I love the growing interest in tiki these days, but one thing that often gets lost is what “Tiki” actually is. Rum, lime, and fruit juices do not make a drink tiki. I read a silly article that described the diff between “tropical” and “tiki” as the former being lighter…
green tea vodka, mint, lemon, blanc vermouth, bitters
The Glenrothes 12 year single malt scotch. Honey, vanilla, dried fruit, with a whiff of full floral-ness. I enjoyed this so much the other night I literally couldn’t stop refilling my glass. A delicious, SUPER easy-to-drink sipper that even at the standard 40%, tastes richer than you’d think. This is part…
rums, citrus, coffee, bitters
gin, honey, lemon, Yellow Chartreuse
Hacking Whiskey: Smoking, Blending, Fat Washing, and Other Whiskey Experiments. This new book by Aaron Goldfarb from w&p design is fun and ridiculously wild (& slightly blasphemous at times ;D). It’s an easy read that kept me alternating between chuckling and wide-eyed shock every few pages. It’s a book you…
Barr Hill gin. This is a delicious craft gin from a distillery in Vermont. I previously raved about the barrel-aged version of this gin (one of my fave unique gins in my collection), so I was super excited to get a bottle of their standard non-aged gin. Lots of craft gins…
Calvados, amaro, sweet vermouth, cinnamon
Fabrizia Limoncello. I was in Italy early this year and definitely couldn’t ignore the abundant popularity of limoncello, typically imbibed post-dinner alongside a selection of grappa and various amaro. It’s one of the cultural “norms” that has (unfortunately) gotten a bit too mainstream…and the limoncello I actually tried in Italy tasted…
Saint Benevolence Caribbean Rum. This eye-catching bottle is a fairly new product on the market, a 5 year old rum blend from various Caribbean islands. Beyond the unique packaging and tasty quality rum inside, what’s really exciting about this bottle is that *100%* of its profits from sales go towards funding…
gin, Pomp&Whimsy, tonic
Calvados Domfrontais. This was my birthday bottle treat to myself, and it was SO delicious I literally drank like a quarter of the bottle in one day (oops). The French really know how to do their brandies right. Outside of well-known Cognac and the more rustic Armagnac (both made from…
gin, sherry, dry vermouth, curaçao, absinthe
Chartreuse Élixir Végétal. This is an extra potent version of Green Chartreuse, clocking in at an incredible 69% abv, 14% higher than the standard (55%). Flavorwise, it’s more concentrated and less sweet than the regular (luckily it comes with a dasher to use like bitters). Notably, this variant was historically…
sherry, sugar, orange
Cocchi Vermouth di Torino. This product is popular, has a long name, and seems pretty fancy, eh? To sum it up, it’s just a classic sweet Italian vermouth…a style often referred to as red, rouge, or rosso. Vermouth is a fortified & aromatized wine – a wine enriched with botanicals/herbs…
Fino sherry. My first taste of this absolutely boggled my mind. It smelled strongly like crisp green apples covered in honey, quickly transitioning to a yeasty hearty loaf of fresh bread after some brief exposure to air…but on the palate, it tasted like salty ocean water with some pickled vegetable…
rum, sweet vermouth, bitters
3/4 oz. Spritz Syrup. This post is long overdue, but man do I love this stuff. All of the 3/4 oz Tonic products I’ve tried are absolutely amazing and SO well made, and this is a non-alcoholic tonic syrup that channels the bittersweet world of Italian aperitivo liqueurs such as…
whiskey, amaro
Ming River Baijiu. Well, it’s World Baijiu Day! Baijiu has been an integral part of Chinese culture for generations. It’s the top selling spirit by volume in the world, but its primary consumption and sales solely target the Chinese market and as such, is one of the most challenging spirits…
raisin-infused agricole rum, lime, banana, bitters
sherry, amaro, gin, Ancho Reyes, chocolate bitters
gin, sweet vermouth