04-06-2024

I got this recipe from Jordan Hughes (@highproofpreacher). This recipe just shows you how you can transform and elevate the traditional espresso martini (usually made with vodka). Here bourbon is used as the base and it is sweetened with some chocolate liqueur and vanilla. Cheers y’all!

04-05-2024

This cocktail was made by Ryan (@reallyicetomeetyou). This stirred drink will take you to the tropics, but not in the traditional crushed ice tiki sense. Think of a Kingston Negroni. Bonal is a fortified aperitif wine with gentian and quinine. The pineapple comes through beautifully but you still get some bitter notes from the Aperol. Cheers y’all!

04-04-2024

This drink was created by my good friend Emily Pavela for Hattaway’s on Alder in Walla Walla, WA. I can’t count how many times my partner has asked for me to make it for him since we first had it at Hattaway’s. This cocktail is complex, creamy, and matches how amazing Donna Summer was. Cheers y’all!

04-03-2024

This cocktail is now available for only $14.99! Kidding. This clever recipe is by Jon and Siobhan (@subtletiki). Who can say no to a blue drink? They usually get a bad rap, because they are often made as sugar bombs, but this recipe is balanced and complex. Give it a try! Cheers y’all!

04-02-2024

The classic Mai Tai is one of my favorite cocktails. I decided to make a riff inspired by some spirits from Mexico: Oaxacan rum and Nixta Elote liqueur. This rum has a funky and grassy taste to it that is similar to an unaged rhum agricole. I used the corn liqueur in replace of traditional curaçao. Cheers y’all!

04-01-2024

This drink was created in 2007 by Toby Maloney, author of, “The Bartender’s Manifesto.” This is a spicy margarita that took a trip to Spain. Licor 43 is a yellow vanilla Spanish liqueur made with 43 different Mediterranean herbs. Cheers y’all!

03-31-2024

This is a tiki cocktail from the 1970s that is primarily made with rum, but can be made with gin. I stumbled across this in my copy of “Smuggler’s Cove.” My partner loves gin drinks so I had to reshake it for him with gin. This should be flash blended, but I chose to whip shake with some pebble ice. Cheers y’all!

03-30-2024

This drink is by Callum Rixson (@gb_bartender) and it’ll have to reshaking another after taking the first sip. Your tongue will be dancing as you experience sweetness from the pineapple, island spices from the falernum, then the heat from the habanero. Rixson uses a blended scotch here (Monkey Shoulder). Cheers y’all!

03-29-2024

Move over espresso martini, the coffee grog is here. This cocktail comes from Two Dots and a Dash in Chicago. They recently shared his recipe on Instagram and I had to reshake it. I love the orange and coconut combo! Cheers y’all!

03-28-2024

This classic tiki cocktail was created at the Queen’s Park Hotel in Port of Spain, Trinidad (around 1895). In 1946, Victor Bergeron (Trader Vic) described it as, “the most delightful form of anesthesia given out today.” You can consider this a dry and more complex mojito. Cheers y’all!

03-27-2024

The Last Word is one of the most famous equal parts cocktails in the world. In addition to being popular, it is one of the most riffed drinks (Final Ward, Paper Plane, Naked & Famous, etc.). Most every bar has a riff or the OG on their menu. Try making this in a 3:2:2:2 ratio to let the gin shine. Cheers y’all!

03-26-2024

This classic tiki cocktail was reimagined by Martin Cate of Smuggler’s Cove in San Francisco. Cate bartended at Trader Vic’s where this was a popular drink by staff and guests. This tiki drink has a relatively short ingredient list, but Cate says still achieves depth and richness. Cheers y’all!

03-25-2024

This modern classic was created in 2007 by Phil Ward at Death & Co. At the time, not many cocktails used agave spirits (beyond shots and margaritas); this soon changed across the world. Ward doesn’t recall who he made his first Oaxaca OF for, but he did remember the drink as a “right-off-the-cuff humdinger.” Cheers y’all!

03-24-2024

Originally from Cuba, the Mojito is a cocktail loved by so many across the world. Though it is popular, it can easily be butchered. A good mojito should be light and refreshing with a hint of mint that doesn’t overpower the unaged rum and lime. Lightly muddling your mint is key! Cheers y’all!

03-23-2024

A well-made margarita is delicious! Unfortunately, this simple cocktail is often bastardized with the use of sour mix 🥴 Thus, many folks are turned off by them. Dare anyone says “strawberry margarita” without someone quivering with the thought of a blended sweetened mess. Please always use fresh citrus. Cheers y’all!

03-22-2024

This drink is one of the most popular cocktails at San Francisco’s Trick Dog. I was told it was created by Morgan Schick, who oversaw the bar at the time. The flavors all work together and you get a nice mouthfeel from the foam. Cheers y’all!

03-21-2024

This drink comes from one of my favorite bars: Cure in New Orleans. Rhiannon Enlil created this and the recipe is found in Cure’s book. This is a variation of the classic Daisy template, and a nod to the Daisy de Santiago (Yellow Chartreuse) and Bee’s Knees. Cheers y’all!

03-20-2024

My partner told me to make him a pretty gin and tonic with a tropical twist. This is what I created. For this, I used a botanical gin and Giffard Caribbean Pineapple. Absinthe and gin make a lovely combo (hello Corpse Reviver No. 2). I wanted to bring some color, so I added a few drops of B’lure. Cheers y’all!

03-19-2024

This is my sixth espresso martini variant I’ve posted this year. Are you tired of them yet? Good, because I’m still going to post them. This original is a nod to Brazil’s sugarcane distillate cachaça (think Brazilian rum) — the main ingredient in caipirinhas. Cheers y’all!

03-18-2024

This is a delicious agave sipper by my friend Morten (@thecocktail.blog). This a straight forward and gently smoked treat for you on this Wednesday. Consider this a spring agave old fashioned. Cheers y’all!