Here are the Whiskey based cocktails I make during my reviews.

The title of the cocktail is linked to the source, since I am by no means a mixologist, and can claim none of these as my own creation.

Please don’t drink and drive, and if you are under 21, do not try this at home… or in public. Always drink responsibly.

Penicillin

2 ozs blended scotch

3/4 oz lemon juice

3/4 oz honey-ginger syrup

1/4 oz Islay single malt scotch

Candied Ginger to garnish

Place the blended scotch, lemon juice, and honey-ginger syrup in a shaker with ice and shake. Strain over fresh ice. Float the 1/4 oz Islay single malt scotch over the top. Drop a candied ginger in. Enjoy!

To make the Honey Ginger Syrup: combine 1 cup of honey, 1 cup of water, and 1 6-inch piece of ginger peeled and thinly sliced in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium and boil for 5 minutes. Refrigerate overnight before straining out the ginger.

Penicillin was a great choice for a book about a disease entirely curable by Penicillin, and the government fuckery that is having long lasting impact into the 21st Century. This cocktail was mixed up for my review of Bad Blood: The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment by James H. Jones.

Mixed on 02/20/2022

The Lincoln

2 oz Smoked Whiskey

1/2 oz maple syrup

6 dashes Peychaud's bitters

Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake.

A cocktail named after Lincoln was the obvious choice to go with this weeks book, With Malice Towards None: A Biography of Abraham Lincoln by Stephen B Oates

Mixed on 07/31/2022

Old Rough and Ready

Torched Thyme

2 oz Kentucky Bourbon

3/4 oz fresh squeezed lemon

3/4 oz honey syrup

Dash of Orange Bitters

Lemon Garnish

Light the plant on fire on a fireproof dish (recommend having a fire extinguisher handy for this one), then once the plant is smoking, place your cup upside down over it so the glass fills with the smoke. Put the rest of the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake it up. Put fresh ice in your smoked glass, pour the mixed cocktail, garnish with lemon.

President Zachary Taylor was known to his men and fellow soldiers as Old Rough and Ready, so I was lucky enough to find a cocktail by that name for this weeks book, Zachary Taylor: Soldier, Planter, Statesman of the Old Southwest by K. Jack Bauer.

Mixed 03/27/2022

Old Fashioned

1 Sugar Cube

2-3 dashes of bitters

2 ozs bourbon or whiskey

Garnish: orange peel and maraschino cherry

Place the sugar cube in the glass and saturate it with the bitters. Muddle to mix. Add the whiskey and ice and stir well. Add the orange peel and cherry.

The Old Fashioned was allegedly the favorite cocktail of Jefferson Davis, one time president of the failed Confederate state, making this the cocktail for Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Civil War by James M. McPherson.

Mixed on 08/07/2022

Civil War

1.5 oz Bourbon

.5 oz Sweet Vermouth

.5 oz Cynar

2 dashes bitters

1 maraschino cherry

Put all except cherry in a cocktail shaker with ice. Stir until chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with maraschino cherry.

This cocktail, I seem to recall, was awful. But a good pick for a book called How Civil Wars Start and How to Stop Them, by Barbara F. Walters.

Mixed on 06/12/2022

Antebellum

2 oz Rye Whiskey

1/2 oz Tippleman's Burnt Sugar

1/2 oz Amaro

1/4 oz Green Chartreuse.

Stir with ice and strain into an iced glass. Garnish with optional lemon twist.

Antebellum means a period referring to the American Civil War, and since the first 8 chapters of Battle Cry of Freedom by James McPherson describe that exact period, this was a perfect cocktail for this part of the book review.

Mixed 08/14/2022

Peanut Butter Old Fashioned

1 1/2 oz Peanut Butter Whiskey

3/4 oz Rye Whiskey

4 Dashes Bitters

Orange Twist

Maraschino Cherry to Garnish

Place both whiskeys and bitters in a glass with ice. Stir til chilled, add the garnish.

