GREEN EYES COCKTAIL

While filling up on chefs Evan and Sarah Rich’s stellar food (hash browns on smoked fish cream cheese, coconut shave ice over lime sherbet), Rich Table bar manager Tommy Quimby makes sure you drink well, too. You may have seen the likes of cucumber, lime and ginger with vodka before, but the Green Eyes goes a new direction with sesame-oil-washed vodka. The drink is still green and garden-fresh but with a subtle nutty silkiness.

This recipe originally appeared as part of “11 Vodka Cocktails to Drink in Bars Now.”

INGREDIENTS IN THE GREEN EYES COCKTAIL  

2 oz Sesame-infused vodka*

³⁄₄ oz Cucumber ginger syrup**

¹⁄₂ oz Fresh lime juice

1 dash Salt (or 2 squirts of saline solution)

Garnish: Cucumber wheel

Glass: Coupe

HOW TO MAKE THE GREEN EYES COCKTAIL

Add all the ingredients into a shaker with ice and shake.

Strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Garnish with a cucumber wheel.

*Sesame-infused vodka: Combine 1/2 cup sesame oil and 3 1/2 cups vodka and shake, then let infuse for 72 hours at room temperature. Place in freezer for 24 hours. Oil will solidify, allowing to strain it out. Pass through a fine strainer before it thaws.

**Cucumber ginger syrup: Juice 4 cups thinly sliced cucumber and strain. In a medium pot, combine 2 cups thinly sliced ginger, 4 cups sugar and 2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Once it boils, take off of burner and let cool to room temperature. Strain out ginger pieces, and mix in cucumber juice. Bottle and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.

BRONCOS SUNSET COCKTAIL

For football season, we had a bartender from each NFL team’s hometown provide the perfect cocktail to represent their team.

“Denver is known for these amazing orange-hued sunsets, so I wanted to incorporate that into this cocktail, says Bryan Dayton, the beverage director and co-owner of Denver’s Acorn and Brider and Boulder’s Oak at Fourteenth. “Obviously, the orange and blue is also a nod to the Broncos jersey. In terms of the ingredients, I wanted to stick to local Colorado, so I used Suerte tequila, which is based here in Boulder. We also love spicy food here, so I added the Ancho Reyes for some heat.”

INGREDIENTS IN THE BRONCOS SUNSET COCKTAIL  

¹⁄₂ oz Blue curaçao

1 oz Suerte silver tequila

¹⁄₂ oz Ancho Reyes chile liqueur

¹⁄₄ oz Campari

¹⁄₄ oz Aperol

³⁄₄ oz Orange juice

¹⁄₄ oz Freshly squeezed lemon juice

¹⁄₈ oz Simple syrup

Garnish: Blood orange slice

Glass: Rocks

HOW TO MAKE THE BRONCOS SUNSET COCKTAIL

Add the blue curaçao to the bottom of a rocks glass, and top with crushed ice.

Add all of the other ingredients into a shaker filled with ice and shake.

Slowly pour into the glass over crushed ice, and garnish with a blood orange slice.

PINK SQUIRREL COCKTAIL

This cocktail has a good deal in common with the Brandy Alexander and the Grasshopper with its crème de cacao and cream. Where it differs markedly is in the inclusion of crème de noyaux, a once popular but relatively forgotten liqueur that is similar to amaretto. The red color of the liqueur usually comes from cochineal, which doesn’t affect the singular herbal-meets-bitter almond flavor.

INGREDIENTS IN THE PINK SQUIRREL COCKTAIL  

³⁄₄ oz Tempus Fugit crème de noyaux

³⁄₄ oz Tempus Fugit white crème de cacao

1 ¹⁄₂ oz Heavy cream

Garnish: Grateg nutmeg

Glass: Coupe

HOW TO MAKE THE PINK SQUIRREL COCKTAIL

Add all of the ingredients into a shaker filled of ice and shake until cold.

Strain into a chilled coupe glass, and garnish with grated nutmeg.

OAXACAN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL

A staple at NYC’s dearly departed Mayahuel, this agave-based riff on the whiskey classic mixes tequila and mezcal with Angostura bitters and agave syrup. Go the extra mile and ignite your garnish for an added burst of flavor, plus a pretty cool light show.

INGREDIENTS IN THE OAXACAN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL  

1 ¹⁄₂ oz El Tesoro reposado tequila

¹⁄₂ oz Del Maguey San Luis Del Rio mezcal

1 barspoon Agave nectar

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Garnish: Flamed orangr peel

Glass: Olf fashioned

HOW TO MAKE THE OAXACAN OLD FASHIONED COCKTAIL

Add all the ingredients into an Old Fashioned glass with 1 large ice cube, and stir until chilled.

Garnish with a flamed orange peel.