A Cocktail Recipe For When You've Just Had a Fight With The Wife

From teaching your four-year-old how to use the potty, to steering them away from pot and felony—fatherhood is a tricky thing; so we understand that sometimes, all you really need is a good drink. We ask mixologist Lee Watson (ABV, Mandalay) to teach you how to make some cocktails, so that the next time you find yourself caught in any of these situations: whip one up, pause, and shrug, “c’est la vie.” Cheers to you, dad.

IMAGE Gabby Cantero

You daughter (or son) gets a boyfriend

Uncomfortable about a potential other and not sure how to approach the boyfriend? Make an Old Fashioned, because you seem to be a little bit so yourself. This whiskey-based cocktail is made with Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique (aged in a wine cask)—so there is a sweet hint of berries in this one. It’s a bittersweet drink to accompany your mood.

• 2 oz Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique whiskey
• 1/4 oz sugar                                                             
• 2 dashes Bitter Truth chocolate bitters

IMAGE Gabby Cantero

You’ve just had a fight with the wife

You had a little rift, and she sends you off to sleep on the couch for the night. Make this cocktail called the last word, a forgotten gin-based classic—coincidentally named after the one thing most women really want in any argument, anyway. Something to keep in mind.

• 3/4 oz Monkey 47 gin
• 3/4 oz Green Chartreuse 3/4 oz Maraschino liqueur 3/4 oz lime juice
• Shake all the ingredients with ice and then strain onto a martini glass. Garnish with a lime peel.

The test is positive

Congratulations, you just found out you’re a dad. To celebrate the fertility of your lover’s eggs, have a whiskey sour—shaken with an egg white for a sweet frothy top. In this version, Lee uses Octomore—a heavily peated whiskey with a hard-to-quaff smokiness, but a mellow drink when balanced with the sweetness of lime and egg white.

• 1 1/2 oz Octomore Scottish Barley
• 3/4 oz simple syrup
• 3/4 fresh lime juice
• 1 egg white

Shake all ingredients with ice. Strain, and then repeat the shake without the ice. Pour onto a rocks glass and garnish with a lemon peel.

This article originally appeared in the June 2016 issue of Esquire Philippines. Minor edits have been made by the Esquiremag.ph editors.