It’s time for Champagne! Add a little ginger kick to your sparkling wine to celebrate the holidays. This sparkler is festive yet simple, so it’s perfect for Christmas and New Year’s.

Happy Holidays from Drink of the Week!

Ingredients:
1/2 oz ginger syrup*
4 to 6 oz sparkling wine

Directions:
Pour ginger syrup in the bottom of a Champagne flute or coupe, the top off with sparkling wine to taste.

Ginger Syrup*

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar… Read more

It’s still Summer, so why not giveaway some cool stuff to make cocktails and a $150 Amex Gift Card. Simply like this page, comment or like Martin Miller’s Facebook Page and you’ll be entered to win a DIY Summer Cocktail Gift Pack containing a shaker and other bar tools, a copy of our book DIY Cocktails and $150 Amex Gift Card (for incidentals).

* To enter you must be at least 21 years of age … Read more

The Manhattan is one of my favorite cocktails, yet some bars make me sad by shaking this drink instead of stirring it. Overall, a good rule of thumb to follow is that if a drink consists of all alcoholic mixers (as this one does), then stirring is sufficient to mix the drink. As Robert Hess points out in this instructional video, it also makes for a much more visually appealing cocktail. Check out this video … Read more

Until this drink, I’d never had a cocktail made with fresh lychees. Their bumpy shell houses a squishy, gelatinous fruit with a little seed inside that. It tastes like a sweeter more syrupy grape with an exotic fruit twist. Nolet’s Gin sent me a box of lychees and a suggestion for how to use them … a Gimlet made with lychees. How could I resist?

In case you’ve never seen a lychee before (I hadn’t), … Read more

It’s Mixology Monday time again, and this month we are hosted by Adventures In Cocktails with the theme – “Niche Spirits”. So that means no basics: no vodka, tequila, gin, rum, brandy or whiskey.

We said, “Hey, how about a nice Genever Cocktail from our new book – DIY Cocktails?”

Genever, AKA “Holland Gin”, is the Dutch predecessor from which the more ubiquitous “London Dry” gin evolved.

Ingredients:
2 parts Bols Genever
1 part Creme … Read more

Hopefully dad appreciates you just the way you are, but these items can’t hurt in helping him love you just a little bit more …

With only 275 bottles produced, this prestigious edition is set to become an exclusive collectors’ item.

Bottled at 44.8% ABV, Highland Park 50 Years Old is a vatting of five refill oak casks distilled in 1960.  This higher proof brings out richness of this special whisky.

Each … Read more

Fresh mango is fantastic. It’s lightly sweet, and its tropical flavor can instantly transport you to a relaxing place. Put that in a margarita and you have a winner!

I got together with my friend Savvy Housekeeping to come up with a cocktail that would be great on Cinco de Mayo or Mother’s Day.

This delightful fresh mango margarita will pair equally well with spicy food on Cinco de Mayo or a lovely brunch or … Read more

Almost no drink welcomes warm weather the way a good mojito does. It’s simple and refreshing! Along with Savvy Housekeeping, I mixed up some basil mojitos. An easy way to change up your cocktail is to substitute ingredients. By using basil instead of mint, we found a whole new drinking experience without much work.

Try it out with basil or any of your favorite herbs! You can learn more about substitutions and creating new … Read more

We’re so excited that the book we wrote is now officially out! It’s called DIY Cocktails, and it tells you everything you need to know to create your own cocktails from scratch using your own recipes. Of course, we included some of our recipes in there. Here’s one that is a simple and satisfying twist on a Vodka Tonic.

The Black Rose has the fruit and herb flavor that will help you ring in … Read more

We created a special champagne cocktail to help The Stir celebrate its first birthday. It’s like a piña colada meets champagne cocktail! Please go wish them a happy birthday!… Read more

St. Patrick’s Day is coming up, so whip out the Baileys Irish cream … or don’t!

