The Birth of the Margarita can be found in multiple competing stories.

One story dates back to the late 1930s in Mexico. It is said that a socialite named Margarita Sames created the drink at her Acapulco home for her friends. Her friend Tommy Hilton (of the Hilton hotels fame) was so impressed with the cocktail that he added it to the bar menu of his hotel chain, thus popularizing the drink.

Next, the Margarita may have been derived from the daisy cocktail, a popular sour cocktail in the 1930s and 1940s. The name “margarita” may come from the Spanish translation of “daisy”.

Another story claims that a bartender named Danny Negrete in Puebla, Mexico, created the drink in 1936 as a wedding gift for his sister-in-law, Margarita. The recipe called for triple sec, fresh lime juice, and Tequila Blanco over crushed ice.

And yet another story claims that the Margarita was invented in 1941 by bartender Don Carlos Orozco at the Hussong’s Cantina in Ensenada, Mexico. According to this tale, Don Carlos created the cocktail for Margarita Henkel, the daughter of a German ambassador, who was the first person to taste it.

Regardless of its exact birthplace, the Margarita quickly made its way north of the border. By the 1950s, it had become a favorite in Southern California. Hollywood stars, in particular, played a significant role in its rise to fame. The cocktail was a hit at glamorous parties and featured in numerous movies, cementing its status as a symbol of elegance and leisure.

The classic margarita recipe is simple, yet perfectly balanced. Here’s how to make it:

• Rim the edge of a margarita glass with a lime wedge and dip it in salt.
• In a shaker filled with ice, combine 2 oz tequila, 1 oz lime juice, and 1 oz triple sec.
• Shake well and strain the mixture into the prepared glass.
• Garnish with a lime wedge.

Variations

Over the years, the margarita has inspired countless variations. Some of the most popular include:

• Frozen Margarita: Blend the ingredients with ice to create a slushy version, perfect for hot days.
• Fruit Margarita: Add fresh fruits like strawberries, mangoes, or peaches to the mix for a fruity twist.
• Spicy Margarita: Infuse the cocktail with jalapeños or other hot peppers for a kick of heat.

The margarita’s enduring popularity can be attributed to its versatility and refreshing flavor. Whether enjoyed on a sunny beach or at a chic urban bar, the margarita continues to be a favorite choice for cocktail lovers around the world.

The exact origin of the Old Fashioned is a bit murky, but it is generally believed to have been invented in the early 1800s. The cocktail was first referred to as an “Old Fashioned” in the 1880s, when it became a staple at the Pendennis Club, a gentlemen’s club in Louisville, Kentucky. The recipe was supposedly introduced to the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel bar in New York City by a club member, cementing its place in cocktail history.

The Old Fashioned is known for its simplicity and balance, requiring only a few key steps:

• Place a sugar cube in an Old Fashioned glass.
• Soak with 2-3 dashes of Angostura bitters and muddle until the sugar is dissolved.
• Fill the glass with large ice cubes and pour in 2 oz. bourbon or rye whiskey.
• Stir gently to combine.
• Garnish with an orange twist and a cherry.

While the classic recipe remains a favorite, there are infinite variations you might enjoy, including:

Tequila Old Fashioned (pictured, left): Substitute extra añejo tequila for the whiskey, orange bitters and garnish with a twist of lime. This gives it a brighter, more citrus forward flavor profile.

Smoky Old Fashioned: Add a splash of smoky Scotch whisky for an extra layer of complexity.

Spiced Old Fashioned: Experiment with different bitters, such as orange or chocolate bitters, to add a unique flavor profile.

Said to have been first created in 1915 at the New York Bar in Paris, later becoming Harry’s New York Bar. The French 75 has found its way into literature and pop culture. It’s mentioned in Ernest Hemingway’s “A Moveable Feast,” showcasing its popularity among the literary crowd of the early 20th century.

Unique to many classic cocktails, the French 75 uses champagne, adding a touch of effervescence and class. Here’s how to make the classic French 75:

• In a shaker filled with ice, combine:
• 1 oz. gin
• ½ oz. fresh lemon juice
• ½ oz. simple syrup
• Shake well until the mixture is well chilled
• Strain the mixture into a champagne flute
• Top up with champagne
• Garnish with a lemon twist

Variations to try:

• Cognac French 75: Swap the gin for cognac for a richer, warmer flavor (pictured above left).
• Rosé French 75: Use rosé champagne instead of the traditional champagne for a floral twist.
• Herbal French 75: Add a dash of your favorite herbal liqueur, such as elderflower or Chartreuse, for an added layer of complexity.

The French 75 is a cocktail that continues to charm with its blend of strength and elegance. Perfect for celebrations or any occasion that calls for a touch of glamor, it’s a drink that promises to elevate any occasion.

The origin of the martini is a mystery, with several tales competing for the title of the true origin story. One popular theory traces it back to the late 19th century where a bartender named Jerry Thomas, who allegedly concocted a drink called the “Martinez” for a gold miner heading to Martinez, California. Over time, the Martinez evolved, eventually becoming the martini we know today.

Another theory suggests that the martini originated at the Knickerbocker Hotel in New York City, where a bartender named Martini reportedly served it to John D. Rockefeller. Regardless of its true origins, the martini has become an icon in its own right.

The traditional martini is a simple yet refined concoction, comprising just a few key ingredients:

Gin: The spirit at the heart of a classic martini. Its botanical complexity provides a robust foundation.

Dry Vermouth: Adds a nuanced depth and dry sophistication.

Olive or Lemon Twist: The finishing touch, adding either a briny bite or a zesty aroma.

To make a classic martini, you’ll need:

• 2 ½ oz. gin
• ½ oz. dry vermouth
• Ice
• Combine the gin and vermouth in a mixing glass filled with ice. Stir gently to chill, then strain into a chilled martini glass.
• Garnish with an olive or a twist of lemon peel.

While traditionalists insist on stirring to maintain the clarity and integrity of the ingredients, the notion of shaking gained fame through James Bond’s famous line, “shaken, not stirred.” Shaking, however, can result in a cloudy martini with a frothy top. Ultimately, the choice is yours!

Over the years, the martini has inspired countless variations, catering to different palates. The Vodka Martini swaps gin for vodka, making for a smoother, more neutral flavor. The Dirty Martini adds a splash of olive brine, giving it a savory twist. And the Gibson replaces the olive garnish with a pickled onion.

The martini remains a beloved cocktail, celebrated for its elegance, simplicity, and the endless possibilities it offers. Whether you’re sipping a classic gin martini or exploring a creative twist, each glass is a tribute to the enduring allure of this iconic drink. How do you enjoy your martini?

Hatozaki distillers blend a carefully selected combination of grain and malt whiskies, each aged for a minimum of five years. This process results in a whisky that’s both vibrant and complex, with each sip revealing a new layer of character.

Hatozaki offers a bouquet of fresh fruit—think apples and pears—interwoven with floral notes and a subtle hint of oak. Its palate, rich and smooth, brings forward flavors of honey, vanilla, and a touch of spice, culminating in a warm, lingering finish. This complexity makes it an excellent choice for both newcomers and seasoned whisky enthusiasts.

Pair it with sushi for a complementary experience, or with dark chocolate to highlight its deeper notes.

I decided to enjoy Hatozaki in a Rob Roy. The Rob Roy cocktail, a timeless classic, stands as a testament to the rich heritage of Scotch whisky and the inventive spirit of bartenders from the late 19th century. Named after the Scottish folk hero and outlaw, Robert Roy MacGregor, this cocktail embodies the essence of Scotland’s robust character and storied past.

The Rob Roy was first concocted in 1894 at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City. It was created to celebrate the premiere of the operetta “Rob Roy,” which was based on the life of the Scottish hero. The Waldorf’s bartenders wanted to craft a drink that paid homage to the operetta’s namesake, hence the birth of this iconic cocktail.

Rob Roy

A cousin to the Manhattan, the Rob Roy is distinguished by its use of Scotch whisky instead of rye or bourbon. The traditional recipe includes:

• 2 oz. Scotch whisky
• ¾ oz. sweet vermouth
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
• combine in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well chilled, then strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Tasting Notes

On the nose, Gardener presents pleasant aromas of juniper intertwined with citrus fruit, black currant, and subtle notes of mint. The palate is smooth and balanced, with the citrus and juniper flavors leading to a long, satisfying finish. This gin is perfect for those who appreciate a classic London Dry style spirit.

A Celebration of Craftsmanship

The creation of Gardener Gin is a story of passion and expertise. Tom Nichol, a legendary figure in the world of gin who previously was the master distiller at Tanqueray, brings over 40 years of experience to this project. We were fortunate enough to interview Nicol previously at Simple Cocktails. His vision was exercised with the help of Brad Pitt and the winemaking Perrin family, and it resulted in a gin that is a celebration of the French Riviera’s unique terroir.

Cocktail: The Gin Sour

• In a shaker, combine:
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• Vigorously dry shake (no ice), then add ice and shake again
• Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and top with 3 drops of bitters.

Whether you’re a gin connoisseur or a casual enthusiast, Gardner Gin offers a unique and memorable experience that captures the heart and soul of the French Riviera.

Have you had the chance to try Gardener Gin yet? What are your thoughts on it? Let me know in the comments below!

If you’re a fan of agave spirits, you might already be familiar with tequila and mezcal. But have you heard of bacanora? This lesser-known cousin hails from the northern Mexican state of Sonora and offers a unique tasting experience. Today, let’s dive into one of the standout bacanoras on the market: Kilinga Silvestre Bacanora.

Bacanora is a type of mezcal traditionally made from the Agave angustifolia plant, also known as Maguey Pacifica. The production process is similar to that of mezcal, involving the roasting of agave hearts in underground ovens, fermentation, and double distillation. This method imparts a distinctive smokiness to the spirit, although Kilinga Bacanora is more subtly smoky.

Kilinga was established in 2018 by Rodrigo Bojórquez Bours in the town of Álamos, Sonora. Inspired by a unique bacanora he tasted from a local friend, Rodrigo set out to create a spirit that reflects the rich terroir and artisanal methods of Sonora. The result is a family-owned brand that has quickly gained recognition for its quality and craftsmanship.

Made from wild 7-9 year old Agave angustifolia plants, Kilinga is clear and bottled at 40% ABV (80 proof). Here’s what you can expect when you take a sip:

Nose: Bright and lemony with a fresh herbaceous quality. You’ll notice hints of wildflowers and a touch of green apple tartness.

Palate: Equally refreshing, with a punch of lemon and unique notes of white pepper and mint. It’s virtually smoke-free, save for a light hint of cigar smoke.

Finish: Slightly short with lingering notes of camphor and a gentle violet finish.

Kilinga Silvestre Bacanora stands out for its vibrant and floral profile, making it a versatile spirit for both sipping and mixing. Its unique flavor notes, such as white pepper and mint, offer a refreshing twist compared to other agave spirits. Whether you’re a seasoned bacanora enthusiast or new to the world of agave spirits, Kilinga Silvestre Bacanora is definitely worth exploring.

In a world dominated by tequila and mezcal, bacanora offers a delightful alternative that captures the essence of Sonora’s rich heritage. Kilinga Silvestre Bacanora, with its bright, herbaceous flavors and subtle smokiness, is a testament to the craftsmanship and tradition behind this unique spirit. So next time you’re looking to expand your agave horizons, give Kilinga Silvestre Bacanora a try. You might just find your new favorite spirit.

Sunny Bacanora

This is a built cocktail served on the rocks with a Tajin rim.

• 1 1/2 oz Bacanora
• 3 oz pineapple juice
• 1/2 oz blood orange bitters
• Garnish with a lemon peel & serve.

Have you tried bacanora before? What are your thoughts on this unique agave spirit? Let me know in the comments below!

Solera Aging

One of the key elements that set Zacapa apart is its use of the Sistema Solera method. This traditional Spanish aging process involves blending rums of different ages in a series of barrels that previously held robust American whiskies, sherries, and fine wines. The result is a harmonious blend of flavors that include notes of caramel, vanilla, cocoa, and dried fruit.

Master Blender’s Touch

Behind every bottle of Zacapa is the expertise of Master Blender Lorena Vásquez. Her meticulous attention to detail and passion for rum-making ensure that each batch of Zacapa maintains its high quality and distinctive character. Lorena’s innovative approach and dedication have earned Zacapa numerous awards and a loyal following among rum enthusiasts.

A Legacy of Excellence

Since its creation in 1976 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the town of Zacapa, this rum has become a symbol of Guatemalan craftsmanship and tradition. Its commitment to quality and innovation continues to set Zacapa apart in the world of premium spirits.

Cheers to discovering the magic of Zacapa!

Zacapa & the Cuba Libre

The Cuba Libre is a cocktail with beautiful history and simple elegance, and has been a favorite for over a century. Originating in Havana around the early 1900s, this drink was born out of a celebration of Cuba’s independence from Spain. The name “Cuba Libre” translates to “Free Cuba,” a toast to freedom that has become synonymous with this refreshing cocktail.

The classic recipe is straightforward:

• 1/4 of fresh lime juice
• 2 oz of Zacapa rum
• top-off with Mexican Coca-Cola
• build in a highball glass and garnish with a lime wheel

The lime juice adds a zesty kick that balances the sweetness of the cola, while the rum provides a smooth, tropical base. Served over ice in a highball glass and garnished with a lime wedge, the Cuba Libre is both simple and sophisticated.

Whether you’re toasting to freedom or simply enjoying a sunny afternoon, the Cuba Libre is a timeless choice that never goes out of style.

If you’re a fan of unique and sophisticated liqueurs, Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto should be on your radar. This exquisite Italian liqueur has been making waves in the world of aperitifs since its launch in 2016. Let’s dive into what makes Italicus so special and why it deserves a place in your cocktail repertoire.

A Brief History

Italicus was created by Giuseppe Gallo, an Italian bartender with a passion for reviving traditional Italian spirits. Inspired by a family recipe and the almost forgotten category of rosolio, Gallo set out to create a modern version of this historic liqueur. Rosolio, once known as the “aperitivo di corte” or “drink of kings,” was a favorite among Italian royalty in the 18th century.

The Ingredients

What sets Italicus apart is its unique blend of ingredients sourced from various regions of Italy. The primary flavor comes from Calabrian bergamot oranges, known for their distinctive citrus aroma. This is complemented by Sicilian citrons, chamomile from Lazio, lavender, yellow roses, lemon balm, and gentian from Northern Italy. The result is a liqueur that is both floral and citrusy, with a perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness.

The Production Process

Italicus is produced at Torino Distillati, a family-owned distillery in Moncalieri, near Turin. The distillation process involves macerating the botanicals in alcohol, mixing them with water, and sweetening the blend with sugar. The final product is bottled in a stunning aquamarine-colored bottle, designed to evoke the beauty of the Amalfi Coast.

Tasting Notes

On the nose, Italicus offers a fragrant bouquet of citrus, bergamot, and herbal notes. The taste is a delightful mix of citrus, grass, and floral flavors, with a hint of sweetness and a touch of bitterness. It’s a versatile liqueur that can be enjoyed on its own, over ice, or as a key ingredient in a variety of cocktails, like the Bergamot Negroni:

Bergamot Negroni (pictured above)

• 1 oz Italicus
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz dry vermouth
• garnish with olives or a twist of lemon.

Conclusion

Italicus Rosolio di Bergamotto is more than just a liqueur; it’s a journey through the rich history and diverse landscapes of Italy. Whether you’re a cocktail enthusiast or simply looking to try something new, Italicus offers a unique and delightful experience that is sure to impress. Cheers to discovering the renaissance of rosolio!

Sugarland’s Sour Watermelon Moonshine is a delightful twist on traditional moonshine, capturing the essence of summer in a jar. This moonshine offers a bold and refreshing flavor profile that combines the juicy sweetness of ripe watermelon with a tangy, sour kick. At 60 proof (30% alcohol by volume), it provides a smooth yet potent experience.

The first sip reveals a burst of watermelon flavor, reminiscent of biting into a fresh slice on a hot day. The sour notes add an unexpected but pleasant twist, balancing the sweetness perfectly. This makes it an excellent choice for those who enjoy fruity spirits with a bit of a zing.

One of the standout features of Sugarland’s Sour Watermelon Moonshine is its versatility. It can be enjoyed straight, over ice, or as a base for creative cocktails. Its vibrant flavor pairs well with mixers like lemonade, soda, or even a splash of tonic water. We made a boozy version of a watermelon aguas frescas with it:

Boozy Watermelon Aguas Frescas (by Simple Cocktails)

• In a Tom Collins glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 oz Sugarland’s Sour Watermelon Moonshine
• Top with strained, fresh watermelon aguas frescas and stir
• Spoon reserved watermelon pulp on the top
• Add 2 dashes of cucumber bitters (we used Bitter Truth)
• Garnish with mint and lime

Overall, Sutherland’s Moonshine Sour Watermelon is a must-try for moonshine enthusiasts and those looking to explore unique, flavored spirits. Its refreshing taste and balanced profile make it a perfect addition to any summer gathering or a fun twist for your next cocktail party. Whether you’re a seasoned moonshine drinker or a curious newcomer, this sour watermelon variant is sure to impress.

When it comes to enjoying your favorite beverages on the go, the High Camp Firelight Flask stands out as a top-tier choice. This flask isn’t just about carrying drinks; it’s about enhancing your outdoor experiences with style and functionality.

Design and Build Quality

The Firelight Flask is available in two sizes: the 750 mL and the 375 mL versions. Both are crafted with double-wall vacuum insulation, ensuring your drinks stay at the perfect temperature for up to 24 hours. The flask is made from stainless steel, which not only adds to its durability but also gives it a sleek, modern look.

One of the standout features is the integrated low ball tumblers. These magnetic tumblers attach seamlessly to the flask, making it incredibly convenient to carry and use. Whether you’re sharing a drink around the campfire or enjoying a quiet moment in nature, the Firelight Flask makes it easy to pour and enjoy.

Functionality

The Firelight Flask is designed with the adventurer in mind. Its leak-proof cap and wide mouth make it easy to fill and clean. The flask’s capacity is generous, allowing you to carry enough for yourself and a friend. The 750 mL version can hold a full bottle of wine or your favorite cocktail, making it perfect for longer trips or larger gatherings.

Performance

In terms of performance, the Firelight Flask excels. The vacuum insulation keeps drinks hot or cold for extended periods, which is ideal for outdoor activities where you might not have access to refrigeration. Whether you’re sipping hot coffee on a chilly morning hike or enjoying a cold cocktail on a warm evening, the Firelight Flask ensures your drink is just the right temperature.

Personalization and Gifting

High Camp Flasks also offers custom engraving options, making the Firelight Flask a great gift for special occasions. Whether it’s for a wedding party, a corporate gift, or a personal milestone, the ability to personalize the flask adds a thoughtful touch.

Conclusion

Overall, the High Camp Firelight Flask is a versatile and stylish accessory for anyone who enjoys outdoor adventures. Its combination of durability, functionality, and aesthetic appeal makes it a standout choice in the world of portable drinkware. Whether you’re a seasoned camper or just enjoy a good drink in the great outdoors, the Firelight Flask is sure to enhance your experience.

Have you tried the Firelight Flask or any other products from High Camp? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

In a shaker, combine:

• 1 oz lime juice
• 1 oz peach syrup
• 2 oz Añejo tequila (such as Mandala)
• Shake with ice and strain into a salt-rimmed glass
• Top with peach sparkling water (we used Perrier)

Aged to Perfection

Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila is aged for an impressive seven years in French oak barrels. This extended aging process imparts a deep, complex character to the tequila, setting it apart from its younger counterparts. The result is a spirit with a marvelous dark amber color and a rich bouquet of aromas, including fruits and toasted oak.

Flavor Profile

The first sip of Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila reveals a symphony of flavors. You’ll notice prominent notes of vanilla, caramel, and dark chocolate, balanced by a smooth, elegant finish. This tequila is designed to be savored, making it perfect for special occasions or quiet moments of indulgence. The sweetness and complexity make it an excellent choice for those who appreciate a refined, dessert-like tequila.

