Muhamara Magic
John Berens John Berens

Muhamara Magic

I kindly interrupt your Negroni-filled feed for a drink I am super excited about because: 1) It was really tasty, 2) It’s my favorite type of drink (food-inspired), and 3) It actually was very reminiscent of the food dish. It all started when I got to talking with @shelbymastro about the awesomeness of pomegranate molasses and how it would be cool to make a drink with it inspired by Muhamara— a delicious Middle Eastern dish I posted about on 9/13 (recipe from @ottolenghi via @masterclass).

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Wacky Daiqu-y
John Berens John Berens

Wacky Daiqu-y

Alright alright the name is a bit of a stretch, but it has a nice ring to it no? I would be remiss not to post something acknowledging it’s #nationalrumday, so what better way than with this wacky daiquiri that has 3 types of rum AND vodka! But wait, there’s more!

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Verbena Vesper
John Berens John Berens

Verbena Vesper

Lemon verbena is one of my favorite plants growing in my garden. If you’re not familiar with it, I seriously recommend seeking it out. The South American native shrub has such a lovely, bright, lemon-y fragrance that is similar to lemongrass or lemon balm. Our plant is growing like crazy this year so I needed to prune it back— leaving me with a lot of leaves to play with.

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Blood, sweat, & Tears
John Berens John Berens

Blood, sweat, & Tears

This month’s @homebarawards is stirred tiki. It’s really a great challenge and brings up at least one important issue: how do you bring bright tropical flavors if you can’t shake up fresh juice? For this drink, my answer to this puzzle is one of my favorite tools to bring bright flavors and acidity to a cocktail: the shrub.

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