The Runaway Anchor

2oz Reposado Tequila (Espilon or 1800)

1oz Fresh Lime Juice

1oz Grand Marnier

1oz Agave Syrup

Agave Syrup Recipe:

You may find varying consistencies of agave in your store. You want one that has the consistency of honey. Some agave nectars are already a little watered down. If you end up with that, just use it as is.

Heat a sauce pan
Add equal parts Agave and Water
Stir until dissolved and allow to cool

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 15 seconds

Strain over ice cubes in a lowball

Optional Garnish: Salted Rim

Source: Runaway Anchor Original Recipe

August 27, 2024

Midnight Stinger

This cocktail, coming from the great cocktail book by Steve the Bartender, has been a real hit as we wrap up the summer and get into fall. During our taste testing session this one was my personal favorite of the bunch (and that’s saying something, as will soon be seen when the Fall Menu 2024 launches Sept 1st).

This cocktail has the base of a whiskey sour, but it adds Fernet Branca and changes the whole game. This is an apertive that you will find sitting alongside things like Vermouth, Campari, and Amaro. Fernet can be sipped straight or mixed. We hope this cocktail serves as an introduction to a new bottle that might be less familiar.

Cheers!

1oz Bourbon

1oz Fernet Branca

0.75oz Fresh Lemon Juice

0.75oz Simple Syrup

Garnish: Mint

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds

Double strain into a lowball filled with cubed or pebble ice (if you have it)

Source: Steve the Bartender Midnight Stinger Recipe

August 12, 2024

Red Raider

This cocktail comes from a share within our Runaway Anchor Patreon Speakeasy group. After making it a couple of times, I would classify this cocktail as “alcoholic tropical punch”. The bourbon is buried in this drink. The citrus is front and center with the lemon (or lime) balancing nicely with the orange in the Curacao and the rich grenadine syrup. If you aren’t making your own grenadine at home, consider buying the one we used from Portland Syrups and created by Anders Erickson. It is awesome!

Enjoy the last month of summer with this smooth sipper! But be careful, as each drink is still packing 2 oz of booze, and if you use a high proof bourbon, this drink could sneak up on you! Drink responsibly.

Cheers!

1.5 oz Bourbon

0.5 oz Dry Curacao

0.75 oz Fresh Lemon Juice (or Lime Juice)

0.5 oz Anders Erickson Grenadine

Add all ingredients to a shake

Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds

Double strain into a lowball over a single large ice cube

Source: Original found on Instagram (link lost)

August 3, 2024

Tale of Two Cars: Cable Car

One of the great things about cocktails is that once you know a base recipe, you can always modify the elements are create something entirely new! That is definitely true for this riff on the Sidecar. The Cable Car swaps out the Cognac with Spiced Rum, adding a bold new flavor to the mix. For our recipe we chose to use Cointreau for our “orange liqueur”, but you can use Dry Curacao if you prefer (which was our choice for the Sidecar recipe).

This recipe comes from the amazing cocktail book by Steve the Bartender, and it’s definitely worth picking up a copy HERE.

Cheers!

This recipe is doubled for coupe

3.0oz Spiced Rum

1.5oz Orange Curacao (Cointreau)

2.0oz Lemon Juice

1.0oz Simple Syrup

August 3, 2024August 3, 2024

All all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds

Double strain into a chilled Coupe glass (no ice)

Source: Steve the Bartender Cable Car Recipe

Tale of Two Cars: Sidecar

The sidecar is a staple at the Runaway Anchor. A simple build, but a still a complex experience. If you are trying to break away from making Old Fashioneds and Manhattans all the time, consider this cocktail as a great starting point.

Cognac is called for in the Sidecar, but as Cognac is actually just “Brandy” you could use a cheaper bottle if your budget demands it. But there are affordable Cognac’s out there and one is included in the recipe links. The same goes for the Dry Curacao. While Pierre Ferrand is often the “go to” for this type of liqueur, you could also consider other Orange Liqueurs with lower price tags. Don’t let the premium ingredients often listed for the Sidecar get in the way of making one! We will include two options for the two primary ingredients in the receipt section below. Try it out! And if you are brave, add the sugar rim!

While you’ll find this recipe in almost every cocktail book from the past 100years, we are featuring the recipe of Steve the Bartender. Pick up his book for lots of great options for the home bar right HERE!!

Cheers!

