The Abuelo 7 Años pours a rich copper/gold color with a gold sparkle holding the glass to the sun. The color speaks maturity and complicated resting processes, which I respect but alas, that still pales in comparison to tasting a liquid. The nose is that of a dark sweet brown sugar that makes my stomach yearn for a sweet pastry. I am getting hungry just thinking about taking the sip. There are light hints of aged oak as I swirl the spirit longer in the glass, with just a hint of water to bring out some of the great aromas.

The aroma is almost as enjoyable as the taste but nothing, to me, beats a full course experience so let’s move on to the taste. The sip is made special by the aroma of brown sugar and vanilla wafting into your nose. The aroma continues to move through the nasal passages as the smooth textured liquid sits on your tongue. I rest it there for twenty seconds and have images of the beach, which is pretty odd because I’m not a huge fan of the beach itself (too many people). But this is a vacation you take solo with your taste buds, so it’s all good. Perhaps the experience is best summed up as a beach just behind a sugar cane field, with sweet scents blowing towards you.

The foundation for the Abuelo 7 year old rum is that of brown sugar without a shadow of a doubt. There is an initial attack of oak, almost like a sweet bourbon (Maker’s Mark comes to mind) blended with that of dark toffee that leads itself into a vanilla and brown sugar mid-palate a continued sweet oak finish with lingering brown sugar, toffee, caramel and everything you’d want from your candy store experiences.

I fear adding this spirit to a cocktail will destroy some of its own personal sweet flavors. Perhaps utilized in a cocktail with very little additional flavors, a rum martini or perhaps adding a little Heering Cherry Liqueur to bring it to an entirely different level of sweet deliciousness?

I believe the contents are best served alone in this case. For those with a sweet tooth for vanillas, toffee, caramel and brown sugar will find Abuelo 7 Años at the front of their liquor cabinet for easy access. I suggest this spirit to anyone looking for a rum on the sweeter side of life without being artificially sweetened like those big market brand vodkas and rums; while it maintains a rich flavor it does so in a well aged maturity. You can find the product in the market for USD $23.99 for a 750ml bottle, that’s a great price for the experience.

Early Riser
1-1/2 oz Ron Abuelo Añejo
1/2 oz Jumbie Coconut Splash
1 oz Mango Juice, fresh
1 oz Pineapple Juice, fresh

Pour all ingredients into an iced filled shaker.  Shake vigorously and
strain into a tall glass.  Drop in maraschino cherries and orange slices.
Garnish with a long sugar cane stick.

It’s time to mix another Perfect Pureé cocktail for our Tuesday festivities. The Spicy Rum Runner utilizes the Rum Runner puree and allows you to whip up some fast cocktails. Squeeze a few limes get yourself some quality spiced rum and it’s a party. People have asked me what goes into this “mysterious cocktail” and question me on the ingredients, after telling them it was a mix they wanted to know where to buy it.

Unfortunately, it’s only available in the US due to shipping fresh products with “dry ice.”

Come along with us on the wild red trip.

The final blended cocktail for the week, we’re going with a slightly sour one this week, with a nice defined lemon flavor. We’ve got brandy and rum with some juices and orgeat syrup all blended in a chilly little cocktail, semi-tiki in nature just the cocktail to transition us into a week of tiki (coming next week).

A layered cocktail, pousse café, we’re building chambord, frangelico and Bailey’s Irish cream together. The layering technique used should be slightly different than we did in this video to avoid any clouding effects in the layer. However, the taste should be similar.

The Lash, a spiced rum with some aroma of cinnamon and spices. Nothing like sitting outside gathering in some of the suns rays while sipping on a spicy new rum brand

Prior to my first sniff, I dripped some spring water in the glass to break up the aroma hidden inside the alcohol, the liquid immediately came to life. The nose is highly dominated with almonds and cinnamon, my initial impression brought Amaretto to mind because of the dark sweetness. A second wave of flavors arrive quickly including a buttery oak which may be the vanilla combined with the nutty cinnamon reminded me of a holiday spirit, perhaps something to sip neat around the house during the holiday season.

The flavor profile matches the nose fairly well but brought a few other neat palate pleasing flavors including nutmeg, caramel and vanilla all in a medium bodied warmth of rum. There is a little bit of “warmth” in the taste, not a burn exactly, but a mouth-warming feeling. The thickness was pretty intense considering this is a spiced rum with a sweeter rum attack, a cinnamon almond mid-palate and a creamy buttered cinnamon finish that brings along some mild oak profile.

