Cocktails, the libationary art!

This was a lovely cocktail that I made for my wife, a lover of rum. It was a pretty good way to use up some less than stellar champagne that was left over from New Year's.

• 10 mint leaves, muddled (plus more for garnish)
• ¾ oz fresh lime juice
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 2 oz aged rum
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• 2 oz champagne

Directions

1. Muddle mint in shaker with lime juice.
2. Add the simple syrup, aged rum, and bitters and shake with ice.
3. Strain into glass. I used a Hawthorne strainer as well as a sieve to minimize the mint bits in the drink.
4. Top with champagne.

This was for my friend who is a ginger fiend. It definitely took some elbow grease to grate that all up. Worth it though

• 2 oz Bourbon Whiskey
• 1 oz Lime Juice
• 1/2 oz Fresh Ginger, grated
• 1/2 oz Simple Syrup
• Sprig of Rosemary (for garnish)
• Candied Ginger (for garnish)

Directions

1. Grate fresh ginger in a cocktail shaker with lime
2. Add all remaining ingredients and ice to the cocktail shaker.
3. Shake and strain into a martini glass
4. Garnish with a rosemary sprig & a piece of candied ginger on the rim.

I have Shake and Strain, the app, but I never seem to use it, generally just either get inspired from a news post or the Imbibe magazine, or a restaurant drink; or just stand in front of the liquor cabinet thinking "what looks good?". When I have an unusual ingredient, Google it, and don't think about the app.

Do you have a drink app in your phone and do you use it?

I recently heard the announcement of a remake for this anime, which made me go watch the original. The art isn't phenomenal, but it has such comfortable, cozy vibes.. Here's the description from AniList:

Genius bartender, Sasakura Ryuu makes the most incredible cocktails anyone has ever tasted. Seeking his "Glass of God", individuals from all different walks of life visit his bar. With both a compassionate ear and a godly drink, Ryuu helps people with their problems.

A little too sour!

2 oz cognac

1 oz lemon

1 oz Giffard Abricot

1 oz pineapple tepache

Needs adjustments but definitely getting there. Less lemon, Meyer lemon, or pineapple syrup instead of tepache, maybe. Fruit and cognac are so good together.

I can't remember who was looking for cocktails to go with stir fry, but this one looks perfect. No, there is not Koji in the drink, nothing too complicated here, but the celery-soju-mezcal seems well suited for a meal of stir fry veg with sesame oil and soy flavors, or something peppery.

Another one from Smuggler’s Cove; you can probably tell that I’m trying to use up my pineapple juice! This one is unique among the recipes in that book in that it features Aquavit, a Scandinavian liquor that is close to gin, but typically infused with caraway and dill. The dill notes are especially pronounced in the Gamle Ode Celebration Aquavit that I used, and come out especially strongly in the finish. Delightful in contrast to the juicy start!

• 1 ½ oz orange juice
• 1 ½ oz pineapple juice
• ½ oz lemon juice
• ¼ oz Demerara Syrup
• ¼ oz Orgeat
• 1 ½ oz aquavit
• 1 lemon wedge

Shake with ice and strain into a glass filled with cracked ice. Garnish with a lemon wedge speared with a cocktail umbrella.

This year i started with a variation of an appletini (i know its not the right glass but the next best thing i had :D) Sour but also sweet with the rim especially. Great experience that i'd recomend ^^

Ingrediences: -brown sugar for the rim -1,5oz vodka -1oz sour apple schnaps -0,5oz lime juice -0,5 teaspoon granulated sugar (in the drink)

I got this one from the book "Tequila Mockingbird" by Tim Federle

2024 has arrived! For January, the cocktail challenge is Kiwi and Mezcal. The rules are simple, a novel drink using these ingredients, most upvoted (not net votes) wins.

Rule change: winner may pick the next challenge (not the month immediately following, as that's not enough time to announce, but January winner can pick March challenge, and so on)

Post cocktails as replies to this thread. Post requirements are a photo, a recipe, tasting notes. Replies to recipe posts are allowed.

Enjoy!

February challenge will be a RED drink with a Valentine theme (broadly defined, love or martyrdom). Anything novel and any shade of red, must contain at least three ingredients but can be non alcoholic.

Here’s a nice one from Smuggler’s Cove, the Top Notch Volcano! It’s classic tiki flavors; the passion fruit and maraschino liqueur match really well. This recipe makes two; I went for serving over rocks instead of flash blending.

• 4 oz lime juice
• 4 oz pineapple juice
• 1 oz passion fruit purée
• 3 oz Smuggler's Cove Demerara Syrup
• 1 oz Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur
• 4 oz blended lightly-aged rum
• 4 oz blended aged rum

Serves 4. Mix the ingredients without ice in two mixing tins. Split evenly between the tins, and add 12oz crushed ice to each.

Flash blend separately and add to a punch bowl. Serve on fire! Or, for the weaker of heart, garnish with sliced limes and oranges.

2oz bourbon

1oz Giffard Abricot

1oz Heirloom Pineapple Amaro

1oz lemon juice

Shaken with ice

Very smooth. So smooth. I think next time I will try it with cognac and 3/4 oz of the apricot, and once with a rye whiskey before settling the recipe. It's balanced and delicious I just want to see if it can be better.

My adult daughter is ending her "year of no brain damage" that was her resolution for 2023 (she said no drinks no drugs no COVID no hitting her head on anything, and actually pulled it off) and asked me for a blue margarita, so that's one. If I get to the store today, I may have a margarita with champagne (margarita sbagliato?) or a kir royale. If not, I have a bottle of club soda & will make something fizzy with that. We'll probably have crackers and cheese, sardines and other fish stuff for food, not having an actual party this year.