Craftsmanship and Quality

Handcrafted from the finest blue agave, Mandala Extra Añejo stands out for its purity and depth. The meticulous production process ensures that each bottle meets the highest standards of quality. The tequila is distilled in the heart of Jalisco, Mexico, a region renowned for producing some of the world’s best tequilas.

Presentation

One of the most striking features of Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila is its presentation. The bottle itself is a work of art, often adorned with intricate designs that reflect the cultural heritage of Mexico. This makes it not only a delightful drink but also a beautiful addition to any collection.

Perfect Pairings

Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila pairs wonderfully with a variety of foods. Its rich, sweet profile complements desserts like chocolate cake or crème brûlée. For a more savory pairing, try it with aged cheeses or a charcuterie board. The versatility of this tequila makes it a fantastic choice for both casual sipping and gourmet dining.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila is a luxurious and sophisticated spirit that offers a unique tasting experience. Its complex flavors, elegant presentation, and rich heritage make it a standout choice for any tequila lover. Whether you’re celebrating a special occasion or simply enjoying a quiet evening at home, Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila is sure to elevate the moment.

Have you had the chance to try Mandala Extra Añejo Tequila? What are your thoughts on its flavor and presentation? Let me know in the comments below!

Here’s an excerpt:

“Welcome to what is potentially the most explosive topic in the world of cocktails: the Martini. Folks are very particular about their Martini preferences. Vodka or gin? Dirty or “clean”? Wet or dry?

There are some universal tenants to a great Martini, and the #1 ingredient is COLD. Make sure your glassware is in the freezer for 10+ minutes beforehand, and make sure you have a lot of clean ice. Because the drink is so polarizing, I’m going to give you my favorite 2 recipes.”

Read the whole story here: Building and Stocking a Bar at Home: 101 With the Experts.

The past year or two, I’ve begun to see non-alcoholic versions of popular liquors appear on store shelves and in social media advertisements. There are NA versions of every major base spirit that are made by one or both of the brands in this post, but today we’re going to focus on Ritual and Monday’s Whiskeys.

Whether you bill it as “Zero Proof” (Ritual) or “Zero Alcohol” (Monday), the effect is the same. These are whiskey-flavored whiskey substitutes without a drop of alcohol. There are, of course, several reasons for such a thing, and with the 2020 pandemic increasing many people’s alcohol intake, there may not be a better time to introduce these. They each make for a good cocktail whiskey substitute as well.

Both Ritual and Monday seem to base their flavor profiles on American whiskeys, the bourbons or Tennessee whiskeys we’re familiar with. Scotch drinkers may need to look for other brands to fit their bill.

RITUAL WHISKEY ALTERNATIVE

The lack of alcohol “bite” is something you’ll notice right away with both products, but Ritual seems to replace it with cinnamon, a good choice for those who love Maker’s Mark or Evan Williams. Ritual’s flavor is wood, then cinnamon with a slightly sweet finish. If caloric intake is the reason you pick up a NA whiskey, then Ritual will only set you back 10 calories per shot. Buy Ritual at Amazon.com.

MONDAY ZERO ALCOHOL WHISKEY

I’ve noticed Monday a lot due to a pretty aggressive social media ad campaign, and admittedly, the art deco bottle design is drop-dead gorgeous. Monday is a bit more of a flavor bomb than Ritual, though the flavors are quite different. There are traces of wood in Monday as well, followed by a citrus/sour orange finish. This one seems more appropriate for Jim Beam or Jack Daniels drinkers. A pour of Monday will set you back 0 calories. Buy Monday at drinkmonday.co.

OVERALL

As O’Douls has shown us for decades, there is definitely a place for a non-alcoholic version of a drink. Both Ritual and Monday will deliver alcohol-free sips, decent flavor, and little-to-no calories. I have to give it to you straight: sipped neat or on the rocks, both taste a little like whiskey, without the mouth burn. The experience is quite good. In a cocktail, both of these shine quite well. A Manhattan won’t give you a completely alcohol-free drink (let’s call it alcohol-light), but an Old Fashioned will.

Ritual and Monday are quite affordable ($30-45 each), so if you find yourself in need of a whiskey replacement for any reason, either will fit the bill well.

I recently came across East Bev Co, a cocktail box subscription service that focuses exclusively on Asian and Asian-inspired ingredients. They were kind enough to send me a sample of one of their boxes, which includes ingredients to make 3 different cocktails, and comes with enough to actually make 4 of each. Helloooooo dinner party!

East Bev boxes run about $50 per month, and includes all ingredients but alcohol. My 3 recipes this month called for Sake, so a single bottle would be perfect to make all 12 drinks. I chose the Yuzu Sour, and here’s how you do it:

Yuzu Sour (via East Bev Co)

• in a shaker, combine:
• 2 oz sake
• 1 oz yuzu juice (provided)
• 1/2 oz simple syrup (provided)
• shake with ice and double-strain into a rocks glass filled with ice
• garnish with bitters or a lemon peel (I did both!)

So you’re left with a deliciously tart, balanced drink with ingredients that you can’t usually find on the grocer’s shelf. For aficionados of Asian culture and for those who like to experiment with their food and drink, East Bev is a fun addition to a dinner party. Subscriptions are available here.

Dashfire has been making cocktail bitters for several years, and has entered the ready-to-drink cocktail space now with several canned drinks that you simply chill and pour, 

Now, we’re talking about simple cocktails that are about as simple as it gets. There’s no chance of user error here, and nothing to be intimidated by. Now, the philosophical side of this: the communal aspect of making cocktails together can’t be overstated, and there is a lot of freedom to adjust recipes according to your tastes when you make your own cocktails….but I think there’s a time and place for such a convenient package. Having cocktails packaged for on-the-go, like tailgating or camping, is a perfect opportunity for Dashfire’s canned cocktails.

How do they taste? The recipes are unique and definitely should be tried. The White Russian, for instance, is a Chai White Russian. The Martini is Lemon and Lavender (and uses vodka as its base). I noted the drinks that usually use vermouth (Martini, Manhattan) use Sherry instead. I drank most of mine on ice, but straight-from the can is likely what you’d be doing on a camping trip.

At retail, Dashfire cocktails are $4.99 per can (100 ml) and are available in mixed 6-packs as well.

There’s no doubt that the Holidays are a great time of year to break out the RumChata. Show up to the party with a chilled bottle, and people will always be thrilled. Of course, this leave lots of opportunity to experiment with great Rumchata winter drinks.

RumChata, if you don’t know yet, is rum, cream, vanilla, cinnamon and sugar. It’s great to mix with warm drinks (coffee, cocoa and tea) and it makes for some killer cocktails with lots of spirits. Here’s one I made called a Candy Cane:

Candy Cane (by Greg Mays)

• in a rocks glass filled with ice, add:
• 1 1/2 oz RumChata
• 1 1/2 oz white rum
• 3/4 oz of peppermint schnapps
• stir gently to combine
• carefully drizzle grenadine down edges of glass to resemble stripes

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

I have been glad to have RumChata join us as a sponsor for the past few years at Simple Cocktails, and I’ve been starting to wonder if I’ll run out of ideas for new RumChata cocktails. Today, I opened, the liquor cabinet, and thought to myself: what do I love? Let’s make that a drink.

I grabbed RumChata, rye whiskey and aged rum. I poured equal parts and shook it on ice. I could not believe how delicious this cocktail was. Time to share the recipe…this is my current go-to RumChata drink!

RumChata RRR (by Greg Mays)

• In a shaker, combine:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 oz high-proof rye (100+ proof)
• 1 oz aged rum (5 years+)
• shake with ice and strain into a cocktail coupe
• garnish with a stemmed cherry

Thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

Martini & Rossi is one of the staple names – maybe THE name – in vermouth to most people. It can be found in grocery stores, liquor stores and everywhere in between and is therefore the most likely vermouth you have tried.

I’ve covered at length the proper care vermouth must receive to stay flavorful. In fact, I opened a bottle myself recently to find it only lasted a week or so in the fridge before turning sour. I have also said something here at this very blog that I still stand by: pricier vermouth tastes a lot better than the cheap stuff.

That said, Martini & Rossi has given us a widely-distributed vermouth “upgrade” that’s a pretty smart choice to make if you’re having a night of Martinis or Manhattans. Usually, a bottle of “Martini” will run you about $10, and the Riserva Speciale is about $15-20.

For me, a chilled white vermouth is my favorite to sip with fish, and I’m happy to say that Riserva Ambrato is an excellent vermouth for just this. Serve on the rocks with a lemon peel. It has slightly bitter and dry notes of rosemary and herbs.

Riserva Rubino, the red vermouth in this brand, is great with richer flavors of meat or even my favorite pairing choice: cigars.

If it’s hard to imagine a bottle of vermouth being delicious enough to drink straight, pick up a bottle of Martini Riserva Speciale, and you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Depending on your dad, Father’s Day gift-giving can be a lot of fun or a chore. For me, some tasty whiskey and drew estate cigars is about my favorite way to celebrate. If you are still looking for ideas, though, I have a few that might earn you the “favorite kid” title this year. Try these gifts out!

Door58 Decanter Set. $79.99

Packaged in a handsome wooden gift box, this decanter set is 100% crystal, not cheapie glass (note there are no seams in the tumblers or decanter). Styled in a sharp art-deco-inspired design, the decanter will hold a whole bottle of whiskey, and the wide, hefty tumblers feel great in the hand. Door58 has generously offered a discount for our readers (until June 15, 2019) of 20% off this set! Just follow the link about and enter the code 20DADBLOG at checkout.

Powers Three Swallow Irish Whiskey. $40

For those of you who haven’t experienced much Irish whiskey, you’re missing out. The sweet notes of bourbon and the richness of Scotch make Irish a taste all of its own. This is a fairly new expression of Powers that’s only been available in the US for a few months, so if you see some, pick up a bottle for dad.

Speyburn 10 (gift set). $30

To me, Speyburn is one of the best buys in single malt scotch. Often $30 and sometimes as low as $20, it’s an easy brand to keep around. In this case, my bottle of Speyburn came boxed with a bottle of “Source” – Scottish water designed to accompany Highland whiskys like this one. You serve your Speyburn neat, and give it a small dash of Source. A fun idea and perfectly affordable.

Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva Rum. $45

If dad wants to venture out into aged rums, then a nice one like Diplomatico is the way to go. With both tropical and woody notes, aged rums sometimes match the terrior of cigars, for instance, or even coffee. If dad like stogies or adds a splash of liquor to his coffee, have him try Diplomatico.

Enjoy your Father’s Day this year! Cheers!

I’ve had the pleasure of working with RumChata for the past few years and have had the opportunity to experiment at great lengths with their versatile cinnamon cream liqueur. So far, I’ve run into very few limitations for RumChata in cocktails. Initially, I began with riffs on the White Russian, or the other standard cream liqueur drinks, like a splash in coffee or cocoa.

What has surprised me, though, is how RumChata works with other liquors, like gin, applejack or whiskey. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that cocktails with RumChata and whiskey are some of my favorites. Here’s a new cocktail I created called the Hunny Peach:

Hunny Peach (feat. RumChata) by Greg Mays

• in a shaker, combine:
• 2 oz RumChata
• 2 oz Jack Daniels Honey
• shake vigorously with ice
• strain into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice
• top with 2 dashes of the Bitter Truth Peach Bitters

Thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

In the past few months, you may have noticed a new Irish whiskey on the shelves: The Sexton Single Malt. Introduced in early 2019 to the North American market, The Sexton comes in a stunning near-black hexagonal bottle with a dapper skeleton insignia. More attractive than that may be The Sexton’s price, though, at only $25 per bottle.

Made from 100% malted Irish barley and distilled in copper pots, The Sexton is aged 4 years in sherry casks. Often, Irish whiskey has a sweeter profile than the neighboring whisky from Scotland, but in this particular case The Sexton offers a surprising and slightly unfamiliar profile: spices and anise. So while there is a familiar Irish-ness in the initial sip of The Sexton, the back of the palate feels the warmth from the anise, while the tip of your tongue tingles from other spices as well.

Any time an “imported” whiskey is available at a decent age (remember this is 4 years old), and with a good price point, it’s a no-brainer to pick up a bottle to try. The Sexton can be used in cocktails where Rye is normally called for, which should add an interesting twist and character. At a relatively tame 40% ABV, I prefer sipping The Sexton neat or in an Old Fashioned, and often enjoy it with a cigar.

Did you know that combining a shaken cocktail with club soda can give you a “foamy” consistency to a tall drink? That’s exactly what I had in mind as I made this cocktail with RumChata and as warmer weather is on the horizon.

This tall cocktail, in fact, is really a template for a delicious creamy drink, and nearly every part can be interchanged with other ingredients to create a unique RumChata soda that fits your tastes. Don’t like chocolate syrup? Replace with caramel! There are lots of great options here.

Here’s the recipe for this simple, tasty soda fountain drink:

RumChata Soda

• in a cocktail shaker, add:
• 1 1/2 oz RumChata
• 1/2 oz chocolate syrup
• 1 oz vodka
• shake vigorously with ice
• in an ice-filled collins glass, fill about 1/3 with club soda
• strain the cocktail into the glass
• fill the remaining space with club soda, which should foam up nicely
• garnish with an orange twist and serve with a straw!

Thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

Every time Fall and Winter arrive, my RumChata bottles go quick. From adding a shot to coffee or hot cocoa to making some great rum or whiskey based cocktails with it, the cinnamon and horchata flavors make it easy to create a great cold-weather drink.

With that in mind, I decided to make a drink that’s got an easy mixing ratio (2:1:1) and is perfect for sipping by the fire! Here’s the Spiced Chata cocktail:

Spiced Chata (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, combine:
• 2 oz amber rum
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 oz spiced liqueur (I used Jägermeister Spice)
• shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass with ice cubes
• garnish with an apple slice

Alternatively, you can serve “up” in a chilled cocktail glass with no ice. Enjoy this Fall cocktail from our sponsor RumChata!

Walk the Line is a series we do at Simple Cocktails where we take all the various bottlings from one brand, then differentiate them all. Today we explore a small brand with a huge name in the whiskey space. Actually I need to correct that to whisky as the Samuels family has tapped their Scottish heritage to name Maker’s without the traditional American “e” on the bottle, setting them part even more in the bourbon space.

Starting production in 1954, Maker’s is a relatively “new” brand of bourbon. It’s currently owned by Beam-Suntory and packaged in distinctive, trademarked),dripping-red-wax bottles. Here’s the line that’s available from Marker’s now:

Maker’s Mark ($30). The core brand of the line, Maker’s contains a higher amount of wheat in its ingredients, which makes for a sweeter, smooth sipping whiskey. It’s sold at 45% ABV.

Maker’s Mark Cask Strength ($50). Using a bottle with a similar shape as the core whisky, Cask Strength is exactly what it sounds like: Maker’s at the strength it comes out of the barrel. Introduced in 2014, it’s similarly sweet, though a tad spicier than the core Maker’s. This one packs a punch at 56.6% ABV.

Maker’s 46 ($30). 46 starts as Maker’s, but is put through a special aging process in which additional charred wood staves are inserted into its casks as it ages. This produces a bourbon that’s spicer than Maker’s. It’s different enough that Fred Minnick, in his book “Bourbon Curious,” separates it from the “caramel-forward” Maker’s Mark and Cask Strength and moves Maker’s 46 into his “cinnamon-forward” bourbon category. Maker’s 46 was introduced in 2010.

I love challenging myself to come up with creative new ways to mix RumChata, and the cinnamon-and-cream deliciousness always mixes very well with other items in the bar.

Because Fall is coming soon, I’ve begun thinking about seasonal flavors I can mix with RumChata, and decided on a spiced concoction that turned out really beautiful and really tasty. I’ve named it the Angel Wings because of the deceptively pink-ness of the drink, which is surprisingly strong. Here’s how to make it:

Angel Wings (by Greg Mays)

• in a cocktail shaker, combine:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 2 oz reposado tequila
• 1/2 oz herbal liqueur (like Jägermeister)
• 1/4 oz Grenadine
• shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with cherries

The spice and the tequila balance very well with the spices in RumChata and make for a bright, flavorful and tasty cocktail.

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

RumChata’s a great liquor to splash in your coffee or hot chocolate, but don’t forget that it can also be enjoyed as part of an iced-coffee cocktail during the summer. I applied a little creativity on this recipe and came up with a delicious and refreshing drink. It’s really simple to make and RumChata’s cream-and-cinnamon flavor is at the forefront. Try this one out:

RumChata Coffee Shake (by Greg Mays)

• in a cocktail shaker, combine:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 oz coffee syrup (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 1 1/2 ounce white rum
• 2 dashes of whiskey barrel aged bitters
• shake with ice and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass
• garnish with cherries or an orange slice

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

I feel like with every RumChata cocktail I make here at Simple Cocktails, it becomes a challenge to be more creative and more interesting with the next recipe. Now that we’re on the brink of Spring, my focus has drifted to my mint plants, which are just starting to show signs of life.

So how to incorporate mint into a cinnamon-rum-and-cream liqueur like RumChata? It turns out RumChata was actually the perfect binding ingredient to the other two I chose to use in this cocktail: apple whiskey and creme de menthe! Here’s how I made it:

MintChata (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, combine:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 1/2 oz apple whiskey (I used Tullamore Dew Cider Cask)
• 1/4 oz creme de menthe (I used a natural one called Embassy Row)
• shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a mint sprig

The result is a light, fragrant and fun cocktail with a great deal of familiar flavors that is absolutely delicious.

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

We’re honored to say that hip booze-delivery service Drizly has awarded Simple Cocktails their “Booziest Brain” award in their 2017 Blogger Awards!

We’re honored to be in the company of many of our fellow booze bloggers like Beautiful Booze – click here to see the complete list of winners!

Though we’ve spent the year proving otherwise, I don’t think there’s any doubt that RumChata’s real season to shine is the winter. With it’s creamy cinnamon and rum notes, there are a lot of opportunities to make some killer cold-weather cocktails with it.

I’ve been working hard to break RumChata out of it’s shell this year, though. It obviously plays well with coffee, chocolate and rum, but I’ve been working to pair with with spirits you wouldn’t necessarily think of using (like gin in the Red Summer).

So for our final RumChata foray, I’ve gone all warm and wintry with Calvados (a Spanish apple brandy) and a spiced liqueur. I call it the Apple Snap:

Apple Snap (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, add:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 1/2 oz of Calvados or apple brandy
• 1/2 oz of spiced liqueur, like Besamim or Snap (I used Besamim)
• add ice, shake, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with an orange peel and a sprinkle of nutmeg

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

Sugarlands Distilling has done a pretty great job of carving a space in the moonshine category with dozens of moonshine flavors, but expanding into rum and liqueurs as well. One of their big multi-year projects, however, has been Roaming man Straight rye Tennessee Whiskey, an aged rye that they release specially for the past 3 years.

Here’s the fun part, though: it’s available in cask-strength, 375 ml bottles and is VERY limited edition: one release per year and then it’s gone. I’d joked with Sugarlands’ distiller Greg Eidam on a recent podcast that I didn’t know whether to drink mine immediately or save it forever.

It was too tempting. I cracked my bottle of their second-year release, from 2016, and it’s an extremely tasty rye with a great amount of spice and a nice amount of age. Often, if a rye is too young, it’s a bit sour and not as balanced as the older ones, but Roaming Man is balanced and drinkable.

And now, there’s a chance to get your own bottle of 2017 Roaming Man. Preorders are open  October 20, 2017 – get your bottle here.

Special thanks to our sponsor Sugarlands Distilling.

Today we talk to Vya Vermouth’s Mixologist Dana Fares about vermouth, how to care for it, and what Vya does to make a great vermouth. Dana talks about Manhattan Month, too!

Pre-order Sugarlands’ Roaming Man Whiskey here.

