The first of our Halloween Cocktails for 2021, the Basic Witch started its life as a Pumpkin Spice Old Fashioned. The original test using Wild Turkey 101 and Pumpkin Spice Syrup resulted in a super spicy but not particularly balanced drink. This resulted in wondering how we could still create a basic pumpkin spice drink, […]
Four Roses Single Barrel sits between their Small Batch and Small Batch Selects in their line up. If you factor in their highly sought after and extremely limited annual limited edition, then you can think of this as the middle of the road for their offerings. Our previous review of the Small Batch left us […]
Ernest Hemingway is well known for championing cocktails such as the Daiquiri and the Mojito, but he also is the purported creator of the absinthe based Death In The Afternoon. The drink was reportedly dreamed up after Hemingway spent time in France and developed an affinity for absinthe in the early 1930’s. As a result, […]
Fords Gin seeks to be a versatile gin that is perfect for classic gin cocktails. This is an ideal application of Gin, as of all the base spirits, it’s one of the only choices that doesn’t also have a significant number of individuals enjoying it neat. The result of the choices made by Fords is […]
If you need to increase the size of your artillery shells, may we recommend a French 95. The cousin of the French 75, this cocktail swaps for gin for bourbon. This change adds caramelized sugars and spices to drive depth. French 95 French 95 1 oz Gin ½ oz Lemon Juice ½ oz Simple Syrup […]
Bacardi always seemed like a step up in college. Compared to the questionably named brands hiding out on the bottom shelf, it had an air of quality to it. The more experience I had with rum, the more I learned that there were really two kinds of rum that Bacardi was invested in making. On […]
The French 75 is a classic drink named after the size of shells which were used by French Artillery guns. Similar to the 75mm shells used, a series of French 75s could do some damaged. Behind the delicate and dainty façade of the sparkling wine there’s a gin kicker and a lemon zinger involved. […]
Basic home bars can make a series of drinks with the addition of a bottle of sparkling wine. Among them is the Airmail. While airmail originally started in the 1910’s and 1920’s, the cocktail didn’t appear until almost halfway through the 20th century. While the naming of the cocktail is a mystery, the actual drink […]
As I previously mentioned, my first exposure to Ezra Brooks was the OHLQ store pick Distiller’s Collection bottle. The bottle so wowed me that I felt the need to explore at least one other Ezra Brooks product. While getting to 107 in there line up is no longer possible (without a store pick), they still […]
Allocated bourbon and store picks are exciting. They offer an opportunity to receive a single barrel selection at an equal or better price than the equivalent bottle. Theses picks are typically highly sought after and generally hard to find. They also have a significant amount of bottle to bottle and batch to batch variability. In […]
The Jack Rose fell out of favor for long enough to drag applejack down with it. This wasn’t entirely the fault of applejack, but rather one of the key supporting ingredients, grenadine. For a long time the only available Grenadine was that neon red stuff that was basically sugar. While perfect for Shirley Temples, it […]
Calvados is a protected designation within France for apple brandies made within the region conforming to specification. Among the producers is Domaine Dupont, who offers an entry level Calvados at about $40. Domaine Dupont Calvados Fine Reserve is a two year aged calvados that features 80% bitter apples and 20% acid apples. It is fermented […]