From the Brew Kettle: Gekkeikan Nouvelle Tokubetsu Honjozo Sake

With my article about three different Umeshus I have already presented a famous Japanese drink with a proud tradition here on the blog (and also some marginal information on the Japanese spirit Shōchū). Nonetheless, the probably most famous alcohol from the land of the rising sun has not yet received my detailed attention: Sake. And that is exactly what I want to change today. Read More

Pure Spirits: Dry Fly Port Finish Wheat Whiskey & The Sunset in Suburbia

The Dry Fly Cask Strength Straight Wheat which I have reviewed a few days ago (neat and in a cocktail) was really able to completely convince me. For a long time I have acted a bit disparaging when it came to wheat whiskeys and thought of them as mere components of blended whiskeys or indirectly as a part of the mash in the production of bourbon. And pure wheat whiskeys were almost impossible to find (however, I once tried an Austrian wheat single malt). Now all the more interesting is today’s wheat whiskey! It was finished in my favorite type of barrels: port wine barrels. Read More

Lime in the Coconut

I do not really have much to tell today, but just want to introduce a drink which I recently came upon by chance and which I simply had to try. The cocktail is called “Lime in the Coconut” and was created by Elizabeth Forsythe from the Hot Joy in San Antonio, Texas. That may not sound unusual or exciting at first, but although it is a fairly simple recipe, it is more than unusual indeed! Read More

Pure Spirits: Dry Fly Cask Strength Straight Wheat, Mondino Stagionato & The Blood Like Lemonade

After a short weekend trip to Berlin I want to continue with a new cocktail and two related spirits today! If you should expect a “Berlin Special” or something like this, I must disappoint you. There are plenty of reports on the Berlin bar scene or articles with recommendations on this topic out there so I don’t want to launch just another article like that. But there is a really nice recipe in this article that has all it needs to please the crowds! Read More

Pure Spirits: Choya Yuzu & The Geisha’s Kiss

And once again an article is dominated by a Japanese product. It was only yesterday when I wrote about the Choya “Extra Years”, the Choya “Extra Shiso” and the Choya “Royal Honey”. However, today’s article has a slightly different focus because besides a cocktail based on Umeshu there is also a Yuzu liqueur which also comes from the house of Choya. Read More

Pure Spirits: Choya Extra Years, Choya Extra Shiso & Choya Royal Honey

Today’s bottles are certainly one of the most striking bottles in any rack of liqueur. Presumably, many people have already wondered about these bottles during a walk through a well-stocked supermarket’s liqueur department. They might have asked themselves: What kind of liqueur is inside those tall bottles with the fruits in it? And what can you do with it? Well, I would like to concentrate on these and also on other questions today and introduce three bottles which I particularly like very much! Read More

Pure Spirits: Stobbe 240 Black Currant Barrel Dry Gin & Reserve Apricot Sage Smash

It’s been a while since I wrote about the Stobbe 1776 Black Currant London Dry Gin. At that time, this gin really convinced me with its flavor and I have also used it in some cocktails, for example in the Smuggler’s Cove Straits Sling or in my Just Another Lemon Tea. Last year, another Gin from the house Stobbe appeared on the market: the Stobbe 240 Black Currant 1776 Barrel Dry Gin – today I’m not only going to review that gin, I will also present a very nice and well-fitting cocktail. Read More

Pure Spirits: G. Rozelieures Fumé and Tourbé Collection & two variants of the Penicillin Cocktails

In today’s article I would like to talk about the two remaining Single Malt Whiskys of the G. Rozelieures series. I had already presented two bottles of this series from the Grallet Dupic distillery in Lorraine. On the one hand there was the G. Rozelieures Origine Collection and on the other the G. Rozelieures Rare Collection, each together with a cocktail. Today you will find some information about the G. Rozelieures Fumé and afterwards also about the G. Rozelieures Tourbé Collection. And, of course you don’t have to go without some nice cocktails – this time I opted for two twists on a modern classic! Read More

Cherry Rye Julep

To create a twist on the Mint Julep is, of course, not a particularly difficult thing. The cocktail does not have a lot of ingredients anyway, and most variations are not really the most complex of all recipes. On the contrary, when preparing a Mint Julep (and also its variants) it is most important to do all necessary steps precisely and correctly. Against this background mixing today’s cocktail felt a little bit like reinventing the wheel, but it is nonetheless a very nice variation of my all-time-favorite among the classic American cocktails. Read More

Rum Tamarind Alexander

There is a whole bunch of cocktails which I personally almost never drink myself but do nonetheless frequently mix them. And I’m not thinking of often condemned party cocktails, fruit juices with vodka or the like, but rather of “generally established” classics. An example of this would be the Alexander Cocktail. In itself it is a good drink with a simple but well-working basis – especially my wife and some of her girlfriends like to drink it. Accordingly, I am often asked to prepare an Alexander cocktail at home. The idea for today’s cocktail was born on one of these evenings. Read More

From the Brew Kettle: (Craft) Beer in Northern Norway

Anyone who thinks of Norway or generally of Scandinavia does not necessarily think of beer or alcoholic beverages in this context. The reasons for this are probably quite simple: the country itself is of such enchanting beauty that fjords and fjells will likely come to the mind before anything else. And in terms of alcohol, a very restrictive policy contributes to a reputation that is regarded as what I would call an internationally not really leading one. But nevertheless, the descendants of the Vikings of course brew their own beer and for this special article I have visited parts of northern Norway to have a closer look on some of the beers made there. And by the way today is the International Beer Day. Read More