I saw this recipe for homemade Irish cream that sounds like a winner.

As the authors of DIY Cocktails, we’re always on the lookout for ways to add more homemade ingredients to cocktails.

From 52 Kitchen Adventures:

This is a ridiculously easy recipe that makes me question buying Bailey’s ever again. It tastes better, you can make as

… Read more

We’re gearing up for St. Patrick’s Day, so green drinks are theme of the day. Moon Mountain created this light refreshing cocktail as a classy alternative to traditional green beer. This one is easy to make at home and has plenty of green to keep you from getting a pinch.… Read more

Is a fridge full of boring juice cramping your style? Then turn it into booze! “How?” you might ask. “Science,” I would then answer.

The DIY Juice to Alcohol Kit contains yeast packets you can use to turn the fructose into alcohol in just 48 hours.

It’s as simple as pouring the yeast into a 64-ounce bottle, screwing on the cap and waiting. You’ll be rewarded with a sparkling beverage with about 14% alcohol.

The … Read more

A beautiful lemon spiral is a great garnish for cocktails like the French 75 or any cocktail that you want to add a little lemon oil to. You can also do this with oranges for cocktails that call for an orange twist. It takes a bit of practice but, as you’ll see in this video, it’s not that hard. All you’ll need besides lemon is a citrus zester, also called a channel knife.

Imbibe’s Evan Zimmerman shows us how to use a Boston shaker like a pro.

… Read more

Liqueur plays a big role in many great cocktails. So why not make your own using fresh fruit? Without commercial equipment, you can make a mixture that closely approximates liqueur. It’s not officially liqueur but it comes damn close and tastes fantastic. Inspired by roadside berry stands, we combined several berries with cognac to create this delicious treat.

½ cup water
½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups mixed berries (blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries)… Read more

Halloween means one thing, OK, maybe more that one thing, but one is certainly candy! And what is the most popular? Candy corn.

Invented in the 1880s at the Wunderle Candy Company, candy corn os meant to mimic a whole kernel of corn. Today candy companies produce nearly 35 million pounds of the corn candy each year.

How big is candy corn? So big it needs it’s own day, so as not compete with Halloween. … Read more

If you’re a home brewer (or want to be), I highly recommend adding it to your repertoire.

I sampled a batch made by our friends at Savvy Housekeeping, who say it’s simple to make.

I can attest to the deliciousness of this recipe. But don’t be fooled by its light color into thinking it’s some wimpy concoction.

All it took was putting the

… Read more

Paul Loughridge took a Heineken mini-keg and made Beer2-D3, distant cousin to Star Wars droid R2-D2. Genius!

Maybe he needs a Beer-3PO to help keep him out of trouble.

[Via Make]… Read more

No! They are making their own wine at home. And computers are involved!

WinePod is a home winemaking system that “presses, ferments and manages wine” in one unit.

You can connect it to your computer and get instructions, advice from wine pros and online support. It even has its own social network.

And all for only $4,499 (or $6,349 if you include grapes, accessories … Read more

Here are the simple steps:

Use distilled water. Boil the water, then let it cool. Boil the water one more time. Let it cool slightly, but pour in the tray when it’s still hot. Freeze.

The smaller your cubes, the better they will look.

Pro Cocktail Mini Ice Cube Trays … Read more

You can color and flavor tapioca pearls to accent a variety of Halloween cocktails.

Creepy Halloween Bubble Halloween Cocktails… Read more

I am.

Well, all it takes is a roll of duct tape!

The Original Duct Tape Halloween Book… Read more

Dethroner writes of the possible demise of the internet’s love affair with bacon. They counter this notion with, what else, bacon-infused vodka! It’s what’s for breakfast.

1 large sterile mason jar
5-6 strips of cooked bacon, drained
1 bottle premium vodka

Add bacon to the mason jar and fill with vodka. Let the bacon steep in the vodka for a few days in a very cool place or the fridge. After the vodka … Read more