A spiced rum like this would definitely pair well with the sweetness of Coca Cola or used in a spiced rum recipe in which the cinnamon will work well (probably a cocktail without cinnamon schnapps.) The Lash Spiced Rum is 35% ABV and the spices in the bottle take a front seat with the rum being in the back seat for this ride. As a rum goes, drinking this straight is fun for me (especially as a holiday spirit) but I think it will really make an impact in a cocktail with its pronounced flavor profiles. The Lash defines the word “spice” in spiced rum.

A definite must try for the suggested retail price of USD $29.99 for those looking to experience all the brands and flavors of a spiced rum.

We’re really enjoying the catdaddy product, for those that can gain some access to this I highly suggest it. At Tales of the Cocktail 2010 many folks had their first taste of Catdaddy and were surprised on how well it tastes (as typical “moonshine” products tend to be potent to the extreme).

The Kitty Carlisle is a neat experience with Catdaddy that will probably be loved by both the bourbon drinker and Catdaddy enthusiasts.

The Midori Sour, a super delicious cocktail with a few variant recipes. Even Midori’s website has a different recipe design than the one found on their bottle! What that tells you is their are many fun flavors to experience with Midori’s product that all result in something great to drink. Here are a few recipes we’ve found, which will taste the best on your palate?

A super deliciouis tasting cocktail with a great sense of color. The After Sun Punch comes complete with great sips of thick pineapple goodness with secondary sips of coconut and banana with the thickness of a blended drink without the blender. Bright, happy, delicious.

The floradora cocktail is gin based with a bit of lime and some raspberry liqueur (you may use your favorite brand.) We’ll then top it with ginger ale to add some great ginger flavor, giving you a few unique flavor profiles to taste as you sip. A fun little cocktail with ginger, gin and raspberry tastes and a mild lime finish.

The redheaded slut with a splash of coke, this cocktail keeps a nice structured jagermeister finish with a peach schnapps attack with an ever-so-slight tart carbonated body. And, again, I didn’t name the cocktail, I just made it!

It’s time for a cocktail with something different for everyone. We’re mixing it up with the Hazelnut Chai Heaven, a creamy chai-based cocktail with pretty hazelnut notes, chocolates and hints of cinnamon and spices. Elegant and tasty while not going overboard on sweet flavors, truely giving your face something else to apprecaite in terms of cocktail flavors.

• 2 oz. Leblon Cachaça
• 6 Blackberries
• 1/4 Lime
• 1 tsp Superfine sugar or ½ oz Simple Syrup
• Glass-Rocks

Cut the lime into two wedges. Muddle the lime, blackberries and sugar in a shaker. Fill the shaker with ice and add Leblon Cachaça. Shake vigorously. Serve in a rocks glass. Garnish with a blackberry.

A sour start with an acidic style finish, the AMF cocktail (Adio’s Mother F–cker) has lots of the Long Island Ice Tea qualities intermingled with the Electric Lemonade but may stand alone as its own creation. Lots of alcohols makeup this beverage and too many may be unwise–drink wisely and slowly!

A recipe designed by a viewer thats very birth was to show off the Creme de Cassis in a cocktail. The Lemon-Berry Sherbet brings lemon juice, raspberry vodka and a soda water into the cassis mix to design something slightly sweet and tasty. See if you can find the “tootsie roll” center in this cocktail.

Açaí Mojito

2 ounces VeeV Açaí Spirit
¾ ounce simple syrup
4 lime wedges
6 mint leaves
5-6 blueberries (optional)
Club soda

Tear and slap mint leaves to release oils and drop into the shaker.  Strain into an ice-filled rocks glass, top with club soda and stir well.  Garnish as desired

Sparkling Acai Sangria

1 ½ ounces VeeV Açaí Spirit
½ ounces St. Germain
½ ounce orange juice
White wine
Top with sparkling wine
Fresh fruit, for garnish

Build in an ice-filled rocks glass and stir well.  Garnish with the fresh fruit.

Superfruit Margarita

1.5 oz VeeV Acai Spirit
.75 oz blanco tequila
1 oz fresh lime juice
.5 oz simple syrup
.5 oz POM juice (optional)

Lime wheel, for garnish
Shake all ingredients well with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass. Garnish with the lime wheel.

Acai Lemonade

1.5 oz VeeV Acai Spirit
Lemonade
Spash of cranberry juice
Lemon wheel,  for garnish
Build in an ice filled highball glass and stir well. Garnish with the lemon wheel

We’re experimenting with our first Cachaça tasting. We’ve not really had too many products from Brazil on the show, but this sugar cane distilled spirit is definitely new and exciting to us! We’re tasting Cachaça 51, Leblon and Boca Loca.

A nice mildly potent cocktail utilizing a gold rum, something we don’t see very often. A bit of apple juice, a lime twist and some chambord and you get an elegant rum cocktail with a tad bit of lightly oaked raspberry taste and an apple finish.

