Manhattan Old Fashioned
I’m excited to share the first of a couple drinks featuring an amazing Colorado-based distillery, @lawswhiskey. I had the chance to meet some of their team recently and they kindly sent some of their amazing whiskey. There are also some cool personal ties to their story that I’ll share during my next post. To start things off, I wanted to keep it simple, but of course with a twist.
Year Of Plenty
Drink number 3 of the @catanpisco and @settlersofcatan collaboration is a riff on the classic pisco sour (pisco, citrus, sugar, egg white). The inspiration was the Development Card named “Year of Plenty”, which made me think of Thanksgiving. To make a pisco sour fit for the holiday, I brought in cranberry, orange, and cardamom— a tried and true flavor combination.
Just Add Chips
When I first heard about San Miguel Southwestern Gin that @old_harbor was going to send me— full of lime, cilantro, and cucumber, among other botanicals— I immediately thought of salsa. But how could I bring in salsa into a cocktail? I’m curious to hear others’ approach here, but I went with a shrub.
Great Rinds Think Alike
I love the Drinkstagram community— among many things, it’s a great place for inspiration. My talented, creative, and hilarious buddy @highalcoholcontent recently posted a super cool drink with clarified watermelon vodka and fino sherry. That combination makes so much sense and sounds amazing, so I had to try it. I don’t have a centrifuge (or an awesome Dremel-fuge equivalent), so instead I made a low-ABV hack.
Grapes & Grain
Today I have drink #2 in my Catan & Catan series, highlighting an amazing Chilean pisco (@catanpisco) and the classic board game, Settlers of Catan (@settlersofcatan).
Jalpearzu
I’m really feeling the summer-y drinks lately, and this one is no exception. At first glance, it might read “heavy” with whisky and brandy in the mix, but the versatility of this lighter Japanese whisky is on full display here and serves as the sturdy anchor that allows this juicy, flavorful highball to come to life.
Ten Points To Victory
Today’s drink includes some scenery that some of you may recognize— yes, those are Victory Point cards from the modern classic Settlers of Catan (@settlersofcatan). I’m a huge board game nerd (shocking, I know) and love the Settlers series, so I was incredibly excited to create a themed drink using a delicious pisco that goes by the same name. @Catanpisco is Chilean, single grape, double distilled, and is delicious, clean, floral, delicate yet complex, and as good neat as is cocktails. I appreciate them sharing a bottle with me and I’m excited to make some more themed drinks down the road to celebrate the Catan & Catan collaboration!
Palmer Sessions
This recipe is my entry into this month’s @homebarawards’ session bourbon cocktails— something relatively low ABV and easy to drink more than one. As the temps rise in Texas, I wanted something thirst-quenching to enjoy while hanging out in the sun. The result is somewhere in between an Arnold Palmer and a Whiskey Smash and might be my official drink of Summer 2023.
Old Roots
This eclectic recipe is the brainchild of my buddy @rogzor during one of our typical “hangout & mix up something interesting” nights. The premise came about when we were discussing potential uses for jalapeño shochu. Michael proposed treating it like a vermouth, and adding syrup to make it more like a sweet vermouth for a very… unusual Manhattan riff.
Violet Crown
I have a fruit-forward Springtime drink to share today! The strawberry tarragon syrup has been a huge hit and is nearly gone, so here is one more drink featuring it. This one includes a beautiful purple gin kindly sent by @mcqueenvioletfog that is flavored with berry/hibiscus. The strawberry was a natural pairing here with the berry notes. I added a bit of tequila because I love the hibiscus/agave combo. Bitter bianco brought some depth and balance to the build. For being a fairly straightforward Tom Collins riff, this one was highly touted by my (albeit gin-loving) wife.