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Wisconsin Old Fashioned

The Story

This is a midwestern cocktail through and through. But since the home base of the Runaway Anchor Cocktail Bar is in the midwest, we wanted to call it out.

This is an Old Fashioned made with Brandy, but it’s more commonly referred to as the Wisconsin Old Fashioned, where it finds it’s origins. You’ll want to pay attention to the build process. First off, this one is built in the glass (not a mixing glass like you would normally do with an Old Fashioned). The other big difference is topping off the drink with soda. I’m still a little conflicted about this myself.

If you want a sweet drink, go with Sprite or 7up. If you want a sour drink, swap out for Squirt and if you just want the bubbles without the added flavors, you can always just do Club Soda.

Last point. For the Brandy stick with the original recipe and get a bottle of Korbel. It’s cheap and easy drinking. If you’re adding soda to a cocktail, you generally don’t want to use expensive stuff, and especially not cognac for this one.

This one is an easy drinker for warm evenings, preferably near a cabin in Lake Country.

Cheers!

The Recipe

2 oz Brandy (don’t waste good cognac on this one)

1 sugar cube (or ½ oz simple syrup)

3-4 dashes Angostura Bitters

Splash of water

Soda for topper (Sprite is our preference, but Club Soda or Squirt are other options)

Garnish with orange slice and cherries

The Build

Place the sugar cube in the bottom of the glass and soak with the Angostura Bitters

Add a splash of water to the glass (0.25oz if you really need to measure)

Muddle into a nice paste (if using simple syrup, you won’t need to muddle)

Add Brandy and swirl to mix the ingredients together

Add a single cube (or a handful of ice cubes if that’s what you have on hand)

Add your soda of choice to top off the drink

Garnish with a slice of orange and a couple cherries

Source: Runaway Anchor Recipe of a Regional Cocktail

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Coquito

The Story

If you like the idea of egg nog, but the thought of raw egg in a cocktail kind of grosses you out, consider this cocktail as an alternative. Another holiday drink highlighted by Anders Erickson, this cocktail is a simple build with a bunch of milk, coconut and rum. The time consuming part is making the “spice tea” but even that is pretty easy to accomplish.

The trick to the spice tea is making sure to cool it completely before mixing it into the cocktail, and if you are thinking about skipping the “star anise” because it’s not already in your spice rack, we strongly recommend against it. Just one star is all you need and you can always use it to garnish your Vanilla Chai Old Fashioned if you like!

We hope you enjoy this Puerto Rican cocktail for the holidays or anytime you need something smooth and creamy to sip beside the fire.

Cheers!

The Recipe

8 oz Coconut Milk

4 oz Evaporated Milk

4 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 oz Cream of Coconut

¼ oz Vanilla Extract

2 oz Chilled Spice Tea (recipe below)

Pinch of Salt

4 oz Don Q Gold Rum (it’s 151 proof, so drink responsibly and keep fire at a distance)

Grated nutmeg for garnish

Spice Tea Recipe

4 cinnamon sticks (broken in half)

25 whole cloves

1 whole star anise

1 cup water

Bring water to boil with spices. Continue to boil until the mixture is reduced by half. Chill in the fridge for a couple hours.

The Build

Add all of ingredients to a blender or other type of mixer (preferably with a lid, not an immersion blender)

Blend for 10-15 seconds

Pour into chilled Nick and Nora glass and garnish with grated nutmeg

Source: Coquito Recipe Anders Erickson

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Hot Buttered Rum (single serving)

The Story

Hot buttered rum is usually something made in a big pot for a big group. But what about those random winter nights when you just really want to sip a smooth buttery glass of hot rum? Our Runaway Anchor Godfather, Anders Erickson, once again saved the day with this “single serving” recipe.

Built in the glass, this one is easy to make and oh so smooth. Warm the butter a bit before you drop it into the glass, or you will be stirring to a while before everything is dissolved.

Cheers!

The Recipe

2oz Black Rum (the only booze in this drink!!)

1 tbls Butter (softened)

1 tbls Brown Sugar

0.25 tsp Cinnamon

1 pinch of Clove

1 pinch of All Spice

0.25oz Vanilla Extract

4oz Hot Water

1 Cinnamon Stick

The Build

Temper an Irish Coffee Mug (or any heat safe mug) with hot water

Pour out the water and build

Add Butter, Brown Sugar, Cinnamon, Clove, All Spice and Vanilla

Add Dark Rum and Top with Hot Water

Garnish with Cinnamon Stick

Source: Anders Erickson Single Serve Hot Buttered Rum

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Jack Frost

The Story

When you manage a concept cocktail bar, you end up following lots of cocktail makers on social media. The Runaway Anchor Instagram is full of our chosen recipes, alongside the Virtual Reality stuff that is closely associated with our brand.

The cocktail showed up in the past week, and the combo of tropical flavors and bright blue was too tempting to resist. Our recipe didn’t have the original call for homemade curacao and we used Reposado Tequila versus Blanco, which was called for originally. So the color shifted, but the flavor was still great. And our aqua marine end result is still pretty sweet.

If you like a fruity twist on a margarita, this one is worth a try! Cheers!

The Recipe

1½ oz Tequila

¾ oz Blue Curacao

¾ oz Coconut Syrup

¾ oz Fresh Lime Juice

The Build

Add everything to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 20 seconds

Use a mallet and lewis bag to make crushed ice

Add crushed ice to a Rocks Glass

Double strain the cocktail into a rocks glass

Add additional crushed ice on top

Source: About Drinks and Bars Instagram Post (modified by The Runaway Anchor)

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You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out

The Story

Becherovka is an herbal liqueur from the Czech Republic, full of holiday spice flavor. This Christmas themed cocktail (named for a scene from “A Christmas Story”) is credited to Mathias Simonis and published in Imbibe magazine in 2011 (source). Thanks to @anatomyofadrink on Threads for boosting it recently.