Here is a little video tasting of chai liqueur, something that arrived for review in the mail this week. I didn’t get a chance to try it throughout the week so I busted it out before nightfall last night and gave it a good ol’ taste. This is my first experience with Chai Liqueur of any type.

Not much to say here, this is just a stupid crazy mixture of alcohol, I’d not even call this exactly a “cocktail.” It’s a bit of everything all put together in what can only be a potion of sorts, something you’d think a witch would brew. But, it makes for good video!

A fruit flavor bombardment in your mouth, the Grape Ape covers a ton of fruity flavors while bringing a slightly citrus finish. Flavors that transition from orange to black cherry into a slightly acidic ending, nothing but fruitiness in this cocktail.

The Tropical tini is a slightly sweet tropical beverage with pineapple rum and vanilla vodka and a slight splash of orange juice. This drink is a pretty candy-like flavor of pineapple, if there was a tropical mildly sweet candy this would be it, the Tropical Tini!

While I admit the passion and drive of these smaller companies really motivates me and my own goals, I don’t want to confuse great motivation with great taste; I’ll let my taste buds do the talking. Twenty 2 Vodka pours clear as any vodka should and brings a light citrus nose with a very subtle burn. It seems Twenty 2 is distilled down a few times as its very clean and crisp on its bouquet and that is often times desirable to the US vodka drinker.

Sipping Twenty 2 brings back some of the light hints of citrus I found in the aroma with light ethanol taste and a quick clean finish. The liquid is fairly light bodied with no offensive bite or sour-taste which I often find in a rougher vodka style (especially when spending under $12 on the “cheap stuff.”) The clean finish is sexy and smooth yet I’ve begun to seek a bit more flavor in my vodka. Some people call them “impurities” but I like to call it “taste.”

Twenty 2 doesn’t have a lot of taste, it is obviously designed as a “neutral grain spirit” like most vodka brands and I highly doubt their goal was to create a flavorful spirit. Maine.biz interviewed the owners and they mentioned the cost is roughly $26.99–a bit steep when it comes to purchasing a vodka at the liquor store. It’s possible to get a few major brands for $19 or less and a couple brands like Tito’s Handmade American Vodka for USD $14 in New Hampshire.

I’d be more than willing to purchase Twenty 2 Vodka for $26 because it’s a well crafted brand that has created a neutral spirit and accomplishes its goals with 100% hand crafted perfection. When it comes down to picking a spirit and putting money on it, I’m highly supportive of the smaller brands that put their love and energy into their brand. I’ll pay USD $10 additional knowing I’m getting a product with personalized touches (yes, they hand-write the bottle & batch number on the label) in small batched production.

Buying a product from smaller brands that is distilled in smaller batches often times results in perfection. They strive to create a crystal clear vodka with a smooth taste and crisp finish. Job well done, I’ll support you with my hat off and my glass full of Twenty 2 Vodka.

The June Go Citrus Splash, a recipe from about.com that has both mango rum and pineapple rum. A nice tropical cocktail with pineapple and bright mango with hints of citrus and a little pontency in the finish. If you find it a bit potent, top some additional orange juice in the glass.

Again, I appologize ahead for the audio quality, this time the wrong mic was used to record the show and that mic was too far away from the table. Today we’re tasting a couple raspberry liqueur/schnapps in a 3-bottle tasting/review. We’ve got Chateau Monet, Chambord and Raspberry di Amore all at slightly different price points.

A few months ago we started experimenting with the Flip HD and video making “on the fly.” A few people have been unable to find them as easily because they were not in our typical stream of content. This one, however, is now part of our normal content. I’m quickly tasting Vesica vodka against Twenty 2 vodka and showing the viewers the patio we’ve been having bulit–a few folks have asked.

A shooter that’s probably supposed to have some gummy bear taste to it, but I’ve found it tastes like cranberry and raspberry mixed together with a bit of burn. However, that doesn’t mean it’s not a worthwhile beverage to taste, it’s just not what I’d call a real “gummy bear” flavor.

Give it a try, see what you taste.

We’re mixing a Perfect Puree recipe today using Perfect Puree Classic Sweet & Sour. The recipe is called the Easy Premium Margarita and its primary goal is to make my life easier mixing. It’s also got a great taste and flavor and that never hurts!

Easy Premium Margarita

• 2 oz. Beverage Artistry® Classic Sweet & Sour, thawed
• 1 oz. Premium tequila
• 1/2 oz. Cointreau®
• 1/2 lime, squeezed

Method:
1. Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.
2. Shake and pour into a margarita glass filled with ice.
3. Garnish with a wedge of lime and sprig of mint.
4. Serve.