Download Season 3, Episode 10 (direct link).

RumChata has proven to be a more diverse liqueur than I initially guessed it would be when I first tried it. Sure, it does great with the flavors of coffee, cinnamon, chocolate and rum, but every time I’ve tried to push it into unfamiliar territory, it has held up extremely well.

I approached this cocktail from a Italian perspective, using Italian brandy and an amaro together with RumChata, and as fall approaches, I created another great seasonal RumChata drink: the Italiana RumChata. This can be served up in a cocktail coupe or on the rocks (pictured). Here’s how to make it:

Italiana RumChata (by Greg Mays)

• In a shaker, add:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 1 oz amaro (I used Amaro Montenegro)
• 1 1/2 oz brandy (I used Vecchia Romagna)
• 2 dashes bitters
• shake with ice and strain into a old fashioned glass filled with ice
• garnish with red grapes

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

A cabinet full of flavored whiskey. A cocktail in a bottle? A sour face. “Papa that’s your thing!”

Download Season 3, Episode 9 (direct link).

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One of the more exciting jars I found when I opened my Sugarlands sponsorship shipment was their Piña Colada Moonshine. I’ve been thinking for a few weeks about a great cocktail to make with it, and one day I discovered a new Trader Joe’s product that I figured would really make it shine (pun intended): “Island Colada” Mineral Water, a fizzy, sugarless water that I knew would work well with this moonshine.

So I developed a recipe for what I call a Piña Colada Fizz using Sugarlands’ Piña Colada Moonshine, Island Colada Mineral Water, and a splash of banana liqueur. It’s an AMAZING warm-weather cocktail:

Piña Colada Fizz (by Greg Mays)

• in a collins glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 oz Sugarlands Piña Colada Moonshine
• 1/4 oz banana liqueur (creme de banane)
• top with Trader Joe’s Island Colada Mineral Water (plain mineral water will do, too)
• stir briefly
• garnish with cherries

Special thanks to our sponsor, Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Gin’s popularity. Is there a Gin revival? Vinyl records resurgence!? Greg’s book. Gin Lane. Gin and cocktails?  Book: “Gin, A Global History.” We make the “Gin Cocktail.”

Download Season 3, Episode 8 (direct link).

“I notice the bottles.” A brief history of gin. Genever, and more. Greg mentions KGB Spirits gin. “Mobsters slinging it around.” We taste Dry Gin, New Western Gin and Old Tom Gin. Greg mentions Ransom and Left Turn‘s Old Toms. “The tequila shooters of their time.”

Download Season 3, Episode 7 (direct link).

“If we call it brunch, then we’re not sinning.” We make Bloody Marys. Bloody Mary mixes we’ve tried. Mimosas. Salvatori Cabrese’s cocktail mishap. We make Breakfast Martinis.

Download Season 3, Episode 6 (direct link).

Humboldt Distillery is based out of northern California where they distill vodka and rum. I used their spiced rum to make a cocktail that I’ve been really enjoying lately: the Double Rum Old Fashioned.

Humboldt’s spiced rum I found to be sweet and syrupy, with a mild spiced palate; it goes well in cocktails for sure. I also had the chance to try their vodka, a sugarcane distillate that’s a touch sweet and quite smooth, as well as”Humboldt’s Finest”: a vodka infused with cbd oil.

I know, that raises some questions, so here’s what I do know: Humboldt’s Finest is legal in all 50 states. Does it make you high? Not that I noticed. Really, the biggest question we need to ask is: how does it taste? Well, Humboldt’s Finest is like a marriage between a tasty vodka and a mild, minty, herbal gin. In tonic, for instance, you might just find it a little more herbal than a Vodka Tonic (the premium CBD flower they use comes only from one specific region in California with a very specific tang) and bit milder than a Gin and Tonic. It makes for a slightly more interesting Dirty Martini, too. When I substituted it for their regular vodka in cocktails, people always noted it was “more herbal.”

All Humboldt’s spirits are organic, and I think the distillery had a unique enough approach together with a unique portfolio of spirits to add some fun cocktail twists to your home bar. Both vodkas retail for about $25.

Greg talks to Greg Eidam, head distiller at Sugarlands Distilling Co., about the distillery, their history and the famous moonshiners on their payroll. Here are some recipe ideas from Sugarlands. We talk about Roaming Man Straight Rye and getting it through their new Whiskey Club (sign up here).

Download Season 3, Episode 5 (direct link).

Mixologers. The art of the craft cocktail and what sets them apart. Greg mentions Jim Meehan and PDT. Making macarons, How to now screw up a Dirty Martini. Lots of olive talk. Drink what you want.

Download Season 3, Episode 4 (direct link).

Tales of roosters and horses give us the name, A newspaper gives us an early definition. We make an Old Fashioned….with a twist. We go all out with the garnish.

Download Season 3, Episode 3 (direct link).

Sugarlands Distilling Co. has been sponsoring the podcast for the last few episodes or so, and I have been thinking of creative ways to use moonshine in cocktails.

Tequila cocktails are usually a very good fit, as blanco tequilas and moonshine are most similar in their flavor palates, and I’ve made Moonshine Margaritas pretty often. I started to think about the classic cocktail recipes, too, and test out drinks that would be a good fit for moonshine as well, and recently on the podcast, we made a Mooonshine Collins that was awesome. Here’s how you do it:

Moonshine Collins

• in a collins glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 oz Sugarlands Silver Cloud Moonshine
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• stir well, add more ice to top off, then top with club soda and stir briefly
• garnish with a cherry and a lemon wedge

Special thanks to our sponsor, Sugarlands Distilling Co.

Straws? Heatstroke. Top 5 summer drinks. We make a Gin Rickey and a Moonshine Collins.

Download Season 3, Episode 2 (direct link).

We talk about a seminal summer drink: The Margarita! History of the Margarita, including early versions of it. Are frozen drinks frowned upon? Daisy -> Sour -> Margarita. Agave syrup as a sweetener? We make Gary “Gaz” Regan and Robert Hess’s Margarita recipes and do some comparison.

A big welcome to Sugarlands Distilling as our sponsor!

Download Season 3, Episode 1 (direct link).

When you’re searching for inspiration for a new cocktail recipe, sometimes the ingredients are the first thing you put together, and sometimes the name of the drink presents itself and you build from there. I’ve been working to take RumChata from its place as a typically-wintertime liqueur to an ingredient I use year-round, and the name of the drink was there waiting for me: Red Summer.

Something bold and sexy, I figure, and I decided to go really crazy and use a “summer” ingredient I had never even considered with RumChata: gin. In this case, I added Caorunn Gin, a Scottish gin with a faint trace of apple flavor (part of the distillate, in fact).

Here’s the way I put it together:

Red Summer (by Greg Mays)

• In a shaker, add:
• 1 oz RumChata
• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• shake with ice until extremely cold
• strain into a cocktail coupe
• garnish with raspberries

I’ll be honest: I thought to myself, what’s the most summery and least likely ingredient for a RumChata cocktail, and gin was my answer. When I took the first sip of this drink, though, I realized I had come up with something very special. The cinnamon of RumChata plays against the sweet grenadine and the apples-and-spices botanicals in Caorunn. This is a great drink that you have to try!

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

Evan Williams is, by design, a bargain bourbon brand operating under the umbrella of the Heaven Hill family of brands (whose brands also include Elijah Craig, Larceny, McKenna and many more). Ranging from $10 on the low end to $25 for top-of-the-line, Evan Williams’ bourbons have a spicy bite to them and a familiar flavor profile from the top to the bottom of the line. Here’s a comparison of their regular 5-bottle lineup:

Evan Williams Green Label. 80 proof, about $10. The “bargain priced” Evan is really a value bourbon like no other. Distilled by Heaven Hill, who is one of the only remaining family-owner bourbon distillers in the country, Green Label may not be considered as sophisticated as some of the higher end bourbons out there, it has a balanced yet spicy flavor profile. Because of the proof of Green Label, even though I usually like by bourbon with a lot of ice, I drink this one neat or in cocktails only.

Evan Williams Black Label. 86 proof, about $11. Black Label is our Simple Cocktails “well” bourbon. I always have a bottle on hand as I find it’s got the cinnamon-spice-zing that I love in whiskey. For $11 a bottle, it’s value is excellent, and it’s higher proof than Green Label, so I can ice it up when I sip it straight.

Evan Williams White Label Bottled-In-Bond. 100 proof, about $13. With the price and favor profile of White Label considered, I feel comfortable saying this is my favorite bourbon. I’ve not tried another in this price range that had the flavor profile I seek after (higher rye, higher spice) like this one. There’s a touch more burn with White Label as it’s higher proof than anything else Evan Williams produces. Like it’s little brothers, this bourbon serves a spice-forward balanced profile of cinnamon, caramel, clove and nutmeg.

Evan Williams 1783. 86 proof, about $15. As you can see, you can explore almost the entire line of Evan Williams bottles for less than $15 apiece. 1783 is a more specialized and, dare I say, delicate bourbon than the value line, though. While I’m not sure of the mashbill (the grains making up the bourbon), I suspect a little less rye and a little more wheat or barley in this one. It’s subtler and I found this is a better fit for drinking neat. I found the flavor set too delicate to pair with most cigars, too, which often pair better with a bolder whiskey.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage. 86 proof, about $25. This is the best-of-the-best in Evan’s world. It’s a bottle at a price that you can easily keep 2 or 3 around to serve to guests and it’s quality is definitely good enough to sip alone, but the price won’t prevent you from considering it in a cocktail either (Old Fashioned, anyone?). It’s flavor profile is more in line with the colored-label brethren above, so a bit more spice and sizzle than the cool sweetness of 1783.

Every year, I like to go on the hunt for awesome and unique Father’s Day gift ideas for readers. This year, Holt’s Cigar is presenting an awesome collection of really cool stuff for readers of both Simple Cocktails and our sister site Simple Guy Stuff. I’m excited to present this year’s list:

Local literature: $20-50. I have been a New Mexico native most of my life and my state pride has grown gradually. This year, I got my hands on 2 newer books published here that and distinctly New Mexican. Look into My Eyes: Nuevomexicanos por Vida, ’81-’83 (buy at Amazon) is a photo book from a very specific snapshot of time in New Mexico’s history: 1981 to 1983 and it’s an amazing mashup of hispanic and 1980s culture. ¡Órale! Lowrider: Custom Made in New Mexico (buy at Amazon) is another one of those precious snapshots of our local culture in beautiful color with great historical context of the significance of “dropping” your Chevy Impala.

Fidget spinners: $20-70. Clearly this is a fad on one saw coming, but you can now find plastic 3-pointed spinners in just about every gas station or roadside stand in this country. I wanted to illustrate what a more “fatherly” spinner looks like, so I got some spinners from UltraSpinners and Syner-EDC. UltraSpinners have a variety of spinners ranging from $20 to $150, but I stuck with their Ergo line, which has 3 options in materials and weight. The Ergo Aluminum is $20 and a lightweight but “grown-up” alternative to plastic spinners. Ergo Omega and Alpha are both brass, for $55 and $60 respectively, and only differ in weight and thickness. I also picked up a Triple Mini Spinner from Syner-EDC (pictured bottom) for $40, which offers customizable bearing caps is various materials.

Apple Watch Band: $85. Monowear makes a new and apparently very-popular Apple Watch band out of perforated leather that’s classy. They match the hardware to the watch color (a must in my book) and the band’s available in chestnut, black and grey (I got grey). As a daily Apple Watch wearer, I always love having more options to accessorize and match my tech with my clothes for the day.

Playing Cards: $5 a deck. I picked up Cocktail Party, Craft Beer, and Craft Brewers decks from Bicycle – it’s a fun way to jazz up your poker games with some “fatherly” knowledge of cocktail recipes and craft beer. Plus they cost next-to-nothing!

Scotch Whisky: $85. Scotch is particularly suited for gifts because if often comes in a gift-worthy sleeve. For this Father’s Day, I picked up The Balvenie 14-year-old Caribbean Cask, a spicy, vanilla-forward sipper that pairs beautifully with the next gift idea…..

Cigars: $5 and up. From Holt’s Cigar Company, our sponsor for this Gift Guide, we’ve got a great selection of smokes in our humidor (stay tuned for upcoming pairings at Simple Guy Stuff). For Father’s Day, Holt’s recommends the Royal Flush Super Sampler, one of many great options in their Father’s Day Cigar Deals category. Special thanks to Holt’s for their sponsorship of Simple Cocktails and Simple Guy Stuff!

We’re no strangers to RumChata here at Simple Cocktails. It’s been my liqueur of choice for Christmas gifts, and here in the Southwest U.S., it’s a very hot seller on a regular basis. Here at Simple Cocktails, I was introduced to the product almost 5 years ago, when I made a Chata Café Cream.

While the RumChata really starts flowing in my house once Fall arrives, I’ve started to think about ways to use this horchata-rum-cream liqueur all year around, and the first time I’ve tried was a huge hit at our home cocktail parties: a fruit-salad-in-a-glass of sorts, a Tiki-friendly drink with a light green hue: the Coolchata.

Coolchata (by Greg Mays)

• In a cocktail shaker, combine:
• 1 ½ oz of RumChata
• ½ oz banana liqueur (crème de banane)
• ½ oz melon liqueur (like Midori)
• 1 oz vodka
• Add ice and shake until very cold
• Strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• Garnish with cherries

Special thanks to our sponsor RumChata.

Recently, Hydro Flask has added some cool beer-and-spirits accessories to their already-popular line of water bottles. One such product is the 10-oz Hydro Flask “Rocks” cup. Built similarly to their water bottles and growlers, the Rocks is a 10-oz insulated stainless container with a drink-through lid for whiskey-sipping on the move.

I would imagine those who enjoy camping and hiking would throw this cup in their backpacks for sipping during downtime, and low-volume coffee drinkers (espresso, in particular) will likely consider this a godsend.

While I appreciate all sorts of drinkware with the quality Hydro Flask design and quality, I’m left feeling like the design of the Rocks is lacking, though. It keeps drinks cold for up to 24 hours, so why not provide it with a leak-proof lid design so you can have your whiskey in the cup as you hit the trails? It’s current design requires an additional flask or bottle to transport your booze to its destination before pouring into the cup. Also, even for Hydro Flask lovers, the cost of these cups is a bit prohibitive from building a whole serving set of them at $25 each.

As a non-outdoorsy-person, I’ve found my best use for the Hydro Flask Rocks cup is on the nightstand for bourbon on the rocks. The non-sweat design prevents glassware rings and avoids the need for a coaster.

There are few historical figures that I celebrate on an annual basis, but Charles Tanqueray (born March 27, 1810) is one of them. Gin was the first spirit I fell in love with, and Tanqueray has always been my gold standard for London Drys. The following is an excerpt of an interview I did with Tom Nicol, Tanqueray’s previous master distiller.

“Tanqueray was a genius” says Nicol, explaining that  Charles was passionate about making things and he invented many items – other than gin – over the course of his life. Some examples include a formula for horse saddle polish and medicines for injured animals.

It’s often reported that Charles rejected his father’s life in the church to distill gin, but there’s no evidence that Charles was on track to the clergy at any point. He was smart, to be sure, but Charles didn’t show any interest in attending university, and that was required for the pulpit. He sought to invent, to create, and to experiment.

Charles eyed other successful British gin distillers Felix Booth and Alexander Gordon, and decided to create “a better gin than theirs,” says Nichol. In his early 20’s, Charles Tanqueray developed several gin recipes, but it was his London Dry recipe that proved unforgettable. Nichol says “Charles won the lottery with that one.”

Charles Tanqueray reveled in his success. “He wasn’t the genius recluse like we sometimes see today, but Nicol recons that he was a genius who told everybody he was a genius. From his proud stature, to his knee-length frock coat, to his stately moustache and beard, Nichol says that “Charles liked to show off his success.”

Though he was a proud man, Tanqueray’s personal life is strangely undocumented. This leaves us to wonder: was Tanqueray obsessed with his business, but absent from his family? Or was he just a very private man who sought to protect his loved ones? By any account, we know few details of his personal life, in fact, we’re not exactly sure how many children Charles had.

The one child we do know of, though, is Charles Waugh Tanqueray, who took over his father’s distillery after his father died at 58. Tanqueray’s historians call Charles Waugh “an upright Christian gentleman of forceful character yet with social conscience,” and just like his father, Charles Waugh was a very young man when he began distilling. More of a businessman than an inventor, Charles’ son placed his attention on gin exclusively, resulting in Charles Waugh growing the Tanqueray brand much larger than his father, including his facilitating a merger with Gordon’s Gin—one of his father’s inspirations and competitors—in  the late 1800’s.

Charles Tanqueray really seems to have been a proud genius who both flaunted his talent and shrouded his family in mystery. Today, Tanqueray stands as one of the oldest and most successful gins in the history of the world.

*Photo courtesy Diageo Archives.

anCnoc is not a scotch I’ve had before, and I recently had an opportunity to pair their Blas bottling with a Hiram and Solomon Traveling Man cigar.

Blas is a collaboration between anCnoc (pronounced uh-knock) and Scottish fashion designer Patrick Grant, which is why the label is so stunningly designed, plus you may get a bonus pocket-hankie as I did, too (pictured above).

Make no mistake, this is a sweet and balanced scotch. A straw-colored highland whisky, Blas is caramely with a potent ABV of 54%. It has notes of vanilla bean and custard a slight rear palate barley-beer tang.  It’s an excellent after-dinner drink and it’s a surprisingly sipper even at 54%. I’ve been taking mine with a single small ice cube to add just the right about of cool water. As expected, its a great couple for a cigar, too.

anCnoc Blas retails for $80.

Swift Distillery in Dripping Springs, Texas started with a very noble (and maybe a little expensive) undertaking: to distill scotch-quality single malt whiskey.

Here’s the thing: then a distillery starts, it makes the most financial sense to distill stuff that you can sell right away, like vodka or gin, while your whiskey ages. Swift has not done that, though, choosing laser-focus on the whiskey alone. Founders Amanda and Nick Swift traveled to Scotland, Ireland, Japan and Kentucky for research, then came home to Texas to work on their single malt.

Swift Single Malt is on its way, too: a floral, mild, orange-forward flavor profile that’s balanced and very drinkable. In fact, the only thing you’ll likely struggle with is getting a bottle as it’s only available in the Austin, TX area now.

For a passion-induced, quality American single malt, Swift is a great addition to your whiskey collection.

We celebrate International Scotch Day. We learn of “The Tish” cocktail. We drink Usquaebach Old Rare. “Days” are important to Jackson and Tish. “What costs a lot is interesting, not delicious.” Babies make you drink? We taste anCnoc Blas and make a New York cocktail with it.

Download Episode 123.

As a “cocktail guy,” I sometimes get asked about the simple cocktail I make most often, and when I really think about it, it’s not even close. While I make myself Old Fashioneds and Manhattans and Martinis pretty often, by far, the drink I make the most is a Gin Rickey.

A “rickey” cocktail is a mixture of spirit, lime juice and club soda, and you can make it any way you like: Whiskey Rickey, Rum Rickey (a very nice variation), etc. It apparently was a “worldwide sensation” in the late 1800’s when it was made with gin. There was probably some sort of connection to scurvy, too, the big reason gin and citrus started to mix so often in cocktail history books.

I started drinking Gin Rickeys because I found store-bought tonic water to be to sweet for my tastes, but still wanted a gin-and-fizzy-stuff experience. If you look at the ingredients, you’ll see there is no sweetener in this cocktail, only spirit, citrus, club soda. To me it’s crisp, refreshing, dry and the easiest to make. It remains the #1 cocktail I make for myself at home.

Gin Rickey

• in a double old fashioned glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 ounces gin (I used Seersucker)
• juice from 1/2 a lime
• top with Q Club Soda (about 4-5 oz)
• stir briefly and garnish with a lime wedge

Special thanks to our sponsor Q Drinks.

