There is a particularly intimate relationship I have to some cocktails because they have been personally important experiences for me – if not enlightening experiences – on my way to real cocktail enthusiasm. Most of the time I do mention this in such articles or at least I indicate it during a cocktail presentation here on the blog. And in my article on the Mint Julep I also mentioned the importance of a certain video series which initially had a great influence on me. Read More
Monthly Archives: April 2017
Pure Spirits: Clément Canne Bleue & Clément Select Barrel and two kinds of Ti’ Punch
In the last few weeks I have launched several articles about various bottles of rum. Those included the white Plantation “Three Stars”, two Rums from the Plantation Vintage Edition, the groundbreaking Revolte Rum from the German city of Worms and the powerful Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Rum. A little longer ago there was also an article about a Rhum Agricole from the house of Clément and it is exactly this article I want to refer to today. By introducing two more bottles from this house. Read More
Dr. Kebler’s Wild and Crazy
Since I had already announced to create a cocktail based on the very nice Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon, I want to keep a word today and present that drink to you. I would also like to give a short “warning” in advance that this is a cocktail with a bit more “hullabaloo”, but it is really worth it! If the effort is too much for you, I can of course also recommend using the Basil Hayden’s in a well-made classic drink such as an Old Fashioned or simply a Whiskey Sour. Read More
Pure Spirits: Basil Hayden’s Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Are some spirits simply bought because of their outward appearance? Don’t you know these bottles on the shelf that you simply keep staring at every time you pass by? Of course there are such bottles, although everyone who is concerned with high-quality spirits for a certain time knows that the exterior should not play any role for the final buying decision. But the sales figures of some bottles clearly speak for the designers responsible for those bottles. Read More
Hay-Green Tea-Ginger Fizz
I know, today probably almost everybody expects a special Easter drink or something suitable for the festive occasion, but quite frankly I had no real desire for such things today. When I have a look around, I get the feeling that Easter specials are lurking almost everywhere and personally this has become a bit too much of the good. But if you really want to, you can of course also take one of the cocktails presented here on the blog to celebrate the Easter time, I am quite sure the Easter Bunny will for example like the Dr. K. Nickel’s Delight. Well, perhaps even today’s cocktail could be an Easter drink somehow. Read More
Pure Spirits: Revolte Rum & Smoke, Pears and Revolution
I have to admit: the review of today’s product comes quite late. If you take a look at the blogs of some of my blogging fellows, you will most likely recognize that almost everyone has already written about the Revolte Rum. At the German cocktail contest Made in GSA, the Revolte Rum was used in many competing recipes in 2016 and also the two winning drinks included Revolte Rum. It is therefore not really surprising that almost everywhere people speak of this rum as a distillate that has long been established in the German bar scene. Read More
Dr. K. Nickel’s Delight
I must admit: after my latest review of two spirits and a carrot brandy from the Sauerländer Edelbrennerei, my thoughts were circling around possible cocktails to use them in. Therefore, it was important to get a little structure into my thoughts in order to systematize the whole approach. So I decided to start making a drink from the outstanding carrot brandy, but before I could start with that I had to answer two fundamental questions. Read More
Pure Spirits: Carrot Brandy, Forest Raspberry Spirit and Hay Spirit from the Sauerländer Edelbrennerei
Today’s article is one I was very excited about as it once more offers the chance to write about some products from my immediate, regional proximity. Besides that, it is about three really interesting bottles and some of them contain real, fluid innovations. And although it is not long ago that I’ve presented some fruit brandies here from the Feiner Kappler series, today’s bottles are slightly different. Read More
Bright & Yellow Garden Smash
It was only yesterday when I presented a very simple and classic cocktail from the category of Smashes: the Rum Smash. Even though I have already mentioned it several times here on the blog, the basic principle of the Smashes can be explained as follows: While it was originally a variant of the Julep and was prepared without (citrus) fruits, today’s variants almost always are made with lemon or lime juice (or pieces) and make the Smash something like a Sour with an herbal supplement. The famous American bartender Dale DeGroff is considered to be responsible for this modern development of the Smashes. But a Smash can of course also have quite a few more ingredients than just spirits, sugar, lemon juice, and herbs as today’s example will hopefully show. Read More
The Rum Smash
After having introduced some rums in the last weeks (and there are more that will follow), I would like to write about a small, yet flexible rum cocktail today, that is most suitable for experimenting around with your favorite rums a little bit and try a new one every now and then. The cocktail is by no means a representative of complicated or airy-fairy recipes, but a simple and honest drink which is nonetheless simply fantastic. And which can be easily produced by anyone: the Rum Smash. Read More
Pure Spirits: Plantation O.F.T.D. Overproof Rum & Caribbean Mate Punch
Today it’s once again about rum; in combination with another cocktail recipe. And since many people still have to recover from the all those April fool hoaxes, I did not want to take the matter too seriously and therefore decided to create a Tiki cocktail. The rum I’m talking about once again comes from the Plantation series and is certainly the most potent ship in this fleet. Read More