past, I'd used blogging to keep myself accountable as a writer or for my own health, but it hasn't stuck.

What I'd like to do is a weekly or monthly roundup post of what I did that week/month -- where I fell short, what frustrated me, and any victories. I'd love for my blog to be a place where I can focus on what I've done rather than leaving it in my head to loop endlessly through a montage of small victories and overwhelming obstacles. I can and will do this thing, and I will do it right. I hope.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Aviation

To truly enjoy the Aviation and appreciate its name, you have to think back to when air travel was a luxury. Picture a elegant seating area inhabited by suave gentlemen and well-coifed ladies. Imagine full-service dinners on tables with real table cloths served by happy stewardesses (term used for historical effect).

In that context, the Aviation's name and makeup makes more sense. It's a bit of a mystery -- I couldn't find much background on this Prohibition-era cocktail other than it was inspired by the air travel available around that time. It's a crisp cocktail with a tart bite and a dry finish. Per the recipes I found online, it's also incredibly versatile.

Per Wondrich's article on Esquire, it's made with maraschino liqueur, but no crème de violette. This recipe first appeared in Harry Craddock's 1930 edition of the Savoy Cocktail Book, and makes the drink reminiscent of the icy cloudscape that passengers experience when they fly.

According to most other sources, the crème de violette is essential: it provides the drink's recognizable hazy purple-blue color. Either way, it's a gorgeous drink that can call up memories of a simpler -- and more glamorous -- time. To find your way back, experiment with the proportions until you find what takes you back.

Recipe: 1 tsp Crème de Violette (optional) 1/2 oz maraschino liqueur 3/4 oz freshly squeezed and strained lemon juice 2 oz gin

Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker. Add ice, and shake vigorously until chilled, about 12-18 seconds. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry (optional).

Cocktail of the hour -- the Harvard

Before high fructose corn syrup was king, colleges had cocktails. Not the sugar-soaked-violently-neon-OMG-Spring-Break cocktails, but more sippable drinks that packed a wallop. During the early 1900s, the Harvard was one such cocktail. This cognac-based Manhattan variation has a rich, earthy and spicy from the brandy that's balanced by the warmth and sweetness of vermouth.

The Harvard first appeared in print in George Kappeler's 1895 Modern American Drinks. Like the Manhattan, the Harvard's original recipe calls for equal parts liquor and vermouth. After these ingredients are mixed, the Harvard's recipe diverges with a splash of soda water. In the original proportion, the brandy gets lost under the additional dilution.

Within the first 20 years of the 20th century, this cocktail was rebalanced to be more spirit-forward. This newer recipe has endured to present, and changes the ratio to two parts cognac to one part vermouth. Changing the ratio balances the liquor content with both the vermouth's sweetness and prevents over dilution, leading to a much more balanced drink.

Interestingly, Harvard variations including Chartreuse, citrus juice, maraschino liqueur and other sweeteners are occasionally mentioned in pre-Prohibition documents. That said, these Fancy (or Improved) Harvards have mostly been lost to history. Besides, this solidly balanced cocktail needs very little tweaking; it's lush and delicious in its original form.

Recipe 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters 1 oz sweet vermouth 2 oz brandy

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice and stir for 12-17 seconds or until well combine. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with some club soda. Garnish with an orange peel if feeling citrusy.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Ward 8

Out of all the contentious drinks I've featured so far, the Ward 8 might just top them all. With at least three origin stories and hundreds of recipes, the diversity of its manifestations almost rivals the Old Fashioned's. In fact, when a New York Sun writer called for readers to submit their Ward 8 recipes in the 1940s, he received more than 500 replies.

People get territorial over their whiskey cocktails.

According to the available mishmash of cocktail history, Boston was definitely the Ward 8's birthplace. It was probably created within a decade of 1900, and is most likely named for one of the city's voting districts. The most popular backstory is that it was created to celebrate a political boss's election victory in north Boston, but this story seems to have originated in 1951. Other sources credit other bartenders who worked at the hotel where this alleged party occurred and yet others give credit to other venues.

The Ward 8 is a whiskey sour sweetened with grenadine. The use of orange juice and the amount of grenadine varies by recipe, but however it's made, it usually turns out light, spicy and slightly dry. Since so many recipes for this beverage exist, I'm not going off the reservation by saying that if my recipe doesn't suit your fancy, tweak it until it does.

