I’m playing around with plugins for wordpress here and thought I’d use it as an opportunity to pull together some of the cocktails we’ve enjoyed in the last few months… Click on any one of the pictures to start the slide show!

This cocktail was originally developed for a Thursday Drink night, but I’ve been enjoying it over the past few weeks and thought I would share the recipe with y’all.

Summer is finally upon is, and what says [...]]]> As promised, this next cocktail post is, in fact a cocktail post (albeit a little later than originally planned!).

This cocktail was originally developed for a Thursday Drink night, but I’ve been enjoying it over the past few weeks and thought I would share the recipe with y’all.

Summer is finally upon is, and what says summer better than tequila and lime  — with a bit of a twist!  This cocktail makes use of falernum (a tasty gingery, spicy, limey syrup that you can either buy or make — homemade is definitely worth it!).  The falernum shakes things up just a little bit, marrying well with the fresh, earthy notes of the reposado tequila.  I guess you could make this with Blanco tequila, but trust me here and use the Reposado!

You can make the basic recipe, which is delicious as-is, but there’s also a couple of mods along the way which will completely kick things up a notch — it’s all up to you!!!

Afternoon with the Padre

• 1.5 oz. Reposado Tequila (I used Herradura, but El Jimador is also good at a lower price)
• 0.5 oz. Yellow Chartreuse
• 0.5 oz. Falernum
• 1.0 oz. fresh lime

Shake with ice, strain over cracked ice in an old-fashioned glass

Mods:  If you really enjoy the spicy-clovey notes in the falernum you can add a couple of dashes of Jerry Thomas Decanter bitters.   To really bump up the smokiness, try floating 0.25 oz. Del Maguey Crema de Mezcal on top

This cocktail is rum heavy (three of them!), each bringing something to the party.  The addition of Green Chartreuse balances out the molasses notes of the Cruzan Blackstrap, and results in a nice smooth yet complex cocktail.  A small amount of elderflower syrup adds a slight bright/tart note, and [...]]]> Another Thursday Drink night, this time Dark Rums!

This cocktail is rum heavy (three of them!), each bringing something to the party.  The addition of Green Chartreuse balances out the molasses notes of the Cruzan Blackstrap, and results in a nice smooth yet complex cocktail.  A small amount of elderflower syrup adds a slight bright/tart note, and the gomme syrup adds a nice silky texture (if you dont have it, try the cocktail without it).  If you don’t have the Cruzan Blackstrap you can play around with other rums, but it really does have a unique flavour.

The Velvet Underground

• 3/4 oz. Cruzan Blackstrap rum
• 3/4 oz. El Dorado 15 year old (or other good quality Demerera)
• 3/4 oz. Goslings Black Seal
• 3/4 oz. Green Chartreuse
• 1 tsp Elderflower cordial
• 1 tsp Gomme syrup
• 3-4 dashes Jerry Thomas bitters

Stir with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with an orange twist

This cocktail was originally developed [...]]]> This cocktail is cross-posted on Rod Phillips’ blog over at liquorplus.ca.  He’s started up more sippable fun with a new weekly feature called Thirsty Thursday, and this was the cocktail recipe I sent his way for this week’s installment.  Make sure you bookmark him and check back weekly for more tasty cocktails!

This cocktail was originally developed for a Thursday Drink Night where the theme was Scotch.  (I did post the original back in January), but decided to tweak it a bit.  The ingredients are a little bit tropical, a little bit New World, and a little far-flung in general, hence the name of the cocktail!

The starting point was the citrus/scotch pairing in the Blood and Sand, but that’s about where it stops (its not an equal parts cocktail).   Some sweetness was added through the sortilage, and the pink grapefruit juice adds some tart without too much pucker.  When tweaking the recipe, I also added a small amount of elderflower syrup and a few drops of my homemade grapefruit bitters to add a little more brightness.  The Angostura helps tie everything together.

The cocktail itself is classic in style, but is a little bit on the sweeter side.  My goal was to develop a Scotch-based cocktail that was accessible enough for non-cocktail drinkers, but had some complexity to it to make in an interesting sip.  I also switched out the Arran Malt whisky for Blended Scotch in this version to make it easier to make at home.  For those  in Victoria here who want to make it at home, all the ingredients are available locally, with the exception of my homemade grapefruit bitters, however, Bitter Truth makes a version which Carmen at Charellis has been bringing in.

The Travelling Scot:

• 1.5 oz. Blended Scotch
• 0.5 oz. Sortilage (maple syrup-Canadian Whisky liqueur)
• 1.0 oz. pink grapefruit juice
• 0.25 oz. Elderflower syrup
• 4 dashes grapefruit bitters
• 2-3 dashes Angostura bitters

Shake well with ice, strain and serve up in a chilled cocktail glass.  Garnish with a grapefruit twist