gin

Smoky Sage Punch

December 26, 2014 by elana 14 Comments

IÂ hope you’re curled up on a couch right now watching movies. I hope that someone else is making you dinnerÂ and you’re only concern is how long can you wait before you seriously have to get up and use the bathroom.

Lazy days are the best, but this past year I’ve had a whole lot of trouble turning the internet off for a second to be able to do just that: be lazy. Starting a new business, starting a family, remembering to put out the trash so that you’re not going on TWO weeks of forgetting. All of this takes so much…TIME. But as we rapidly put a nail in 2014 and I try and remember to reflect on this past year, I can say I regret nothing about my choices this year, even forgetting to be lazy. Actually, especially that.

I was considering putting this post up on Wednesday for Christmas Eve, but I figured you all were off doing bigger and better things and not sitting aroundÂ looking at a cocktail blog. Or maybe you were here and were like,Â Why isn’t there a new recipe before Christmas?!?! I’m super sorry about that guys if that was you. I hope you decided instead to crack open that expensive bottle of whiskey and share it with everyone you hold dear.

But now we’re going into the post-Christmas daze and we have to start thinking about NYE parties (because we just can’t rest until January 2nd) and we need something we can batch up and serve to people and just get through the night. I bring you all this punch.

Don’t be scared! There’s a lot of steps but it’s worth it for the end result.

Yields 10 Servings
For the Sage Syrup:

1 cup (8 ounces) water
8 ounces (about 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon) sugar
10 medium sage leaves

Combine sugar, water, and sage in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, remove from heat, and let sit 1 hour. Strain and store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

For the Oleo-Saccharum:

2 lemons
1 orange
4 ounces (about 4 1/2 tablespoons) sugar

Peel zests from lemons and orange, trying to remove as little white pith as possible. Reserve peeled fruit for another use. Toss the peels with the sugar, muddle, and let sit 6 hours or up to overnight in a nonreactive bowl, covered. Strain peels from the mixture, set liquid aside.

For the Lapsang Souchong Tea:

2 cups (16 ounces) boiling water
1 tablespoon lapsang souchong tea leaves

Pour boiling water over tea in a heat-proof container. Let steep 4 minutes. Strain and set brewed tea aside. Let cool completely before using.

For the Punch:

3 cups (24 ounces) New American style gin, such as Jack Rabbit from Beehive Distilling
1/2 cup (4 ounces) freshly squeezed lemon juice from about 4 lemons
3/4 cup (6 ounces) orangecuraÃ§ao, such as Pierre Ferrand
1/2 cup (4 ounces) sage syrup
2 cups (16 ounces) lapsang souchong tea
oleo-saccharum liquid
Orange rounds, lemon rounds, sage leaves for garnish

Combine gin, tea, oleo-saccarum, sage syrup, lemon juice, and orange curaÃ§ao in a punch bowl or other serving piece. Stir to combine. Add orange wheels, lemon wheels and sage leaves for garnish. Serve with ladle into ice-filled punch or rocks glasses.

This punch is bright and flavorful, with earthy notes from the sage and unexpected smoky tea. The lapsang souchong doesn’t overwhelm with smoke, but instead adds that extra “something” that your guests will try and place all night as they gulp glass after glass. I opted to use a new American style gin for an added dose of botanicals. Jack Rabbit has lots of sage, coriander and rose flavors, but use whatever you have on hand if this isn’t available where you are.

*This post originally appeared on Serious Eats.

The Southall Tonic

November 26, 2014 by elana Leave a Comment

For some time now Iâ€™ve had a â€œwarming cocktail with turmericâ€ sitting in my to-make queue. Summer clearly was not the time to bust that out.Â Now that itâ€™s turned a tad cooler out, I figured I should quickly get my act together and make this, especially before I found winter had sped by and it was too late to make it again (story of my life).