Happy Valentine’s Day! White stag or unicorn? Jackson and Tish! How we met. We taste Deviation Dessert Wine. “What makes a Valentine’s Day Cocktail?” The -Tini Ratio. The Valentine’s date. We make a Valentini. Vodka flavor profiles by Jackson.

Download Episode 122.

If we are to believe rumors, then Stiggins’ Fancy Plantation Pineapple Rum should not exist. Or, it should exist but you shouldn’t be able to buy it. Here’s the story:

In 2014, cocktail historian David Wondrich, along with Plantation Rum‘s cellar master Alexandre Gabriel created a “flavored” rum based on the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, in which Reverend Stiggins often enjoyed “pineapple rum.”

This rum, dubbed Stiggins’ Fancy Plantation Pineapple Rum, was only given by Wondrich to friends at Tales of the Cocktail 2014. As the legend of this special rum grew, Plantation realized there was enough demand to actually bring it to market, and the retail version of Stiggens’ was born, and it won Best New Spirit at the most recent Tales of the Cocktail Awards (2016).

Let me clarify that this is no “flavored rum” as we’ve come to know it under, say, the Malibu moniker. This is quality, artisinally-produced fruit infused aged rum, and the end product shows. Outside of actual pineapple, no flavor is added, and no sugar either. It’s an amazing sipping rum, just on the rocks and makes some beautiful cocktails. For $30, it may be one of the most unique products you can buy at you local liquor store.

Below, I’ve collected the “how it’s made” cards from Plantation that explains the process they use to make Stiggens’ Fancy. Just click to enlarge:

Mighty big bottles. What Simple Cocktails is all about. If you don’t like it, Greg will drink it. We taste Moonlight EXpresso Coffee Liqueur. “He’s like our Julia Child.” We make the Russian cocktail. Breakfast, lunch and dinner cocktails at our ski lodge.

Download Episode 121.

When I started Simple Cocktails, I noticed that usually, the classic cocktails are the simplest. A balanced drink is often an issue of a bit of trial and error, too, to get the ratio of liquor and mixer just right.

I’m excited to have Q Drinks on board for this drink in particular, because I feel like soda’s become more and more sweet these days from it’s original makeup, which was a bit spicy balanced with sweet, with notes of clove, cinnamon and vanilla. Q Drink’s Kola is just that, though, a less-sweet traditional cola that makes a killer cocktail mixer because it allows you to make a balanced cocktail, and mixing Kola with rum, which also has some great caramel and cinnamon notes, is a match made in heaven.

This is a cocktail that’s pretty well-known, a slightly jazzed up Rum and Coke really. Just add a touch of lime juice and lots of limes for garnish, and you have the Cuba Libre cocktail:

Cube Libre

• in a double old fashioned glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 ounces aged rum (I used Havana Club)
• 1/4 oz lime juice
• top with Q Kola or your cola of choice (about 4-5 oz)
• stir briefly and garnish with several thin lime wedges

Special thanks to our sponsor Q Drinks.

“How do you do it at a cocktail conference?” Pork belly tacos. We taste Seersucker Gin. We make a Bittersweet Cocktail.

Download Episode 120.

We make a Tennessee Manhattan and interview Jeff Arnett, Master Distiller of Jack Daniel’s.

Download Episode 119.

Our San Antonio Cocktail Conference episode includes interviews with Qwesha Byrd plus Marco Montefiori and Elliott Montero of Amaro Montenego. Oh, and we ate gator meat sausages in a church. Cheers, ya’ll!

Download Episode 118.

We’re headed to SACC this week! Rum as beard oil? We taste Afrohead aged rums. Bringing your own Booze onto an airplane. We make Morgenthaler’s Daiquiri.

Download Episode 117.

“If something tragic happens….” Greg mentions the lavender fiend treehouse. We taste (and hear) Magnum Cream Liqueur. Greg mentions the Savoy Cocktail Book. We make a Journalist Cocktail. When to shake and when to stir. Italy talk.

Download Episode 116.

Chip and Shonna join us for a New Year’s celebration! We taste Tamworth Sweetlips Cherry Bounce Liqueur. We make the Orange You Glad it’s New Year’s? Cocktail. “It’s going to look like the Rio Grande.”

HAPPY NEW YEAR from Simple Cocktails!  

Download Episode 115.

Steven uses sugar cookie body spray. What is Cognac? We taste Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac. Look for Greg’s pairings in Cigar and Spirits Magazine. Lisa’s got some tasting words. Last year we made a Casino Cocktail, and this year we make the very-simple Silent Night. Using booze in ice cream? A discussion about Daiquiri Ice.

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS from Simple Cocktails! 

Download Episode 114.

We’re joined by Steven J. Westman. Steven mentions 505 Faces. We talk about Latitude 33. Letters from the Jack Daniel’s Distillery? We taste Blade & Bow bourbon. A shameless book plug for NM Cocktails. We also mention Shake. Stir.Sip by Kara Newman. We make a Disco Ball cocktail from her book. Greg talks Chartreuse. “I usually carry body glitter…”

Download Episode 113.

We don’t see many cognacs at Simple Cocktails, probably because like higher-end scotches, cognac is rarely used in a cocktail. Because of some of my cigar pairing work, though, I’ve had the opportunity to taste Pierre Ferrand’s 1840 Original Formula Cognac.

The 1840 Formula is Ferrand’s base cognac, retailing at about $50. The flavor is subtle, sweet and fruity, with notes of pear and caramel – an excellent after-dinner drink. A cigar pairing with the 1840 Formula should be mild so as not to overpower the cognac.

I used Pierre Ferrand to make Sidecars at a cocktail party, and it made for excellent drinks that were very popular. Here’s the recipe I used:

Sidecar

• in a shaker, add:
• 2 oz cognac (or brandy)
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass with half the edge rimmed with sugar
• garnish with a lemon wedge

Greg talks to Jordan Silbert, creator of Q Drinks about their history and the importance of a great cocktail mixer. Special thanks to Q Drinks for sponsoring the podcast.

Download Episode 112.

I’ve been excited to crack into my stock of Q Drinks products since they recently became a Simple Cocktails sponsor, and one of the first drinks I’ve made is a twist on the classic tequila-and-grapefruit cocktail, the Paloma. Here’s a simple cocktail with Q Grapefruit:

Sparkling Paloma

• in a Collins glass filled with ice, add:
• 2 ounces tequila
• 6 oz Q Grapefruit
• juice of a half a lime
• stir and serve with a straw
• optional salt rim

Special thanks to our sponsor Q Drinks.

Black Friday? Greg mentions CamelCamelCamel. We taste Cooper’s Craft Bourbon. Jeff loves boxes. Greg talks about the Gin Old Fashioned. Snow shoveling. “The box of Q.” We make a Gin & Tonic with Q Drinks. Did we mention Jeff loves boxes?

Download Episode 111.

Thanksgiving extravaganza! “Just like Willy Wonka.” Gin, not Jim. We taste Revel Stoke pecan and root beer whiskies. Greg & Jeff talk about hunting. We make a Thanksgiving-in-a-Glass cocktail. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Photo by Texas Parks & Wildlife.

Download Episode 110.

There is no shortage of great cocktail books on the market, though there are a even larger number of crummy ones. Because of this, you have to be careful that you stick with the writers and bartenders you trust to show real care for the craft of cocktail-making, people who are present in cocktail culture and who know the great bars and bartenders of the world.

Kara Newman is one such person, someone who’s well-connected in New York craft cocktail culture, but is also known well nationwide for her writing in Wall Street Journal or Wine Enthusiast. Kara seems to know all the great NY bartenders and has recently put together a compilation of her knowledge into a great new book: Shake. Stir. Sip. More than 50 Effortless Cocktails Made in Equal Parts.

Now, I’m aware of a handful of equal-parts cocktails, especially the Negroni or the Last Word, but Newman has assembled a great list of cocktails that my readers will love: they’re simple. Organized by how many parts they’re made of, from 2-part cocktails to 5-part cocktails in the end, Shake. Stir. Sip. consistently offers familiar cocktails that reflect the current state of the craft scene (mezcal, amaros and chartreuse, anyone?). All recipes are easy to assemble and, even better, easy to remember!

Shake. Stir. Sip. is beautifully photographed by John Lee and each 2-page spread includes a cocktail photo with it’s name and ingredients and the opposing page has backstory and the instructions for making it. It’s a good cocktail book for those with smaller home bars, too, as the recipes won’t overwhelm those with limited ingredients.

Shake. Stir. Sip. is available in hardcover or Kindle here from Amazon.

Since I got a preview copy this summer, I haven’t been able to get my nose out of Fred Minnick’s newest book: Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Whiskey. I’ve been pretty clear about how much I’ve loved Fred’s other book, a tasting guide called Bourbon Curious which I always keep handy as my favorite “drinking dictionary.”

Dubbed the Bourbon Authority of the Kentucky Derby Museum, there really is no other expert I’d put above Fred in his field, and he’s the perfect person to write a bourbon history book, which Bourbon… is.

The big question that Fred addresses in the book is one that has been debated for decades: who invented bourbon? Historically, that prize has gone to Baptist minister Elijah Craig (especially if you ask the Elijah Craig whiskey company), but Fred’s access to historical documents tells a different story (though probably a harder one to market than the Craig legend).

Minnick does a great job of telling a story about something that’s a lot of fun (drinking bourbon) and keeping the tone and the historical stuff just as fun, too. Bourbon is a comfortable, sometimes funny, read. I imagine some liquor companies may ruffle at the accurate historical analysis of the legends of their founding fathers, but Fred knows his stuff, and if you need to know absolutely everything about bourbon, look no further than this book.

Buy Bourbon: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of an American Whiskey from Amazon.

Buy Bourbon Curious from Amazon.

Hear our podcast interview with Fred about Bourbon here.

Bad with homework. Sonny and Cher. What is vermouth? Lisa hates merlot. Greg’s vermouth stories are here. We taste Drapò Dry and Bianco Vermouths. Perfume application advice. We welcome Q Drinks as our sponsor. We make a Pineapple Bang Cocktail. “I’m waiting for the call from SkinnyGirl.”

Photo via myvalleynews.com.

Download Episode 109.

Dalmore is a highland distillery in Scotland and has been distilling since 1839. The highlands are the largest whisky-producing region of the isle and boast and of the biggest names in the country. Highland whisky is generally very mild and accessible, and The Dalmore is no exception.

At about $100, The Dalmore 18 is one of the older malts in Dalmore’s regular range and is aged in American ex-bourbon casks for 14 years, then 4 more years in sherry butts. As a result, this malt is fruity and sweet with a mild palate and long, pleasant finish. Compared to bolder scotches, this malt is quite mild and is great sipped neat after dinner as a digestif. Cigar pairings are a good fit, of course, but choose a milder Dominican stick so you don’t overpower the subtleties of the whisky.

The flavor and cost are in line with each other, offering a complex and cool profile at a price range that’s to be expected from a distiller of this caliber and a scotch of this age.

Here’s our Dalmore 18 tasting on the podcast.

Old man talk. We compare Sauza mixto and Sauza 100% agave head to head. The results are (maybe) surprising! Wiser these days? Greg’s “40-year-old Fashioned.” We make the Oh Cherry cocktail, props to Neil Diamond, Journey and the Four Seasons. Here’s our previous moonshine tasting episode: Podcast #10. “Now it’s bad.”

Download Episode 108.

Election Day in the United States is tomorrow, and it has increasingly become a polarizing event in our country. Based on the outcome of the election, Americans will most certainly be drinking tomorrow, whether in celebration or to bathe their sorrows.

Mark Will-Weber, also the author of Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt: The Complete History of Presidential Drinking (Amazon link), has chosen to divide our drinking pasttime as we’ve divided our political pasttime, and that’s by political party. He’s published two, 200-page books that allow you to choose your favorite party, and drink your way through history.

Both books are seperated into chapters by president, and each of those chapters has some short historical tales of the leader’s preferred tipples and one cocktail is chosen for each president. Will-Weber uses interviews, newspaper stories, and sometimes a bit of lore to figure out his stories for each prez, though based on his previous book, be’s pretty much the authority on presidential drinking. Will-Weber does a great job or writing 2 very entertaining cocktail books, regardless of the party you identify with.

These books server as excellent bathroom or coffee-table reading because of the books’ short, sections and sidebars. One of the first cocktails that jumped out at me as I flipped through was this recipe, imagined by Will-Weber as George W. Bush’s drink of choice:

Beer Old Fashioned

• in an old fashioned glass, add:
• 1 oz lime juice
• 2 tsp superfine sugar
• 1 oz bourbon
• stir
• fill with ice and top with 3-4 oz of chilled lager or pilsner beer
• squeeze an orange peel over the glass and drop in

Buy the books on Amazon here: Drinking with the Democrats // Drinking with the Republicans

“That’s why we’re good friends.” We talk about literature and what makes James’s wrists hurt. We taste Plantation Pineapple Rum. Fruit Loop vodka. Tasting notes like “I can feel it in my butt” or “the hair on my arms stood up.” Old rocks. We make a Holland Razorblade. “Drink a little more, and you’d learn to like it.”

Download Episode 107.

Over the course of the past several weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to try a couple of varieties of William Wolf whiskies on the podcast. Available in about half the states in the U.S., William Wolf’s line is distilled in Holland and imported.

William Wolf Coffee has an amazing coffee scent, rich and creamy tasting with a bold coffee finish. This is a great alternative to the bigger-name coffee liqueurs like Kahlua or Tia Maria. It’s not too sweet, it’s high alcohol (35%) and it has a great coffee flavor.

Don’t forget with is a whiskey, though. As I’ve pointed out on the podcast, this drink tastes nothing like whiskey. Not a trace. We have enjoyed it on the rocks with cigars and, as I said, in place of Kahlua and it’s a good value at $25.

Now this week’s podcast episode revealed a bit of a mystery that lay in our bottle of Frisky Whiskey, namely what is it? Frisky arrives in a purple crushed velvet bag and sports a pink-ish label with a guitar-playing Mr. Wolf. It does not tell you much about the whiskey itself though, so I went to Wolf’s website to research it more:

“William Wolf Frisky Whiskey has an enticingly caramel nose, smooth taste, and a lingering vanilla finish.”

That didn’t help either, particularly with one big question I had: is this a flavored whiskey? Well, after one taste, it very much is. Just like their coffee whiskey (can we just call these liqueurs now?), Frisky is flavored and sweetened, too. This is not a typical caramel nose and vanilla finish, that you experience with other whiskies, it’s actually caramel and vanilla flavored! This is a creamy, vanilla liqueur posing as a whiskey, and I wished there was more clarity on the label about that. As we experienced with their coffee “whiskey,” Frisky really doesn’t taste like whiskey at all, in fact, it tastes even less like whiskey than the coffee variety.

Frisky has it’s place in a cocktail bar as a vanilla liqueur, and it does a noble job in that role. At $25 a bottle, either of these liqueurs are a good buy.

Just don’t tell us this is “whiskey.”

The secret is out. James and Jenny are back! The beard is too big for the lens. Great ideas for the kids’ teachers…can you give booze? Greg’s sketchy liquor past in southern NM. We taste Frisky Whiskey. We make a Kamikaze Cocktail. James and Jenny have a good set of friends.

Download Episode 106.

Big vs little bottles. Prescription booze. We taste Jack Daniel’s 150th anniversary. The Jack Daniel’s mash bill is…… Lisa’s a marketing genius. We make a Last Word Cocktail. “Now I’m not impressed.”

Download Episode 105.

“I have a picture of a flower.” We taste Gem and Bolt Mezcal with damiana. How to make another alcoholic drink? Bar bet trivia? Larry’s dirty mind. We make a Betty Rubble cocktail. Greg mentions Mixology Talk’s Absinthe seminar.

Download Episode 104.

Frey Ranch Distilling, near Reno, Nevada, is a near-200-year-old family farm that began distilling in 2010. One of the few “estate” producers in the U.S., the ranch’s current caretakers Colby and Ashley Frey oversee production of everything in each bottle of Frey Ranch products, including growing and farming all of the grains.

I has an opportunity to taste both their vodka and gin. Frey Ranch Vodka is unique in it’s ingredients, using 4 grains in the distillate: corn, rye, wheat and barley. Its typical of a vodka to use one of these grains, usually corn, sometimes wheat, and only occasionally rye or barley. The end result, then, is an earthy, balanced, fresh and clean-tasting. Frey Ranch Vodka retails for $23.

Frey Ranch Gin is distilled from Frey grain, too, then blended with estate-grown juniper berries and sagebrush with other botanicals sourced from around the world. The Fray’s Gin has a nice bite (it’s 90 proof) and an expected juniper note, with sweet sap and floral notes in the midpalate and a long finish with clove and anise spices. It’s bold enough to hold up in a Gin and Tonic, though delicate enough to make a solid Martini as well. Frey Ranch Gin retails for $35.

Like their vodka, some varieties of the soon-to-be-released Frey Ranch Whiskies will contain all four of these grains in the mashbill, plus their take on ryes, bourbons, and more. Their whiskey products are currently being aged, to be released in the coming years.

There is a real value in controlling all aspects of the production of a spirit, including the moment the seeds are planted for the grains, and the Frey family is working hard to make a solid product that’s both unique and versatile enough to make great classic cocktails, plus the price is hard to beat when you consider the work that’s gone in to it’s production.

For more details on the Frey farm and history of the family, check out my friend Geoff Kleinman’s visit to Frey Ranch at Drink Spirits.

Mark’s a bread master, too. Our scotch tastings continue with Bowmore 12 and 15. You lose your Gaelic in Albuquerque. We taste Auchentoshan American Oak and Three Wood. We talk about our favorites overall. Here’s that German list again.

Download Episode 103.

Knob Creek is a familiar name for whiskey drinkers and widely available. Here we’ll add another brand to our long-running Walk the Line series with Knob Creek, a Jim Beam brand (now owned by Suntory) and one of the best-selling “small batch” lines at Beam. Bourbon Curious, my bourbon reference bible, places Knob Creek’s line with the cinnamon-forward bourbons, like Wild Turkey, Bulleit and Four Roses, most of which are my favorite bourbons, so Knob Creek is in good company in my liquor cabinet.

Here are some notes on each, pictured from left to right above:

Knob Creek Bourbon. 100 proof, about $35. For a 100-proof bourbon, Knob Creek is surprisingly sweet and smooth. The mashbill isn’t released by the company, but I’m assuming it’s a pretty typical corn/rye/barley, maybe wheat. The blend is balanced and cool, with just a mild touch of rye spiciness to it. This is a 9 year old bourbon.

Knob Creek Single Barrel Reserve Bourbon. 120 proof, about $45. Similar in taste to the staple bourbon, S.B.R. is a touch spicier and has a more pronounced barrel flavor. It’s not uncommon to find a “high-end” high-proof bourbon these days, but for $45, this is a bargain as well.

Knob Creek Rye. 100 proof, about $40. I love the bite of a high-rye whiskey, and Knob Creek isn’t quite that. Hear me out, though: this is a rye that I really love to drink. Again, Knob Creek’s mashbills are secret, but many (including me) suspect it’s just a reversed version of the bourbon recipe. That is to say, this is not the 95% or 100% rye mashbill that some others brag on, but this whiskey is a balanced experience with the right amount of sweet and spice and ultimately, it’s a sipper with a little more character than the spice bombs out there. Knob Creek’s ryes don’t currently have an age statement, they just say “patiently aged.”

Today our friend and self-made Scotch expert Mark Griffith joins us for scotch tastings! We taste Suntory Toki, The Dalmore 18 and Ardbeg Dark Cove. Hear about distillery field trips, distilling regions of Scotland, and more. Here’s a list (and discussion) of caramel coloring in Scotch.

Download Episode 102.

I’m going to jump right in to this: Collingwood is unlike any other whisky I’ve tasted.

A Canadian whisky (which explains excluding the “e” from whisky), Collingwood is distilled from corn, rye (a staple of Canadian whiskys) and barley, finished in oak barrels, then rested additionally with toasted maplewood staves.