The Recipe

2 oz Aged Rum (Plantation 5 year)

½ oz Benedictine

½ oz Becherovka

¼ oz Cinnamon Syrup

3 dashes Angostura bitters

Cinnamon Simple Syrup

In sauce pan combine 1 cup white sugar and 1 cup water on low heat, stirring frequently until the sugar dissolves. Turn off heat.

In another sauce pan, over medium heat, toast 5 cinnamon sticks, making sure to toast both sides, until you smell the spice. Remove from heat.

Add the cinnamon sticks to the simple syrup and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Strain into bottle. Keeps 2-3 weeks in the fridge.

The Build

Combine all ingredients in a mixing glass with ice.

Stir until chilled.

Strain into a lowball glass over a large ice cube.

Garnish with a twist of orange peel.

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Brandy Alexander

The Story

This is a tasty classic. Easy to make. A little too easy to sip, so be careful! You can use a pricier cognac or any bottle of brandy, and it’ll be good. I even stay in the cheap end with my creme de cacao.

If you want to get crazy, you can take this, add some vanilla ice cream and blend it into a smoothie, Wisconsin-Style! But my preference is ice cold, smooth sipping.

Cheers!

The Recipe

1½ oz Brandy or Cognac

1 oz Creme De Cacao (white is my preference)

1 oz Heavy Cream (or alternative cream source)

The Build

Combine all three ingredients in a cocktail shaker

Shake with ice for 12 seconds

Double strain into a stemmed cocktail glass (chilled)

Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg

Source: Steve the Bartender Brandy Alexander

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I Saw Three Ships Cocoa

The Story

Ever since coming out of the lockdown period of the Pandemic, my wife and I have been visiting a local wine bar called Ambi. It was our Friday afternoon hangout spot for nearly two years. And if you ever find yourself in Anoka, Minnesota, it is work a visit.

We made an appearance just a couple weeks ago. They had advertised a couple “christmas wine cocktails” on their social media pages, and I went in planning to try the “Jack Frost” featuring a white wine with blue curacao among other things. But alongside that one they offered another that either wasn’t named, or I failed to catch the name. It was a hot cocoa with ruby port. Topped with whipped cream and a Christmas tree cake. I love port, so I had to give it a try, and it was amazingly good. Though the tree cake was a little tricky to manage.

So we present our Runaway Anchor take on this wine cocktail. And since it features “port” we came up with a christmas name that seemed to fit the bill.

Cheers!

The Recipe

8-12 oz Hot Chocolate made with WATER (depending on mug size)

2 oz Ruby Port

Garnish with Peppermint whipped cream and candy cane and some festive sprinkles

The Build

Prepare your hot chocolate however you prefer (use water, not milk!!!)

Pour 2 oz Ruby Port into mug

Add hot chocolate to mug, leaving ½ inch for whipped topping

Garnish with Peppermint Whipped Cream and Candy Cane

Source: Christmas Cocktail offering at our local wine bar, Ambi

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Golden Cadillac

The Story

As with almost every menu we’ve made, just before the list is finalized, Anders Erickson comes out with a Friday afternoon video that is too good to pass up! For the holidays, that cocktail is the “Golden Cadillac”. He has some great history to share about this drink, so head on over and check it out HERE. He will even show you how to turn it into a milkshake!

Galliano Liqueur was a new one for me, but the mix of baking spices and anise was just too intriguing. If you are not a fan of black licorice (the anise flavor) don’t fret. The anise is buried within so many other flavors that it does not overpower the drink. Definitely worth at least one try. Cheers!

The Recipe

1½ oz Galliano Liqueur

1½ oz Creme de Cacao (white)

1 oz Heavy Cream (or alternative cream source)

Nutmeg for Garnish

The Build

Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker

Add ice and shake for 15 seconds

Double strain into a chilled nick and nora glass

Garnish with freshly grated nutmeg

Source: Anders Erickson Golden Cadillac Two Ways

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Remember the Maine (Anders Version)

The Story

Just before I finalized the Fall Menu, a new video hit from Anders Erickson. It had three things I love and one thing I avoid. I love Rye, Absinthe, and Cherry Herring Liqueur. I avoid vermouth in all forms. But I decided to give this a whirl. I’ve been surprised by vermouth every once in a while, and since cherry herring can easily overpower a drink if you aren’t careful, I figured if anything could manage vermouth it would be that one.

And I was right! This is a smooth sipper, and balances the spicy rye, the sweet cherry and the slight bitterness of the vermouth. Even the absinthe blends in and doesn’t overpower (as long as you swirl and dump or spray). Enjoy this tasty cocktail for the autumn season! Cheers!

The Recipe

1½ oz Rye Whiskey (Anders goes Rittenhouse; Woodford Reserve is also good)

¾ oz Cocchi Vermouth di Torino (sweet vermouth, not DRY)

¼ oz Cherry Herring Liqueur

Rinse of Absinthe

Express Lemon Oil and garnish with cherry

Glassware: Nick and Nora Glass (or Martini could work too)

The Build

Prep your glass with either rinsing with 0.25oz of Absinthe (swirl and pour) OR consider a small spray bottle to easily coat the inside of the glass

Once glass is prepped, stick it in the freezer while you build the cocktail

Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing glass

Add ice and stir for 30 seconds

Take our the cold glass and drop a cherry into the bottom of the glass (do not add ice; this one is served “up”)

Strain into the prepared glass

Express lemon oil over the glass

Source: Anders Erickson Recipe