Here’s a commonly taught trick among the bartending community that allows for quick adaptation behind the bar and ease in the further evolution of classic cocktails into new combinations. Take an Old Fashioned as your Mr. Potato Head— the whiskey’s the head, the bitters can be the eyes, the sugar’s the mouth, and the garnish is the nose. Altogether, he’s a good-looking fellow who makes perfect sense. The fun with Mr. Potato Head, however, is being able to change his features around for a whole new experience; and assuming you aren’t in the mood for some sadistic double-mouthed no-nosed variant (like a Trinidad Sour) that replaces the whiskey with bitters and only works in a Picasso sort of way, it’s easy to swap in eyes for eyes and mouths for mouths to give us some entertaining new combos. Out with the simple syrup and in with maple syrup—a lip-for-lip swap that leaves us with a slightly richer-tasting Old Fashioned while maintaining the balance required for a coherent cocktail. Got some molé bitters around? Throw them in! But don’t forget to remove the Angostura bitters—because, as cool as it sounds, four eyes is not a great-looking (or in this case, -tasting) option.
Although this technique is a great template for finding variety in cocktail offerings, it doesn’t always translate without a clear understanding of the tools you’re working with. Swapping in lime juice for lemon juice isn’t a 1:1 trade, for example, even though they’re comparable acids. Fresh lime juice contains more sugar than lemon juice does, and requires a different measurement to keep a cocktail in balance. A Whiskey Sour looks like this: two ounces of whiskey, three-quarters of an ounce of lemon juice, and three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup. A proper Daiquiri, on the other hand, has two ounces of rum, one ounce of lime juice, and three-quarters of an ounce of simple syrup. Still, aside from the difference in citrus sweetness, the same Potato-Head principle applies; taking the basic recipe for a sour and swapping the core ingredients around for their facial likeness made either a Whiskey Sour or Daiquiri. If you’re looking for some new intrigue with your drinking habits, playing this game in front of your home bar can yield some new and often tasty changes of pace.
In order to illustrate just how useful this can be, I present to you a few Potato-Headed Negronis (along with the original template for the classic drink):
Traditional Negroni
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz London Dry Gin
Orange twist
Head/Nose Swap—Kingston Negroni
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz Smith & Cross Navy Strength Jamaican Rum
Flamed orange twist
Head Swap—Tequilaroni
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 oz blanco tequila
Orange twist
Head/Lip Swap—Old Pal
1 oz dry vermouth
1 oz Campari
1 oz rye whiskey
Orange twist