Inspiration came from an unlikely place this time in the form of online dating. Yes, if you’ve been a loyal (or even semi-loyal) reader on here you know I am attached, so I wasn’t out looking,Â but Match.com came looking for me! In collaboration with the site, they asked me to come up with a London-inspired cocktail. Something that you’d want to order on your first date. You know, the date where you’re trying to impress the other person with your knowledge of fine spirits and interesting ingredients…. that “showing off” I try to impress all of you readers with every week.

For me, when I think of what Londoners are drinking, my mind goes to sophistication.Â Classy, gin-based cocktails (Iâ€™m picturing the American Bar at the Savoy), and then, perhaps, closely followed by beer (I mean, thereâ€™s a lot of pubs around town). But all of that tends to start to seem mundane when you suddenly have to impress someone on a first date. And first impressions are everything. So,Â Iâ€™ve come up with a London-inspired cocktail that is still sophisticated, but much more interesting than your run of the mill gin and tonic. Looking for your ice breaker? Here you goâ€¦

What was my inspiration behind this cocktail? Tony Conigliaro, whose imaginative cocktails are inspiring to myself and many others way across the pond, and curry. No, seriously, curry too. When I think of the flavors of London, IÂ immediately go to the fragrant and spicy dishes found everywhere in town. An amalgam of cultures, London lets you cherry pick the best flavors found all over the planet. But for today, my mind went to curry.

Or, more specifically, the turmeric found in curry. Turmericâ€™s bright yellow color not only provides a beautiful color for the cocktail, but its peppery flavor profile gives it a nice earthy, warm kick too. Oh, and if youâ€™re looking for some banter, it also has numerous health benefits, lots of which you can wiki when you have a moment (just not during your date please).

And there I got my warming cocktail, with turmeric. A couple dashes of lapsang souchong tea tincture gave the drink not only some heft, but an unexpected smoky flavor coming from such a brightly colored cocktail. Rounding out the ingredients, orange flower was added as a finishing touch calling out some of the Middle Eastern influence also found around town. Orange was used instead of lime for the much needed citrus element for this take on a Gin and Tonic.

Southall Tonic

2 ounces London Dry Gin, Beefeater used here
3/4 ounce Turmeric syrup (recipe below)
3-4 dropsÂ Lapsang Souchong tea tincutre
4 ounces tonic water, Fever-Tree used here
2 sprays orange flower water (use an atomizer to disperse)

orange peel for garnish

Build the drink by adding a large ice cube to a double rocks glass. Pour in syrup and then add drops of tincture. Pour in gin, top with tonic and then spray orange flower water over glass. Garnish with an orange twist.

Turmeric Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh turmeric root, cleaned and roughly chopped

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat. Bring to a simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 2 hours. Strain into an airtight container. Store for up to one month. The Southall Tonic // stirandstrain.com

Strong orange oil on the nose and the hint of quinine. The first sip is both sweet and immediately hits you with savory from the tea tincture; itâ€™s an unexpected twist. Next layer of flavors you get are more earthy from the turmeric syrup which balances the sweetness of the syrup and tonic against the strong, smoky lapsang suchong. In the end there is still a crisp bite from the gin that reminds you, at its core, itâ€™s just a tarted up Gin & Tonic.

This post is in collaboration with Match.com. For more information on their city guides, please visit them here!

Bottled Corpse Reviver #2’s with a scientific study on bottled juice

September 10, 2014 by elana 4 Comments

You guys must really have some patience. I alluded to this post probably over a month ago and nary a peep from anyone about why I hadn’t posted it yet. Oh…you forgot about it too?

Never mind the formalities then, let’s just jump to the point. While doing some research duringÂ the Salted Peanut Old Fashioned Bottled Cocktails post, one of the points stressed by many was that you couldn’t do two things: bottle cocktails that contained dairy and those that contained fresh juice. Since I too can fall victim to the echo chamber here on the internet, I initially took those as solid facts that could not be defied. That is until I decided I didn’t quite believe the one about the juice.

I was fairly certain that you could bottle juice in a cocktail, what would change over time would be the quality. So, I decided I should find out what that shelf life would be.

The cocktail I chose to test was the Corpse Reviver #2. Why? Because lately this had become Christopher’s drink of choice at home and he could give a fair assessment of the changes the bottled drinks would take on over time.