The accompanying cocktail for this weeks book, Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A Garfield by Kenneth D Ackerman, was not quite as easy. I already did a Dark Horse cocktail when I reviewed John Tyler, because he was my surprise favorite. An internet search provides that James Garfield’s favorite drink was beer, but that he also liked peanut butter. But I already did a video with peanut butter beer. So that same internet search provided this recipe from Ohio Liquor. Which I sort of wish I had found earlier since they also provided cocktails for William Henry Harrison, Ulysses S Grant, and Rutherford B Hayes. Anyways, this weeks cocktail will be a Peanut Butter Old Fashioned.

Mixed on 01/29/2023

McKinley’s Delight

2 oz rye whiskey

1 oz sweet vermouth

1 teaspoon cherry liqueur

1 dash absinthe

Garnish: Lemon twist

Put all but lemon twist in a shaker with ice, stir until chilled, strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon twist.

I love it when I find a cocktail actually named for a president, it makes the choosing so much easier. McKinley’s Delight for William McKinley and His America by H. Wayne Morgan.

Mixed on 05/28/2023

Armistice

1½ oz Rye whiskey

½ oz Dry vermouth

¼ oz Cherry liqueur

¼ oz Green Chartreuse (I substituted Fernet Branca)

2 dash Aromatic Bitters of choice

Put all in mixer with ice and stir to chill, pour into cocktail glass.

Since World War I officially ended with the November 11 Armistice, I mixed up an Armistice cocktail for this weeks book, Wilson’s War: How Woodrow Wilson’s Great Blunder led to Hitler, Lenin, Stalin & World War II by Jim Powell.

Mixed on 08/27/2023

The Winchester

1 part Amaretto Liqueur

1 part Whiskey

1 part Ginger Wine

Pour all over ice in a cocktail glass and stir.

I mixed up a Winchester for this weeks book of the week, Captive of the Labyrinth: Sarah L. Winchester Heiress to the Rifle Fortune by Mary Jo Ignoffo.

Mixed on 10/23/2023

Whiskey

The accompanying cocktail for this weeks book, The Jazz Age President: Defending Warren G. Harding by Ryan S. Walters, is not a cocktail at all, I am going to be enjoying some Whiskey, up. Which means the whiskey is chilled with ice before being strained into a glass without ice. Also, to be sipping whiskey, rather than shooting whiskey, it should be aged at least five years, making this week’s Whiskey the Leadslinger’s bourbon whiskey I bought a few weeks ago, which is aged five years. See, Harding liked his whiskey, and always had some on hand, regardless of prohibition. And frankly, I couldn’t find a cocktail that seemed to fit.

Mixed on 11/27/23

Secret Satire

40 ml Bourbon
10 ml Poitin
15 ml Italian Aperitif Wine
10 ml Simple Syrup

Champagne

Stir all with ice, strain into a highball glass and add ice. And fuck me! The recipe actually calls to top with champagne, which I did NOT do, because champagne was not on the ingredient list! So always read the recipe all the way through. Anyways, after reading this book, I have determined that Keynes was NOT a master economist. He was a master SATIRIST, making this the perfect cocktail for this weeks book, The Failure of the “New Economics”: An Analysis of the Keynesian Fallacies by Henry Hazlitt.

Sherman’s Revenge

2 1/2 ozs Rye

1 oz Cream Sherry

1 dash Orange Bitters

3 Orange Twists, flamed

Combine the rye, sherry, and bitters. Flame two twists over the glass and drop them in. Add ice and stir well. Strain into a coupe glass. Flame the remaining twist over the drink and drop it in.

My second cocktail involving fire kind of fizzled, probably for the same reason the first one did: ingredients were not dry enough. But what other cocktail could I pick for the grand denouement on a book about the Civil War? So Sherman’s Revenge for Sherman’s march through the South was the best pick to finish out Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era by James McPherson.

