— No. 136 —

Aperol Falernum

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A while back I saw an article in “Art Culinaire Magazine” with a few Aperol cocktails and an Aperol falernum recipe. The recipe came from Jane Lopez, Beverage Director at The Catbird Seat, in Nashville, Tennessee. I thought this was a great idea and decided to make my own twist. I used my go to falernum recipe as a starting point, but omitted the fresh juice to help prolong the liqueur’s shelf life. I also cut back on the cloves because my original …

— No. 133 —

Grapefruit Hop Syrup

Simple Syrups

Inspired by my recent hobby of home brewing, I created a unique grapefruit hop syrup to experiment with. IPAs that have a strong grapefruit palette are my favorite. I’ve found that cascade and amarillo hops have a nice grapefruit and citrus profile to them and I wanted to try this flavor combination in cocktail recipes.

— No. 127 —

Red Bell Pepper Infused Rum

Bell Pepper Infused Rum

It never hurts to think ahead. Warmer months are just around the corner. If you’re anything like me you’ve probably had your fair share of bourbon. Not that bourbon will ever be replaced, but it’s about time to start thinking rum drinks. This red bell pepper infused rum is quite possibly the easiest and one of the most rewarding infusions you can make. It’ll only take 24 hours to infuse and the result is a culinary epiphany that’ll have your guests pleasantly surprised. Recipe …

— No. 113 —

Cherry Gastrique

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A gastrique is a caramelized sugar, deglazed with vinegar that is often used by gourmet chefs as a thick, sweet-and-sour sauce. But what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. A gastrique can help you brighten the flavor and color palette of your favorite cocktail recipes. The recipe for my cherry gastrique is below, but feel free to experiment with different vinegars such as red wine, champagne or cider vinegars. Try pairing these vinegars with other accent flavors …

— No. 102 —

Barrel Aged Negroni

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You may have heard of Jeffrey Morgenthaler. You may have even heard about his expertise in barrel aging cocktails. I had, and he was one of the major inspirations for my trip out to Portland. I visited his bar at Clyde Common to get on a first name basis with one of his barrel aged Negronis. Well worth the trip and well worth the effort to recreate it in my own bar. As a cocktail enthusiast, it’s hard not to …

— No. 93 —

Blueberry Liqueur

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I usually make a blueberry infused spirit, but it seemed time to expand my blueberry horizons by making a liqueur. I’m glad I did. It wasn’t hard at all and only took a little patience. A lot of the blueberry liqueur recipes I’ve seen use lemon zest and clove. I chose to bypass those ingredients. I wanted to isolate the blueberry flavor for my cocktails and didn’t want to be married to the clove and citrus tones. You may want to give …

— No. 80 —

Orgeat Syrup

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Orgeat is a sweet almond syrup with a lovely touch of orange and rose flower water. If you’re lucky you might be able to find a bottle at your local liquor store, but quite frankly nothing beats the homemade stuff. It’s a lot easier to make than you might think too.

— No. 67 —

Baltimore Egg Nogg

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I didn’t have to rack my noggin’ to select this years holiday cocktail. It was a no brainer, Hon. I call Baltimore home so naturally I chose a classic recipe for Baltimore Egg Nogg. The Baltimore Egg Nogg recipe was first published in a Baltimore cookbook in the 1940’s and incorporated a unique ingredient in Madeira wine. I adapted this recipe from Jerry Thomas’ Bar-Tenders Guide, published in 1887. Yeah, I’m going way back. Recipe 6 eggs 5 oz Madeira wine …

— No. 61 —

Regan’s Orange Bitters No. 5

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So you probably already know Post Prohibition is all about handcrafted libations. We are currently in the process of making custom bitters, taking the craft of the cocktail to the next level. We started with a basic orange bitters recipe from The Joy of Mixology by Gary Regan. You might ask, “What are bitters?” Bitters are cocktail seasoning, like salt for a soup. Back in the 1800’s, bitters where used for medicinal purposes. They were a potion of healthy herbs and botanicals. …

— No. 50 —

Simple Syrups

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Simple or not? Well, hopefully after reading this you can say that’s simple. Simple syrup is basically just two ingredients, sugar and water. Start with a basic 1:1 ratio. That’s 1 cup of water to every cup of sugar. If you’re making a traditional simple syrup all you’ll need is water hot enough to melt your sugar. That’s it.

— No. 3 —

Falernum #9

Falernum #9

Making handmade Falernum is a real treat and is easier than one might think. House made Falernum smells and taste wonderful. With a fresh Falernum you can taste all the complexities and it’ll add a deep flavor component to your cocktails. Commercial grade Falernum cannot compare as it is flat and dull. Go the extra mile and your cocktails and taste buds will thank you. You’ll have your guest “Wowing” your creations. Recipe from Jeff Berry’s Beachbum Berry Remixed 6oz …

— No. 2 —

Handmade Grenadine

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So why make grenadine? Your common run of the mill grenadine is chock full of artificial flavors and tastes nothing like pomegranate. This simply isn’t going to cut it. When you take the time to hand make a batch of grenadine it greatly improves the flavor profile of your cocktails. A lot of your older, more classic cocktail recipes call for grenadine and my mother always told me to respect my elders. So lets pay proper homage to the art …