Ward 8 1 tsp - .5 oz grenadine (to taste) .5 oz lemon juice .75 oz orange juice 2 oz whiskey Add all ingredients to a shaker tin. Shake vigorously for 13-17 seconds or until cooled through and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Corn 'n Oil

Though today's Blog Like Crazy topic is to tackle a controversial subject, I'm not going that far...yet. This cocktail's name may be provocative given the current "debate" over farm subsidies and fossil fuels, but it's named for neither of these things. With origins rumored to be in Barbados, the earliest recipe is a three ingredient highball.

Interestingly, none of the three ingredients resembled corn or oil. Some speculate that the oil part of the name comes from the thick black Black Strap rum, but the earliest iterations of the recipe call for aged rum, not its darker counterpart. This substitution was made rather recently by Murray Stinson of Seattle's Zig Zag Cafe -- the man responsible for bringing the Last Word back.

Stinson also changed the proportions of the ingredients. According to the label on John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum bottles, the drink is traditionally 3:1 Falernum to rum, but Stinson's version calls for the opposite. Each recipe creates a very different flavor profile: the bottle's recipe is a light, sweet summertime drink that would take the edge off a tropical summer. Stinson's drink, on the other hand, is a spicy, rich, deep concoction that brings out a different type of complexity in the cocktail. Others have riffed on this recipe, adding Coke and other ingredients for completely different ends.

As with most other drinks, the most important part is that it's to your taste. I've included both recipes so you can try both and draw your own conclusions.

Recipes:

Modern Corn n Oil

2-3 dashes Angostura bitters .5 oz lime juice or two lime wedges .5 oz John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum 2 oz Cruzan Black Strap

Fill a glass with ice. Add Falernum, top with rum and squeeze the lime juice on top. Add bitters and stir ingredients in the glass until chilled and fully combined.

Old School Corn n Oil

2 dashes Angostura bitters .5 oz lime juice or two lime wedges .5 oz rum from Barbados 1.5 oz John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum

Fill a glass with ice. Add Falernum, top with rum and squeeze the lime juice on top. Add bitters and stir ingredients in the glass until chilled and fully combined.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Champs Elysees

If you've ever taken a French class, chances are that your teacher made you sing the song called "Champs Elysées." When I first stumbled across the Champs Elysées cocktail on drinkboy.com, I couldn't get the song out of my head for weeks.

Tasting this drink made the earbug worth it. As a Sidecar variation, this brandy-based beverage is at once herbaceous, bold and delicately balanced. By most accounts, it's a cocktail that's remained largely obscure since it first appeared in Henry Craddock's 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book. In this edition, the recipe calls for Chartreuse, while elsewhere the green or yellow is specified. This ambiguity allows the bartender (or home bartender) some room to play, so use whichever you prefer.

So little is known about this drink's history that, much like the Last Word, ordering it is a pretty easy way to demonstrate interest in classic cocktails. It's also worth noting that brandy-based cocktails are sometimes viewed as foreign but are actually as old (if not older than) some of the most revered whiskey cocktails.

Recipe:

1 dash Angostura bitters

.5 oz simple syrup

.5 oz (green or yellow) Chartreuse

.75 oz lemon juice

1.5 oz brandy

Combine all ingredients in a shaker and add ice. Shake for 13-16 seconds or until combined. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and enjoy.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Negroni

Despite all of the amazing alcoholic products exported from Italy, it's not a place known for its cocktails. Since the country didn't have to get creative to make illegal spirits palatable, few recipes have emerged. However, a few Italian cocktails have become critical parts of cocktail history.

One that has inspired endless variations is the Negroni. Like many other cocktails, this one doesn't have a clear cut backstory. Its origin is traced by some back to 1919. At that time, Count Camillo Negroni is said to have ordered an Americano (equal parts Campari and sweet vermouth) with gin and no soda.

The result was and is a cocktail with a beautiful ruby tone. Taste-wise, the Campari adds a bitterness and sweetness that plays around the gin's herbaceous bite. Sweet vermouth balances these flavors with a smoky, wine-y earthiness. Though many bartenders have rebalanced this cocktail to please modern palates, others argue passionately that these variations are not actually Negronis.

For that reason, I've included the original recipe. By what I can tell, it's also the most historical, so it's the best suited for my purposes. Other interesting variations to try include the Boulevardier (sub bourbon for gin), a 1794 (sub rye for gin) or a Boulevarista (sub tequila for gin). With one Google search, I uncovered more than twenty variations, and scores of others exist in books and bars all over the world. With the number of possibilities available, it's just a matter of finding one that's to your taste.

Recipe:

1 oz Campari

1 oz sweet vermouth

1 oz gin

Combine in a mixing glass and stir for 12-15 seconds or until combined to taste. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with an orange peel.

