Hard Start

Credit: Brad Thomas Parsons, Amaro, citing Damon Boelte

Ingredients

1 part Fernet Branca
1 part Branca Menta

Directions

Build in a glass with an ice sphere.

Notes

Two events brought on this drink: time to peruse the beautiful, informative Amaro, and fries animal-style from In-N-Out. This is my first time drinking any fernet, and starting out with 50% Fernet Branca isn’t for sissies! I took a sip and thought, ugh, what is this? Then needed another sip. Then thought, ugh, what is this? Then needed another sip. And this cycle repeated until I was sad I’d finished gingerly sipping my meager 1 oz of the mixture.

It really does settle the stomach.

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Spiced Rum and Ginger Beer

Ingredients

1 oz spiced rum
4 oz Fever Tree Ginger Beer
lime wedge

Directions

Build over ice.

Notes

Wow, this drink lets that spiced rum shine! I used less lime than I did in the Dark and Stormy since the ginger beer is less sweet, and I wanted to play up the spices in the rum.

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Mr. Bodi Hai

Credit: Shannon Mustipher, Tiki, citing Nathan Hazard

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz blended aged rum (I used Appleton Estate Extra 12)
1/4 oz Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
1/4 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz macadamia orgeat
dash of Angostura Bitters
Luxardo cherry garnish

Directions

Shake and strain over crushed ice.

Notes

Alas, I wanted this drink to be sweeter. I also couldn’t really taste the banana or the orgeat. My husband liked it though…he said he liked “its darkness.” Oh well, back to Mr. Bali Hais for me!

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Spiced Rum

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

750 ml rum (I used Plantation Original Dark rum)
4 inches of a vanilla bean, pod and scraped seeds
2 1/2 x 1 1/2-inch strip of orange peel, with as much white pith removed as possible
3 allspice berries
4-inch cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
5 whole peppercorns
1/2-inch piece of ginger, sliced
demerara syrup, optional

Directions

Put everything into a mason jar and let sit for 3 days, stirring once a day. Strain through a fine mesh strainer, then a coffee filter. Add 1 ounce of demerara syrup if needed, depending on your base rum.

Notes

There’s no comparison—making your own spiced rum is the way to go. The Plantation Original Dark was plenty sweet enough without adding any demerara syrup. This rum is so good I can sip it straight, which says something as I don’t like super-strong drinks. I can’t wait to try this in a hot toddy or eggnog!

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Beton

Ingredients

1 oz Becherovka liqueur
3 oz Fever Tree Indian Tonic Water
lemon wedge

Directions

Fill collins glass with ice. Add Becherovka and tonic water, then stir. Squeeze lemon into glass and use spent wedge as a garnish.

Notes

Lighter and refreshing! The lemon adds a nice balance.

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Peach Cobbler

Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
3/4 oz Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne
3/4 oz orgeat
3/4 oz lemon juice
4 drops Angostura Bitters
mint garnish

Directions

Shake and strain over crushed ice.

Notes

The quality of the peach liqueur makes a big difference here. Alas I committed a sin and served this over small ice cubes rather than crushed or pebble ice, because I was low on pebble ice. However, it was great just the same. Slapping the mint against your hand to release the oils makes the mint super-fragrant. A potent one for me! Easy to sip quickly. Curious to try this with cardamom bitters.

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Orgeat Lemonade

Credit: Serious Eats

Ingredients

1 oz lemon juice
2 oz orgeat
3 oz water

Directions

Shake and strain over ice.

Notes

Ok, this is somewhere between awesome and amazing. The almond and lemon pair so well together! Tart and refreshing, but with enough sweetness, too. And the measurements are so easy. I would have been drinking this all summer had I known about this recipe, but hey, does it ever get too cold for lemonade in California?

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Southbound Suarez

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz reposado tequila
1/2 oz. agave syrup
1/2 oz. lime juice
1 tsp Becherovka
1 1/2 oz horchata

Directions

Shake and strain over ice.