A custom cocktail designed by a viewer, as it should be done. Utilizing a spirit we’ve never had a chance to experience before until now: CatDaddy Carolina Moonshine. This may be hard for some folks to get online or at stores but we had to give it a try. You’ll need some POM Wonderful Pomegranate Cherry Juice as well, which may be easier to find for those that have access to POM products. Then the soda… make it up as you go!

While we’re not sure how much of an italian ice flavor you’ll get, a juice dark fruit cocktail with a slightly sour orange bite in the finish is a fun experience. With a presentation that looks like a charcoal color with sweet raspberries and orange, you’ll want to experience the cocktail for all its flavors and fun. For soda, utilize the SodaStream Lemon/Lime soda as we did, or top with sprite instead.

Tropical coconut flavors with some sweet pineapple attack and a slight bite from the cranberry in the finish. There are probably many ways to create the Bay Breeze but so far the sweeter juice filled fun of this recipe is pretty delightful. Definitely worth checking out!

We’re finishing off our series of grapefruit cocktails with the Zombie Prince! This cocktail has both a gold and light rum while bringing out the grapefruit, lemon and orange juice. A sour cocktail with bite, sours and a nice rum flavor, the Zombie prince might be more fitting for those that like a subtle grapefruit that doesn’t go over the top.

In this tequila tasting we’re matching our last winner, Hornitos against Paqui and Semental’s silver variaty to see if anyone can beat the lower-cost plata alternative. Don’t get us wrong, all of these are great contenders and should be considered for a variety of taste choices, we’re just going to let you know which taste best in our blind tasting.

We’re tasting Captain Morgan, Spiced Jack No. 94, Captain Morgan Private Stock and Sailor Jerry against the Magnificent Bastard cocktail. We’re mixing the Magnificent Bastard cocktail, which looks like this:

Magnificent Bastard:

A sweet raspberry attack with a fake blueberry like flavor in the mid-palate ending with a sweet creamy blueberry filling. The layering brings a nice perfect finish to the shooter and the presentation isn’t half bad either. Definitely a must-try for those that have blueberry schnapps handy!

What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, that’s what they say right? Today we’re back on the Campari cocktail with the Camp Grenada. I’ve not learned my lesson with the first campari cocktail so I’m going back at it with more bite, using grapefruit juice as well. We’ve got some 7up and pineapple juice to help persuade our taste buds to handle the bitter bites and sour sours.

This cocktail seems to be full of juices, but you still retain some of the flavors of tequila. The juices, combined, create a uniquely slight sour/tart taste while bringing some citrus and tropical notes. Granted, we did change the recipe a bit with too much Grenadine, but it gave a nice tequila sunrise like effect!

Creme de cassis meets Twenty 2 vodka and grapefruit juice. This recipe will mute a bit of the grapefruit bite and bring a slightly sweet attack with a well-defined grapefruit backbone and a bite to the finish. While not as sharp as straight grapefruit juce, the Boozy Rouge lets you experience the sour style cocktail.

Today begins a week of grapefruit cocktails, we got some grapefruit juice so we want to bust through some user submissions using the juice. So, expect some sour bites to this weeks show. The hemingway cocktail is a mild version of a sour bite, the maraschino liqueur takes center stage it seems.

Today we’re making the Canadian Cherry recipe while testing the cocktail against a few brands of Canadian Whisky including: Canadian Mist, Black Velvet Reserve and Canadian Club Reserve.

The Canadian Cherry

1 1/2 oz. Canadian Whisky

1/2 oz. Cherry Brandy

1 1/2 tsp. Lemon Juice

1 1/2 tsp. Orange Juice

Shake all ingredients and strain into an old-fashioned glass over ice cubes. Moisten rim of glass with a cherry brandy and serve.

This tropical cocktail is a recipe we’ve worked up ourselves and are quite proud to show it off. Complete with a coconut vessel for the contents of the drink. We’re using fresh passion fruit with coconut rum, dark rum, vita coco with passion fruit coconut water and a bit of simple syrup to lightly sweeten.

Very refreshing without over-doing any sweetness; super authentic taste and a fun time making it.

A coffee cocktail, but this one’s chilled for the season. A great after dinner drink for those that don’t want a hot-coffee cocktail. We’re focusing on the Godiva Caramel Liqueur with a balance of añejo tequila in the finish with the sweetness of a coffee liqueur mingling in the espresso coffee.

It’s time for a super sweet attack of flavor with a subtle bite of grapefruit in the finish, it’s the Sex on The Pool Table cocktail. Once again, we’re not sure what the name is doing for the drink but so be it, it’s a good drink. Unfortunately, the coloring on this cocktail could use some work as the brown “dirty water” look isn’t the most extremely appealing of presentations.

