Cocktails of the week

When Tony Abou-Ganim first took up tending bar at the Brass Rail in Port Huron, Mich., he thought it was just a temporary gig, said Jim Meehan in GQ.com. But he fell in love with the “ritual,” eventually moving to New York, where he “made a name for himself” working for a then-unknown Mario Batali.

In San Francisco, where he reopened Harry Denton’s Starlight Room, Abou-Ganim created a signature drink “inspired by the Crusta—a 19th-century libation served in a citrus peel–lined, sugar-rimmed glass.” He replaced the cognac with spiced rum and named it after a San Francisco icon. Recipes for both this and another rum drink, named in honor of Abou-Ganim’s first job, are in his new book, The Modern Mixologist (Agate Surrey).

The Cable Car

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Cinnamon

Sugar

1½ oz Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum

1 oz lemon juice

¾ oz Marie Brizard Orange Curaçao

½ oz simple syrup

Orange twist

Mix cinnamon and sugar on a plate. Dip a chilled coupe glass into mix and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients in shaker with ice. Shake and strain into glass. Garnish with an orange twist and serve.

The Brass Rail

1½ oz Cruzan Single Barrel rum

¾ oz B&B

1½ oz fresh lemon sour

1 tsp egg white

2 dashes Angostura orange bitters

In mixing glass, add rum, B&B, fresh lemon sour, egg white, and orange bitters; shake well with ice. Strain into a chilled cocktail coupe. Garnish with the essence of a burnt orange twist, and discard. Sprinkle surface with ground cinnamon.