Mixed on 09/04/2022

President Grant’s Highball

2 ozs Bourbon

1/2 oz Lime Juice

1 bar spoon Cherry Preserves

Ginger Ale

Maraschino Cherries to garnish

Put the bourbon, lime juice, and cherry preserves in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake vigorously. Pour over ice and top with ginger ale and maraschino cherries.
Allegedly, the Highball was President Grant’s favorite, so I mixed up a President Grant’s Highball for this weeks book, To Rescue the Republic: Ulysses S. Grant, the Fragile Union, and the Crisis of 1876 by Bret Baier.

Mixed 10/30/2022

Lady Liberty

2 shots (3 ozs) bourbon

1 cap Sweet Vermouth

2 Maraschino Cherries

Splash of Cherry

Syrup 3 Splashes Sprite

Actual build directions were not included on the website, but I believe I shook all with ice, then poured into a rocks glass.

I tried really hard to find a cocktail called Second Amendment and while an ingredient list for a restaurant, there was no actual recipe. Since I am not a mixologist, I went with my Second Amendment glass, and the accompanying cocktail is called Lady Liberty for this weeks book, In Defense of the Second Amendment by Larry Correia.

Mixed on 02/19/2023

Taft Cocktail

1 oz Bourbon

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

1/4 oz Benedictine

1/4 oz Amer Picon

Rim a cocktail glass with lemon/lime juice dipped in powdered sugar.

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail mixer with ice, pour into your prepped cocktail glass.

The Taft Cocktail, was originally created to honor President Taft in New Orleans during one of his national speaking tours, making this the perfect pick for this weeks book, The William Howard Taft Presidency by Lewis L. Gould.

Mixed on 07/30/2023

The Puppetmaster

1 oz Whiskey

1/2 oz Coffee Liqueur

Coffee

Build in the cup. Enjoy!

Since a puppetmaster is the main bad guy in this weeks book, I mixed up a Puppetmaster cocktail for this weeks book, Consent, by Ari H. Mendelson.

Mixed on 10/01/2023

Moral Turpitude

1.5oz Wild Turkey 101 bourbon

0.75oz Amaro Nonino

0.5oz Punt e Mes vermouth

1 teaspoon (5ml) Grand Marnier

2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a DOF glass containing an iceberg of clear ice. Garnish with a twist of lemon peel.

Turpitude means “depravity and wickedness,” which makes Moral Turpitude the perfect cocktail for this weeks book of the week, The Moralist: Woodrow Wilson and the World He Made, by Patricia O’Toole.

Mixed on 10/30/2023

Sacred Nectar

2 oz Honey Whiskey

1 oz Amaro

1/2 oz Honey Syrup

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

This weeks book of the week is The Immortality Key: The Secret History of the Religion with No Name by Brian C. Muraresku and I needed a cocktail that would encapsulate the sacred nature of the subject matter, without crossing the line in to legal violations. Sacred Nectar fit that bill nicely.

Mixed on 12/10/2023

Horsefeather (aka The Quarter Horse Cocktail)

2 oz Bourbon

4 oz Ginger Beer

1 oz Lime Cordial

2-3 Dashes Angostura Bitters

Mix all with ice, pour over ice, enjoy! This twist on a Moscow Mule was an excellent choice for this weeks book, About My Mother: True Stories of a Horse-Crazy Daughter and Her Baseball-Obsessed Mother by Peggy Rowe.

Mixed on 04/21/2024

Sage Old Buck

1 pinch of black peppercorn

3/4 oz Sugar Syrup

1 1/2 oz Scotch Whisky

3/4 oz Lemon Juice

3/4 oz Ginger Beer

1/2 oz Pear Liqueur

1/4 oz Vanilla Syrup

Sage leaf (garnish)

Muddle the peppercorn and sugar syrup before adding the rest of the ingredients and ice. Shake well and strain over ice.