Big time blueberry, that’s today’s cocktail. A drink with more blueberry schnapps than should be legal! The Liquid Draino Cocktail isn’t overly-potent (as the name suggests) but does contain a big blast of blueberry with hints of rum and tequila for style. For those using clear blueberry schnapps, this cocktail may look like water. You may try a reposado tequila or gold rum to change that up a bit.

The Alaskan Oil Slick is a cool little blue curacao based cocktail with some peppermint schnapps and a layer of jagermeister on top! You’ll get some nice orange zest taste with a bit of herbal jager and a big finish of peppermint–like you had a cocktail and followed it up with a little tooth brushing!

We’re tasting three Canadian whiskies at three different price points and ages to see if it makes any difference at all. Canadian Mist, Black Velvet Reserve and Canadian Club Reserve are in the house.

We’re making the Cherry Bomb with six different chocolate liqueur brands. We’re utilizing Bols, Llords, Dekuypers, Godiva, Arrow and Hiram Walker Chocolate Liqueur.

This recipe was not the best of performers but it sure was fun trying!

The Caramel Mint Martini is a minty after-dinner cocktail that aims to remind the consumer of a “thin mint” cookie with sweet caramel notes. You’ll find a nice smooth texture, a bit of vodka potency wrapped in a chocolate-like caramel/mint core. Presentation isn’t so shabby either!

We’re mixing up a margarita using Margarita Texas Restaurant Style Margarita Mix (woah, that’s a name for you!). The goal is to test its taste against what we believe would be an authentic style flavor. We’re finding strong acidity and sours as if we used actual limes with a hint of sweetness. The mix allows the tequila to show through the cocktail and become the backbone of the drink and allows for subtle orange hints.

Vanilla vodka is the core focus in this cocktail with slight hints of sour and citrus to bring a bit more of a dynamic taste. We’re using crushed ice and super chilling this slightly sweet cocktail to bring out some of the refreshing qualities of this beverage. A great after dinner drink or sipping on a hot day.

Vesica Potato Vodka

I’d give you the rundown of the color in my glass but Vesica Potato Vodka looks like most other vodka brands–crystal clear. We’ll move right into the scent, which I could smell from about three feet away, a mildly sweet taste it seems but let’s dive right in!

While the initial smell is that of ethanol, it’s a slightly sweeter nose with hints of grass. There is almost no burn on the nose when you put your face right into the glass. There is a very subtle eucalyptus and mint on the tail end of the nose. As I’d expect, the taste was a bit light bodied watery texture, not as bold as a few other vodka’s I’ve had yet it leaves almost no potent punch on the palate.

Sipping this at room temperature would no doubt bring out the alcohol-burn sensation on the tongue yet I only get a slight tickle. The finish is refreshing, with a little bit of the eucalyptus hints and a bright cold fade away. While it’s designed as a potato vodka, I get a bit more rustic potato from the Absolut taste. The Vesica acts almost more mature and tasty with a finish that doesn’t make you shake your head from a potent punch.

Vesica arrives in three sizes: 750ML, 1L, and 1.5L at 40% ABV but there doesn’t seem to be a website built for the brand yet, perhaps it’s just too new. You’ll find Vesica Vodka retailing for $19.99 for 1.75L; $11.99 for 1Liter; $9.99 for 750ml. This is definitely a great tasting vodka served neat with maybe a bit of a chill to it and comes in at a daring USD $9.99 for an average bottle! You’re going to be hard pressed to find a vodka that can meet or exceed the quality for $9 a 750ml. My only fear is that Vesica will lose some of its character if chilled too cold or with too much ice.

We’re tasting chocolate liqueur, six different brands flavors and types to taste the differences. Bols, Llords, Dekuypers, Godiva, Arrow and Hiram Walker. Believe it or not, there are huge differences between each brand of Chocolate Liqueur, enough so that this tasting might prove beneficial to those “on the edge.”

The bloody alligator is a shooter with character, an impression that really shows itself off in crowds. If you’re looking for a cocktail with a midori flavored herbal jagermeister, this shooter is for you! Presentation and flavor but the chambord seems to be a bit lost in this cocktail–it’s there for flair.

This cocktail episode covers the Añejo Highball with five unique brands of Añejo Rum including: Brugal, Matusalem, Pampero, Don Q and Havana Club.

The Añejo Highball

• 1 1/2 oz Anejo rum
• 1/2 oz orange curacao
• 1/2 oz lime juice
• 2 dashes of Angostura bitters
• 2 oz ginger beer
• lime wheel for garnish
• orange slice for garnish

The Tension Head Cocktail is a cool little cocktail with acidity of an American Lemonade with undertones of black current. We’re building a cocktail with hpnotiq, Vesica Potato Vodka, lime juice, simple syrup and some creme de cassis. I tried to find a link for Vesica Vodka’s website, but there was nothing on the Net yet. It must be super new!

