I partnered with the brand to write this article but every word is mine.
When I first started cocktail blogging, connecting with other like minded people was a slow process. I mean, it took several years just to meet all the bartenders just in Los Angeles. And there are new ones popping up every week. But now meeting and chatting with bartenders all over the world has just become as easy as clicking a button (and I like easy).
To fill the gap, The Club 83 social network has stepped in. Want to find out what bartenders in France are up to? Or just somewhere else in the U.S.? Want to share your bar’s creations with other bartenders who will appreciate your skill and effort? You don’t need a website, just an internet connection.
For their launch, The Club 83 has created a cocktail contest and yours truly is going to compete alongside all of you. For all the details on the contest, create a profile on The Club 83 and sign up to participate on the site. And just what IS the contest? The Flavour Vibes contest pairs your favorite song with a new cocktail of your creation. The winner will win a sampler pack of tasting syrups from the famed flavoring creator Maison Routin and their 1883 brand of syrups. Not your run of the mill flavors with such cool syrups as red bell pepper and orchid. Orchid!!
This week, with the sad news of David Bowie’s passing, I’ve been running through his back catalog and the song I always turn to when I need some cheering up is Hang On to Yourself. It’s got pep, it’s got rock and roll, and a touch of glam, ingredients for a good song, and a good drink.
This cocktail uses gin as the base (we are referencing a British song!) with peppy ginger and zingy Yuzu lemon syrups. To give the cocktail some depth and intrigue, some roasted cumin is added alongside a touch of lemon ginger bitters. It’s a glamorous cocktail with a slightly hard edge.
Good Thang Cocktail
1-1/2 ounces London Dry style gin, such as Beefeater
1/2 ounce 1883 Yuzu syrup
1/4 ounce 1883 Ginger syrup
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon roasted ground cumin
3 dashes lemon ginger bitters
In a mixing glass 2/3 filled with ice, add gin, yuzu syrup, ginger syrup, lemon juice and cumin. Stir for 30 seconds and then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Add dashes of bitters on top of cocktail and express oil from a strip of lemon zest. Garnish glass with spent zest.
So join me at The Club 83 and see what bartenders like yourself are up to, all around the world! And to participate in the Flavour Vibes Contest, go here, cheers! 
FYI guys: you’re probably saying my name wrong. I don’t take offense; it’s been an issue going back to preschool. The spelling is what usually trips people up, especially now that I live in Los Angeles and an “a” is almost always pronounced “ahhhhh” when in fact my “a” is just a short “A”. Why am I talking about this then if it’s a non-issue?
I’m sure you all have had that moment in a bar. Intrigued by a drink but one look at the name and you end up passing on it. Too bad! You probably would have liked it. But you want to know what? Your bartender is NOT going to judge you (OK, let’s be real. Maybe one or two a-holes will.). They are there to tell you how to say things right so you can impress your friends next time when you order that intriguing sounding drink. They want to pass on that knowledge and inform you, their customer.
I had a similar experience with wine years ago when I was up in Napa at a tasting. The Sommelier, some laid back guy in jeans, and quite possibly a jean shirt too, told me that you either like a wine or you don’t. You can hate an expensive bottle and like something you picked up for $7. You don’t need to know if you’re smelling aromas of cherry or rotting wood, you should just want to drink it. I also learned that “legs” on a wine glass are bullshit and when you’re at a tasting, don’t throw back the whole glass (oops! I was young!!).
But back to the drink. Now that we’re in the dull days of January, you already have this 
On a side note here, some of you might read the recipe and see sparkling wine then pass over this because the thought of opening a whole bottle just to make one cocktail seems so wasteful. But wait! No need to pass on this, just buy a split! Yes, it’s enough for two of these but really, once you make one you’ll want another. And now, let’s say it together kye-peer-EEN-yah. And by the way, it’s e-LAY-nuh.