A couple notes here before we start:

I am not a scientist, although I like to pretend to be in my head.
The experiments were not done in a controlled lab situation but in a home kitchen, like the one you have, so that’s probably a better place to test these out if YOU areÂ making them.
Bottles were stored in a refrigerator to help keep them climate controlled. If you leave these in your pantry your results could be different.

If you went ahead and bought some of those nifty home bottling accessories for that Old Fashioned post, you’re ready to start. If not, check the bottom of this post for links!

Bottled Corpse Reviver #2
yields 5 cocktails (or 5 bottles)

3.75 ounces gin, here I used Broker’s
3.75 ounces Cocchi Americano
3.75 ounces Cointreau
3.75 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice, strained of pulp/seeds
5 dashes Absinthe, here I used St. George Spirits
5 ounces filtered water

Sanitize five 187 ml bottles (dishwasher works fine for this, or you can place bottles in boiling water for 10 minutes). Combine all ingredients into a large measuring glass with a pour spout.Â Stir to combine.Â Mix should total 20 ounces. Using a funnel, pour 4 ounces into each bottle. Cap the bottles and store in the refrigerator. To serve, gently shake bottle, uncap and either serve from the bottle or pour into a chilled cocktail glass.

And the results?

Bottle #1: 24 hours later from start date. Sharp lemon flavor with strong anise notes. No compromise in quality.
Bottle #2: 48 hours laterÂ from start date. Lemon less sharp. Mellower flavor. No noticeable compromise in quality.
Bottle #3: 96 hours laterÂ from start date. Still no noticeable compromise in quality. Flavors still distinguishable but overall less sharp.
Bottle #4: 10 daysÂ from start date. Drinkable but flavor is one note and muddied. Too mellow. Bland.
Bottle #5: 15 days from start date. Not passable. Too bland. Still drank it in the name of science though.

If you’re having company or expecting people to drop byÂ at any time, a small batch of these kept in the fridge for a week will be fine! But after that, the quality starts to drop and guests will think you mucked up the recipe. So…drink ’em up.

Product resources for bottling cocktails:Â Â CapsÂ /Â BottlesÂ /Â Capper

The Lazy Person’s Guide to Drinking on Labor Day

August 30, 2014 by elana 1 Comment

Yes, I’m aware there’s been quite a number of round ups on the site this summer. But you know what? It’s SUMMER. Give me a break. To continue the trend of taking it easy as we head into Fall, I’m giving you yet another list of cocktails ideas. This time though I’m making sure they’re batched and sitting pretty in your fridge, waiting for you to break out a pitcher or blender to wizz them up at the touch of a button.

Pro tip: get someone else to make the bases for you.

Frozen Negroni Cocktails. In regular flavor and watermelon.

Salted Peanut Old Fashioneds. You should already have these made and in your fridge.

Hibiscus Lime Cooler. Because you should.

Sex on the Beach Sailboat Cocktails. Cocktails you can eat are always a win.

Drunken Apple and RosÃ© Sangria. I just love an excuse to make Sangria.

Sparkling Grapefruit and Lillet RosÃ© Sangria // stirandstrain.com

See? (Sparkling Grapefruit and Lillet RosÃ© Sangria)

Lazy Cucumber Punch….

Happy long weekend everyone! Let me know what you’re drinking!

Spicy Melon Cocktail

August 28, 2014 by elana 2 Comments

Today is one of those days where I’m really not sure what story I want to tell you guys. I originally posted this on Serious Eats last week and if you want, you could read what I wrote about street food vendors over there. I did edit it so that my roadside vendor food poisoning stories did not make an appearance in the article (didn’t seem fitting for the general public). But I still don’t see that as a fitting topic on here either. I guess I could just put up a bunch of photos and give you the recipe. You’d all be OK with that right? OrÂ maybe we can talk about impulse grocery shopping?