It’s time to create a dr. pepper cocktail! We’re building a canadian whiskey core spirit with peach schnapps and filling with Dr. Pepper as a topping. The soda plays a bit awkward with the peach schnapps, in my opinion, but is definitely an experience to try for those Dr. Pepper fans.

A drink that will make you salivate for dinner! The Chocobo cocktail brings lots of acids, slightly sour taste with a big cranberry backbone. The cointreau and cognac are almost lost in this cocktail, but maintain a nice smooth consistency that makes the Chocobo easy to consume.

Please excuse the red-tint to the video, I have no idea how that happened but “it is what it is” and the next one will hopefully be less …. red.

We’re tasting some old aged rum, añejo if you will or “ron añejo,” from many different areas of the islands it seems. We’ve got Brugal, Matusalem, Pampero, Don Q Grand Añejo and Havana Club.

We’re busting out the old fashioned recipe, Tequila Añejo Style! We’re making a few of them, each with an añejo tequila including: Riazul, Tres Generaciones, El Gran Jubileo and Partida.

Tabasco sauce with vodka and triple sec. Yup, tabasco sauce… again. This drink is going to light your mouth on fire with spice. You’ll probably want to drink this shot fast so you can avoid access burn. The triple sec doesn’t seem to add much to the cocktail from our experience.

Bringing a pile of alcohols together into a single drink, the Dizzy Buddha. We’re bringing together a few rums with vodka, southern comfort, amaretto, midori, banana liqueur and a bit of pineapple juice to bring the texture and grace. The sheer amount of spirits in this drink should give you pause, tread lightly!

Vodka silently dances with some X-Rated Fusion and cranberry juice. The balance of passion fruit and cranberry juice works well in this drink, to bring a slightly sweet passion attack with a drier cranberry juice finish. A delicate, delightful and light little cocktail.

A slightly tropical appeal, the coconut and tequila bring you to the islands while the sweeter citrus notes of the lemon/lime soda and orange juice keep it light and refreshing. This cocktail might be a good introduction for those that don’t like the potency of a “big” tequila drink.

It’s time to get refreshing, we’re busting out the New Amsterdam gin and bringing in some Orange Juice and Ginger ale with a hint of lime to add some complex tasting experiences. A great cocktail for someone looking to expand their gin recipe selection while cooling off on a warm day. New Amsterdamn was the direction we went, but we encourage you to use your favorite gin.

We’ve made our way to the Añejo Tequila Tasting! Although tequila isn’t Jennifer’s favorite spirit, she did a good job representing for those that have no experienced the añejo style of tequila. We’re tasting four brands including: Riazul, Tres Generaciones, Partida and El Gran Jubileo.

On to the tasting! After pouring the Xanté, I’m met with a rich copper fluid with small glinting hues of gold. Sexy indeed and very cognac “looking.” However, it only takes a few seconds before the sweet pears start to rise from the snifter to my nose. To taste Xanté, I start first with a room temperature glass to see how it reacts to my palate, while Xanté suggests a cooler temperature.

At a normal room temperature you will get a bit of the alcohol sensation near the tail end of the sip and on the nose, but nothing too surprising considering it is a spirit with 38% ABV. The nose is very nice, the scents of juicy over-ripened pears with fresh natural sugars. A deeper dive into the glass brings out some of the cognac and light oaks–a nice dynamic to the nose.

The taste is as you’d expect, a sweet juicy flavorful bite of pear. A bright fruity attack on the tongue followed by a milder mid-palate with a cinnamon cognac finish that lingers. Xanté is definitely warm and inviting with a good healthy body and viscosity to the liquid that brings with it hints of heat when sipped warmer, as I would sip my cognac.

As I would expect, when chilled I receive a bit more bright fruit flavors with a slighter sweet attack and finish that ends in a vanilla cream. There is still a slight hint of alcohol burn but is too clean and refreshing to last long.

A bottle of Xanté will probably cost you USD $35 to USD $40 which isn’t cheap for a pear flavored spirit. However, this isn’t a simple schnapps, this a dynamically cognac-like experience for those with a sweet tooth. I highly suggest pear-fans check out Xanté as it’s going to really show off a new experience in spirits that you may not have had a chance to put to your mouth.

Here is our video if you want to see our “live-unboxing”

A simple sunday with a simple shooter, we’re talking about the Blue Tequila with two ingredients, Blue Curacao and Tequila. We’re using Replublic Tequila (silver) and Senior Curacao of Curacao Tequila for this shooter.

