The final Thursday Drink Night of 2008 brought us Sandeman Port as a theme and, I must say, I was surprised at both the volume of turn-out and the general quality of the drinks offered up throughout the evening.

Port can have a tough time in cocktails and Sandeman’s 10-year Tawny and Founder’s Reserve (a ruby-styled port) both earned my respect as ingredients that bring a unique character to cocktails and, generally, can stand up to the bolder flavors and profiles of juices, spirits, and liqueurs with which they’re mixed, a problem I’ve often had when trying to work port into a drink. Hell, we even had a submission using a healthy dose of flaming absinthe that the port stood up to, so that’s saying something. All that being said, I’ve only found a couple of port recipes that I’ve put in standard rotation but another I’ll add to the list is Logan’s Harbor, submitted that night by JenTiki.

Logan’s Harbor

• 2oz Sandeman Founders Reserve
• 1 1/2oz Domaine de Canton
• 1/2oz lemon Juice
• club soda, to top
• lemon peel, for garnish

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with club soda and garnish with a lemon twist.

Originally called “The Prestige” (apparently there was already a drink named this, but not as a nod to Hugh Jackman…unless Hugh Jackman is 80+ years old, which, after seeing “The Fountain”, I suppose is possible), this drink has a very nice effect of adding a layer of bright spiciness on top of the ruby port’s inherent sweet character and the citrus adds just enough tart to keep the liqueur and port from running away over the hills towards candyland. In fact, as the drinks warms the ginger bite of the Domain de Canton comes forward and the port takes more of a back seat. This led me to work the drink with the 10-year-old Tawny port and while it added a more dry character it also lended an additional spicy edge that compounded the separating of flavors. So, grab the Sandeman ruby port for this one.

I also like this drink because I’m a sucker for all things fizzy and effervescent, except bubble baths…they’re creepy . There’s a nice feel to the Logan’s Harbor but it’s important to strike the right balance. Too much and you, obviously, dilute the drink (though the flavors tend to separate less) and too little and it lacks the feel that suits the drink best and the flavors separate more quickly. This means you should probably chill your club soda for this one too.