Featured Issues

— No. 80 —

Orgeat Syrup

orgeat_preview

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. 78 —

Aperol & Campari

campari_aperol_preview

Campari and Aperol are an acquired taste. I’m sure you know a few people who won’t touch the stuff and some that swear by it. I fall into the latter category. I appreciate their sophisticated depth and find the bitter component they bring to cocktails absolutely essential. If it wasn’t for Campari we wouldn’t have the time-tested Negroni or Americano. Both Aperol and Campari are Italian aperitivos produced by the Campari Group. Campari was created in 1860 by Gaspare Campari. Aperol was …

— No. 75 —

St. Germain

stgermain_preview

Spring is finally upon us. So lets kick it off with a bottle St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur. If you go to the St. Germain website they’ll tell you the lovely story behind their artfully complex liqueur. It all begins at the foothills of the Alps, during but a few fleeting days of spring. Locals will handpick wild elderflower blossoms and bike sacks of these blossoms down the hillside to market.  These sacks will be the entirety of what will become St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur.

— No. 74 —

Amaro

amaro

Seriously, who knows more about overindulgence in food than Italians? Necessity is the mother of invention. That’s how we have amaro or if you have a couple then it’s amari (plural). Italians gave us this bittersweet, herbal liqueur. It actually means “bitter” in Italian.  It’s usually consumed as an after-dinner digestif in Europe. Amari are typically chock full of ingredients.

— No. 73 —

Root & Snap

root_snap_duo_preview

You may have heard of our neighbors to the north, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. This boutique is a must stop during my many Philly trips. That and the Italian Market of course. Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’s carefully curated shop features small label goods from the likes of Billykirk, Wren, Shabd and Property Of, as well as posters from local artists’ like Alex Lukas. The shop has a lot to offer, but I’ll be focusing on their hand crafted liqueurs. Well, actually you can’t by them in their store. You’ll have to go to the liquor store down the block to get your bottles of Root and Snap

— No. 71 —

Goulet Brulée

2 oz pecan bourbon ½ oz Grand Marnier ½ oz honey syrup Bar spoon of sweet potato purée Grand Marnier foam Top with Turbinado Sugar Angostura flame bruleé Add Pecan bourbon, GM, honey syrup, and the sweet potato purée, in a mixing glass with ice and shake. Double strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Top with Gm foam and place some Turbinado sugar in the middle of the foam. With a olive oil mister filled with Angostura bitters and 151 rum …