It must be this final step of the aging process that adds the uniqueness to Collingwood’s flavor profile. I’ve passed it around to friends who are whisky fans, and the results and preferences have been mixed. The nose of Collingwood is sweet, but the flavor and finish are unexpectedly sweet and sharp, and we gathered it’s the maplewood finish that’s contributing to that (oak is far-and-away the wood preference over maple when it comes to whisky). I felt it tasted like a quick-aged whisky, which usually involves smaller barrels or additional wood added to the aging process. Friends noted the unusual finish, too.

What we did learn at about the halfway point of the bottle, and after several weeks of trying it out, is that Collingwood seems to go better in cocktails than as a straight sipper. The flavor profile never quite delivered with the whisky-drinkers in my camp, but a Manhattan, Old Fashioned and Whisky Sour with Collingwood were some tasty cocktails that tended to be incrementally sweeter than their bourbon or rye counterparts. The Sour in particular seemed a great fit for this whisky.

Collingwood retails for about $30 per bottle.

We taste William Wolf Coffee Whiskey. Jibby legs. We talk a bunch about Etrog and make an Etrog-tini with Dry Line Gin.

Download Episode 101.

I’m honored to have been featured in the August 31 edition of the Albuquerque Journal in promotion of the New Mexico Cocktails book. Read their feature “Author Traces History of Cocktails in NM” here.

Suntory is a legendary Japanese distillery, one of only a handful of whisky makers in that country. They have become famous for quality, well-crafted single malts in the tradition of scotch whisky. Their fame is so solid, in fact, that they were able to purchase Jim Beam in 2014.

This summer, Suntory introduced and affordable whisky blend that’s designed for cocktails. Toki is comprised of 2 Suntory single malt “pillars”: Hakushu (light and fresh) and Chita (heavy grain). These two combine for a flavor that’s malty, crisp, light and sweet with a mild spice finish.

At $40 per bottle and 43% ABV, Toki is a light sipper for the warm months, and goes well neat or on the rocks. It’s malty character is reminiscent to me of Dutch Genever and barley-based Shochu. It pairs well with milder, lighter cigars, sipped neat.

While Toki can be mixed in cocktails any way you choose, Suntory has a specific “ceremony” they recommend for making the Toki Highball (pictured above):

“To begin a highball recipe, fill the glass to the brim with ice. Add one measure of whisky. Stir to cool the whisky and glass. Again add ice to the brim. Pour three measures of chilled sparkling water along the side of the glass to avoid melting the ice or bursting the bubbles. Add a twist of lemon. Enjoy.”

As a cocktail, the Toki Highball is subtle, malty, refreshing and easy to make, and at $40, Toki may serve to be an introductory Japanese whisky if you’re unfamiliar with the category.

We celebrate episode 100 with the people who made it all possible: Larry and Susie! We make a Larry Martini using Shaker 33. Tito is Larry’s Texas Twin. Vodka talk. Impressing bartenders? Susie’s dad. Home bartending: “part of your family.” William Grimes’ book. We make a Silverado Cocktail. New music courtesy of Argyle Street.

Download Episode 100.

Dry Line’s Cape Cod Gin is made by the same distillers of Twenty Boat Spiced Rum, a “Cape Cod rum” that we scoffed at on the podcast….until we tasted it. I’m happy to say that Dry Line lives up to that same, good reputation.

We got to try “batch 1” of Dry Line and it has many of the tasting notes I love in a gin (I prefer bitey London Drys): a solid clove/spice tasting note, together with what I can best describe as hot mustard-like: a unique sweet/spice note. Dry Line is distilled from cane sugar, not neutral grain, which is unusual and may contribute to that sweet touch in the flavor profile.

The bottle itself is sexy, to be sure: perfectly square, moreso than Jack Daniel’s, even. South Hollow Spirits has delivered a solid, northeastern gin with a great deal of character, that’s somewhere between New Western and London Dry gins in it’s overall flavor.

I’ve been drinking Dry Line mostly in Gin Rickeys (gin/soda lime), and it’s a solid product for that drink. The drink I was really curious about, though, was a Etrog-tini (or is it a Dry-Lini?): Dry Line with a dash of Etrog liqueur (which we tasted recently on the podcast). Here’s the recipe:

Etrog-tini

• in a mixing glass, add:
• 2 oz gin
• 1/2 of Etrog liqueur
• stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lemon peel

Just as they did with Twenty Boat Spiced Rum, South Hollow Spirits has released another solid entry into an established space, yet has impressed with the unique and tasty flavor profiles they’ve been able to achieve there.

Let’s start with a diss from Greg. Bourbon Curious. Medicinal whiskey. The new book “Bourbon.” Fred’s Albuquerque connection. “A passionate lover of carne adovada.” Fred’s Derby Museum work.

Photo by James Eaton.

Download Episode 99.

In the world of liquor, often the story behind a bar is often just as important as the modern-day reputation. The Petroleum Building in Downtown LA (built in 1925) is one such storied location, and it houses Caña Rum Bar.

Part of the same group that runs Seven Grand (which I posted about a few weeks ago), Caña is a tribute to rum and rum-producing countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. Nestled into the back of the old Petroleum Building, you find the entrance to Caña at the back of the building’s parking garage.

Caña is a private club and a $20 annual membership is required for admission (though you may bring guests with you). The bar itself is designed as a throwback to Prohibition-era Cuba, and is dark and sparse in it’s decor. Inside, you’ll find a pool table, dance floor, and the bar itself.

Through the back of the building, though, is their cigar smoking area (pictured above), which is a big reason I wanted to go to Caña. The bar was originally built for Edward L. Doheny and functioned as his office, and in the back was his wife’s greenhouse, which has made the transition perfectly into the Caña Rum Bar cigar patio. Doheny, if you don’t know, was the oil magnate that There Will be Blood and Upton Sinclair’s Oil! were based on, and a great part of the bar’s history that Caña can brag about.

Caña offers 2 options for drinking: you can sip rare or quality rums neat or on the rocks, or you can select a traditional rum drink from their small cocktail menu. Caña has a library of over 250 rums, and out of goodwill, includes a few bottles of other liquors, but rum is the specialty. Here’s their cocktail menu in it’s entirety:

• Cuba Libre
• Daiquiri
• Pina Colada
• Mojito
• Mai Tai
• Brazilian Tecktie
• Rum and Coconut Water
• Rum Old Fashioned
• Dark and Stormy
• Tiki Roulette

This is one of the smallest drink menus I’ve seen at a craft cocktail bar, but as I sipped a Rum Old Fashioned (made with Pyrat XO rum), it was clear that they are very committed to making excellent cocktails. It was perfectly served on a crystal-clear ice cube with both lemon and orange peel garnishes and was well-built and well-balanced.

Most of my time at Caña was spend sipping rum neat while I enjoyed the cigar I was presented with for our night’s pairings: a Garo Adama a55. We sipped Rum Society #65 (pictured above), Angostura #1 and Diplomatico Reserva Exclusiva with the help of bar manager Erbin Garcia, whose knowledge of rums and rum production is impressively thorough.

Erbin has been at Caña for quite a while, and chronicled the journey from a $5,000-per-year “exclusive” club under the Doheny name to it’s present $20 annual membership. Membership, he said, is no longer tied to a perceived exclusivity, but the liquor license for the building requires it.

Caña is a specialty rum bar with a small menu of perfectly-executed cocktails and very knowledgeable staff. The ability to smoke cigars (especially for a cigar smoker like me) adds an even more unique characteristic to what is already a very fun bar experience.

Photo 1 & 3 courtesy of Caña Rum Bar. 

I recently got an out-of-print book called Straight Up or on the Rocks: A Cultural History of American Drink by William Grimes, a journalist with the New York Times. It had been recommended to me long ago, so I picked it up used at Amazon. From what I hear, this book (published in 1993) was one of the few great craft cocktail books of the 1990’s (which was a particularly dark time for cocktails).

There’s a small collection of recipes in the back of Mr. Grimes’ book, and I found a simple one that sounded mighty tasty. It’s a 1:1:1 mashup of the Negroni and the Screwdriver. Here it is:

Silverado

• Add the following ingredients into an Old Fashioned glass filled with ice:
• 1 1/2 oz vodka (I used Reyka)
• 1 1/2 oz Campari
• 1 1/2 oz orange juice
• Stir and garnish with an orange wedge

Our full-length interview with Jeffrey Morgenthaler! The journey from dive bar to craft cocktails. The Pacific Northwest’s impact on craft cocktails. The infamous nose picking video. Cocktail recipes becoming the industry standard. Morgenthaler’s Amaretto Sour recipe. Barrel Aged Negroni recipe. The role of home bartenders. “What should I get for my home bar?” The resurgence of cooking, wine and cocktails. Willing to experiment.

Download Episode 98.

Shaker 33 had a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2015, and has now released their product in 2016. Shaker 33 aims to improve the decades-old design of the cocktail shaker with modern materials and technology, addressing a few “problems” they see with the classic 3-piece cobbler shaker.

Starting with the most obvious, Shaker 33 is not made from metal like the shakers you’re used to. It’s made from clear, black or frosted plastic, and I got the frosted one. I expected the shaker to feel like a plastic water bottle, but the sides are much thicker and more rigid. The plastic is BPA free and shatterproof, though I wasn’t brave enough to drop mine to test it out.

Both the lid and the strainer of the 33 are twist-off designs, definitely easier than breaking the vacuum seal on a traditional shaker. Since you screw it on, the lid stays closed when you shake, or even if you drop the shaker. The volume of the shaker is much larger than I expected at 24 oz. Because of the thick plastic sides, this shaker never gets cold in your hand, either. The strainer cap (closeup in the photo above) is particularly useful in that it’s diameter is very large and is has two options for straining size.

Shaker 33 will run you $30, about twice as much as a comparable cobbler-style shaker. Though they show Shaker 33 in bars on their website videos, it’s unlikely these will replace tried-and-true Boston shakers at your favorite watering hole. It is a nice new option to have for home bartenders. It’s simple to learn to use, simple to clean and an interesting updated design of the classic cocktail shaker.

Buy Shaker 33 from Amazon here.

Recently, I had an opportunity to try another uniquely-featured tasting glass: the Peugeot Whisky Tasting Set, which is not only a glass, but a 3-piece set with the glassware, a coaster, and a metal plate that fits between the two to cool the liquid in the glass.

Much like the Whiskey Wedge, using the Peugeot set takes a little pre-planning because of the metal plate, which, depending on how cold you want your whiskey, you can refrigerate or freeze, or just leave it someplace cool (more on that in a moment).

At $40, this set is a gift-level item, and its usefulness depends on the way whiskey is sipped by the user. If you (or your recipient) like your whiskey chilled, with little to no water added, this is a beautiful and elegant glass. I tend to drink my scotch this way, and find the Peugeot set is pleasant to use, from the etched glass to the leather stitched coaster. I froze the plate and I like the way it cooled the whiskey through the glass, and not in it. Pitting this set against its biggest rival, whiskey stones, this allows you to sip without fear of an eventual boop in the nose from a stone, but the Peugeot is 2-4 times the cost of a set of stones. I did feel like this set chilled my whiskey more than a set of stones do, probably because metal gets colder than soapstone in the freezer.

The Peugeot Whisky Tasting Set is not particularly easy to find, though specialty glassware and kitchenware stores tend to be the best places to find it, and it is available at Amazon, too.

Welcome to the world, Monkey Shoulder, a relatively new scotch brand that you may have seen at your local liquor store as of late (it was introduced in 2005). Master blenders David Stewart and Brian Kinsmen run Monkey Shoulder as a bit of a throwback to the years when blended scotches reigned (as opposed to the many single malts available these days).

Monkey Shoulder is a blend of three Speyside single malts, and while the company won’t say which, the internet consensus is that the malts are Glenfiddich, The Balvenie and Kininvie. Speyside is the northernmost distilling region of Scotland, and its scotches fall into two flavor profiles, according to The Whiskey Exchange: light and grassy “lunchtime whiskies” or sweet and rich whiskies.

The flavor of Monkey Shoulder is more in line with the second profile, with tasting notes of vanilla, cinnamon and sweet cream. While some scotches are famed for their smokiness, Monkey Shoulder is absent of smoke and peat in exchange for its woody spice and sweet, rich finish.

The name, Monkey Shoulder, is an unusual one for a scotch, whose names often tend toward the exotic or unpronounceable (anCnoc, anyone?). A “monkey shoulder” is a temporary condition that maltmen would develop after a long day of turning barley by hand; another whiskey history throwback for the Monkey Shoulder brand.

For a bottle of quality whisky with a pretty great trio of pewter monkeys perched on it, Monkey Shoulder can be found at a very respectable $30-ish at your local liquor shop. You’ll find the bottle contains a solid blend of quality single malts with a familiar Speyside flavor. In that price range, too, you get a good sipping scotch and one that’s also feasable in cocktails like an Old Fashioned or Rob Roy.

This is a familiar site to Tales of the Cocktail’s seminar attendees: little plastic cups with world-class cocktails in them. This year’s Tales conference was our second time attending, and in the 4 days we were in New Orleans, our schedule was packed with great drinks and great interviews with some world-class people in the cocktail business.

Interviewing Jeffrey Morgenthaler

If you’re a podcast subscriber, you may have already heard our Tales interviews, but if you’re not, you should definitely head over to our Tales 2016 page to see our collection of photos and to download each episode. There are a lot of great interviews there that speak directly to the home bartenders and cocktail enthusiasts that follow this blog. For instance, Jim Meehan reinforced his position that home enthusiasts play a big role in the future of craft cocktails, just as home cooks led to the “foodie” explosion. We even have some longer-form interviews with Jeffrey Morgenthaler and Fred Minnick that will be released soon, too.

Seminars at Tales are high-quality and are hosted by smartest cocktail and liquor minds in the world. We attended several this year and I have about 10 pages of notes from seminars alone. We loved every seminar we attended, though one of the highlights for us was the seminar about Mexican Flavors with celebrity chef Rick Bayless (who we’ve followed for years). We even had the opportunity to interview Rick on Tales Podcast #4.

Tastings at the “Bottled in Bond” seminar

Attending the Bartender At Large premiere/screening was definitely a highlight of the week, too, from the great rye whiskey cocktails (from Lot 40) to the incredible film itself. We went to some brand parties as we did last year, and Lisa and I had fun dancing at the late-night Diageo party.

Cocktails at Tales are always the best-in-class of their respective recipes, and we actually tried some drinks for the first time, like clarified Milk Punch, A 50/25/25 Martini (with equal parts sweet white and dry white vermouth), vodka popsicles and even our first Frozen Daiquiri (sorrynotsorry).

Smirnoff + Cock n Bull Moscow Mule

I also had the honor of doing a signing for my first book, New Mexico Cocktails, on Saturday. It was a great place to meet new people and get the book in some new hands. If you haven’t got a copy yet, it’s out now and available from Amazon and just about everywhere else.

Being our second year at Tales of the Cocktail, we really had a good grip on locations of seminars and most events. That experience from last year, paired with Uber, and we were able to make it around New Orleans quickly to all the Tales events plus trips to tourists traps like Cafe du Monde. We were thrilled to get time with friends that we made last year and overall, we had an incredible time this year. Happy Tales y’all!

The presence of craft cocktail bars has been growing exponentially since the early 2000s, and finding a craft bar in many cities (even smaller ones) is becoming easier and easier. It’s strange, then, that one of the largest metropolitan areas of the United States, Los Angeles, has lagged behind other cities in the U.S. in the development of their own cocktail culture.

The reason for this, I’d hypothesize, is that there was no central location for bars to establish themselves as Downtown LA had only begun its revitalization in the early 2000s. In 2007, though, one craft bar launched in Downtown and has built a great reputation since then.

Seven Grand, at 515 W 7th St, is a whiskey bar primarily, though they do have a small cubby under the bar with few bottles of the other boozes, too: vodka, tequila, gin, etc, just in case you’re not in a whiskey mood.

Seven Grand is what you’d expect visually from a whiskey bar: dark-stained woods, deer taxidermy, rich greens and tartan trim. The bar itself seats many comfortably, all with a view of their impressive whiskey library. There’s a pool table and some additional table seating surrounding the bar area as well. Victor Delgado, the bar manager who’s been at Seven Grand for 7 years, is proud of the work they’ve done in downtown, and he recommended 5 or 6 other great bars in the area too, an experience I continued to have with everyone in DTLA. There’s a unity amongst the bartenders there, clearly knowing that the rising tide of the cocktail culture in LA has been helping all of them to grow this past decade.

Whiskey Locker at Seven Grand

As you head to the back of the building at Seven Grand, you’ll see the bar’s whiskey lockers, filled with nameplated bottles, where you can keep your preferred spirit as a member of the bar’s Whiskey Society, but there’s an additional surprise back there: another door, this one for Bar Jackalope, and it’s locked. Opening in 2014, Bar Jackalope was inspired by small bars in Japan, with a very limited seating of 18, and it’s a members-only sub-bar in Seven Grand. To solidify my membership, I placed a delicious Seven Grand-exclusive bottling of Four Roses Single Barrel in my locker.

Bar Jackalope also has a private patio where you can enjoy a cigar with your whiskey. The bar’s manager Jeffrey Baker, an incredibly warm and welcoming member of the staff, has selected about a dozen cigars for pairing, ranging from mild to strong, mostly from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Bar Jackalope is only open Sunday-Thursday because it serves as overflow for the main bar on weekends.

Bar Jackalope (note whiskey lockers above)

Cocktail prices were very reasonable at Seven Grand, at around $6 during happy hour, and about $10 otherwise, a great deal for such a large metro area. I tried a Sazerac and a Manhattan, the second of which is served on an impressive block of crystal-clear ice. Both were mixed and served exactly as I’d expect and tasted great. Bar Jackalope takes a different approach, mostly serving whiskey neat in nosing glasses (20ml or 60ml pours). Neither bar has a food menu, you’ll only find drinks there.

Expansion is underway for Seven Grand, too. Already with a second location in San Diego, Austin, Texas will be location #3 for the bar, probably in the winter of 2016. As a frontrunner and landmark of sorts for craft bars in Los Angeles, Seven Grand is certainly a bar to visit if you’re in the area, and if you can get into Bar Jackalope, spend some time there too.

Logo photo courtesy of Seven Grand. 

Peach Colada Daiquiri and frozen cocktails generally. What we missed. Best swag. Mr. Boston. Best kids’ swag. Best thing we stole. Coziest interview. All podcasts and a photo gallery can be found here.

Download Tales Episode 4.

On episode 4 we bid farewell to Tales of the Cocktail 2016, but not before some beignets, a peach frozen daiquiri and amazing interviews with Jim Meehan, Matthew Rowley, Willy and Nils from Jägermeister and Rick Bayless.

Download Tales Episode 4.

On episode 3 we talk about Mr. Boston Drinks, go to a Milk Punch seminar and see Bartender at Large. Interviews with Gary Regan, Bill York, Lizzie Asher, and Charlotte Voisey.

Download Tales Episode 3.

On episode 2 we talk seminars with Fred and Camper, big-brand parties and big names. Interviews with Fred Minnick, Cocktails for You, Sarah Lohman and Steven Soderbergh.

Download Tales Episode 2.

Tales of the Cocktail 2016 podcast #1! Parties, party buses, and seminars! Interviews feature Jeffrey Morgenthaler, Paul Clarke, and Adam Ford (who wrote “Vermouth“).

Download Tales Episode 1.

I did a radio appearance on Abq.FM a few days back to talk about my book “New Mexico Cocktails” and the state of craft cocktails in Albuquerque now. Listen to the show here:

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Off to Tales with our sponsors Catoctin Creek and Macchu Pisco! Harry Potter spirits? We taste Sukkah Hill liqueurs Etrog and Besamim. “Lemonade with croquet and shit.” Lisa can taste the 1%? “I always sneak booze into that thing.” We reference the Southside Fizz, then make a Southside. The list of cocktail podcasts.