Had a carajillo at a fancy brunch spot and it was the best thing I'd ever had. The menu said it was espresso, licor 43, averna amaro, and orange blossom water. Well I don't have an espresso maker nor orange blossom water. So here's what I did.

1oz averna

1/4oz licor 43

1/4oz frangelico (why not?)

Liberal amounts of orange bitters.

Stirred to mix and then topped off with 3-6oz of hot coffee.

Definitely close enough to what I had with actual espresso.

The writing doesn't add much but I did think this is a good collection of champagne cocktails, and the idea of a champagne bar with Aperol, creme de cassis, St. Germain and other stuff, that is something I've done at Easter, it is always a hit.

Unnamed as of now.

1oz white rum (Shipwreck)

1oz toasted coconut rum

1oz Heirloom Pineapple Amaro

1/2 oz lime

4 oz Jarritos Tamarind

Pretty good. Tamarind soda by itself I find meh, but its subdued nature works well here. I think a sparkling green tea would be good here if you can't get tamarind.

We cooked a ham with pineapple glaze for Christmas, so went for pineapple-adjacent flavors for sides… and cocktails of course!

This is a Mai Tai with a passion fruit foam. A friend had something like this in Maui, and I’ve been thinking of it ever since! Why not Christmas? I found this recipe published by a restaurant on Maui called Monkeypod.

• 1 oz Old Lahaina light rum
• 1 oz orgeat or almond syrup
• 1 oz Marie Brizard orange Curaçao
• ¾ oz lime juice
• 1 oz Old Lahaina dark rum
• 1 splash honey-liliko'i (passion fruit) foam
• ½ pineapple slice

Shake the lime juice, orgeat, curaçao, and light rum with ice, then strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Float the dark rum. Top with the honey-liliko'i foam, and garnish with the pineapple.

For the foam:

• ½ oz honey
• 1 oz passion fruit purée
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz egg white
• 1 ½ oz water

Mix ingredients well and put in a nitrous-oxide infuser to half capacity. Use 4 charges for a liter-sized infuser. If you do not have access to an infuser, you can blend the ingredients on high speed until foamy.

You can probably tell that I’m still working through some aquafaba… here’s the maguey Sour, a delightful mezcal-based sour. The smokiness of the mezcal works nicely in contrast to the Benedictine and citrus.

• 2 oz Del Maguey Chichicapa mezcal
• ½ oz Bénédictine
• ¾ oz lemon juice
• ½ oz orgeat or almond syrup
• 1 egg white
• 1 pinch grated nutmeg
• 1 orange twist

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the nutmeg and orange and shake well. Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass and garnish with the grated nutmeg and orange twist.

I haven't had a cocktail for a few days, been on an iced water kick, but today had:

1.5oz tequila claro

.75oz Chinola

.75oz Ancho Reyes

1oz lime

2oz not particularly fizzy tepache

Shaken. Yum. Sat on the porch and relaxed, then an early supper. Have a great weekend!

2 oz Jeppson's Malort

4 oz Charged yuzu lemonade

If the lemonade doesn't kill you, the Malort will make you wish you had been predisposed to heart failure.

I'm not sure I have ever had a proper white Russian, but I saw someone making them with egg nog so I thought why not? Half coffee rum/cognac instead of vodka, and half kahlua/frangelico instead of coffee liqueur.

1/2oz coffee rum

1/2oz cognac

1/4oz kahlua

1/4oz frangelico

Dash of chocolate and walnut bitters.

Top with an ounce or two of egg nog, then gently stir.

My ex-sister-outlaw gave me a bottle of Nixta. This is the first thing I tried with it. It's good, boozy and tasty but the Nixta is lost in here. Will try something else on Friday when I next have a drink. This is:

2 oz bourbon

1 oz Nixta

1 oz Tuaca

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz Topo Chico

I think next time will try equal parts bourbon and Nixta in a fizzy lemonade - I do think the Tuaca is good with it and very sure about bourbon but there is no perceptible corn flavor here.

The Pisco Sour is such a classic, and I’m always pleased with its simplicity. Plus, when you nail the bitters decoration it makes you feel really fancy! Here’s my go to recipe, which I originally got from Speakeasy. I subbed aquafaba for the egg white and skipped the nutmeg.

• 2 oz Barsol Pisco Quebranta brandy
• ¾ oz lime juice
• ¾ oz simple syrup
• 1 egg white
• 4 drops Angostura bitters
• grated nutmeg

Pour the brandy, juice, syrup, and egg white into a mixing glass. Shake very hard without ice for a few seconds. Add ice and shake vigorously for up to 30 seconds. Strain into a coupe. Decorate by carefully adding 4 drops of bitters and dragging a toothpick in a circle through them.

Got some really nice organic blackberries and took a few for a drink. House is a mess in the runup to Christmas, but this is delicious.

3 blackberries muddled in a spoonful of Cassis liqueur

2 oz bourbon

6 oz homemade lemonade, slightly tarter than store bought.

At a restaurant I love, there is a great cocktail with scotch, amaro and sherry. When I saw the amaro in question for sale at a wine store I had to have it. Pasubio is a wine-based amaro (kept in fridge). My first attempt at a cocktail with is (straight up Manhattan with Pasubio instead of sweet vermouth) was maybe too smoky. Tasted like scotch. So take two:

2oz rye

0.5oz Pasubio amaro

0.5oz sweet vernouth

Dash orange bitters

I love it. Spicy, fruity, smokey.

Wow, this has a lot of ingredients but I'd like to try it. Seems every time I put gin in something fruity I wish it was vodka instead - does anyone have a rec for a gin that works better with fruit flavors? I have Farmer's, Esme, and Citadel gins, haven't tried the Farmer's yet.