The base of this cocktail is the summer melon pictured above. I actually bought thisÂ little guy based solely on a photo I saw online. One great thing about living in a major city like Los Angeles is the sheer number of delivery services available to us. Did you guys see the Booze News where I mentioned you can get booze delivered by underwear models? Yeah, that’s a thing here. But not everything is pointless like that. We have so many farmer’s markets in allÂ corners of the city that one would just assume that on every given day you could drive or bike or walk over to one of them, get your produce for the week and carry on. Somehow that just wasn’t working out for me. Work, unfortunately, was becoming a 7 day a week affair and breaking to get fresh, local produce was suddenly becoming a far away dream.Â

In the past, we’ve used a few of the CSA delivery services. Which, for the most part are awesome and ensures we get fresh, local produce thrown at us every week. The problem was: it wasn’t always what we wanted to work with, or quantities were just wrong. For example, how the hell does one lemon suffice for a whole week? Answer: it doesn’t.

About a month ago we tried out a new service that combined both CSA boxes, single produce items and dairy and pantry staples. Pretty much like a virtual farmer’s market. With free delivery. That melon sat on the page, looking delicious and so more appealing than a regular cantaloupe (even if itÂ wasÂ just, well, a cantaloupe). So I impulse bought it. In fact, I impulsively added a whole bunch of stuff into my cart. And then I saw the price. And then I slowly decided what to put back. I mean, part of being able to pick exactly what you want is also so that you’re not wasting food; I absolutelyÂ hate throwing anything uneaten in the trash.Â

This post is in no way sponsored by this delivery service, which if you’re interested you can check out Good Eggs yourself. They have no idea how much time and effort they are saving me. I’m just admitting to you all how sometimes in life I like to throw money at my problems to try and make them go away. Eating local and seasonal seems like a reasonable cause to throw money at. That cilantro up there also came from them.

OK, so let’s get to the cocktail.

There are a few components to this that are make ahead. You know how I love my projects! It’s probably why I can’t make it out to the farmer’s market. The first is that the melon gets steeped in gin for a few days; it’s so worth it. Next, cilantro gets chopped up and mixed into a simple syrup. Then everything is combined with some Dolin Blanc, lime juice and cayenne pepper. This whole concoction was really based on the fruit cart vendors I see all over Los Angeles. Another food item I used to impulsively buy until I learned just how simple it was to make at home.

For the Melon-Infused Gin:

1 cup London Dry gin, such as Fordâ€™s
1 cup chopped skinned and seeded cantaloupe (about 1/2 melon)

Combine gin and cantaloupe in an airtight container; cantaloupe should be completely covered with gin. Let stand at room temperature for 3 days. Strain into a clean bottle. Refrigerate up to 6 months.

For the Cilantro Simple Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup finely minced cilantro leaves and stems

Combine water with sugar in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved. Add cilantro and let stand for 1 hour. Strain out cilantro. Cool before using. Simple syrup will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For the Cocktail:

2 ounces Melon-Infused Gin
3/4 ounce Cilantro Simple Syrup
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice from 1 lime
1/2 ounce Dolin Blanc vermouth
Pinch cayenne pepper, plus more for garnish
Melon slice, for garnish

Combine melon-infused gin, cilantro simple syrup, lime, vermouth, and pinch cayenne pepper in a cocktail shaker and fill with ice. Shake until well chilled, about 25 seconds. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with a melon slice sprinkled with additional cayenne and serve immediately.

A strong juniper palate, along with the herbal and citrus hints found in a London Dry gin style work really well to balance the sweetness of a melon like cantaloupe. Adding the element of grassy cilantro into the mix here gives the whole drink a touch more savoriness. A generous squeeze of lime juice and a big pinch of cayenne transforms the base into a juicy, fruity, spicy cocktail.

{now closed} Cucumber Basil Caesar and a Caesars Cocktail Book Giveaway!

July 1, 2014 by elana 11 Comments

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers out there! I know you exist (my stats tell me so). Today I honor all of you with your national drink, the Caesar.

