Today is once again a premiere day here on the blog because today’s article deals with a topic that has not yet been on the agenda before. It’s just three days since I dropped the name “Appeljack” as part of the Helter Skelter cocktail, which is essentially an American fruit brandy. Applejack is often used as an ingredient in American cocktail recipes. In Europe, instead of Applejack, however, people usually use the nobler Calvados. And that is exactly what today’s article is about. Read More
Monthly Archives: January 2017
The Helter Skelter
If you take a look at the huge range of internationally available cocktail recipes in times of the Internet, you will of course realize that a lot of recipes are strongly dependent on the availability of certain products. This phenomenon can be witnessed in both classical and modern recipes. In some cases, this led to the creation of certain substitute spirits, which should compensate for the limited availability of some brands. Thus you will sometimes find yourself in the funny situation to substitute a substitute product with the original one. Read More
Buttermilk Margarita
Today I’d like to write a few lines about a cocktail that I really like very much and which I got to know quite late actually, I hope you will forgive me that. It was already invented in 2011, which basically once again demonstrates that I am definitely the wrong address if you’re up to staying exclusively in touch with most modern and brand-new trends in the cocktail world. But then again this blog is all about good cocktails and corresponding spirits, so what’s the matter? So today I’d like to present to you, many years after its creation: the Buttermilk Margarita (or Buttermilch Margarita as it’s called in German). Read More
Pure Spirits: Amaro di Angostura
The name of today’s product is indeed one of the biggest imaginable for anyone who deals with cocktails or who is interested in bar culture. It’s not possible to imagine a well-stocked bar without Angostura bitters as well as you can’t imagine it without mixing glasses, shakers or bar spoons. I wonder if there is any standard work about cocktails in the world in which the name is not printed about a hundred times. But today we are not dealing with the classic Angostura Bitters but with an Amaro instead, a bitter liqueur. And when such a bitter liqueur comes from the house of the great bitters-manufacturer, this naturally arouses some curiosity. Read More
Prescription Julep
Well, I was actually really looking forward to today’s article since a few days. Just as I am also looking forward to the addressed drink every time I’ll get the chance to order it in a bar or just to make it for myself. It is once again a real classic cocktail which goes back to the year 1857 (at least) and it simply delivers exactly what I love about a cocktail: the wonderful experience of enjoying high-quality spirits in a great combination with a refined aromatic twist. Read More
Pure Spirits: Villa Lobos Blanco Tequila
When it comes to matured spirits (or at least those who can potentially become matured spirits), you can apparently witness a quite obvious phenomenon: the longer the spirits have spent in a cask, the higher the demand for it (as well as the price) and the better its reputation. Sometimes this may even become a little bit odd as it is often the case for example with some whisky bottlings which suddenly come at horrendous prices. However, some spirits are a little bit different in this respect or even tend towards the opposite. Read More
Covet
One of the most famous cocktails based on Cognac surely is the sidecar. And although I have not yet written an article about that classic drink, I may do so in the future. The sidecar consists mainly of cognac, cointreau and lemon juice. Well, the cocktail that I would like to present today is essentially nothing more than a more complex variation of this basic formula. However, one that has convinced me completely. Read More
Pure Spirits: Amazonian Gin Company (Cantinero Edition)
After the Aloha Gin from Heilbronn, today it’s another article about gin. But this time, however, it is about a gin that is not from Germany or another European country. Quite on the contrary, this gin has already collected a bunch of flight miles before it reaches Germany. And yet it is close a relative of another gin that I have already presented here in the past. I am thinking of the Peruvian GIN’CA, which comes from the same Peruvian distillery as today’s Gin listening to the name “Amazonian Gin Company Cantinero Edition”. Read More
Pure Spirits: Aloha Gin
Today it’s once again gin time. And I guess you will be little surprised by the fact that it is once again a gin from Germany where it has become the trendiest spirit of these days (as in many other parts of the world, too). This is of course not only the case because of the ever increasing number of gin start-ups and the correlating spirits, but also because of the inexorably high demand for gin & tonics. The increased interest for tasting seminars on the subject of gin (and tonic) fits the mould. Read More
El Meteor en el Barril
The inspiration for today’s cocktail came during the writing of the reviews for two spirits that I have recently tasted and presented here. On the one hand the really beautiful Clément Rhum Vieux Agricole VSOP and on the other the Meteoro Joven Mezcal. The initial thought behind the idea of combining these two spirits is also reflected in the name of the cocktail, “El Meteor en el Barril”, which means “The Meteor in the Barrel”. Read More
Pure Spirits: Pierre Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula
I would like to finally welcome the new year of 2017 here on the blog with an article about a special product, which also is the first of its kind that I am reviewing here: I’m talking about the Pierre Ferrand Cognac 1840 Original Formula – the first Cognac to be reviewed on Galumbi – Drinks & More. Today, Cognac enjoys an ambivalent reputation. For some, it is a slightly outdated spirit of past days, for others a still appreciated barrel-matured spirit for quiet moments at the fireplace and for others it’s a high-priced prestige object sold in stylish bottles which can easily compete with those of the perfume industry. Read More