Download Episode 97.

A few weeks ago, I got the opportunity to meet Bobby “G,” Beam’s Master Mixologist, and we talked about whiskey and cigar pairings briefly. If you’d like, you can hear that interview on the podcast.

Bobby suggested that Baker’s Bourbon is a great cigar pairing, as the aging for Baker’s puts their barrels higher up in Beam’s rickhouses, creating a rich, bitter and quite spicy bourbon. Baker’s is a 7-year-old, 107 proof bourbon, too, bold enough to pair with even the boldest cigar as well.

Baker’s is shockingly smooth and easy to drink for being 107 proof. I’ve tried it with a bold cigar (Gurkha Red Witch) and a mild cigar (Arturo Fuente Dominican Seconds), and really enjoyed the interplay Baker’s had with both. The Red Witch is flavorful and Gurkhas tend to have lots of smoke output, so it was richness that was the stand-out in this pairing. The Fuente was a milder and earthier smoke, highlighting Baker’s nutmeg flavors. Alone as a nightcap, Baker’s spiciness is exceedingly clear: pepper and nutmeg are the standout flavors.

Baker’s is definitely a cigar smoker’s bourbon and those who prefer their whiskies spicy, like rye drinkers or even Four Roses drinkers, may want to give this bourbon a shot as well.

Vacation = Greg’s a lobster. We stare at the Club 33 door. Stay at The Whitney for TOTC! We taste (Christian Brothers) Sacred Bond Brandy. Greg thinks he remembers what “bottled in bond” means. We make a Spymaster cocktail with Reyka Vodka. Greg mentions Robert Hess’s channel on Small Screen Network. Kuhn Rikon knives. Lisa considers making a list of every cocktail at Tales of the Cocktail…

Download Episode 96.

Greg’s book releases next week! Get it here. Staying humble? We taste Jade 1901 Absinthe. Anne of Green Gables’ lemonade at church picnic glasses. Greg reads from Whiskey by Michael Dietsch. We make a Rob Roy cocktail. We mention Dashfire Bitters. We mention Camper English’s Tales seminar this year. Greg hates banana ice and Lisa hates paper plates.

Download Episode 95.

No friends this week…but 2 cocktails! We make a Martini. Greg persecutes Lisa’s drinkmaking skills…as always. Americans and cocktails. We’re going to Tales of the Cocktail! We make a new cocktail: Brandy & Root.

Download Episode 94.

The Hudson line of whiskeys are distilled by Tuthilltown Spirits in the Hudson River Valley in New York. Every whiskey they create comes in a half-sized bottle that usually retails for the price of many full-sized craft whiskies. Hudson Four Grain Bourbon retails for about $45.

The 4 grains that go into the mash for this whiskey are corn, rye, wheat and malted barley – all common components of a bourbon, though usually a combination of only 3 of those 4. Hudson uniquely uses very small casks for their whiskeys, I believe maxing out at 14 gallon barrels. This means that Hudson whiskeys receive more barrel exposure than whiskeys in the “standard” bourbon barrel size of 200 liters (53 gallons), and this sets their flavor profile apart from many large-scale whiskies.

Hudson’s Four Grain ends up pretty complex, in fact, complex to the point of being inaccessible to some. HFGB is spicy, earthy, wet and sweet, which are reflections of each of the grains in the mash and the smaller barrels, too, use a  scaleszen for the grains. We tried it on the podcast and I offered it to some whiskey-drinking friends, and the feedback went like this: whiskey drinkers/lovers really liked Hudson Four Grain Bourbon. Those who prefer a milder liquor found HFGB to be an overwhelming tasting experience.

So, a bourbon that whiskey lovers love? Seems a wise choice. I made a single cocktail with my bottle of HFGB – by the way, those little bottles go fast – a Manhattan. It was good, but I’d recommend this be reserved strictly as a sipper on ice (or maybe a touch of clean water). Its complexities are really quite a bit to savor, so sipping Husdon Four Grain on its own is my preferred way to drink it.

We visit New Mexico Cocktails and Culture and talk to some big names in mixology…and big names in New Mexico! Interviews include Tony Abou Ganim, Anthony from Bulldog Gin, Bobby G, and Chris Milligan. Thanks to Natalie Bovis for her hard work on this event!

Download Episode 93.

Every year, Albuquerque the Magazine opens up a site to vote for the “Best of the City” in Albuquerque and there is one category that I really covet your votes for: best blogger. Click here to vote (not limited to Albuquerque residents). THANK YOU for your support!

Voting ends August 1.

I’m made mention in the past my love for Kuhn Rikon paring knives in my home bar. We have several of these in the kitchen and use them all day for everything, from butter, to everyday chopping, to cocktail citrus prep. For about $10 per knife, we use these until we wear them out and feel like they’re a great value for their quality and functionality. See photo #3 below for a true representation of my Colori addiction.

These knives are not only extremely sharp, they are also coated with a nonstick coating (which makes them extra-useful for cutting butter and softer cheeses), and they each come with a plastic sleeve for storage.

Kuhn Rikon has now released a brand-new version of their popular Colori series of knives, the Colori+ and I reached out to the company to try some. The differences between Colori and Colori+ are shown above, with the original knives on the left and the newer model on the right. The new Coloris have:

• a slightly different blade shape
• an improved handle with an upgraded shape, textured material and a stamped “+” logo
• a thinner, less rigid blade sleeve (see the photo below to compare)
• darker knife colors, at least for now, which seem to be less pastel overall

The Colori line is widely available at many retailers nationally, including Amazon. Because the Colori+ knives are relatively new, I’ve only seen them sold on Kuhn Rikon’s website so far. At the same retail price of the previous iteration ($10 a knife), I prefer the improved + line, primarily because of the improved handle, which feels much better in my hand.

Greg’s book is coming! Larry & Susie get the first copy. Kevin is back and Nickelette is still pregnant. We taste Bayou Rum. We mention San Antonio Cocktail Conference. Susie sells the book: “honey, we need more vodka!” We make a custom cocktail with Art in the Age Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial: the Blueblood.

Download Episode 92.

I must confess that Basil Hayden’s has had me a bit dumbfounded since I first broke the seal on this bottle. This is my first time sipping Hayden’s, and so I drank it the way I like to drink lots of my bourbons: with a lot of ice.

I was disappointed. I found it to be watery and extremely mild on my initial tasting of it. Instead of writing off Hayden’s as a bourbon that I don’t like, I began to research it to see how I might be approaching this bourbon wrong.

I had the incredible chance to attend New Mexico Cocktails and Culture this past weekend, and one of the speakers was Beam’s Master Mixologist Bobby G. Basil Hayden’s is a Beam product, so I asked him about it. Bobby told me two things that were helpful: First, Basil Hayden’s is a very mild bourbon, so it should be sipped neat and not on the rocks. Second, it’s the Beam bourbon that has tested to be the most popular with women.

From there, I consulted my favorite bourbon book: Bourbon Curious by Fred Minnick. There is a summary of Basil Hayden’s overall: founded in 1992, owner by Beam Suntory, and named after a famous Kentuckian. But then, a little earlier in the book, under Tricks to Getting Used to Bourbon, I read: “My favorite starter bourbon is Basil Hayden’s, because it’s 80 proof and carries some nuances.”

There you go. Basil Hayden’s is a mild, approachable starter bourbon with notes of citrus (especially orange) and mild tea with basically no spice. Enjoying it neat or in a 3:1 Manhattan is a great way to ease someone into the world of bourbon.

Simple Cocktails with Friends is one of several cocktail podcasts available on the web. Because there’s no solid resource for finding cocktail-focused podcasts like ours, I created the following list as a guide for those who are looking for more.

Here are all the cocktail podcasts I know of, many of which I subscribe to. If you’re aware of any others that aren’t listed, or if you host a cocktail podcast, please leave a comment below and I’ll keep this list updated on a regular basis.

Husband and wife team Chris and Julia Tunstall host Mixology Talk, based out of the Bay Area. Each episode has a specific theme, which often tap Chris’ experience as a bartender. Good general-information podcast from friendly hosts with some fancy bartender techniques here and there.

Running time: 15-20 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Hosted by Brian Weber, Bartender Journey chronicles Brian’s personal journey to becoming a better bartender. His show started as “friends talking cocktails” from where they’re based in New York and is now a source of industry interviews, news, and commentary from Brian. He now hosts the official Tales of the Cocktail Podcast as well.

Running time: usually 30-40 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Nico Martini and Kevin Gray host. They’re Texas-based, and Nico is very involved in the San Antonio Cocktail Conference every year. Their podcast includes industry news and commentary, and often interviews with someone in the cocktail or spirits business.

Running time: 10-20 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Hosted by cocktail enthusiasts Alex Luboff and Jordan Wicker, Speaking Easy is a relatively new show that reminds me of the early episodes of Bartender Journey: it’s just a couple of guys talking about why they love cocktails. Episodes have a theme and Alex and Jordan have begun incorporating industry interviews into the show.

Running time: about 30 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Matt James and Megan Ternes host H.T.B.A.B.D. out of Seattle. Matt, the bartender, and Megan, the enthusiast, do a well-produced show that’s full of bartender knowledge. Each episode has a theme or a specific spirit that the hosts focus on. Matt and Megan are good talkers and very knowledgeable.

Running time: 30-45 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Hosted by Chris Bowman and Benjamin Ahr Harrison, L.D.A.I. is more of a “friends sitting down chit chatting” podcast than a cocktail-focused show, though each and every episode has a custom-made cocktail and they detail (and photograph!) the recipe and why it pairs with that week’s small talk.

Running time: 1 hour // Website // iTunes link

Honorable mention: WhiskyCast is not a cocktail podcast, but it’s the most in-depth and knowledgeable whisk(e)y talk that you can ever hope to find. Hosted by Mark Gillespie, WhiskyCast dates back nearly to the invention of the term podcasting, and they’re nearly up to their 600th weekly episode. WhiskyCast reports distillery news and features interviews with big names in the whisk(e)y industry. His shows are very in-depth and focused (of course) on whisk(e)y, especially scotch. 

Running time: averages 45 minutes // Website // iTunes link

Dipsomania! themes each episode after one specific cocktail with discussion surrounding it. Hosted by Jake Sutton and Lance Arthur from Colorado and San Francisco, Dipsomania! (a word meaning alcoholic/craving alcohol), the hosts bring a great deal of experience and research to their co-drinking podcasted sessions.

Running time: 1 hour // Tumblr // iTunes link

Of course, I have to make sure I sneak in the links for our podcast as well, just in case you ended up here from a Google search and don’t know much about us. Me (Greg) and my wife Lisa host with our 2 producers and we added 2 additional guests starting with episode 75. We do a liquor tasting and make a cocktail every week.

Running time: 20 minutes // Website // iTunes link

“Really good social media friends” Kevin & Nickelette join the party! Good friends with good friends. A guest curveball. We taste Hudson Four Grain Bourbon. About wax seals and liquor brands. Greg mentions Journeyman Distillery. Food pairing with this bourbon? We make Ed Wood’s favorite drink, an Akdov Telmig. “Let the pregnant lady shake.” We reference Plan 9 From Outer Space. “Simple Cocktails is a miracle worker.”

Download Episode 91.

Galliano has launched a new campaign to compete tongue-in-cheek with this national election stuff that we seem to be in the midst of. At the Vote 4 Wallbanger site, Harvey promises to “Make America Chill Again,” and we can certainly all get behind that. Here’s a modern twist on the classic Harvey Wallbanger cocktail:

Modern Harvey (pictured)

• 1 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz Galliano
• 3 oz fresh orange juice
• 1/2  oz lemon juice
• Shake & strain into a old fashioned glass filled with ice
• Top with 2 dashes Peychaud’s Bitters

 Special thanks to our sponsor Galliano L’Autentico. 

Jeff’s babysitting payment. Small bottles. Lisa writing on the walls. We taste Boodles Mulberry Gin. Out light-up Absolut bottle. Jeff thinks he’s Thor? Sarah’s come a long way from Camelback Screwdrivers. We drink a Deanne cocktail. Greg’s lemon. “You talk wrong.”

Download Episode 90.

It’s Jeff and Sarah!

Jeff is the source of Greg’s cocktail stories. “Make me something interesting.” Drive through Daiquiris. We taste Novo Fogo Single Barrel Cachaça. We talk Louisiana and break out the Bayou Rum. Greg mentioned his Rio Grande Cocktail. We brag on New Mexico IPAs…shout outs to La Cumbre and Bosque Brewing. We make a Palmetto Cocktail. Edible flowers?

Download Episode 89.

Simple Cocktails has entered the snap fray and we’re actively snapping on Snapchat, especially behind-the-scenes fun and info. To see what we’re up to: add us on Snapchat!

We mock Tirzah’s condition, Natasha loves whiskey. Christina Hendricks. About Italy. we drink Grappa del Piemonte. “I’d rather give a pint of blood.” Cigar knowledge? Santa Fe Spirits Silver Coyote. “She’s got a hard life.” Corporate speak. We make a Deep Dive cocktail. Babysitting payment in liquor and donuts.

Download Episode 88.

It’s rare that I wax philosophical at Simple Cocktails, but occasionally I see something that so aligns with our mission here, I have to share it. A few years ago, I established our mission with a post called Why We Need Each Other, discussing the lost art of home bartending and the ways we can personally help to revive it.

Today, I read an interview with Jim Meehan that stirred my desire to see the resurgence of home bartending. In the interview, Meehan, who is one of this century’s most influential bartenders and the founder of PDT in New York, discusses the direction that bartending is headed in the next decade.

He says home bartending will play a big role.

According to Meehan (emphasis added), “If history is inclined to repeat itself, I predict the cocktail will be domesticated by enthusiasts who can’t get a seat and congenial face time with the busy bartender at their local.” He says that quality bartending tools that are readily-available now help to supply us with what’s needed to outfit our home bars well, and in turn, better home bartenders will create a better craft cocktail scene overall.

From my perspective, we are on the right track. Our target audience at Simple Cocktails is amateur home bartenders, and it’s you (our readers) who Meehan suggests will help to “buoy the craft of the cocktail.”

4 years ago, we issued a call to you to start bartending at home. Now the revolution has begun, and the tools and resources are in place to help you here at the blog (see our buyer’s guides and free recipe book) and from many other great cocktail enthusiasts as well.

It’s easier than ever to enjoy a drink at home, so cheers to the next decade and the rise of the home cocktail enthusiast!

Update: 2 months after I wrote this post, I had the opportunity to speak with Jim about his comments. You can hear what he had to say in our Tales of the Cocktail podcast # 4.

Tirzah give us the low-down on gluten free drinking whilst Greg tries not to kill her. Drinking pastors? Greg’s gluten quiz! New Mexico IPAs are the best. We taste Bailoni Apricot liqueur and eau de vie. Is yeast bad? “I have an app that can help us with that.” We make a Hola Harvey for Cinco de Mayo, a “real drinking holiday.” Natasha was wearing cowboy boots…dancing on the bar? Oralé Harvey.

Download Episode 87.

The Kentucky Derby is coming up Saturday – a celebratory event which usually marks the arrival of Spring and “spring time” bourbon drinks like the Mint Julep. I have 2 pots of mint in the backyard and they are full and ready to be julep-ized. As a refresher on how to make your own Juleps, you can see my Julep walkthrough here.

According to the Derby, “120,000 Mint Juleps are served over the two-day period of Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby weekend at Churchill Downs Racetrack. That’s a feat that requires more than 10,000 bottles of bourbon, 1,000 pounds of mint and 60,000 pounds of ice.”

So in light of the coming Derby this weekend, I was excited to receive a care package from Four Roses, one of my personal favorite cinnamon-forward Kentucky bourbons, then a copy of Michael Dietsch’s brand new book Whiskey: A Spirited Story with 75 Classic & Original Cocktails, which releases May 17, 2016 [Amazon link].

Much more than just a simple listing of recipes, Deitch devotes several pages to each cocktail and goes into the history and story behind each. It’s a beautiful hardcover book with excellent photography, designed cleanly and well-organized, with a good deal of cocktail pointers (whiskey or not). He says of the Mint Julep:

“With an origin in the 18th century, the boozy julep came along before American whiskey was widely available. And even when American whiskey was more available, the julep had become a drink of the genteel South, and in that time, gentlemen drank brandy and rum, not brash American whiskey.” (pp 103)

Enjoy a Mint Julep and enjoy Derby Day on Saturday! Cheers!

I’m a little embarrassed to say that until recently, I had not tried cachaça (kuh-CHA-suh), the Brazilian sugar cane juice liquor. Similar to rum, cachaça is Brazil’s most popular distilled spirit, and the base for the caipirinha (KAI-pir-een-yuh) cocktail.

Well, Novo Fogo Cachaça helped us to correct that when they sent us their caipirinha kit to try out on our podcast (which we did here). The kit includes a bottle of Novo Fogo Silver, 2 small branded mason jars, and a wood muddler, all of which we use in the recipe below.

A caipirinha is like a South American take on a Daiquiri: lime, sugar and rum, though in this case the rum is swapped for cachaça. I find Novo Fogo’s cachaça to be a earthier, grassier and much more flavorful variety of rum, which is technically is, because it’s distilled from sugar cane juice. Their caipirinha kit makes for some tasty cocktails, too, and all you need to add is lime and sugar. Here’s how you make it:

Caipirinha

• in a small mason jar, add:
• 1/2 of a lime, but into wedges and with the enter pith removed
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 2 oz cachaça
• muddle together well, then fill the jar with ice
• shake well, then serve directly in the jar

NOTE: The podcast is now available on Google Play! Click the grey button below to listen through Play.

“Very New Mexico.” Greg’s hot and spicy liquor reviews. Red or green? We taste Crater Lake Hatch Green Chile Vodka. Redeeming the “shot” liqueur that’s Jägermeister. Eric is too cool. Hide the strawberries. We make the Leaving the Quarter cocktail. “You don’t really need good flavor…..”

Download Episode 86.

You know, I’ve always found cocktails that memorialize an occasion, or person, to be a bit cheesy and so I rarely partake in “theme” drinking. I found myself in a situation last week when Prince died, that folks who were coming to our already-planned cocktail party that night began asking if I was going to be making any Prince-themed drinks to remember him by.

Drinking and partying in memory of someone who’s passed away is a thing, and people have done it for thousands of years (at least), so I softened to the idea of some themed cocktails, both for the sake of our party guests and because of fun in creating new cocktails! After 3 recipe revisions for each, we got them just right. The first drink we made is the Purple Rain (pictured above).

Purple Rain (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, add:
• 2 oz coconut water
• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 1 oz açaí juice
• shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

Next up, we made a riff on a Gin Sour by including some muddled raspberries:

Raspberry Beret (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, add:
• 5 raspberries
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• muddle the raspberries well, then add:
• 2 oz gin
• 1 oz lemon juice
• 1 egg white
• dry shake (no ice), then add ice and shake again to chill
• double strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice and add 3 raspberries for garnish
• add 2 drops of Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters on the foam

So there you are: 2 simple cocktails you can drink in memory of The Purple One. Cheers!

NOTE: The podcast is now available on Google Play! Click the grey button below to listen through Play.

Old friends. A tease. Canon and cocktail discovery in the early days. We taste Ransom Old Tom Gin. “You better appreciate this, Eric.” We (finally) make a Whiskey Sour. Milkshakes in Home Ec. Refrigerating eggs.

Download Episode 85.

Whiskey Girl is a line of flavored whiskies from Dark Corner Distillery in South Carolina and designed to appeal to female whiskey lovers. Currently available on the east coast, Whiskey Girl is available in 3 varieties: Apple & Maple, Butterscotch and Peach. Retailing at just under $30 a bottle, we had the opportunity to try both the butterscotch and peach versions of their whiskies on a recent podcast episode.