However, I’m notÂ excluding all of the rest of the world with this post, because I’m also opening up a contest for all my CanadianÂ and US readers with a cocktail book giveaway on this very drink. For the next week, enter win your own copy of Caesars: The Essential Guide to Your Favourite Cocktail by Clint Pattemore.

And for everyone across the globe, I’m also giving you a cocktail to try out. Because you’ve read this far.

I have to admit it, I didn’t realize that a Caesar was specifically a Canadian invention. Like many drinks with a history, I had a vague idea of its origins. Wasn’t it a cousin to the Bloody Mary, just with clam juice? Well, I consider myself schooled now. The Caesar I still work into the realm of day drinks, or even Sunday morning drinks (or Monday morning if Sunday was rough). And today I’m gussying up the classic with some fresh Persian cucumbers and basil from my garden. It’s seasonal and refreshing and only has a touch of savory flavor to contrast against the bright vegetable flavor.

Try this, or one of the many (like, over 50) ways to create a Caesar from your own copy of the book. But! You have to enter to win a copy first!

Actually, let’s make a drink first…

Slightly Adapted from the Caesars cocktail book
4 cucumber slices (preferably Persian cucumbers that you don’t have to peel)
4-6 basil leaves
3 dashes hot sauce (I use Tapatio)
freshly cracked black pepper to taste
1-1/2 ounces gin
4 ounces Clamato

1 tbsp smoked salt, 1 tsp pepper, cucumber spears for garnish

Garnish your highball glass (or small goblet) first by rimming the outside of the glass with a cucumber slice then dip in salt and pepper mixture poured into a small bowl. In a mixing glass, muddle together cucumber slices, basil, hot sauce and pepper. Add gin and Clamato. Stir and strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Finish garnishing with a cucumber spear. Straws are always optional!

Enter below for your chance to win a copy of Caesars:Â TheÂ EssentialÂ Guide to Your Favourite Cocktail! You can get up to NINE entries to win. Contest runs untilÂ midnight PST Wednesday, July 9th, 2014. Please see terms and conditions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Classic and Watermelon-Infused Frozen Negroni Cocktails

June 26, 2014 by elana 3 Comments

It’s summertime folks. Let’s all take a backseat to being serious and let our hair down and deep freeze our favorite cocktails.

That’s right. Snobbery be damned: I froze some Negorni cocktails. And they were TASTEEEEE!

Now, please stay with me on this. First, shake off your assumptions that suddenly the lofty Negroni has gone the way of the 7/11 slurpee machine: believe me, this is nothing like that. Gone are the teeth-tinglingly sweet frozen drinks you’re used to downing in the summer. The wasted calories of footlong, electric blue “adult” slushies that have about a thimble of alcohol in them and more corn syrup than anything else. These frozen versions of the Negroni take the actual, delicious drink, and whiz it up with ice for all of the bittersweet flavor, only now you sip it through a straw.

Oh, and when I say versions, I mean you get TWO variations for this frozen cocktail: classic and a fruit-forward twist on a white negroni: watermelon. The watermelon version is inspired by a drink I just had at a friend’s wedding which was, essentially, a White Negroni whose vermouth had been infused with watermelon. The idea was playful and it was delicious and I knew I needed to make something like that for the site. Lately, I’ve been enjoying a bit more whimsy in my cocktails, I still enjoy the classics, but when you’re recipe developing all the time, your brain wants to go in warped places. At least mine does.

Anyways, the idea was great, but I wanted some flexibility with the recipe. And since I wanted something a bit more versatile that I could use in multiple drinks, I infused the gin instead. It’s a short infusion, just two days, and you could always start tasting after day 1 if you don’t want a super-watermelon-y flavor and strain when you think it’s ready. Hint: if you want somethingÂ over ice, instead of something madeÂ ofÂ ice, try the watermelon gin with some tonic; the sweet and bitter work well together.

OK! So let’s stop taking ourselves SO seriously, at least for today, and enjoy some frozen cocktails.

