Ask A Baltimore Bartender: Your Best Recipes

Barhopping is a favored pastime of Baltimore residents, but sometimes you just want to stay in, kick back and maybe enjoy a bar-quality cocktail in the privacy and comfort of your home. It is for just such an occasion that we have consulted with some of Baltimore's top bartenders and celebrated cocktail creators to bring their best blends to your humble lodgings. Raid your liquor cabinet and whip up some of these tasty sensations. If you like them, perhaps try the bars they came from next time you are out and about.

Joe Aldridge
The Owl Bar
1 East Chase St.
Baltimore, MD 21202
(410) 347-0888
www.theowlbar.com

Joe Aldridge has six years of experience tending bar, and these are his signature creations.

The Prohibition Punch was created after his trip to Charleston, South Carolina this past summer. He was inspired by the 1920s prohibition-style restaurants and bars. One of his favorites was The Husk. He loved the speakeasy-themed farm-to-table menu and inventive cocktails.

His first drink of choice was a simple Old Fashioned (this is how he measures how good a bartender's skill is). It was perfect! His second cocktail of choice was called "Dragoons Punch." He chose it because it was the strongest cocktail on the menu, and hey, it was his vacation after all. Secondly, he chose it because it was the bartender's choice.

When he returned from his (much needed) vacation, he put his own twist on his new favorite cocktail and named it "Prohibition Punch." It has become a crowd favorite.

The Prohibition Punch

• 1 oz California Brandy
• 1 oz Jamaican Rum
• 2 oz Peach Brandy
• 2 oz black tea
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 3 tbsp raw sugar

Directions:

1. Place raw sugar at the bottom of cocktail shaker.
2. Add lemon juice.
3. Add black tea and peach brandy.
4. Add California Brandy and Jamaican rum.
5. Fill the remainder of the shaker with ice, then shake.
6. Pour and enjoy!

Come see Joe at The Owl Bar and check out his latest creation:

The "Dame"

• 2 oz Tanqueray
• 1 slice fresh grapefruit
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 tbsp simple syrup
• 1 slice fresh lime
• 2 oz aromatic bitters
• 2 oz Brut

Directions:

1. Place fresh grapefruit, basil and fresh lime at bottom of shaker and muddle.
2. Add simple syrup.
3. Add Tanqueray, aromatic bitters and Brut.
4. Fill the remainder of the shaker with ice and shake.
5. Pour.

Related: Best Cocktail Bars In Baltimore

Tamara Nieves
The Brewers Art
1106 North Charles St.
Baltimore, MD 21201
(410) 547-6925
www.thebrewersart.com

Ask for Tamara Nieves when you visit The Brewers Art. She is one of the newer additions to the Brewers Bar Family. She has been there four years while her fellow bartenders have been working there from a range of five to 18 years. Tamara moved from Philadelphia where she worked in various restaurants/bars/clubs throughout college and after. Doing the math, she's been tending bar for 15 years. Tamara has always had a passion for the restaurant business and looks forward to where it is going for her next.

The cocktails at Brewers Art change seasonally with a few exceptions of out-of-stock spirits and ingredients. The bar tries to tie in its cocktails for what it is known for: beer. Brewers Art names them after terms pertaining to the brewing process. With Brewers being a high-volume bar and the cocktail craze in full swing, it has to streamline the ingredients and steps. It also has a seasonal sangria which is made with the fruits of the season soaked in brandy, fruit liquors and, of course, wine. Here are a few cocktails Brewers Hart has on its menu.

Papain

• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz Pamplemousse Rose
• 2 orange slices
• sparkling wine

Directions:

1. Mix the Campari, Pamplemousse Rose and shake over ice.
2. Place orange slice in Collins Glass, then pour.
3. Top off with sparkling wine.

Cellar-man's Kriek

• 2.5 oz Ransom Old Tom Gin
• 1 oz Lazaro cherry liquor
• 1 wedge of lemon squeezed

Directions:

1. Combine ingredients in shaker, strain.
2. Pour into Port Glass.
3. Served up with a twist and cherry.

The Creegan

• 2.5 oz Buffalo Trace
• 1 heaping tbsp cranberry compote
• 2 dashes orange bitters
• Orange wedge

Directions:

1. Muddle cranberry and orange bitters.
2. Add bourbon, shake.
3. Serve in Rx Glass.
4. Add compote: made ahead (dried cranberries, Canton ginger liquor, ginger puree) Play on an Old Fashioned

Related: Best Rum Cocktails In Baltimore

Joel Furches is a freelance writer and researcher for The Examiner and Logos Software, and also manages his own catalog of writing on Hub Pages. Joel is on the board of directors for Ratio Christi. He has a bachelors in Psychology and a Masters in Education.