Based on a whiskey of corn, barley and wheat (without spicy rye), and at 35% alcohol, Whiskey Girl are very mild whiskies, indented to be easy to drink for everyone, I imagine. These are sweetened, too, though the level of sweetness seemed to be dependent on the specific flavor we chose. On the podcast, most drinkers preferred the peach flavor as it has a more whiskey-forward flavor profile and tasted less sweet than the candy-like butterscotch. Peach Whiskey Girl, we figured, would be delicious in iced tea, as it would flavor it, sweeten it, and booze it up.

Cocktails with Whiskey Girl will involve some creativity, but you should probably consider replacing a whiskey liqueur with these, and not a whiskey. I made a Manhattan with Whiskey Girl Peach in the place of rye, and the flavor balance was off. Cocktails with whiskey liqueurs as a ingredient (like Southern Comfort or Drambuie) would be the easiest to swap out for Whiskey Girl, so I tried it in a J.R.’s Revenge cocktail, which is usually made with Southern Comfort:

Butterscotch Revenge

• in a mixing glass, add:
• 1 1/2 oz bourbon
• 1/4 oz Whiskey Girl butterscotch
• 2 dashes of bitters
• stir with ice and strain in a chilled cocktail glass

The Margarita is one of the most iconic cocktails in the world, a derivative of the Sidecar, and it regularly fights the Martini for most-googled cocktail. One of my first blog posts at Simple Cocktails was a Watermelon Wine Margarita, which tasted a lot like Jolly Ranchers, and not at all like booze. Some beer-and-wine-only restaurants will make “cocktails” out of wine to replicate the boozier versions, and I’ve personally found that some wine-based mixed drinks like that can be great for parties because you can make them in a pitcher and they’re ready-to-drink without being overwhelmingly alcoholic.

With BBQ season right around the corner, here’s my recipe for Wine Margaritas, in both individual servings and for pitchers:

Wine Margarita (by Greg Mays)

• in an ice-filled, salt-rimmed Collins glass, add:
• 1 oz orange curacao
• 1 oz lime juice
• 4-5 ounces white wine of choice (decide based on your desired dry-ness)
• garnish with a lime wedge
• stir well (I left mine in the photo above un-stirred for a cool “sunrise” effect, but stir before drinking)

Pitcher of Wine Margaritas (by Greg Mays)

• in an ice-filled pitcher, add:
• 1 bottle white wine of choice
• 6 1/2 oz of orange curacao
• 6 1/2 oz lime juice
• fill pitcher with lime wheels and stir well
• prep ice-filled, salt-rimmed glasses for serving

Jon Taffer and booze (link). Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s response. Full Diva. We taste Tamworth gins, Flora and Apiary. We make a Prado cocktail. Why choose blanco? “I like you, but where am I going to take you?”

Download Episode 84.

Download Episode 83.

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of the Art in the Age family of spirits. Because of their recent expansion via Tamworth Distilling in New Hampshire, though, AITA has begun to produce some very interesting, small-batch liqueurs and infusions that are deeply rooted in their local agriculture.

Most recently, we tried AITA’s Tamworth-produced Sweet Potato Vodka on the podcast (episode #68), and now we have a new bottle to try from that partnership: Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial.

What you may do when reading the label is gloss over the black trumpet part of the name, which some of you will realize is a mushroom (I didn’t). The ingredient list includes lemon verbena and lavender, too. While initially this liqueur seems it may be very sweet and berry-forward (at least on the nose), tasting it reveals a very balanced liqueur, enough that you could enjoy sipping it on the rocks, or as a replacement for the sweetener in an Old Fashioned (see recipe below).

There is little chance that you’ll dig up old cocktail recipes that include Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial in the ingredient list, but, as with most of the recent farm-to-glass spirits that Tamworth/Art in the Age is producing these days, you’re likely to invent a lot of delicious cocktails as you experiment with their ever-growing line of unique spirits.

Blueberry Old Fashioned (by Greg Mays)

• in an old fashioned glass, add:
• 1/2 oz Black Trumpet Blueberry Cordial
• 2 dashes bitters
• 2 oz bourbon whiskey
• stir with ice and garnish with fresh blueberries on a pick

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Recently I discovered a little piece of the whiskey industry and decided to explore it a little bit: wine barrel finished whiskies. The two whiskies I tasted are distilled and aged as whiskey, then re-barreled by Napa Valley wineries in their used wine barrels and aged for a period of time in Napa.

Slaughter House is a product of Splinter Group in Napa, home of the Orin Swift family of wines. For Slaughter House, they barrel a 9-year-old Tennessee whiskey (distilled from 95% corn and 5% wheat) in their Papillon barrels (a red wine blend).

Slaughter House is bold and spicy , with a nose of apricot, berries and caramel followed by a flavor of cinnamon-and-sugar and marzipan. From the flavor of the whiskey, I have trouble detecting the wine’s contribution, though Slaughter House is certainly a solid whiskey when stood alone. With a price in the mid-$30 range, it’s a good buy for a solid spice-heavy 9-year-old whiskey.

Amador Whiskey Co’s Double Barrel Bourbon is a blend of 3-10 year old Kentucky bourbons, then is re-barreled in Napa for 6 months.

Also a mid-$30-priced whiskey, Amador Double Barrel is barreled by the spirits division of Trinchero Family Estates. Chardonnay barrels were used for aging and the wine barrel contribution is much more obvious. It’s nose is floral and sweet corn, with a finish that is crisp and clean, clearly echoing the Chardonnay. Amador has almost no traces of spiciness, and is much milder start-to-finish than Slaughter House. I suspect that this flavor profile could translate to a broader appeal to more drinkers, too (ladies, I’m looking at you).

Whiskey is no stranger to barrel polygamy. Whether it’s something like these wine-barrel finishes, or larger brands like Angel’s Envy (finished in Port barrels) or Balvenie Double Wood, the depth of flavor that gets added through barrel exploration like this makes for some very delicious drinking.

Download Episode 82.

I’m thrilled to announce that in just a few weeks, my first cocktail book: New Mexico Cocktails: A History of Drinking in the Land of Enchantment will be released! While there is some fascinating NM history and facts, you should find it a handy cocktail reference book regardless of where you are in the world!

You’ll be able to purchase New Mexico Cocktail wherever fine books are sold beginning on July 4, 2016. Preorders are available now at Amazon.com. Thank you for your continued support of Simple Cocktails and all that we do!

Download Episode 81.

Hochstadter’s in Philadelphia has a couple of rye-based drinks that I had the opportunity to try recently. The first is a bottled cocktail that was popular before Prohibition: Rock and Rye. Meant to be drunk neat or on the rocks, Slow & Low Rock and Rye is a base of straight rye whiskey, with added raw Pennsylvania honey, dried naval oranges, rock candy and bitters. Most similar to an Old Fashioned in flavor, the Rock and Rye is a bit more complex than that, I think mostly because the rock candy/honey sweetening components are a tad unfamiliar (maybe old-timey?) in their taste profile.

Slow & Low is not too sweet, though, and is perfectly appropriate for a straight whiskey drinker as it won’t overwhelm with sweetness. Really, the rye remains the most prominent flavor in the mix, with an assortment of milder, underlying flavors to balance out the drink.

At just over $20, this is most definitely a fine bottled cocktail at a great price. If you’d like to hear more about what we thought, we also tasted Slow & Low on a recent podcast episode.

Because of the solid base of rye whiskey in Hochstadter’s Rock and Rye, it’s no surprise that their regular rye whiskey is also an impressive bottle for your shelf. At $35, with a blend of ryes from 4-15 years procured from different parts of North America, Hochstadter’s Vatted Rye is a solid sipper and a strong base for cocktails as well.

A rye of this age and proof (100) should be heartily spicy and solidly tasty, with no evidence of the sour/sweetness of a too-young rye. Gladly, that’s exactly what Hochstadter’s delivers. This is an impressively delicious rye whiskey at a solid proof which will easily compare (and potentially beat) other $35 ryes.

Keurig has gone from unknown coffee-maker company to household name in just a few short years. Their K-Cup system has become the industry standard for one-cup coffee and you can see it reflected in the many varieties of K-Cups your grocery store’s shelves.

Now, Keurig’s trying something familiar, yet new: the Keurig Kold, a drinkmaking system that (you guessed it) makes cold drinks. Every drink you make with the Kold is chilled by the machine (no ice required) and some of the pods also add carbonation (with fizz beads of some kind, no CO2 container required).

Keurig sent me a Kold and several of their cocktail pods. I got to try:

• Rita’s and Tina’s Skinny Margarita  (non-carbonated)
• Rita’s and Tina’s Skinny Strawberry Margarita (non-carbonated)
• Union St. Lounge Mojito (carbonated)
• Seraphine Seltzer, Persian Lime (carbonated)
• Coke Zero (carbonated)

The Kold pods, which are about $5 for a 4-pack (a similar cost to Keurig’s coffee pods) are the equivalent of drink mixes for cocktails: they have the appropriate flavorings, you just need to add your own liquor to make them a full-blown “cocktail.” I found Rita’s and Tina’s Margaritas were appropriately tart and tasty, with the slightly chalky flavor of bar-bought frozen margaritas. Because they come out chilled, you can pour them straight into a salt-rimmed Margarita glass and you’re good to go.

Union St.’s Mojitos are especially nice when mint is out of season (mine’s yet to grow out this year), and it’s a quick way to get a Mojito, carbonation and all. I also tried the Coke Zero and found the taste to be shockingly good for a quick rum and Coke. I think it’s the best Coke Zero I’ve ever tasted (I drink Coke Zero regularly).

I can tell you so far my favorite pods, though, are the Seraphine Seltzer. Fizzy water is something my home bar is always running out of, and the lime seltzer is perfect with gin and a half-lime (for a Gin Rickey).

Keurig envisions the Kold being useful hardware at home cocktail parties: imagine a bowl full of pods and you can “make your own cocktail” by adding a shot of tequila, rum or gin to the mix. I found it to be a good virgin drink-maker, too. While the Kold is certainly a cool device to use at a party, especially (for me) as a seltzer-machine, you won’t hear Simple Cocktails recommend you completely replace yourself as home bartender with the Kold. Someone’s got to add the booze, right?

The Keurig Kold is an interesting piece of bleeding-edge technology that can help make a few cocktails quickly, and I’m curious to see the new and creative ways users and brands get behind the product.*

*Editor’s update: Keurig announced June 7, 2016 that it is shuttering the Keurig Kold line and laying off the 130 employees associated with it. Pods will be available for a discounted rate on the Kold website until they are gone and Keurig is giving Kold drinkmaker refunds at this site. 

Ireland. St. Patrick’s Day special with James and Jenny! Suzy’s Grasshopper story. The smell of smoke? History of the Grasshopper. We make a Grasshopper. We make Greg’s Fancy Grasshopper. Enhanced brown-ness?

Download Episode 80.

If you enjoy the show, please tell us so and write an iTunes review! Thank you!

Recently, we made one of last century’s most iconic cocktails: the Grasshopper. A low-booze, sweet-as-hell, electric green cocktail that has since inspired cookies and cakes that bear it’s name. When people call a food or drink “Grasshopper,” we know it’ll be chocolate and sweet mint.

As I anticipated making the Grasshopper, though, I was reminded of a seminar I attended at San Antonio Cocktail Conference. I heard that some cool craft cocktail bars are taking over-sweet, 1990s or uncool cocktail recipes and redeeming them. Whether they’re just serving them tongue-in-cheek on their menus, or “upgrading” every ingredient to make them cool again, it’s fun to “craft-ize” some older, yuckier cocktails.

I began to imagine how one could make the bright green Grasshopper cocktail out of edgier, craftier ingredients. I stuck with the chocolate-and-mint flavor profile, of course, but stabilized it a little bit and made it boozier and more complex. Here’s what I came up with:

Fancy Grasshopper (by Greg Mays)

• in a mixing glass, add:
• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz Brancamenta (a minty amaro)
• 3/4 oz brown Creme de Cacao
• 2 dashes of black walnut bitters
• stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

You end up with a Grasshopper that’s equally tasty, and nice and balanced in it’s flavors, and as you see from the photo, it takes on the color of the chocolate instead of mint green. You’ll discover it’s equally tasty and suitable for St. Patrick’s Day, though. 

Enjoy!

The Grasshopper cocktail is a pretty interesting study in cocktail trends. It was invented by Philibert Guichet of Tujague’s Restaurant in New Orleans in 1910 for a cocktail competition, which it placed second in. Tujague’s still serves Grasshoppers by the dozens today.

Here’s why the Grasshopper has drifted in and out of “coolness” over the 115 years it’s been around: it’s seen as a starter cocktail, as training wheels, because it actually doesn’t have liquor in it. Now, the Grasshopper is an alcoholic drink, but it isn’t made with vodka, gin, whiskey, tequila, etc, just 2 liqueurs (sweet and low-alcohol) and cream. It’s so sweet and creamy, and it’s basically more a dessert than a cocktail.

But that’s what makes the Grasshopper cool, too. It’s the only drink of its kind, really, especially when you consider its color (creamy electric green) and the famous chocolate-mint flavor. It’s light and ferociously sweet, and it’s just a fun drink. If you’re not having fun drinking, than what’s the point, right?

So here you go, without apology, the Grasshopper cocktail:

Grasshopper

• in a cocktail shaker, add:
• 1 oz of Creme de Menthe (mint liqueur)
• 1 oz white Creme de Cacao (chocolate liqueur)
• 1 oz half-and-half
• shake well with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass

A cocktail guy with The Best Beard in Town….James and Jenny join us for drinks! We taste Slow and Low Rock & Rye. Lisa’s thinks about Journey’s “Faithfully.” The story of Applejack. How to cut citrus for garnishes. We make an Applejack Cocktail. “Women are better shakers.” Bad men.

Download Episode 79.

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In the last few weeks, we’ve had the opportunity to try out Vodka 360 and their line of flavors at Simple Cocktails, including this episode of the podcast and this cocktail. Billing their vodka as “Eco Friendly” because of the brand’s commitment to recycling and other green behaviors at McCormick Distilling (the distiller of V360), the brand also offers recycling initiatives tied the the bottle’s glass and swing-top cap.

Vodka 360 is available in a plethora of flavors (11 to date) which range from the traditional to the obscure…glazed donut or buttered popcorn, anyone? Mostly, though, their flavors are of the fruit or dessert variety. We tried the original (unflavored) vodka, plus Huckleberry, Sorrento Lemon and Double Chocolate flavors.

The standard Vodka 360 is a good buy for $20, though if your brand loyalty is elsewhere in that price range, there’s nothing particularly new in the flavor of 360. The environmental initiatives, or even the cool swing-top cap, might be what call some to switch.

The biggest thing we noticed about the flavored Vodka 360s is that the flavors are very intense, bold and obvious. I feel like there are two options for a vodka with this much flavor. First, if you intend to use this in place of a flavored vodka in a traditional recipe (like for citrus vodka in a Cosmo), the Lemon V360 alone will overwhelm the drink, so you should mix it 50/50 with standard, non-flavored vodka.

Another option, though, is to use these flavored vodkas them as replacements for liqueurs in cocktail recipes. They’ll be higher-alcohol, but the flavor intensity is about at liqueur level. Like many other flavored vodkas, V360 sweetens their flavored varieties, so it’s going to be fun to swap out Double Chocolate V360 for Creme de Cacao in a recipe, for instance.

There is no limit to the stunts that a vodka company may pull to get their piece of the large market share that vodka holds in the liquor world, but to take a less selfish position, in this case, and environmental one, is notable.

Let me know in the comments what you think of V360!

Matthew from Monte’s talks cigars with us. Douche liqueur? We taste Underground Herbal Liqueur. Energy and baby-making. Four Lokos? Greg’s “sticky” game. Morning cocktails (not brunch). We make the Mark Twain Cocktail. Cutting though extension cords. Brian’s got a good Shake Face. Tarty cigars.

Download Episode 78.

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I’ve heard about this drink for a while, but only recently decided to try it out myself. It’s meant to be a sort of bitter-on-bitter experience: a bitter liqueur with a bitter beer. We don’t make a lot of beer cocktails at Simple Cocktails, but if you want to explore some, check out the Caramel Guinness or the Merican Negroni, the second of which is really just a souped-up version of this very cocktail.

I suppose it’s a stretch to call a beer-and-a-shot a cocktail, but I’m going to call it that because I’m serving it already mixed (not a separate shot as a chaser). If you look around the internet, this drink is definitely a thing, but it goes by a variety of names, usually Beer Campari or Campari Spritzer. I’ve decided to settle on the most obvious name, one that will be specific enough that your bartender should know what you mean when you order it:

Campari IPA

• in a frozen beer mug or pint glass, pour 6 oz of very cold IPA beer
• add 1 1/2 oz Campari
• top with the remaining 6 oz IPA (adding it incrementally like this helps the cocktail to mix itself)
• optionally, garnish with an orange slice or serve on the rocks (especially if you don’t have an already-frozen beer mug)

In Albuquerque, you could argue that IPA is our king of craft beers. Our best IPAs here are the driest that I’ve had: when I try IPAs from other states, they usually finish too sweet for me. Adding Campari has this amazing effect on a quality IPA in that it increases both the bitterness and the sweetness of the beer, which to me is perfectly acceptable and the final product remains deliciously balanced. I will certainly be drinking more of these in the future!

Homemade Valentine’s gifts. Peaky Blinders. More friends! We taste Jacob’s Ghost. The boys vs the girls. We make an Our Stanley Cocktail with fruit jelly garnishes. Freak fruits?

Download Episode 77.

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Last month, I did a seminar at San Antonio Cocktail Conference about cigar and cocktail pairing. The gist of the seminar was this: cigars are typically paired with similar-tasting drinks (smoky scotch, spicy rye). If, however, you pair a cigar with an opposite-tasting cocktail, like a creamy or sweet drink, the pairing can enhance the flavors of both the smoke and the drink.

To be quite honest, the attendees weren’t totally convinced that cream-based cocktails were a good fit, but a recent conversation I had confirmed that a creamy cocktail actually pairs quite well with a stogie. The following are some cream-based cocktails I recommend pairing with a cigar, including a Puerto Rican cocktail that’s basically their equivalent of egg nog:

Coquito

• 12 oz coconut milk
• 12 oz evaporated milk
• 12 oz cream of coconut
• 4 oz sweetened condensed milk
• 1 cup spiced rum
• 1 tsp vanilla
• blend ingredients in a blender until well mixed, then bottle and refrigerate until cold
• serve in small glasses and sprinkle cinnamon on the top

Brandy Alexander

• 1 oz of brandy or cognac
• 1 oz dark creme de cacao
• 1 oz cream (half and half)
• shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with nutmeg on top

White Russian

• in a shaker, combine:
• 1 oz vodka
• 1 oz coffee liqueur
• 1 oz cream (half and half)
• shake well with ice and strain into an ice-filled old fashioned glass

…with friends again! Making simple syrup with a Keurig. We taste 3 flavors of Vodka 360: Huckleberry, Double Chocolate and Sorrento Lemon. White people toothpaste. Sticky head to toe. Little Cesar Chavez. Drinking snake blood in Thailand? We make a Kingston Cocktail. “I make a lot of drinks you don’t like, dear.”

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To feed our Simple Cocktails philosophy, we introduce “podcasting with friends.” Hanging out is part of our job. Because more tongues. We taste iichiko Kurobin Shochu. Kampai! We make the Fox River Cocktail. Shaking and stirring a drink and what happens to it. How Greg responded to a shaken Martini. Where chocolate comes from. Fox River is real.

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We recently had a little fun on the podcast at the expense of Twenty Boat Spiced Rum. A rum from Cape Cod? If you heard the episode, however, you noted how quickly the jokes ended when we tasted Twenty Boat.

Distilled by South Hollow Spirits in Massachusetts, who distills both Twenty Boat Spiced and Twenty Boat Amber Rum, this is a spiced rum to try if you see it (it’ll run you about $45 a bottle). With spices like vanilla, cinnamon and chai in the mix, Twenty Boat ends up lead by a strong butterscotch note most of all.