Cocktail of the Hour -- the Martinez

As you might have gathered, cocktail history is equal parts interesting, contentious and vague. For every cocktail with a crystal clear genealogy, five more exist in a much more nebulous place. Such is the case with the Martinez.

Sometimes called the father of the Martini, this drink is supposedly named for the town in California where it originated. Other cocktail lore suggests it is one of Jerry Thomas's creations or is named after the bartender who invented it. Unfortunately, there is little information to back up any of these stories.

Even if the Martinez didn't have a direct impact on the creation of the Martini, each drink represents a different route for mixing gin-based drinks. The Martinez is basically a gin Manhattan complete with sweet vermouth, while the Martini gets the dry vermouth treatment.Interestingly, recipes for each cocktail have varied widely over the last century. Thomas's How to Mix Drinks (etc) presents a cocktail that has a 2:1 vermouth to gin ratio, while The Savoy Cocktail Book inverts these proportions.

Personally, the more modern recipe is more pleasing for my palate. Though you can occasionally catch me drinking straight vermouth, I prefer cocktails that accentuate the base spirit rather than covering it. In this case, the vermouth tends to overpower the Old Tom gin. This style is heavier on botanicals than the now-popular London Dry gin, and is not as widely available. In fact, only one store in the entire state of Alabama carries a brand of Old Tom.*

The result is a light, nutty drink with a sweetness balanced by the addition of bitters. Even though it finishes dry, the addition of the sweet vermouth provides a depth of flavor beyond the Martini's searing dryness.

Recipe

2 dashes orange bitters

1 tsp maraschino cherry liqueur

1 oz sweet vermouth

2 oz Old Tom gin

Combine ingredients in a mixing glass. Add ice, stir for 12-15 seconds or until the drink is to your taste. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

*Hayman's Old Tom gin is available at Lou's Pub in Birmingham. Disclaimer: I have not been paid or compensated to mention them in this post.

Cocktail of the Hour: the Algonquin

Sometimes the most interesting lore about a cocktail only tangentially relates to the drink itself. Such is the case with the Algonquin. Named for its supposed birthplace, New York City's Algonquin Hotel, this Prohibition era drink is more famous for its proximity to fame and wit.

During Prohibition, the Algonquin played host to a daily luncheon of the era's intelligentsia. Called the Algonquin Round Table, this midday meeting of minds was attended by poet and critic Dorothy Parker, New Yorker magazine founder Harold Ross and others including Harpo Marx. However, most of the Round Table's members were avowed highball drinkers, so it's unlikely they ever consumed a drink named after their group.

Interestingly, several 1920s drinks were named Algonquin in a bid to cash in on the action. Save this whiskey-based beverage, no others survived to modernity. According to some sources, another contender involved Bénédictine, blackberry brandy and rum. I'll pass.

Taste-wise, the Algonquin has a bit of a bite from the rye that helps to ease the first chill of fall. The whiskey also adds spicy notes balanced by the dryness of the vermouth, and the taste is rounded out by the tartness and sweetness of the pineapple juice.

Recipe:

2 dashes orange bitters

1 oz unsweetened pineapple juice

1 oz dry vermouth

2 oz rye whiskey

Combine ingredients and shake for 10-12 seconds or until combined. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Introducing -- Cocktail of the Hour

At Octane, we bartenders use the daily dinner hour lull to Instagram pictures of drinks and their ingredients. Many of the cocktails are both beautifully colored and cleverly named. As a result, I've become somewhat engrossed in research on the subject.

Weekly Cocktail of the Hour posts will highlight one cocktail and its history as told by the books and online sites I frequent and love. This week, the Last Word hits the top of the list. Though the exact quantity varies, the basic recipe calls for equal parts gin, Maraschino liqueur, Green Chartreuse and lime juice.

Developed in Detroit right before the start of Prohibition, this cocktail is almost more famous for its disappearance than for its origin. Interestingly, the name's origin remains a mystery.

After its introduction in the early 1920s, the Last Word almost entirely disappears from the historical record for 80 years. Though it resurfaced in Ted Saucier's 1951 Bottoms Up, it remained obscure until it was rediscovered and brought back to fame in 2004 by Seattle's Zig Zag Cafe.

Though summer is drawing to a close, the Southern heat will most likely endure until early or mid-October. The lime's acidity, Chartreuse's earthiness, Maraschino's sweetness and gin's herbaceousness all come together to create a light, sippable cocktail you'll want to keep in your glass all day long.

Recipe:

3/4 oz lime juice

3/4 oz Green Chartreuse

3/4 oz Maraschino liqueur

3/4 oz gin

Shake for 10-15 seconds or until cooled through. Strain into a chilled coupe glass.