Lagavulin 16. This was my first bottle of a “peated” scotch. Scotch was really one of the last styles of whisk(e)y for me to get acquainted with, and even now I’m still finding my way around it. Even after “getting into” cocktails for a while, I didn’t know what peat…
Ginja9 ginjinha sour cherry liqueur. Sooo, I first heard about ginjinha liqueur over half a year ago from @making_cocktails_llf who picked up a couple bottles on a trip to Portugal. She raved about how delicious it was and how nothing quite compares. I have never seen ginja in stores around…
Giffard Banane du Bresil liqueur. Guys, this. OMG. Sooo near the start of my homebar journey, for some reason I decided to pick up a bottle of 99 Bananas schnapps liqueur. 🤨 Well, that bottle came to haunt my home bar for YEARS, and there was no way to get…
Small Hand Foods Passionfruit syrup. All tropical fruits are pretty magical in my book, but passionfruit (also known as lilikoi or maracuya) has GOT to be one of the most amazing fruits in the world. Nature’s candy. Passionfruit is an absolutely amazing flavor to use in tiki cocktails, adding some…
Golden Devil Jamaican rum, Worthy Park. This is an independently bottled (meaning it’s not part of any large company/brand) 10-year old rum from the Jamaican rum/sugar estate: Worthy Park. This was a limited small-batch bottling I picked up from K&L Wines, so I won’t talk too much more about the…
Jardesca White California Aperitiva. From Sonoma, CA, Jardesca is essentially a fortified aromatized wine similar to products like vermouth, Lillet, and the like, but with a Cali touch. So what does “fortified” and “aromatized” mean? Fortification means to strengthen, and a fortified wine is just a wine that is strengthened…
Denizen Merchant’s Reserve rum. If you enjoy Mai Tais, this is definitely a bottle to add to your collection. The classic 1944 Mai Tai is a superb creation that does not resemble the versions you’ll oftentimes find today at vacation resorts or restaurant chains. It is balanced, potent, not overly…
Copper & Kings American Dry Gin. This is a new-ish small-batch (very small, each batch is only 120 bottles) release from Copper & Kings. Gin is a very interesting spirit in that it’s really just defined as a juniper-prominent spirit. Various other botanicals are carefully chosen by each distiller to…
Eagle Rare Bourbon. This is one of my most often recommended bottles of bourbon whenever people ask for suggestions. It was recommended to me years back when I was just getting started with bourbon, and what a workhorse this has been for my home bar! It’s a fantastic ~10 year…
John D. Taylor Velvet Falernum. If you’ve been getting into the world of tiki drinks, you’ve surely come across recipes calling for falernum. Falernum is a syrup/liqueur originating from Barbados that has rich flavors of primarily lime and clove (along with warm notes of allspice, almond, and ginger) that is…
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…
Tubi 60. I love discovering new spirits of the world, and am a huge believer in cultural exploration thru food&drink, so I was super excited to try out this Israeli spirit which has been all the rage in Israel. Luckily for us Americans, it’s recently become available in the US…
Plantation 3 Stars rum, one of my favorite “white” rums. Plantation has yet to fail me with any of their offerings (all fantastic!), and this one is no exception. If you’re looking for a solid “white” rum for your collection, I would highly recommend picking this up…it’s both affordable and…
Montanya Platino Rum. As part of my Southwest roadtrip last month from Vegas to Denver, I made sure we took a detour to Crested Butte, Colorado to visit surprise surprise, a small craft rum distillery nestled in the Colorado mountains. Let me say that Montanya Distillers is definitely worth a visit…
Bittermens ‘Elemakule (“old man”) Tiki Bitters. This stuff is killer. This has been referred to as “cocktail duct tape,” and oh how true that statement is! Does your cocktail taste bad? Not enough flavor? Unbalanced? Bad flavor combination? Don’t dump it, just add a few dashes of this and voila!…
St. Royale Green Tea Vodka. This is a fairly new product on the market launched only a few months ago, and is one of the more unique flavored vodkas I’ve tried. As opposed to the more popular fruit-flavored vodkas, this one is flavored with green tea extract. Artisan vodkas have…
3/4oz Tonic Syrup. I’ve been on a tonic syrup quest lately… Since finishing up my Small Hand Foods tonic syrup, I’ve tried a couple more and have been quite delighted by the variation in this category! From my experience thus far, it’s surprisingly been a completely new-to-me world of flavors!…
Hamilton 151 Overproof rum. You haven’t had “151 rum” until you’ve tried 151 rum from Guyana. I think the first time I (and probably many people) ever heard of and experienced “151” was in the context of the recently-discontinued Bacardi 151 (151 is the proof. 75.5% ABV). I literally cried.…
Lo-Fi Gentian Amaro. This is a classic California-made amaro that highlights the beauty of this region I now call home. I discovered this at the Craft Spirits Carnival earlier this summer in San Francisco, where I tasted all 3 of the Lofi products – sweet vermouth, dry vermouth, and this…
Kuemmerling. It’s good to note that while traditionally Italian-made amaro has been the largest and most well known contributor to this category of bittersweet and herbal spirits, there are many other popular and delicious amaro from other countries across the world. Today we look at Kuemmerling, a German semi-bitter digestif. Kuemmerling…
Amaro Averna. Annnd Amaro Week continues! This week we’re celebratin’ the bittersweet herbal liqueur group known as “amaro,” and I think this bottle was the first one that introduced me to that word. I used to always assume that “Amaro” referred specifically to Averna since I’d always seen this referenced…
Amaro Meletti. Amaro is a classification of liqueurs (traditionally Italian-made) that are bittersweet, herbal, and complex, with flavors that are difficult to describe. They are traditionally drank after (or before) meals to aid with appetite and digestion. They’ve become an increasingly popular ingredient in craft cocktails in recent years, and you’ve…
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…