Skrewball peanut butter whiskey (liqueur). Guys – hear me out here and read this entire post. After trying this out in a few magnificent cocktails, I feel personally convicted to evangelize this outside of the CaliCool X Lifestyle X Fireball vibe the company has goin in their marketing – that’s…
Compass Box Orangerie. Ok, if you’re a whisky fan and have never tried this before, dang you’re in for a treat. Orangerie is made by the masterful Compass Box Whisky blenders, and is essentially an infused and gently sweetened scotch. It starts its life as a carefully blended scotch, and…
Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao. Crème de Cacao might conjure up thoughts of sugary, sickly sweet cocktails…some type of liquified candy bar…or some artificially scented “chocolate” flavoring…well, this bottle couldn’t be further from all that. This is the pinnacle of cacao sophistication. It’s like eating a 70% cacao dark chocolate…
Nocino liqueur. I picked this up in Italy after enjoying it as a post-dinner digestivo following the largest meal I’ve had in my life. Nocino is a traditional walnut liqueur originating from the Modena region of Italy. In the region, it’s quite customary for people to have their own family…
Kuma Tumeric liqueur. Kuma is a liqueur made with turmeric root, citrus peels, coriander, and black pepper. It’s about a similar sweetness level as a sweet vermouth or amaro, making it sippable on its own over ice, and has nice depth of flavor. What is turmeric? Turmeric is a plant…
Alkermes. Ok it’s not Campari, but it IS a red Italian liqueur. I had never heard of Alkermes til my visit to Florence earlier this year. Designated as a traditional product of Tuscany, Alkermes/alchermes is a liqueur with ANCIENT origins. The recipe for this current version from Santa Maria Novella dates…
Red Eye Rye. Well, this Tennessee-made bottle is quite the unique spirit – a blend of Kentucky rye whiskey (95% rye, 5% malted barley) with South American-grown arabica coffee, gently balanced with sugar and bottled at a full 40% ABV. It’s described as a combination between a whiskey, amaro, flavored…
Corbin Cash Sweet Potato Liqueur. Guys, this stuff is awesome. My friend (who usually just sips on straight whiskey or rum) discovered this last summer and started buying (and finishing) bottle after bottle at an alarming rate. I was so curious I had to pick up a bottle for myself. Calling…
Kümmel liqueur. This is an INCREDIBLE liqueur that I was SO excited to discover recently. I first tried it at White Chapel Bar in a Jenever drink, and thanks to @nycmixology for helping with the recipe, I’ve created my own DIY version. I’m a huge fan of savory flavors and…
Barrow’s Intense Ginger liqueur. It seems so many cocktail enthusiasts are REALLY into ginger for some reason, and after all the great things I heard about this one, I couldn’t be more excited to get a taste! Ginger is one of those transformative ingredients that adds a special secret touch…
Ancho Reyes Original. If you’re even mildly a fan of spicy cocktails or the smokiness of dried peppers, this is the perfect liqueur to pick up! I resisted for a while, convincing myself I didn’t need a spicy liqueur in my collection that would be too specialized to get broad usage,…
Disaronno Originale. The oh-so-familiar amaretto liqueur in the distinctive bottle. Amaretto is probably one of the most recognizable mainstream liqueurs, and most likely you’ve heard of it in some form or other, whether that be in cocktails like the amaretto sour or the perfect warm apres-ski drink, in coffee, as…
St. Elizabeth Allspice dram was brought to market in 2008 as a traditional pimento dram. (no, not the weird red strips inside olives) Pimento is also known as “allspice” and is commonly used in Jamaican and Caribbean cooking (jerk chicken!). Pimentos are very fragrant tiny dried berries that have flavors…
Frangelico was actually one of the very first liqueurs I ever owned. When I first got interested in cocktails my senior year of college, I threw a couple cocktail parties for my friends, loading up my ‘bar’ with a few very calculated purchases (getting cocktail ingredients was a HUGE investment for…