The keelhaul mojito is a hand-crafted muddled mint, spiced rum and some blue curacao. We’re using a few brands of spiced rum including: Captain Morgan Tattoo, Sailor Jerry’s, The Kraken and Jenkin’s Spiced Rum. You can checkout the recipe at Mixdrinkipedia.com.

A basic and classic cocktail from the early years, the mint julep. We’re muddling some mint the old school way, adding a little simple syrup (‘sugar and water’) and three full ounces of lovely bourbon. You can create it as you want it, with the measure of bourbon that suits you.

So simple ang so old-school classic.

We’re on our Beverage Artistry kick again, this time with a full carton of the perfect puree. It’s spring time, so it only makes sense to begin wipping out our mojito-like cocktails. We chose Señor Frogs Plata Tequila for this recipe, bring a bit of fresh squeezed lime to sour it up and club soda to add some zing.

We’re on our Beverage Artistry kick again, this time with a full carton of the perfect puree. It’s spring time, so it only makes sense to begin wipping out our mojito-like cocktails. We chose Señor Frogs Plata Tequila for this recipe, bring a bit of fresh squeezed lime to sour it up and club soda to add some zing.

Learn how to mix the best sour mixes, tips on creating large batches of cocktails for parties and a few tips about buying products that have marketing labels like premium, ultra-premium, super premium… what do we buy?

Here is a video with Bobby Gleason:

A citrus like cocktail with blueberry flavors and a slightly vodka taste. The color is crazy considering the amount of cranberry juice used, there isn’t really any red to this drink. It looks more like a grey/blue color but brings some neat flavors along with it.

This week we are tasting the spiced rum and we’re doing it four times with four unique blends including: Captain Morgan Tattoo, Sailor Jerry’s, The Kraken and Jenkin’s Spiced Rum. We put Jenkin’s into the mix to test are palates against a low grade of spiced rum.

We’re making the Grass Skirt recipe for each american gin we’re tasting, that list includes: No. 209 Distillery, Bluecoat, Amsterdam and Brave Spirit’s Standing Guard Gin.

Grass Skirt

• 1 1/2 oz. Gin
• 1 oz. Cointreau
• 1 oz. Pineapple Juice
• 1/2 teaspoon of grenadine

Mix all ingredients in an iced shaker for 10 seconds and pour into a chilled Cocktail Glass. Serve.

A tropical shooter, with cranberry juice, midori melon liqueur and banana liqueur. All layered beautifully on top of each other to look somewhat like a traffic light, tropical style! You may not taste too much cranberry but you’ll definitely get some banana and sweet melon flavors.

A refreshing cocktail for a hot spring day or to kick off summer. The 501 Blues has plenty of blue color from the Blue Curacao with a neat blueberry finish from the blueberry schnapps (or, in our case, Blueberry Vodka). A bit of sweet/sour mix adds a nice acidic bite while the sprite (or our sodastream lemon/lime) brings a bounce citrus carbonation.

This cocktail show, a bit long due to some outtakes, is a more dry fruity flavor that may fit well into a springtime activity. The cocktail starts a bit tart pomegranate with a sweet açaí mid-palate and a dry blueberry finish. The three fruity flavors are very prominent in this cocktail yet are rarely paired together given not everyone drinks pomegranate or açaí juices.

If you’ve enjoyed Maraschino Liqueur in the past or are looking for something that shows off the liqueur without overbearing the cocktail, the Tahitian Pearl is a great selection. You’ll get the green organic-like taste from this classic cocktail with a nice lemonade-style balance.

We’re bringing midori together with Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. Combine that with a nice carbonated ginger ale and you’ve got the Spiced Melon. This may be the first time one has brought midori together with a spiced rum, perhaps there are other recipes that combine these two ingredients but we have yet to see them.

If you’re looking for a mildy spicy (not hot) melon flavored cocktail, this is worth a taste.

The taste of butterscotch with the acidic punch of redbull with a two-step process shooter. You’ll build your butterscotch and whisky then drop that in a glass of redbull and drink. You’ll get some flavors and some caffeinated energy from this shooter.

American Gin, what’s the difference between a gin made in America and the long understood London Dry version? We’ve noticed a lot more citrus aroma’s in these gins compared to other London styles, but it doesn’t end there! Which do we like the best?

Gin’s in the tasting include: No 209 Distillery, Bluecoat, Amsterdam and Brave Spirit’s Standing Guard Gin.

Time to make five reposado tequila cocktails, we’re creating the La Bomba to taste test the brands. We’ll make the La Bomba Tequila with five brands of Reposado: Tres Generaciones, Don Julio, El Gran Jubileo, Partida and 100-proof Dulce Vida.

You can checkout the recipe build on Common Man Cocktails as well. Get the recipe on MixDrinkipedia.com.