I love to use spiced rums in my rum-and-cokes (made in a 1:3 ratio) because the spices in the rum usually closely pair and complement the flavor or Coke, and Twenty Boat fits the bill. I’ve found that if a spiced rum isn’t strong enough and spiced enough (duh), that it tastes too watery and bland. Twenty Boat doesn’t suffer from wither of these and it comes in at a impressive 95 proof. Because of the high proof, Twenty Boat is a decent sipping rum too, and a good pairing on the rocks with a cigar.

We taste Cinco Vodka and talk about San Antonio Cocktail Conference 2016. Featuring awesome interviews with Pamela Wiznitzer of Seamstress and Lynnette Marrero of Speed Rack!

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Well, this is a first! We have never tasted (or covered) a shōchū here at Simple Cocktails, and it’s fun to continue to explore the world of distilled spirits.

Shōchū is a Japanese spirit distilled from barley, rice, sweet potato or buckwheat. In the case of iichiko, it is distilled from 100% barley, y’know, the same stuff that scotch is distilled from? iichiko retails for $30 and is the best-selling shōchū in Japan. This particular type of iichiko is Kurobin, which means black bottle.

As with anything, it’s always helpful to be able to compare a new distilled spirit to something else, and the best comparison I can make for shōchū is genever, a Dutch spirit which is also sometimes distilled from barley. There are several ways that shōchū is served, including the tea I tried it in, neat or on the rocks. The flavor of shōchū is malty, light and fruity. I tasted it (as pictured above) in the following ratio:

• 2 oz iichiko Kurobin shōchū
• 4 oz boiling water
• 1 tsp sugar (to flavor)

This produces a malty liquor tea with a flavor that’s vaguely reminiscent of a light-tasting high-malt beer. There is a clear asian flavor to shōchū, too, a light freshness that I can’t associate with any particular flavor, but it’s definitely unique and something worth trying.

James Bond VHS library. The easiest way to start a home bar. The Simple Cocktails Buyers Guides. We make a Sweet Pink Gin Cocktail.  Guilty for emptying bottles? Pay attention to your children. Steel drums, no umbrellas. We taste Twenty Boat Spiced Rum. Cape Cod knows….noodle salad.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net.

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We had the opportunity to go to San Antonio for their annual Cocktail Conference recently, and one thing I heard a little bit about in the seminars was “redeeming” cocktails from the 1990s, the over-juiced, over-sweetened decade that just about killed cocktails as we know them.

The Kamikaze is a cocktail/shot that got popular during that Dark Decade and I was excited to recently read 12 Bottle Bar‘s redemptive re-do of the recipe in their book. You see, the usual recipe for the Kamikaze is equal parts vodka, lime juice, and triple sec, which is a little bit like a margarita, but the proportions are off-kilter because the booze ratio is half what it should be. Give this one a try and I think you’ll find it balanced, tart, and refreshing:

Kamikaze (12 Bottle Bar version)

• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 3/4 oz triple sec
• 1/2 teaspoon simple syrup
• 3/4 oz lime juice
• shake and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lime wedge

Enough of the holidays! Eating less and drinking more. A 10-minute detox. we taste Trader Joe’s new tonic water. We are going to Texas this week! Tired of snow. We make a Lawhill cocktail. Old cocktails and their names.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net.

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Happy New Year everyone!

Now that we’re coming back from the holidays, we’re thrilled to announce that we’re going to be heading to Texas next week for the San Antonio Cocktail Conference. We will be hosting a seminar on Cigar and Cocktail pairing – cost is $55 for attendees and we’d love to see you there!

There in the midst of cocktail enthusiasts, we’ll be recording interviews which we’ll use for a special podcast episode just like we did at Tales of the Cocktail last year.

For those who can’t attend, we’re sure you’ll love the podcasts and for now, you can read our blog post on cigar and cocktail pairing! Cheers and we’ll see you in San Antonio!

Little Apple Watch. Christmas is here. Swamp Thing. Electrocution and fear. We taste Tullamore DEW. “The story matters.” We make an It’s Chila Outside. The bitterest of nuts. Try it with brandy! “Happy birthday Jesus!”

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net.

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​Hearing from listeners. We screwed it up: #FAIL. What a Commodore really should be? Here’s the photo. We taste Maraska maraschino liqueur. Greg does things the way Marilyn does things. We refer to a White Martinez. We make a Green Dragon cocktail. Talking about ice. “Valuable” liquor.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

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Tea cocktails are most definitely a thing, from teas designed specifically for cocktails (like the Owl’s Brew) to many ways of infusing tea into booze, even smoking tea into it. Tea can add two great dimensions to a cocktail: lightening the alcohol content or adding a plethora of flavors into a drink that you don’t usually get through alcohol and mixers alone.

10th Avenue Tea is a new tea company with a specific passion for the environment. Available in 4 flavors: Green, Chai, English and Tropical, 10th Avenue gives you a unique option for how to work your tea into cocktails, though: because their tea is concentrated and dry, you can adjust tea strength on the fly and mix drinks quicker than if you were using pre-made teas or teas you have to brew before you use.

I experimented a little bit with 10th Avenue and I think I’ve found the perfect ratio for using their tea in a near-unlimited variety of cocktails: 2 parts spirit, 1/2 part citrus, 1/2 part simple syrup, and then the tea, which I’ve been making with 1 oz of water. Here are the drinks in the photo above:

Midsummer Dream (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, add:
• 2 oz spiced rum
• 2-3 shakes of 10th Avenue Tropical Tea
• 1 oz water
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lime twist

Bourbon Bulldog (by Greg Mays)

• in a shaker, add:
• 2 oz bourbon
• 2-3 shakes of 10th Avenue English Tea
• 1 oz water
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lemon twist

Note I made the exact same drinks above but substituted Green tea for Tropical and Chai for English on a recent podcast episode. They also turned out great, but the Green/Spiced Rum drink was a runaway favorite. 

Tullamore DEW is an actual, ancient whiskey. I say that because, particularly in the United States, Prohibition really short-circuited both the legends and history of all the old whiskey brands. Some refer to legends from long ago featuring George Washington and Lincoln, both many of our modern legendary whiskies (Bulleit comes to mind) are just that – modern.

But back to Tullamore. I always envisioned the dew on the grassy fields of the Emerald Isle when I heard that name, and I’m sure that’s intended, but the DEW in Tullamore is actually names for the original manager of the distillery: Daniel E. Williams. The bottle bears his signature.

Irish whiskies are somewhat of a forgotten element of the spirits world, at least to common folks. They’re an essential element of the Irish Coffee cocktail, but outside of that, it’s usually not called for specifically in a drink. Irish, in my opinion is a real gem though. While I’ve openly struggled with adapting my palate to scotch. The bourbon-Irish transition is an easy one. Irish whiskey is usually distilled more times (traditionally three times vs scotch’s double distillation), and almost never uses peat or smoke in the process. This results in a cleaner, less earthy whiskey that’s more familiar to an American palate.

Tullamore DEW, specifically, has some nice rich caramel with finishes clean and dry. I’ve been enjoying it on the rocks with all nature of holiday-season desserts: pumpkin pie, pecan pie, and pumpkin ice cream. It pairs well with buttery, flaky desserts like this and is a good companion for a cigar, too (because of its cool sweetness).

Ultimately, you owe it to yourself to try an Irish whiskey that’s not Jameson. Not that Jameson is bad in any way, but it’s prolific and just like “big brands” usually do, it appeals to the masses, and isn’t particularly unique. Tullamore DEW is a great example of a historic, classic Irish whiskey and you should definitely have a sip if you get the chance.

A third chair on the Simple Cocktails podcast! We welcome Joan Marie as our scotch expert and taste ​Laphroaig 10, ​Balvenie Double Wood 12 and ​Usquebach 15.

Playlists. Tasting by money and year. “Where’s it from?” We mention Two Fools Tavern. Bottle talk. Sweating in specific places. Dirty jokes. “Don’t disrespect the scotch.” We talk about Colkegan from Santa Fe Spirits. How about a chant? Inhaling fireworks. “Send him scotch more often.”

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

Download Episode 69.

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At times, I can find myself pretty preachy when it comes to cocktails. You’ll hear my sermons on natural ingredients, fresh juice or using minimal ingredients, both here and on the podcast.

One thing you might hear me say is that you don’t need to buy a cocktail mix when your cocktail only has 3 ingredients! A margarita is the perfect example: just tequila, lime juice, and triple sec. Yet you can get Trader Joe’s Margarita Mix, then you just need to add tequila and triple sec to it. Still just 3 ingredients, so why bother with a mix in this case?

The Old Fashioned is one of the oldest cocktails, and it adheres to the 1806 definition: “a stimulating liquor, composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters.” An Old Fashioned is whiskey, bitters, and sugar. So why bottle it if it’s so simple? Well, not everyone has cocktail bitters these days, and sometimes the supposed simplicity of the recipe (from the guy who writes a cocktail blog) isn’t actually so simple for everyone.

There are a few critical details about bottling cocktails, in my opinion:

• Does it make things easier?
• Does it taste as good as freshly made?

I’m glad to say that Bully Boy’s Old Fashioned is, in fact, a yes to both. It smells and tastes precisely as an Old Fashioned should. It is definitely easier to “make.” I told Lisa on the podcast recently that this is the sort of bottle that you set in the middle of the table (hopefully with cigars) at a party and it just…disappears because it’s so easy to pour and drink. We debated back and forth the sweetness of this drink. I found it just right – Lisa felt it was a little sweeter than I usually make.

When I serve this Old Fashioned, I tend to just pour it on the rocks in an Old Fashioned glass and drink. No garnish, no fuss. Which, I imagine, is just the way that Bully Boy intended.

Corkcicle has several fun products available for drinkers, from the original Corkcicle product (to keep wine sealed and chilled) to stainless travel coffee mugs and water bottles. Two of their products stand out the most for readers of this blog are the Whiskey Wedge and Chillsner.

The Whiskey Wedge is a drinking glass that you insert a rubber lid into, then fill with water through the lid. You freeze the whole thing, then when you’re ready for a glass of whiskey, remove the lid and you have a 1/2 glass of ice in a wedge. This allows for cooling of your whiskey with slower dilution.

I find the whiskey wedge to be handy (I like ice in my bourbons and ryes) with a few stipulations. If you’re lazy and don’t keep up with wishing, filling and freezing the glass, you may not use it much. For solo sipping every couple of days at home, the Whiskey Wedge is a nice way to cool and slowly dilute your whiskey. Get one from Amazon here.

The Chillsner is a stainless steel icicle that you freeze, then insert into a bottled beer to keep it cool as you drink. These are pretty readily available in 2-packs for about $17, though Corckcicle lists the 2-pack on their site for $27.

First, let me say that I usually drink beer in a frozen pint glass or mug, so this device has me reverting to drinking out of the bottle. The Chillsner most definitely keeps your beer colder as you drink, plus it adds a larger, smooth lip to your bottle. Once I took an initial sip out of the bottle (so it didn’t overflow) and seated the Chillsner, I found that sometimes I couldn’t seat it right on the bottle, so it would leak a little underneath my lip as I drank. Because these are made from steel, it also ends up making the cost pretty prohibitive, too…you could buy a couple of six packs instead of a couple of Chillsners.

The best fit for this is someone who drinks bottled beer often, but finds their beers getting warm before they finish them. If that describes you, you’ll like the Chillsner!

Fowl liquor. A very normal Thanksgiving. “My people need carbs.” We taste Art in The Age Sweet Potato Vodka. “Happy Thanksgiving back.” A shoutout to the Totally Beverages podcast. We make 2 cocktails with 10th Avenue Tea. Greg mentions Owl’s Brew. “A little frightened from the gobble.”

Here are the 10th Avenue Tea recipes:

Green Tea Daiquiri

• 2 oz spiced rum
• 2-3 shakes of 10th Avenue Green Tea
• 1 oz water
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• garnish with a lime twist

Dirty Bourbon

• 2 oz bourbon
• 2-3 shakes of 10th Avenue Chai Tea
• 1 oz water
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• 1/2 oz simple syrup
• garnish with a lemon twist

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

Download Episode 68.

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Gonzalez Byass is primarily known as a wine family in Spain, though they also own several spirits as part of their portfolio, including Flor de Caña rum. Two of their brandy lines are Soberano and Lepanto.

These two, however, are very different brandies. Soberano 5-year, which is about $30 and distilled in a column still (a pretty new way of distilling), is sweet in the smell and candy-corn-like in the flavor. It has no spice or alcohol burn and would make an excellent Sidecar cocktail.

Lepanto is a 12-year-old brandy, distilled in a copper pot still. The price tag reflects its age ($60) and the flavor is quite different than Soberano, with a stronger and spicier flavor than its younger brother, with burn on the finish and sizzle on your tongue. In a vague way, this brandy reminds me of a very old whiskey-barrel-aged tequila – spice mixed with a freshness from the grapes, slightly sour notes in the nose and a vanilla cream flavor on the finish. For the price, you’d be more likely to sip Lepanto than mix it, but it would make an outstanding, complex cocktail if you decided to shake one up. We initially tasted Lepanto on the Simple Cocktails Podcast.

From what I can tell, the Gonzalez Byass family of brandies are just beginning to be distributed in the United States. If you have a chance to try Soberano or Lepanto, let me know what you think in the comments.

On this very special edition of the Simple Cocktails Podcast, our producer Larry Ahrens interviews us about the origins of Simple Cocktails. We also talk about the our first podcast, Viva Podcast, the first in New Mexico.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

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This is one of the few cognac reviews you’ll find here at Simple Cocktails, but that’s not really intentional. It’s just that cognac can be pricey and is mostly intended for sipping, not cocktail-making. Hennessy is really one of the big names in cognac and has released a limited edition bottle to celebrate 250 years in business, designed by American artist Ryan McGinness.

So what is cognac exactly? Cognac is brandy (distilled from grapes) that is specifically distilled and aged in the Cognac region of France. Like brandy, there are 3 common types of cognac:

• V.S. – very special. The youngest type of cognac.
• V.S.O.P. – very special old pale. An older and more expensive cognac.
• X.O. – extra old. Cognacs in this range usually start at $100, though they can command thousands or tens of thousands of dollars if they’re old or unique enough.

Hennessy has chosen accessibility with this limited edition bottle, it’s the V.S. blend, which retails for the usual $30-40. V.S. is a blend of dozens of cognacs and is aged 8 years. Cognac has long been the preferred accompaniment to a cigar, and this one has the subtle flavor of sweet red wine, and the barrel notes of vanilla and a little bit of caramel. Definitely the right flavor profile for a cigar.

Cognac is not particularly appealing to the younger drinking crowd and I imagine this bottle art is a way of generating interest from them. It glows under a blacklight, a particularly cool effect in a nightclub. The artwork is modern and beautiful too, and if you’re looking to pickup a moderately-priced cognac, there’s not reason not to grab this beautiful bottle with quality cognac inside.

A matured tongue. Bottled cocktails and why they’re nice. “It reminds me of Sunday School.” We taste Bully Boy Old Fashioned. The very first cassette tape Greg owned. Copies of copies of copies of 2Live Crew tapes. We make a Commodore Cocktail….and we have some issues with it. Maybe a lot.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

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I talked about Fall Cocktails on The Morning Brew in Albuquerque last week! Check out the video which includes a Sidecar and Scotch Milk Punch recipe. Get the recipes here.

November 8 is National Harvey Wallbanger Day. The signature cocktail of Galliano Liqueur,  and likely invented in the 1950’s in California, the Harvey Wallbanger grew in popularity throughout the 60’s (especially in California). The Sycamore Den bar in San Diego has given the original recipe a little twist in the Hardly Wallbanger. We also made this cocktail on our most recent podcast. Enjoy!

Hardly Wallbanger

• in a shaker, combine:
• 1 1/2 oz vodka
• 1 oz Galliano
• 2 oz orange juice
• 1/2 oz lemon juice
• shake with ice and strain into an old fashioned glass filled with ice
• garnish with a lemon peel “rose” (pictured) or a lemon wedge

 Special thanks to our sponsor Galliano L’Autentico. 

Greg appeared on The Morning Brew with Friends in Albuquerque today and made two Fall cocktails: the Sidecar and Scotch Milk Punch. If you saw the segment, welcome! Here are the recipes:

Sidecar

• 1 1/2 oz brandy
• 1 oz triple sec
• 1 oz lemon
• rim with sugar
• shake with ice, then strain into a glass
• lemon wedge garnish

Scotch Milk Punch

• 2 oz scotch
• 4 oz milk (the fattier this is, the better the drink will taste)
• 1 tsp sugar
• shake with ice until extremely cold, then strain into a glass
• top with whipped cream and nutmeg

Celebrating all week. Carbs. Halloween candy pairings. Bourbon Curious is on sale for $3. We drink Spirit of America Bourbon. Patriotic drinkers. Harvey Wallbanger stories. We make a “Hardly” Wallbanger for National Harvey Wallbanger Day on November 8. “What kind of feminist are you?” A shaker incident with Lisa, followed by a PSA.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

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At Tales of the Cocktail this year, we were treated to a great cocktail menu from Martin Miller’s Gin, featuring both classics and modern. As soon as I saw the menu, one really caught my eye: a Merican Negroni.

Yeah, I realize “Merican” has taken on a life of its own, particularly on the internet…images of gun-slingin’ pickup truck drivin’ rednecks. But once you get past the name, this is an incredible cocktail and all the ingredients pair perfectly well together, plus it’s one of the few beer cocktails I’ve ever done here.

So here’s the concept: take a bitter Italian cocktail, the Negroni, ice it and top it with another bitter drink: an American IPA. Here are the details:

Merican Negroni

• in a collins glass filled with ice, add:
• 1 oz Campari
• 1 oz gin
• 1 oz sweet vermouth
• top the cocktail with an American India Pale Ale – I used a local brew: Marble Brewery’s award-winning IPA.

Thanks to JCPenny for the glassware used in this photo.

Booze mail. “What kind of a score is this?” 6 base spirits. We taste Lepanto Brandy. Greg mentions “the other brandy” on Instagram – here it is. We make an (original) First Snow cocktail. White….or clear? Greg loves Tillen Farms Bada Bing Cherries. The evils of sugar rims. Taco Bell.

You can send questions and comments to podcast@simplecocktails.net!

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It’s not often that I find myself surprised by a liquor, particularly by a vodka. Once you’ve tried several dozen, they all taste pretty similar to each other.

It caught me off guard, then, when we opened and tasted Skyy for the first time on a recent podcast episode. A pretty common staple in bars across America, Skyy is a 20-year-old brand in a familiar cobalt blue bottle, distilled in San Jose, California.

From what I can tell, Skyy is distilled from wheat, which contributes to the surprising sweetness of the vodka. I find it to have a smooth, sweet vanilla flavor, and it’s got more flavor character than the usual “odorless, flavorless” vodka I’m used to.

Vodka is a subtle product, more so than anything that I’ve encountered. The varieties of taste are wide, but overall, the differences in flavor are sometimes difficult to tell. It’s also a pretty polarizing product, ignored by craft cocktail enthusiasts in some cases and yet beloved by lots of drinkers everywhere. In the case of Skyy, it’s a moderately priced ($15), good-tasting vodka that you can find from coast to coast and it’s also a vodka that can easily find it’s rightful place in your home bar.

Here’s a tasty cocktail I dug up from Gary Regan’s Bartender’s Bible this week. I keep thinking that I’ve done a cocktail with similar ingredients before (maybe gin-vermouth-triple sec?), but I don’t see one on the Recipes page, so I present the Deanne:

Deanne Cocktail

• in a mixing glass, add:
• 1 oz vodka (I used Absolut)
• 1/2 oz sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz triple sec
• fill with ice and stir
• strain into a chilled cocktail glass
• garnish with a lemon twist*

* I learned my lemon twist method from Robert Hess. Once you cut your twist with your channel knife, wrap it gently around your bar spoon and tighten it up with a squeeze. This will give it a great curl that will hold up on the glass.