Element of Surprise
I have a broad palate, but whisk(e)y still remains my favorite. Usually I gravitate to boozy/stirred drinks, almost to the point of ignoring sour-style drinks. And then a drink comes along like this one and I have to look myself in the mirror and ask: what are you doing, man?? Re: it’s incredibly delicious, refreshing, and such a great way to enjoy an awesome Irish whiskey.
Not Harry’s Butter Beer
This is not a Harry Potter post. My #dothedont crew decided to create a new group post, the #dirtysodachallenge. This was based on a diabetes-inducing lineup of spiked soda drinks— see @what.i.drink.eat.see for the full list and description. I chose “buttery beer”, which includes root beer, butterscotch, and vanilla cream.
Ruby Rush
Alright, I have another drink for you today that includes the honey sumac syrup from the last post. Instead of gin, this time I went for a riff on a classic whiskey cocktail, the Gold Rush, which is an egg-less whiskey sour with honey syrup instead of simple. I added some Peychaud’s bitters to draw out some of the berry-esque notes from the sumac (and to enhance the beautiful red color).
Manhattan Old Fashioned
I’m excited to share the first of a couple drinks featuring an amazing Colorado-based distillery, @lawswhiskey. I had the chance to meet some of their team recently and they kindly sent some of their amazing whiskey. There are also some cool personal ties to their story that I’ll share during my next post. To start things off, I wanted to keep it simple, but of course with a twist.
Palmer Sessions
This recipe is my entry into this month’s @homebarawards’ session bourbon cocktails— something relatively low ABV and easy to drink more than one. As the temps rise in Texas, I wanted something thirst-quenching to enjoy while hanging out in the sun. The result is somewhere in between an Arnold Palmer and a Whiskey Smash and might be my official drink of Summer 2023.
Old Roots
This eclectic recipe is the brainchild of my buddy @rogzor during one of our typical “hangout & mix up something interesting” nights. The premise came about when we were discussing potential uses for jalapeño shochu. Michael proposed treating it like a vermouth, and adding syrup to make it more like a sweet vermouth for a very… unusual Manhattan riff.
Stand Tall
This cocktail is absolutely delicious and I highly recommend giving it a try. It’s a whiskey sour riff that features a delicious California bourbon kindly sent by @redwoodempirewhiskey and builds around a homemade strawberry tarragon syrup. [Muddle strawberries with equal weight of white sugar, stir in handful of slapped tarragon, refrigerate overnight. Fine strain, coffee filter, bottle, refrigerate.]. The Campari plays off the berry notes and provides some bitter depth, and the bit of Jäger helps draw out the gentle anise notes from the tarragon.
Sunny Toddy
This drink is dedicated to all of you still experiencing winter. I’ll try not to rub in the fact that we have been in the 80s this week. Okay, maybe I’ll throw a little shade to go with this super sunny hot toddy riff. I did enjoy it fireside not *that* long ago when temperatures were a bit cooler.
Need A Vacation
Okay, we’re getting to that point in winter when a vacation sounds really nice. Not that I have to deal with any snow or anything😆 But regardless, this is a great tropical-leaning old fashioned that’s hard not to like. It’s admittedly a riff on myself (“Still on Vacation”, 5/18/22), but if you still haven’t tried it, a little bit of pineapple juice in a stirred drink is incredible. Yeah yeah all you purists out there, I didn’t come up with the concept but I’m happy to debate its merits.
Bold-evardier
I was a beer nerd long before going down the Spirits rabbit hole. Many beer lovers I know eventually lock onto IPAs, some of the most bitter beers. Liquor seems to follow a similar trajectory, which probably explains why Fernet is so loved among many bartenders and the like. (I am curious to know if anyone started their alcohol journey with a really bitter palate, though!).