Peychaud’s bitters. I have liked the idea of craft cocktails for a while, but it’s only been a few years since I started really learning more about ingredients that are more obscure than what you’d find on a typical grocery shelf. I first learned about Peychaud’s bitters on a trip…
gin, lime, soda, salt
Coruba Dark Rum. This bottle here looks a bit silly and cheap with that colorful old-school label, but don’t let that fool ya – this affordable (though can be somewhat hard to find) bottle of “dark rum” is the perfect tiki mixer! Put away your Myers, you NEED this to…
rum, lime, coconut
Kaffir Lime Vodka. This is an intensely flavored vodka deeply infused with the flavors from kaffir/makrut limes. Kaffir is a species of bumpy aromatic limes native to Southeast Asia, and the oil-rich leaves of the fruit are often used in local cooking. This is like no other lime flavored anything I’ve…
vodka, grapefruit, cranberry, grenadine
Pisco. While recently seeking out my first bottle of pisco, I chatted with a bartender at the incredible Canon Seattle, who recommended Encanto, so here we are. Most widely known for its use in the Pisco Sour, pisco is a brandy distilled from fermented grape juice (aka wine) made in Peru…
rum, allspice, Averna, Meletti
Recipe Cinnamon syrup – makes 1 cup Boil 1/2 cup of water with 1 cinnamon stick broken into a few pieces. Add 1 cup of sugar and stir until fully dissolved and your syrup is clear. Remove from the heat, cover, and let it sit for 12-24 hrs. Strain out…
rum, lime, brown sugar, mineral water
St. George Botanivore Gin. From all my previous posts, it’s pretty obvious I’m a big fan of St. George Spirits. This Botanivore gin is no exception. Unlike their dry rye gin, which really focuses on the juniper and unique base spirit with only a few additional botanicals, the Botanivore is…
gin, dry vermouth
Rittenhouse Rye 100. This one is generally regarded as one the best affordable rye whiskies on the market, and so perfect for mixing, so go run out and grab a bottle! I first picked up a bottle when I was new to rye on the recommendation of pretty much every…
rye, cognac, sweet vermouth, Benedictine, bitters
Damoiseau Blanc rhum agricole. This is a rum from the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, and is abso-freaking-lutely fantastic. If you’ve ever thought that “white rum” is all the same, light in flavor and fit only for mixing with sugary juices, read on. What is this “rhum agricole” and how does…
funky rum, Jasper’s mix
Ron Zacapa Centenario Sistema Solera 23. This is one of the more popular ‘higher end’ rums that is pretty widely available on the market. It was my first ‘fancy’ rum and one that is often recommended to people venturing into rum and first entertaining the thought of rum as a sipper…
rum, pineapple, orange, coconut, nutmeg
The famous Angostura aromatic bitters. For many, this may have been one of the first ‘fancier’ ingredients picked up when venturing into the world of “craft cocktails,” and for good reason, it’s a workhorse that will take your plain uninspired cocktail to new heights! You can think of bitters to…
Beefeater London Dry gin. I finally ran out of my Costco-sized Tanqueray (again…), and decided to switch it up this time and picked up a Costco-sized Beefeater (surprisingly cheaper than a smaller bottle less than half the size! <3Costco). This was actually my first time purchasing Beefeater and thumbs up! It’s lighter…
gin, sweet vermouth, Averna
Campari. Although I’ve refrained from actually incorporating Campari in my Negroni variations this week, we obviously cannot go thru Negroni Week without talking about the famous Campari. Campari is an Italian bittersweet liqueur that is traditionally drank as an aperitif before dinner to open up the appetite, usually with water/ice…
snap pea gin, Aperol, blanc vermouth
Carpano Antica Formula sweet vermouth. There are two main classifications of vermouths (sweet and dry), with sweet vermouth being a key ingredient in the triad for the delicious Negroni. This is THE bottle that changed my entire conception of vermouth – it’s just that good. If you’ve ever had any negative…