Frozen Negroni

4-1/2 ounces gin, such as G’Vine or Fords
2-1/2 ounces Campari
2-1/2 ounces Carpano Antica Sweet Vermouth
3 cups ice (for a thicker drink, add an additional 1/2 cup ice to each batch)
Orange slices, for garnish

Combine gin, Campari, and sweet vermouth in an airtight container. Place in freezer and freeze for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, add chilled alcohol and ice to blender. Blend on high speed until uniform and smooth, about 30 seconds. Pour into rocks glasses or small wine glass. Garnish with an orange slice and serve immediately.

Frozen Watermelon White Negroni

1/2 cup cubed watermelon
1-1/2 cups gin, such as Broker’s or St. George Botanivore
4-1/2 ounces watermelon gin (see recipe below, line 1)
2-1/2 ounces Cocchi Americano
2-1/4 ounces Dolin Dry Vermouth
3 cups ice (for a thicker drink, add an additional 1/2 cup ice to each batch)
Watermelon and orange slices, for garnish

For the watermelon gin: In an airtight container, combine gin and watermelon. Keep in a cool, dark place for 48 hours. Strain into a clean, airtight container until ready to use. Will keep up to one year.
For the Watermelon White Negroni Slushie: Combine watermelon gin, Cocchi Americano, and vermouth in an airtight container and freeze for at least 8 hours and up to 3 days.
When ready to serve, add frozen alcohol to a blender with ice. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Split between rocks glasses or small wine glasses. Garnish each glass with a watermelon.

First, drink these with an ounce of caution; they kinda go straight to your head if you sip them up quickly. Second, the chilling overnight is so your mixture does not dilute the ice too quickly while you blend (this step is optional). The classic Negroni tastes pretty much like what you’d get in its natural state. Even though the bitterness is still very present, with this icy state it’s lovely and the citrus notes are quite present. And not watered down tasting! The watermelon on the other hand is delicate with only a hint at the bitterness from the Cocchi Americano. While the fruity watermelon is present, it doesn’t overpower the drink as a whole – it’s a nice accent.

So choose one, or both, to make this weekend. I choose both.

I originally published this recipe on Serious Eats.

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MxMo LXXXV Roundup of Aw, Nuts!

May 26, 2014 by elana 5 Comments

Well, it looks like this month’s theme may have drove some of you..errr… nuts. Sorry about that. All of your nutty puns were much appreciated by this here goofball.

First, a big thanks to everyone who took up this challenge. We had some newbies, some regulars, and some of you dusting off a few cobwebs on your return back here. I appreciate you all for keeping this monthly gathering going. We had quite an interesting bunch of entries, from DIY infusions and syrups to hesitant scoops of Nutella to a handful of tasty liqueurs. You guys really got creative and now I need to go buy more bottles for more infusions (and seriously need to consider where the hell to store it all). But enough chatter from me, let’s get on to the roundup (after the jump)!

…

Not-so-classic Strawberry Rhubarb Fizz and making blogging a business

May 14, 2014 by elana 3 Comments

It’s one thing to feel inspired and be compelled to create, and then there’s the “oh crap, this is a business too and I have to find out about federal tax numbers” side to running a website full time. If you asked me what the scariest thing I’ve done in the past 6 months was, almost instantly from my mouth I’d spit out that clicking send on creating my LLC was it. That was a terrifying moment in my life; it made all of this REAL.

Now, before I get the onslaught of questioning smirks, let me clarify that just posting blog posts on here is not the whole of my business. If it was, there would be posts every day and my liver would need to get replaced every other year. I freelance outside of this space, write for other publications, create custom cocktails for parties and private events and sometimes even for people I never meet over the internet. Also, soon, like in less than a month, the first monthly Tiki of yesteryear inspired Supper Club starts up (if you’re in Los Angeles, sign up here for details). In just 5 months my life went from a steady 9 to 5 to a hodgepodge of randomly occurring activities that on most days feels out of control.

When you go from having a boss to being your boss you need to try not to crack up… daily.

You also need to get an editorial calendar, consider your brand, and try and put pants on by 11am. This past week, again, I took in a wealth of information in the form of a conference. This time my focus is on being a business lady. Can I mention how much I love the hashtag #bizlady? No? Move on? Ok.

