The Sun King's Swizzle.

One of the more exciting things about bartending can be the R&D that goes into cocktails. There are so many combinations of this, that or the other, focusing on one ingredient or flavor is necessary when developing something new. Thankfully, to keep our palates trained, we try to participate in cocktail competitions with just that sort of focus.

This one from Louis Royer came across our desk recently and we decided to throw our hat in the ring. Our approach to these sorts of competitions is to draw inspiration from drinks, flavor combinations or ingredients that we love. Ideally, from all three.

Our entry into the Royer competition is The Sun King's Swizzle. It's inspiration comes from one of our favorite late-summer drinks, the Queen's Park Swizzle, replacing the rum with Royer's Force 53 cognac, switching the lime for lemon, and balancing the sugar and bitters to our liking.

The recipe is as follows:

2.5 ounces Louis Royer Force 53 Cognac

.75 ounces fresh squeezed lemon juice

.5 ounces rich sugar syrup (2:1)

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Combine all ingredients in a chilled pint glass. Fill glass with finely crushed ice. Swizzle drink until well mixed and glass is frosted on outside. Top glass with more finely crushed ice to form a mound of ice above the rim. Garnish with 2 further dashes of Angostura and 3 fresh mint sprigs.

The drink is at once intense and refreshing. As you raise the glass to your mouth, the mint's aroma is the first to hit you (when garnishing with mint, be sure to lightly smack the mint in your palm to release its oils). That aroma provides a cooling counter-balance to the intense flavors of over-proof cognac and bitters.

We think we have something that's a perfect remedy to a hot, late summer afternoon. Paired perfectly with a lounge chair in the sun and a good book.