Notes

Confession—I used the tequila I had, which was Patron Silver, not reposado. I also used 2 oz horchata. It was refreshing, but the tequila was challenging. I also didn’t get much of the Becherovka. I think I’d want to try this with more Becherovka and less tequila, as I tend to like lighter drinks.

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Cold Buttered Rum

Credit: Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence; Cocktail Chemistry

Ingredients

1 fat ounce butter syrup (1 oz + 1 tsp)
1/4 oz lime juice
2 oz Brown Butter-Washed Banana Rum

Directions

Shake and strain into a chilled rocks glass.

Notes

Ok, this took some trial and error! The first time I mixed this, I accidentally doubled the amount of lime when I doubled the recipe, as I was making it for me and my husband. Then I followed Dave Arnold’s recipe and used 1/2 oz lime, and it was still too acidic. Both times I had also used Sailor Jerry’s spiced rum, which is slightly higher proof at 92. So I scrapped everything and decided to try infused rum and less lime.

WOW. This stuff is sweet, buttery, and totally different than anything else I’ve tried. Next time I’d serve it over a large ice sphere because: 1) the cocktail could afford some dilution; and 2 to keep it cold—the richness of the butter at room temperature can make the mouthfeel a bit off. Now that I have a preferred amount of lime, I’d be curious to try this cocktail with other rums.

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Butter Syrup

Credit: Dave Arnold, Liquid Intelligence; Cocktail Chemistry

Ingredients

200 g water
150 g melted unsalted butter
200 g granulated sugar
3 grams Ticaloid 210 S (9:1 ratio gum arabic to xanthan gum)
10 allspice berries, crushed

Directions

Heat the water and crushed allspice berries to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain out the allspice. Add the Ticaloid 210 S to the infused water and mix with a stick blender. Add the butter and blend. Add the sugar and blend. You can store this at room temperature.

Notes

Wow, this is delicious! The allspice adds something nice. There has to be an application here for pancakes or French toast.

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Blue POG Punch (Zero Proof Blue Hawaii)

Ingredients

3 oz POG (2 parts passion fruit juice, 1 part orange juice, 2 parts guava juice)
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lime juice
1/2 oz lime cordial
1/16 tsp Popjoy blue spirulina powder
baby Swedish fish garnish

Directions

Stir ingredients and pour over ice. Garnish with a baby Swedish fish on a toothpick.

Notes

The Popjoy brand of blue spirulina adds no flavor—just color!

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Banana Daiquiri

Credit: Imbibe

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz brown butter-washed banana rum
3/4 oz lime juice
1/2 oz Giffard Banane du Bresil
1/4 oz 2:1 simple syrup

Directions

Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

Notes

This drink captures the essence of banana in all its glory. I think the next step is to make some kind of caramelized banana brown sugar rim.

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Brown Butter-Washed Banana Rum

Credit: Gabriella Mlynarczyk, Clean + Dirty Drinking

Ingredients

750 ml George Ocean White Rum
8 oz unsalted butter
3 ripe bananas

Directions

Brown the butter. Add the bananas and mash them into the hot butter, off the heat. Pour the mixture into a glass bowl, and add the rum. Stir, and let sit for 2 days covered. Then strain the rum and refrigerate. When the butter solidifies at the top, scoop it out and strain it again through a coffee filter to remove any remaining particles.

Notes

What not to do—put the rum that’s draining through a coffee filter in front of paper towels, so when you reach for a paper towel, you knock over 1/3 of your rum. Aside from that…WOW. This rum can practically be sipped neat, it’s that good. It goes from clear to clear dark golden yellow.

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Tradewinds

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

1 oz lemon juice
1 1/2 oz cream of coconut
1 oz Rothman & Winter Apricot Liqueur
1 oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
1 oz Appleton Estate Signature Blend Rum
lemon wedge with a cocktail umbrella, gently turned up

Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice.

Notes

Wow, I could have had half of this. I did, and gave the other half to my husband after he had his, and somehow he’s able to do the dishes right now. The apricot and coconut are lovely together. This drinks sends you to worry-free shores!

