Rob Masters

Jamaican Wonder (Booth's Handbook 1966) This one has all but vanished from the lexicon of cocktails - there is a variant on the Absolut site, but that is the only one, and that cuts back on the lime. Even Simon Difford appears to have forgotten it. Here is a Lyre's zero-proof version: 1 shot Dark Cane Spirit or Spiced Cane Spirit 1 shot Lime Juice 1/2 shot Coffee Originale  Dash Angostura Bitters Mix in a highball glass, and top with chilled bitter lemon. Interestingly, the published version makes no mention of ice, so don't use any in this either. This is quite sharp, but the coffee flavours combine with the rum backing to present a very tasty and surprising drink. 

 This one is a riff on the Paper Plane. .75 shot Lyres American Malt .75 shot Lyres Italian Spritz .75 shot Lyres Aperitif Rosso .75 shot fresh lemon juice Quick shake with large block ice, and strain into a coupe glass Garnish with a folded paper dart on a skewer. Sharp, bitter, and citrusy, with malt undertones. 

 Last night Leece and I attended the launch party for the recently opened Free Spirit Drink Company - and what a event it was! Held at the rather hidden away 3six5 events space on Newcastle St, and catered by the amazing Salt and Pepper Catering , this was an extraordinary event.  The Free Spirit Drink Company is Perth's first dedicated premium zero-proof drinks retailer - with an extraordinary range of high quality zero-proof beers, wines, and spirits. As a result, the party was completely booze-free.  And what a difference it made. There were several hundred people attending, and everyone just having a good time. There were no security guards to deal with drunk patrons, no microaggressions simmering away, just happy and excited people. Salt and Pepper plied the crowd with an amazing selection of hot foods - including some great gluten-free options, and set up a stunning cheese and cracker station.  A glass of Lyre's Classico prosecco clone or beer was provided on ...

 A classic cocktail from the middle of last century, this translates rather well to the alcohol-free world. Ingredients: 2 shots Lyres American Malt 1 shot Lyres Orange Sec 1/2 shot Lyres Aperitif Rosso 1/2 shot lemon juice Optional: 1/2 shot simple syrup Garnish: Cherry Method: Fill a large tumbler with crushed ice. Put all ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake well. Pour into tumbler, and add cherry. This is sharp, smooth, and dry all at once. The malt flavours dominate, but the citrus and herbal notes still come through.  Enjoy!

 CC-KC Ok, this one is a bit more involved, but you can do some of the prep even months in advance. Ingredients: 1 cup crushed ice 2 shots Non-alcoholic Gin (e.g. Lyre's London Dry or Clovendoe Seed) 2 shots Cumquat (or Kumquat if you prefer) cordial Soda water 1 Kumquat (or Cumquat) cut into thin seedless slices Method: Place all except the sliced fruit and the soda in a shaker, and shake well. Pour (do not strain) into margarita glasses, top with soda and garnish with (C|K)umquat slices. Now, what about the cordial? You're not going to find it in a store, so you'll need to make it yourself. Finding a suitable fruit tree is the very first step - you may have one, or know someone who does.  The recipe below is from here:  https://sallywise.com.au/recipes/jams-and-preserves/preserved-cumquats/ Cumquat Cordial Ingredients: 1.5kg sugar 4 cups boiling water 500g kumquats 1 tablespoon (rounded) citric acid Method: Place the sugar, water and acid in a large bowl and stir until ...

Sandgroper 3 shots Lyres Coffee Originale 1 shot Lyres American Malt 1/2 shot thin chocolate syrup 1/2 shot white mint syrup 3 shots of single cream Mix with ice and strain into a cocktail glass. Slightly minty, very coffee, and pleasingly fresh. Named for a burrowing insect endemic to W.A, and the nick-name for Western Australians.

This one is still a draft - I've only tested it once, but it feels solid, and I don't think adding any complexity to it would be doing any favours. It is still so much of a draft, I have not come up with a name for it! 1 shot Lyres Coffee Originale 1/2 tsp mint syrup (e.g. Monin Vert Menthe) Stir and serve in a shot glass or shot martini glass. The mint takes a back seat here but lightens the intensity of the coffee, while the sugar of the syrup smooths out the bitter just a touch. It all ends on a slight mint and caffeine burn. Quite certainly an after-dinner drink, but not over-sweet.

A twofer this time. Part 1: Beetle Bailey Cream 6 parts single (whipping) cream 2 parts Lyres American Malt 1/2 part thin Chocolate syrup (e.g. Monin, or the now discontinued Alchemy Divine) Combine and stir to mix. I am reliably informed that it tastes at least as good as a certain named Irish Cream. Serve as-is or... Part 2: YB35 (because it is 2/3 of a B52) 15 ml Lyres Coffee Liqueur 15 ml  Beetle Bailey Cream Pour the Coffee Liqueur into a shot glass or shot martini glass. Gently spoon the Beetle Bailey cream on top so that it forms a distinct layer. The result is rich, slightly sweet, and full of the caramel malt coffee you would hope for in such a drink. As I did not have any orange-based not-spirits to hand, this is where I stopped, hence the YB35. If you were to add a third layer of such, I would then call it a Valkyrie (the XB-70).

An original of mine. I was wanting something strongly on the bitter side, with just a very slight hint of sweet. So here it is, again based on the Lyres ' not-spirits, combined with bitters from the Australian Bitters Company (who do a huge range of exotic bitters). Spicy Chest 30ml Aperitif Rossi Dsh lemon juice 2 Dsh Barrel Bitters 10ml Tonic syrup Mix or shake and pour into an old fashioned tumbler with a little ice. A little spicy, distinctly bitter, and very clearing. Just the thing for between courses.

A classic of Italian culture is the Campari & Gin - but this is not the better known Negroni, which adds Vermouth. I do not drink - but I also welcome the chance to drink something not sweet. Enter  Lyres Spirits . They produce a wide variety of what can only be called non-alcoholic spirits. As much as a contradiction as that may sound, they have created a wide variety of drinks that mimic classic spirits. So, here's my take on an Italian classic: 15ml Aperitif Rossi 30ml Dry London Spirit Splash of soda 1 cherry to garnish (or a slice of capsicum, or an olive) Shake or stir the not-spirits, pour into an old-fashioned tumbler with a little ice, and add soda and garnish. The end result is dry and fragrant, with a hint of bitter, and a warm after-glow. All of this makes for a drink that is at once soothing and inspiring. Just the ticket to end off a hard day's server-wrangling, or to start off a new blog series.