2.0oz Cognac or Brandy

0.75oz Dry Curacao or Orange Liqueur

0.75oz Lemon Juice

1 tsp Demerara Syrup

Garnish: sugared rim (optional)

August 2, 2024August 1, 2024

All all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds

Double strain into a chilled Nick and Nora glass (no ice)

Source: Steve the Bartender Sidecar Recipe

Jack Rose

This cocktail was featured on our first menu in Spring 2023. While some might think it is named after the character’s from the movie Titanic, this cocktail is actually quite old, dating back to the turn of the century. This is a simple THREE INGREDIENT COCKTAIL, so it’s great for beginners. Any Apple Brandy will do for your base, and remember to fresh squeeze whichever juice you decide to use (we like lemon).

For the Grendadine, in the past we would have argued to make your own, as it is very easy to do on the stove (basically pomegranate and sugar), but we got a hold of a couple bottles of Anders Erickson’s Grenadine, and it is AWESOME! So we recommend giving it a try. Here’s the LINK to get a bottle of your very own. And NEVER use Rose’s Grenadine again!

Doubling up again for large coupe (cut in half for a nick and nora)

3.0 oz Apple Jack (or other Apple Brandy)

1.5 oz Fresh Lemon Juice (or Lime Juice)

1.0 oz Anders Erickson Grenadine

Add all ingredients to a shake

Add ice and shake for 10-15 seconds

Double strain into a chilled coupe glass

Source: Anders Erickson Jack Rose Recipe (slightly modified)

July 20, 2024

The Genovia Mocktail (Original Recipe)

Another mocktail with a movie tie-in. This riff on the Ramona was created while watching “The Princess Diaries”, so it gets it’s name from the fictional country presided over by Julie Andrews (or Queen Clarisse Rinaldi).

This mocktail can use bottled orange juice in a pinch, but if you have the time, we recommend juicing the oranges for maximum flavor! The blueberry, on the other hand, need not be juiced. There is a great line of fruit syrups at most liquor stores (links provided in the recipe below) that are good for both the blueberry and passion fruit syrups.

Make sure to double strain this mocktail to remove any un-wanted ice chips and keep it smooth as silk!

Cheers!

4oz Fresh Orange Juice

4oz Pineapple Juice

1.5oz Blueberry Syrup

1.0oz Passion Fruit Syrup

All all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 8-10 seconds

Double strain into a chilled low ball glass (no ice)

Garnish with three cocktail cherries

July 14, 2024

The Planters Punch (Smuggler’s Cove recipe)

We couldn’t have a summer menu without some TIKI in the mix! The Planter’s Punch is a quick and easy tiki cocktail that can be made with either a blender or a cocktail shaker. The blender is the traditional way to make it, and there are cheap options that also make excellent milk shakes!

Rum is a tricky element in tiki, because the magic is found in the specific type and often (though not in this drink) in the combination of flavors. Stick with an aged rum for this one (not white, spiced, or (yikes) coconut!). The flash blend is also pretty straight forward here. Get all the ingredients in the tin, along with a bunch of ice that you smashed into a crushed state with your Lewis Bag and Mallet, and then pound that high button and run for 5 seconds. And then do it 1-2 more times. That will nicely mix and aerate the cocktail. Then simply open pour straight into your chilled glass and grab a straw (this one is VR Enabled!

Cheers!

3oz Jamaican Rum (appleton 12 year is nice)

0.25oz All Spice Dram

1oz Fresh Lime Juice

0.75oz Demerara Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Semi-Crushed Ice – best (and most enjoyable!) method is using a Lewis Bag and Mallet to create the ice, starting with standard cubes

Add all ingredients to a stainless steel cup (comes with blender)

Fill with semi-crushed ice (made with Lewis Bag and Mallet, see above)

Flash blend (4-5 second bursts, 2-3 times)

Open pour into a chilled highball or Zombie glass

Garnish with sprig of Mint (slap it to wake it up first)

No Blender? No Problem!!

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Fill with semi-crushed ice and shake for 10-12 seconds

Open pour into a chilled highball or Zombie glass

Garnish with sprig of Mint (slap it to wake it up first)

Source: Smugger’s Cove Recipe (also found in their great BOOK)

July 7, 2024

The Japanese Cocktail (two ways!)

This week’s cocktail features a common tiki element without the complexity of the majority of tiki drinks. Orgeat is a syrup made from almonds and sugar. It’s possible to make it at home, but we recommend getting a nice bottle from the store.

The Japanese Cocktail is an old cocktail and very simple. We found it in the book, “3-Ingredient Cocktails” by Robert Simonson (NYT cocktail writer).

Reactions to this cocktail have been mixed, and so we also went looking for any variations on the classic recipe and quickly found one with our cocktail bar Godfather, Anders Erickson. We are including both the classic and improved versions this week for you to explore!

Cheers!

2oz Cognac

0.5oz Orgeat

2 dashes Angostura Bitters