Throughout the book I found several nicknames for him, one was the Sage of Wheatland, the other nickname was Old Buch, and a third was more for his followers, the Bucheneers. But through the power of Google, I found a cocktail recipe called Sage Old Buck and thought…well let’s try that.

This was a pretty good cocktail to go with our 15th president, James Buchanan, for this weeks book, President James Buchanan: A Biography by Philip Shriver Klein.

Mixed on 06/26/2022

Tailor Made

45 ml Bourbon Whiskey

7.5 ml Falernum liqueur

25 ml Pink Grapefruit Juice

25 ml Cranberry Juice

5 ml Honey Syrup

Shake all in a shaker with ice, pour into a coupe glass.

Since Johnson got his start in life as a Tailor, I went with Tailor Made as the cocktail for this weeks book, Andrew Johnson: A Biography, by Hans L. Trefousse.

Mixed on 09/25/2022

Southern Death Cult

2 oz Whiskey

2 oz Peach Liqueur

2 oz Bourbon Whiskey

3 oz Coke

3 oz 7-Up

Put all in a highball glass with ice, stir with spoon. Note: Make it a REALLY BIG highball glass. In reality, you could halve this recipe and it would probably fit just fine in a regular high ball glass.

Not all cults are death cults, but Southern Death Cult was an interesting pick for this weeks book, Cults Inside Out: How People Get In and Can Get Out by Rick Alan Ross.

Mixed 11/06/2022

Whiskey Highball

2 ozs Whiskey

4 ozs Ginger beer

Lemon Wedge to Garnish

But all in a highball glass with ice and stir. Garnish with a lemon wedge.

Apparently, Arther liked a highball. Now, I know I did a highball cocktail with Ulysses S Grant, but that one had a few extra steps, and this one is just a classic whiskey highball, which was mixed up for this weeks book, The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A Arthur by Scott S Greenberger.

Mixed on 02/26/2023

Pursuit of Happiness

1 1/2 oz blended scotch whisky

1/2 oz banana liqueur

1/3 oz Italian red bitter liqueur

1 dash saline solution (20 grams sea salt to 80 grams of water)

Put all in a mixer with ice and stir, pour over ice.

I forgot the banana chip garnish, but you can garnish with a dried banana chip or slice of banana.

Since The Saad Truth About Happiness: 8 Secrets for Leading the Good Life by Dr. Gad Saad was the first book I read while trying to reinfuse my brain with some much needed serotonin, I mixed up a Pursuit of Happiness cocktail to help with the process.

Mixed on 08/06/2023

Wicked Behavior

1½ oz. Bourbon

¾ oz. Pineapple Juice

¼ oz. Elderflower Liqueur

¼ oz. Aperol

¼ oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

¼ oz. Honey

Put all in a shaker with ice and shake til chilled, serve in a coupe glass with dried pineapple slice for garnish.

Since wicked mortals are usually dubbed this due to their actions, this week’s cocktail is called Wicked Behavior, mixed up for this weeks book of the week, The World of Lore: Wicked Mortals, by Aaron Mahnke.

Mixed on 10/08/2023

Original Irish Coffee

1 Cup fresh brewed Coffee

1 1/2 oz Whiskey

1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar

Whipped Cream, lightly whipped

Build in the cup, float the whipped cream on top.

I mixed up an Original Irish Coffee for Mat Best’s book, Thank You for My Service, since this allowed me to use both Black Rifle Coffee and Leadslinger’s Whiskey, two businesses Best co-owns. Supporting Veteran’s for the win!

Mixed on 11/12/2023

Big Chief

2 oz Bourgon

1/2 oz Amer

1/2 oz Punt e Mes

Orange Peel to Garnish

Hoover earned many spectacular nicknames over the course of his very full life, but the one his confidants and employees know him by is Chief, making this a good pick for this weeks book, Herbert Hoover: A Life by Glen Jeansonne.

Mixed on 02/25/2024

Missouri Mule