Blue Hawaii

Credit: Leandro DiMonriva, The Educated Barfly

Ingredients

3/4 oz white rum (white or flavored)
3/4 oz vodka or gin (flavored)
1/2 oz Drillaud Blue Curaçao
1 1/2 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz lime cordial
1 tsp 2:1 demerara syrup
5 drops saline solution
Luxardo cherry garnish, or pineapple wedge


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice.


Notes

Definitely one of those “I can’t believe I’m drinking this at home” drinks…so good! Good spirit flavors here are coconut and pineapple. Not to be confused with a Blue Hawaiian, which has coconut cream.

 
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Pisco Sour

Ingredients

3 oz BarSol Pisco
1 oz lime juice
3/4 oz 2:1 demerara syrup
1 egg white
Angustora Bitters


Directions

Dry shake all ingredients except the bitters, to froth the egg white. Then shake with ice. Pour in a chilled glass. Dot foam with dashes of Angustora bitters, then make a pretty design with a toothpick.


Notes

Wow, the egg white really tones down the pisco (in a good way!). I’d like to try other proportions I’ve seen on The Educated Barfly and Cocktail Chemistry, where it’s 2 oz pisco and 3/4 oz lime.

 
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Chocolate-Orange Bitts and Bubbs

Ingredients

Orange La Croix
Fee Brothers Aztec Chocolate Bitters
orange peel strip


Directions

Put many many dashes of the bitters in the La Croix over ice. Add a wide peel of orange.


Notes

So fun for times you want a cocktail but not booze. Angostura bitters are also great for this.

☝️ Heads-up: although I’m tagging this zero proof, bitters do add a negligible amount of alcohol to the drink.

 
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2:1 Honey Syrup

Ingredients (by volume)

2 parts raw honey
1 part water


Directions

Heat water to a simmer, then add the hone and stir until it dissolves. Let cool.


Notes

I like the flavor of good raw honey—however, you want to be careful of using a honey that’s too strongly flavored as it could overpower the drink. The higher sugar ratio extends the shelf life in the fridge.

 
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Pisco Punch

Ingredients

2 oz BarSol Pisco
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz Small Hand Foods Pineapple Gum Syrup


Directions

Shake and pour over ice.


Notes

Pineapple gum syrup is quite pricy if you’re making this for a crowd, even a small one (which I did). It made me crave pineapple juice instead, and I wasn’t a huge fan of the PIsco. That changed, however, once I made a Pisco sour!

 
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Saturn

Credit: Martin Cate, Smuggler’s Cove

Ingredients

1 1/2 oz gin
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz passion fruit syrup
1/4 oz orgeat
1/4 oz John D. Taylor’s Velvet Falernum
lemon and Luxardo cherry garnish


Directions

Shake and strain over crushed or pebble ice. Form lemon peel into a circle and place a cherry in the center on a toothpick, to represent the ringed planet.


Notes

Wow. This might have been my first cocktail that made me appreciate the magic of many ingredients working together to create something awesome. Homemade passion fruit syrup makes a difference, I think.

 
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Gin and Tonic

Ingredients

1 oz St. George Botanivore Gin
4 oz Fever Tree Elderflower Tonic Water
lime wedge


Directions

Build in a glass. Squeeze lime wedge in drink.


Notes

This drink made me like gin. A lot. This is my preferred way to enjoy this cocktail. For those that like it boozier, you can add more gin and/or decrease the tonic water.

 
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POG Punch

★ Original Cocktail ★

Ingredients

3 oz POG (2 parts passion fruit juice, 1 part orange juice, 2 parts guava juice)
1 oz pineapple juice
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz lime cordial
1 oz coconut rum


Directions

Mix it all up and serve over ice.


Notes

I came up with this as a variation on the Leilani volcano cocktail. Easy to make a pitcher of this!

 
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Mango Shrub

Ingredients

1 oz mango shrub (recipe below)
6 oz La Croix
fresh mint garnish


Directions

Mix in a glass and serve with ice.


Notes

Orange and mango La Croix flavors work well here. (When it’s mango La Croix, my son calls it a Double Dang Mango.)


Mango Shrub Recipe

Ingredients

equal parts by volume diced mango, sugar, and apple cider vinegar


Directions

I follow the Serious Eats cold-processed approach. Mix the sugar and mango and let it sit for a few hours in the fridge, until a syrup forms. Then add the vinegar and put it in a glass container. This can last up to a year in the fridge,

 
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2:1 Demerara Syrup

Ingredients (by weight)

2 parts demerara sugar
1 part water


Directions

Heat water to a simmer, then add the sugar and stir until it dissolves. Let cool.


Notes

Demerara sugar adds more flavor, and the higher sugar ratio extends the shelf life in the fridge. When you want a clear syrup, use granulated sugar in place of the demerara sugar.

 
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Dark 'n Stormy

Ingredients

1 oz Gosling’s Black Seal Rum
4 oz Gosling’s Ginger Beer
1/2 lime (about 1/2 oz)


Directions

Build over ice.


Notes

Refreshing, easy, simple. Cheers to Bermuda’s national drink! The lime helps balance the sweetness of this brand of black rum and ginger beer.

 
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