Creating an LLC, was a big, big, big step. And then you move on and the next step is getting serious about having and maintaining a business. Did I know about incorporating and pass-through sole proprietorships last month? No. But now I do. Did I give a second to consider creating a media kit to send out to potential advertisers and sponsors? No. But now I’m on top of that. If you want to get serious about business, the worst thing you can do is be in the dark on these things. Then you’re just sitting around in yoga pants at 2 in the afternoon hating on people and that’s not a good look for you.

Attending an online conference is almost as exhausting as attending a face to face conference, especially if the information being presented to you is relevant and makes your brain work overtime. It also means you’re sitting in a chair trolling the internet between classes catching up on missed tweets and the fact that everyone else has access to rhubarb except you. Seriously, what the hell?

This recipe bordered on being an Instagram photo and just another “Cocktail Quickie”, except I was muddling the strawberries and thought to myself: it deserved its own post. Also, this was the only way it seemed I would get rhubarbs up onto this site.

1-1/2 ouces G’Vine Gin*
3 medium strawberries, hulled and quartered
1/2″ ginger, peeled and sliced
4-6 ounces Dry Rhubarb Soda

In the bottom of a shaker, muddle strawberries and ginger. Add gin and ice. Strain into a highball glass filled with ice and top with soda.

Slight bite from the ginger and a pop of berry flavor to start with a whole lot of effervescent rhubarb. This gin is unique in that it is grape-based and has the most wonderful floral aroma and flavor. It all combines into a refreshing, spring-y cocktail.

Keeping some good quality sodas on hand means instant boozy refresher, FYI. Keep cool everyone!

*Items generously given gratis and appear here because I like them. For more info on sponsored products, affiliate links, and gifted booze, please visit theÂ AboutÂ page.

The Auld Draper and starting out small with a home bar

May 13, 2014 by elana 1 Comment

Note: this post has nothing to do with Don Draper, but there are some real life drapers involved in the creation of the below cocktail. Ok, let’s continue.

One question I get asked pretty often is: How do you stock a home bar if you’re getting serious about making craft cocktails at home? If you have unlimited funds, then no problem, buy the liquor store. However, for most of us, this isn’t an option. I got started small. Every time I went to pick up a staple ingredient, like a bourbon or some more gin, I’d also pick up a bottle (or two if the paycheck was stretchy that week) of something unfamiliar to me, a liquor I hadn’t used or heard of. Before long, I had started to amass a decent amount of liquors that I could call upon when the time deemed it necessary. Now, I had also made a list after combing through some cocktail books first, and also checked on what brands to avoid, so if I picked up a bottle that cost me , I wasn’t going to be sad at the quality or taste (well, there were a few that took a bit to get used to. Canton, I’m looking at you!).

That’s how I ended up with a bottle of Byrrh. It was on the list of “to buy” although, long forgotten as to “for what”. Recently the folks at Serious Eats had me come up with a simple to make cocktail recipe, and I thought that perhaps I should try the Byrrh out in it. You can read more of the article, over here. Did you know the Byrrh is really old? And was created by a couple of brothers who were also drapers? History! It’s fascinating!

Ready for a drink now? This one is pretty easy, and more crafty than some of my recent drinks.

2 ounces dry gin, such as Caorunn Scottish Gin*
3/4 ounce Byrrh
3 dashes orange bitters

Flamed orange peel for garnish

Add gin, Byrrh, and bitters to a mixing glass. Fill 2/3 full with ice. Stir until well chilled, about 20 seconds. Strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with flamed orange peel.

Caorunn Scottish Gin provides a clean, dry, and slightly spicy framework for Byrrh’s bitter nature. The citrus notes from the gin accent those found in the Byrrh, and the drink gets an added touch of bitter citrus from orange bitters and a flamed orange peel. The complete cocktail is a perfect balance of sweet and bitter with a rich texture that lets you linger.

*Items generously given gratis and appear here because I like them. For more info on sponsored products, affiliate links, and gifted booze, please visit theÂ AboutÂ page.