Drinks

Good Luck Cocktail

February 23, 2018 by Jennifer

When I was growing up, my dad worked on the 48th floor of the Bank of America building in San Francisco. Out his window was a beautiful view of the city. You could see everything from the Transamerica Pyramid to the Bay Bridge, including China Town. Since he had such a great view, every year for the Chinese New Year, my family would trek out to the city and go up to his office to watch the parade.  Now, the 48th floor is pretty high up, which means everything on the ground is pretty small. But we could still see the streets, the cars and all the people. The masses and masses of people who lined those streets just to watch the parade.

I always loved going to the parade. I loved seeing the costumes, hearing the firecrackers and watching that giant dragon as it snaked its way up and down the streets of China Town. But the one thing I never realized was that the festival for the holiday wasn’t just one night. According to Chinese tradition, the celebration for the new year lasts 23 days. I don’t know if they celebrate with a parade every day but special meals are prepared and the celebration continues. It’s for all those reasons that I knew I could slip an Asian themed cocktail in before the holiday ended.

This whiskey cocktail comes from my 1935 Old Mr. Boston book. It was originally called an Oriental Cocktail, but in this day and age, I changed the name. I chose Good Luck because this is the year of the dog and the dog represents good fortune in Chinese tradition. So, what better way to celebrate the new year than with a little good luck charm, especially if that charm comes in whiskey form?

That’s right, I said whiskey. This classic is similar to a whiskey sour except there’s no sugar and no orange. It’s still got some sweet and some sour though, thanks to the sweet vermouth and orange curaçao. But the main ingredient is really what makes this drink special.

I recently received a new whiskey from the New England Sweetwater Farm & Distillery located in Winchester, New Hampshire. They believe that “a great craft cocktail starts with a premium hand-crafted spirit.” Those hand-crafted spirits start with raw ingredients from their farm which are then turned into small batches of mash. From those mashes come several spirits including gin and rum. But it’s the whiskey and bourbon that most interested me since I’m a bourbon girl at heart.

Sweetwater was nice enough to send me their American Single Malt Whiskey, their Family Reserve Single Malt Whiskey and their bourbon. While all are delicious and make a great cocktail, it’s the Family Reserve I liked best. It’s smooth and rich and makes a really, really good cocktail! Sure you could have it straight or on the rocks, but why go plain when you can add a little pizazz? Thanks to the combination of whiskey, curaçao and sweet vermouth, the Good Luck has plenty of pizazz and is definitely worthy of ushering in the new year. Sip enough of them, and a little good fortune might just come your way.