December 22, 2015
If you live in WA State, you should be excited – for about 10,000 reasons, though here I’m talking about our explosion of interesting, tasty, and fun distilleries. Hopefully you’re already drinking drinks utilizing the bottles put out by our worthy distilleries. If not, then check out a piece I recently wrote for the stalwart Seattle magazine, 7 Must-Have Bottles for Stocking Your At-Home Bar. If you don’t live in the W-A, well, come visit, so you can also stock your home bar in a manner that’ll make you feel all sorts of happy.
December 18, 2015
There’s a key to this particular garden that might be hard to wrangle if you don’t happen to live out northwest way. But you could come visit! We’d be happy to see you. Oh, to jump back, the key. It’s Salish Sea’s Thyme-Coriander liqueur, which is a rich, culinary-esque sipper, and which could do well as a marinade and such, but also makes a very particular cocktail ingredient, one that plays surprisingly well with particular others – here, those others are gin (I used Bluewater Halcyon gin, an award-winner also from up this-a-way), and monastic herbal hit Bénédictine. And a touch of lemon oil, courtesy of a twist. Dang, this is a good drink. You may need to move here.
The Bosun’s Garden
Cracked ice
1-1/2 Bluewater Halcyon gin
1 ounce Salish Sea Thyme-Coriander liqueur
1/2 ounce Bénédictine
Lemon twist, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add the gin, Thyme-Coriander liqueur, and Bénédictine. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with the lemon twist.
Tags: Benedictine, Bluewater Halcyon gin, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Salish Sea Thyme-Coriander liqueur, The Bosun’s Garden, Washington distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Gin, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 8, 2015
Hey Seattle and WA State residents, drink lovers, and awesome people! It’s the party season, and you’re throwing your parties in the wrong places. You are! You should be throwing them at a local distillery. Cause that’s where the fun is! Don’t believe me? Check out this recent article I wrote for the sweet Seattle magazine, called: Where to Host your Next Party: A Distillery. Then start printing up the invitations.
August 28, 2015
A late summer number if there ever was one – Behold, The River is refreshing, full of summer-y flavors without being near treacly, a nice color, and not too hard to make. If you’re actually having it alongside a river, well, you get bonus points for that! Not sure what the bonus points get you however, except a good time, and some undying gratitude from those you make the drink for, and my high esteem. Which may be worth something?
Behold, The River
Ice cubes
1-3/4 ounces vodka
1 ounce Sidetrack Distillery blackberry liqueur
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
Four ounces chilled club soda
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the vodka, liqueur, and lemon juice. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters up with ice cubes. Strain the mix through a fine strainer into the glass. Top with the soda. Stir carefully, but thoroughly.
A Note: Having trouble finding Sidetrack Distillery blackberry liqueur? Well, you may need to take a trip to Washington, oh intrepid one!
Tags: Behold, club soda, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Sidetrack Distillery blackberry liqueur, summer drinks, super refreshing summer cocktail, The River, vodka, Washington distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, vodka, What I'm Drinking
August 14, 2015
This is a very Washington state drink (cause I love my local producers – you should love ‘em, too, and your local producers, no matter what your locale). It uses three Washington-state boozes, at least in its original form. However! If you’re not in Washington state (first, sorry – come visit!), you could conceivably make this subbing in non-WA rum, and sweet vermouth, instead of the Skip Rock Belle Rose rum and broVo Jammy vermouth. It’s a little trickier with the Sidetrack Blackberry liqueur. But I think subbing in Chambord (made from French black raspberries and more widely available at this moment) would still make a dandy drink. But heck, really, come on out here and do some shopping at our local distilleries. I mean, why not?
The Orchard Sea
Ice cubes
1-1/2 ounces Skip Rock Distillery Belle Rose rum
1 ounce Sidetrack Blackberry liqueur
1/2 ounce broVo Spirits Jammy red vermouth
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, blackberry liqueur, vermouth, and lime juice. Shake well.
2. Strain through a fine strainer into a cocktail glass.
Tags: broVo Spirits Jammy Red Vermouth, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Rum, Sidetrack Blackberry liqueur, Skip Rock Distillery Belle Rose Rum, The Orchard Sea, Washington distillery, What I’m Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
April 3, 2015
You might think if I told you that I made up this cocktail with a cherry-ish liqueur and also Merry Cherry Bee Knee’s (whatever that might be) that it’d be sweet in all the wrong ways, and make your teeth hurt. Well, pals, you’d be wrong! But don’t take it too bad, cause really, you probably didn’t know that the cherry liqueur in question was Boomerang, the new release from Washington’s broVo Spirits, which was created in conjunction with Micah Melton, beverage director at Chicago’s Aviary, and which isn’t just cherry, but cherry mingled with apricot, walnut, cinnamon, orange, vanilla, and peppercorn. So, savory, and not too sweet at all.
But that’s really just the half of it! The Merry Cherry Bee’s Knees is also the kicker, and really what gives this drink the umph that I (and I’ll bet you) love so well. Bee’s Knees, in this situation, means a spirit distilled from mead, the honey-fermented-and-fruit-beverage that probably makes you think of Vikings, or Renaissance Fairs. However, jump back from that thought. These Bee’s Knees are made by the Hardware Distillery, also in WA, and while they take characteristics from the mead and fruit (beyond Merry Cherry, there are Peachy Keen, Fig, Raspberry, and Plum varieties), they’re still a spirit, and aged in oak, and have the heft and personality of a whiskey.
So, what’s that all mean? Come to WA (or, if you’re here, stay here), get these ingredients, and try this drink. Then you’ll see what it means. And be happier for it. Also, if you can tell me where the name comes from, I’ll buy you three drinks.
Like to a Double Cherry
Cracked Ice
2 ounces Merry Cherry Bee’s Knees
1 ounce Boomerang liqueur
1/2 ounce Cocchi Torino sweet vermouth
Rainer cherry, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything except the real cherry. Stir well.
2. Add the cherry to a cocktail glass. Strain the mix into the glass and over the cherry.
Tags: broVo Boomerang liqueur, Cocchi Torino sweet vermouth, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, Hardware Distillery, Like to a Double Cherry, Merry Cherry Bee’s Knees, Washington distillery, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, vermouth, What I'm Drinking
September 16, 2014
Washington State is awesome! There are so many fantastic distillers here now, I sometimes feel like the luckiest drinker in the world. And there are a couple even in my neighborhood, including the small-in-size, giant-in-taste Old Ballard Liquor Co., which is focused on making traditional aquavits, lovely forgotten products like Cherry Bounce, and more. Recently, I was doubly-lucky, in that I got to write an article about the Old Ballard Liquor Co. for the smashing Seattle magazine. And then, I got to put up a bit more of my interview with Lexi, the super knowledgeable distiller owner, on the Seattle magazine blog. Read the article and the blog to learn more.
*See all Seattle magazine articles by me
