A new dawn, a new battle

And as I prepare to enter tomorrow's guerre de pommes, I want to be aware of all the scars of battles past. There is a saying in kendo, Japanese fencing, along the lines of "There are three outcomes of any duel: you die, your opponent dies, or you both die. In two of the three, you die, so fight as if it were your last act." While the reasoning does not stand up to scrutiny and cocktail battles pretty much just end with everyone happily tipsy, the conviction is nonetheless a worthy approach.

As such, I want to get the synesthesia recipes out into the world, as they are some of my favorite original drinks. The theme — originally posed as creating the cocktail representation of favorite songs — was a tricky one, and more subjective than I realized at first glance. In fact, my two drinks interpret the theme quite differently. One is a punning exploration of a snapshot in time well framed by a particular song, the other is closer to the synesthesiac ideal originally intended.

Let's Make Out

This was a collaborative effort for Plenty and me, referencing a late night drunken subway station last summer. This was a time characterized by bitterness and whiskey, but it was also the turning point into something pretty damn good. It's a variant on an Old Fashioned, trying to use as many bitters as possible, but ending with a little love — Parfait amour, an orange liqueur with some floral notes to it.

• 2 oz. bourbon (Buffalo Trace)
• 1/8 T. Campari
• 1/2 T. Marie Brizard Parfait Amour
• 2 dashes Fee Brothers whiskey aged bitters
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 dashes Regan's orange bitters

Brother Sport

The songs on Merriweather Post Pavilion have a tendency to somehow float lightly above one's consciousness, never staying in one place long enough to be pinned down. It's a bit sweet and the Creme de Violette makes the color a horrid gray, but the mix of flowers and vanilla held together by gin is a fine, fine drink.

• 3 parts gin (Boodles)
• 2 parts lemon (I used one lemon for 3 oz gin)
• 2 parts Lillet Blanc
• 1 part Creme de Violette (Lavender would be fascinating here or as an addition, I think)
• 1 part Elderflower Syrup (Perhaps St. Germain liqueur would work here, but I used an old bottle from a trip to Austria)
• The slightest dash vanilla extract

The last ingredient is totally the secret that brings it all together. While Animal Collective's music is bright and elusive, it is also rich. The vanilla cuts through the dancing flavors that come before it and pulls them along into a cohesive drink.