It may be January but I’m still in good spirits riding the Christmas high. That is until my husband kindly asks that the Christmas lights be removed from the porch (I’m trying to hold out until at least February). For those of you though that have shrugged off (or exuberantly put a nail in) the holiday season, I’ve got something today that perhaps will add some sparkle back into your January.
Not only pitchers, but bright and warm, sunny yellow Suze with a good dose of winter citrus and an even bigger dose of sparkling wine. No hard booze here so you can tell yourself you’re still keeping to your resolutions.
The sage leaves get steeped into a lemon simple syrup to add a little depth. To further enhance sage’s flavor, we’re mixing it with Suze, a saffron-colored French aperitif whose bitter yellow gentian root flavor makes it a cousin to the Italian amaro family. It has hints of citrus and wildflower, and balances a mild sweetness with vegetal bitterness.
The careful observer on here might notice that many, but not all, posts lately have been recipes I’ve developed for 
For all of you who find chocolate and booze maybe a bit too much, then wait for next week when I have an all new SUPER savory cocktail. But for this week, I’m making adult hot cocoa and I’m not apologizing. And I’m topping it with Angostura infused whipped cream because WHY NOT? It’s the holidays and I’m holed up at my in-laws and I’m not going to admit how many chocolate covered almonds (milk and dark chocolate) I’ve eaten for the past 4 days.
My favorite combination is Averna and semisweet chocolate. Why Averna? Besides the fact that I’ve accumulated several bottle of the stuff, it’s a good balance between sweet and spicy with a touch of herbal in the finish. Also, it isn’t overly boozy tasting. But that’s just me. If you like the bracing, earthy edge of a dark chocolate, try it with a sweeter amaro like Gran Classico. For the milk chocolate lovers, that sweetness needs some spice or a blast of menthol; try it with Fernet. Semisweet chocolate is the sweet spot in the center, with a nice balance of rich and earthy that works well with most types of amaro. What I’m getting at is: take your favorite bottle of amaro and make this.
 and use that instead.)
Guys, I know that it’s December and many of us in the Northern Hemisphere are trapped in a frozen tundra (I mean, it got down into the 50’s here in SoCal..brrrrr), but I know ALL of you are dreaming of warmer pastures. So, I teamed up with the Margaritaville people to offer one lucky Stir and Strain reader the key to unlocking those warmer climes (at least in your mind) with their all new 
For the longest time… I was afraid of eggnog. I don’t mean I would just turn my nose up at it, I mean, seriously, I thought if I had just a sip it would be the most horrible thing I ever drank and some unknown terrible thing would happen (like projectile vomit). Somewhere deep in my memory bank is a loop of a slovenly drunk man chugging eggnog from a carton and hurling all over the place. This was the image that my mind conjured up when I heard the word eggnog.
At some point in the last 10 years I was convinced by some person that what I really needed was to make it from scratch and try the “real thing” and it would be a life changing experience. Maybe it was Alton Brown. At least, that was the first recipe I consulted when I made it for a holiday party a number of years ago.
And holy crapballs it was delicious. Like custard, but lighter, and drinkable and somehow nothing about it was what I was expecting. I think that I was preparing to drink a cocktail the consistency of pudding and have it taste of raw eggs.. this, this cocktail, and I say cocktail because there was copious amounts of liquor in it, it was so good.
I’ve made eggnog from scratch with raw eggs quite a number of times now and there are still those I cannot get to try even a sip (perhaps they too are seeing a drunk uncle puking up streams of the stuff). So this year I thought I’d try something different, something most people can’t resist. An edible cocktail.
Instead of an intimidating punch bowl, I’m trying out tiny bite sized shots of the stuff. These beautiful hemispheres might not get you sloshed, but they might just be the gateway into drinking the stuff. Why?
If you’re curious about what mold to use, silicone is best for removing the jello shots. I used these 
, but you can use any shape you’d like. If you’d like to get really fancy, use a larger mold, and then serve in a tiny cup with a spoon.
Happy Holidays!
(1/2 ounce; 14g)