Time to get jacked up on coffee, we’re creating a coffee cocktail using Godiva Mocha Liqueur. This is a coffee liqueur with a nice elegant chocolate flavor which reminds us of a darker European chocolate. Imagine a deeper chocolate over that of a milky chocolate and you’re heading to the realm of Café Godiva.

A true spring cocktail, design specifically to highlight spring and the Bols Genever product line. We took this recipe from a mixologist and made it common man style, yet you’ll still need to pickup a bottle of Bols Genever if you want to give this a try as we’re tasting it here. However, plenty of great spirits may work in conjunction to these fresh fruits.

Most importantly, enjoy spring for those that are currently entering the season.

Looking for something to drink after dinner that should fit your sweet tooth? Perhaps the Chocolate Copabanana is something you’d be interested in, utilizing banana liqueur, chocolate milk and some Irish Cream. We’ll top it with a little whip cream and chocolate shavings to garnish.

We’re creating the cocktail we reference all the time in the show, the Midori Sour. Oddly enough, we’ve not utilized this recipe before on the show or at home off the show. We’re souring up the midori with some lemon and bringing a beautifully intense consistency with a bit of egg white.

While I have yet to compose my thoughts to virtual paper, I thought it would be fun to do an on-the-spot “unboxing” review of Xanté Pear Liqueur which arrived late last week for review. The Xanté product was recently introduced in the United States after having been on the market in Europe for 10-years. Xanté is a Pear Liqueur that’s combined with selected cognac to build something more elegant than a flavorey schnapps.

If they get their marketing done right, this product should be found everywhere in the next few years because it’s definitely a fun little liqueur with sweet tastes; the US market loves sweet tastes, otherwise we’d never have put Bubblegum vodka on the shelfs and all the other crazy flavors!

We’re tasting reposado tequila, five brands including: Tres Generaciones, Don Julio, El Gran Jubileo, Partida and the 100-Proof Dulce Vida. We tried to get a cross-section of pricing and style but each tequila ranged from USD $40 to USD $50 so we didn’t get as big of a price bracket as we wanted.

Oh, it’s time for the heat! It’s time for the pain! It’s time for the Flatliner, pousse-cafe (layered) shooter with Tabasco sauce. The layering is for effect, coolness and flavor. The name comes from the neat “flat line” across the middle of the drink, because after this you may feel like you’re flatlining.

We’re making the Absinthe Curacao Frappe Cocktail with four brands of absinthe. La Clandestine is a blanche (white) absinthe styles while the La Feé and Veux Carré are Verte (green) variants. The Lucid is considered a Verte but it sure looks and tastes more like a Blache.

Absinthe Frappe Cocktail

• 1 oz. Absinthe
• 1/2 Blue Curacao
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp Orange Juice
• Slice of Orange as Garnish

Beverage Artistry El Corazon using Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Simple Syrup and some lemon juice. Flavorful, colorful and delicious with a good balanced fruit flavor. Flavors of pomegranates, blood oranges, passion fruit with oaky hints–very dark berry juice. Juicy!

This episode brings the chocolate in the form of Godiva’s Chocolate liqueur along with some Kapali Coffee Liqueur, Ryan’s Irish Cream and Chambord. Chocolate lovers rejoice as this is a tasty little treat for those with a sweet tooth. This video was supposed to launch tomorrow but somehow I got them out-of-order so the reference to “ipad” and “yesterday” was meant to be said on Thursday, oh well!

The ’61 Imperial, a cocktail with potentcy that brings a bunch of crazy flavors together. Some folks will probably be turned off by the taste while others may like its punch in the face. You’ll get some pineapple, banana and perhaps even a bit of a coconut taste when sipping. If anything, it looks pretty bad ass.

Also, I just noticed there are some outtakes at the end of the video–thanks Jennifer!

Two of my favorite spirits mixed together: tequila and bourbon. This cocktail brings the carbonated orange flavors to that of a rich agave (using the Corzo silver) and a mild bourbon finish. If you’re a fan of the tequila flavors and love a nice bourbon, this fairly potent cocktail (considering it’s half orange soda) is definitely something try.

We’re louching and tasting absinthe, four brands of absinthe both green and white: La Feé, Veux Carré, Lucid Superior and La Clandestine. La Clandestine are blanche (white) absinthe styles while the La Feé and Veux Carré are Verte (green) variants. The Lucid is considered a Verte but it sure looks and tastes more like a Blache.

You may also want to checkout AbsintheOnTheNet for information on accessories, glasses and fountains. Also, hit up Wormwood Society if you’re looking for more information on Absinthe.

I’m doing a flight of godiva chocolate liqueurs tonight, including Mocha, Caramel, Chocolate and White Chocolate. Some are awesome, some are good and so on and so forth. Do you have a favorite Godiva Chocolate Liqueur?