Beer Old Fashioned
I don’t think I ever really stopped to consider just how closely related are beer and whiskey. Their early lives are remarkably similar, starting with a warm soup comprised of the sugars released from some grain. This mix (+ hops for beer) goes on to be fermented— if it’s beer, that’s about it; if it’s whiskey, it goes on to distillation (in fact, it’s sometimes called “distiller’s brew” pre-distillation). Okay so what if you added hops to the mix as if you were making beer, but then distill it?
Wild Crown
This drink is my entry to @bestcocktails competition for a pink cocktail using @wildrootsspirits. I was previously sent a bottle of their amazing raspberry vodka (seriously, it’s unlike any other flavored vodka I’ve had)— so I had to join in the fun.
En Fuego
Y’all, it’s not easy to capture the flaming citrus. It’s one of those shots that I want to keep working on because 1) Fire looks cool, 2) I think flaming oils really add a nice seasoning to the drink. I still have some work to do but it’s still a lot of fun to try challenging shots (ripple shot, here I come!).
Strawberry Forest
This is actually a revamp of a reaally old post using a standard Negroni format starring cedar-infused gin. Wait, what?? Yeah, cedar wood. It’s really not too crazy when you think about it— barrel aging is a wood-infusion of sorts. Cedar is a highly fragrant wood whose oils impart a noticeable (and pleasant) flavor, and quickly at that. The gin infusion below was ~1 square inch of a cedar plank (which costs like $2 at the store) in ~4oz of gin infused for 36-48hr.
Can’t Shake Me
I am very excited to be participating in volume 5 (and my first) #soundtrackmyfriendsdrink, with the theme “Deep Cuts”. I typically gravitate more toward the less-played songs on an album anyway, so it’s a great fit. And even better, my selection for the song was my buddy @elusivemoosedrinks. He chose the song “On Your Face” by the renowned Earth, Wind & Fire.
Plumcot manhattan
Okay, I’m back from my brief detour toward summer and today I have a Fall Manhattan riff that definitely pushes the boundaries of what this type of build can bring. Here I use a light Japanese whiskey that brings in notes of green apple and stone fruit to highlight a homemade plumcot (plum/apricot hybrid) liqueur I recently made. I mean they were practically giving them away at the store, I had do something…
Muhamara Magic
I kindly interrupt your Negroni-filled feed for a drink I am super excited about because: 1) It was really tasty, 2) It’s my favorite type of drink (food-inspired), and 3) It actually was very reminiscent of the food dish. It all started when I got to talking with @shelbymastro about the awesomeness of pomegranate molasses and how it would be cool to make a drink with it inspired by Muhamara— a delicious Middle Eastern dish I posted about on 9/13 (recipe from @ottolenghi via @masterclass).
Wacky Daiqu-y
Alright alright the name is a bit of a stretch, but it has a nice ring to it no? I would be remiss not to post something acknowledging it’s #nationalrumday, so what better way than with this wacky daiquiri that has 3 types of rum AND vodka! But wait, there’s more!
Verbena Vesper
Lemon verbena is one of my favorite plants growing in my garden. If you’re not familiar with it, I seriously recommend seeking it out. The South American native shrub has such a lovely, bright, lemon-y fragrance that is similar to lemongrass or lemon balm. Our plant is growing like crazy this year so I needed to prune it back— leaving me with a lot of leaves to play with.
Blood, sweat, & Tears
This month’s @homebarawards is stirred tiki. It’s really a great challenge and brings up at least one important issue: how do you bring bright tropical flavors if you can’t shake up fresh juice? For this drink, my answer to this puzzle is one of my favorite tools to bring bright flavors and acidity to a cocktail: the shrub.