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Horchata

Credit: Jeffrey Morgenthaler

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked long grain rice
3 cups hot water
1/2 cup white sugar
3-inch stick of ceylon cinnamon, broken into small pieces

Directions

Put all ingredients into a heat-proof bowl and let sit for several hours or overnight, up to 24 hours. Blend everything and strain through a nut milk bag.

Notes

Good chilled over ice, which helps dilute the sweetness. However, there was some grittiness that came through. Even so, looking forward to trying this in a cocktail.

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Tasting: Peach Liqueurs

The Flight

Drillaud Crème de Pêche (15% ABV)
Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne (16% ABV)

Notes

Drillaud Crème de Pêche: smells exactly like a peach gummy candy. Quite sweet. I’d use this in a pinch where banana liqueur is a small fraction of the cocktail.

Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne: Much more complex and interesting. I’m looking forward to using this in The Educated Barfly’s Peach Cobbler.

The Verdict

Giffard Crème de Pêche de Vigne.

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Mr. Bali Hai

Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz dark Jamaican rum
1 oz white rum
3/4 oz Mr Black Cold Brew Coffee Liqueur
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
1 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz 2:1 demerara syrup

Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice.

Notes

OMG. Sooooo good. Doesn’t taste strong at all! I used Patron XO Cafe for the coffee liqueur, but want to try it with Mr. Black’s. I also did a Luxardo cherry garnish since I don’t own a traditional Mr. Bali Hai mug, which has a skull cap. :-)

Update

The first time I made this drink I used Patron XO Cafe. This time I used Mr Black and it makes a difference. You can taste the coffee note much better, which somehow works perfectly with the rum and pineapple.

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American Honey Coffee

Ingredients

1 oz Wild Turkey American Honey Liqueur
3 1/2 oz coffee
float whipped cream on top (see: Irish Coffee for how)
Serve in a traditional Irish coffee glass

Directions

Fill glass with hot water until it heats up, then dump out the hot water. Add liqueur and coffee to glass and gently stir. Float whipped cream on top.

Notes

I first tried the Kentucky Coffee recipe from Spruce Eats and found it way too bitter and boozy. When I made this with just the American Honey liqueur, it was marvelous. The orange notes from the liqueur come through beautifully, and it was sweet enough without any sugar syrup. (This liqueur would also make a super-easy hot toddy I imagine.)

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Sloe Gin Fizz

Credit: Punch

Ingredients

1 oz club soda
3/4 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
3/4 oz Plymouth Sloe Gin
3/4 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz 2:1 simple syrup
1 egg white
Angostura Bitters

Directions

Pour club soda into a coupe glass. Dry shake the remaining ingredients, then add a large ice cube and shake again until it’s chilled. Strain and pour into the coupe glass, and dot with Angostura bitters.

Notes

This is fabulous. It feels like a spring or summer drink, but would also work well for brunch with the berry flavor from the sloe gin. I use 2:1 simple syrup (2 parts white sugar, 1 part water) since it lasts longer. I also added bitters—I keep some Angostura bitters in a small dropper bottle, to allow for more precise placement and design. A beautiful drink.

Variations

I’ve seen recipes for the egg white version with only sloe gin, and I’m hesitant to try it. I think the equal parts gin and sloe gin make more a much more balanced drink. I also tried the Educated Barfly’s version, which doesn’t use egg white and is served over ice in a collins glass. It was far too tart for me!

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Tasting: Coffee Liqueurs

The Flight

Kahlua (20% ABV)
Mr Black Cold Brew (25% ABV)
Patron XO Cafe (35% ABV)

Notes

Kahlua: sweet, less syrupy than expected. Would be great on ice cream or in dessert drinks.

Mr Black Cold Brew: WOW. Tastes like true coffee. Want to use this for White Russians and tiki drinks.

Patron XO Cafe: boozy. More complex than Kahlua. Could see sipping this over ice, or just adding to coffee.

The Verdict

If I had to choose 2, I’d choose Kahlua and Mr Black Cold Brew.

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